Kai had tried resisting an early nap.

But after nearly drifting off a few times with Gift in his lap, Syl and Alicia had enforced an early night instead.

Not willing to trust his portal closing on him and trapping him in the domain, Kai had slept in the Empress Suite. His body laying alone on the bed as he joined both Syl, Alicia and Gift in the domain.

Too tired for anything like satisfying the girl's supposed appetite, the three of them settled in for a night of cuddling.

Kai woke early with a beautiful woman on each side, and a curled up Gift laying on his chest.

Checking his system clock, he saw he had about an hour before breakfast was served so he decide to get up and practice his meditation for a bit.

At first, he was a little worried about waking the others. Luckily, he didn't need to untangle himself and disturb anyone from their slumber, he just needed to leave the domain and return to his body.

He opened his real eyes and waited for complaints from the others, but hearing nothing, he guessed he got away without waking anyone.

At worst, he might have given Gift a little shock when he disappeared, but with how sound asleep the little guy was, he probably just sank into Kai's depression and kept on snoozing.

Getting up, Kai realised he was looking forward to today.

Everything was falling into place and enjoying a swim in the lake with the others was a perfect break.

He found he was content, and for once, his meditation came to him easily. Once he was done, he had a quick shower and went about his morning normally.

Only things didn't proceed normally.

After spending the usual time down in the mess, then training with the adventurers, Kai's plans for spending some time enjoying a good swim fell through.

While Kai and his team could still do it, there wasn't much point in it after The Sage pulled Arnella aside to discuss something.

At first, Kai thought it was related to his plans. But when Arnella saluted The Sage, then gave another to Kai, before promptly disappearing, he knew something else was up.

He tried to recall if anything stood out from the interaction, but the only thing he heard was The Sage, telling Arnella he wanted her decision by the day.

The sage must have seen Kai show some measure of concern, as the first thing he did when Arnella left was to inform him there was nothing to worry about. Something expected was happening and Arnella had simply been returned to her typical duties to make sure there would be no issues.

The sage went onto explain; they had just entered the territory of a rather stubborn dragon and the captain requested Arnella's attention to make sure the crew had not become sloppy without her unique personal touch.

When Kai heard this, he thought everything he had been planning over the last few days had gone to shit.

But after The Sage explained this meant the area had less aggressive predators, and that it actually made things safer, he relaxed.

The sage went so far to even assure Kai his plans were still on track. Thanric even insisted he was doing everything within his power to make sure things went smoothly.

But when The Sage informed Kai, he also had things to attend to over the next few days and could not, unfortunately, continue his lessons, Kai went on alert again.

Only this time, he smiled and thanked The Sage for all his help, doing his best to not let his suspicions show.

This was so far out of character for The Sage, Kai couldn't help but be suspicious, especially when there was so much to investigate in such little time.

Just yesterday they had put the man off more than once with both the portals and then the time dilation in domain.

Kai had been expecting the man to be champing at the bit to continue the testing, but to actually be dismissed by the man with the suggestion he use his domain to get back up to speed with Syl, Gift and Alicia while he had the chance. Something just smelt wrong.

After he returned to his room, entered the domain with his portal, and discussed things with everyone, they all agreed it seemed a little coded. So they decided to exploit the domain's unique abilities and buckle down. After all, what was a little time dilation when the domain also stopped you from ageing.

They took every moment they had.

Gift and Alicia explored the changes they had both gone through.

While Kai and Syl tested each other relentlessly. He would use mana bolts while Syl would block those bolts with barriers and occasionally fire back to keep him on his toes.

Then, when Kai moved on to train his kata, the others would randomly interrupt his efforts with attacks designed to snare, disorientate, and distract.

At some point, Alicia disappeared for a few hours, only to return with a mountain of food and Arnella in tow.

Arnella looked tired, but Kai didn't know if that was because of the time or how busy she had been with returning to her regular duties.

When she saw what they were up to, she actively encouraged them. Even giving them some much needed pointers on how they should mix things up to get the best of the extra time they had found themselves.

They ate what they could when they could and rested often.

Syl kept track of time as one day was turned into two, and then two days became six.

The entire time, Arnella showed up periodically to update them, deliver food, give them more in-depth pointers based on their progress, and when Kai found time to have a quiet word, she would assure him things were still on track.

When Arnella showed up to report it was their last day onboard and that they should prepare for a hasty departure when the time was right, Kai knew this was it.

"Guys, I think we should call it," he said as he turned away from a retreating Arnella.

Pfft, "You're just tired of being put on your ass by mother Syl with nothing more than a stick," Gift chided him from Alicia's shoulder.

Gift wasn't wrong.

Syl had chosen the quarterstaff as her weapon of choice, that and an ample supply of knives and daggers always seemed at hand when she needed them.

Putting the sharp pointy weapons aside, it turned out the quarterstaff was a versatile weapon for a mana focused fighter. They were easily wielded in a moment, allowing for many sweeping or thrusting attacks and when made of suitable materials; they functioned as a powerful focus for far more complicated spell work that may need an anchor or some means of directing.

When Kai asked why she didn't go with something like a staff, Syl rolled her eyes and challenged him to a duel.

It didn't go well for Kai.

Just as Gift had said, Syl put him on his ass more often than he got her to concede.

Syl had even begun experimenting with Kai's spectral manifestation, anchoring a blade onto the end of the shaft to turn it into a spear, polearm or glaive without warning, the sudden shift in attack style often catching Kai and Alicia off guard as they spared against each other.

It was a good choice, and Kai could only sigh as he ignored the dull ache in his backside.

"It's not that…"

"Then why? We can easily turn the morning into a day, maybe two, and still come out of the domain with all afternoon to spare."

"I have something planned…" he fidgeted with his soul ring. "Would the two, no. Would the three of you join me for dinner this evening?"

Syl and Alicia looked at him curiously.

Gift huffed, "We eat dinner all the time. Come on, let's train. You were just getting use to splitting bolts and making them switch targets-"

"Hush Gift," Alicia said. "Kai has clearly planned this."

"II have been working with the chef to replicate some food from earth… I thought you would like to make it an event, get all dressed up… enjoy ourselves under the stars."

"Under the stars you say," Syl said as she turned to Alicia, "I would love to."

Alicia nodded. "we need to get started right away. Honestly, Kai, an invitation to a dinner date deserves far more notice."

"We'll make it work," Syl said with a nod. "Since it's earth themed, I already have a few ideas for Alicia. Gift might be problematic, but I think we can adjust some clothes to fit."

"Clothes, fit! Please no, clothes itchy, fur better!" Gift cried as he attempted to jump down from where he was roosting on Alicia's shoulder.

Only his mother was too quick and caught him.

"Alicia, you ready?"

Alicia nodded again and without another word on the matter, they were all gone, travelling off to some other location in the domain, probably the house.

Standing there alone, Kai thought that it had gone well. Unless he was forgetting something… shit the time.

That began what was possibly one of the longest days in Kai's life.

He left the domain planning to double check on things, only everywhere he went he was turned away. Everything was handled and there was nothing to do.

No last-minute decisions, no changes to the plan over the last few days, nothing.

And after being turned out by the chef, looking for Arnella to be told she was busy and even popping in on The Sage for a cup of tea, he found he there was nothing for him to do but get ready.

But that wasn't saying much.

He had prepared his dinner wear and absorbed it into his raiment days ago.

One thought in a private location and he was dressed in possibly the best tailored suit and tails that had ever been worn.

At least on Alea, while a suit was not a foreign idea, the particular cut he had chosen was not quite like anything The Sage or Arnella had seen before.

How he nearly passed on his raiment he would never know. Its tailoring ability alone was well worth it.

Suitably dressed and with nothing to do, Kai found himself in a position where he had no option but to trust those that had willingly taken up his cause.

In the end, Kai found himself sitting in The Sage's office as Thanric continued working while he waited… and waited… and waited.

Maybe they were right about staying in the domain and coming out in the afternoon?

Now he was stuck, his mind racing as he thought about everything that could go wrong.

What if he was overdressed? What if the girls didn't know what he meant by getting dressed up and he made them feel under-dressed as a consequence? What if the food was awful? Or it rained? Would someone object? Could someone even object?

On and on, these thoughts plagued him, but still every time he checked the time, it seemed like barely any of it had passed at all.

His knee bounced, and he fidgeted with his soul ring so much he was a little worried he might wear his finger off.

His only comfort was Thanric seemed absolutely certain everything was fine as he worked with a strange model plane that didn't quite match the spitfires Kai had shown the man days prior.

At one point, Kai had thought about adjusting time around him, but when he ran the idea past Thanric, the man had kindly asked him not to.

Something about his experiments and ship systems.

Kai wasn't really listening past no, his mind already on other things.

In the end, Thanric distracted him by probing his knowledge on planes again.

A few hours later they were sitting there with several new models of multi prop planes and something that looked a lot like a helicopter, though Thanric wasn't too interested in that design as in his eyes it served much the same purpose as a skimmer.

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Kai was just explaining troop transports and the concept of jumping out of a plane with nothing more than a thin piece of cloth to slow your fall when there was a knock at the door.

"Come!" Thanric called.

Arnella popped her head into the office. Her relief at seeing Kai was clear.

"Everything's ready. Princess Alicia, Lady Syl and little lord Gift are waiting."

"Waiting?" Kai jumped up. "After all this, I'm late?"

"Relax Kai, you're not late," Thanric eased him as he got up from the desk.

"But Arnella just said they are waiting. I should be there to welcome them and," his mind went blank, what was the plan again.

"Come on, while you're not late, ladies tend to get impatient when they are hungry. And I hear there's some interesting food on the go."

Kai looked at The Sage in confusion, "Wait your coming?"

Thanric chuckled, "just to bear witness, it's not often you witness new traditions in the making… and don't forget, one of them is my… apprentice."

"Yes, I suppose this is all new," Kai said, as he nervously found himself fidgeting with his soul ring again.

"Don't worry, I will stay well out of the way," Thanric said as Arnella led them out of the office.

Arriving up on the ship's top deck, Kai was blown away.

Things had come together better than he had ever imagined.

In the centre of the deck, a single table stood quietly, the area lit by the twin moons above. The ship's defensive sheets withdrawn slightly to open up the view of the clear night sky to them.

Three chairs were placed equal distance around the table, with one having a high chair positioned just beside it.

On the table sat a large candelabra, the candles lighting the table setting in an intimate amber glow.

Thanric gave Kai a gentle tap on the shoulder and pointed off to the side. "I will be over there doing my best, I am an invisible person impression. You have everything ready yourself."

Kai swallowed and nodded. He couldn't quite trust his tongue, but a quick thought told him what he needed was safely stored away in the domain, ready to be summoned at the right moment.

He looked about for Syl and Alicia, but all he could see was the guard the captain and The Sage had insisted on.

Every ranked adventurer aboard had been drafted in for the occasion and they now stood spaced out around the perimeter.

They were a sort of honour guard.

All of them wearing their best gear.

Ready in case someone or something attacked while Kai put his plan into action.

When Kai had found out, this would be a requirement of a star lit dinner, he had, of course, looked for alternatives to the plan.

He had even suggested the domain, but Thanric, Arnella and the captain all insisted the ship be given the honour and the privilege.

While it was a big deal for Kai, he couldn't quite understand why everyone else was so eager to help him out.

Then again, a princess of the twilight empire was involved… The Sage's daughter.

Shit, was he in over his head?

He heard Syl clear her throat behind him and he turned around, all thoughts of being overdressed fleeing his mind as he realised he might just be underdressed.

Alicia stood with Syl floating just by her side.

Both of them were stunning.

Each of them choosing a dress that stressed their beauty, perfectly amplify their own unique assets while never diminishing the other.

The more Kai looked, the more he realised just how much they must have coordinated with each other.

Syl, who normally let her hair fall free had returned to her fiery orange colour with it being tied up away in an intricate weave the exposed flesh of her neck and shoulders only drawing his attention down to the strapless green gown, its rich ivory colour contrasting perfectly.

Then there was Alicia, who normally had her platinum blonde hair tied up in extensive braids. She had let it all fall free in luscious waves that fell down past her shoulders that were draped a gossamer shawl. From the way she stood holding a fidgeting gift, Kai could see her cream backless dress fell perilously low.

When she caught him looking, she blushed, her ears twitching as she shyly turned away from him, only that exposed more and made his eyes drift further down.

Luckily Gift chose that moment to air a complaint.

"I was promised food. Good food, if I wore clothes!" Gift moaned in his young high pitched voice as he looked over Alicia's shoulder.

Kai was surprised to see the little guy using this particular form.

With black scraggly hair, sharp el'viairen ears, and bright glowing golden eyes, Gift had changed his form into that of a toddler.

A toddler that, on close inspection, looked uncannily like his, Alicia's or possibly even Syl's progeny.

If it not for the whites of his eyes being a solid glossy black, the little guy could have easily been mistaken for a normal humanoid child.

Gift had, of course, found time to challenge his mothers for their forms, their identities.

Kai had thought there might have been a problem with Syl since she had no real body, but apparently while the genetic information could be used, it was actually a sort of imprint from her soul he desired.

The little guy had equated his abilities to absorb identities or forms to that of a normal growth item absorbing materials. Stating that much like Kai, who had found he had reached a limit of a dozen dragon scales, he could only absorb so much depending on how much energy he had and his relative level, which in this case was Alicia's level.

Which was why Gift, a growth item with an ego, was limited to the juvenile forms of the identities he had gathered until Alicia raised her own level or he found a way to develop the core they had all been a little surprised to discover he possessed.

Of course, when Gift had triumphantly declared that his parents all come and bear witness to his new combined form, they had gathered eagerly.

Only when Gift shifted into a little naked boy, it became apparent that it was not quite what he expected with how upset he was at falling flat on his face.

Seeing a child that was the culmination of the three of their features fall flat on his face in front of them caused all of them to rush him.

It was soon apparent the now very vocal toddler had never seen a humanoid child.

Gift hated the awkward naked form and despite several hours of fussing, hugging, cuddling and reassuring from all three of them, he vowed to never take the form again until it either matured or it was absolutely necessary.

Seeing that little scrunched-up face looking back at him over Alicia's shoulder was funny.

It cemented in Kai's mind that this was all just a formality, the three of them were already connected and bound in more ways then one.

Some might think he was rushing things. Heck, he still thought he was doing that. But right now, thanks to Gift, everything in his mind was settled.

Kai cleared his throat, "ladies if you would," he said as he gestured over towards the table.

Alicia curtsied as Syl tilted her head, and they both followed his lead.

They arrived at the empty table, Gifts head flicking back and forth at the empty plates and he growled.

"Where's the food? I was promised good food," he whined.

"Hush, this won't take long."

"Food, or I change back."

Thanric coughed, "may I- may I take Gift. I will keep him busy for this next part, all night, if you desire. I can even fill his tummy. Let you three dine in peace."

Alicia turned to Thanric and smiled at him thankfully, as she almost eagerly passed the struggling toddler of to the man she didn't know was actually her father.

Thanric cupped the little guy perfectly in his arms as he tickled his belly, his gentle prodding somehow settling him down. As he turned away with a glint of something wet in the corner of his eye, "now Gift, if I teach you a spell called sound nullification, will you accept those forms I offered you?"

"Maybe, how good is this…" Gifts sharp young voice drifted to nothing as Thanric collected the high seat and walked away into the shadows.

Watching the two of them go, Kai realised this was the first time anyone, but them had seen Gifts humanoid form and Thanric was walking away with the little guy like he was a doting grandfather.

"Give me a minute and I will duplicate this beautiful scene in the domain," Syl said softly.

That was his cue.

"Actually, I thought you would like to join us here tonight under these stars."

He sank to one knee.

"You said everything was ready, that there was just one last thing… that it would be instant the moment you had your focus."

Syl drifted back a little, her eyes wide.

"That's true, but…"

Kai summoned the ring box and held it out for Syl.

"Kai…" she whispered.

"Syl, our souls may have been bound by circumstance, a choice made in a moment of choices. But I need you to know, more than anything, in this strange cosmic multiverse, I would always make the same choice. That choice is you." He reached for the lid to open the box to present the ring, but before he even placed a finger, it just popped open.

He tried not to react.

As the light of Syl's soul ring, so long kept in his storage, lit her face for the first, he just asked, "Syl, will you be my wife?"

Syl said nothing. She simply held out her spectral hand.

Kai didn't even remember slipping the ring onto her finger. All he knew was he was holding her hand in his as he found her lips, her soft, sweet lips.

Pulling away from her, he looked into her shining cyan eyes as she settled down, no longer floating, a flare of light dying down around them as Syl settled into her heals and looked back at him, eye to eye.

"I'm sorry Syl," he whispered, "this night isn't just for you… I could think of no other way for this to work for the three of us to be equal."

Syl embraced him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. She leant into his ear and whispered, "you better make her cry, because I'm barely holding on."

She untangled herself and stepped back; her heals clicking noticeably against the decking.

Kai had to collect himself.

Of course, Syl knew what he was planning.

Chuckling softly to himself, he turned to Alicia. And he couldn't help but notice she too, looked a little more aware than he had thought she would be.

He continued on anyway, "You are by no means second, and in a way, I believe fate had it's way."

He sank to one knee as he watched a tear fall down her cheek., her smile telling him it was okay to go on.

"Again, circumstance played its hand, and though your culture shocks me, I would have no other to be my guide."

He summoned another box and held it out to her.

Popping the lid, he revealed a pair of Mithril ear cuffs inlaid with Adamantium. Or at least that's what he was told they were made from when Thanric offered them to him.

Alicia gasped when she saw them.

Kai didn't wait.

"Alicia, will you be my wife?"

Alicia nodded vigorously as another tear ran down her cheeks and she brushed back her hair for Kai to get to her ears.

Now this was where Kai was, a little out of his depth.

Thanric had simply said that she would point to spot and the ear cuffs would do the rest, it was just a matter of where she pointed.

When he saw Alicia pointing to the tip of her left ear, he knew she was in wholeheartedly.

The custom, as he was told, was that the more exposed Alicia chose to wear this little ear cuff, the more proud or boastful she was of their union.

Kai's hands shook as he took one of the cuffs and handed the box to her. He lifted the cuff of white and inlaid gold coloured metal; it slipped into place easily and when he was certain he had it right; he channelled a little mana into it.

It tightened down, forming a snug seal against her skin that only they could remove.

As Alicia plucked the remaining cuff from the box, she looked at him expectantly.

He looked back at her like an idiot.

"Where should I put it?" she asked him softly.

Kai now blinked like a clueless idiot.

Thanric hadn't mentioned it, but damn, it was obvious.

If it meant something where she wore her ear cuff, then why wouldn't it mean something for him too? Only problem was he had stupidly round human ears and he didn't know the significance of any part of it.

Thinking fast, he said, "trust your heart."

That made Alicia take a slight step back, her ears twitching as she looked at him.

Any moment now Syl, he thought, save me from my carelessness, help Alicia, anything?

When the moment dragged on and it became clear Syl would not help him; he shifted his hopes to Alicia looking to Syl for help, but she actually kept her golden eyes locked on his.

There was a flash of certainty and she stepped forward again to slip it onto the top left outer edge of his left ear. Right where he would have expected the point of his ear to be if his ears were actually pointed.

Feeling the cuff bind against his skin, he stepped forward and kissed her, really kissed her, and damn, her lips were just as soft as Syl's and oh so terribly sweet.

Breaking free, he realised that was actually it. He had possibly done one of the most daunting things he would ever do in his life. Propose to two women on the same night, in the same location, in front of each other.

God, he hoped there was no actual need for a marriage ceremony when all of this was over. Though who was he kidding? He would do it if it was what they wanted.

What was next… oh right, dinner.

He stepped back and turned to pull out one of the seats.

A cough from Alicia stopped him, and he turned to see Syl and Alicia approach each other.

Seeing each of them holding a little box, he remembered this relationship, this throuple as he thought of it. It wasn't just about him.

"Syl, growing up in the palace… I knew things that would be and things that I could not possibly hope to be. I have seen my sisters marry many times. Much of them gaining partners they loved dearly only for things to be soured by other relations they could not control, no matter how much they tried. Though they find time to make things work. With you, that is not the case. I see you as an equal, a sister, friend and lover, and I wish to share my heart with you. Will you join my heart, my hopes and my dreams with yours this day?"

"Alicia, long ago I knew I had one purpose. That I would have no hope beyond what I was created for. Kai changed all that, and I thought that was all I needed, but meeting you, your innocence, your hope, your friendship, I saw that my world was limited. Though I love him with all my heart, I know that there is room for more, and everyday I hope for more, I hope for you. I will give my dreams, my hopes, my heart this day."

They exchanged their boxes, each of them opening them to reveal a fine ring and a matching ear cuff.

Kai realised that this was the traditional Alean el'vei way of proposing, just as it was explained to him by both Thanric and Arnella.

The rings were the only thing that was a deviation and that was obviously Syl mixing in a little of the culture from Earth.

But as he watched them exchange rings and ear cuffs, the two of them choosing the outermost part of each right ear, this time he fully dawned on him.

They kissed.

Their guards applauded.

They parted.

Syl and Alicia turned to him and the devious smile on both their faces confirming it.

"You knew I planned all this, didn't you?" Kai asked as he let out a long, pained breath.

"Kai, you're terrible at keeping secrets. Sneaking around with Arnella to plan everything out was so cute," Syl said as she approached the table.

Kai pulled out the chair for her to take a seat, tucking it in he moved around to another chair for Alicia.

"Blame the crew. I've known them for a better part of five years. I know the weakest links," Alicia explained as she was pushed in to possition at the table.

Kai looked over to where The Sage was hiding in the shadow, surely he knew, he would see the look on the mans face and- and he was sitting at a table he had got from who knows where feeding Gift in the high chair next to him what looked like strips of chicken… no, Alea had no chickens, maybe it was duck or pheasant.

When Kai finally caught the man's eye, Thanric flashed a grin and returned all his attention back to Gift.

Had everyone known?

Arnella approached the table in her clean, crisp uniform, a series of medals on her chest and a white cloth draped over one arm just as he had described it to her.

"You may discuss what every you wish, there is a privacy bubble active. Though I must ask that you keep the alcohol to one serving. As you know, you will depart soon, and it is for the best that you are all cognisant," she said in a respectful tone.

"Arnella, you're the server? You didn't tell me."

"Lord Kai, while you are aboard, I am your aide. It is only natural that I have the honour of serving you on this auspicious occasion."

She tapped the table, and a series of dishes filled its surface. "the chef sends his congratulations and thanks the lords and ladies for this opportunity. He has enjoyed the challenge. I present carbonara, pizza, Kentucky fried pheasant and a course of bacon cheeseburgers. All delicacies of Kai's home world."

"Really, Kai?" Syl said, as she looked at him in amusement.

Kai nearly chocked, delicacies was not at all how he had described the food to the chef.

"I know it's not fancy food, but I remembered you say once I cooked for you, only you couldn't actually eat. I thought you two might like a taste of Earth before things turned hectic again…"

"You're such a fool. It amazes me how you do it," Syl said as she pointed to the pizza for Arnella to serve it to her.

"How do I eat the cheese burger? What utensils do I use?" Alicia asked.

Both Syl and Kai burst into laughter.

Kai couldn't have asked for things to go any better.

The food was nostalgically good and both Syl and Alicia recognised his effort to share a little bit of earth culture with them both.

The company, his wives, or were they fiancees? he couldn't quite tell which it was at this point, Either way, they were perfect. And once Alicia had loosened up a little, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves and as the night grew long and the candles grew short and they relaxed, they laughed and eventually they looked at Kai like he was desert.

Desert had been the only issue, he had forgotten desert, but it didn't matter too much.

That was when Thanric appeared with a sleeping Gift in his arms.

"It time to depart."

"Now?" Alicia asked as she collected Gift.

"I am afraid so… here," he placed an all to familiar box on the table, "store this for Gift. It's his. He earned it and should now hopefully accept it."

Everyone got up as Kai stored the box for later

They were about to depart. Kai couldn't quite believe it. This wasn't the plan as they had been told, but they knew something was up.

The table disappeared, and Thanric took a step towards Kai.

"I wonder, Kai, if you could help me with something before you go?"

Kai nodded, "after tonight I don't think I could say no."

"Well, you see, there are some ships that have been chasing us for the last three days. We've been letting them gain on us so we could lure them in to a pincer attack with the child of adventure that is on their heels. As our only ship breaker, I am hoping you would try to shoot down the cruiser before it gets any closer. Cause a little chaos. It should allow you to clear the battle with ease."

Kai summoned his favourite hilt, the long one, the one that now had scorch marks from all the extra training they had done.

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