The Jade Harem 1-14

Hannah stood at the shore of a stream in the forest, gazing at the water as her heart ached. She realized she was in a dream brought on by Blackbast to help settle her heart. Around her was a world full of magic and beauty as flowers filled the landscape with color and fireflies danced in the air to some unseen music.

In moments, Evalynn and Jaina were beside her, letting her know that Gisley had sent them in to keep her company. Gisley was going to take Hannah’s place and sing the lullaby while pretending to be Hannah. Drellis would add a little druidic magic to ensure the city saw the desired effect and nobody would suspect Hannah was missing.

Hannah sighed and sat on the shore, using her tail to splash at the water. She expressed how horrible it was that she had worked so hard to change their fortunes, only to have it used against her.

“Hannah,” Jaina said as she sat beside her. “You did your best to make things better for all of us, including Lord Dugal. His message proved he understood you weren't to blame, but it was too dangerous to be seen cooperating with you right now.”

“But look what happened to him because of me,” Hannah cried. “Maybe Frank is right. Maybe I should reset and go away. I should get as far away as I can from the people I love.”

“Then all of us would feel like you do now,” Evalynn said as she sat on the other side. “If we lost you, none of us would ever be fully happy again. We would always wish you were back and hunger to search the world for you.”

“She’s right,” Jaina insisted. “If we lost you, I would grow bitter. I would want to find the people who caused you to run away and make them suffer. I would never be content until you were back in my arms.”

Hannah sniffed and rested her chin on her knees as the girls held her tight. They cuddled for an hour when suddenly, Gisley was beside them.

“I can’t believe how much Frank loves you,” Gisley said as she joined the three at the stream.

“What do you mean?” Jaina asked as Hannah looked up with the same question.

“You will see,” Gisley said as her eyes sparkled with happy light. “He has done something so special I can’t begin to explain it.”

Hannah looked between the two women beside her as they admitted they had no idea what she was talking about. Then Gisley smiled and said he was ready and asked Hannah to stand to take her hand.

“Come on. It's time to go,” Gisley urged, and suddenly, the forest changed, becoming a temple high on a cliff crowned by stars above. The four girls looked about in surprise at the sudden change but kept silent. Gisley led Hannah up some steps and to a pair of doors, where she practically danced in excitement. “You need to go in alone,” Gisley said.

“Gisley, what is going on?” Jaina asked.

“Frank did all this,” Gisley said. “I can’t believe how clever he is. He did this for Hannah to make her smile.”

Jaina looked to Evalynn, who could only shrug in confusion. They suggested that Hannah go inside while they waited for her outside. Hannah reached for a metal ring to push open the door and found it swung in with ease. Inside was a dark pillared hall with tall blue windows to her left, letting in starlight.

Hannah had no trouble seeing in the dark and walked through the moon's rays until she saw what waited at the far end. He turned in the light, his eyes full of pain but brightening when he saw her.

“Hannah?” Lord Dugal said. “They told me you would come.”

“Lord Dugal!” Hannah cried and ran across the space, coming to his arms as she started to cry. “I am so sorry! I never thought anyone would know! I never dreamed this could happen.”

“It's not your fault,” he said, putting an arm around her back. “I played my part in it as well. I was sure we were safe.”

“But I caused this,” Hannah said. “Your lands are ruined, and your people set back.”

“I will recover,” he assured her.

“You shouldn't have to. This terrible act should never have happened,” Hannah insisted, but he pressed her into his chest and assured her she couldn't have stopped it.

“I wish I could send you a thousand goblins to help repair things,” Hannah cried.

“If you did that they would only punish me harder,” he insisted, then used a hand to lift her chin. “But I am delighted to know I can still speak to you. You have no idea how hard it was for me to send you that message. My heart broke to tell you we could never speak again.”

“How did you get here?” She asked.

“Frank,” Lord Dugal said. “He went to a woman named Alexandria and asked her if there were any nobles from my land in her estate. He handed her a package to give them with strict orders to deliver it to me. Inside was a note and a small bottle of what the note called fairy glitter. It said that if I sprinkled the glitter on myself, you would find me in my dreams.”

“Frank arranged all this?” Hannah said in shock. “I can’t even articulate how much I love him.”

“I still don't understand how your relationship works, but I consider your husband one of the greatest men I have ever known,” Lord Dugal said. “No wonder he won your heart.”

“I can’t believe he did this for me,” Hannah said as she smiled through tears, then looked to Lord Dugal. “What can I do to help?”

“All you can do is pretend we have no further dealings,” he said. “I am going to be openly and publicly hostile toward your kingdom for a bit. Please don’t take it personally.”

“I promise I won’t,” Hannah said as she ran a hand across his chest.

“I need you to do the same in return,” he insisted. “You must make it public knowledge that our two lands are not happy with one another. I might even suggest you had something to do with the attack, but I will stress I can't prove it. I will quietly arrange for some of my nobles to contest my views and insist you had nothing to do with it. I don't want my people's anger to turn toward you. I just want whoever is watching us to believe their plan worked.”

“I understand,” Hannah said.

He sighed and hugged her tightly as she rested her chin on his shoulder. “I can't tell you how much it means to me to know we can still talk. The note said he would arrange for more glitter to flow through this Alexandria. I will have all I need to see you in our dreams as often as we want.”

“I am glad we can talk, but this doesn’t fix the main problem,” Hannah began. “We wanted your lands to participate in Frank's contest and help unite our neighbors. If you don't come, I doubt anybody will. Maybe he should call it off.”

“He should move forward with that,” Lord Dugal said. “I will oppose the idea, but our enemies have given my people the perfect reason to challenge me.”

“How so?” Hannah asked.

“They need experience and a place to play to level back up,” Lord Dugal said. “I will arrange for some troublemakers to spread the word about the contest and form an unofficial team. I will refuse to endorse it, but in my current state, I will be powerless to stop them. If you want to help, then providing my players someplace to level and earn back what they lost will go a long way.”

“I will,” Hannah promised. “I will make sure they have all they need.”

“I knew you would,” he said with a soft smile. “I don’t know why people hate you so much. Now that I know you, all I can see is a woman who wants to make things better for everyone.”

She blushed at his kind words as he turned to gesture to a nearby throne-like chair. Hannah ran a hand along his chest and asked if she could take the pain away for a little bit. He nodded, and she helped him undress before sitting astride him on the throne. With his hands around her back, they made love, while Hannah never took her eyes away from his.

Outside, Jaina and Evalynn were shocked as Gisley told them what Frank had done.

“He’s in there right now?” Jaina asked.

“Yes. I collected him and explained what was happening,” Gisley replied.

“Frank saw how devastated Hannah was to know they would never talk again,” Evalynn said. “He immediately thought of a way to fix it and acted on it for Hannah's sake.”

“How does anybody love like that?” Jaina gasped. “No wonder she fell for him. Heck, I am falling for him. I wonder if Roric would sell me?”

“He’s so good to her,” Gisley agreed. “He is going to use Alexandria to smuggle things to Lord Dugal and help him recover.”

“What is Frank going to give him?” Evalynn asked. Gisley said Lord Dugal would get more glitter and as much gold as Frank could safely move. He wanted Lord Dugal to be able to buy points to spend on the recovery, speeding things along as best he could. He would also place quests in the guild to encourage players to assist Dugal's lands.

“Frank really is a genius,” Jaina said as she considered the shrewd move. “Alexandria's estate is effectively a foreign embassy in our lands. He can deal directly with the nobility of these places and avoid implicating the ruler.”

“I honestly wonder about him,” Evalynn said. “How is he so damn clever? He always seems to know what to do when he needs to do it. It’s like he knows what is going to happen.”

“I think Frank's just a good problem solver,” Gisley said. “And he's driven by love. He would do anything to wipe Hannah's tears away.”

“Even arrange for her to spend a night in the arms of a lover,” Jaina said as she nodded. “I had my worries that he wouldn’t take to this harem arrangement, but now I wonder if this wasn’t what he wanted all along.”

“Who could blame him?” Evalynn laughed. “He was the only man surrounded by a bunch of hot women who looked to him as their leader. You saw how they acted when we first saw them. Every one of those girls behaved as if Frank were their boyfriend, and Frank reciprocated to each of them. Look at how angry he got at the idea of Grumosh trying to buy Breanne. He refused to let her go because he loved her and would die to protect her.”

“You’re right,” Jaina agreed. “And we all head the story of Frank killing that werewolf for threatening Quinny. Nobody threatens one of his girls and lives to tell about it.”

“He must have been dreaming of this for months before we met him, but he was too afraid to suggest it,” Evalynn said.

“Then we came along and showed them what they could have,” Gisley said.

“And they agreed they wanted it,” Jaina finished.

“So, why are we still here?” Evalynn asked.

“Frank wants me to monitor the dream and ensure nobody can snoop on it,” Gisley said. “I told him that nobody could invade a dream I was controlling, but he insisted I stand guard, anyway.”

“Well, if you have to keep watch, then we will keep it with you,” Jaina said as she looked over the landscape. “Is this something you made up?”

“No, this is a place from Lord Dugal's mind,” Gisley said. “He calls it the cloud-top temple. It's on a stony peak someplace in his lands.”

“Well, the view is beautiful,” Jaina said before looking up at the stars. “If only our lives could be this peaceful.”

“It's what we are working toward,” Evalynn said as she joined her side. “Some day, we will throw off our enemies, and their tampering in our lives will end.”

“We don't even know who they are,” Jaina sighed. “Nor are we even sure this spy is in our lands. How are we supposed to find this person if we know absolutely nothing about them?”

“Even if we found them, could we defeat them?” Gisley asked. “I bet they are very high level.”

“She’s probably right,” Evalynn agreed.

“She is more correct than you can imagine,” came a voice that rang loud and clear from the night sky. The girls gasped as a shadow passed between them and the stars, riding on wings of pure night.

“Hezzrigozza,” Evalynn gasped before turning to Gisley. “I thought you said nothing could invade your dreams?”

“They can’t,” Gisley squeaked. “I have no idea how he got here.”

The dark form swooped low and then beat its mighty wings, settling on the steps before them before looking down with glowing purple eyes.

“I am always where my chosen is,” he said in a slow, deliberate voice. “If she enters a dream, then so do I.”

“Oh, your link to him,” Gisley said nervously. “That’s how he got in.”

“But why are you choosing to appear?” Jaina asked as she recovered from the shock of the sudden intrusion.

“Because I have listened to you debate this theory of a spy in your midst,” the dragon replied. “I believe your suspicions are correct. This spy is among you, close enough to touch, yet hidden in plain sight.”

“But you don’t know who?” Jaina asked.

“This being hides even from my sight,” the dragon replied. “I have watched over you intently, searching for anything that might give the spy away. Thus far, I have seen nothing.”

“Well, the stories Blackbast told do say this spy is a legend,” Evalynn said. “He or she is so skilled that not a single person has learned their identity.”

“But how are we supposed to fight back?” Jaina asked. “And if this spy is here, then it means Kevin is well aware of us and actively moving against us.”

“That seems a wise assessment,” the dragon replied. “I repeat my earlier suggestion that you flee from the girl and get as far away as you can before her doom comes.”

“I will not abandon Hannah!” Jaina insisted.

“Neither will I,” Gisley quipped as she folded her arms.

“None of us are going to run,” Evalynn said firmly. “If they come for Hannah, they will have to get through the harem, the city, and an army of angry goblins first.”

“So be it,” the dragon said as he lowered his head to meet Jaina's eyes. “But you are the one I chose. If this danger comes calling, I will remove you myself.”

“Don't you dare,” Jaina argued. “I refused to give up your gift out of respect for you. Now, you need to pay me the same respect. You can't take me away from my family when they need me most.”

“You would risk being destroyed for her?” the dragon asked.

“I already risked it,” Jaina countered.

“And they would have succeeded had I not intervened,” he hissed.

“Did you not see Hannah?” Jaina asked. “Did you not see her fighting with every last ounce of her strength to save me? Did you see how badly wounded she was? Did you see how she collapsed after spending every last shred of her power? She did that for me because she loves me. She would never have given up, no matter what it cost her or the pain she would have to endure. How can you ask me to run away from her?”

The dragon raised its head high and gazed down at the girls in silent contemplation.

“She is not who you think she is,” he said.

“You keep saying that, but you won't elaborate,” Jaina said, stepping forward. “Can't you tell us more?”

“The risk is too great,” he replied. “Telling you a tiny bit of what I know might alter her course. It might accelerate her down a path that ends in chaos and destruction. She must find this path slowly and carefully, growing just enough to prepare for what comes next.”

“God, you sound like Umtha,” Jaina sighed.

“The goblin woman carries a terrible burden,” the dragon replied. “She knows much more than she is telling you, but Hathlisora bound her to a promise not to reveal it. So the woman suffers alone and in silence, wondering if her pain will ever end.”

“I never thought of Umtha suffering,” Gisley squeaked. “She seems so happy.”

“There has to be something we can do,” Jaina asked. “For Hannah, or Frank, or Umtha, or I don’t care, just something.”

The great dragon lowered its head again and glared into Jaina’s eyes.

“Ask the woman in Hannah’s crown why she is blocking Hannah’s memories of Umtha,” the dragon replied.

“The woman in the crown is blocking them?” Jaina gasped.

The dragon lifted its head high as it began to fade away, melting into the night like a mist.

“Wait!” Jaina cried. “Please, you have to tell us more.”

“All I will say is that you are safe from your enemies here,” the dragon's voice echoed as if far away. “Use these dreams to communicate, and even your spy will be unable to hamper you.”

“He’s gone,” Jaina said as they searched the sky.

“Forget the dragon,” Evalynn said in annoyance. “That woman in Hannah's head is intentionally blocking the memories she was supposed to get back. Frank was right all along that we couldn't trust her. Who knows what else she has been doing?”

“But the ring protects Hannah from her influence,” Gisley reminded.

“And who told her that?” Evalynn asked. “The same woman. I think it’s safe to assume she lied.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Jaina said as he grew apprehensive. “But what if?”

“What if what?” Evalynn asked.

“Well, if Hezzrigozza could enter the dream because of his connection to me, why couldn’t this woman spy on Hannah here?” Jaina asked.

“Oh my god,” Evalynn cried. “For all we know, the woman in the crown is the spy. She had a front-row seat to everything going on in that room. She knows all the promises they made and what they planned to do. If she has a way to warn the North, then it explains everything.”

“And she's in there right now, fully aware Lord Dugal hasn't turned his back on Hannah,” Jaina said. “If she is the spy, then she will tell the North, and they will punish him more severely. If that happens, Hannah will never forgive herself.”

“I can’t sense her,” Gisley insisted. “And the dream version of Hannah isn’t really wearing the crown.”

“And I am not wearing the dragon's mark, but he was still here,” Jaina insisted.

“Good point,” Gisley conceded.

“Should we interrupt them before they say too much?” Evalynn asked.

“Oh, like they haven’t done that already?” Jaina growled and took a step for the doors.

“Stop!” Jaina heard the dragon say in her head. “The woman is not watching.”

“How do you know?” Jaina asked as she closed her eyes to focus on her dragon master.

“I have guaranteed it,” he replied.

“But what about before?” Jaina asked. “Could she have been the one to spy on them?”

“I cannot say,” the dragon replied. “I never thought to consider her presence before or attempted to block it. Nor could I have done so unless you were present in the same dream. What she did in other dreams is beyond my ability to predict.”

“Are you talking to him again?” Gisley asked.

“He’s in my head,” Jaina replied. “He says he is blocking the woman here, so they are safe, but he can’t tell us if she spied on them before.”

“So what do we do?” Gisley asked.

“The only thing we can do,” Evalynn replied as she looked to the doors behind which Hannah was recovering. “We have to tell the masters.”