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Chapter 6: Boiling Point
Allison immediately became a fixture of Jules' existence from that time forth. Even though no contract had been made, they were nigh inseparable. The response to Allison's presence had been awe on the part of the Countess' house staff, but the Countess herself congratulated Jules. Apparently, elementals were rare—even rare enough to have spawned a whole religion around them. Allison had giggled at learning that and voiced that she would accept Jules' worship graciously. However, while elementals were rare, apparently elementalists were even rarer, with perhaps only several thousand dispersed throughout Erde.
It was with this information that Jules finally learned more about the Order. The Order, or The Order of the Chief God, was the military superpower of the world and held direct sway over the majority of humanity in matters both temporal and spiritual. It was equal parts church, world government, and military alliance—at least as far as humanity was concerned. And one of the tenets of The Order was to utterly destroy all monsters—now mamono and incubi. To facilitate this, a large part of the military doctrine of The Order over the past centuries had been the employment of elementalists against the armies of the Dark Lord. These elementalists, along with the other mightiest warriors that humanity could find, would often be blessed by the hand of the Chief God herself and be bestowed the title of "Hero." It was around these Heroes that Order armies arranged themselves. Heroes were renowned for their power to slaughter entire swaths of mamono, incubi, and sometimes heretics. Even mighty monsters struggled to defeat the blessed heroes of the Chief God.
However, as time readily showed, the armies of the Demon Lord were more able to recoup their losses than The Order could. For every Hero, squads of slightly less powerful mamono would be organized to vanquish them. Sometimes these squads succeeded and sometimes they failed. Either way, the Order could win battles, but would invariably lose campaigns. To date, no kingdom had been able to withstand a concerted invasion from the armies of the Demon Lord. At best, The Order could only hope to slaughter enough mamono and incubi to give themselves time to fortify the next kingdom, which when it too invariably fell, was at least protracted enough to get as many refugees to safety as possible, who would then help in fortifying the next kingdom after that. Such had gone the war against the present Demon Lord for the past few centuries.
"There's something else that you should understand," Countess Wilhelmina said to Jules and Allison after explaining how The Order would undoubtedly be interested in them.
"What is it?" Jules asked.
Wilhelmina warned, "You two do not want to become Heroes of The Order. They will use you ruthlessly and your hands will be bathed in blood forevermore. I have spoken to you already, Mr. Langley. I believe you understand that you offer something far more valuable than war to the world. I encourage you to follow your heart and to not let it be purchased by any amount of gold or swayed by any amount of fear or hatred."
"Yes, Ma'am," Jules said with a deep nod of respect. Over the months, he'd come to think highly of Wilhelmina's wisdom.
"And Allison," she said, turning towards the swirling vortex.
"Uh-huh? What do you have for me?" Allison invited.
For Allison, Wilhelmina smiled and said, "You've told me that Jules is the perfect contractor for you. I encourage you to form this contract. And while I have no right, I have a request for you."
Allison hummed curiously, obviously not having expected anything like this. "What's the request?"
"Jules will no doubt be contending with powerful forces in Erde. This is a cruel world, as you've seen and heard in your travels, and it can and will harden hearts. Please help Jules be good."
The man himself grinned thinly. Wilhelmina really was like a grandmother. He would have been perfectly capable of answering for himself, but the request had been made to Allison.
The elemental began to whirl around, flying in grand figure-eights around Jules and Wilhelmina. As she flew, she giggled and answered, "You can count on me! I'll make sure Jules stays good!"
"Thank you for listening to the request of an old woman," Wilhelmina calmly replied despite the elemental's gleeful acceptance. "Now I have one more thing that I must say before I can hold my peace for today."
Allison calmed and came to a stop adjacent to Jules. When she had both Jules' and Allison's attention, the old woman explained, "You two must not be heroes. No. You must be something even better. The title of 'hero' has become so tainted with blood that it is no longer something to aspire to. You two must be paragons. Offer hope to those who seek it, no matter who they are."
It struck Jules as both sad and clever that an alternate word for "hero" had to be utilized. Either way, he looked at Allison and he had a feeling that Allison was looking at him. "I think we can do that," he offered.
"We definitely can!" declared Allison.
Rather than pay attention to Allison's giggling and cheering, Jules paid attention to Countess Wilhelmina. She leaned upon her cane heavily, and appeared older than was usual. Jules wondered if she was thinking about what would happen when the higher echelons of the Order noticed him and Gila Air Services. But regardless of how she looked, she was nodding slowly with closed eyes and a thin smile. "Good… That's good," she said.
A thought occurred to Jules. He asked Wilhelima, "But what about the Demon Lord? I assume it's prudent to remain aloof from her too?"
Instead of Wilhelmina, it was Allison that answered and said, "A lot of people are scared of her. And a lot of mamono don't like how the Demon Lord does things."
Now with her eyes opened, Wilhelmina's expression reflected that she was considering this new information. "Fascinating," said the Countess. "Where have you heard that from mamono?"
Allison said, "From the mamono living in countries like Andalus. You know, those places that aren't really with or against either side."
"From neutral countries?" clarified Jules.
"Yeah! 'Neutral!' That's the word for it!" exclaimed Allison.
"The Order can be… repressive," said Wilhelmina. "I expect that the few mamono living in Order-aligned nations welcome the Demon Lord as she comes. It makes sense that in less extreme societies such as Andalus, less extreme ideologies blossom. If what Allison says is true, then maybe you can trust mamono in neutral countries more."
"That's actually some really good information," said Jules. Then he looked to the side for a second in thought and continued, "A few friends in town mentioned that some magically talented mamono can disguise themselves as human. I imagine that these are very useful to the Demon Lord as spies. But what about the Order? Should we be worried about any Order spies or something like that?"
"The inquisitors," Wilhelmina said without hesitation. She cleared her throat and continued, "The Order of the Hound and Gavel is not allowed to operate in Andalus or in many neutrally aligned countries. But there's rumors that there are "Hounds," as they're colloquially known, in those countries anyway. You must be very, very careful who you trust when outside the Demon Lord's realm. Inquisitors are notoriously brutal. They act in broad daylight when they can, and from the shadows when they cannot. They hunt mamono, heretics, and dissidents alike. If you fall into their grasp, I fear you shall never be seen again and your struggles will have been in vain."
"Didn't think we'd be coming up against secret police," mumbled Jules. It looked like there were far more than mamono to be careful of in the world.
"But there's good people too!" contradicted Allison. "All over the place!" she added on.
Wilhelmina chuckled and said, "Oh dear. I seem to have fallen for the folly of humanity. We fear by default. Thank you for correcting us, Allison."
Allison hummed happily at that, which gave Wilhelmina the opportunity to say to Jules, "What Allison says is true. You have reason to be cautious, but don't be unwilling to trust people."
It was these words of advice that would stay on Jules' mind. Don't be unwilling to trust people. He replayed that over and over in his mind. Was that really a good idea in his circumstances? With the stuff he planned to be doing and making, having that information fall into the wrong hands could be disastrous. But was he really that heartless to say that he was willing to never trust anyone? No. He was human after all, and far from home at that. He was lonely, and a large part of him missed his home. He admitted that he needed the society of friends now more than ever. But on a more practical note, if he were to have any chance of growing Gila Air Services like he planned too, then he'd have to trust a lot of people. It looked like Jules would have to trust others whether he liked it or not.
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Over the course of less than twenty-four hours, the whole vibe of the town changed. A big part of the reason that Jules was receiving any accusations of being a charlatan was that he had no credibility behind his name. But when the testimony of Wilhelmina's house staff began to circulate, the rumor mill of Villa Hermosa shifted into high gear and began working overtime. So, when Jules was going into town late that next morning to introduce Allison to Gonzo, Horacio, and Aerin, he found himself accosted by questions from people who had previously given him a wide berth. He answered their questions to the best of his ability, but remained ambiguous as to how the engine worked. However, Jules noticed those who remained hostile to him just as much as he noticed those who were suddenly taking him more seriously.
The town seemed to be fairly evenly divided between those in favor of or against Jules. Either way, his progress with the engine seemed to have electrified the residents. Those against him openly shot jeers and curses his way when their words had previously been whispered. But those in favor of him and his work contended in his defense with equal fervor.
As for himself, Jules was left wholly upset. He was unaccustomed to being the center of attention on a scale like this. Add onto that the fact that he hadn't intended to divide the town. In fact, he kind of preferred it when veiled insults and harshly whispered curses were sent his way instead of fearing that he might become the spark that would ignite a riot. But most of all, it made no sense to him. Jules would openly admit that he was logical to a fault, so he couldn't understand why so many people would make such an about face so quickly. At the same time, he couldn't understand why his naysayers wouldn't simply accept the word of their supposedly trusted neighbors and leave him be. Maybe these people were just Luddites that hated technological progress and things they didn't understand. Regardless, he knew that extreme emotions would clash with extreme emotions and it was a recipe for disaster. The situation was dire. He needed to build an airplane as quickly as he possibly could. Definitive proof that heavier-than-air aviation was possible would settle the dispute once and for all.
It took far too long to cross the square to reach his friends' shops and when he did, he had a tremendous sinking feeling in his stomach. A cadre of men who Jules recognized all too well hovered outside the building with their cloaks already wrapped around their non-dominant arms. They all held their still folded navajas, but were clearly menacing his friends' businesses and homes.
Jules knew that his presence would aggravate the men even further, so he turned down a side street and took the long way around the block to come up to the backyard of the building. Before he was even able to approach the gate to the yard, Aerin pushed open the gate and waved Jules over frantically.
He jumped a bit at suddenly seeing the movement, but was relieved it was Aerin. He picked up his pace to a quick jog to get to the relative safety of her yard. It made sense that Aerin opened the gate for him before he even arrived. She could sense his essence from about one-hundred meters away.
"Gods be praised that you didn't try to come in through the front," she said exasperated as she ushered Jules through the gate. She leaned out to take a look to see if anyone was watching Jules' entry. Not seeing anyone, she closed the gate.
"I'm so glad to see you, Aerin," he said to her. Those words did poorly to express just how true that was. The company of friends after braving a sea of tension and hostility was a godsend.
It wasn't lost on Jules that Aerin then greeted him like she had with Gonzo that first time he met her. She reached her pawed arms up and hugged Jules. He returned the embrace easily. After having made it through the gauntlet that was Villa Hermosa's town square, he was just glad to have arrived at his friends' homes in one piece.
"I'm happy to see you too," she replied.
"I had no idea that things would turn this tense in town after yesterday's test," replied Jules with a heaved sigh. He felt the tension of his walk leave him now that he was at his destination.
"We didn't either," Aerin said as she released Jules. "But come on, everyone's inside. We all have to talk."
"Sounds good to me," agreed Jules. "There's been a development on my side too. I made a new friend, one that can maybe help us out of this mess."
"That's good," said Aerin, her relief apparent upon her features. Then her expression took on a questioning look and remarked, "But there wasn't anyone with you."
"Nuh-uh," said Allison, making her presence known. At Jules' request, she hadn't picked up any dust to be visible to anyone. He wanted to keep Allison a secret from the public for as long as possible to avoid accusations of fraud. But if Allison's presence would be needed for some intimidation, then Jules would take advantage.
Now it was Aerin's turn to jump, and she hopped several inches off the ground as her gaze twitched around for a few moments.
Jules said, "I met an air elemental yesterday. She says she wants to form a contract with me and I've agreed to it."
"Wow, Jules," picked up Allison. "You said you were popular but I didn't know you were this popular."
"It wasn't nearly as bad two days ago," defended Jules.
Aerin calmed down with this brief exchange and said, "Under any other circumstances, I'd be put out by the fact that you," he poked Jules in the chest with one of her padded fingers, "didn't make one of my friends your wife and instead went and found an elemental to make a contract with. But today, you get a pass. Now come on. Let's get inside. The others will want to hear about this."
She turned to walk back to the door to go inside, but then she stopped and kind of awkwardly spoke to the air, intending her next words for the still invisible Allison, "And Allison, I'm so sorry that I can't be more proper for a real-life elemental. But, it's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," said Allison. "Jules says that you're nice. So, I look forward to spending time with you."
Aerin smiled and glanced at Jules. He shrugged and commented, "It's true. You are nice."
She opened the door and led the way in. Jules followed and held the door open for a second. "You inside, Allison?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said to him.
He felt the caressing of a small gust of wind that ruffled his hair a little. He shut the door with a smile.
"But you should know something," began Allison.
"What's up?" he asked.
"I'm not as powerful indoors. There isn't as much air," she explained.
"Makes sense. I guess it's something we'll just have to work around it," Jules said. It made sense to him, but he found it a bit disappointing nonetheless. He'll have to be careful during any scuffles he might get into while indoors for the adventure ahead of him.
Jules and Allison followed Aerin through hers and Horacio's home all the way until they came to the front shop. Rather than just Horacio or maybe Gonzo like he'd been expecting, there was a small crowd of people, all of whom were looking in his direction as he entered. Being so incredibly noticed was startling, but Jules shouldn't have been surprised. Most of the people that he didn't recognize were mamono too, so they sensed his approach. And just like he'd expected, they were a very diverse group.
It was tough to say which of the mamono Jules noticed first. The largest among them was a massive hulk of a woman, easily another head taller than even Jules, meaning that she had to be pushing seven feet tall. And she was built appropriately with rippling muscles displayed by a crop top that proudly displayed a washboard abdomen and a pair of short shorts that did nothing to hide frightfully powerful thighs. She had paws like a bear and the ears on top of her head were also bear-like. This woman could probably snap any man in half. The other mamono that equally called his attention was a translucent blue—clearly jelly like. Jules knew enough about fantasy that this woman was a slime. She did well at holding herself into one part though, and didn't appear to be "drippy." And she was even clothed, wearing an oddly professional—by Erdean women standards—form fitting collared shirt and waistcoat that hugged her curves and terminated in a short skirt. However, her shirt was open to display her jiggling bosom which was held by what could really only be described as a bikini top.
Jules heeded his better judgment and didn't do any more than a cursory glance than the other mamono in the room. Thus, he only saw the most basic of character traits for each of them. One was tiny, perhaps only half of Jules' height, another two looked very nearly identical to each other. Jules only noticed horns and a pair of wings on them. Then on the final mamono, he noticed her boobs.
Wait…
Better judgment forgotten, Jules' early-twenties bachelor brain latched onto this woman's features and prodigious endowments. Unlike Aerin, this woman was tan-skinned like native Andalusians. But very much like Aerin, she didn't have a single flaw to be seen upon her skin. Her facial features were soft and she had black and white hair, but these were punctuated by her ears and horns like a cow. In fact, her whole lower half appeared vaguely bovine, as if someone made a chimera between a dairy cow and a human. She also had a short skirt, likely because Jules expected that something like shorts or pants wouldn't fit over her hooves very well. What he could see of her waist and midriff showed that she was quite curvy, but this was partially obscured by this woman's defining attributes.
Dominating her torso were two breasts so large and comically over-the-top that they had to have come straight out of some breast fetish hentai. They surpassed the size of her head easily, perhaps even approaching one-and-a-half times the diameter of her head, but were remarkably round. Together, they stood proudly, jutting out ahead of their owner despite being held tightly behind a simple band of fabric stretched across them which marginally contained their mass. Jules wagered that this garment was mostly utilitarian and would keep them from slapping their mistress in her face. This lone strip of fabric over her torso did have two side effects however, for it caused sensual flesh to spill above and below it, calling attention to the fact that not only did she have an insane upper cleavage, she had "lower cleavage" that also demanded astonishment. It was by looking through her lower cleavage that Jules was able to glean anything about her waist. Jules also noticed the outline of prominent and massive nipples.
He wrenched his glance back towards her face. She was smiling at him sheepishly and Jules realized that he had fallen for the exact thing that Aerin had warned him about. By taking the bait and indulging a peek at this woman's body, he was only inviting her further.
Jules was about to begin stammering out an apology but was saved by fate.
"Everyone!" said Gonzo loudly from the front of the room, getting everyone's attention.
Jules looked his way, grateful about not having to answer for what he just did.
"They're leaving! The town watch is dispersing the men outside!" continued Gonzo, his relief apparent in his tone of voice.
Jules slinked his way past the cow girl and her humongous assets to join Gonzo at the front of the shop, where he planned to peek through a slit in a curtain. It was here that Jules noticed that there were other men in the shop aside from Gonzo and the expected Horacio. He didn't recognize any of them, but he assumed that they were other friends of Gonzo's, Horacio's, and Aerin's either human or incubus. Jules decided that this particular detail didn't matter. Courtesy of their shared associations, they were friends of his too.
Jules found himself crowding around one of the slits between individual curtains beside one of the men he didn't recognize. They nodded to each other and while the man knelt to look through a lower part of the slit, Jules leaned over the top to look out a higher part. Sure enough, the men Jules had seen menacing the Carmona's and Gonzo's businesses were leaving with grumbles while they replaced their cloaks or jackets upon their shoulders under the steadfast watch of several town watchmen wielding halberds.
When they dispersed, Jules noticed another man nearby the town watchmen that he recognized easily. It was Roman. When the last of the menacing men left, so too did the watchmen but Roman remained. Jules watched him closely as Roman's previously stoic visage fell to reveal borderline panic. He began speed walking for the door to Gonzo's alchemy shop.
Jules spoke up to the others inside the Carmona's shop. "That's Roman. He's a servant of Countess Wilhelmina."
"I thought I recognized him from yesterday," answered Horacio. Horacio removed a thick wooden beam that obstructed the front door of his business.
Jules only noticed the beam at this moment, and drew the conclusion that the mamono and incubi of Villa Hermosa were the victims of intimidation often enough that they had to have tools such as this on hand just in case.
Horacio opened the door and beckoned to Roman with a quick come-here gesture and said, "Get in here, Roman."
"I'm looking for Jules," said Roman loudly and between heaving breaths. He must have been running only a few minutes previous. He took a few breaths and said, "I've been looking all over for him."
"He's inside. Now get in here," answered Horacio.
There was no further argument or words from Roman who changed his course to approach the door to the Carmonas' business. When Roman entered, Horacio replaced the wooden beam keeping the door closed. Roman's eyes were noticeably wide as he took in the varied ensemble of pretty mamono before him.
Because of Roman's slackjawed awe, Jules looked towards the group of mamono to gauge their reactions to the newcomer's entrance. The same impassive stare came from the bear woman and the slime's face was impossible to decipher. The small woman tapped her foot impatiently and the two horned, winged women weren't even looking at Roman. But the cow girl had the most expressive look on her face. Her mouth was slightly agape as she looked at Roman and her eyes seemed to twinkle. Her mouth then curled into a knowing smile. Jules' next thought was remembering Aerin's explanation of mamonos' destined ones from when he first met her, Horacio, and Gonzo.
Jules decided to not announce his presence to Roman and he noted with some curiosity that nobody else did anything to break the silence. This seemed to lend some credence to Jules' theory that the other men in the room were all incubi, sans Gonzo of course. No mamono or incubus would get in the way of a mamono's introduction to her destined one.
"Hi," spoke up the cow girl meekly. "I'm Kaye."
Roman was shaken from his spell, and he figuratively picked up his jaw from the ground and cleared his throat. He replied, "Hi. I'm Roman." But if only it was that simple for the out-of-breath young man, for his voice cracked while he said his name..
Kaye seemed unbothered. In fact, her smile grew at that.
However, a giggle died on Kaye's lips and the moment was dashed when Allison said, "I know what happens next. Are you sure that we should be watching, Jules?"
Allison hadn't even been speaking loudly when she said that, but in a quiet room, it might as well have been a gunshot. Suddenly, the entire room was in a kerfuffle trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. While the group was all looking around every which way, Jules quietly said, "No, Allison. We will not be watching."
Then to the rest of the room, he loudly spoke up to attract the attention of all present. "Don't worry," he said with spread hands trying to appear unworried. "It's just Allison. She's an air elemental that I met yesterday."
"Uh-huh!" reinforced Allison loudly. Suddenly the hair and clothing of Gonzo, Horcacio, and Aerin were all ruffled by a breeze even though they were indoors. "I talked to Jules just after you three left yesterday! He's even agreed to a contract with me!"
It was Horacio who seized upon this new information first and said, "That's awesome, Jules! With you as an elementalist, we don't have to worry about anything."
Jules visibly grimaced and answered, "Unfortunately, things aren't that simple. Allison told me that finalizing a contract can take some time. And even if I could make the contract right now, I wouldn't. Having a contract with an air elemental when the first plane flies won't be a good look. Being called a charlatan is bad enough as it is. The last thing I need is accusations of fraud. So, Allison will just be hanging around while I build the plane."
"Yeah about that," began Roman loudly. "I told the Countess what's been going on. The whole town is going crazy. You've gotta build that plane and have it done as soon as possible. She sent me out to find you and get you to work immediately. She also told me to tell you that she can spare a couple of us servants to help."
Jules couldn't help but heave a big sigh of relief. "That's wonderful news. I saw the state of things on my way into town. The sooner I've got an airplane that flies, the better. So, I'll take all the help I can get."
"We'll help too," Aerin said. She looked around the room at those that gathered before Jules arrived. "Usually, there'd be more of us, but we're spread a bit thin at the moment."
"Spread thin?" mused Jules. That meant that there were more mamono and incubi in Villa Hermosa, which was good, but the way that Aerin said that told him that something was wrong. He snapped his fingers in realization and guessed, "Am I correct if I assume that you're spread thin because you're all busy protecting your homes and property from vandals because of the stir that I've caused?"
For the second time, there was silence in the shop. That told Jules all he needed to know. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. He suddenly felt tired and very, very guilty. It seemed that by the nature of his association with Horacio and Aerin, Jules and his eccentricities has turned the locals against their mamono and incubi neighbors. He sincerely said, "I don't deserve your help after causing you all so much trouble, but I'll accept it gladly."
There were some murmurs from the people in the room that Jules didn't recognize. The smallest mamono among them waved her arms around to get peoples' attention on her. Jules thought it was almost comical to watch due to her child-like appearance and the vigor with which she waved her arms over her head. When she had everyone's attention only a second later, she pointed at Jules and said, "If Aerin and Horacio say that we can trust you, then we will." Then the small woman's finger quivered angrily and her tone grew more menacing as she continued, "But I will say this… You'd better be right about this."
Jules felt the pressure from those words and from the weight of everyone's gaze upon him. "Well. Uh," he began, stalling for time and taking a swallow. He then took a breath which allowed him to recenter himself. Now with more confidence in his tone, he replied, "After yesterday's results, I know for a fact that I'm right about this."
Certainty displaced his discomfort and he met the eyes of everyone that stared at him as he said, "And with everyone's help, I believe that we can pull this off easily and quickly. Now, are there any objections to beginning today? In fact, are there any objections to beginning immediately?" There were a few seconds as Jules scanned the group, looking for anyone that may object. He saw none and concluded, "I hear none, so let's get started."
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Suddenly, Jules found himself thrust into a managerial role as a team of people came together to construct the first airplane on Erde. In short order, about half of the people that had been in Horacio's and Aerin's shop left the rest of their numbers to guard the building. Those leaving with Jules joined up with another three servants outside the Wilhelmina Manor and the whole group made their way to Kitty Hawk. When they arrived, Jules invited all to gather in the loft of the sawmill to crowd around a table he had in the center of the room and they watched as he went to the corner and opened one of several chests to withdraw a couple large rolled up pieces of paper.
He leaned all but one of the rolls against the table and spread the last one on top of it to reveal a large third-angle projection drawing of the airplane he planned to construct. This was the master drawing of all his engineering efforts for this airplane. All of his many other drawings he held inside the chests were other technical drawings much like this one for different assemblies and individual parts of his airplane.
Jules introduced his work by saying, "I hope you'll forgive the amateurish drawing. I'm not an artist." That was really oversimplifying things. While it is true that technical drawing, or "drafting," for the purpose of engineering was indeed an art form, it came with stringent rules and required a talent all on its own. Jules had heard the very basics explained to him by a professor in university, but drafting by hand was a thing of the past; supplanted almost completely by computer aided design, which is what Jules learned. What the group was looking at was Jules' first attempt at drafting by hand.
However, Jules didn't dwell on the moment as he waved his hand over the drawing and said, "I'd like you all to meet what I'm calling the 'Experimental Model 1,' or the 'XM-1' for short. Now, since we're all starting with limited expertise for aviation, allow me to explain some things. Feel free to stop me to ask questions because there's a lot of topics to cover."
He would go on for only about an hour explaining the XM-1 and airplanes in general. He started very basic by explaining what each part of the airplane was called and explained why each part was important. He was also reminded very quickly that he had to explain the metric system.
Perhaps the worst part of it all was that only two-thirds of those present knew how to read and even then, there was a pretty wide variation of reading level. Being an engineer, he wondered how he would fix that, or at least compensate for it. He wasn't a school teacher, but if he was going to be hiring workers in the future, it was vital and non-negotiable that everyone had to have at least some literacy. He'd probably have to make schools at some point. Maybe Wilhelmina, being a retired teacher herself, could at least advise Jules on how to set those up. But that was a problem for later, for now, Jules could only resolve to double and triple check everyone's work.
There was one thing that Jules didn't delve headfirst into with those people, and that was the engineering itself. He wasn't all too keen on subjecting those poor people, who happened to volunteer their time and labor, to lecture after lecture about aerodynamics, structures, weight and balance, stability and control, mechanics, and so on. Furthermore, he wanted to keep the most important knowledge to himself for the time being until he could find someone he truly trusted and would teach them what he knew.
But when all the pertinent information was shared and at least somewhat understood, they got to work. Jules divided them into teams according to their differing skills. A team got working on cutting all the wood to precise shapes, another began smelting and making nails and other fasteners, and another aligned and fastened the produced parts together. As for himself, he encountered two main problems.
The first problem had been Roman and Kaye. They hit it off pretty much instantly and their relationship progressed at an astonishing pace from Jules' point of view. It was fueled by Kaye's forwardness and Roman's willingness to play along. It only took three weeks for Roman to come forward and confess that he had monsterized and became an incubus. There was mostly celebration among the mamono and incubi workers, but a more lukewarm response from the rest of Wilhelmina's staff.
Nobody had been surprised by this development, but it left Jules in a bind. He still wanted Roman's and Kaye's labor and after taking them aside and talking with them, he found that they still wanted to give it. Jules was forced to confront early on how he would accommodate any mamono and incubi employees of Gila Air Services. He took counsel with several other couples, most of all Horacio and Aerin, and came to the decision that while working for his company, a mamono couple would not be physically separated from each other by unreasonable distance. In the case of Roman and Kaye, they might be on different teams and even in different buildings, but they would at least be on the same compound. However, Roman had to throw an extra wrench into the debacle. He still wanted Jules to teach him how to be a pilot.
Jules considered this for a few moments and came to a conclusion that if Roman wanted to be a pilot, he wouldn't be allowed to simply take Kaye with him as a passenger. She would need to become aircrew as well. Jules explained that in the future, there would be bigger aircraft that would need multiple people to operate. Kaye hadn't been the sharpest mind, but she was pleasant to be around. So, when Jules explained the idea behind flight attendants, Kaye lit up. It was the perfect way to be able to stay with Roman as he piloted the airplane.
With the problem of people solved, Jules' other main struggle in the construction of the XM-1 were engineering problems. With a wooden plane, he needed to make steel wires to brace the structure. He had to find a way to construct those wires. He had steel, but his attempts to create a machine that would extrude wires by pushing heated metal through a small hole came to nothing. That's when he had the breakthrough. He didn't have to reinvent the wheel on this ocassion. He had already made smaller wires to make the electronics inside his rifle, so he simply upscaled the process. Instead of extruding, which would be superior in an industrial application, what he needed was relatively little wire, so he experimented with a heated wire drawing process. It was similar to extruding, but instead of pushing through a small hole, Jules pulled the hot metal through the hole instead. It was slow going, almost agony, but slowly and surely, Jules found himself with more and more wires that he then wound together into the bracing wire that he needed.
The next engineering hurdle was solved quite handily by Gonzo, and that was the need for rubber. Jules had originally made the piping for his engine from steel, and for the time being, he was willing to forgo rubber except for one thing. He needed tires for the XM-1's landing gear. He was unwilling to use wood for this part of the airplane for weight and strength reasons. After a few weeks of magic, figuratively and literally, Jules had his rubber wheels. With the process for rubber found, Jules also got to work on integrating rubberized parts into the rest of the airplane where they were most appropriate.
The final engineering hurdle required Jules to quote-unquote "invent" all the instruments for the cockpit. Initially, Jules had been prepared to go all in on cockpit instrumentation, making everything he could possibly think of. But he got a hold of himself. For what he needed the XM-1 to do, which was flying during the day in good weather with good visibility, he could get away with a few much less sophisticated instruments. Pure mechanical engineering gave him gauges that would measure the mechanical aspects of the airplane, these being the engine revolutions per minute, or RPMs, the temperatures of the engine and lubricating oil, the voltage of the magical gem, the fuel and oil pressure, and the amount of fuel inside its tank.
But for the sake of pilot instrumentation, Jules did splurge a bit and created three instruments that take advantage of atmospheric and air pressure. The first was an altimeter, which would tell how high the airplane was. Normally, an altimeter was zeroed out at sea-level, but without access to the sea, Jules simply set the altimeter to zero on the ground in the sawmill with the decision to re-zero the altimeter the first chance he could. The second instrument was the vertical speed indicator, which tells the pilot how fast the airplane is ascending or descending. Due to the structural limitations of the wooden structure of the XM-1, descending too quickly will break the airplane to pieces midair, letting the occupants fall to their death. The final instrument was an airspeed indicator, which as the name suggests, tells the pilot how fast the airplane is moving through the air. This had been the simplest for Jules to make. Using the difference between the pressure of the air that the plane is flying into and the ambient pressure, a pilot can know how fast they're going.
Over the next two months, that first airplane came together and Jules found his paranoia growing with each passing day. Things somehow kept heating up inside the town to the point that Jules started to do business with his suppliers through intermediaries so that he could avoid going into the town himself. The raw materials kept coming his way, but the reports that the people doing business on his behalf came back with were also disturbing. There were growing calls for Jules to be thrown out of the town, tarred-and-feathered, and some even called for his imprisonment or mumbled death threats. As that initial burst of excitement from the engine test died down, less and less people spoke up in favor of Jules.
But it wasn't all bad, the XM-1 came together beautifully and Jules found himself growing more and more accustomed to Allison's omnipresence wherever he went. Quickly, the air elemental had taken up the role of encouragement for the at times distressed and discouraged Jules. She reminded him that they had to go see all the prettiest sights that Erde had to offer and she quickly picked up that if Jules couldn't make an airplane fly, then nobody would. Just as Allison had said that first meeting, they began to trust each other, bouncing ideas off of each other and talking and laughing. Allison proved to be playful, and she took it upon herself to ruffle Jules' hair often while giggling playfully. He found himself enjoying her presence more and more, and with it his guilt deepened because of his intention to one day leave her behind as he returned to Earth. His resolve to tell her the truth of everything before finalizing the contract remained in force however, and he tried to prepare for when he would follow through on that.
By the time that the XM-1 was finally completed, the summer had passed into autumn, and the leaves on the trees surrounding Kitty Hawk were taking on orange hues. The temperature around Villa Hermosa remained mild however, and storms were infrequent. It was perfect weather for flying and Jules was ready to fly the very next day after putting the finishing touches on the airplane.
"I can't believe it, Allison," Jules said to her. "After so much time and effort, we're done. I'm flying tomorrow." He felt the stiff fabric covering the fuselage covering the XM-1 and his hand ran down to the wooden stringers that gave the wings their airfoil shape.
Knowing that everyone had gone to their homes for the night, Allison found herself and Jules alone. She followed him as he slowly meandered around the airplane, feeling around every last detail of the thing he had poured his heart and soul into for the past months. Something that Allison found was that she had come to respect Jules immensely. Though not unflappable, he was dedicated and had a passion that burned as brightly as the sun. Seeing him get excited made her excited too. She felt it when he was happy, or when he was sad. She had grown quite fond of him and was ever more assured that he was the right choice for a contractor.
"Well, you don't have to believe..." finally replied Allison, making Jules stop to turn towards where her swirling vortex of dust was hanging in the air. It had only taken Jules getting one mouthful of dust for Allison to recognize that she had to drop anything she was holding to make herself visible before ruffling Jules' hair. She dropped what she was holding, becoming invisible and she rushed him and ruffled his hair. Even though he couldn't see her, she settled into his line of sight and took in his smile. She giggled at his dumb grin and continued, "You don't have to believe because you can see it! It's right in front of you!"
Jules directed his view back to the plane and could only say, "Yeah… It is…"
"Yup. Well, anyway. Is there a reason we haven't gone back to Wilhelmina's manor? It's not far enough into the town to run into any trouble, don't you think?"
Jules' previous wonder fled his face and he grew pensive. He began to pace along the length of one of the wings as he openly confessed to her, "I won't lie, I'm scared. Tonight is the last night that anyone who wants to stop us can try. So, we're staying the night to keep watch over things ahead of tomorrow."
"Aaaaahhhh… Okay. I see what you're doing then," Allison said. "I think this is a good idea. If you want, I can keep watch while you catch a few hours of sleep. As you know, I don't need to sleep."
"Thanks," Jules said flatly. He immediately cringed but did his best to wipe it off his face as quickly as he could. He might have been able to conceal the expression if it hadn't been for the fact that Allison was looking directly at him when he made it.
"Is anything wrong?" she asked automatically, concern apparent in her tone.
"It's nothing," Jules rejected.
Allison wasn't buying that, so she pressed him a bit further by saying, "From that face you just made, I don't think that it's nothing. What's going on?"
Jules found himself exactly where he didn't want to be. He had planned to tell Allison exactly what his plans for the future were after the first flight, but when the thought that now would be a good time to tell her the truth crossed his mind, he cringed and tipped his hand to her. He really, really didn't want to talk about this while looking as guilty as he did with Allison getting him to talk instead of him surrendering the information voluntarily.
He considered his options. He could lie to her right now and buy himself some time to talk later. But lying to her right this instant would be the mother of all bad ideas if he wanted her to trust him in the future and that wasn't conducive to a contract between elemental and elementalist.
Jules' shoulders sagged and a sigh of resignation escaped his lips. He said to her, "We've gotta talk. It's really important if we're going to be making a contract."
Allison was unable to make any expressions, but her spike of fear was only partially hidden behind the concern in her voice as she accepted, "Yeah. We can talk about anything you'd like."
He took a breath, squared his shoulders, and hardened his resolve to do the right thing and tell the truth to at least one being he'd spent so much time lying to. He began, "I'm sorry, Allison. But I've lied about some pretty big things. And I've misled everyone. I've misled you."
Allison couldn't gasp. She didn't have the lungs for it. She couldn't cover her mouth with her hands or feel tears stream down her face. She didn't have the mouth, the hands, or the eyes for it. But she could feel emotions, and she felt betrayed. She also had a voice, and it took on a harsher tone as she demanded, "Then tell the truth."
Jules did. He explained everything to this strange but fantastic magical being he'd met and befriended and betrayed. He wasn't Andalusian, or even from Erde. He gave the same rundown that he'd given Wilhelmina all that time ago where he explained Earth and his life there. He explained the accident that brought him to Erde and how everything he was presently doing was to expend every effort possible to find the four other aircrew from the KC-46 and then find a way for all of them to get home.
Over the course of his explanation, he felt both heavier and lighter. It felt good to tell the truth, but it felt terrible to do this to a friend. It left his legs feeling like they were made of jelly and he felt himself lean against the fuselage of the airplane and he slid downwards until he was sitting on the wooden floor of the sawmill. He'd finished the story all the way up to when he met Allison for the first time, making certain to confess every single one of his lies to her. He hadn't even gotten to what would be the worst part for her. Hoping to find the still invisible air elemental around him, he asked the air, "Allison? Are you still here?"
"Yes," she said somberly. She slowly asked him, "Have you ever told the truth?"
"I have," he said. "As much as I possibly could while keeping my secrets a secret, I've told the truth. But… I've also told the most insidious of lies—those being lies mixed with truth." Finally, he found himself sniffling and he felt his own tears form and begin to fall. He begged as a man would with no other options when he said, "But please. You have to understand me… I just want to go home."
Allison almost felt for him. But she was short on sympathy at the moment. She realized something, "That's why you asked me about breaking contracts that day. You plan on leaving me behind when you go back to Earth, don't you?"
Jules could only nod pathetically. He didn't even have it in him to try and explain that he would try to find another contractor for her or that he had intended to come clean with her before finalizing a contract. But he sniffled and summed up the rest of his willpower and offered, "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."
There were a few seconds of silence that was agony to the crying man. Allison's words came out weeping her own sadness. "I thought I could trust you," she said to him, embittering his tears further. She paused for another few seconds and bade him, "Goodbye, Jules."
In the dying light of dusk, Jules watched as sawdust was disturbed by Allison flying across the ground towards an open window. In seconds the saw dust settled onto the floor. Jules had never felt so alone.
XXXXXXXX
As much as he wanted to, Jules didn't have the luxury of being able to pass the time that night by moping or sleeping. He had to stand guard just in case something happened. Pretty much instantly, he regretted his decision to stay behind when everyone else went home. If he had asked someone to stay with him, it would have spared him having to lose Allison like he did and he might have been able to get some extra help just in case something happened. It occurred to him that Allison trusted him enough to believe his claim that he was from another world. But not anymore it seemed. He also pondered what he would do now that Allison was gone. Not having an elemental contract would make things much more hazardous as he explored Erde searching for his lost aircrew. He'd have to improve his technology across the board—better airplanes, better manufacturing, and better weaponry. When he had these, then he would be more comfortable to set out into the world. He resolved that he would hold true to his cause and press on ahead despite whatever hardship would befall him.
As the hours wore on, Jules became more willing to relax. But unfortunately, his luck only seemed to swing between extraordinarily good or awful. So, when Jules saw people with torches coming out of the trees along the path leading towards the sawmill, he had the sinking feeling that his luck was awful tonight. As they came closer, he could confirm that they weren't the familiar forms of those he'd be working alongside for the past months, dashing his hopes of deliverance.
Jules presumed them hostile and he unslung his rifle then sighted along the length of the barrel towards the approaching figures. He considered a warning shot. He also considered skipping the warning and shooting one of them. But then he wondered if this could be solved bloodlessly. He wagered that they expected to find an empty sawmill instead of one under watch even if only by one man.
Conscious that he was exchanging an advantageous position for an engagement in favor of hopefully a peaceful resolution, he slung the rifle over his shoulder and exited the loft. He decided that he would confront these people outside the sawmill and try to convince them to leave him and his work alone. It was foolhardy, but Jules wasn't willing to become a murderer tonight. And he wasn't in the best place emotionally. He'd ripped the figurative band-aid off by telling Allison the truth and he was still bleeding. He was defeated and angry, but wasn't willing to give another inch. He'd betrayed Allison. He wouldn't betray the faith that everyone else had put into him. He was going to fly tomorrow. No mobs would change that. That's what he told himself as he opened the door to the sawmill and stepped outside.
Jules' supposition proved to be correct. He had only walked a hundred meters down the path towards the clot of people. He was able to see who they were and could tell what they wanted to do. He recognized Édgar Lucero. But Jules' worst fears were realized when he recognized Raimundo Rana near the front of the group. Jules gulped deeply and suddenly wished that he'd had the guts to become a murderer tonight. While Édgar was just a bully who was slowly growing a spine, Raimundo Rana was a far more menacing threat. He wasn't a large man by any stretch, in fact he was on the lankier side of things. However, his reputation as an avid navaja duelist preceded him. Even Horacio had told Jules to steer clear of Raimundo if he could help it. He was skilled and knew it, and had decided at some point that settling disputes with the blade was easier than settling things civilly. This realization had fueled his willingness and then eagerness for violence. His presence was bad news to the much less formidable Jules. A quick scan of the group told Jules that the rest of the men were in the same boat at Édgar and Raimundo, which was vehemently opposed to Jules and his work.
The gang of about fifteen men approached Jules and he tried to harden his resolve. A primal part of him screamed at him to flee for his life. He was no match for the likes of Raimundo and the assembled gaggle of his most vocal and violent detractors. But if Jules didn't make a stand here, then when would he? If he planned to defend his property from armies, churches, and gods but couldn't or wouldn't stand against thugs, then he had no business being so ambitious.
Édgar took it upon himself to speak for the gang. He spat in Jules' direction and sneered. He burped grossly and then spoke in faux celebration, "We didn't think we'd see you tonight, Langley. Good."
Now that the gang had gotten close to Jules, he was able to see all of them clearly in the light of their torches. All were armed with navajas as Andalusian men typically were, but when he looked away from their weapons he noticed some of the men swaying on their feet. And when Édgar spoke, he slurred his speech. The wind was auspiciously absent, but they stood close enough to Jules that he became almost overwhelmed by the stench of alcohol.
Still hoping to solve things cordially, Jules ignored his instinct to flee and his disgust towards the men in front of him, and replied, "What can I do for you all so late at night? Shouldn't you be in bed sleeping off your drinks?"
"Bah," half burped, half spoke Édgar. He tried to put on a cordial tone of his own, but failed to hide his malice when he said, "What you can do for us is stand aside and watch while we burn down your precious saw mill. You've been in Villa Hermosa too long, Langley. If you start running now, we won't even chase you." He snickered and looked around to the men with him and asked, "Isn't that right, muchachos?"
There were drunken chuckles from the group in response. It all started when Raimundo passed his torch to his left hand and was the first to withdraw his navaja. He depressed the lever with his finger and let gravity swing open his blade. It glinted in the torchlight. Then there was a second navaja, a third, a fourth, and then all of them were armed in seconds.
Jules instinctively took a step back, needing to fight down his instinct to run. But based on the sound of the mob, even if he ran, that was no guarantee for his safety. He had to defuse the situation, fight, or subject himself to the whims of these men, whatever those may be.
Jules spread out his hands non-aggressively, leaving his own navaja where it was tucked into his sash. He tried to reason with the mob saying, "Now, now. There's no need for any violence tonight. Besides, before tomorrow night everyone in Villa Hermosa will know if I really am the fool you all think I am, or I'll prove you all wrong. What's the harm in waiting just one more day?"
A couple of the men glanced at each other, seemingly considering that idea. Just the promise of it all being over was a tempting prospect. But Édgar was having none of it. "Step aside, you monsterfucking thief," he cursed through gritted teeth. "Or we'll move you ourselves." Édgar raised his navaja and pointed it at Jules. "What will it be?"
This was the final moment, the last chance to run. But it was the same thought that propelled Jules to start trying to make an airplane that drove him to stay. He was scared of being stuck in another world, doomed to live as a manservant. He yearned for the sky and he yearned for home. He would fight for that.
His hand moved for his own navaja and withdrew it. Jules pulled open the glimmering blade and it ratcheted slowly, reflecting the moon off of it. Jules shifted the rifle over his shoulder to sling it diagonally across his chest and he removed his cloak, wrapping it around his left forearm. He successfully forced a level tone when he answered, "I'm sorry. But I can't let any of you go any further."
"So be it," Édgar stated. He took a step towards Jules and the mob followed as they all raised their navajas.
If Jules simply let them advance, he'd be a dead man. He had to find a way to do more with less. If these men were as drunk as he thought they were then maybe their sense of judgment was diminished enough to take advantage of? He had a crazy idea that he instantly jumped on. Jules tried to sound as authoritative as he could and he declared with a loud voice, "Are you men? Or are you just a bunch of cowards? Send one man from you to fight me. If he wins, you all can pass me and burn the sawmill. If I win, you all leave."
Just as he'd hoped, his words gave the men pause. Navajas fell for a moment, but in the next, chuckles began. Then laughs. They laughed for a solid ten seconds before dying down. Édgar asked the gang, "What do we think, men? Are we going to let a thief insult our honor?"
There were murmurs of no from the other men and Édgar shared a look with Raimundo. Raimundo grinned gleefully and nodded to Édgar, who in turn said to Jules, "You're a smart monsterfucker I'll give you that. Because you wanna know something, Langley? You're right. We'll prove our honor to you. We'll show steel when all you've shown us are liars who say that they've seen whatever it is you're doing. You better be grateful. It's better than what a thief like you deserves."
Jules felt a glimmer of hope, they were really giving into his request? They could steamroll him easily if they came at him as a group, but if he was going up against one person, then maybe, just maybe, he had a shot at victory. His stomach didn't even sink when Raimundo handed his torch to Édgar and stepped forward. Jules knew that he would be the mob's champion. Édgar spoke up to the rest of the gang saying, "Let's make a circle around them. Give them some light." Jules was honestly shocked by this action. It seemed that despite the fact that Édgar hated him, the local bully had at least some sense of honor.
When the mob circled around Jules and Raimundo, the latter sent Jules a sickening smile, and offered the very first words that Jules had ever heard from him. "Are you ready to die tonight?" he asked with a raspy voice.
Jules was about to answer no when Raimundo did something that Jules wasn't expecting. He removed a blue ribbon from his pocket, and tied it around his forearm. By coupling the Oath Ribbon with Raimundo's words, Jules realized that he was now fighting for his life and not just for his work. He looked at Raimundo carefully, and observed that he too was swaying on unsteady footing and his breath reeked of alcohol. Jules hoped that Raimundo being drunk was a good enough handicap for him to win. But in the face of an Oath Ribbon, he dared not back down. Definitely not after all that had happened. Jules reached into his own pocket and withdrew the Oath Ribbon that Horacio gave him. Slowly, Jules tied it around his own right forearm. Jules said, "Some things are worth dying for."
Raimundo's smile broadened. It seemed that he was hoping Jules would rise to the challenge. He settled into a fighting stance with his blade held forward and his cloak-wrapped arm close to his chest. Jules echoed the stance, feeling comfortable after Horacio's training.
"Begin!" exclaimed Édgar.
Raimundo rushed Jules, hoping to make Jules flinch or recoil, but Jules had practice with being rushed by a certain air elemental regularly over the past few months. Jules didn't do what his opponent hoped and instead shot his covered forearm out and stopped the downward slash of Raimundo's navaja. Jules countered with an attack of his own, lashing out with a stab aimed for Raimundo's gut. His own stab was blocked by Raimundo's cloaked forearm. Both men backed away from each other quickly, hoping to escape each other's follow up offensives, which didn't come.
They slowly circled each other. Jules noted that Raimundo seemed to take him just a bit more seriously after that quick exchange and was now more cautious. Gingerly, Raimundo shuffled towards Jules to close the distance, lowering his blade and seemingly lowering his guard. Jules remembered what Horacio told him. Some fighters try to lure their opponents closer to them with falsely lowered guards. Raimundo's actions were a trap and Jules wasn't biting. Instead, he sucked in a breath through clenched teeth and intentionally flinched towards Raimundo as if he was able to leap in for an attack. The drink-addled Raimundo did flinch, rapidly raising his navaja much higher to a standard ready position.
The next moment, Jules really did press his attack and made a leap for his opponent. Raimundo's instinct warred with his drunkenness and he rapidly brought his cloaked arm up to block an attack from Jules' navaja. But he had fallen for a trap of Jules' own. Jules didn't strike with his own navaja. Instead, he lashed out with his cloak-wrapped arm and knocked Raimundo's navaja aside with an offensive block. Raimundo was totally exposed and expressed his shock with a gasp.
There was a flash of steel and Raimundo toppled over onto the ground, dropping his navaja and screaming as he mashed his cloaked hand into the side of his head. The drunken man looked around frantically for his weapon. He could still fight. He had to. He saw the blade within his right arm's reach with his severed ear directly beside it. He reached for it, but a boot came down on top of the blade. Raimundo's eyes traveled up the booted leg and up the torso to look into the furious eyes of Jules Langley. He next noticed that Jules' own navaja was pointed right at his throat. Raimundo cursed himself. He was sloppy and made an amateurish mistake. He forced himself to bite back the scream of pain for his ear and he accepted his fate. He had intended to kill Langley. But having failed that, it looked like he would get to be killed. He resolved himself to accept his death like a man and met the ferocious gaze of the duel's victor while gritting his teeth to avoid crying or whimpering like a child.
Jules felt killing intent surge through him. Raimundo had been perfectly willing to kill him seconds earlier, so now he was about to get what was coming to him. Then something unexpected happened. Jules' hair was ruffled by a stiff breeze in what had otherwise been a perfectly still night. He knew what that meant. He was no longer alone among his enemies. But there were more pressing matters to attend to.
The breeze had carried away his killing intent. Jules unwrapped his cloak and slung it over his shoulder. Without letting his navaja deviate from pointing at Raimundo's throat, Jules leaned down and picked up the navaja he was standing on. Carefully, Jules closed it with one hand. He glanced around the circle to the disbelieving faces of all his worst enemies in Villa Hermosa. He remembered that one of the lessons of Earth's history was that treating one's vanquished foes with dignity made peace last longer. So, he withdrew his navaja from Raimundo's throat. In fact, Jules held out Raimundo's navaja to return it to him. Jules spoke loudly for all to hear, "That settles our dispute. I am the victor. I said I was willing to die for this, but I'm not willing to kill for it. At least not here and not now. Take your weapon and leave." Then he cast his eyes around the circle and said to all of them, "A deal's a deal, is it not? I've defeated your champion. Now leave this place. Leave Kitty Hawk."
Jules watched the stunned wonder in Raimundo's eyes as he carefully reached for and retrieved his navaja and tucked it into his own sash. Raimundo was even more astonished when Jules stretched out his hand to offer assistance for him to stand. He hesitated and then accepted the outstretched limb. Jules pulled him to his feet and noted his grimace of pain. Jules also glanced at the bloody cloak that Raimundo was pressing to where his ear once was. He said to Raimundo, "I probably don't have to tell you, but you're gonna want to get that checked out by a doctor or someone like that."
Raimundo nodded which agitated his wound and made him suck in a breath through gritted teeth. Without any fanfare, Raimundo then turned to leave. Jules only had to look around for the first man to start following Raimundo. In a few more seconds, all of them were going. All except Édgar, who was grinding his teeth in rage. "All that's been proven tonight is that I can beat a drunk man in a knife fight," Jules supplied the bully. "But tomorrow, just look to the sky. We'll see which of us is really right."
Édgar's teeth were still grinding while he looked for something to say to Jules, who stood there looking at him expectantly. Finally, Édgar drunkenly slurred the uncreative, "This isn't over."
Jules thought that Édgar's words were exceedingly weak and were more an attempt of the bully to reassure himself. Regardless, Jules disagreed, and said so with, "It is for tonight. Go home, Édgar. There's nothing else that you can win on your own right now."
Now totally unable to think of anything else to say, Édgar stalked away past Jules and followed the rest of the men back to Villa Hermosa.
Jules watched them go for a few minutes in silence until they were out of sight. There was another breeze that ruffled his hair and a sigh escaped his lips. "Allison? Is that you?" he asked the air.
"It's me," Allison said from right in front of him.
Jules felt tears return to him and he repeated his sentiments from earlier, "I'm so sorry, Allison. I can't say how sorry I am."
"Just… Answer me this," she said, sounding as serious as Jules had ever heard her.
"Anything," Jules said.
"Why did you do it? Why lie to me? To everyone?"
Jules marveled that there wasn't a hint of accusation in her voice. He answered truthfully, "I'm scared what might happen if people know the truth. If I can get back to Earth, then what's stopping anyone else from going there? Or what's stopping anyone from Earth coming back here? I think it's for the best if our two worlds stay as separated as possible. Erde doesn't need Earth's governments poking around. And Earth doesn't need the war between the Order and the Demon Lord spilling into it. But there's more. I'm scared of people not believing me. I might get thrown into an insane asylum. Or on the flip side, they might actually believe me and start worshiping me or something crazy like that. I know that I have zero evidence and this is pure guesswork on my part, but keeping as many people ignorant for as long as possible just feels like something that's for the best. But Erde is a big and scary place from what I've been told. I was thinking that if you and I had a contract, then there'd be a lot less to fear and I could explore the world looking for my aircrew. I'm sorry for being so willing to just use you while planning on leaving you behind."
"I'm sorry too," Allison said sadly. "I've thought about what you said. And I think I understand. Home is something that all of you people with bodies talk about all the time. When you're all far away from your homes, you dream of returning. I see that you aren't any different and that's okay. But I've decided something." She paused for a moment. Her next words were laced with determination. "I still want to make a contract with you. I'll help you find the other members of your aircrew and I'll help you find a way to get them back to Earth. But when that day comes, I'll convince you to stay here in Erde."
He did a double take and it took a few moments for Allison's words to register. "What?" he asked dumbly.
"I'll convince you to stay," she said more gently.
Jules felt a small breeze surround him as if it were a hug. He wasn't even able to come up with words to say when Allison continued softly, "You can't get away from me that easily. Wherever you go, I'll be the wind at your back. But I have one more condition to our contract if you still want one."
A strange emotion overcame Jules in this moment that was a cross between sadness and joy, relief and hope, but also with a bit of uncertainty. Was he willing to let her try to convince him to stay in Erde? What helped him decide was the fact that over the past months, not only had Allison been developing trust in him, his own trust of her had grown. He said to her, "I still want a contract with you. But what's your condition?"
Allison was practically whispering to him when she said, "No more lies or secrets between us. I understand why you do this to others. Even though I think you should tell at least some people the truth, I'll keep your secrets. But there can't be anything like that between you and me."
Jules nodded slowly and wiped the tears from his eyes. Then he said, "I can agree to that. But there is just one thing that I'd like to keep to myself. But I can explain."
"Well, what is it?" she asked.
"You remember the part when I sat on a fallen tree to rest while I was walking to the road where I met Carlos Robles?"
"Uh-huh," she said affirmatively. "You said that's when you decided you still wanted to make airplanes."
"That's right. But there's one more detail about that. You see, there's stories from Earth about people that get transported to different worlds. I thought that these were all just silly stories until I was suddenly part of one myself. Anyway, I figured that if I were transported to a new world, I'd want to change my name. If I can never return to Earth, a new name means a new start. So, I'd like to keep using 'Jules Langley,' for as long as I can, and keep my birth name to myself. Are you alright with this one secret?"
Allison made a point of humming to show that she was thinking and considering his request. She said, "You gave me my name. I think it's fair if you can give yourself a name too."
"Thank you," he said with his head bowing slightly.
Allison's next words denoted curiosity and she asked, "But now I'm wondering, how did you come up with your name? And how'd you come up with my name?"
He answered, "Samuel Langley was an aviation pioneer from Earth. Jules Verne was an author that I like. And your name comes from a company that makes airplane engines. It came to mind because I met you the day I tested the engine for the first time."
"I see," she said to him. Then her tone turned much more chipper and she forewarned, "I hope you realize that I'm gonna be asking you a lot about Earth and that country you're from… Uhhh. What was its name again?"
Jules found himself chuckling and shaking his head slightly. He smiled and reminded her. "I'm from the United States of America."
"Right," she said. "But maybe some other time. Now come on. You've been awake for way too long. You need to get some sleep for the big day tomorrow. I'll keep watch just in case anything else happens tonight."
"Thanks, Allison. I don't deserve having someone like you with me."