Every King Needs a Queen
Chapter 6: Secrets and Memories
A pleasant, greasy smell drifted through the vents and the cracks of her bedroom door, tickling her nose with delight. Her stomach bubbled, then growled causing the sleeping young woman to wither slightly with discomfort. With an annoyed groan rumbling up her throat, she pushed her body up with a heave. She sat up for a moment, allowing her brain some time to catch up to her surroundings. She brought her thin hands up to her salted eyes and rubbed the stinging away. She became all too aware that she had once again cried in her sleep.
It didn't matter how nice things were with Landon, or that this has been the happiest week of her life. No matter what she did, nightmares plagued her mind like a virus that she couldn't cure. Visions of her past sins followed by the angst she had put her family and friends in this past week kept guilting her during her slumber. She recalled the moment she killed that monster, Marcus Cassidy, his name bringing up bile in her throat even as she simply thought it. She remembered the thrilling feeling that coursed through her veins as she ripped into his. Like an addict reaching a new high, she had crackled in a wicked laughter and looked unto him with crimson eyes that burned with the fires of Hell. Oh, how intoxicated she felt as his screams filled his bloodied mansion that was now the place of a massacre. This was all she felt at that moment. It was like having someone crack her open, pour out her humanity, and then leave behind her demonic shell. Only that someone was a terrible cook because they threw away her good parts and left behind the shell.
Another cramp of her stomach, followed by a loud, gurgling noise made her realize why she was thinking in terms of food. With a deep inhale of air, she could practically taste the meaty flavors of the bacon being grilled just down the hall. The smell alone filled her with life and she quickly changed out of her pajamas and into a nice, lime-green blouse with matching black slacks and a black blazer. She completed the outfit with a pair of bright green heels that matched her blouse, then went to her vanity mirror to fix her hair into a nice bun. When she finished she paused to take in her reflection. She almost didn't recognize the person looking back at her. Back home, the only time she wore civilian clothes was when she had a day off. Leaving her silky black dress and velvet green cloak folded neatly on her dresser, while she was preparing to go to work felt wrong. Then again, her "work" wasn't exactly right.
Shaking her head free of those thoughts, she used her magic to sink into the chair she had sat in and reappeared into the open concept living room, where she was greeted with a bizarre sight. It wasn't something she hadn't seen before, she's seen it 8 times to be exact, but each time still baffled her. In the kitchen at the stove with his back toward her was a neatly dressed Landon, humming to a tone she didn't recognize. He had out a pan that he was currently using to scramble a couple of eggs. To his right, sitting on the counter, was a waffle maker surrounded by waffle ingredients and a bowl half-full of the batter. In the oven, the strips of bacon she had smelt before popped and cracked as the heat warmed them up.
It had come as a great shock to her on her first morning, to see the king of Hell cook her breakfast. That's when she learned his first secret, the king likes to cook. He claimed that food tasted better cooked the mortal way, and by that, he meant without magic. She remembered because it was an opinion shared by her father, one she had heard many times before and not just regarding food. Her father was very adamant about using magic unnecessarily. "It's borderline cheating!" He would claim. "And no child of mine will be raised a cheater!"
Hearing her father's voice in her mind made her heart twist and ache, but she squeezed her eyes shut and forced the memory back into the depths of her mind.
"Morning darling." The sound of a familiar English accent pulled her attention back to reality. "Sleep well?"
Every day started with Landon asking her the same question. It was as if he knew that each night since she left home, she would spend the middle of the night whimpering and wetting her pillow with her tears as her subconscious forced her to confront her guilt and grief. But how could he know, when every morning she replied with the same, ironic lie.
"Like a baby."
He snorted. "So, you were up every two hours needing your bottle?"
She responded with a firm glare and red cheeks. If Landon did know the truth, he never mentioned it and with an amused smirk, continued preparing their breakfast. Arella observed him for a moment, then she took her seat at the dining table that was placed just off to the side of the kitchen. The table was oddly long for a demon who lived by himself, but who was she to judge. It did, however, make eating there feel awkward and lonely. She was so used to a full table, that seeing one as grand as this so empty was just sad. Yet she took her seat anyway, the one to the right of the head of the table.
Above the regular racket of cooking, the young demoness heard a blaring beep followed by another.
"Perfect timing as usual." She thought as watched Landon pull out the pan of bacon from the oven, then use a fork to remove the Belgian waffle from the waffle maker. He placed the waffle on a plate, then used another plate for a couple strips of bacon plus the scrambled eggs. Though he refused to use magic to cook, he did allow himself the convenience of using it to set the table.
"Bon appétit!" He announced in a strained French accent as the plate of food found its way in front of the girl. Right on cue, her stomach growled once more, letting her know the meal had its approval.
"Thank you, Landon." She said respectfully, before digging into the scrumptious meal. She may not have believed that the lack of magic made a difference, but she did believe the man had a gift for the culinary arts.
"Still like the food?" He asked her fondly as he watched her eat while taking his seat beside her.
"Still the best meals I've ever had." She told him in between bites of her waffle. Landon winced at the sight.
"You mean that as a compliment, but I take it as an insult, considering all the much finer meals I have prepared for you."
This was a funny little secret about Landon that she took great pleasure in exploiting. The king hated breakfast food. Since he had long since forgotten what hunger felt like, he had no reason to crave the first meal of the day. Not only that, but he felt the whole concept of breakfast food was childish and unnecessary. All some human needs is a cup of hot coffee to start his or her day. The same principle applied to the demon lord.
So why did he make her such a bountiful breakfast feast? Because she had asked. It still baffled her as to why he had been so incredibly accommodating to her, and she made it a point to look more into those reasons, but she was not the type to look a gift horse in the mouth. When she had mentioned on her first morning that her favorite breakfast was waffles with real bacon and eggs, he had instantly pulled all she needed right out of thin air - literally. He had sworn to her though, that he would teach her to improve her palette. An oath he was still Hell-bent on living up to.
"Well, there's not a meal on Earth that could beat waffles, eggs, and bacon." She exclaimed as she tore off a piece of meat with her teeth.
"Only a food virgin would speak such blasphemy." He retorted with mock offense.
Arella tried to fight off the blush that spread across her cheeks at the word "virgin." She knew what he meant by it in this context, but the word still held some taboo to it. Landon easily caught the red tint and a delightful smile formed on his face.
"Stop blushing. You're a grown woman for Christ's sake."
"Shut up!" She cried as she tried to use her hand to shield herself, but no matter how annoyed her voice sounded, it could not mask over the smile that tugged at her lips.
Another secret of his: his laughter was contagious.
"Just...tell me what to expect today. You didn't exactly give me a handbook."
His laughter died down and he returned to his normal "business as usual" demeanor. "No, I suppose I didn't, but no need to worry. The job is pretty self-explanatory." He shrugged as he took a sip of his black coffee.
"Well I have a little bit of an idea of what a secretary does, but what does the private secretary to the king of Hell do?"
"It's simple, darling. Just do whatever I say, exactly the way I want you to do it." He offered with a wave of his hand. "Simple."
"Right." The purple-haired sorceress huffed as she began to play with her eggs.
"Don't play with your food, dear. It's unprofessional."
Arella looked up to catch his crimson gaze, but instead, he had his face hidden behind an unfolded newspaper he had conveniently just opened. With a roll of her purple-green eyes, she muttered just loud enough for him to hear. "Alright...Dad."
She heard the newspaper crinkle and looked back to see two blazing red pupils glaring at her just above the top of the paper.
"Never call me that."
Arella swallowed her laughter at his sudden seriousness and continued eating her meal while he went back to his paper. While they allowed a comfortable silence to settle between them, it was soon interrupted by an alarm coming from Landon's old fashion watch. He pressed a button on the side of the clock to stop the noise, then folded up his paper.
"Well, duty calls my dear."
Standing up, he took one last sip of his drink before setting the mug down and offering his arm to the girl on his right. "Shall we?"
Arella gave him a small nod and stood up to link her arm around his. Before they could leave, Landon looked down at her curiously for a brief heart-beat.
"Don't be nervous." He blurted out, taking Arella by surprise. Her eyes shot up to meet his gentle gaze, the usual flame that burned in his eyes dimming and giving off a softer glow. "You'll do great."
His last-minute words of encouragement made her chest swell up with a confidence that could be seen shining through her gem-like eyes. With a nod of her head, Landon took his cue and the pair vanished in a puff of obsidian smoke, headed for the kingdom of damnation.
"So, this is... Hell?" She glanced around feeling more confused than anything. She looked like she walked onto the set of Downtown Abbey with Victorian furniture decorating an office space.
"Sorry to disappoint," Landon said strolling behind his large oak desk.
She moved her hands along the books sitting along the bookshelves and removed one flipping through it absentmindedly. "I was expecting, ya know, fire and brimstone type of atmosphere."
"I've always dreamed of having an office like this," he said, "so that's what we're standing in."
She was about to inquire further, but something caught her attention. None of the books had words on them and after opening one saw that it was completely blank. She returned it and continued her examination. The office had no doors, no windows, no way in or out. Her ear twitched drawing her attention to the walls. She crept closer, training her ears to the sounds.
First, it was light scratching on the walls then slowly intensified to clawing, then pounding.
She yelped, practically leaping backward. The pounding was soon joined by shouting, then screams, manic laughter, wails, and pleading that was coming from all around her. Her ears burned with their screams, bled from their pleading. She dropped to her knees, covering her ears and shrieking for the sounds to stop.
With the walls closing in and the sounds pounding into her center, she curled into a ball and begged for it all to stop. Screaming furiously until all she could hear was the sound of her voice cracking.
"ARELLA!"
Landon's frantic call made her eyes snap open and she found herself still standing beside the bookshelf, book in hand. Landon took two long strides across the room and snatched the book from her grasp, slamming it shut in the process.
He grabbed her by the sides of her face. "Come back to me, love. Come on. It's not real darling. It's not real." Arella took a few deep breaths, listening to his voice to keep herself grounded. After a minute or two of this, she had finally settled and the voices faded away into nothingness. He pulled his hands back. "Haven't your parents ever taught you to look with your eyes?" He scolded out of frustration and worry, his eyes igniting with flames.
"N-no." She stuttered sheepishly, her eyes still wide and swimming in confusion and horror.
Seeing her reaction, the demon king forced his eyes shut and took in a deep breath, calming himself down. When he opened his eyes, they had returned to their soft crimson glow.
"Well, you have your father's curiosity that's for sure. Look, darling, I know this may just look like your average study, but do try to remember you are in The Pit." He cautioned her in a gentler tone as he placed the book back where she had found it.
His reassuring voice did ease her nerves to some degree and she visually relaxed a little bit. "Right. My bad." She apologized as her eyes returned to the bookshelf with a fearful glare. "What kind of books are those, anyway?"
Landon followed her gaze. "The important kind. That's why they have a protection spell that keeps the riff-raff from reading them."
"So, making the pages appear blank isn't enough? They have to torture the reader too?"
Landon openly chuckled at her silly question. "This is Hell, darling. Torture is our bread and butter."
Just then, the two were interrupted by a knock on the door. Before answering, Landon leaned closer to Arella and whispered in her ear, "Remember, just do what I say and try to keep up."
Before she could question him, his majesty had already called for the newcomer to enter. The doorknob twisted, then the door was swung open, revealing a thin, white-haired older man. He had a pair of plain black, square-framed glasses that sat in front of his beady red eyes. He wore a striped black suit with a light blue dress shirt underneath. Around his neck was a bright royal blue bow tie that really complimented his nerdy aesthetic.
"My apologies your majesty, but would you like to go over your schedule for today?" The strange man asked as he held up a clipboard with an elaborate schedule printed on it. Arella was taken back at how kind this man seemed to be. His red eyes led her to believe he was another demon, but his warm aura made her feel comfortable under his presence.
"Very well." Landon waved him in as he walked over to his desk and took a seat in the big, black leather chair. He spun around about 90 degrees and stopped behind his desk, placing his folded hands on the wooden surface. "What have we on the docket today?"
Though she could not tear her eyes away from him, still perplexed by his abnormal demon behavior, he ignored her as he approached Landon's desk.
"So, you have a luncheon with your dealers in Moscow at noon, two rouge possessions, three Cambion registrations, and forty deals to sign off on." The male secretary read off, making his superior stare back at him with boredom. Once he finished, there was a pregnant pause that passed between them.
Then Landon sighed leaning back in his chair. "Oh, I love a Monday."
"Is there anything I should amend to this, Sir?"
Landon shook his head, waving him away. "No, Terrance, that should be all."
Terrance. What an odd name for a demon? Then again, everything about this situation seemed odd to Arella. Nevertheless, she watched on as Terrance turned to leave, but was stopped by a lady second call from Landon.
"But do free up your schedule for today. I have an important task for you."
Both Arella and Terrance met Landon's smug look with confusion.
"And what is that, Sir?" The inferior demon asked as he clutched tightly to his clipboard as if he feared for the life of his precious calendar. Landon ignored his nervousness as he gestured toward Arella, who still stood awkwardly off to the side of the room. Terrance's beady eyes followed Landon's gesture and regarded the girl in the room for the first time. Arella waited for his reaction, perhaps an apology for not addressing her sooner. He seemed like the type to care about chivalry. Only by the expression on his face, he didn't seem to care at all. He seemed rather annoyed.
"Terence, this is Arella -"
"Say no more Sir," Terrance interrupted with a lifted hand, stopping Landon mid-sentence. "I'll be sure to hang your special necktie on the doorknob so no one disturbs you."
Now that was certainly unexpected. Arella's blush came back with a vengeance, and she was surprised nothing in the room combusted from her powers. She assumed it was due to her being in another realm. Landon didn't seem embarrassed, just narrowed his eyes with a shake of his head.
"No, you bloody idiot! That's not what I was going to ask!" He hissed, his eyes burning as he slammed his hands on his desk and jumped out of his chair. Terrance appeared taken back from this reaction but bowed his head submissively.
"My apologies, your majesty."
Landon remained scowling. "Arella is my new private secretary, and as my office administrator, I'd like you to give her the grand tour. Answer any questions she may have and do try to be polite to the lady, for your sake."
Landon secret #3: He has an office administrator.
Terrance clenched his jaw, fighting back the urge to protest. "Right, Sir." He forced out, then with an annoyed glare he motioned for the demoness to follow him. "Right this way, Mrs. Arella."
Arella had a scowl of her own. She glanced over at Landon, who simply gave her a small nod of encouragement. With no good way out of this, Arella took her time to exit the room.
Landon secret #4: His office administrator is a class-A jerk.
"Have fun you two!"
A splash of holy water elected another ear-shattering scream from the demon hanging by her wrists. She spat out the remaining water before speaking barely above a whimper, "I. Don't. Know."
Raven swished the water around the open thermos, making sure her captive could hear that she was ready to drench her again. "I'm really losing my patience- "
"And I'm telling you! I don't know where Landon is! Ask him!" She motioned to the Dragon Knight lurking in the shadows. "Do you think Landon would tell us grunts on the ground where he's playing house at-AGH!"
Another splash of holy water before Raven growled through her teeth. "That's my daughter your talking about."
The tethered demon took a moment to gather herself. "I swear to you on my gravestone, I don't know where they are. Landon moves around maybe once a twice in a couple of weeks. This time he's moved three times in nine days. He's got safe houses all over the planet, Hell his safe houses have safe houses, it's impossible to pin down where he'd be. That's all I know I promise."
Raven began shaking with rage and raised the thermos to douse her again, but a strong grip stopped her. "That's enough," Drake stated firmly before turning his attention to the demon. "The human your possessing, is she still alive?"
She nodded. "A dental hygienist two towns over."
"Let her go and we'll forget this ever happened." The dark being wasted no time evacuating the human host to points unknown.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A frustrated Raven slammed the door of the T-car as Drake finished leaving the formerly possessed girl at the hospital. "I told you it was a waste of time."
"No, it wasn't. We know he's been moving around- "
"Raven, it's been weeks and still nothing. I know him better than anyone and if he doesn't want to be found. He. Won't. Be. Found."
She folded her arms in a huff. "I'm not trying to find him, I'm trying to find my daughter. She just confused and needs to come home." There was silence in the car telling Her that her companion didn't share her beliefs, "just take us back to the tower."
Drake rolled his eyes, but put the car in gear and pulled away for a very tense car ride. In an attempt to ease the tension, Raven cleared her throat. "Have you told Jackie about all this?"
"Oh god no. You know how protective she is, especially with her little sister. And don't know how she'd handle Chloe never leaving the tower unless Maria says so."
Raven leaned against the door of the car, her violet eyes watching the buildings and people passing by, "that's right. They've never liked each other."
Drake stole a glance at the demoness, before flicking his eyes back to the road. "That's not... completely true."
Raven turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, really? Then explain why anytime the two are near each other, I can sense a mixture of irrational fear and mild irritation coming from them?"
"Probably because she threatened to freeze Maria and use her fingers as ice cubes, but in her defense, the twins did lose Chloe and Arella while babysitting."
Raven sighed in frustration. "She didn't lose them, Arella accidentally sent them to another dimension. But at least it was filled with unicorns and cupcakes."
Drake chuckled. "And you wonder why we never asked them to babysit." With a huff, she folded her arms again until Drake started laughing. "Do you remember that time, it was like the first Teen Titans dance or something."
Raven thought a moment then her face lit up at the memory. "Oh yes, I remember! Gar thought the kids could loosen up a bit, take some time to act like normal teenagers for a change. It took a lot of convincing, but once Dick finally approved the idea, the kids truly enjoyed themselves. I was very proud of Gar. Once again, he proved himself to be a very capable teacher."
Drake stole another glance at the woman beside him, taking note of her uncharacteristic smile as she took her gaze back to the passenger window. He realized it had been a very long time since he's seen her happy, even if it was just over an old memory. Catching her in such a good mood actually made him squeamish and he squeezed the wheel nervously.
"Yes, well, Kole and I were chaperoning that night and we saw what Jackie did for Maria."
Raven knitted her eyebrows curiously. "What are you talking about?"
Drake shot her a look but realized the empath truly was lost. "Remember what happened between Maria and Dick's kid? That night at the dance?"
Raven gave it some thought, then nodded her head. "Yes, now I do. Maria was upset because Johnny couldn't work up the nerve to ask her to dance and Maria was too stubborn to ask him herself."
"Right. I wonder where she got that from in the first place?" Drake teased with a smirk rising on his face.
Raven glared at him but shrugged it off. "Yes, well, the way I remember it, Johnny did finally work up the courage and the two started dating ever since."
Drake gave a small nod. "Yeah that's what happened, but you didn't notice Jackie talk some sense into him first. Told him something about taking risks, then threatened to ice him if he didn't go through with it."
Raven's eyes widen at this news. "Really? Well, I guess that's something your daughter gets from you."'
Drake looked at her with amusement sparkling in his eyes. "And what's that?"
"The need to threaten people until she gets what she wants." Raven deadpanned as she returned the look, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "And being acting like a badass when she's really a big softy at heart."
Drake scuffed at that, but Raven could sense the affection bubbling inside him.
"Well for what's it's worth, Maria got something else for you as well."
It was Raven's turn again to be curious. "Oh?"
"Yeah...she has a gigantic heart."
This time, Raven allowed herself to give a full smile, with a hint of a blush dusting her cheeks.
"Thank you, Drake." The mother returned to the view outside, just as they were passing the city park. Raven looked upon the sight fondly, enjoying the trees and the happy folks that walked on the cobblestone paths. As they came to a stop at a light, she caught sight of a young woman, sitting on a park bench with a young baby in her arms. The woman appeared content as she allowed her child to suckle her breast, and Raven could sense the bond that the mother and her child shared. As the car jolted forward once the light turned green, Raven watched the mother and baby slowly disappear.
With a heavy sigh, Raven's eyes fell to her lap and she fiddled with her purple cloak.
"Raven?" Drake's concerned voice reminded her he was still there. "You okay?"
The heroine closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that threaten to stain her face, but she shook her head in response. "I'm sorry, I just…" She caught herself before her voice could crack. "I can't help but wonder...what did Arella get from me?"
"So, she's become a demon?"
"No! Dick, argh! No, that's not it!" Garfield yelled as he slammed his gloved hands on the desk in front of him, making all its contents jump, including the laptop they were using to video chat with their leader.
"Then explain it to me again, Gar, because so far all I'm hearing is that one of our Teen Titans murdered a target, then ran away with the King of Hell with the help of one of our other students, who assaulted their mentor!" Even from the weak speakers on the computer, Richard Grayson, CEO of the Titans Organization, sounded frustrated and a tad intimidating. The scowl on his face and the crease in his mask that covered his eyes said it all.
Gar was about to retaliate when he felt a gentle squeeze of his shoulder. The changeling dropped his head and took a deep breath, before slowly letting the air out.
"Look Dick, I know this sounds bad, but you have to hear us out." He forced himself to reason calmly.
"Fine. I'm listening."
Gar let out a long, tired sigh, then he lifted his head to meet Richard's heated face. "Arella didn't know what she was doing. Her demon-side...took the reins like it did to Raven during Trigon's second coming."
Dick leaned back in his chair and pinched his chin in thought. "Okay...so this is Trigon's doing?" He offered, but Gar gave an unconvincing shrug.
"Well, probably."
"What does that mean!" Batman's ex-protege snapped.
Gar rubbed the back of the neck and looked away. "It's just that...I don't know for sure if it or not. I mean, Trigon was banished to another dimension. How can he possibly control Arella from where he is?"
"Are you disproving your own statement, Gar?"
"I don't know, Dick!" The shape-shifter howled as he tossed his hands in the air. "I'm just trying to figure this all out myself!"
"Well, you should have already done that, considering you waited a whole week to tell me all this!" The black and blue crime-fighter growled back.
"Enough! Both of you!" The pink-haired, geomancer standing beside Gar silenced both men. "Yelling at each other isn't going to solve anything. We're still not entirely sure of Arella's motive and we won't know until we find her. That's why our sole focus now should be on bringing her home."
"Kole is right," Dick admitted, much to both Kole and Gar's surprise. "But what about Chloe?"
"Maria has agreed not to press any charges for the assault and Chloe is grounded for the time being," Kole explained as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Both Dick and Gar gave her a questionable look. "You mean on house arrest?" Gar asked.
Kole shrugged. "Tomato, tomato."
Dick shook his head. "Right, well, I suppose that is good enough for now. But you better find Arella sooner rather than later. Until she can testify that this was indeed someone else's doing, we can only go forward based on the evidence collected against her."
Gar eyes narrowed at his friend's warning. "What does that mean?"
"It means, you better find your daughter soon, or she could end up on the Titans most wanted."
"Is that a threat, Nightwing!" Gar growled, eyes glowing and teeth bared.
"No Gar, it's a fact!" Dick spat back, then took a second to calm himself. He met Gar's protective stare with a solemn expression. "Look, not talking as your superior, but as your friend, my heart goes out to you and Raven. I know better than most what it's like to have your daughter go A-wall. I'll do what I can to stall things on my end. Just...bring her home, Gar. Before it's too late." And with that, the video ended.
Gar slammed the laptop shut then all but shoved it off the table in a huff. "Easy." Kole scolded.
Gar ran his hands through his hair. "Sorry. He just makes me so mad sometimes. Just like when we were teens."
"Oh, grow up," Kole gathered her laptop into her arms and headed out the door with Gar at her heels, "Your turning this into a pissing contest instead of focusing on the real issue here. Trying to keep our daughters from being caged for the rest of their lives."
Gar grabbed fistfuls of his hair and tugged, "I know. I just . . . I don't know..." The two entered the empty common room and headed straight for the kitchen. Kole waited for a beat before resting her laptop down on the kitchen table, but then heard sniffling. "What happened to my baby girl?"
Kole sighed, "She grew up. Just like we all did. And like the rest of us made choices she's going to have to live with." There was silence, except for the occasional sniffle. She would need a different tactic. "Just like when you had to ground the twins after releasing a baby eating demon."
The sniffling became a snort, "I see what you're doing. You're trying to get me to laugh, but it won't work. I'm so not in the mood."
"Fine. I'll just get you some water." She fumbled around the kitchen looking for a glass. "Hopefully I don't accidentally pour salt instead of sugar." He snorted again, almost a laugh this time. Though it wasn't his finest moment, he had once convinced the twins to put salt in their mother's tea. She banished all of them from the tower that day.
She sat beside him, handing him his glass of water. "Thank you." He didn't take it at first, just stared at it. "What am I going to do. Even if we find Arella, what then? They lock her up?"
"Not if we have anything to say about it. We helped Raven all those years ago, we can do it again."
He scoffed, "Well the situations are a little different."
"We'll even still. We can fix this . . . somehow."
He finally took a sip. "I know you're trying to be positive and all, but I'm too much of a realist I guess."
"Fine, be a Debbie Downer. In the end, it doesn't matter what happens. All that matters is if you'll be the kind of father Arella needs if or when she comes home. In the meantime, let's make sure she comes back to a home and not a cage." Though Gar still wasn't that optimistic about their situation, he nodded his head and committed to working with Kole, and at the very least do what he can for his little girl.
Author's Notes: Well there you have it! An update! Dedicated to our most patient and loyal reader, GolemXIV! Hope you enjoyed it Golem! And to any of our newer readers, if you're feeling confused by some of the references in this story, be sure to read bearhow's Dragon Knight Series for some background on some of the characters featured in this story.
Disclaimer: OCs owned and written by myself and bearhow. Story co-written by myself and bearhow. Canon characters owned by DC Comics.