Chapter 33: Town Meeting

As it turned  out, the whole of Tater Town came together once word had spread of Sprinkle’s issue. It was quite the outpouring of support, catching all of us off-guard.

“I think it’s great,” Ivy said, ringing her arm around Sprinkle affectionately. She had used her druidic magic to twist the branches and vines into a shape that would easily support a treehouse. “I will visit you here every day,” she promised.

“So will I,” I said. “I'll check in with you before or after every forest patrol.”

“You don’t need to do that,” she giggled. “I’ll still be in the Sanctuary every night. I just need to feel free to return here, too,” she said, gesturing to the forest around her. “But I love the idea of having a home here where we can be together, my Bucky.”

Aldon and Winter saw the project as a waste of time, though. They scoffed as we basically abandoned the Sanctuary for the bulk of a day to construct our new forest base—that was how I saw it. We were growing all the time, and having an outpost in the forest wasn’t only useful to make Sprinkle happy. It also had very real benefits to us and Tater Town.

“You were right about Darkmaw,” Aldon said as he watched me chop down trees with ease. “She didn’t make a move. She was just watching. It was strange. I really don’t understand what her game is.”

“I have only recently started to understand her,” I confessed, wiping a gob of sweat from my brow. “And that’ll be the subject of a much delayed meeting as soon as this project is resolved.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense,” he said. “Tell me now.”

“No,” I replied, wiping a bit of sweat off of my brow. “My girls deserve to hear it first.”

His face twisted a bit at that. “Why?” he asked. “They aren’t heroes. Most of them don’t even fight. Ivy’s great. Bonny seems useful, but why do your milkmaids need to know before an Apex Hero who can actually take action?”

I looked at him sternly. “They’re my milkmaids. And this is my home. They’re invested. You’re not. They depend on me. You don’t. So they have priority. You’re frankly lucky I’m letting you be in on the meeting.”

“Fine,” he said. “I’m not helping you build a tree fort for your invisible concubine, though. Winter and I will do some exploring in the forest. We'll try to make sure you aren’t disturbed while foraging and building, at least.”

“That’s better than no contribution,” I said, smiling at him. “Thanks for that, I guess.”

“No sweat.” 

But just as he turned to leave, I decided to grab him by the shoulder and pull him aside. There were, after all, matters for heroes to discuss. We quickly laid out the beginnings of a plan for our first major collaboration and set a date for a couple weeks in the future. And with the conclusion of that, he departed to go find his catgirl and update her.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Bonny fiercely at work,  her face contorted in focus and a righteous snarl. “What are you stopping for, Mr. Drake?” she said, panting. “Forest monsters need slaying! Hurry, there may still be time for us to venture out into the woods together if we finish early enough!”

She cleaved through trunk after trunk of tree just as fast as I did. It was pretty obvious what she was really after. Daisy saw it too. “Give it a rest, Bonny, honey,” Daisy said. “There’ll be more opportunities to play the game.”

Bonny looked at Daisy in disbelief. “I thought you of all people would understand.”

“I do,” she said, “but not every day is all about me and what I want. Same goes for you.”

Bonny sighed, finally seeming to relax. “Alright,” she said, looking down.

“Besides,” I interrupted them, “I promised Sprinkle I’d patrol alone with her if we finished early. And tomorrow, too, so you’ll have to wait a couple days at least.

Bonny’s eyebrow twitched as her buck teeth protruded, signaling obvious irritation. Flustered, she struggled to express herself civilly. “That’s… just f-f-fine,” she stammered. “It’s not about me. It’s not about me. It’s not about me…”

Daisy and I shared an awkward look. I could see that my holstaur was having a moment of quiet regret as she wondered at the monster she’d made.

After I had gotten away from the crowd to look for some more timber that could make ideal logging for the new fort, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck bristle as I smelled a familiar feminine musk emanating from behind me.

“Hello, Darkmaw,” I grunted, turning around to face her.

There she was, naked and hot as ever, looking at me with those predatory eyes. “I was hoping you would come out to play yesterday,” she said, smirking at me as she looked me up and down like it was her first time seeing me in ages.

“Something came up,” I answered her. “Had to deal with it.”

“Yes, your little hucow and the demented unicorn,” she nodded.

“How the fuck do you know these things?” I asked tremulously, gripping the axe in my hand so tightly I felt the haft crack.

“We would have to consummate our love in order for me to feel comfortable divulging my methods,” she giggled, her voice husky and full of conniving.

I couldn’t stop myself from grinning. “Good luck with that,” I said. “I’m not going to succumb to the likes of you anytime soon.”

“It’d be boring if you did. Would you like some help with your treehouse? I plan to live there myself one day. It would be nice to be closer to you once the pups are born.”

I winced. More baby talk. “I’m not sure how Ivy and Sprinkle would enjoy having you as their roommate,” I said.

“They’ll warm up to me once they get to know me. Trust me,” she said.

“I doubt it’ll be that simple,” I said with a sigh. She was going to be a hard sell.

“But you do want it, don’t you?” she asked.

I thought about how best to respond. “If it’ll mean having you as an ally and keeping this region safe, then I’m open to anything,” I answered. That was honest. That was true.

She nodded. “Pragmatic,” she beamed with an air of skepticism. “But you ignore the love we both feel.”

I coldly shook my head. “That part I’m not with you on,” I said as plainly as I could. “I do have girls in my life who I love, and you aren’t one of them. You have to earn that.”

She cringed and took a step back at the brazen harshness of my response. “You will love me, then,” she said. Her eyes were narrowed in the sort of look a bully makes when her feelings are finally hurt for once. It didn’t feel good to wound her like that, but I wasn’t going to lie or risk having her blab something about our love in front of the others once she started trying to integrate herself into Sanctuary life. Fuck. That was unthinkable enough. I took no pleasure in seeing her so gloomy and pained, but I had no choice but to be clear and honest. We exchanged frowns. "I will teach you to love me."

“You’re welcome to try,” I shrugged. I looked around, making sure we weren't being observed, but it was stupid. She wouldn't have ever approached me if we were in danger of being watched. Her senses were too advanced. “There’s definitely a spark of attraction, but love takes time, mutual understanding, and acts of affection and service to bloom, in my experience. All of my interactions with you have been either ominous or as enemies on opposites sides of a battlefield. The trust needed for love just isn’t there.”

“I trust you,” she said. “I trust you with my life.”

“That’s your prerogative,” I shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to build a tree fort.”

I walked away from her, and she let me go, but just before I stepped out of view, I heard her voice calling back to me shakily but still powerful. “Apex Hero!” she shouted. “I will earn your love. Your heart will be mine. Don’t you doubt me.”

I tossed a look behind me in her direction, smiled, and waved. I walked back with a single log slung over my shoulder, soon meeting up with the others.

The bulk of the work on the treehouse was finished in under one day, thanks to the incredible teamwork of everyone involved--and largely thanks to my greater command over my powers.

It made me realize it was probably about the right time to start thinking about building a barn and an expansion to the cabin, too, but I put that thought out of my mind as I leaned forward, put my hands on Sprinkle’s waist, and planted a kiss on her tear-soaked lips.

“Thank you, my Bucky! Thank you, Tater Town!” she said, her voice so sweet it almost hurt.

People mumbled their own words of well-wishing and began to turn, but I stopped them. “Don’t go,” I said. “There is something I need to tell you all. All of Tater Town, back at the Sanctuary. Tonight.”

“Can’t it wait?” Daisy whined. “We’re all so sore.”

I shook my head. “Absolutely not,” I insisted. “This is important and has to do with the security of Tater Town. I’ve been sitting on this knowledge for over twenty-four hours, and every second I don’t tell you all about it, the worse I feel. It happens tonight.”

The crowd murmured and exchanged anxious looks, trying to press me for questions, but I offered no responses but the most general.

Soon we were gathered around a blazing bonfire, all members of the town and the sanctuary in attendance. It was the first time I’d ever seen them all in one place, and the first time I’d even properly met a couple of them.

I looked around, actually dumbfounded for a split second by the sheer number of beauties. Aldon, too, seemed speechless, and that fact didn’t make it past Winter’s irritated eye.

“Boys,” she groaned dismissively, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face in a jealous huff. May Belle eyed her with a knowing look that said 'I feel your pain.'

“Alright, everyone,” I said. “There are a few things that absolutely cannot wait any longer to become public knowledge.”

They all studied me nervously, wondering what I was going to say. To my right, May Belle was clinging to my arm, and on my left Autumn sat beside me, looking at me, just as clueless as the others about what I was going to say.

“Yesterday Aldon and I met with Darkmaw,” I said. “She didn’t want to fight. She wanted to talk. And even more than that, she wanted to play with me.”

“Play?” a kitsune girl asked, her three foxtails wagging wildly as she tried to understand. “What do you mean?”

“She is courting me,” I said, and I was suddenly cut off by a barrage of gasps and protests. "She has made it clear to me that she isn't our enemy."

“That’s insane!” cried out one person.

“And you believe her?!” shouted Etherea in patent disbelief. I'd never seen her so disgusted with me, and it stung.

Vale, the mother of Silver Moon and Heather, was conspicuously silent, and I pegged that right away.

“I absolutely believe her,” I said, raising my hand to silence them. “And she shared with me a secret that I am sworn to keep, but suffice it to say she is not our enemy, though--”

“She killed Silver Moon!” cried out another town member I didn’t know very well, a woman with the upper half of an elf and the lower half of an elk. “How can you even say that?! This is the Apex Hero we’ve been fawning over?!”

I felt the crowd going out of control, and it was to be expected. “If you’d let me finish—”

“No!” Vale stood up abruptly, wine sloshing in her clay cup. “No, listen to me!”

My heart sank. I fought the urge to close my eyes and just let the oncoming insults wash over me.

“Bucky is right!” she announced, silencing everyone, shocking me into wide-eyed wonder. “Darkmaw is no enemy of Tater Town. Her wolves… did kill my daughter, but it wasn’t her fault. Silver Moon herself ventured into the woods alone despite my many warnings. The general was away from her pack, separated by a wood elf attack. The wood elves chased her hounds closer to our land,  and in turn, the wolves found Silver Moon and pursued her back to Tater Town, where Heather saw it all happen. Darkmaw came in later, trying to call the wolves back and prevent further damage. She was merely distracted by Bucky.”

“How do you know this?” Etherea asked breathlessly. Around the fire, dozens of stunned faces stared back at her, and I felt more than a little relieved at the sudden turn of events—and not to be the center of attention for once.

“Because the night she died, Darkmaw herself came to my home to apologize.”

I felt my skin crawl at that. “I didn’t know that,” I said quietly.

“She told me everything, and we’ve been meeting almost every night since. We drink together, and we share information. She is an enemy of the Demon Queen and the Witch Queen, not us. Do not besmirch her. Without her presence in the woods, Tater Town would have fallen to demonic forces or attacks from Keenfury months before Bucky ever arrived.”

“Then she’s the real hero,” I said solemnly. “I owe her an apology.”

Aldon looked completely muddled by this. “So there are good and bad generals of the Goblin Queen?” He rolled his eyes in frustration. “Fucking dammit, why can’t anything be black and white?”

“Like your hideous outfit?” Daisy laughed harshly. May Belle scolded her with an elbow to the tit her for her rude remark, but Aldon himself fought back a laugh, and so did I.

“It is what it is,” I said. “Darkmaw isn’t our enemy. She is a powerful potential ally who sees her duty to the Goblin Queen as necessitating the protection of Tater Town and her alliance with me. I will proceed with caution, and I haven’t made any decisions on how to move forward with her, but I wanted you all to know.”

“I’m glad you said something,” Vale said, sobbing. “I thought if I spoke first, people would see me as betraying my own daughter, not understanding. But having you come out with it—it made it so much easier. It gave me the bravery I needed. Gods, please don’t hate me!” she cried.

“Never, pet,” Etherea said, kissing the saytyr woman her on the cheek. “The whole town is here for you."

Heather sat in silence the whole time, tears streaming down her face, her eyes closed as though in prayer, like she didn’t want to hear it, but I got the sense that she’d already known.

“Now what?” Winter asked.

Autumn looked at her. “Now we turn our attention to the true threat, right Bucky Drake?”

I nodded. “In two weeks time, we’ll make an assault on Keenfury’s Keep,” I said, glancing at Aldon before continuing to address the crowd more broadly. “Until then, we rest, train, and prepare. We’ll also put a plan in place to secure the future of Tater Town in case things go wrong,” I said.

“Go wrong how?” May Belle asked, her fingers gripping my arm.

I couldn’t bring myself to answer, so Aldon did. “In case we die,” he said. “In case Bucky doesn’t come back.”

“Aldon has an escape plan ready for any girls who come along,” I said. “A spell called a Waypoint that’ll bring them right back here in one piece. But it can only shuttle two at a time, and I’m not leaving with the mission half done.”

“Same goes for me,” he said, nodding. “Keenfury’s dead or we are. This is our first big mission, and failing isn’t an option.”

“Dying bravely won’t save Lusteria,” Etherea said, her eyes fraught with worry. I frowned, as she did have a point.

“There are still four other active Apex Heroes and dozens of lesser heroes. With Keenfury taken care of, the Goblin Queen’s region at least will be mostly secured,” I said, shrugging, my eyes scanning the confused faces of all the women in the crowd. "In any case, we don't have any plan to die, but it's something we need to prepare you for."

“What about the queen herself?” Aldon asked.

“She can’t be touched,” I replied.  I looked over at Vale and saw understanding in her eyes. She, too, knew the truth.

“None of this makes sense,” he said, looking around to see everyone else just as confused and troubled. “But alright. Your territory, your rules. Girls, if we don’t come back, make sure the word is spread.”

A murmur of whimpers and whispers rang out around the fireplace, but the meeting was done. I’d said my peace and it actually went far better than I’d planned for. I was half-prepared to be driven out of town, and that didn’t happen. Instead, the one person who I thought would be absolutely against me turned out to be on my side, and that had made all the difference.

After a few minutes it was only Aldon and I left standing by the fire.

“You up for it?” I asked, gazing vacantly into the burning coals.

“Might as well be,” he shrugged. “It’s literally the reason we’re here, right?”

I nodded, staring up at the twilit sky. “Alright then. It’s settled.”

With that, he headed back to the inn, and I went home to my cabin. Despite the less-than-disastrous outcome of the meeting, I found myself still tossing and turning with worries and fears about what was to come. All of my girls clung to me greedily that night as if it might be one of the last times they could.

“Two weeks,” I mumbled quietly to myself. “At least two more weeks to live.”

virgilknightley