Playing With Fire

by Adrienne Woods et al.

  I knew the answer was right in front of me, but I just couldn’t see the big picture.

  How did Delilah know how to speak to them? Why had she taught her granddaughter to speak their tongue? So she would be able to scare them away?

  This would mean everything Delilah told me was true.

  I tried to see the big picture so I could grasp it and everything would make sense, but what I needed to grasp wasn’t yet within my reach.

  I was laying on the ground. Gwen had just pushed me down. I’d been here so many times and looked hard to what I might have missed the first time.

  Gwen was growling like a mad woman at the dragon. Showing authority. How could a person have authority over dragons? It didn’t seem right. But it was as if the dragon could see the truth in it’s eye slits. Why couldn’t I?

  Speaking dragon tongue was just the beginning. I told her it didn’t matter. I told Delilah it didn’t matter. But I knew speaking dragon tongue wasn’t it. It was something else. Something more threatening.

  She yelled in the beast’s tongue again and fear struck the dragon, then it flew away.

  She looked back at me and I finally got it. The realization woke me up, the truth struck me hard.

  Delilah knew so much about dragons, Gwen knew so much about dragons, Petro, Philip. I jumped up knowing what Philip did with my dad and threw up in my washing basin.

  How could he do that...to his own kind.

  They were all dragons.

  I started to laugh. That was Gwen’s secret. She wasn’t human, she was a dragon. If father discovered this, he would find new ways to capture dragons, new ways to make them transform and that was why Gwen had broken it off. I was royalty, and she was afraid that I would never accept her. But it was too late. She could be the boogeyman, a succubus, a banshee, I didn’t care.

  It meant that not all dragons were evil and cunning, that they could be reasoned with, but it would not happen in father’s time.

  Maybe not even Charles’ either, but our children would know the truth, and their children would know the truth. Gwen and I would show everyone that there could be a truce between dragons and humans. We could live in harmony since they also had human forms.

  This changed everything.

  I opened the drawer and stopped. I couldn’t put this in a letter. I needed to see Gwen face to face to tell her that I knew what she was guarding. Her secret and that I did not care. I would protect it and I would protect her with my dying breath. She didn’t have to be afraid. I just wanted her, whether she was a dragon or not. I didn’t care.

  I needed to get back home. School wasn’t school anymore, not without Gwen.

  I packed my bags. I would walk if I had to. I didn’t care.

  Chapter 6

  LOUIE

  * * *

  It was around mid-afternoon when I got a carriage in town to take me back to the palace in Etan.

  I couldn’t contain my joy. I had to talk to Delilah first without sounding like an idiot. To make sure that my speculations were correct.

  Time was ticking by so slowly. The ride back to Etan felt like light-years.

  I practiced what I was going to say to Gwen, for her to take me back since I was lost without her and I wanted to know everything there was to know about her.

  But first I needed to clear my speculations with Delilah. She would tell me if they were blasphemous or not.

  I didn’t go to the palace, I told the driver to drop me off at the edge of the forest where Delilah’s cottage was.

  I wondered if Gwen was there. Her father had said that she went away, to deal with all of this on her own.

  I was such an idiot. This was why she wasn’t afraid of the dungeons, she hated what they were doing to her own kind, but I didn’t understand Philip’s reasoning. Why was he helping father, or did he have another agenda? Maybe he was leading them away from the colonies.

  I was afraid for him. If they discovered what he was, they would know that Gwen and Delilah were too.

  They had lived under our noses for centuries and none of us had known it.

  That was why that dragon was afraid of Gwen. She must have told her that she was also a dragon and it didn’t want to fight her.

  I would’ve probably had a heart attack if she had showed me her dragon figure that night.

  Of course this raised so many more questions. Did all of the dragons have human forms or just some?

  I grew up with them, and everything Delilah told me, all her dragon stories. Could humans ride them, could we really be that close to them, would they protect us?

  It couldn’t be too late, could it? No, it was never too late.

  They were put on this earth for a reason. I had always believed that and now I finally understood why. Why they were here with us. We could live in peace.

  But it wasn’t going to happen with father as king and for the first time I envied my brother that he was the crown prince.

  Charles wouldn’t even listen. It was always black and white with him. He was just like father, the curse and the hatred already lodged in their souls.

  No, the change would come with our children, and their children, we just needed to teach them the correct way.

  The carriage finally stopped and I was surprised that it stood at the edge of the forest.

  “Thank you, can you please take my luggage to the palace and tell my mother I’m on my way?”

  He nodded and I climbed out.

  Mother had always begged me to come home. I was smart enough and the extra curriculum I was learning was just me taking up time.

  I didn’t need the extra schooling. I needed Gwen.

  I walked deeper into the forest and found the hidden path fast, the one that would lead to Delilah’s cottage.

  It was such a warm cottage. Smoke always coming out of the chimney.

  Birds all around her. She was caring for so many sick and injured animals. She had a kind soul, much kinder than some humans I knew.

  I knocked on her door and she opened.

  Her face fell when she saw it was me. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”

  I shook my head and smiled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She squinted. “Tell you what?”

  I chuckled. “May I come in? It might not be a discussion for out in the open.”

  She nodded but looked concerned about what I had just said. Of course she had nothing to fear. Her secret was safe with me.

  “Why aren’t you at school, Louie?”

  “I don’t need to be there anymore Delilah. My purpose has taken a new course.”

  “Gwen can’t be that course.”

  “Yes, she can. You can speak dragon tongue for a reason.”

  “It’s not what you think.” She sounded somber.

  The silence grew. It had to be what I thought. “What is it you think that I’m thinking?”

  “It’s not going to help the kingdom one day Louie. It’s much more complicated than that.”

  She seriously didn’t know I had figured it out. I smiled again. “I’m past that theory. I finally understand and Gwen is wrong. We can be together. I would never betray her or you.”

  She squinted again.

  “Don’t make me say it out loud, Delilah.”

  “Say what out loud?”

  I sighed. She wasn’t going to make this easy on me.

  “I know your secrets. Why you know so much about dragons. All those stories, they aren’t just stories. You know all those things because you have lived them for years, haven’t you?”

  She gasped.

  “I said your secret is safe with me,” I touched her knee and laughed.

  “Louie, what are you saying? How did you come to this conclusion?”

  “It’s not a bad thing Delilah. It’s a good thing. It means that our future might be brighter. Why didn’t you tell me that you had a human body?”

  She closed her eyes.

  “Stupid question, you don’t have to answer that. Fa
ther can never know that you are hiding in plain site, Charles either. He is just like him.”

  “A change will never come.”

  “It will. With our children, with our children’s children. It is possible.”

  Delilah started to laugh. “Of course it is. That’s a myth among our kind, great stories that humans and dragons can have bonds, Louie.” Her smile disappeared. “Remember when I told you it’s different for dragons. They love differently from humans. Theirs is much deeper and stronger than humans could ever experience.”

  “Don’t discount human emotions, Delilah please. I care for Gwen on a different and deeper level too. I can’t live without her.”

  Her eyes grew softer and she smiled. “Good, because she bonded with you, Louie. She is still trying to make sense of it but the sadness of losing you is not fading away. It will never fade away. So you need to tell her how you feel at once.”

  “How? She doesn’t want to hear anything I have to say. She doesn’t answer my letters.”

  “She’ll answer mine. Just stay put.”

  I nodded and my heart skipped fast knowing that I would finally get to see Gwen again.

  She wrote a note and called a raven.

  It was amazing how in tune Delilah was with animals.

  She put the note in a pouch and fasten the lace around his leg and it flew away.

  She came back to sit down on the sofa. “Now we wait. So tell me how did you figure it all out?”

  * * *

  GUINEVERE

  * * *

  A crow tapped on my window.

  I looked and saw it was Fred, Delilah’s crow. I opened the window and scratched him softly on the head and then untied the pouch’s string from Fred’s leg.

  I took out her note.

  Come fast.

  It sounded urgent and I didn’t think twice.

  I rushed out of the room as scenarios of what might be wrong filled my mind.

  Was it Louie, was he okay?

  I always worried about Louie first but I knew that wasn’t it. She had probably found a squirrel in a trap or there was a dragon problem she needed my help with.

  Maybe a sick human.

  It took me a while to reach her cottage in the forest.

  Relief washed over me as I heard laughter coming from inside the cottage.

  I knocked on the door, listened as she got up and walked over to it.

  The door creaked as she opened it and peeked out.

  She was smiling as I tried to enter but she wouldn’t let me.

  Then she spoke in dragon tongue.

  “You will listen, and you will listen carefully. He has a lot to tell you.”

  I squinted and she opened the door.

  I saw Louie sitting in the chair and tears immediately filled my eyes.

  She knew how I had been struggling with this. Why would she call me here when he was here?

  “Gwen, listen.” She smiled softly and I entered her cottage.

  I entered and walked to the chair the farthest from his.

  I sat down. I didn’t even want to look at him. It would never work, but my heart was betraying me. It felt as if it was beating in my ears and felt as if Louie could hear it. He knew that he would be my weakness forever.

  “How are you?” Louie asked.

  I just nodded. Too afraid that my voice would break if I answered.

  “Gwen, look at me please.”

  “What are you doing here? I told you it’s over, Louie.”

  “No, it can’t be. I tried.” He sounded adamant.

  That knowledge should mean a lot to me but he would hate me when my secret came out. He would never look at me the same way.

  He walked toward me and crouched in front of me. Forcing me to look at him. “You don’t need to be afraid.” He whispered.

  “It’s not about me being able to speak dragon tongue, Louie. It’s much ...”

  “Deeper.” He finished. “I know. Why didn’t you tell me what you are Gwen?”

  I looked at him confused and then my gaze shifted to Delilah. What was he saying?

  “Excuse me.”

  He huffed and smiled. “I know what you are, sweetheart. I would die to protect your secret.”

  “What I am?”

  He chuckled. “I don’t care if you are the boogeyman, or a succubus, or a banshee, not even a dragon…”

  My face fell at dragon and I looked at Delilah as my heart pounded.

  “I still love you. I will always love you.”

  Tears blurred my eyes. “You will?”

  He laughed and then hugged me.

  “You know, how did you find out?”

  “I was an idiot and I’m sorry. It took awhile for me to finally understand what that night was all about. I love you Gwen, just you. I don’t care how many forms you have, I don’t care if a dragon is one of them. It’s you. I will always love you until my dying breath, maybe even longer.”

  I bawled my eyes out and hugged him tighter. They weren’t sad tears this time, they were happy tears.

  This morning I had felt like I was breaking but right now I felt whole again.

  What if this was only a dream? But my dreams never felt so real. Of course if I had a bond it would make this feel real.

  I pinched my arm softly as I clung to Louie and it hurt.

  He pushed me away. His own tears lingering in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” I finally said. “You understand why I couldn’t tell you?”

  “It doesn’t matter and yes, I understand. My father will never know about this. I swear!” He kissed my lips a few times. “Your secret, all your secrets will be safe with me. I promise.”

  “Forever and ever?” I asked.

  “Forever and ever.”

  Part II

  Chapter 7

  FIVE YEARS LATER

  GUINEVERE

  * * *

  Louie and I were married that summer after he discovered what I truly was.

  He stayed true to his word and never told another soul what I was. What any of us were or that dragons had human forms.

  Our lives were like a real fairy tale come true.

  Of course he wanted to know everything about the Metallics.

  I could tell he wasn’t fond of the Chromatics. They were a wilder version of us and they didn’t embrace their human bodies the way the Metallics did. They did not want anything to do with humans either. The hatred was mutual.

  Delilah told me that some Chromatics never shifted once after they got their human forms. It was too traumatizing for the kids and the older dragons wouldn’t allow them to walk freely in their human form. They didn’t embrace it like Metallic dragons did, and they didn't feel the need either to be among humans.

  I told him about my special ability, that my breed could heal humans.

  I remember the first night I introduced him to my dragon form. It was a bit overwhelming, but it got easier as he wanted to see me in that form on a regular basis too.

  We were always close to Delilah’s cottage so she could translate because of our communication barrier.

  He even started to learn our tongue. It was similar to Latin, and he knew Latin, but it was a much older Latin dialect.

  It didn’t belong to the human world anymore.

  When he got used to my dragon form, he wanted to know if he could ride me.

  He absolutely loved it as much as I loved the sky and we even had to flee from Charles too, but only once.

  It took him a while after that to fly with me again.

  Louie was so not like his family.

  He embraced my family, my small colony of four and he vowed to my father, the dragon way, to never betray us.

  Not that he was a dragon, but it meant so much to my father that he took that vow.

  On our wedding night I made love to him in my human form and I was so afraid that I would shift as my emotions were heightened.

  I had never experienced anything that deep before.


  Delilah told me that it was normal, but she couldn’t help me that much when it came to doing it in my human form.

  She had never had a human lover before. She just said that I should be very careful not to let my emotions get the best of me.

  If I shifted during that time, being so open and so vulnerable with Louie, I could kill him and then what purpose would my life have.

  That was a big concern and growing old with Louie was another as we don’t age the same way.

  Delilah was working on finding out how we could keep Louie from growing older.

  She said that there were dragon potions and magic but it only lasted so long with humans. It’s never a done deal and eventually our lives would part with his death.

  I couldn’t even think about that time. I refused as I knew I would die too if he wasn’t in this world anymore.

  We were happy for now.

  We didn’t live in the castle. He got some land deep in the forest, close to nature for his wild dragon wife to be free, even if it was just for a short time.

  Our house was beautiful, with vast open land on one side and a clouded forest on the other.

  Then finally the news came.

  I was with child, in my human form. We didn’t even think it would be possible and we were so worried about what the little one would be. Half dragon, half human. Would he or she even have a human form, or if human a dragon form?

  It was an excruciating time, especially wondering, for the first year, what the baby would be like.

  If a dragon, I would have to leave Louie and go to my old colony to raise the baby till the time came for his human form to arrive, if that time ever came. I couldn’t phantom living without Louie and the colony wouldn’t accept a human. It was forbidden.

  But he had plans for that.

  He was a talented man who had a dragon heart. He lived by his oath as if he would die, the way we do, if he broke it.

  Then eventually it was time for the baby to be born.

  Delilah and my mother were there.

  Louie didn’t call for his mother since we had no idea what was going to happen.