Chapter 435: Romantic

Thea’s childhood home was a decently sized house outside of the south side of the Cold Brook village walls. At two stories tall, it had been built to hold a family much larger than the four-person unit Thea’s family had consisted of, but the previous family had moved far away and sold the property cheap since the house wasn’t inside the safety of the walls. After Thea’s father and brother had died in a barn fire when Thea was ten, it had just been her and her mother Vera living in the house up until Thea went off to train in the military.

“I’ve been staying with Gran Trudy,” Vera explained as she hastily wiped some dust off of the table. “Since the invasion began. Her cottage is inside the walls and she has an extra room. I come out here every few weeks to tidy up, but it’s been a little while since my last visit. I’m sorry it’s such a mess.”

“It’s not a mess at all,” Jay assured the flustered woman as she looked around the quaint little home. “Really! Just a little dust.”

“I will… Help…”

“Oh! Oh my, thank you,” Vera yelped a little in surprise as Alex took the rag from her hands.

“My pleasure…” the Demon said with a practiced smile before using her many tentacles to quickly clean off every visible surface in the kitchen and dining room area.

The inside of Thea’s home really was nice. While it was clear that no one had been living there for a while, it was still clean and orderly and had a cozy charm to it that Jadis admired. There were many little nicknacks and family treasures decorating the shelves and walls, many of which Jadis got the feeling were mementoes of Thea’s father and brother.

“I’m sorry,” Vera said again as her hand dragged her ponytail over her shoulder in that same nervous tick Jadis had noticed before. “I don’t think I have enough room in the house for everyone to have a proper place to sleep…”

“Don’t worry about that,” Aila assured Vera before she could get worked up. “We’re used to camping. The Behemoth is actually very comfortable.”

“Why don’t you sit down here,” Eir ushered the older woman into a seat. “Please, let us take care of the cooking. It would be entirely unreasonable to expect you to make a meal for so many of us on such short notice.”

“Oh, but I really shouldn’t—”

“It’s okay,” Jay held up a hand to stop Vera from getting out of her chair. “We’ve got this! With all of our powers combined, we can usually manage to make a halfway decent stew.”

“Truly, even Alex has become adept at cooking certain dishes,” Tegwyn said as he casually took a seat across the table from Vera. “We certainly won’t starve! Though I admit I find myself disappointed that I won’t get to taste any of your cooking this night, Lady Vera. I have no doubt at all that anything prepared by your hands would be ambrosia.”

“Oh, ah, um,” Vera cutely stumbled over her words while her face turned bright pink. “I… I am not a lady, just a farmer. I mean, I make cheese, that’s all. You can just call me Vera.”

“One possessing your majestic beauty deserves no lesser title, my Lady,” Tegwyn said with utter sincerity. “But I will happily call you by your name if you wish, Vera.”

Jadis was beginning to wonder who the avatar of the Goddess of Love was, exactly. While she had seen Teg flirt with a few ladies around the temple district before, those little teases were nothing compared to how thick he was laying on the charm when it came to Thea’s mother. She knew the Dryad well enough by now to recognize his moods, too, and his words did not come across as some kind of show or act. Jadis got the impression that he was being quite sincere in his attentions. She was going to have to drag the man aside and have a talk with him, though maybe not until after dinner.

At least Thea wasn’t present to see the continued flirting.

While Vera’s house was decently sized, it wasn’t so spacious that ten guests plus three giants could comfortably fit into it. Jay was inside with Aila, Eir, Sabina, Sorcha, and Alex, along with Tegwyn and Vera. Even that reduced number was making the place feel crowded. To give everyone else room, Jadis had left two of her other selves outside. Having moved the airship closer to the house, Dys was setting up the wagon part to make the usual tent. Kerr and Bridget had both volunteered to help, while Severina was still a short distance away talking with the village mayor. While the village had proved to be more caught up on current events than Jadis had expected thanks to Thea’s letters to Vera, Severina was still giving the old man a more detailed account of important news to make sure the little community was fully informed.

Thea wasn’t helping with the camp preparations or the cooking, though.

“So, this is where they… the fire happened?” Syd asked.

“Yes,” Thea answered quietly. “They died here.”

Thea stood just outside the blocky stone foundation of the barn where her father and brother had lost their lives. The stones were all that was left, the rest of the structure having burnt down in a disastrous fire years ago. While most structures in the empire were made of stone, out in a remote village like Cold Brook it could be years between visits from the necessary masons and stone mages, never mind the cost. That meant the barn had been made of wood, and thus vulnerable to a lantern mistakenly left lit in the night.

“I’m sorry,” Syd said, though she knew that the words alone were not enough. “I’m sure they were both good men.”

“They were.”

In a village like Cold Brook, there were no graves; bodies were cremated for safety. Syd stayed with Thea while she offered a silent prayer. It didn’t take long. Thea had no tears to shed over a hurt that had happened so long ago, but the mood was somber when the two left the old barn and headed back to the farmhouse.

Just as they were about to reach the door, Thea stopped, her gaze drawn to the pasture that spread out to the south.

“What is it?” Syd asked, looking in the same direction as her quiet lover.

“I th—thought I saw movement, b—by the trees,” Thea said as she motioned with her hand in the direction she was looking. “Just there.”

“Hm. Anything dangerous known to live in the woods?” Syd asked as she squinted at the darkening tree line.

“Silver b—bears,” Thea shook her head. “But they, ah, are shy. Wolves, s—sometimes.”

“What about Demons?”

To that question, Thea could only shrug.

Demons were always a possibility. Even so far away from the borders where the worst of the fighting was, it was possible for a lone Demon to prowl the dark. While infrequent, such Demons tended to be the most dangerous kinds as they were the ones who had either the skill or the sense to avoid fighting the border armies directly and skulk through the shadows, looking for easier prey. Possession Demons were the likeliest possibility, but any variety had the potential to be a lone hunter. Hence why all the villagers had retreated inside of their walls for the night.

“Maybe it was the Dryad?” Syd asked as they resumed their walk to the farmhouse. “What’s her name, anyway?”

“I d—don’t know,” Thea shook her head. “She always, ah, stayed away f—from the village. She’s not f—friendly like T—Teg…”

As soon as she had said the Dryad’s name, Thea’s expression morphed into a scowl. The fact that Tegwyn was most definitely hitting on her mother was clearly bothering Thea.

“Maybe we should go through the other door?” Syd asked as she abruptly realized exactly what kind of scene she was about to lead her lover into.

“W—why?” Thea asked without pausing.

“Well, um, your mother…”

Syd winced as Thea entered her home. There was only so much she could do since both Tegwyn and Vera were adults and could do as they pleased. Still, Jadis was starting to feel embarrassed on Thea’s behalf.

Thea froze in the doorway, her eyes wide as saucers as she saw her mother and Teg sitting together at the dinner table. At some point, while Jay, Aila, Eir, and Sorcha had helped with cooking and Alex and Sabina had focused on cleaning, Teg and Vera had moved so that instead of sitting across from each other they were side by side. Very, very close side by side.

Vera giggled like a girl half her age as she stared up at Tegwyn with doe eyes, one finger curling a lock of her ponytail. The Dryad was whispering something as he leaned close to Vera, his eyes all for her. In his hands he had a flower that had come from gods knew where. He had clearly worked some magic on to the bloom as it continued to spread and grow more petals and flowers until he held something like a corsage. With almost shocking smoothness, Teg took Vera’s hand and slipped the flowers onto her wrist.

“Welp! Dinner’s almost ready!” Jay called out extra loud in order to break the spell that had fallen over the two infatuated lovebirds. “Let’s get everyone inside so we can eat!”

“Oh, let me help,” Vera said as she got up from her seat. Her eyes were still drawn to Tegwyn, even as she moved to join Aila and Eir. “I’ll cut that bread.”

“Allow me to help as well,” the man said as he moved to follow.

“Hey, why don’t you help me outside real quick,” Jay said as she put a hand on the Dryad’s shoulder just as he stood up. “We need to carry a few things from the wagon.”

“Oh? But your other self is still outside, are you not? Can’t you—”

“Now, Teg,” Jay lowered her head down to growl in the Dryad’s ear as she walked past him.

“Of course my friend!” Tegwyn called out with an extra cheery smile. “Right behind you!”

While Dys, Kerr, and Bridget carried a few armfuls of supplies into the house that were meant for dinner or for sleeping arrangements after, Jay walked with Tegwyn out around the side of the building. As they came around the corner, Jay saw Severina coming towards them from where she had been talking with the mayor at the village gates. Catching the Seraphim’s eye, she sent a silent signal to go around which Severina acknowledged with a slight nod.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Jay turned to look at Tegwyn as soon as they were out of earshot of everyone else. “Far be it from me to pass judgement on any kind of flirting, but you are really going overboard. Thea is going to have a stroke if you keep this up.”

“Ah,” Tegwyn said quietly as he brushed his hand over his ram-like horns. “I did not mean to make dear Thea uncomfortable. I will do my best to restrain myself while she is present.”

“While she’s present?” Jay raised one eyebrow as she gave the Dryad a look. “Okay, level with me here. Are you flirting with Vera for fun, or are you… serious?”

Tegwyn looked down for a moment, his expression bashful, nervous even. Jadis had never before seen the cheerful and confident Dryad look as vulnerable as he did in that moment.

“I… feel like a goat that’s been struck on the head once too many times. I’ve never before been so captivated by a woman. And not just by her exquisite beauty! I find myself torn in twain, as I must talk to her to prompt her to speak and yet I wish to seal my mouth shut so that all I hear are her words spoken in her dulcet tones…”

Jadis found that she needed to revise her earlier estimations of the man. He wasn’t just a silly flirt, he was a full blown hopeless romantic.

“But she’s not a Dryad,” Jay pointed out quietly. “That’s what you came here, for, isn’t it? The Dryad in these woods? What about your dream of founding a new grove?”

Tegwyn looked up at her, his eyes torn by an inner conflict. A conflict that coalesced into firm resolve as he spoke his next words.

“I… I—I do not care about that other Dryad. My children do not have to be Dryads.”

Both of Jay’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline at the bold declaration.

“You know Vera’s probably past an age where’s she going to have children, right? Or close to it, anyway. It’s more than likely that you won’t have any children with her at all, if she even wants to be with you that way.”

“Then our grove will be filled with the laughter of those we choose to welcome into it,” Tegwyn said resolutely. “I don’t need children to feel complete. I feel that what I need, instead, is Vera.”

Jay gave the determined man a long look, one hand on her hip as she let her head tilt to one side. Tegwyn didn’t flinch, his expression carved from wood as he gazed back at her.

“You know she’s human. She won’t be around for anywhere near as long as you.”

“Has that knowledge stopped you in any of your loves?”

“Not once.”

Tegwyn nodded while folding his arms across his chest.

“So. Are we… of an accord?”

Jay slowly let out a breath before one corner of her mouth quirked upward in a sly grin.

“I guess so. Go get her… Dad.”

Tegwyn balked, his expression confused for a moment before he reared back and let out a bark of laughter.

“Ha! That is a rather confusing dynamic we will have to navigate should all go well, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah it is. But before that, let’s just see if we can navigate our way through this dinner without Thea dying of embarrassment.”

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