As we walked back, I could see the guilt on Jill's face, and she wouldn't look me in the eyes. Maybe I should talk to her alone? I decided that talking to her first was the best option, instead of bringing it up with everyone. Even though the choice she made in taking us all there without warning was everyone's business, I would give her a chance to explain like Jill always did for me.
We all ate in silence, and when I suggest we all soak in the spring here, everyone's faces brightened. As we walked by the rooms, I stopped Jill and told the others to go ahead. I took Jill into one of the two places we had and sat with her on the bed inside.
I reached over and took Jill's hand and turned my body to face her more or less. When our eyes met, there was indecision and doubt in Jill's eyes that hadn't been there since we were kids. Jill was always the strong one that pulled me out of trouble and made sure I was still ok, so I approached the topic with understanding and openness.
"So, what's got you so troubled?"
Jill blink at me, probably thinking I would be more upset or ask a different question, but she took a deep breath and started to explain.
"When we first got here, the people told us about Kyrina and Kyrin. At first, we thought that they were talking about two different people. Maybe twins or something like that, but the village tried to explain that it was two people in one body. Together, Mikota and I visited them, and we tried questioning them about it and almost died just like we did just now. Mikota saved us by using her dark magic to confuse them, but now that person has started to act more erratic, but they are becoming aware of the other."
"So what you mean to say is, the dark magic caused the personalities to split apart? And now they are like warring factions? So why not tell us this?"
"I don't know, Dave. Honestly, I didn't think they would lose control so easily. We kept our distance and observed them, but we hoped that meeting them with a blank mind about the situation would help. It was my mistake, and I'm really sorry. I just keep thinking about Kyrina getting pushed down in the darkness when that bully Kyrin takes over. You saw it, right? It's not just a personality change; their whole body shifts sexes."
"I did notice that, and it did seem strange. I have never seen anything like that, but is that a normal thing for a Dragon-Kin?"
"I don't know a lot about them, but I have heard that they usually pick a certain sex to assume around the age of ten, but Kyrina is, according to the women here, twenty-three."
"Was Kyrina always here? Or did they come from somewhere else?"
"We asked around about that, but the best we could find is that he fled from another kingdom. They also said that they were near death when they arrived, and one of the ladies that had cared for them whispered to me about signs of sexual assault. They shifted back in forth through recovery, so the lady was able to determine this happened in both forms."
My stomach tied a vicious knot, and I felt sick from the information. Anger flared and burned inside now, so I squeezed Jill's hand while wiping tears from her face with the other. This reason must have torn her up inside this entire time, and that was why she was acting so recklessly.
I wrapped my arms around Jill and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. She cried in my arms, and I let her shed the tears of frustration and helplessness. After the sobs stopped, Jilled pulled back from my chest and looked up into my eyes with her eyes that were still glassy and rimmed with tears.
"What are we going to do?" Jill asked in a choked voice and sniffling.
I pulled a square of cloth from my breast pocket and handed it to Jill before standing up in front of her.
"First, you need to clean your face up, so the other girls don't see Mother Jill like this, and then we will join the girls and figure this out as a team, ok?"
Jill wiped her face off and nodded to me. Then she stood up and came over to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a kiss. After, before completely pulling away, she asked me in a low and seductive voice, "so, when do I get to become one of Dave's wives?"
Jill grabbed between my legs and made my eyes bulge at the rough handling. Jill giggled, turning and leaving the room before I could catch my breath. I made it to the bath spring, and all the girls were already soaking and talking to each other.
Mikota already glued herself to Jill's side, and she glared at me as I entered, no doubt angry that I had alone time with Jill. Once the other two noticed me come in, they separated and watched me with hungry eyes as I slid behind a vertical blind with a large Koi fish woven into it. As I stripped down, I could hear the girls already trying to develop plans of attack.
"What if we have a party and invite them?" That was Maxine's voice.
"So they can barbeque the guests?" Sasha's voice questioned back.
I walked out in a towel to the girl's discussion that sounded like the girls were getting heated. Jill and Mikota were blowing bubbles while watching, not wanting to get between the two girl's arguments. Before it could get any more heated, I slid into the water between them, and the arguing stopped.
"Come on. We have to work together on this. there is no point in arguing if it doesn't help solve the problem."
I tried to look at both girls at once, but they both turned their heads and moved away in separate directions. I sighed. Now they were both mad at me for getting between them. Before they could get far, I grabbed the two of them and pulling to me.
"Enough talking about tomorrow! Let's enjoy the nice water and each other since it's been so long since we have all been together, ok? I have a plan for tomorrow, and I think it will be best if I just go alone."
The girls all tried to protest, but I put a hand up to signal that the talk was over. Both girls let the tension go out of their bodies and relaxed into my arms. If I were right, I would have to form some kind of connection with both sides.
After the bath, we all got dried off and left for our rooms. Jill and Mikota took the place they had been staying in, and Maxine and Sasha came with me. Our room had two beds, one for Maxine, because she refused to wear chainmail to bed.
It occurred after one night of trying to sneak into my bed after refusing to where the second smaller version I had bought her. After waking up to claws digging into her, she decided that she would have to settle with the second bed unless Sasha were in a different room. It was a scary situation that could have been worse if Sasha was startled and with no Jill.
I did feel bad for Maxine, and we had gotten two rooms a couple of times so she could have some alone time with me. I felt awkward when they talked about who what get to do what and when, but they got along and didn't seem to hold resentment towards me. Maxine had turned over already, so Sasha blew the candle out, and we laid down. Soon, I was fast asleep.