Undecided Love ~ [MCD x Reader]

Entry No. 48

I was dropping off Malachi with Zoey and Levin when I saw a large ship coming towards us. I quickly rushed to the guards when I thought I saw O'khasis guards on the ship. I rushed inside only to find Laurence downstairs.

"Laurence! O'khasis ship! Coming now! Grab Aphmau!" I stammered worriedly.

He nodded before rushing to Aphmau's. I went back to the shore, grabbing Garroth and Dante on my way. They docked and a woman with light blue hair came down alongside two O'khasis guards. I tried to make sure we all looked good.

"Pleasure to meet you all this morning," she said, "I wasn't expecting a welcome wagon for my arrival. Oh, I'm Katelyn the Fire Fist, member of the Jury of Nine."

I tried to stay welcoming and civil, "Katelyn, welcome to Phoenix Drop. I am Y/n, the Lord's right hand, and these men are two of our village guards."

"Nice to meet you Y/n, I feel very welcomed," she said with a smile, "Though I do seek audience with your Lord and not a right hand."

Aph quickly seemed to rush down the stairs to us.

"Before you get to her you address us," Garroth said.

"Just because you are the son of the Lord of O'khasis does not mean I would hesitate to pull you tongue from your-" Katelyn was cut off.

"Hey! That's uncalled for!" Aph shouted.

"My most humble of apologies, a young lady like yourself should not have seen that exchange of words. Might I ask who might you be?" Katelyn asked.

"Tell me who you are first." Aph said, obviously scared.

I could tell why everyone was on edge about Katelyn, but a part of me told me not to worry. Deep down I did feel a empty void of worry, which scared me of what to come, as well as confuse me.

"Indeed, my sincerest of apologies. My name is Lady Katelyn the Fire Fist, elite member of the Jury of Nine. I come from the village of O'khasis to discuss business with the Lord of Phoenix Drop," Katelyn explained.

"It's nice to meet you, Katelyn. I am Aphmau, Lord of Phoenix Drop," Aph introduced.

"I knew I was speaking to a woman of power from the moment I laid eyes on you. Do you think that perhaps you and I could discuss what I have to say in private? Say, on my ship?" Katelyn asked.

"I don't think I feel comfortable going aboard," Aph said shakily.

"Understandable. After all, why be at sea when we are perfectly fine here on land. Then I seek audience with you wherever you feel comfortable. No guards, just you and me." Katelyn explained.

"Is it alright if my right hand accompanies us? She helps deal with matters involving other villages as well as our own," Aph asked.

"I suppose so," Katelyn said with a small smile.

Aph nodded before leading us into her house. They sat down and made some tea for all of us. I sat down between the two, hoping this would go well. I looked over to Aph only to see just how terrified she was.

"This is a very lovely home you have here Lord Aphmau. I also see you have a playground outside, you have children?" She asked, seemingly trying to just be nice.

"Can we skip the formalities and get straight to business?" Aph asked.

"Very well. I've heard from many a source.. Namely the High Priest.. That you are currently the apple of his eye. He's talked about marrying you for quite some time now," Katelyn said, sipping on her tea.

"Are you here to take me with you?" Aph asked.

"Heh, well that's accusatory. I'm a little offended, but I don't blame you... O'khasis hasn't really been on the "good" side of villages that are outside of our alliance." Katelyn started, "In short: No, I am not here to take you to the High Priest. I am a woman myself you know, forcing someone to marry isn't my style. If someone were to take you in to forcibly marry Zane then it would be another member of the Jury of Nine. Rest assured that you have nothing like that to fear with me. However Garroth is another story.."

"Wait, you're here for him? But I thought you usaid you were against forced marriage-" Aph was cut off.

"Garroth is different. Not only because he is a man but because I obey my Lord and if he were to command it, I would not hesitate to bring Garroth back to O'khasis," Katelyn explained.

"You can't take him..." Aph said defensively.

"Don't worry. Garroth's father, the Lord of O'khasis, is busy with the current war on Scaleswind and isn't concerned with Garroth at all," Katelyn explained.

"They're at war..?" Aph questioned.

"Yes. It wasn't because Garroth didn't marry, it was because someone of great importance was recently murdered. Guards from both villages got into a brawl and... Well, you can guess what happened next. It's a small war that probably won't be resolved until the murder is solved. Not even a marriage can heal a wound like that," Katelyn explained.

"Was it the Lord..?" Aph asked, very frightened.

"Thankfully, it was not. Now for the real reason I'm here.. I need to ask you a few questions about a member of the Jury of Nine.. I'm sure you've met him, Jeffory the Golden Heart?" Katelyn asked.

"No I haven't," Aph said.

I looked down... Knowing full well what was going on..

"I have, I met him at a bar.." I said shakily.

"I see.. did you speak with him?" She asked.

"Yes, we had dinner together," I answered.

"I see, did you... Go to a hotel room with him?" She asked.

"No, I did not," I said, trying to stay calm.

"I'm not trying to accuse you of anything. I'm just trying to figure out what exactly he was doing when he allowed two suspects of war to escape from their holding cells."

"Why do you ask?" Aph asked.

"Because he's branded a traitor right now and currently waiting to go on trial. I'm just trying to figure out what happened is all. Was he slacking on his job..? Chatting up beautiful women at the tavern..? Playing with puppies..? Or maybe, he actually allowed to take the prisoners while he turned a blind eye?" Katelyn explained.

"I understand, well all I can tell you... That night a bunch of guards left their posts, I didn't know what was going on but I was scared for my son who was staying not to far away with a friend and Jeffory led me back to my horse to get back to my son," I explained, yes it had been a bit of a lie, but I needed to do what I could to help.

"Thank you, that should help his case.." Katelyn said with a smile.

Katelyn and Aph discussed her staying docked here and before I knew it I was walking her back to her ship. Thoughts of Jeffory enclosed my mind, but I tried to play it off easy.

"Your ship is quite beautiful Lady Katelyn," I complimented.

"Maybe you should come aboard sometime for tea," she said with a friendly tone.

"I might just have to," I said with a smile.