The come and get me smile disarmed me and I was left without words. Not fair! Damn woman and her alluring beauty making me a fool still, but maybe that was a good thing. I stood up to get away, but Nina grabbed my hand and merged into me. So much for that.
'You can't get rid of me that easily, husband.' -Nina.
'I wasn't trying to, I wanted to get more food since someone ate all mine!'
'That is fine, but what are we doing after this?' -Nina.
'Going to find my soon to be mother-in-law, but first I want to get some gifts, or maybe some rings.'
'Rings?' -Nina.
'Yes, in my world it is a marriage thing, I don't want to do the ceremony or anything, but I would like to give you something special. Is there a metal that can hold magics?"
'Not metal, but there are Blood and Life gems, maybe you could use Kai's magic to make some rather than buy them.' -Nina.
That was a good point and a good idea, but where to get some of those? My thoughts were interrupted by a small hand tugging on my shirt. I looked down to find a small weasel looking child that had a troubled look.
"Hey, Boss! What can I do for you?"
"Can you heal people?"
"Mmm...yeah, why? What up?"
"My dad got hurt in the field with a scythe, but it won't heal!"
"Healing? Yes, I don't mind helping, but I will get two of my wives to come to help your father if that's okay? I am not as good as they are, so they will come and help you Da. Nuwari! Arrentia!"
I called over the two women and explained what the boy said and then I sent Buddy with them as a guard. I wondered how many other people here would need healing before I left? Maybe a station to help the people? I looked around for Alex and found her talking to the same group of Pigfolk, so I walked over to join them.
"...times haven't been so bad here, but we are in constant fear of random visits from nobles. They do not respect the laws and customs of these people and will scoop up any Beastfolk that is insight. They took my husband last week, and now we will probably never see him again unless we are caught, but even then the chances of us meeting again are…"
The Female Pigfolk was explaining how life was here for them, and it looked like the villagers were very good to the people and helped hide them, but the capital was looking like it could use a good house cleaning. I turned to Alex and touched her side to get her attention and she turned to me.
"So, The people here are good, but the ones in the capital, not so much?"
"Basically, even though they are accepted here, they live in constant fear of being caught and sold into slavery. What is your plan, Great Master."
"Alexcoria, I will put you over my knee in front of all these nice people if I hear you say that again!"
Alex giggled, but then came to wrap her arms around me and rest her head on my shoulder. I took her in my arms and continued.
"Look like I will have to do some surgical cleaning in the capital, but before that, I would like you to help Tescelle, Xelios, and Arrentia set up a healing station and then I want Buddy, Nuwari, and Titania to go door to door to heal those that can't leave the beds they are in, but this can wait till tomorrow."
"What about Kyra, Mishka, and Wendy?"
"Oh, you mean my three most energetic wives? The four of us will be working in the field tomorrow!"
"You're going to put princesses in the field to harvest grain?"
"Yeah, and we are going to have a lot of fun, right girls?"
The three in question were more than close enough to hear the discussion between Alex and, so I knew could hear me. When I turned my head to look at them I was surprised to see them all smiling. Good girls, I knew I picked the right ones!
"What are we doing tomorrow?" Asked Mishka.
"To tell you the truth, I don't really know. I was originally supposed to be part of the marriage proposal. Speak of that, Alex, let's gather the remaining group and go find the Mayor's house, I need to talk to a mother about a daughter!"
It took longer than I expected to leave the town center; the Beastfolk seemed to have an endless stream of questions for my wives about me and how they looked the way they did. As much as I would have loved to give them all my magic, it wasn't my place to do it without talking to the Mayor first.
Thanks to a pair of young fox girls, they look similar to Keeta, we were able to make it to the Mayor's house without getting lost. Though, it wasn't like we could have missed the place; it was a large stone and mortar build house that was much bigger than the other houses, but I was constructed using the same materials at the houses around it, So only the size made it stand out.
A medium height girl was sweeping the path with light purple hair, but she looked quite young, maybe around thirteen. The girl looked up to see our group approaching and took on a worried look, but that was when the front door of the house opened and the Mayor walked out. Harkim had a large smile on his face as he walked up to the girl and put his arm around her, causing her to visibly relax.
"Welcome to my humble Abode Great Master…"
"Don't even think about it."
"Fine, Hyde. I still think that it sounds weird to say, but I will not insult you by calling you something you don't want to be called. Come and meet my small family and wife! This one right here is my younger, Melina, as you can see, this one's a bit more reserved than my other daughter."
"A bit? Hehe, that is one way of putting it I guess. Well, I am here to see your wife anyway."
"Oh? You don't plan on…"
"No, I am not here to steal your wife, but I have come to talk about your daughter."
"This one? Oh, lord she is still a year too young to be married, being twelve and all, maybe give her some more time…"
"Oh no, I am talking about your other daughter!"
"...Violent? Oops! Horse shit! Violet I mean! You want to marry my daughter? The one about this high and could stare down a bear? The same one that even I am scared of?"
Harkim stuck his hand out at Violets high and I nodded while laughing.
"BWAHAHA! Oh, that's funny! I made the same mistake earlier!"
"And you're still breathing? Impressive, I heard you even managed to squeeze in a short joke, and yet you stand here as I live and breathe. She must have taken a liking to you, but, if you don't mind me asking, what makes you so interested in my daughter? Not that I'm not excited for her, but she can get to be a little hard to be around at times."
"I can see what you mean, and I will save you the physical attraction info, and get down to the parts that matter. One, she has a commanding presence and people listen to hear whether they want to or not. Two, I don't think she is all as bad as she makes everyone believe she is. Was she picked on?"
"No, quite the opposite, everyone wanted to be her friend, but she has always treated people this way. Maybe you can change that, but how's about you and your family come and have supper with us? I know it's early but we tend to have a late snack before bed, and you have your biggest challenge ahead of you, my wife."
"Yeah, what's that about, not that I disagree, but I am not from the world and where I come from the man tends to ask the father for permission."
"Hmmm? That is a strange concept, do men bear children in your world?"
"Hmm, no, but now that you say it like that it does sound a bit ridiculous. Okay, what should I expect from your wife? Should I act differently or maybe change my clothes?"
"Oh god no, just be yourself or she will see right through you. Honestly, as long as you don't lie you will be fine."
"That sounds pretty suspicious and now I am far more worried than I was before."
"My mom can see your heart's desire and tell if you are lying."
Great, my soon to be mother-in-law was a clairvoyant of some type, just splendid. Well, it wasn't like I planned to lie, to begin with, and I did really like Violet, so this would be a piece of cake. I could handle one mother, honestly, I really didn't understand what these two were getting so worked up over?
"Also, try not to stare at her too much, or you will end up with a cast-iron frying pan mark on the side of your head. Also, do not insult or make jokes about Violet and whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE FUN OF MY WIFE'S HEIGHT!"