They were taken to a dark barn hidden behind the house, lit only by the torch in the farmer's hand. Lilly didn't mind the dark, her dragon sight making it appear bright as day. She followed the two men to a small room in the back that contained little save for two piles of sticks with some cloth thrown over them. The farmer hung the lantern from a hook near the center of the room before bidding them goodnight.

Gersius thanked the man and dropped his pack in the corner before starting on his armor. Lilly crept to one of the stick piles assuming it was a nest of some kind. Maybe there was an animal inside she could eat while they waited here.

“Are you familiar with these?” Gersius asked as he noticed her inspecting one of them.

Lilly looked at the strange nests with her head turned sideways and wondered what he meant.

“We sleep on them; we call them beds,” he said, walking over to the one she was closest to. He lifted a blanket and held it open. “We pull these over ourselves to stay warm at night.”

“This is your bed?” she asked, unable to believe it.

“Yes, the straw cushions you, and the blanket keeps you warm.”

“You rodents pile up sticks and rags to sleep on instead of gold and silver?”

Gersius nodded as he smiled at her remark. “The farmers are relatively poor and have done the best they could for us. This is a very simple bed that will do for one night. You will see when we get to a town that there are much better beds. For tonight though, I need you to sleep here.”

“I understand, I will sleep on this, bed,” she said as he let the blanket drop.

Gersius was grateful that she accepted that so easily and went back to the other side. Lilly sat on her bed and pulled her knees up, watching him the whole time.

“So humans are not what you thought they were?” he said as he sat on the other bed.

“No, what happened with that woman was not what I expected,” Lilly admitted and paused before continuing. “I have no words for what I am feeling. I do not regret that I have come here, but I have concerns.”

Gersius nodded and met her gaze as she felt something pushing at her across the bind.

“Why don't we start with you telling me how you feel,” he said. “That way, I will know what I need to tell you most.”

Lilly nodded her head and looked up as she pondered her next words.

“What I am about to say is very hard for me,” She began. “I have lived for over five hundred years, and in all that time, I rarely saw your kind. Even when I did, it was from afar as I flew over your heads hidden in the clouds. You were nothing to me, but little creatures that scurried about with short, miserable lives.”

“So, you knew nothing about us?” Gersius asked.

“I know of your nests, these farmhouses. I know of the places where you build lots of nests, what I assume you mean when you say town. I even know the names of some of these places. I know you build your roads, gather your animals, and collect in great numbers. I know what you look like from afar, and never did you occupy my mind or concern me. I am a dragon; I am above you.” She broke to make a deep sigh. “Occasionally, one of your kind would venture into my valley, and I would watch you. I never bothered with you even then unless you tried to enter my cave. When you did, I would kill you; your lives mean nothing to me.”

Gersius nodded as she paused to take a stuttering breath.

“But now I am forced to walk around in this weak form, lost and helpless. I am bound to one of the rodents, and I can no longer do as I please. I can't even take my true form unless I want to suffer the pain of my mangled wings. I worry that this encounter with these rodents is only the beginning. You plan to take me into these towns and surround me with masses of your kind. I have no concept or your ways, and I feel I will look foolish. I worry that I am destined to walk from humiliation to humiliation as the rodents point at me and laugh.”

“Lilly, you have nothing to fear,” he said. “I will be there to guide your steps and protect you.”

“You don’t understand,” Lilly argued as tears started to form in her eyes. “I do not wish to be talking to you, but I have to because,” she shook as she tried to get her words out. “I am... I am not just a slave bound to you. I am dependent on you. I need you to survive now. Me, a dragon, I need you, and that is the greatest humiliation of them all. That I even have to sit here on this bed of sticks and rags and explain myself to you, it hurts.”

Gersius was genuinely taken aback by the way she felt. He had no concept of her true point of view, and trying to appreciate it now was beyond him. Lilly was hundreds of years old, and in all that time, humanity meant nothing to her. She saw them as little more than rodents, and now she was enslaved and dependent on them.

“I didn't even know what fear was until a few days ago, and now I feel like I live in it. I don’t know what you want from me, and I am afraid to find out,” she said. “I have tried to ask you, but you keep saying that you need me.” She looked up at him tears falling from her eyes. “Do I have to beg you? Do I have to humiliate myself even more and crawl at your feet and call you master?”

Gersius got up, unable to bear any more. He moved to her and took her hands in his own even as she frowned and struggled to resist him.

“Now you listen to me. Do not ever call me master,” he said to her in a firm tone. “I have to admit I cannot appreciate how far you have fallen and the pain you must feel.” He stopped as she turned her head away, looking down as the tears flowed freely. “I also cannot appreciate your view of people. For hundreds of years, we meant nothing to you; now you find yourself enslaved to one one of us. I suppose it would be like me finding myself enslaved to a bug.”

She let out a series of sobs at his comments.

“I have also not been fair to you by not answering your questions. I did not realize you were so afraid of where we were going or for what reasons. I am sorry I have made you live in that fear.” He paused again and squeezed her hands.

“I would never sell you, or trade you, or use you in any way that would dishonor you,” he said, trying to sound soothing. “I have not forgotten that you are a dragon. You are far too precious to me to ever consider using you for so petty a purpose.”

“Then why?” she pleaded. “You said you came all that way to find me, because you needed me, what do you need me for?”

“Lilly,” he said, looking away and letting her hands go. “My people are dying,”

She said nothing but looked at him intently as a coldness pressed at her from the bind.

“My homelands are under attack by an enemy that has come in vast numbers. We have underestimated him several times, and it cost us dearly. I was put in charge of the armies sent to stop him, and I made a decision that haunts me night and day.

“What decision?” Lilly asked.

“We had no idea the war was coming,” Gersius began. “When they first attacked, they swept across a vast area of land burning farms and villages. The people fled to a nearby city as I began to organize my armies. I could have marched right away, but I knew the city had strong walls and would hold for at least ten days. With that time, I could double my strength and lead a powerful force to break them.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair as he looked down, mouthing silent words. “The city fell in three days,” he finally said. “The people inside were trapped and massacred.”

Lilly was curious about why that mattered and studied his reactions. She could see he was pained by something and felt a sense of sorry and loss across the bind. This city, whatever that was, meant a great deal to him, and its destruction was a deep wound.

“Why does that hurt you so much?” Lilly dared to ask.

Gersius was silent a long moment as he exhaled a deep breath. “You once asked me about my sister and where she was now.” He looked up and met her gaze, his eyes wet with tears. “She was there, in the city I was sure would last for ten days. She died while I waited for more men to fill out my army.”

Lilly was still confused. Why would that matter? She had siblings of her own and hadn't seen any of them since she left her mother's cave. Come to think of it, she hadn't thought of them in hundreds of years.

“Since then, we have met and fought the enemy many times. He always seems to know our plans and is ready for us. There have been some major battles, and three times now, I have routed his forces but at a terrible cost. When I started, we had nearly fifteen thousand priests of Astikar. Now we can barely field five thousand. We trusted in our strength and discipline augmented by the power of our god. The enemy was prepared to deal with us and take advantage of our overconfidence. They brought weavers and priests of some unknown god we do not understand, and were able to match us on the field of battle, blessing for blessing.”

“So, what will your army do now?” Lilly asked.

Gersius shook his head. “I have divided my remaining priests into smaller units to support the regular infantry supplied by the lords of the old empire. They are trusting in a series of border keeps built into the hills to keep the enemy at bay. It is a losing strategy, the line is too long, and one break in it will spell disaster.”

“Why didn’t you take charge and lead the armies out?” Lilly asked.

“Because I already tried,” Gersius replied. “We have raised two armies, and I was in charge of the largest. I led them out to meet the enemy and retake the lost city. I beat them back until the cities walls were in sight. Then my scouts arrived with a dire warning; this was all a trap. The enemy had three full armies and two smaller formations. They were falling back to draw me out while the two larger forces encircled me. I had to order a retreat at great haste or risk being surrounded and destroyed. We were nearly cut off, and I had to fight a desperate battle to keep a gap open. It cost me too many men and ended any hope I had of going on the offensive. The one saving grace is I managed to shatter the army that got in my way. It will take them some time to reorganize before they can march again.”

“Why not get more soldiers?” Lilly asked.

“I tried that too,” Gersius replied. “The land I am from was once a great empire. It was made up of twelve provinces and a few minor territories and was the most powerful military force in the region. However, those days are over. The empire is dead, and the provinces have since broken into their own independent kingdoms. Each one of them is in danger, but they refuse to unite and stand against the enemy. They have sent token forces while hoarding the best of the soldiers inside their territories for self-defense.”

Lilly felt a wave of anger over the bind. He was angry about that point, and about the armies being held back.

“When the enemy breaks the border keeps and sweeps east, they will all perish. The people know this and are starting to panic. There are calls for empire once again, but there is no man to unite them. They need a symbol of the past to bring them together and restore the empire. It is the only way they are going to turn the tide and survive.” He stopped and looked back at Lilly, his lip trembling.

“Then why do you need me?” she asked. “Did you want me to fight in this war of yours?”

“I need you to be the symbol they are looking for.”

“How can I the symbol they are looking for?” she asked.

“The empire was formed during a war like this one. The same enemy marched against a collection of small kingdoms and city-states. The armies fought them like before, but political backstabbing and greedy manipulators were undermining the effort. A man rose up and united the lands under his banner, shaping them into a single mighty empire. He accomplished this through an act of bravery and heroism that left the people in awe of him.”

“What did he do?” Lilly asked.

“He battled and defeated a dragon, then brought it back as a symbol of his strength and power. With that symbol, the lands fell in line, and he took charge of their armies. He marched out and defeated the enemy, bringing peace and prosperity. He made the city of Calathen his capital and built the cloud palace.” Gersius paused to wipe his eyes. “He ruled for only a short time, but in that time he penned a book, a collection of predictions he made. He said that if the enemy ever returned to threaten the land, a new hero would rise and walk in his steps. We would know this hero because he would arrive with another dragon and lead it through the golden gate of the city” He paused again and looked at Lilly with dire eyes. “The enemy is back, the lands are divided, and I can't win unless I can unite them.”

“So you were telling the truth when you said you needed me?” she asked slowly.

“I was.”

“You want me to pretend you beat me in a fight so you can trick your people into following you?”

Gersius let out a sigh at her words.

“No,” he said. “I want you to be the hope and light of my people. I want you to help me rally them and save them.”

“But you do need me to pretend you tamed me, to prove your courage and power?”

Gersius nodded his head lost in thought for a moment.

“I did,” he said. “I did before.”

“You did?” she said questioningly. “What about now?”

“I wasn't sure what to expect from dragons. In all my life, I have never met anyone who has seen a dragon. The only dragon anyone knows of is the red that attacked you, and he dwells very far away. Most of us assumed that he was just a story made up to frighten children. I did a great deal of research but was unable to find any useful information about your kind. I found an old story of a man talking to a dragon, but I thought it was just a story. In truth, I assumed you were little more than large animals, and I would have to tame you.” He paused again and ran a hand through his short wild hair. “Lilly, I need to save my people. I thought if I could tame you, then I could use you to rally them. But I did not tame you; I didn't even defeat you.”

“No, you did not,” she said, sounding irritated.

“I will tell them that I did not tame you; I will tell them.”

“Tell them what? That you found a dying dragon lying in a ditch? That you bartered my life for servitude? Will you tell them that I begged you to kill me? What will your people think when they see me?” she asked. “What will they think when they see a dragon with broken wings limping across the battlefield? Is that the image you are hoping will rally your people?”

“I have to try! There is no other way,” he said, turning away in shame.

Lilly sat in silence uncertain of what to say as Gersius retreated, sitting with his back to her. She remembered the other day and his strange reaction to her question. Since he was talking, she decided to find out why.

“When we left your camp the other day, I told you that you were brave because you had come to face me alone.” She paused to see if he would respond. “But you told me that you had not come alone, what did you mean?”

“I set out with a host of brothers. I planned to overwhelm you with numbers and combined divine power.”

“How many is a host?”

“Thirty men,” he said.

She suddenly felt pleased that he had brought thirty men to face her, surely that was a sign of respect, but she wondered. “Where are your thirty men?”

“Dead, all of them but one,” he said in a low tone. “We were several weeks on the road and deep into the wilds. We made camp on a hill in the forest, believing we were safe. They struck at night, came in numbers I could not believe.”

“Who did?”

“Bandersooks,” he said. “The enemy uses them as shock troops driving them in hordes at our lines. I do not know how so many of them got this far east. Our sentries were cut down in seconds and the camp overrun. As we were not expecting a battle, most of us didn't have on our armor. Still, we slaughtered many of them, but only two of us were still standing when the sun rose the next day.

“Where is the other man then?”

“I sent him back to report our disaster and went on to face you alone.”

She pondered the thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

“So you are a brave man,” she said. “It doesn't matter how many men you started with; in the end, you chose to face me alone.”

“I chose to die alone,” he said, almost shouting.

“What?”

“I failed and had given up. I was too cowardly to go back and report the disaster myself. I couldn't bear the thought of having to face the condemnation for what I had done. I was not brave. I was a coward. I went into your valley alone because I was hoping you would kill me,” he said, running a shaking hand through his wild brown hair. “None of this was supposed to happen. I just wanted to restore hope; I just wanted to save them.”

Her dragon eyes saw everything as he fell apart in the corner. She watched him shake as he struggled to contain the pain locked inside. He was the one in turmoil now, suffering over something she didn't fully understand.

“He wanted to die?” she said to herself quietly. She thought of that day in the valley, and how she begged him to kill her. What twist of fate brought two beings together, hoping the other would kill them and end their pain?

“I am sorry I wasn't able to heal your wings,” he sobbed. “I never wanted you to be harmed like that.”

Why did he care about her wings? Why did he keep trying to protect her? She thought about the day she sobbed beside the little stream after he yelled at her. She was so frightened and alone, but then he did something that made her feel safe. The twisting in her stomach was back as she watched him and felt his sorrow. Slowly she got to her feet and crept across the room, the twisting inside imploring her to go on.

“I want to be honest with you as you have been honest with me. Your war and your people mean nothing to me, and I have no faith in this plan of yours. I do not like being bound to you, and I want nothing but to be rid of you and go home.” She took another breath. “But I am not stupid, I know that I need you, and you have done as you promised. You limited my binding to a year and a day, and you have been respectful of me. These other rode-, humans have been good to me as well.”

“I am glad you got to see we are not so bad,” he said softly.

“I don’t like being bound, but I will go where you need me to go and try to help you, even if I have to pretend you defeated me.”

He was quiet and still, with his back facing her, and his head hung low. She thought of the stream again and wondered if maybe she could do the same. She steadied herself and took a deep breath as she knelt beside him. She lifted her arm and trembled as she reached over him and put her arm on his shoulder.

“I don't know much about you, humans,” she said, struggling to use the word human instead of rodent. “And I understand you about as little as you understand me, but I do know one thing. When you held me like this, I felt better.” Her arm tightened as she leaned into him, pulling them together.

He sobbed and nodded his head. “Thank you, Lilly. Thank you.”

She held him until he finally got control of himself and lay down to sleep. The truth was finally out, and she knew why he needed her. The question now was, could she really be the symbol he needed? She went back to her pile of sticks and sat there, wondering where this road would lead.

Gersius stretched his arms with a great yawn as the dawn's light began to crawl over the world. They spent much of the night talking, and he felt it now as he worked his arms to break the stiffness and rose to his feet. He glanced at Lilly as she rose and began to brush at her dress to remove the hay that clung to the fabric.

As his senses returned, he began to notice the dusty smell of the small space they used for a room. The scent of straw mixed with that of damp stone and plaster to create the unmistakable scent of a barn.

He looked to Lilly again, and their eyes met. She gave him a gentle smile before beginning to shake out her hair to remove yet more straw. He felt a strange joy at that smile, a feeling that things might be getting better.

He turned his attention to getting ready for the journey ahead. His muscles complained as he lifted the plates of his armor and began to buckle it on. He always felt safer in his armor but often wished to do without it, longing for the day he no longer needed it. He packed his helm and gloves into his backpack, hoping to escape some of the heat. With a groan, he swung the pack over his shoulder and turned to see Lilly watching him.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

She nodded her head, watching him intently but remained silent.

The morning light stung his eyes as they exited the dark interior of the barn. The land outside was a grassy pasture ringed by a low fence of posts. It smelled of weeds, and animals carried on a gentle breeze that blew from the south. The house sat still in the cool morning air until the familiar form of Misses Garandel in her layers of coats and lace came around the corner.

“Can't be going off on such a long walk without a good breakfast,” she insisted as she tottered toward them. “Into the house now, I already have the food on.”

“I guess we can have one more meal,” he said with a smile toward Lilly.

Lilly followed them to the house that was warm and lit by a dim amber glow. The smell of smoke mixed with that of meat sizzling as it cooked over a metal plate that rested on the coal. She took a deep inhale and smiled, excited for a new experience in human food.

She sat beside Gersius at the table and waited anxiously. She glanced at him several times to find him looking down or away, lost in a private thought. His face looked emotionless as if made of stone with eyes staring into some other world. She decided to leave him be, focusing on the room around her and the smells that were so pleasing.

Misses Garandel placed plates of food before them with a smile before tottering off on other chores. Lilly looked down in wonder at the yellow lumps, strips of cook meat, and crusty bread. She went to eat with her hands, but Gersius finally took notice and corrected her showing her how to use a fork.

She was grateful he'd spoken, but the moment had been brief, and he returned to his stone-faced expression. She pretended to struggle with her fork and even coughed a few times to get his attention, but he never noticed. A thought to say something sprang to mind, but she choked back the words, unsure what to say. For some reason, his silence bothered her, and she desperately wished he would speak.

She reached inside and discovered she could feel the bind to him. He felt cold across it, almost oppressive as if he were a weight on her shoulders. She quickly let go and decided to give him some time to clear his head, and turned her thoughts to the food before her.

She sampled them and found them pleasing, especially the strips of meat. The flavors were all new to her, and she savored the moment with a little smile and hum. She ate more slowly this time, tasting everything with delight and humming through it all. She even began to play with the food a little pushing it around the plate to make little mounds. She glanced at Gersius again and caught him smiling at her.

Instantly she felt the now familiar twisting deep inside. The sensation she had no words for but always seem to bloom from him. She realized It felt stronger the closer she was to him. It was something of him, something to do with the magic of the bind, allowing her to feel parts of him. She began to wonder if he felt anything of her, or was he too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice?

His words from the night before came back to her mind. He was deeply concerned about these humans that he called his people. This ‘war’ was painful to him because it hurt these people. He needed her help because the people believed a hero would come with a dragon. He hoped she would allow him to unite the lands once again to repel the invaders and restore peace. It required her to pretend he'd defeated her in battle, and that thought was aggravating. It made little sense to her, but it clearly meant a lot to him, so she agreed to help. She felt much better about their arrangement now. He thanked her sincerely, and together they established an agreement that made her feel much better. Now she wasn't just a slave being dragged away, but more of a partner working together to better them both.

Lilly pondered all of this carefully, particularly how she felt about humans. She was unable to make her previous view of humans fit what she now knew about them. She was also enthralled by the food they ate. She never imagined food could taste so good, it was all so, what was that word he used, delicious? The taste of a deer or goat, or even a horse was still pleasing, but this magic humans called cooking made everything taste even better. She hoped there would be more of this cooking in the future to savor and enjoy.

With a sigh, she looked down at her nearly empty plate. Her life had changed so much in just a couple of days. She was still a crippled dragon, but why did she feel like she was better off? Why did these moments of her life feel so fulfilling?

When the meal was over, Misses Garandel produced what she called a brush and insisted on using it on Lilly's hair. Lilly sat at the edge of the bench, flinching and twitching as the woman worked, pulling at her hair with the device.

“Isn't proper for a lady to go around hair all in tangles,” Misses Garandel said as she brushed. “Such a strange color of hair, silvery blue, and soft as silk. You are such a lovely one.”

Gersius used this moment to go into the front yard and knelt in the dew-laden grass to clear his mind. All morning he felt something reaching from Lilly. It pushed at him over the bind like a child poking at him. He knew he could feel something of her emotions, but this calling at him was new. As much as he wanted to explain everything to her, he had more important things to worry about. They were at the far southern farms, but they needed to go north and get on one of the main roads west. From here, he needed to work his way northwest to Calathen. If he could go straight west back across the Greenwall, he would reach Whiteford and then could take the northwest road through Kingsbridge, but that mean trekking across the wilds and risking more bandersook attacks. The north road was safer and took him around the Greenwall, but it was also longer. It would take him a month of walking to get there. More likely, it would take two with the needed stops and meals for Lilly’s sake.

Did he have that much time? If the Doan took as long as he hoped to reorganize and advance again, he might have three months. If his brothers harassed them as they tried to mass, he might have a little more. His mind drifted back to Lilly, back to the woman who saw humans as ants and hated to wear their form. He felt he was being cruel by forcing her to fill this role for him. She had agreed to do it, but she also said she was dependent on him. How much of her decision was made in light of that dependence? That thought would have to wait; right now, he needed the embrace of his god to remind him why he was doing this.

The cool wet of the dew-soaked the plate on his knees as he lifted his arms out. With closed eyes, he focused and steadied his breathing as he opened his heart and his voice to the divine. He offered up thanks to his God Astikar, the god of mercy and justice. He thanked him for bringing Lilly into his life and vowed to get her to Calathen. Somehow he knew he had done the right thing healing her and that once they got to Calathen, all would be well. He clung to this thought as he prayed for guidance and power. His heart and mind one with the divine as the might of Astikar rolled through him.

When his prayers were over, he struggled to stand and wiped the wetness from his knees. He stretched his arms again, working the tired muscles of his back as he turned to the house.

Lilly stumbled out of the farmhouse with hair brushed and braided. She smiled and walked across the yard stumbling a little and pulling at the shoes at her feet.

“Why do you rodents wear these?” she asked while lifting a foot to tug on the shoe.

“Most humans cannot walk very far barefoot, it risks injury to one’s feet,” he replied.

“So you make uncomfortable coverings for your them?” she asked.

“We call that a shoe. For most people, a shoe is something that has to fit properly to be comfortable. Those look a little too small for you, but some protection is better than none.”

She tugged at it a little more then put her foot down. “I am ready to go,” she said.

“I wish to thank the farmer and his wife for their kindness. I will meet you by the road in a moment.”

Lilly nodded and stumbled off for the road as he went back to the farmhouse. He went inside and thanked the couple for their kindness and then returned to Lilly with a nod. Off they went down the dirt track that was the road as the sky above began to take on a deeper blue.

His eyes studied her as they walked, her hair was freshly brushed, and carefully braided down the sides. The look framed her face and made her delicate features more noticeable, especially her blue eyes. The glow was gone, but in the morning light, they seemed to sparkle with magic. They were so intensely blue he was struck by their beauty like sapphires held up to the sunlight. She glanced his way and caught him looking at her, a smile curling her face as she quickly looked away.

“Your hair looks nice,” he said, causing her to smile wider.

“That woman insisted on tying it like this,” she said, tugging gently at a braid.

“It is called a braid, and it looks good on you.”

“She said so too,” Lilly said before pausing as if considering something. “Why did she keep calling me lovely?”

Gersius bit his lip a moment as he thought about his answer. “It is another way to say you are beautiful.” Her eyes looked about as she considered his words before her mouth came open, and a blush turned her cheeks pink.

They walked down the road for another hour, talking about everything she had learned. Lilly described how much she liked the food over and over. She explained all the flavors to him as if he didn't know what they were. Gersius only laughed at her lack of understanding and let her go on. He then had a thought that hadn't occurred to him before. `“What do dragons eat?”

“People mostly,” she said without pause or hesitation.

He stopped in his tracks staring at her as she walked past him giggling.

That is not funny,” he said as he smiled to see her tease him and laugh. He was amazed at the harmless expression of happiness. Was she starting to heal?

Lilly waited until he started moving again and caught up before she answered. “We eat any large animals, deer, elk, sheep, cows, some large fish if we bother to catch them,” she said, counting off her fingers as she listed things.

“I saw you had a fondness for fish,” he said, smiling.

She shot him a sideways glance with narrowed eyes. “The truth is, we don’t eat very much at all. A dragon might eat five or six deer in a single day, and then not eat for five to ten years.”

“How is that possible?” Gersius asked with raised brows and mouth agape.

“Well, for one, most dragons will sleep that whole time. My mother called it dovulind, which I think in your language is dragon sleep.”

“You sleep for years?” Gersius said, his brows even higher.

“Well, I never did, weeks, sometimes a few months, but then I would be awake for months at a time as well.”

“So you can sleep for years, and be awake for years without sleeping?”

“I don’t know any dragon that was ever awake for years at a time. At least my mother never said anything about it, but she told me of dragons that have slept for hundreds of years.”

“That is difficult to imagine,” Gersius said. “But if you are awake for months, do you eat more then?”

Lilly bobbed her head as her eyes aimlessly looked about. “I suppose I ate more if I stayed awake, but it was not much more. In one six month span, I think I ate maybe eight deer and one horse.”

“A horse?” Gersius laughed. “Where did you find a horse?”

“It was wandering around my valley one day. I have no idea how it got in there.”

“How do you maintain your health if you eat so little compared to your size?” he asked.

“Well, that is the second thing.” She took a breath, and her eyes wandered again. “There is much I know about the way magic works that you don’t. Dragons are magical in nature, and we can consume,” She stopped and looked down her mouth, silently working. “That is not the right way to say it. We can absorb magical from things, specific things.” She smiled brightly with that answer.

“You absorb magic?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Did you ever wonder why dragons accumulate treasure hoards?” she asked.

“I think everybody wonders that,” he replied.

“Your kind believes it is greed, vanity, and pride, but there is something more that we do not like to share outside our kind,” she made a quick look about and squeezed her hands together. “Promise me, you will not share what I am about to tell you,” she asked, stopping to look him in the eyes.

“Of course, I swear on my faith to Astikar I will not reveal your secrets,” he said.

Lilly closed her eyes and took a breath before continuing to speak and walk. “There are five magical metals in the world. Gold is one, silver, another.” She paused, unsure if she should continue. “We dragons sleep on these metals because we can feed on the magic they carry.”

“That is unbelievable; I had no idea.”

“I am sure you don’t know this, but a dragon only grows so big naturally. We get bigger based on the amount of magic we consume. This is the reason some dragons collect huge hoards to feed on all that magic. The process is very slow, but if you have mountains of gold and silver to sleep on, it can be much faster.”

“Are you big for a dragon then?”

“Not really, most dragons are three to four times their growth size, with some even larger than that. I am about double my full growth size, which is about right for my age,” she said. “I had a fairly decent hoard, but I have not had it very long.”

“I do not want to know how you got it.”

“I will not lie to you, Gersius. You are not the first man to come to my valley.”

“I said I do not want to know.”

“It doesn't matter; the red took it all.” She frowned now, and her face almost seemed to darken. Then she reached down and pulled a small bag from her waist. “But this will help start a new one.”

He looked over and saw her holding the small bag of money he used to pay the farmer. He stopped and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Lilly, where did you get that?”

“It was in the farmhouse,” she said innocently.

“You stole the money I paid those kind people for feeding and sheltering us, for clothing you?”

“I didn’t steal it! It was sitting there on the table.”

“Lilly, that is stealing. It was not your money; it belonged to them.”

“But I wanted it,” she said as if that was all that needed saying.

Gersius took a moment to clear his head. He lost his temper with her before, and hurt her deeply. He reminded himself that she was a dragon and had done what seemed natural to her. She was also making significant progress in her mood and acceptance of her condition. She was opening up and sharing with him; she even laughed. He did not want to squash her feelings and set her back.

“Lilly, I need you to understand something.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath when he felt centered, he continued. “What you did is wrong by human standards.”

“But I need to start a new hoard,” she said with a strained voice.

“I did not know how important your hoard was to you until you told me just now, but you cannot start your hoard with the money I gave those people.” He was careful not to raise his voice or accuse her of being a thief. She was a dragon, and he was sure that to her taking it made perfect sense. “I need you to give me the money,” he said, taking his hand off her shoulder and holding it out.

She clutched the bag to her chest, her eyes wide and trembling.

“But I need it!” she pleaded.

He decided to try a new tactic. “Lilly, I want you to think about dinner, think about how good that food was, think about the little apple tarts you ate.” He saw he had her attention, so he continued. “Did you enjoy that food?”

“Yes, I liked the little apple tarts,” she said, still clutching the bag.

“Those people gave you those tarts as a gift of kindness. They gave you that outfit your wearing as a gift of kindness.” He could see she was thinking, her eyes starting to wander as the thoughts rolled through her head. “The farmer's wife washed your feet to show you kindness. Do you remember how she got down on her own hands and knees just to wash your feet?”

“Yes?” she said, her voice quaking.

“All of that was a gift to you to show you kindness. They gave it to you, and never asked for anything in return.” Her arms loosened a bit, and he saw her hands soften their death grip on the little bag of coins. “That bag of coins, that was a gift of kindness from me to them. I wanted to thank them for being so kind to you, so I gave them that,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm and soothing.

Lilly pulled the coin bag away from her chest and looked down at it. Her eyes were still trembling and wet in the corners now. “But, I need it,” she said softly.

“By taking it, you have undone my kindness. You have hurt the people who were kind to you.”

“How have I hurt them?” she asked, her voice sounding strained.

“Because I paid them back in kindness, and you took it away,” he said.

“I hurt them?” she asked again as if she couldn't understand it fully.

“Remember, they are not dragons. They do not see the world as you do, and I know you do not see it as they do. Trust me when I tell you, you hurt them.”

Lilly squeezed the bag and felt the coins inside. She could feel the magic radiating out, and the familiar touch made her hunger. She pulled it away from her chest and looked down at it. “But I need it,” she said softly under her breath as she understood what she needed to do. She held out the small bag with a trembling hand and put it into his. She took a moment to let the bag go as the tears rolled down.

“You have done the right thing,” he said.

Her eyes followed the bag as Gersius put it in his pack. Already she felt a sense of loss as her happiness drained away.

“We have to give it back to them,” he said. “I will tell them you thought I left it behind by mistake and picked it up for me; they will understand.”

“I need it,” she said again softly while staring at his pack.

They walked back in silence, and Lilly waited by the road as Gersius delivered the small bag back to the farm couple. He lingered in the doorway, and she saw him point at her while the couple looked from inside the house. She kept her face down and only glanced up when he returned.

“Were they mad at me?” she asked.

“No, they were not,” he said.

“How do you know?”

“Because they gave me this,” he said, holding up a small ball of cloth.

“What is it?” she asked, looking at it.

“It is for you.” He held out his hand, presenting her the bundle. “Go ahead, take it.”

Slowly she took the bundle of cloth and carefully unwrapped it. Inside were two golden apple tarts, warm to the touch. The air filled with the sweet aroma, and her mouth instantly became wet.

“Since we ate all the tarts last night, she baked some new ones this morning after we left,” he said as her eyes lit up. “Those are still warm. They should be extra special.”

“These are for me?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Yes, they are both for you, enjoy them.”

They restarted their journey down the road as Lilly hummed to the taste of fresh apple tarts. Her smile and the light in her eyes, making the loss of time seem meaningless.