Should Have Let Me Die

Chapter 33: The Smell Of Fruit

The power of invisibility would have been a great help right now. Maybe I could just run away really fast? I was pretty fast now, so I was about to look around for an escape route when I was grabbed roughly by Kadence. The fire in her eyes match the red of her hair, so I stood up fast. Her black dress was different, but I hadn't noticed before; it was longer and more frilly, and it made her look perfect. I resigned myself to my fate and follow her out onto the packed ground.

"I was just going to stay to make sure the girls were okay," I tried to protest, but Kadence would have none of it.

"Yeah, that's what you were gonna do, hm?"

"Okay, but I really don't want to dance! I don't want to look stupid in front of these people!"

Kadence stopped and turned to me, coming closer and pressing herself into my chest.

"Learn now, where no one will dare laugh at you; it won't always be like this. We are strong, and we have a great group of people, but one day we will hit a wall that strength alone won't fix."

"What do you mean? If I knock down the walls and kill the king, I get his place, right?"

"Maybe you will get to sit in his chair, but will the rest of the people listen to you? What happens then? Do we kill all of them?"

That stopped me, making my breath catch. Fuck, Kadence was right. What happened after I took the place? Would I make them all into my puppets? Would I kill the ones that resisted? Man, this is a lot more than just kicking down some doors and storming a castle.

I looked into her burning red smile and asked, "Then what do I do?"

"First of all, listen to your wives. Next, leave the rest to us, we will train you, but the first step is dancing and learning the courts. I wasn't raised in the courts, but my father gave me lots of books to read about it just in case one day I might need it."

"It appears this father of yours is a wise man."

"He has his moments; after we dance, I will take you to meet him since you are my husband now, okay?"

"Okay, I will stop fighting this, but I'm sorry if I step on your toes."

Kadence raised her lips up and kissed my cheek before pulling away and taking my hand. She led me into the crowd while a slower song with a good beat played, and Kadence instructed me on where to place my hands. It was awkward at first, but soon my newly tuned body seemed to take over.

I soon moved in step with Kadence, and even if she changed dances, I could copy them in a couple of movements. Buddies buff really helped me out in all places, I was dying for a magical ability like Kadence's fire, but this was what I needed right now.

We spun and danced through three songs, finally moving off to the side to find some of my wives and the same group that had come towards our table. I looked at Kadence, but she shook her head to tell me I wasn't getting out of this one. I smiled and turned to the small group of women.

Fives women, all clearly older than me but still beautiful, came to stand in front of me. Each varied in race and size, but they all shared the same smile that I knew far too well from the women in my life. There was some kind of planning going on behind each of those eyes. I suddenly felt like a mouse being cornered.

"Great Master Hyde, we would like to dance, if that is okay?" Asked A pretty girl with blue bird-like features.

"Uhhh Yeah, sure ouch!"

I glared over at Kadence, who wore a supreme smile and a dark look. The look made me shirk back from her and rethink my last life choices. Alright, I get it, be nice to the girls and make them all happy. Who the hell was I? Wasn't there other people that did this kind of thing for me?

'Don't complain; think of it as practice, and these girls deserve a little bit from you for some trust. Be nice, not every connection has to be made through marriage, useful as it may be.' -Gripton.

'So, just smile and dance?'

'No, you fool! You need to talk to the women and find out about who they are connected to. Even though the beast folk are hunted here, there are some lands that accept them, and there might be some of the relations in this group.' -Gripton.

'Now I smell what you're cooking.'

'You smell what?' -Gripton.

I turned back to the pretty bird lady and offered her my hand with a genuine smile. I can play this game too! My wives wanna ship me off to dance? Then I will have the best time I could with each! See If I can draw out a bit of jealousy from them, and maybe they wouldn't be so fast to ship me off with other women!

Taking my hand, I led her onto the dance floor and started to dance in step to a lively tune. We smiled and laughed, talking about my wives and them shipping me off to dance, but nothing of importance. Rita turned out her name, and she was a Blue-choo-Kin; while I thought she was adorable, and Rita had and a great rack, she had no connections that would be helpful, but we still had a good time.

Next was Keeta, a Fox-Kin that had caught my eye from the start. I took her offered hand and pulled her towards myself, but she came spinning into my arms, ended with her back to my chest. Her fox ears tickled my nose, and I caught a sweet smell of fruit coming from her hair.

"I think we can work together, Great Master. I have a business proposition."