Chapter 4: The Interloper

Aeris paced around the room. She couldn’t help it; if she were going to ask Master Aaron’s permission to visit the dragon that saved her the other day, everything needed to be perfect.

Aeris wasn’t allowed to leave the estate grounds without Master Aaron present and even then she didn’t get out much. She was always told this was for her protection; there were people and dragons alike that would harm her without reason, and after the encounter with that Green Crested Genial, she believed him.

Instead of being afraid of her kind, Aeris was more curious than ever. Why did the dragon hate her so much? What was a Matriarch? Why were domesticates hated so much? She tried asking Master Aaron but he simply brushed her questions aside saying she needn’t worry about it. Maggie also wouldn’t answer her questions, claiming she didn’t know the answers. Aeris knew the two of them were hiding something from her and she intended to find out what it was.

The door to her room opened and Aeris watched excitedly as her master entered.

“Aeris are you alright? I heard you wanted to see me.”

“Everything’s fine, Master,” Aeris said cheerfully, “I just wanted to give you something.” Aeris bounded happily over to the old table and gingerly removed the cloth covering it, revealing a slightly lopsided cake sitting underneath. “Ta-da!”

“Aeris—”

“You see I wanted to do something nice for you—”

“Aeris—”

“—so I decided to get you this. It’s your favorite… I think.”

“Aeris, where did you get this cake?”

Aeris’ ears fell. “I… Well you see…I…”

“Lydia told me about a cake she made this morning that mysteriously disappeared. I’m assuming this would be the missing cake.”

“Master, please don’t be angry,” Aeris said hurriedly, “I tried asking her to make one but she wouldn’t do it. I tried to make one myself, but I didn’t know how, and when Lydia caught me in the kitchen, she threw me out. Then I saw this cake sitting on the table and I overheard her saying she didn’t like it and wanted to throw it out, so I figured I could use it and no one would mind.”

“I see.” Aaron walked the table, carefully inspecting the cake. “Did you ask Lydia if you could take the cake?”

Aeris dropped her head. “No.”

“Uh-huh. Do you know what flavor it is?”

Aeris dropped her head even further. “No. I tried to figure it out myself, but I don’t know much about cakes. I know it’s very good, though,” she added quickly.

 “I see. I guess that would also explain the bite marks on this side.”

“Yes…I wanted to make sure it tasted good before I gave it to you.”

Aaron nodded, a smile beginning to spread across his face. “And what of the bite marks on the other side?”

“I wanted a second opinion.”

Master Aaron burst into laughter. He gently patted the dragon on the head. “Aeris you make it impossible to get angry with you. Now tell me, why are you giving me a cake? It’s nowhere near my birthday, or any other holiday for that matter.”

“I just wanted to do something nice for you,” Aeris said giving Master Aaron the biggest smile she could. “And I wanted to apologize.”

Master Aaron’s smile faded. “Apologize for what?”

Aeris dropped her head. “For disobeying you the other day. If I had stayed put like you said and hadn’t gone to talk to that dragon…”

“Aeris, that was not your fault.” Master Aaron kneeled and looked her in the eye, “I don’t care what I told you to do, that dragon had no right to attack you. You don’t need to apologize, and you certainly don’t need to bring me gifts. If I’m upset with anyone, it’s that dragon.”

Aeris nodded, her chest tightening. She didn’t deserve to be in the care of such a loving person. When her master was being threatened, she had done nothing. Fear paralyzed her and forced her to watch. Master Aaron didn’t hesitate; he put himself in danger, knowing a single human stood no chance against a grown dragon. His kindness stung worse than any punishment he could’ve given her.

“Well, Master, I wanted to ask you about that,” Aeris said softly, as she stared at her claws, slowly drawing a line in the dirt floor, “Why did that dragon—”

“Aeris, you asked me that question a hundred times, and I told you, you don’t need to worry about it. Trying to figure out why anyone does the things they do will only drive you mad,” Master Aaron gently lifted Aeris’ head, forcing her to look him in the eye again, “All you need to know is that sometimes people do nasty things to others. It’s better to simply avoid those kinds of people instead of trying to understand them.”

“But what about the dragon who saved me?” Aeris asked, hopeful, “Can I understand her?”

Master Aaron raised a brow. “Aeris, what are you talking about?”

Aeris played with her claws. “The other dragon. She told me to visit the Patel family if I wanted to speak to her, so I was wondering if I could—”

“No,” Master Aaron said flatly.

“But—”

“Aeris, while I am grateful to that dragon for interfering, I am also certain she didn’t do it out of the kindness of her heart. She likely wants something from you and now thinks that because she saved you, she can get it,” he went back to the door, “I don’t know what that dragon wants, but it can’t be anything good. I don’t want you speaking to her.”

“But, Master—”

“No, Aeris. You are not to see that dragon again, end of discussion.” Master Aaron left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Aeris slumped to the floor devastated. In all the stories she read it worked. She was so certain if she brought Master Aaron a gift, he would at least talk about letting her see the dragon, and she certainly did not expect that reaction.

Aeris left her room. She couldn’t accept Master Aaron’s decision; she wanted to know more about dragons, about herself. She wasn’t going to stop when she was so close to finding out more.

“Lord Strauss seems quite upset doesn’t he?”

Aeris started at the sound of the voice behind her. She turned to see Charles leaning against the wall. Aeris was too stunned to respond. Charles never visited her room and rarely spoke her. And here he was standing a few feet away, talking to her directly.

Charles slowly approached Aeris, looking down at her from the end of his beak-like nose. “I wanted to check on you. I heard about that incident in the commercial district.”

Aeris swallowed nervously and bowed. “Thank you for your concern. But I’m fine.”

“You shouldn’t be doing this, you know.”

Aeris raised her head, giving Charles a confused stare. “I’m sorry?”

“All this snooping you’ve been doing. You need to leave it alone. Has it ever occurred to you maybe no one told you the truth of your origins to protect you? And here you are trying to bribe those secrets out of them with cake.”

“Protect me from what?”

Charles stared at her, his eyes once again piercing her very being. She again felt chained to the spot under his watchful eyes. Finally, he spoke again. “Little dragon, are you happy?”

“I am,” Aeris replied without hesitation. “I love Master Aaron, and I love Maggie. They look after me and take care of me.”

Charles nodded. “Then you need to stop prying into things best left buried. Enjoy your happiness. Because as you already learned, it’s a fleeting thing and can be gone at a moment’s notice.” He walked past her, back toward the estate.

Maggie walked past him. The two looked at each other. It seemed to Aeris they shared a moment; a long conversation with one another that only spanned a few heartbeats. Aeris wasn’t sure what just happened, but she chose not to question it.

“Aeris, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Maggie said. She held a long scarf in her hand. “Come. Lord Strauss is looking for you. And he wants you to wear this.”

Aeris didn’t follow. “Hey, um, Maggie? Do you think I’m a good dragon?”

Maggie crouched down and began tying the scarf around Aeris’ neck, hiding the bandage she wore. “A good dragon? What do you mean by that?”

Aeris focused her gaze on Maggie's feet. “I…I just wonder what Master Aaron thinks of me after what happened. I tried to apologize to him—but then I mentioned seeing that Ravager again, and I think I upset him. I think he may have thought I was lying just to get something I wanted.”

Maggie gently lifted Aeris’ head. “Aeris, when Master Aaron told me what happened do you know what he said?”

Aeris slowly shook her head.

“He told me that he was worried sick when he saw you hurt, and he was beyond happy when he learned you were going to be okay. I can assure you, he is not angry with you in the slightest. And just so you know, neither am I.”

“But Charles said—”

“Stop,” Margret said, firmly gripping Aeris’ face. The once gentle look in her eyes had suddenly turned cold. “Stop. Charles does not know you like I do. And I promise you are not a bad dragon.”

Aeris nodded silently, but she didn’t believe Maggie. She thought so horribly of her master that day in the commercial district. If he had known, would he have still saved her? The real that nagged at her wasn’t if Master Aaron would have saved her, but should he?

Maggie placed a hand on Aeris’ back and steered her toward the front of the estate. “Don’t blame yourself, Aeris. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”           

“I know.”

Maggie was right—she knew that, but knowing the situation was her fault to begin with made any words of encouragement hollow. She felt nothing as she crossed the yard. Not the sun beaming on her scales, the wind caressing her face, nor the grass underfoot. Aeris kept her head down, finding Maggie’s lead on pure instinct.

It wasn’t until she caught Master Aaron’s scent on the wind that she looked up. He stood by the horse-drawn carriage wearing his usual business-vest and slacks.

A young woman, looking very close to Master Aaron’s age stood next to him. She had all the airs of a noblewoman from her straight-back posture, to the stark confidence in her dark green eyes, to the crisp cleanliness of the casual dress she wore. Only a noble could afford clothes that didn’t look the slightest bit worn-in. Aeris stared at the woman mesmerized. Her glossy pale skin, long dark hair, and strong jaw made her look as if she were carved out of marble. It almost felt like looking at a life-sized doll rather than a human being. The woman had a strong commanding presence Aeris was unaccustomed to seeing in a woman. A breeze blew, and Aeris caught a whiff of the woman’s perfume, making her wrinkle her muzzle. Aeris stopped and stared.

Realizing the dragon wasn’t moving, Master Aaron jogged over to her. “Ah, Aeris. There you are. Come here. I want to introduce you to someone.” He gently pushed Aeris closer to the woman. “Aeris this Lilith Chamron. Lilith, I would like you to meet Aeris.”

The woman Master Aaron introduced smiled warmly and said, “Hello, Aeris. It is a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m glad to see you were not harmed following that tragic incident in the commercial district the other day.”

Aeris was still mesmerized by the woman’s features, but she bowed, her body moving on its own thanks to years of lessons in etiquette. “The pleasure is mine, Lady Chamron, and thank you for your kind words,” she said mechanically.

“Aeris, please, just ‘Lilith’ is fine. We’ll be spending a great deal of time together after all.”

Aeris snatched her head up and turned to Master Aaron, her heart leaping up into her throat. What did Lilith mean by that? Was Maggie being replaced? Aaron’s expression was neutral, making it impossible to read his thoughts.

As if sensing Aeris’ unease, Lilith added, “Lord Strauss and I are dating, so I expect I will see you quite often.” She smiled at her to further ease the tension.

Aeris only nodded in return, her tail wrapping around her legs. Something about Lilith’s smile felt…wrong. It felt as if the smile was done out of politeness instead of genuine kindness. She had read about characters like this in her books; these characters always had hidden agendas and they were seldom pleasant. She also saw enough fake smiles at the various events she attended. She didn’t dare make her grievances known. Master Aaron would never forgive her should she do something foolish.

Lilith approached Aeris and patted her head. The woman’s touch was gentle but stiff which only confirmed Aeris’ suspicions. Lilith was patting her head out of politeness. Before Aeris could stop herself, she pulled her head out of Lilith’s reach.

Aeris was horrified. Her first reaction upon realization of what she had done was turn to Master Aaron. His face was calm, but the disappointment was visible in his eyes as he looked at Aeris. She turned away from her master’s stare.

Maggie quickly appeared by Aeris’ side. “Please forgive her, Lady Lilith. Aeris is normally very polite, but she doesn’t like to be touched by anyone she doesn’t know.”

“It’s not a problem. I shouldn’t have been so forward. I know how proud dragons are; they do not prefer to be petted like some common house cat,” she bowed deeply and said. “Please forgive my rudeness, Aeris.”

“N-no, I’m not offended,” Aeris said quickly. No human had ever acted that way to her before and it felt strange. She stole another glance at her master. The disappointment was still in his eyes, but now it had moved to the background like the distant rumbling of an approaching storm while the weather was still clear.

Maggie bowed politely. “Speaking of rudeness. I apologize for the intrusion. My name is Margret Hayes. It is an honor to meet you, Lady—”

“No, no, no. I won’t have any of that ‘Lady’ business,” Lilith said quickly. “You don’t need to be so formal. I expect we’ll become very close, you and I.” Maggie straightened up with a confused expression, Lilith added, “Aaron and I are dating.”

Maggie turned to Master Aaron. “Oh. Forgive me, Lord Strauss, I had no idea.”

Master Aaron chuckled. “That was kind of the point. Lilith likes her privacy. You know what? Lilith and I were just about to eat lunch in the garden. Aeris, you should join us.”

“I think that is a wonderful idea,” Lilith said. “It’ll be a great opportunity for the dragon and me to get to know each other.”

Aeris fought the urge to frown at the bitterness in Lilith’s voice when she said “the dragon.” She bowed deeply. “I would be honored, master.”

“Why of course. Aeris is the most important being in my life. Margaret, inform Lydia in the kitchens to make something, then get Aeris prepared and bring her to the garden. Nothing too fancy, but at least a light polish.”

“As you wish, Lord Strauss,” Maggie replied, bowing. “Aeris, wait for me in your room.”

Aeris nodded and walked back to her room. Normally, she was excited when her master brought guests over. But seeing Lilith, she wanted nothing more than for the woman to leave.

It didn’t take long for Maggie to return, wearing the dress she usually wore for parties. She polished Aeris’ scales in silence and picked out a nice emerald vest for her to wear.

They went back out and headed to the gardens. Aeris loved spending her time in the gardens though she was scolded something fierce if she every ruined any of the plants. She enjoyed the way the flowers smelled and the various colors of the different types of flowers fascinated her. On nice days, Maggie would read to her there.

Lilith was already there, sitting at a large table in the garden’s center with Master Aaron.

Lilith was the first to notice their approach. “Aeris, Aaron was just telling me about your terrible ordeal in the commercial district the other day,” Lilith said. “It must’ve been terrifying. I’m so pleased you’re unharmed.”

“Thank you,” Aeris said while wishing she could dig a hole in the dirt and stuff her head in it.

“I still can’t believe someone would think to harm Aeris,” Master Aaron added. “She doesn’t have a single violent bone in her body. Why she’s never once raised her voice or even tried to bite someone.”

“I-I don’t really know,” Aeris lied. She fought to keep her tail from wrapping around her legs. She wished they would change the subject.

She seemed to get her wish when Maggie and Lydia appeared, carrying trays with food and drink for everyone. Maggie carried a tray of sandwiches, while Lydia’s tray held a tea kettle, an ewer, and two cups. The ewer was for Aeris. Because of her muzzle, she couldn’t drink out of cups as humans could and the ewer made that easier.

As they passed out the food and drink, Lydia avoided standing too close to Aeris. It was no secret the brown-haired woman was afraid of dragons though Aeris had no idea why. She had been nothing but nice to Lydia from the day they met. But the poor woman started shaking if Aeris so much as looked at her.

Aeris lapped eagerly at her tea the moment the ewer was placed in front of her. It was rude, but her mouth felt dry. And she wanted an excuse to avoid answering more questions.

“Lord Strauss, these letters arrived for you,” Maggie said, sliding the paper envelopes across the table.

Master Aaron picked up the papers, a large smile on his face. “It seems Mr. Bachmann has finally decided to reply. I’m so sorry to cut this short, but I have been waiting for this letter for a long time. If you’ll excuse me.” He followed Lydia back toward the house.

“Is everything to your liking, Lady Lilith?” Maggie asked.

Lilith smiled and said, “Everything is excellent. Thank you so much, Margret.”

“Lydia is the one who prepared the food, but I’ll be sure to pass your compliments along.”

“Thank you so much.”

Maggie bowed and left the two of them alone. Aeris watched her leave, silently begging the woman to take her along.

Aeris turned back to Lilith to see the woman staring at her. Aeris did her best to hide how uncomfortable she was.

Lilith broke the silence first. “I hear you and Aaron are very close. You’ve been with him since he was a child, yes?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So the two of you are close?”

“Yes, I would say so.”

“And yet you didn’t protect him when his life was in danger.”

Aeris looked away. She knew she should’ve protected her master. She wanted to, but upon seeing the look of unbridled rage on the Genial’s face. The way he snarled at her. She knew death was the only outcome if she tried to face him.

“I wished I could’ve done more,” Aeris whispered. “But I don’t know the first thing about fighting another dragon.”

Lilith took a sip of her tea, the disappointment clear in her eyes. “Well, I suppose next time you’ll think twice before approaching another dragon, won’t you?”

Aeris stared at the ground.

“It’s rude not to respond when someone speaks to you,” Lilith said curtly.

Aeris quickly nodded.

“Speak up.”

“Yes, I will,” Aeris said, her claws scraping the ground.

The rest of their lunch was eaten in silence. Aeris avoided meeting Lilith’s eyes though she could feel the woman staring at her, reading her. It was worse than when Charles looked at her. There was nothing but pressure and judgment.

Aeris had no idea how much time had passed, but she could barely contain her joy when Maggie returned.

“Lilith, Lord Strauss wishes to see you,” Maggie said.

Lilith nodded and turned to Aeris. “It was nice meeting you, Aeris. We should do this again sometime.”

Aeris smiled and nodded more out of reflex than politeness. She waited until Lilith disappeared from view before saying to Maggie, “I don’t like her.”

“That’s a shame. I thought she was quite lovely,” Maggie said. “Unfortunately, you’ll have to like her, or at least tolerate her. She’s going to be living with us for quite some time.”

Aeris spun to Maggie. She had to have misheard her. She wished she misheard her. “Did you say living with us?”

Maggie nodded. “She’s moving in today. But don’t you worry about that. Come. Lord Strauss just received an invitation to another party. He asked me to get you ready.”

Aeris groaned. That meant another bath.

****

Aeris sat quietly in the corner of the banquet hall watching everyone dance and interact. She was at another party. She even wore a new vest her master picked out just for her. It was deep blue with a short skirt that made her feel she was wearing a dress. She should be happy. She wanted to be happy. But how could she, knowing what she knew? The different smells made her nauseous, the sounds made her head hurt. Even the banquet hall seemed too bright and hurt her eyes.

She slowly looked around the room. Everyone seemed so happy talking, mingling. The worst part of it was that she was, once again, the center of attention. Every time she was introduced to someone, she sensed them judging her. Their tones, no matter how gentle, always sounded disappointed or angry, and their friendly smiles resembled disgusted sneers. No one brought up the incident with the Genial, but she felt as if they were judging her nonetheless.

Master Aaron must have brought her here to cheer her up, but it only made her feel worse.

“Hey, Aeris. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yes, Master Aaron, I am having a wonderful time,” Aeris smiled broadly at Aaron to prove her point. The smile was fake, but she didn’t want him to know that. She also didn’t want Lilith to see how unhappy she was. She felt the woman silently probing her defenses for weaknesses.

“Aaron, she’s obviously bored here,” Lilith said. “She’s the only dragon in the room. Why don’t you have her go out in the garden with the other dragons? Let her mingle with her kind for once.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Master Aaron said.

Aeris’ face fell. “Master, the last time I tried talking to a dragon—” She quickly fell silent upon seeing the scolding looking Lilith gave her.

Master Aaron didn’t notice or he chose to ignore it. “Aeris, these dragons are all domesticates. They won’t think any less of you for being who you are. Besides I would never send you anywhere near them if I thought they might harm you.” He sighed and dropped his head. Aeris noticed his eyes were glossy as if he were ready to start crying. “Also I feel partly responsible for what happened. If I had let you be around other dragons from the start, you would have known to be more careful.”

Aeris stared at her master, stunned. She couldn’t believe Master Aaron was blaming himself for the incident. The entire time she thought he was upset with her, and she tried thinking of ways to apologize for being disobedient. But instead, he felt the same way about her.

Aeris opened her mouth to say something, but Master Aaron gently rubbed her snout, silencing her once again. “Let’s not talk about this now. Right now, you should go outside and be with your kind for a change.”

Without another word, Aeris quickly headed for the garden. She still felt terrible for the horrible thoughts she had about Master Aaron, but knowing he was going to allow her to be around other dragons made her feel much better.

The garden was not as large as the banquet hall, but it was just as beautiful. The entire area was covered in green archways and hedges of various shapes and sizes. Some of the hedges even had flowers blooming on them further accenting the design. A large fountain sat in the middle of the gardens. Its center was a creature Aeris had never seen before. The top half of the sculpture resembled a human but the bottom half looked like a fishes fin. She made a mental note to ask Maggie about it when she got back. Surrounding the strange centerpiece were several smaller sculptures resembling different types of fish; each one shot a thin stream of water over the large half-human sculpture in the middle.

The dragons sat near one of the stone benches by the fountain. Aeris recognized some of their species immediately. One of the dragons was a Silver Horntail, a grey dragon with several thorn-like protrusions on the end of its tail. The two bright green dragons were known as Aquarian Short-Snouts. Just as their name suggested, their snouts were shorter than those of the other dragons. The last dragon was a species Aeris knew all too well; a Green Crested Genial. Thankfully this was smaller than the last one she encountered.

As Aeris approached the group, one of the dragons, one of the Short-Snouts, took notice of her and signaled the others. “Well, well, well. What have we here?” the dragon said in a deep, raspy voice, “You new here?”

Aeris looked around the group in silence. She had no idea what to say, and part of her was terrified of what could happen if she did.

The other Short-Snout spoke up. “Oy. My brother asked you a question.”

The first Short-Snout stepped between them. “Now, now she’ll answer when she’s ready.” The dragon gave Aeris a warm smile. “This is your first banquet I take it?”

“N-No. Actually, I attend banquets all the time,” Aeris said quickly. She kept her gaze on the ground, fearing offending one of the other dragons.

“If you do this sort of thing all the time, how come I don’t recognize you?” asked the Horntail.

Aeris curled her tail around her legs. She didn’t have an answer to the Horntail’s question. While she had attended many banquets over the years, this was the first time she was ever allowed around the other dragons.

“Leave her alone, Reks,” the Genial said angrily, the dragon’s voice suggested it was a female. “Can’t you see she’s nervous?” The Genial turned to Aeris her tone much gentler than before. “I’m sorry about him, he’s always like that with newcomers. My name is Glee and this—” she hooked the thumbclaw of her wing around the horn of the Horntail, pulling his head down. The Horntail began to protest, but Glee growled at him and he quickly fell silent. “—is Reks. Now those two over there—” Glee used her tail to motion to the two Short-Snouts “—is Caleo and his sister, Rowen. Now you, my dear, are…?”

“I’m Aeris,” Aeris replied softly.

Reks snatched his head away from Glee. “Yeah, I kind of figured that. Perfect little Aeris; the humans’ favorite.”

“Shut up Reks,” Rowen said frowning.

“Why don’t you come over here and make me?”

“I thought you’d never ask…” Rowen crouched low to ground ready to pounce at Reks.

Glee quickly stepped between the two dragons. “Both of you stop it. You’re acting like clan-borns. Now I’m not going to be the one who has to explain to the humans how this place got destroyed. Now unless you want your masters paying for the damage, you’ll sit your asses down and act like you were taught manners.” Glee was shorter than both dragons, but they still dropped their heads and did as they were told.

Caleo appeared by Aeris’ side. “I’m sure you figured it out by now, but our masters talk about you a lot. Reks is a little jealous of you. He’d kill to get the humans to treat him the way they treat you.”

Aeris tilted her head in confusion. “Wait. What does that mean?”

“It means the reason we haven’t seen you before is because you’re allowed inside the parties, while the ‘common’ dragons have to sit out here.”

Aeris looked at the group in shock. All this time, she assumed she was the only dragon that was brought to these things. “You mean, all this time…”

“Yep. We get to watch from the sidelines—”

“—then hear about how beautiful and magnificent you are all the way the way home,” Rowen finished, “But don’t worry, Reks is the only one who’s jealous. Honestly, I find these human gatherings boring, so I don’t really care.”

“Yeah. Being out here is so much better,” Caleo agreed, rubbing his face against Aeris’ cheek.

Aeris quickly moved away from the dragon.  She knew it was rude, but she didn’t like him touching her. It reminded her of the way Aaron touched her when he wanted to be alone with her.

“I’m sorry that happened,” Aeris said to Reks. The Silvertail huffed and turned away from her. “If I had known there were other dragons at these gatherings—”

“You would’ve done what?” Reks snarled. “Save your pity. I know the truth. You were either too fucking stupid to know any better or too full of yourself to believe any other dragon exists.”

“Reks! She is simply trying to apologize, you do not need to speak to her that way,” Glee said angrily. “Just ignore him. The rest of us are not angry with you at all.”

When Glee approached, Aeris stepped backward, nearly tripping over herself. The other dragons tilted their heads in confusion.

“See? I told you. She doesn’t even want you near her,” Reks said.

“No. No!  It’s not that,” Aeris said quickly, dropping her head in shame. “I met a Green Crested Genial once before and… it didn’t end well.”

“Didn’t end well how?” Glee asked.

Before Aeris could answer, Glee turned back to the banquet hall and grumbled under her breath.

“Looks we’ll have to continue this another time; my master’s calling me. The rest of you play nice and try to remember that you’re civilized.” the Genial quickly walked back to the banquet hall.

The other dragons swarmed on Aeris the moment Glee was out of view.

“Come on, come on,” said Rowen, bouncing with excitement. “Tell us what happened.”

“Well, two days ago I was in the commercial district—” Aeris began.

“Wait a minute. That was you?” Reks asked surprised. A large grin began to spread across the Silvertail’s face.

Aeris couldn’t explain why, but for some reason Reks’ question and the smile on his face made her stomach drop.

“My master told me about some stupid domesticate who picked a fight with a clan-born,” Reks’ grin widened even further, threatening to split his head in two. “I can’t believe that was you.”

Aeris felt her heart begin to race. Her tail curled defensively around her legs. “T-That’s not how it happened,” she squeaked. “I didn’t pick a fight. I just wanted to talk and—”

Reks began laughing so hard, he fell on his side. Aeris quickly fell silent. She glanced over at Rowen and Caleo, hoping they would offer some support.

To her surprise, they, too, were laughing.

“ ‘That’s not how it happened’,” Rowen said in a high squeaky voice.  “Are you really that stupid? As if some clan-born would even look at us.”

Caleo was the first to stop laughing. He threw a nasty look at the others before walking over to Aeris and throwing one of his wings around her.

“Leave her alone. It’s obvious she’s too naïve to know any better.”

“Oh shut up,” Rowen shot back. “You’re just being nice ‘cause you think it’ll make ‘er lift her tail for you.”

“She’s not gonna put out,” Reks chimed in, still wearing his devilish grin. “Even if she does, she doesn’t even act like a real dragon.” The Silvertail began slowly circling the two of them. “Trying to talk to a clan-born? Thinking she’s the only dragon humans care about? She’s stupid and pathetic. Honestly, Caleo, you can’t be that desperate.”

“So she’s not gonna give us the full story,” Rowen said, joining Reks in his predatory circling. “So tell us, Reks, what did happen?”

Aeris opened her mouth to protest, but Reks immediately cut her off. “My master told me how she screamed and begged for her life. How she needed her master to come to rescue her from her stupidity. He told me she pissed herself out of fear. ”

The other dragons burst into laughter again. Even Caleo found it hard to stand as he screamed in hysterics.

“I would pay to see that,” Rowen said.

 Reks smiled and lowered his body to the ground as he continued to circle Aeris. He looked like a large silver snake slithering around her, waiting for its moment to strike. “I like the sound of that. I bet I could…”

Aeris wasn’t listening anymore. The sound of her heart beating furiously pounded in her ears. Her breathing came in short, panicked bursts. Her tail curled so tightly around her, she couldn’t move without tripping over it as flashes of that day began to appear before her eyes. Flashes of people laughing at her as the Genial stood over her, snarling and growling. She could hear them cheering as he threw her into the wall. She frantically scanned the crowd, hoping someone; anyone would stop the dragon from tearing her apart. The Genial opened his mouth revealing several rows of pointed, razor-sharp fangs. Aeris cried out as she felt a familiar pain in her neck when the dragon clamped his jaws around her throat.

“NO!”

Aeris snapped out of her flashback to notice she was standing in the middle of the garden, her breath coming in short, hard bursts as if she had been running for hours. Reks was laying on the ground beneath her, limp as a doll. Caleo and Rowen were standing several feet away, their eyes wide and filled to the brim with shock and fear. She looked down at the Horntail beneath her and noticed she had a claw pressed against his throat, her muscles tensed and ready to slice his jugular at a moment’s notice. Reks said nothing. He did not attempt to throw Aeris off. He just lay there, eyes closed tight, quivering beneath her like a scared child.

Little by little, her confidence drained out of her. She didn’t know what happened but she wasn’t going to stand around and wait for their shock to wear off. Without saying another word, Aeris ran back to the banquet hall as fast as her legs could carry her. Aeris racked her mind in a desperate attempt to recall what happened. All she could remember was standing in the garden while Reks, Caleo, and Rowen teased her. She remembered the humiliation, but not what came after. Her memory just jumped to standing in the middle of the garden and holding Reks down. It was like a story containing a missing chapter. She couldn’t recall a single sight, sound, smell, or even feeling of that event.

She was so distracted, the moment she entered the hall, she nearly ran into her master. “Oof! Hey, I was just about to come to find you. I thought I heard something outside and—” Master Aaron said looking down at Aeris smiling. The moment he saw Aeri’s face, his smile dropped. “Is something the matter?”

Aeris cast her gaze to the floor. “No, nothing’s wrong,” she said. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the other dragons as possible. The last thing she wanted was for Master Aaron to make a bigger deal out of things than there already was. “Can we go, please? I-I don’t feel very well.”

“Okay, sure we can leave,” Master Aaron said.

“But Aaron—” Lilith began.

“This isn’t up for debate,” Master Aaron said firmly. “We’re leaving.”

Lilith pouted, but said nothing and followed him as he guided Aeris through the banquet hall to the outside.

Aeris kept her head and her eyes down. She wanted to avoid any contact with anyone as if just by looking in her eyes they would know. They would suspect something was wrong and they would ask questions or they would simply know. First, the Everfields, and now this. Aeris was beginning to wonder if something was really wrong with her.

She needed to talk to that Ravager from before. She needed answers before she did something terrible.