A Dragon’s Tale

Ethan loved flying. He loved the wind in his face, the freedom of flight, and the view of the entire countryside. Somehow though, he liked that Alana was riding on his back more. It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. He'd known her barely more than a week and -- their bond notwithstanding -- he consequently barely knew a thing about her.

He wanted to change that, but even a thousand feet above the ground, he felt anchored by the disaster that was his ex-fiancée. He wasn't ready. To Alana's credit, she hadn't pushed him for more details about it, although -- like any woman -- she probably really wanted to know. He could feel her emotions over the bond, mostly concern for him. It took him a second to realize the enormity of what that meant.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Alana. I just realized I can tell what you're feeling."

"What?" Alana yelled.

Ethan sighed with frustration and then shouted back to her. "Hang on." Ethan felt her grip tighten.

Then he dived.

From a thousand feet up, they hurtled toward the ground. Alana screamed for almost five seconds until Ethan spread his wings and leveled off. They raced along only twenty feet from the ground for a while, before Ethan flared his wings to bring them to a stop.

"You brat!" Alana slapped his shoulder, but couldn't stop smiling. "That was... Wow!"

"I know. I love flying." He replied.

Alana slid off his back. "We can't be halfway there yet. Why'd you stop?"

"I didn't think you'd want Beth or Charles hearing this. But have you noticed our bond is getting stronger?"

"I did notice. Before, your emotions were only vague and nebulous. Now they're sharp and defined. I can sometimes even get an idea why you're feeling the way you do."

"Same here." Ethan said. "A few seconds ago, I could feel concern over our bond, and I could tell you were concerned for me."

"Oh." Alana mused. "That's... Hmm."

"Is 'Hmm' good or bad?" Ethan sat back on his haunches. He would never have believed before that it could be comfortable, but now he understood why dogs and cats liked it so much.

"My mother had been married for a couple of decades before she could do that with my father." Alana replied.

"Decades?"

"Yes. Elves say when you can do that, you're getting to the best part of the marriage." Alana blinked a few times then looked away. He could have sworn her eyes were moist before she looked away.

"I think the next step is hearing each other's thoughts." She continued after a moment.

"You mean, telepathy?" Ethan's jaw dropped. "Is that even... you can do that?"

She nodded and turned back to him. "Yes, I've heard that some elven couples who've been married for a long time can send thoughts to each other over great distances, even in different countries."

"Wow." Ethan said. "This bond thing is really serious."

"That's why it's the foundation of elven marriage."

"So, what do we do?"

"I think we're stuck with each other. I could feel your emotions during the whole time you were away, so distance doesn't seem to be a limitation."

"I can think of worse people to be stuck with." Ethan said with a smile.

Alana smiled back. "I agree."

There was a moment of silence, although it didn't feel awkward. They stood in the light of the full moon and he glanced up at the stars. It had been ages since he just looked at them

"They're so beautiful." Ethan mused, slowly running his gaze across the incredible vista of this world's starscape. "I've been so busy for so long that I haven't taken the time to just look at the night sky in ages."

He looked directly at Alana. "Sometimes you can't quite see what's right in front of you, because other stuff is in the way. But with time, I think you can see what's there. If you're patient... You know?"

"Oh?" Alana asked.

"I think so, yeah." Ethan finished. "Clouds have a way of clearing eventually. If you wait for them to clear, then the result can be pretty great."

"I think it could be too." Alana replied. She looked happy, which he confirmed through their bond.

He just looked at her for a moment. He loved her rich hazel eyes and her chocolate-brown hair. He loved their height difference and how she always looked perfect even when her hair was a complete mess. But more than that, he loved her heart. She was the kindest, most tender person he had ever met. He didn't know if it was because of their bond, but he was falling hard and fast for this incredible woman.

"Yeah, please give me some time to get over my ex." Ethan said. "Then I think I'd like to... spend some more time with the stars."

Alana blushed and then smiled. "I'd like that."

They stood looking up at the sky in companionable silence for a while. Then Ethan sighed.

"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you. I've been keeping an eye on my mana and it's definitely been refilling. I'm way more full now than when we left yesterday morning."

"But dragons can't..." Alana trailed off.

"Here's the thing." He continued. "I noticed it wasn't refilling while I was in the air with Beth and Charles. But it did start to refill again when I picked you up. I think it's being near you that does it."

"But that's... that's unheard of, Ethan. For a dragon to regenerate mana when he's not around gold is... Well it's just never happened before. At least I don't think it has."

"I think it's our bond. Garthildur said there could be side effects of bonding with a dragon. Maybe this is one of them?"

"That's the only thing that seems to make sense." Alana agreed. "But think of the implications if you don't need to be near gold to get mana. I was worried that if you were working at The Bank, it would get around that you were in Gralden and Lord Delmar's men would come looking for you. But if you don't need to stay near gold..."

"I hadn't thought of that." His mind went immediately to all the gold in its vaults at the mention of The Bank. "But I think it's still worth taking a job there, as I'll get mana much faster. That fight earlier made it clear I can't protect you right now. Wurven could've killed me easily, he was just toying with me."

"True." Alana replied with grimace.

"We'll have to get some weapons and armor once we return the youngsters." Ethan said. "Speaking of which, we have a little way to go yet."

Half an hour later, they landed at the drop-off point. It was far enough away from the city that no one would see a dragon land, even with the full moon.

Beth was awake and gave Ethan a hug when they landed. They woke Charles, Ethan activated his disguise gem and they walked towards town. When they reached Gralden, Ethan banged on the gate to wake up the gatekeepers.

"No admittance after dark!" came the sleepy reply.

"Not even for Lord Borden's daughter?" Beth called back in a loud voice. There was a pause, and then a scramble at the top of the wall, and several guards craned their necks over the battlements to get a good look.

"It's her!" one of the guards shouted. A few moments later, there was the sound of heavy bolts being drawn back and a small door was opened in the massive gate.

"Enter, my lady." The gatekeeper said and then shouted into the darkness. "Send a runner to Lord Borden, and bring four horses."

They walked through the gate and moments later, a sleepy-eyed stable boy led in four horses which were docile around everyone but Ethan. They resisted getting close to him despite the guard's best efforts.

"I'm good walking, thanks." Ethan said, figuring the horses could sense he was a dragon, not a man.

The guards led the procession down the main street. Although after midnight, the city was still surprisingly noisy. Several of the inns and taverns were lively with the sounds of carousing, laughter, argument, and drunken singing.

People kept poking their heads out to see what the fuss was, and then shouting about Beth being back. She took it all in her stride and waved back with the dignified and well-practiced air of a local celebrity. In contrast, Alana seemed uncomfortable with all the attention.

He certainly was.

The guards led them to a grand house in the wealthiest part of the town. A moment after the three had dismounted, the large, ornate door slammed open and a woman sprinted out of the house barefoot to wrap the blonde girl up in a huge hug. The woman looked like a twenty-year-older version of Beth. She was dressed in a full-length nightgown and -- judging from her long hair loose around her shoulders and puffy eyes -- had been sleeping until just minutes before.

"Mother, I'm okay." Beth said hugging the woman back. The woman caught sight of the boy and swept him into her arms as well. After what seemed like several hours, Beth extricated herself from her mother and turned to Ethan and Alana.

"This is Ethan and Alana." Beth said. "They rescued us."

Beth's mother descended upon Ethan and Alana and wrapped them in a hug. Considering her small stature, she was quite strong. The whole time she was thanking them for bringing her children back alive.

After Beth's mother ended the hug, Ethan noticed someone that could only be her father standing behind her. He was tall, over six feet, and possessed an imposing presence. He wasn't exactly scary, but he gave Ethan the impression of great intelligence and cunning. Despite his more reserved manners, there was definite relief on his face looking at his daughter and son.

Unlike his wife, he was dressed, though hastily so. Ethan didn't need to be a fashion expert to know he had expensive taste. The pants and shirt looked to be made of silk and inlaid with gold and silver.

"I am Lord Augustus Kyselius Borden, and this is my wife, Adrienne." The man bowed to Ethan and Alana. "You have my deepest thanks. Gold can be replaced, but my children are priceless. Who might I have the pleasure of addressing?"

"My name is Ethan Ejder."

"Alana Tarihowen, called staff maker." The way she said it and bowed slightly as she spoke gave Ethan the impression she had just given a formal elven introduction.

"You must be tired from your journey." Lord Borden said. "With my deepest gratitude, I implore you to rest in my humble home for the evening. It would be my honor to grant you a room for the evening."

"Um, separate rooms if possible." Ethan said.

"Of course; my mistake." Lord Borden said, though a slight shadow crossed his face. "If you will excuse me, I wish to celebrate with my family. If you follow my steward, he will show you to your rooms."

An elderly man appeared seemingly out of thin air the moment Lord Borden said "steward". He guided Ethan and Alana through the large, impressive, and richly furnished house to separate, but adjoining, rooms.

After making sure they were comfortable and didn't need anything else, the steward bade them good night. Ethan dragged himself over to the bed and flopped down on it. He didn't realize just how tiring all that flying was, and was asleep in moments.