The Lord of Arra (6/6)

Haalfrin, along with his 4 human companions, is all chained up on a wall next to each other – with the 2 women chained up on an opposite wall and the men beside him.

It's normal to keep men and women in separate cells from each other, after all.

Loud smacking sounds echo in the stone, damp cellar of a dungeon, and a large Rehkin man is having the humans take turns being whipped. When the whipping doesn't work, he tries poking them with needles or even poisoning them.

Short of killing them, the torturer tries everything at his disposal, but nothing is working.

Finally, the master of the palace comes in and glares at Haalfrin. "I'm still missing 2 daughters and 4 sons - 3 of them being completely unaccounted for. Where are they?"

Behind Fheldin is one of his daughters – the very one who was packed away with the wedding dress. She still feels upset, and she insisted on coming down to the cells with her father to hear their explanation.

Well, more than being upset, Felkin are naturally inclined towards curiosity; the humans' actions were so incomprehensible that she can't sleep until she knows what made them do something so stupid.

"Oh?" Haalfrin replies to Fheldin slyly, "Some of them made it through? That actually surprises me. Slipping up, old man?"

Jay turns his head and glares at Haalfrin, "Don't provoke him!"

Haalfrin just shrugs at that. "There's no point in lying to him and making things worse. With so many children caught, their collective testimonies will reveal who we are."

Jay knows this to be true, but upon being reminded of this fact, he hangs his head in resignation.

Slowly, their leader admits quietly, as to not breathe too loudly and disrupt his broken ribs, "We were planning on just helping one child escape, but the others saw us and threatened to tell you about our plan unless we took them along. It was far too late to stop our plan.

The dragon curls his fists and growls, "And? What were you planning?" He glares at Haalfrin, "Did the Hawks hire you to smuggle away one of my daughters?"

Due to a Felkin's ability to birth and create life easier than any other race, coupled with their beautiful appearances, powerful alchemy, and ability to extend lifespans, they're unquestionably the most prized brides across all the worlds. There's always some idiot who'd be willing to steal from a dragon if it meant taking away a phoenix.

Despite Jay being the leader, everyone looks at Haalfrin.

Seeing them all focus on him, Haalfrin laughs. "Nah! Remember that pretty 'bride' you found in the Hawk's carriage? Elder Tala was trying to start a war with the humans, so we were tasked with coming here and assassinating him. We couldn't figure out a way to do it with so many Fate Threaders discovering us, so we engineered this whole situation to get YOU to kill our target."

Haalfrin then smiles, "As a sign of good faith, I'll tell you where the other children are at. Of the 3 that are unaccounted for, the Felkin girl turned herself to ash, and we mailed her ashes to her sister Talia. The other two were dumped deep in a trash bin. They should be outside now, climbing out of the bonfire and escaping into the woods."

After hearing the news, Fheldin turns tail and runs for the door. He doesn't have much longer to catch his kids, so he has no time to waste.

The little Felkin girl who was hiding behind her father's leg looks at the humans with a complicated gaze before inching out and following the Rehkin servants as they escort her back to the East Wing.

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Several hours later, Lord Fheldin slinks back into his palace with a slap mark on the side of his face.

He had managed to find the two boys, who got away in the trash.

... Those two IDIOTS were so busy celebrating their escape by drinking alcohol for the first time in a tavern. They were even stupid enough to make a show of themselves - offering to pay for everyone!

Despite cleverly erasing their scent trails by not throwing away their trashy clothes, they were so easy to find because of their high-profile actions and stupid boasting. Fheldin only had to ask a few locals, and he was pointed straight to them.

However, when Fheldin showed up at Talia's place, Talia slapped her father and refused to give up her sister, who was hiding behind her at the time and quivering in fear.

Talia is probably the daughter he feels is the most clever and responsible. Even better is that Talia is such a powerful and respected Alchemist that she's currently a prominent figure in a large Rehkin Capitol, where many Rehkin Clans stay. She has her own mansion, wealth, a plethora of bodyguards, AND a horde of influential Rehkin Clan heads who'd be willing to do anything for her.

All things considered, his recently escaped daughter could do worse than stay with Talia.

Thus, fully confident that his young daughter is going to be all right away from home, he accepted Talia's slap and left without further issue.

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Once his visit with Talia is concluded, Fheldin is seen sitting at the now empty table that the Clan Meeting had occurred around. His elbows are on the table, and he's fiddling with a dragon bone ax in his palms.

'Grandfather,' Dakka's spiritual voice speaks into Fheldin's mind, 'just let Haalfrin and the others go. You know the dragon ways. The humans were cunning enough to use your strength for their own ends. You were stupid enough to fall for their tricks, which means you're at fault. Also, the 4 uncles and aunts of mine that got away... they were just clever enough to evade you. They've fulfilled the Rites of Adulthood, and they no longer belong to you. In short, all this happened because you weren't good enough.'

"Enough, Dakka. I know," Fheldin says slyly, "I'm not upset."

'Grandfather…,' Dakka says incredulously, 'you're ALWAYS upset whenever your children leave.'

Fheldin shakes his head and smiles, "No, I'm actually quite happy whenever one of you manages to get away."

'… I don't believe you,' Dakka spits out a mocking snicker.

"No, no," Fheldin protests, "it's true. I just have to put on a grumpy face to keep up appearances; if my children didn't think I get angry over them trying to escape, then defying me wouldn't be an act of courage for them."

The old dragon looks up and smiles, "Heh, Geram and Erema were clever in using the waterways against me, and Fhulk was ruthless, strong, and cunning. I have high hopes for them in particular."

'S-so,' Dakka stutters, 'does that mean that you're going to release me and the humans? You're not upset at them, right?'

"Of course, I'm not mad," Fheldin admits, "but they lost to me. They were also caught stealing from me; that means those humans are my property now."

'W-what about me?'

"You're a piece of bone now – a tool for a human," Fheldin admits while tapping the ax on the table. "I'm a little disappointed in you. Alas, you've already escaped once, so I can't do anything to you…"

Fheldin then holds up the ax to his face and offers, "How about this? If you want to be revived and get your living body back, I will do it… but you'll have to rejoin me in my house and belong to me once more."

'I'll pass,' Dakka immediately replies. 'I have faith that Haalfrin will be able to get out of prison and take me with him.'

Fheldin curls his head back and laughs, "Haha! Ok, I'll humor you. Since Haalfrin is chained up right now, I'll make things fair for you both and put you in his cell. That way, IF he escapes, he won't have to look all over for you."

'Don't regret it, old man.'

Shrugging, Fheldin says casually, "There's nothing to regret either way; if you and Haalfrin can never escape, then I get to keep the interesting human and my adorable grandson. If you escape, then I'll get to feel proud of you once more. What's there to lose?"