Chapter 18 Decoy Lord
After travelling by boat for a few hours, we had finally returned to Phoenix Drop. When we got there, Garroth was waiting for us by the docks.
"Welcome back, Aaron and Ms Aphmau", Garroth greeted them as they walked onto the docks. "I'm glad that you two have returned safely."
"Thank you, Garroth", Aphmau said. Then, Melissa peered over her shoulder and looked at Garroth with an excited look on her face.
"Is that you, Gargar", she asked. She then walked up to him and gave him a hug. "It's so good to see you again!"
"It's good to see you two, Melissa", Garroth said as he pulled away from her. "However, could you please refrain from calling me 'Gargar?' We are both adults, after all."
"Oh don't be like that. Gargar's cute", Melissa said. "By the way, what's with the helm? I want to see your face!"
With this, Melissa grabbed onto Garroth's helm and began trying to pull it off, but he grabbed onto her hands and stopped her. "I have my reasons for wearing this helm, Melissa. So I would appreciate it if you would not take it off."
Melissa looked at Garroth in confusion. Then, Aaron came up to her and whispered something in her ear. "Oh, okay", she said, before pulling her hands away from Garroth's helmet. "Sorry about that, Gargar."
"It's alright", Garroth assured Melissa. Then, he spotted the three werewolf pups hiding behind the older werewolves, and kneeled down in front of them. "Greetings. My name is Garroth. I am the head guard of Phoenix Drop. What are your names?"
"I'm Jacob", said pup replied. "But my friends and Auntie Melissa call me Jake!"
"You're Aaron's son. It's very nice to meet you, Jacob", Garroth greeted him. He then turned his head to look at the other two werewolf pups. "And what are your names?"
"I'm Lowell", said pup replied. "And this is Kiva."
"It is very nice to meet you, Lowell and Kiva", Garroth greeted them. "I am very sorry that you had to leave your home. I will do my best to make sure you feel welcome in Phoenix Drop."
"Thank you, mister", Kiva said. Then, she suddenly sniffed the air. "Mister, you smell like a…"
Before Kiva could finish her sentence, Garroth stood up and changed the subject. "Now that you are all here, let me show you around the village!"
…
As Garroth was showing the werewolves around Phoenix Drop, Aaron brought something up with him. "Garroth, where is my family and the pups going to stay while they're here?"
"Where have you been staying, Aaron", Melissa asked him.
"With Garroth in the guard quarters", Aaron replied.
"Wait, doesn't Gargar snore", Melissa asked her brother.
"He does", Aaron replied, before thinking back to the many nights where Garroth would be sound asleep while he would be staring at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes. "Really bad."
Embarrassed by the current conversation, Garroth cleared his throat before moving it along. "I was thinking that you could all stay in the lord's house."
"The lord's house", Aaron asked.
"At the moment, it's just sitting empty on a hill that overlooks the village", Garroth revealed. "It's quite a spacious house, so there should be enough space for all of you to live in it."
"Okay then", Aaron said. "Thanks Garroth."
"You're welcome, Aaron", Garroth said. "Also, since you have been tasked with taking care of Lowell and Kiva, I would assume that means that you will be staying in Phoenix Drop for the foreseeable future?"
"I…", Aaron started, unsure how to answer.
"Don't you dare think about running off again, Mister", Melissa said sternly to her brother.
"Your sister is right, Aaron", Rachel added. "We are a family, and we should stick together."
For a moment, Aaron seemed unsure on what to do. Then…he looked down at Jacob, who he was holding in his arms. He smiled at him, and seemed to make up his mind.
"You win, Garroth", Aaron said as he looked up at him. "It Looks like I'll be sticking around for a while."
"I'm glad, Aaron", Garroth said. "Because I actually have a big favour to ask of you."
"What is it", Aaron asked.
"While you are in Phoenix Drop, would you take on the position of temporary lord?"
"Temporary lord", Aaron asked in shock.
"Phoenix Drop needs someone to officially lead it", Garroth said. "Aaron, the time you have been here has shown me that you're the perfect candidate for that. So, until I am able to find a more permanent solution, would you please take on the role of lord while you are staying in Phoenix Drop?"
Aaron was unsure on how to answer. He thought about what to do for a bit, before speaking up again. "I don't mind helping out with running the village itself. But…one of the jobs of being a lord is to talk to people from outside of the village. If I'm the one doing that, and people from outside the village realise who I really am, that may put some unwanted attention on Phoenix Drop."
"You make a good point, Aaron", Garroth said. "I did not think of that."
I didn't know what Aaron meant by 'who I really am.' But before I could ask him about it, Melissa suddenly spoke up.
"I've got an idea", Melissa suddenly said. "What if you get another person to stand in as lord when it comes to actually talking to people?"
"What do you mean by that, Melissa", Garroth asked her.
"While Aaron can do the actual lord stuff, you can get someone else to be the person people talk to when they say they want to speak to the lord of Phoenix Drop", Melissa suggested.
"I remember my father telling me how lords would sometime have decoys that would pretend to be them in situations where their life may be in danger", Garroth revealed. "Usually, the actual lord would be right next to them pretending to be their guard or something of the sort."
"I remember my dad telling me the same thing too", Aaron revealed, before looking at his sister. "I think you're onto something, Melissa."
"No need to thank me", Melissa said.
"Now, We just need to figure out who our 'decoy' lord will be", Garroth said.
For a moment, Aaron thought about who the 'decoy' lord should be. Then…he turned to look at me, and smiled.
"What about Aphmau", Aaron asked, taking her by surprise.
"Me", she asked in shock.
"Why Ms Aphmau", Garroth asked.
"So far, she's been able to talk to people easily", Aaron pointed out. "Plus, she helped out a lot around the village, so she knows a bit about what it needs. And I can fill her in on anything else she may need to know."
Garroth thought a bit about Aaron's suggestion. He then turned to face me…and smiled as well.
"That's actually not a bad idea, Aaron", Garroth said, before turning to fully face Aphmau. "Ms Aphmau, would you be okay with being the decoy lord of Phoenix Drop?"
I have no idea what it means to be a lord. But…I want to help out Phoenix Drop in anyway I can, and that's why my answer was…
"If it will help out Phoenix Drop, then I'll do it!"