The First Dragon of Marble

Chapter 31

[Ladon’s POV]

            We finish eating and are sitting in the living room to discuss our plans for the next couple of weeks. “Today I plan on going to the church for what we discussed a couple of days ago, Lucy. Do you still want to come, or do you want to do anything else?” “I’ll come with you, love. I want to see the church anyways.” I nod and look at Melora and think before asking her. “Should I bring her too? Hmm…yeah, I think I should. With both of them there then maybe I can get some better answers.” “Do you want to come?” I ask Melora who looks at me in surprise of me asking her. Lucy smiles a bit and nods at Melora. “Can I?” “If you want. I am not forcing you to do anything, Melora.” She smiles and hugs me for some reason and says, “Of course I want to come with you two.” I look at Lucy with a confused look and she just shrugs while smiling. Melora let’s go of me and I say, “Okay we’ll get dressed and go in a few minutes then. We’ll be having dinner with Cliff and Helen tonight, so we’ll come back here afterwards to get ready for it.”

             I dress in some new clothes that I have not had a chance to wear yet. I put on a white button up shirt and leave the last three buttons undone showing my scale tattoos. My pants are black and stitched well enough to pass for slacks as they are being held up by black suspenders. I put on some cufflinks and instead of my usual Greek sandals I put on some black dress shoes that glint in the light from the shine. To finish off by putting on a hat that looked like a fedora from the 40’s making sure my horns pass through the holes made for them. I step into the long mirror in mine and Lucy’s room and chuckle at myself. “I look like a bootleg gangster only better.” Lucy comes over and looks at herself in the mirror and I am left awed. She is wearing another sundress but this time it is a solid red. I hug her from behind and look at her in the mirror. “You look so beautiful, bunny. You keep doing this to me I won’t be able to keep my hands off you even in public.” Lucy twists her body around and looks at me and says, “Speak for yourself love. Gods you are so handsome. I have never seen clothes like these before.” I shrug and say, “A few months ago I went to a tailor and custom ordered these. Looking at them now there could be some improvements but I am satisfied. I always liked how people in the past dressed like this.” I straighten my shirt and collar in the mirror. “Do you mean your past or the past of your past?” I chuckle at her wording.

            “That is rather confusing way to say it but yes, almost a hundred years before my time.” Lucy smacks my butt and says, “Well I really like the pants. They show off…your physique. Hehe.” I turn around and say, “Oh really? Maybe I should get more clothes made like this so you can ogle me.” She turns her body and places her finger on my chin walking away and says, “Please do.” She exits the room with me following behind her like I am being pulled along like a puppy on a leash. We go downstairs and see Melora in a blue blouse and skirt that goes to her knees of the same color. “You look beautiful Melora.” I say when I see her in her bigger size. Lucy is left speechless and just staring at her just nodding in agreement. Melora blushes and says, “Thank you, Ladon. You two look amazing as well. We should dress like this more.” I look at Lucy and her and nod. “I agree you two are too beautiful to wear adventuring clothes all the time.” They both blush and take each other’s arms as I walk behind them out of the house.

            We walk to the main street and follow it north to the bridge crossing the river. Many people turn to look at us as we walk but I don’t mind. I feel better about myself compared to my past, and I know rumors have spread about me because of what happened with the Oliver’s son. While walking though I start to miss cars or even bicycles because I didn’t realize how big Melcox really was. We finally reach the church which sits by the bridge at a crossroads. It is smaller than I expected of the only church in Melcox. Decorated with the symbols of the gods is the only aesthetic thing about it. There are other buildings connected to it and in front of one of them are children playing with a makeshift ball. As we walk towards the main church building a couple of them come up to us.

            “Hi!” The little girl, around ten years of age, says as she runs up to us with a boy around the same age tags along with her. I kneel down and see that they are minks. The girl is a cat mink, and the boy is a dog mink. “Hello little ones.” I say offering my hand. The cat mink smiles brightly and takes my hand. We shake and I offer mine to the dog mink who seems shy but takes it either way. “I’m Ladon, this is my mate Lucy, and our friend Melora.” They smile at the girls and wave saying, “Hello. I’m Coco and this is my twin brother Rico.” “Twins? How does that work when they different types of minks?” I think to myself as Lucy and Melora gush over their cuteness and say hello back. I stand back up and with a soft smile and voice, I ask, “Was there something you needed from us?” The girl looks at the boy and nudges him forward. He looks down and says something with a small voice that I could not hear. “What was that?” He looks up and says in a louder voice and asks, “What are you sir?” I tilt my head in confusion. “What do you mean?” He shifts his feet and says, “Why do you look like that and…um…what race are you?” I squat down again and say, “Well I like these clothes, so I had them made if that is what you are asking. Do you like them?” The boy smiles and nods his head. I smile and say, “Thank you. I like them too and,” I look at Lucy and back at the boy and say in whisper to him, “My mate does too.” I finish with a wink making him think for a moment trying to understand my meaning.

            While Rico and I are talking, Coco goes over to Lucy and Melora and they start chatting. I look at the ball that Rico is holding and ask, “Is that ball all you have to play with? It seems to be falling apart.” “Oh yeah, we don’t have much since Coco and I live in the orphanage.” I rub my stubble and say, “So the building connected to the church is an orphanage?” Rico nods weakly. “Hmm…would you like a new ball to play with?” Rico smiles and nods quickly which makes me smile when I see his golden retriever floppy ears becomes erratic with his movements. I chuckle and say, “Okay I’ll get you a new ball the next time I visit and maybe even teach you and your friends a game from my country.” The boy smiles and jumps around in excitement. Suddenly I hear a voice from the orphanage’s direction. “Rico! Coco! Stop bothering people coming to the church.” I look up to see a dwarf woman in what I assume is the church’s attire. Thankfully it doesn’t seem anything like the black robes of the Catholic church’s nuns’ outfit instead it is a plain white dress that stops at the middle of her shins.

            I stand up properly and the girls come back over to me and stand beside me. “I am so sorry about these two.” I hold up my hand and say, “They were no trouble ma’am. In fact, we enjoyed their company, and they were just curious.” I look at the children with their heads down looking like they were in trouble. “Children should be curious. It’s how they grow and become better understanding of the world around them.” The woman is taken aback by my statement confused. Lucy leans into my ear and whispers, “Love, most people think orphans are a nuisance and act like they do not exist most of the time.” Sighing and thinking back to when I was in an orphanage, “Some things never change it seems.” I mutter. Lucy hears me and since she has seen my memories, she knows what I am thinking about and just grabs my hand and squeezes it. I smile at her and kiss her cheek. “Oooo.” Coco teases us and I just stick my tongue out at her making her giggle.

            I turn back to the dwarf who is staring daggers at Coco and say, “I’m Ladon by the way. This is Lucy my mate and our friend Melora.” The dwarf’s face changes to a softer expression and says, “It is nice to meet you, Sir Ladon, Madam Lucy, Madam Melora. I am Nina, a caretaker for the orphanage. Is there something that I can help you with?” “I suppose. We have come to pray to the gods, but I would like to ask something first.” “Of course.” I walk over to the twins and look at their clothes and shoeless feet. A pang of anger from the neglect crosses my mind and it must have showed on my face since Melora comes over and puts her hand on my shoulder. I look up and see her face filled with concern. I give her a smile and stand back up saying, “I’m okay, Melora.” She nods and says nothing. “Is the orphanage not receiving any assistance from the lord or donations to the church?” The dwarf shifts her eyes side to side in nervousness. “I…it is sir.” Nina stammers out. I approach closer to her and look her up and down noticing her tattered attire and messy hair. I narrow my eyes and whisper, “Are you absolutely sure about that Nina?” Nina gulps.

            I step back and say, “Do you know who I am Nina?” Nina nods affirming she does. I look back the twins then at Lucy and Melora. They nod to me and grab the children’s hands leading them away from the two of us. I look back at Nina and say, “Now, since you know who I am, I assume you know that I had an altercation with the lord’s son and his lackeys, yes?” Nina seems to become more nervous as she nods timidly at my question. “So, you know that I have no qualm with going up against anyone and if you are afraid that someone will come after you for speaking to me then do not worry. I can protect you and children here.” She has a conflicted look on her face as if she wants to say something. I wait for her to answer my question, and her face finally takes on a defeated expression and says, “We no longer receive assistance from the lord of the city. We have barely been getting by from the meager donations from the common people of the city. Even the nobles who stay in Melcox do not provide donations like they used to.” I look away from her and look closer around at the church’s grounds.

            The orphanage building looks in disrepair along with the rest of the buildings. The other priests and priestesses seem to be in the same condition as Nina. In the past I was never into religion since I had never seen signs of any god or gods before. Now though, having literal gods as parents makes me have conflicting emotions from seeing the poverty of the surroundings. I look back at Nina and ask, “Do you know why the lord stopped sending aid?” Nina sighs and says, “We do not know if it was really the lord or if it was his son when he took over for his father.” Confused I ask, “Why would the lord of the city put that shit stain in charge of his territory?” Nina looks taken aback at the use of crude words to describe a noble. “Sir Ladon, please. Lord Mathais is still a lord please refrain from speaking ill of him.” I raise an eyebrow at her and say, “He is not a noble anymore and even then, nobles are just people like you and me. There is no reason to hold them on pedestal as if they are better.” Nina seems to be getting even more nervous as she looks around and decides to just answer my question so as to get away from me before I am struck with lightning.

            “If you what say is true then we should be getting aid again soon then. To answer your question though, Lord Oliver did not put him in charge since he suddenly fell ill and was bedridden until recently.” Nina says hurriedly. “That’s suspicious, hmm, well whatever, I’ll help out with the kids till aid resumes which shouldn’t be more than a week at most.” Nina eyes widen and says in flustered tone, “Why, why, would you help us?” I smile and say, “Well I have special place in my heart for orphans.” “Thank you, Sir Ladon. Thank you so much.” Nina literally cries as she says this but I just wave in dismissal. “No thanks are needed, Nina. The innocent should be protected until they are ready to face a not so innocent world.” I say as I walk over to Lucy and Melora who were playing with the twins leaving Nina in a sobbing mess of relief.

            The girls and I play with the twins for a couple of hours before we head into the church to do what we came for. We walk into the chapel, and I am rather surprised by how plain it is compared to some of the Christian churches I had been in the past and the Muslim mosques I had seen during my deployments. There were no pews or gaudy decorations such as stained windows or tapestries hanging from the walls. No, all the church has on display are seven statues at the back of the room displayed in a half circle looking down as if to watch over their respective creations and around them are multiple smaller statues around them. At the feet of the statues are small offerings from the meager amount of worshippers still providing patronage to their gods.

            I start to walk forward when I hear steps from the left of us. I turn my head and see an old human man in frayed robes similar to Nina’s only suited for a male. He stops in front of us and says, “Hello, Sir Ladon, Lady Lucy, and Lady Melora. I have been expecting you for few days already.” The girls and I give him confused expressions and he just chuckles at our faces. “Sir, you have been expecting us?” Lucy asks as she holds my arm for protection and because of her growing weariness. The old man looks at Lucy and gives her a reassuring smile and says, “Yes, I have, Lady Lucy. Goddess Fauna spoke to me a few days ago while I was sending my prayers to each of the gods. She said that you along with Sir Ladon and possibly Lady Melora would show at this humble chapel to seek the wisdom of the gods.” I raise an eyebrow and think to myself, “This Fauna seems to think high of herself if she thinks I came here to seek HER wisdom.”

            “Though we did come here to speak with Fauna, but she is not the main one we want to nor the main reason we came here, Sir,” The old man gives me complicated expression at me pretty much dismissing a Goddess’s attention, but seems to shake it off like a champ and says, “Ah, where are my manners, I know you but you do not know me. My name is Head Priest Javier, it is nice to make your acquaintance.” Lucy and Melora bow their heads a little at the priest showing him respect and I just have my thinking face on display. “Oh, I finally here a Hispanic name. I have been wondering for some time why all the names I have heard so fare seem to only be English names. Bah not that it matters anymore since it seems humans no longer give a shit about the color of skin but the species of a race. Though it does raise the question as to where exactly I am, concerning what continent I am on?” Lucy elbows me lightly breaking out of my trance and I look down to see her giving me a knowing smile. I cough and look back to Javier, and say, “Ahem, yes, it is nice to meet you, Javier.” He nods with the same smile he has had on since we first saw.

            I look around see no books or scrolls which was the main reason for coming here. “If not to speak with to the Goddess Fauna, then why have you come here, Sir Ladon?” I fix gaze back on the priest and say, “Well we were looking to do some research and was told that the church has books like the Adventurer’s Guild. Though as I look around, I see none.” Javier finally breaks his smile, and it turns into an expression of sadness and a little anger. “I see. If you are looking for books and scrolls, then we only have a small amount left after the lord’s son ordered his ‘knights’ to confiscate them and burn them.” All three of us become shocked as we heard this and look each other looking for answers. “Why would he order something like that?” I ask to which the priest looks around to make sure we are alone. Then he says, “From what I overheard from the knights when they were following their orders, it seems that Lord Mathais was rumored to be converted to different gods than our creators.” “What!?” Both Lucy and Melora shout at the same time with shocked expressions. I look at them with confused expressions and Melora asks, “How could the lord of this city allow that?” The priest just shakes his head and shrugs at Melora’s question.

            Still confused at their reactions about there being different gods aside from the statues on display I ask, “Why are y’all so shocked that someone would worship different gods than those worshiped here?” Melora looks at me with an even more confused face and say, “Ladon, there are no other gods aside from the ones displayed here and the minor gods that help the main gods. The ones who worship other gods are usually the enemy of the gods using mana to further spread its chaos.” “She is right Sir Ladon. This world was saved by the gods on display and try to keep the balance that has only been achieved a little over two thousand years ago.” I put my hand to my chin and say, “I see.” “So, it seems that some of my parents’ enemies did manage to cross over before father closed the tear between our universes. Are they the ones who are responsible for that void magic that hit me and how that pissant Drake Wyvern was so strong.” I sigh as there are just more questions to ask mother and father. “Okay I get it I suppose, anyway since there are no books here let’s just talk to Fauna and,” I almost let slip that I wanted to talk to my parents but decide to say, “and pray to the others before we leave. I want to go buy some things for the orphans before the lord starts up his aid again.”

            The priest widens his eyes and asks, “You are willing to help the children, Sir Ladon?” “Yes, like I said to Nina outside. Children should be protected before they set out to face this cruel world. Now if you would excuse us, we like to get this over with and go about our day. I promised the kids to show them a new game.” To the priest’s credit he quickly gets his emotions in check and nods back. “Very well, I will give you three some privacy and go check on other things that need my attention.” I nod back and watch him leave the chapel and then turn back to the statues and walk closer to them. I notice a plaque at the bottom of each pedestal that has the name of the respective god and what their domain resides over. I quickly look over the seven main ones and finally have the names of these gods in my memory.

            The one in the middle is a depiction of what one would expect of a god of humans would look like, at least from the movies and books back in my time. He is tall with an aged face with long beard and hair flowing down his robes. The plaque read “Yahweh God of Humans and adaptability. Praise Yahweh for he guides us through hardship and innovation.” I look at Lucy and Melora who are beside me looking at the plaque as well. Then I think to myself “Wait, Yahweh? Isn’t that Hebrew translation for God? Did he take on this name for a reason or just an easier name for people to relate to?” I shake my head of useless thoughts and just discard it as the whims of a god knowing my mother.

            The one to the left of Yahweh is a woman depicted as beautiful and has a face that shows a little arrogance as if looking down on others. She has long ears and revealing dress that flows past her feet in elegance. I look at the plaque and it reads “Aphrodite Goddess of Elves and nature. Praise Aphrodite for she resides over everything that is beautiful in nature.” I look back up at the statue’s face and think, “A little pompous, but I will give credit where it is due. She does deserve the name Aphrodite for her beauty though I think my mother out classes her by long shot.”  

            I decide instead of proceeding to left I go over to the statue on the left side of Yahweh’s and see a short woman who is rather cute looking as she stands with taller gods. She is wearing an apron and has a various tools around her. “Gaia Goddess of Dwarves and crafts. Praise Gaia for she gives her all at providing the tools succeeds for success within the chaos of mana.” I smile to myself look at the statue’s face again and say out loud, “I think I would get along with this god.” Lucy comes over to read the plaque and chuckles agreeing with me.

            I proceed to the right this time and look at the statue of a woman with various animal features. This does not make look like a monster from nightmares but are depicted with grace and blends together well. I do notice that the statue has bunny ears a top her head. I look at the plaque and am not surprised who this god is supposed to be. “Fauna Goddess of Minks. Praise Fauna for she provides the substance we need to survive and the instincts to battle against the chaos.” I reread the plaque a few times and finally realize that Fauna may actually be the one messing with my dragon instincts. I have conflicting thoughts about this but decide to leave judgement on the matter to after I speak with her.

            Next to Fauna the statue of the god looks a little more intimidating. It is a woman with a crocodile head, body of a woman, and legs of a lion. A similar depiction of the Egyptian god. I look at the plaque. “Ammit Goddess of Mythicals. Praise her for she for her wisdom and the changes that come her wisdom.” I smile at the statue and think to myself, “Hmm, her plaque is rather confusing, should I say mysterious. I think I see why her race is called the mythicals aside from their obvious appearances coming from myths of old Earth like the horny unicorn I had to deal with the other day.” I shake my head and move on to the other statues.

            I arrive to the left of the Aphrodite statue and see a man depicted with one feathered wing and the other a butterfly shaped wing on his back. He is handsome and has a playful look on his face that seems to show that he does not take things very seriously. I think to myself that he would be good to party with but not so much in serious conversations. I look down at the plaque, “Pan God of Fae. Praise him for bringing song and art to bring joy out of the chaos around us.” My eye twitches at the shamelessness of this god saying HE brought song and art to the races especially humans. I just sigh and move to his left to the last statue.

            I look up and see my mother though this statue cannot even bring out the real beauty that she is, plus as I walk around inspecting it, I see no sign of her tattoos like mine. I go into thought and decide that details may be lost in time since the last time anyone actually saw what the gods looked like. I come back around to the front and look down at the plaque. “Tiamat Goddess of Unknown.” I blink a couple times after reading my mother’s plaque and then go to the others reread them. After I make sure that my question has merit, I ask Lucy and Melora, “Why is Tiamat’s plaque like this and not like the others?” Lucy gives me a knowing look and Melora is the one who answers. “The stories go that Tiamat has yet to make a new race and is more occupied with protecting our world from the gods we talked about with the head priest.” I look back the statue of my mother and narrow my eyes as I mutter, “I hope you did not intend me to some hero mother.” Then I look around and do not see statues of my father, Odin.

            “Where is Odin?” I ask them. Lucy comes up beside me and grabs my hand guiding me to a statue beside Tiamat though a little further behind her. “He is right here my love. He is believed to be a minor god of Tiamat and helps her in her duties to protect us.” I look at the small plaque below his feet.  “Odin God of Magic.” I look his statue and the ones who made were way off from his actual appearance. The statue looked like an old man bent over with a staff in his hand to keep him upright. I smirk at this and shake my head leading Lucy back to the middle of the room. Soon Melora who seemed to be praying to Pan comes over to us.

            “So now what, Ladon? Since they do not have any books what are we doing for the rest of the day?” Melora asks me and I answer her after I look into Lucy’s eyes. “Lucy and I need to pray so if you want you can wait here or go see the children or whatever else you want to do.” Melora thinks for a moment and decides to go play with children of the orphanage and leaves Lucy and I by ourselves. I look at Lucy and pull her close and brush her lips with mine before I ask, “Do you want to speak with Fauna first or meet my parents?” Lucy goes wide eyed when I mention meeting Tiamat and Odin. “Um, you want me to meet them now?” She asks timidly which confuses me a bit. “Don’t you want to meet them?” “Of course. I just thought that it would down the road a ways.” She quickly says. “Then why are you acting all timid my little bunny.” I tease her which earns me a cute pout. “What, what, if they don’t like me? I mean, they are gods Ladon.”

            I think for a moment and realize that it might be intimidating for the people who do not deal gods usually would feel. I stroke her cheek and bring into an intimate kiss and separate after a few seconds and say, “You have nothing to worry about my love. They may be gods, but they are more like mortals than you think. They simply have more power and years of life than us.” I chuckle at basically calling them old and that seems to ease Lucy a bit as she chuckles as well. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes before opening them and says, “Okay. Let’s see Tiamat and Odin first. Fauna can wait since she only now seems to care about me it seems.” I can hear the bitterness in her voice when she mentions Fauna, but I just nod and am a little proud how far she has come from the timid and afraid slave she was when we first met.

            I grab her hand and lead over to Tiamat’s statue and bring out some furs for us to sit on since I have no idea how long we will be here and didn’t want my ass to hurt from siting the stone floor. We sit down and Lucy holds onto my arm and asks, “So how are we supposed to talk to them?” Suddenly it hits me that I have no idea whatsoever. “Um, to be honest I have no idea. They never showed me how.” Lucy just stares into my eyes for a few seconds before she has a giggle attack. I look away in embarrassment then look around Tiamat’s statue at Odin’s and stare at his in resentment for making me look like a fool in front of Lucy.

            Suddenly, the air and space around us shimmers and the scene of the simple chapel changes to the meadow of flowers I had become accustomed to for over a year while training. I look around and see the cabin behind us. Lucy looks shocked and excited at the same time when we suddenly hear a roaring of my mother from above. “ROOOAAARRR!!!” I sigh and feel Lucy shaking but trying to keep her composure under the immensity of my mother’s power. I grab Lucy lifting her up with me as we stand and look up to see mother in her dragon form flying in circle with her massive body casting reflections from her scales. I yell up to her, “Mother, please stop! You are posturing for no reason!” I see her look down at me and see her dragon lips arch up showing her razor-sharp teeth. She finally lands in front of us, and she blows smoke at us. “Ladon you could at least let me act like a mother dragon.” I shake my head and say, “Not when you are doing so to try to scare Lucy.” “Well, if she is to be your mate then she needs to be able to at least hear my roar and not faint. Which it seems she can. Fufu” I roll my eyes and turn to Lucy.

            “Are you okay, bunny?” Lucy finally tears her view away from Tiamat and looks at me and smiles. “Ah, yes sorry, love, that just caught me off guard.” Tiamat chuckles and says, “It is finally a pleasure to meet you Lucy of the Moon Rabbit Clan…So when will you give me grandbabies.” I balk at my mother’s sudden question and Lucy blushes in a deep read inside her ears. “MOTHER! PLEASE!” “What? I want grandbabies to spoil. We didn’t have a chance to spoil you since you were already an adult per say. I want cute little rabbits and dragons to play with.” My face reddens deeper than Lucy’s as I retort, “Maybe some day but not for a while okay. We want to travel around for a while before settling down for children.” Tiamat pouts and is about to say something else, but I quickly interrupt her, “Where is father?” “I’m here son.” I look near the cabin and see Odin leaning against the wall grinning like a fool. I give him a pleading look and he chuckles before finally coming to my rescue.

            “Dear I believe that is enough teasing them. They do not have much time since it is just their souls here and Lucy’s is not accustomed to being here like Ladon’s.” Tiamat turns her head and looks at Odin and huffs saying, “Fine, but I want to talk to Lucy alone after the serious talk is over.” She looks back at Lucy and gives her knowing look and chuckles at Lucy’s timid nod before changing to humanoid form. She walks over to me gives me a big hug and says, “I’ve missed you so much little dragon.” I return her hug and say, “I as well mother.” She let’s me go shifts over to in front of Lucy looking her up and down then into her eyes. They stare at each other for a few moments as Tiamat seems to be searching Lucy’s soul. Tiamat finally smiles and gives Lucy a hug and says, “You have had it rough child. I’ll have to give Fauna a talking to before you meet her.” Lucy is confused and so am I but are diverted back to Odin when he speaks. “Let’s head inside shall we. I promised you answers Ladon, and I want to get know my new daughter as well.” We smile and nod as all of us make our way into the cabin and get comfortable for a more than likely uncomfortable conversation. In more ways than one.