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The man, stood opposite the older woman, his arm around the waist of the younger woman who stared at the children with a sneer on her face.
Ruby frowned. Did the pretty one think she was better than a woman who had sacrificed her youth and beauty to raise children?
“What say you, lady?” Oton asked as she entered the room.
“What about?” Ruby glanced around the room, unsure of what he asked.
“Should I grant this man the divorce he seeks?” Oton gestured to the man who still stood with the side of his body plastered against the younger woman. “Courik claims that his wife no longer offers him succor. That she claims she is too tired at the end of the day after caring for his children, their home and doing their laundry.”
“It’s endless laundry, my lord,” the woman interjected before she bit her lip and lowered her head. “I’m sorry. I will not interrupt again.”
Ruby looked between them all. Her gaze bouncing back and forth. Why did he ask me? What do I know of womanly responsibility? She looked back at the woman. Dark circles ringed her eyes. The three children continued to whine around her skirts and Ruby felt sorry for the woman who must have little free time to call her own. She smiled at the children, then looked up at their mother. “How many little ones do you have? Just the three?”
The older woman’s face reddened. “Oh no, lady! These are my babies.” She stood up straight and proud, the remnants of the beauty she had been before showing through. “All three were born on the same day. I left their brothers and sisters at the house.”
“How many children do you have?” Ruby wondered at that. By saying brothers and sisters, plural, the woman had at least seven children. No wonder the poor thing looked like she was ready to topple over from exhaustion.
The woman smiled fondly. “We have twelve, lady. These three girls, two sets of twin boys and five more girls at home watching them.”
Ruby quickly did the math and glanced up at Oton with disbelief. Even dragons had no more than three or four children at a time in their long lives. Isn’t that what Oton had said? Her mother had only carried four eggs when she and her sisters were conceived. “You want to set this woman aside?” She stared down at the woman’s husband.
“Yes, lady, I do.” He squirmed a bit under her glare before he looked toward his wife with a sneer. “She refuses me in my own bed. She’s tired all of the time and look at her.” He gestured toward the woman whose hair had escaped what must have been a neat bun only a few hours ago. “She’s grown thick around the middle and those circles beneath her eyes are unbecoming. She’s weak.”
His wife began to weep and Ruby went to stand beside her. “You, sir, are an animal. You think to stand before this woman berating her for being weak after surviving eight pregnancies and the birth of twelve children? Are you mad or just plain stupid? Of course, she’s tired. You would be too if you had to chase twelve children about all day instead of chasing other women’s skirts.”
It took little to remember just how much of a handful she and her sisters had been when they were younger. She glared at the man. Never had she wanted to throttle someone as much as she did at that very moment.
“Ruby,” Oton interrupted, “what do you think? Does Courik get his divorce or not?”
She continued to glare at the little man through narrowed eyes for a moment before the answer came and she smiled. “Yes. Courik should get his divorce.”
His wife gasped. “But…but, lady.”
Ruby held up her hand to silence the woman. “He should also get the children. All twelve of them and their mother should have very generous visitation rights.”
The woman with Courik began to complain. “I’m not taking care of all those brats, Courik.” She waved toward his wife. “I’ll look like her in no time.”
“Also, since it’s obvious that Courik had also taken the best years of…” she paused, stifling a grin to address the woman in question. “What is your name?”
“Anee,” the woman answered shyly as tears ran down her face.
Ruby waved toward her. “Since it’s obvious to me that Courik has taken the best years of Anee’s life and now wishes to discard her like an old shoe, he should offer a generous dowry to any man who will have her and promise to treat her as she deserves.”
“I will!” A tall, handsome man called out from the crowd. He knelt at Anee’s feet. “I would love and honor you as you deserve, Anee. I have loved you since we were children. That is why I have never married.”
Anee fell to her knees in front of him. “And I you. I thought you could never care for me. Courik said…” She paused to glare at Courik who fidgeted like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “You kept me from him.” Tears slid down her cheeks as she took the other man’s hands in hers. “I would love to be with you, Daneel.”
Ruby couldn’t suppress her grin. “With the dowry Courik will provide, you two shall never have any wants.”
“Dowry!” Courik turned to Oton. “But—but, my lord!”
Oton stood. The expression on his face brooked no argument. “Your lady has spoken.” He smiled at Ruby, stepped closer and offered her his arm with a bow. “Thank you, my lady.” He continued to smile down at her as he led her from the room.
The sound of raised voices followed.
He led her up two flights of stairs. “I think you will make the best of adjudicators. With your help, I will have more time to oversee the construction of the new city across the lake.”
Ruby felt her eyes widen. She’d seen the settlement across the lake as they flew over. The lake was miles from this village and miles wide. Wait a minute! She paused with a frown. “Doesn’t adjudicator mean judge?” She asked the question just as they reached the door to her room.
He inclined his head. “It does.”
She glanced up at him, looking for…something. What, she didn’t know.
“If you do not wish to do this, I will not compel you to do so. You are not my prisoner here, Ruby. You are my equal.” He swallowed as though nervous. “You are my partner in all things, if you will have me.”
Have him? Could he be that unsure of himself? Oton was everything she could have dreamed of in a man, had she ever had the courage to dream. Ruby reached back and felt the cool wood of her bedroom door at her back. “Why did you bring me back to my room?”
“To change for dinner.” He let his gaze roam down over her dress. “The dress you wear is beautiful and you even more so, but dinner is a more formal affair. I will send you a maid to help you. They will serve us dinner soon.”
Standing on her toes, Ruby leaned up to press a soft kiss to Oton’s lips. She opened her door and stepped inside. “Forget about the maid.”
With the feeling of impish delight in all the possibilities looming before her, she reached out and caught his hand. Tugging him into her room, she kept her attraction to him firmly in her mind. She slowly closed the door and leaned against it. “I believe you said I would be lovelier in nothing at all?”
Raising her hands to the neckline of her gown, she slowly released her shoulders and watched his eyes widen with shock and lust.
Freedom was going to be fun.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Viola Grace
Writing this with Tianna has been a blast. We hope that you join the D.A.R.E. project for Topaz D.A.R.E.
Crafting a new world is always a little difficult, but brainstorming cloned dragons just set my smile on high. After that, it was simply a matter of keeping us on track, together.
I hope you have enjoyed our Dimensional Arrest, Retrieval and Extraction project and here’s hoping you continue in that enjoyment.
Thank you for reading,
Viola Grace
http://www.violagrace.com
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viola@violagrace.com
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http://devinedestinies.com
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Tianna Xander
As
Viola said, writing about the D.A.R.E. project has been a blast. We chat and laugh together as we write and develop the worlds. Viola tells me about her new hobbies (ask her about cheese, I dare you) and I tell her about the day job, such as it is. I think we make a good team. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for our dragons.
Thank you,
Tianna Xander
http://www.tiannaxander.com
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tiannaxander@yahoo.com
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http://devinedestinies.com
Tianna Xander
Tianna Xander is an eclectic author of numerous paranormal, sci-fi, time travel romance erotica books. Gaining inspiration for her characters and dialogue through her family and her addiction to the internet, she never fails to amaze readers with each new book she creates. As a reading junkie herself, Tianna has no problem reading whatever is available at the moment from romance novels, murder mysteries and encyclopedias to books on solar energy.
Tianna’s life wouldn’t be complete without a happily ever after of her very own. She resides in Michigan with her husband, two children, three cats, two dogs and an intimidating bunny. Never one to fail to give credit where it’s due, she commends her family for their constant support. After writing many books and receiving rave reviews, her family is just as proud of her. Always full of ideas, Tianna rarely puts the pen down, so readers can look forward to many more exciting stories in the future.
Viola Grace
Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there.
She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis.
In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.
Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush.
Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.