Lilly sat and waited as the wagons went by. Beside her was a black dragon roughly her size with his head low as he sulked.

“How can you stand yourself?” he asked.

“You mean, how can I be so happy?”

He shook his head with a laugh. “You can’t serve these worms and be happy.”

“I don't serve them!” Lilly snapped. “Many of them serve me! I am a leader of a faith, and it's followers.”

He looked at her with a strange curiosity. “So, you lead them?”

“No, the man I was with leads them. His name is Gersius. I am his wife.” She could tell by his blank expression he had no idea what that meant. “You have no idea what a wife is, do you?”

He looked away, unwilling to answer her.

“I didn’t know either until they explained it to me,” Lilly said as she resumed watching the people pass.

He glanced at her briefly and went back to looking away. “So what is it?” he asked.

“I am in a relationship with Gerisus and Thayle, where we share our love for one another.”

“What is love?” he asked.

Lilly sighed. She forgot how much of this she didn’t know and how hard it was going to be to explain it.

“Think of how you feel about your hoard,” she said. “Now imagine feeling that way for another, and that other feeling the same way about you.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Because they do!” Lilly growled. “Humans can build very powerful relationships with one another. They do this for many reasons, but one of those reasons they call love. You saw us all sleeping in his arms that first night. That was because we know he will protect us and take care of us. We know we are safe in his arms because he loves us.”

“You are a dragon who is deranged and has fallen from her place of power. You now consort with the worms of the earth and claim you are happy.”

“You are an idiot!” Lilly scolded. “Do you know what faith I follow?”

“Even more proof, you are deranged. You sully yourself by calling a divine your master. You are a dragon. You should have no master.”

“I follow Balisha, the queen of dragons!” Lilly shouted at him.

“There is no queen of dragons.”

“That's because you know nothing,” Lilly spat. “This is why we want you to spend time with us. We want to show you what you don't know. Usually, you males are keen to learn everything.”

“I have nothing to learn from worms and rodents and deranged dragons.”

“And I thought Gersius was impossible,” Lilly snapped.

“You should help me escape. I will give you a third of my hoard.”

“I already told you I don’t want your hoard!”

“Then what do you want?” he demanded. “What will entice you to behave as you should?”

Lilly turned back to glare at him.

“This is the point you don’t understand. “I do behave as I should. It’s you who doesn’t.

He glared at her but remained silent.

Lilly just wanted to get away from him now. He reminded her of what she was once like, and being near him made her angry. When the column finally passed, she led the way on to the road, and he walked beside her.

“Why do we trail behind like we are least?” he asked.

“Because the horses are afraid of us,” Lilly said.

“We should eat them and strand their wagons,” he replied.

Lilly shook her head. “You need to understand something. These people would welcome you into there company if you wanted it. You see them the way you do because your eyes are blinded. It isn't your fault; you are under a curse.”

“I am not under any curse. You are the one who broke the ward.”

“I am not talking about that!” Lilly interrupted angrily. “You don't know your history. We dragons once had two Goddesses. They went to war with one another over our interactions with humans. One of them wanted us to share with humans. The other wanted us to be like you are now. When that one was defeated, she cursed your hearts to be like hers. You can no longer feel the emotions necessary to understand why you would want to talk to humans. This is why you and I are arguing. You can't see my point of view at all because you're cursed.”

“If dragons were cursed, why are you free?”

Lilly took a breath and collected her thoughts. She knew he wasn’t going to understand what she was about to say.

“The human man who bound me fell in love with me, and I could feel his love over the bind. This love broke through the curse and restored my full range of emotions. I still don't understand them all, but I can at least feel them. All we want from you is a chance to try and break your curse. What you choose to do after that is your own choice. You can stay, you can leave, you can go anywhere you wish. All we want from you is a chance to try.”

“I still do not understand this love you speak of, and I don't care. I am a slave. I have no say in it.”

“And that's where you're wrong again,” Lilly said. “You can choose to be angry all the time, or you can choose to let us try.”

“All of you lie,” he said. “You are nothing to me, and your words mean nothing to me.”

Lilly let out a cry of frustration. “I tire of talking to you. I am going to walk ahead a little and call to my followers. You follow behind and watch what happens.”

Lilly strode ahead until he was a good twenty paces behind her tail. She reached out over the bind and spoke.

“Can either of you hear me?”

“I can hear you, sweetheart,” Thayle said.

Lilly immediately felt better to be called sweetheart. “Can you send my acolytes out to me. I can’t stand talking to him any longer.”

“Of course. Just give me a moment.”

Lilly waited patiently, and eventually, nine people walked out and made their way toward her. She looked over her shoulder to make sure he was watching as her followers gathered around her.

“Is he a friendly dragon?” one of them asked immediately.

“No!” Lilly said harshly and stopped to adjust her voice. “None of you is to go near him. He is still very much under the dragon curse, and he will not hesitate to harm you if he can find a way.”

They all glanced back at him, and he aided Lilly by growling at them.

“Are you going to break his curse?” a young man asked.

Lilly shook her head. “We are going to try, but we are not sure how. If we fail, we are going to send him away. Please, none of you are to have anything to do with him. He is very dangerous.”

They promised to keep away from him, and Lilly moved on to asking them about their progress.

Lilly listened to their progress and was pleased to hear Culver was working especially hard. He hadn't yet made the link, but he reported that he could now clear his mind. Gersius made a point that once one of them was successful, it would cause the others to try harder. Lilly made a note to spend a little more time with him and see if she could push him along.

She spent some time and showed them Balishas blessing of cold. She demonstrated a blessing of Balisha by chanting to a stone and causing it to cool. She took a quick glance at the dragon behind her to make sure he was watching. She hoped the display of power would pique his curiosity and get him talking more. After an hour of talking, she sent them back to the wagons. Thayle and Mingfe then walked back to speak to her, and she was grateful for the company.

“Why are you walking ahead of him?” Thayle asked.

“Because he aggravates me,” Lilly said. “He is arrogant and closed off. I tried to explain the curse to him, but he accused me of being deranged.”

Thayle glanced back at him with an angry expression only to have him glare it right back.

“Maybe we should have sent him away already,” she said.

“A second dragon was delivered to your hands,” Mingfe said. “He was meant to be here.”

Thayle sighed and looked at her. “I think that too, but how do you reach someone so full of anger and hate?”

Mingfe looked back to him and thought about it. “Many men are stubborn. I have found throwing spears at them to be effective.”

Lilly laughed, but Thayle looked away.

“I can feel his hate from here,” she said.

“I have to admit I could feel Gersius when I was bound to him,” Lilly said. He has very powerful emotions, and there were moments when he made my stomach twist. “But it was never so strong as to make me sick.”

“His anger makes you sick?” Mingfe asked.

Thayle nodded. “I can’t be near him for very long.”

“A man who hates so strongly is a monster in heart,” Mingfe said. “He will be tough to break.”

“I don’t want to break him,” Thayle said. “I want to show him and let him choose.”

“I don't know if that will be enough,” Lilly said. “I tried to explain the curse to him, but the curse itself prevents him from accepting it.”

“You must break the curse first then,” Mingfe said.

Lilly glanced back at him and his raging eyes.

“I was never so angry,” she said. “I don’t know how you could break the hold it has on him.”

Thayle agreed and hung her head as Mingfe tried to comfort her.

“You should be near the front,” Gersius said, causing them all to look up.

“How did you sneak up on us without us feeling you?” Lilly asked.

“You are being drowned out by him,” Gersius said, pointing to the dragon. “His link to her so darkens Thayle it is affecting us. I have begun to feel his anger directly.”

“You have?” Thayle said.

Gersius nodded. “I have done much thinking about the nature of our bind. I suspect he is bound to Lilly and I as well.”

“But Thayle is the one who bound him,” Lilly said.

Gersius nodded. “This is true, but remember we are one heart and one soul. I suspect that he is bound to us through Thayle.”

“So, I could command him?” Lilly pondered.

“I wouldn’t, every command we give him makes him madder,” Thayle said.

Gersius looked back at him and could feel a cold touch in his heart. He knew that was the dragon's rage burning and boiling over.

“I want you all to go to the front of the column,” he said.

“I can’t,” Lilly protested. “I will panic the horses.”

He nodded. “Thayle, will you fly a safe distance forward with Lilly and help her dress. We will pick up the saddle as we pass by.”

“Of course,” Thayle said and went to Lilly to climb up.

He waved to them as they took to the sky and watched until they were safely away. He felt a cold nail in his hear and turned to look a the rage burning behind him.

“You will earn that look from many a man in the future,” Mingfe said. “You will be seen as the invader and hated by many.”

Gersius nodded. “I am prepared for men to hate me. I am not prepared for them to hate Lilly and Thayle.”

“They walk in your footsteps and, as you already said, share your heart. Whatever comes on you, comes on them as well. You cannot protect them from this.”

He nodded and looked to the distant hills they were marching toward with dread.

“I may not be able to protect them, but I can still lament what I know is coming.”

“You have nothing to fear about what is to come,” Mingfe said. “You choose wisely and picked strong wives.”

“So, they will be able to stand up to what is coming?”

Mingfe shook her head. “No, so they will be able to carry you when you falter.”

“When I falter?” he asked.

Mingfe looked at him with dire eyes. “Every great man is tested, and many of them break. Of the ones who survive, you will always find a woman who carried him when his test came. But prepare your heart now for you have two great wives. The test that is coming on you must be terrible.”

He nodded his understanding and went back to looking to the distance.

“I thought I lost Thayle the other day.”

“She has already told me what happened,” Mingfe said. “She has come back to you.”

“But she came back with him,” Gersius said, gesturing to the dragon with his head.

Mingfe nodded. “He was meant to be here then. Your path has been laid out by careful planning. You were sent to that cave by the very same man who delivered your armor. A cave with a trap that would render your Lilly helpless when you needed her most.”

“And what is your point?”

Mingfe sighed. “If Lilly had been able to face him in her full power, you would likely have killed him. No, the divines planned this so you would have to face him another way. They meant for Thayle to trap him, and they meant for her to bind him to find her way out. They mean for him to be here, so settle your heart on the matter. Now is not the time to question what is done. Now you must choose how to go forward and break his curse.”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked.

“How can a woman fall so deep into a mountain and come out nearly unharmed?” Mingfe asked. “She was protected. The divines are sheltering you and guiding you forward. Trust in that and move ahead.”

Gersius smirked and regarded the unusually wise woman.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“I have to plan the camp for tonight,” he said. “I need to find a space for him.”

Mingfe looked back at the raging dragon. “He will stay out behind the camps of Ulustrah. I will have our women watch him.”

“I would prefer he was guarded by heavier soldiers,” Gersius said.

Mingfe laughed. “The priests of Astikar will watch him out of duty, but those of my order will fear him. Better they learn to conquer that fear now while he is restrained. Besides, he is a man, and it will humble him to be guarded by women.”

Gersius wasn't sure if that would only make the dragon angrier, but he agreed. Mingfe insisted she would walk with him and make sure he behaved while they traveled. Gersius bid her a good day and took one last look at the beast. He then walked to the front of the column just as Lilly and Thayle came into sight.

A dozen men helped lift the saddle into a wagon, and the whole procession set in motion again. By late afternoon the town they were looking for came into view, and they rode up to the gates. Here they collected the first large group of men and women readied for the journey. This included men of Astikar, women of Ulustrah, and a small group of militia.

Additional wagons and foodstuffs were collected, and Gersius had the city scoured for armor, weapons, and any supplies. The town's mayor came out to greet them and made a show of support and empty promises.

“Every petty leader is going to promise you the world but provide little,” Lengwin said.

“He wants to stay out of the fighting,” Gersius said. “But since our army was at his doorstep, he played the role of ally. I do not fault him for being concerned about the welfare of his people.”

“More likely the welfare of his station, and power,” Legnwin said sourly.

“Who rules this region anyway?” Thayle asked. “Surely, the king or regent should have approached us by now?”

Gersius nodded. “I have thought of that myself.”

“It's ruled by king Evidor the third,” Lengwin said. “From what I understand, he isn't a man who is quick to do anything. He likes to weigh his options and make sound decisions.”

“A good man then,” Gersius said. “But we are marching an army across his land. He should have sent an envoy by now.”

“Perhaps he is warned about you and is staying away to avoid hindering or aiding you,” Thayle suggested.

Gersius considered that option. Like the mayor of this town, the king might be hoping Gersius will pass through and cause no real harm. He turned to Lengwin to follow his thoughts.

“Have you ever met him?”

Lengwin shook his head. “I have never been so much as sent a letter. That is part of his personality, I am told. He doesn't hold the faiths in high regard like some regions do.”

“All the more reason why he might be hoping to let us go by,” Thayle said. “He is probably having us watched and hoping we will give him no reason to act.”

Gersius nodded his agreement and considered how many of the kings and rulers ahead would be so restrained. Or was this king restrained? Was he even now massing his own force to meet Gersius and challenge what he was doing? He put that thought away and trusted if the king was upset; he would have made an effort to contact them by now. Instead, he focused on getting his wagons moving again, and an hour later, they marched out of the city.

They stopped a dozen miles down the road in a farmers hay field and set up their camp. Once the tents were up, Gersius went with the others to visit their guest.

“I want you to follow me,” he said. “I have a place for you to wait.”

“I do not take orders from you!” it growled.

Gersius looked to Lilly and Thayle. Thayle nodded back, and Gersius put his theory to the test.

“I command you to follow me. You will stay where I show you,” he said.

The dragon's eyes blazed, and they saw him shake as the command took hold.

“How?” the beast roared as Gersius led them all around the field to a spot outside the woman's camp.

“You are right about the binding,” Thayle said. “I suppose this is what Ulustrah meant about how we could have bound each other.”

“I suspect if we all bound him, he would share our link as we do,” Gersius said.

“That would be horrible!” Lilly cried.

Gersius nodded as he felt rage over the binding link.

“Uck!” Lilly spat. “I can feel him now too. No wonder you felt sick.”

Gersius turned to look at the dragon who shook with his tail twitching back and forth.

“I am going to arrange some food for you,” he said.

“I don't want your food!” the dragon yelled. “I want you all dead!”

Gersius folded his arms and stared the dragon down.

“You will not last long,” he said.

The dragon narrowed its eyes and lowered his head to study Gersius.

“You mean to kill them then?”

Gersius shook his head. “I mean to send you away. We hoped you were as intelligent and reasonable as Lilly is, but that isn’t the case. You are an animal, nothing more.”

The ground shook as the black struck it with a fist.

“I am a Dragon!” he roared. “You are less than a rodent to me!”

“You are cursed!” Gersius roared back. “Lilly told me she tried to tell you about it, but you accused her of being deranged. Yet here she stands perfectly free and easily associating with the camp while you sit in a field alone.”

“I would rather be alone than with your treacherous kind!” the dragon growled.

Gersius looked at him with a down frown. “How are we treacherous?”

“She vowed never to share my true name!” the dragon bellowed. “She has given it to you, or you would not be able to command me!”

Gersius shook his head. “Thayle has never given me your true name.”

“You lie!” the dragon yelled with another slam of his fist on the ground.

“I can command you because Thayle is bound to me!” Gersius yelled back.

“And you lie again!” the dragon mocked. “The deranged one has already told me she is bound to you.”

“There is no limit to how many being one can bind. You need only know their true name!” Gersius shouted back. “The only limit is how many people can bind a being, and that is one. If She gave me your true name, then she would have to release you from the bind so I could bind you.”

Gersius watched as the dragon sneered and twitched with anger at the logic of the statement.

“We need a name for you that we can address you with,” Gersius said. “I tire of calling you dragon. Do you have a common name?”

The dragon remained silent as it glowered at them.

Gersius sighed. “We would prefer to call you by the name of your choosing. If you force us, we will pick one for you.”

Again they were met with silence.

“You should call him Shadros,” Mingfe said as she walked up behind them.

They all turned to look at the woman as she strode up in her armor with a spear in hand.

“It is the perfect name for him,” she said.

“Does that mean something?” Thayle asked.

Mingfe nodded. “It means stubborn like a man.”

Gersius smirked slightly and turned back the glaring dragon.

“Shadros it is,” he said.

“I will not bear your stupid name,” he growled.

“You will if you want to be called anything but fool,” Mingfe spat.

“You dare to call me a fool!” he roared.

Thayle winced from the rage she felt, and Gersius and Lilly felt ill.

“Let's get away from him,” Gersius said. “We have plans to make for tomorrow's march, and I prefer to do it with a clear head.”

Thayle nodded but walked up to stand beside Mingfe. “I command you to obey this woman as if she was me.”

Mingfe smiled at her, and Thayle returned the smirk as Shadros shook with violence, unable to act.

Mingfe turned to the dragon with a smile of her own. “Now, you're mine.”

Thayle ran to catch up with the others as they entered the large meeting tent that served as the worship hall, training room for acolytes, and the meeting room for the officers. Lengwin, with two of his captains, stood beside a table in the center of the room. They were talking as they pointed and gestured to letters on the table. The kitchen staff set up a narrow table along the wall with two pitchers of water and several metal cups. A small bowl of fruit rested beside them, and that reminded Gersius of feeding the dragon.

“Would one of you please bring him an acolytes robe and see if you can find something he will eat,” Gersius asked.

“I will do it,” Lilly volunteered. “Thayle should be here for your meeting anyway.”

Gersius nodded, and Lilly leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. She then turned to Thayle and drew her into her arms and pressed her into a warm hug before leaving the tent.

Gersius could feel Thayle's embarrassment at the public affection over the bind but turned his attention to the table ahead.

“Any news?” he asked.

Lengwin handed him a letter with a nod.

“It’s from a temple further west. They say they saw a red dragon flying west a few days ago carrying some kind of box.”

“A box?” Gersius asked.

Lengwin shook his head. “The letter only calls it a box. I have nothing more to offer.”

Gersius scanned the letter and looked at Thayle, who had no insight. He held the letter out to her, but she shook her head.

“If you have no idea what it means, I doubt I will have anything to add,” she remarked.

Gersius set it down and looked to the other letters.

“What are these?”

“Just reports of materials and movement of men in preparation for the towns ahead,” Lengwin said.

“Anything of note?”

Lengwin shook his head. “One group is a day behind but will be there at least two days ahead of us anyway.”

Gersius nodded and walked around the table to sit in a chair.

“How is our guest?” Lengwin asked. “We could hear him yelling from here.”

“He is angry and resisting all efforts to reason with him,” Gersius replied.

“Can he be reasoned with?” Lengwin asked.

Thayle stood behind Gerisus and put a hand on his shoulder. “I think he can be,” she said. “We have a strong feeling that the divines delivered him to us. If that's true, we have to make an effort.”

Lengwin didn't appear to be convinced, but he let the matter drop.

“Then let’s move on to food shortages,” he said as he shuffled more papers.

Lilly collected a robe from the supply wagon and went to the kitchen tent. She smelled the scent of smoke on the air and spoke with the cooks. They were preparing to make a thick stew and had very little in the way of luxuries. Still, she managed to convince them to cook some sausages, and they had some bread they got in the town. She took the food on a wooden plate across the compound. She found Shadros sitting with his head down and his back to the camp sulking. He was guarded by a dozen women who kept well back and made no effort to help Lilly as she approached.

“I have something for you,” Lilly said as she arrived.

He didn’t turn to look at her or even acknowledge her presence.

“Shadros!” she yelled to get his attention.

“That is not my name!” he yelled back.

“If you have one you prefer, you only have to tell us,” Lilly pointed out.

He stood and turned about, glaring down at her.

“Why do you wear that inferior form?” he asked.

Lilly smiled as she set the plate on the ground and held on to the robe. “This form is very useful, especially if you want to go among humans.”

“I have no use for humans except to eat them,” he grumbled. “You are a disgrace to your kind.”

“Do we have to argue every time we talk?” Lilly asked. When he didn't answer, she went on. “Look at me. I am a dragon, and I was just as angry as you were when I was bound.”

“So, he has you both bound?” Shadros asked.

“Yes, but we asked him to bind us. He is a good man, and he loves us.”

“This word is meaningless to me. Why do you keep using it?”

Lilly tried to think of a good way to explain it again. It was clear he wasn't understanding, and she began to wonder if he ever would without feeling it.

“When I was first bound, I didn't know what love was either. I was fortunate that I was able to feel it over the bind and grow to understand it.”

“So, because of this love, you asked him to bind you?”

Lilly decided that was going to be a good enough start and went with it.

“Yes, because of love, we let him bind us, but he is also bound to Thayle and I.”

“Ha, you think I am a fool!” he laughed. “You stood right here when he told me earlier that you can only be bound to one being at a time.”

Lilly realized her mistake and instantly regretted it. There were so many concepts he needed to understand for it to make sense to him, and she didn't know how to explain it.

“This all comes back to love,” Lilly said. “He is telling the truth, but when the two people who bind one another also love one another, they become one heart. Thus we are only one being and are free to bind another.”

Shadros sat back and looked away as if annoyed with her explanation.

“I can feel you over the binding,” Lilly said. “You’re very angry.”

“Of course, I am angry!” he snapped. “I am a prisoner on display!”

“You don't have to be!” Lilly shouted back. “We only want a little time to show you things. If you honestly find no use in what we show you, then you can go. Can't you at least see the wisdom in that?”

“I have no choice now, do I? Shadros replied.

Lilly sighed. “No, I suppose you don’t. I was angry too, but my anger wasn’t over Gersius.”

“And what were you angry over?” he asked.

“A red dragon came to my home and attacked me. He broke my wings and left me to bleed to death while he stole my hoard. He is the one I was angry at.”

Shadros looked at her with a curious expression and didn’t respond for a moment.

“Why would anther dragon attack you?”

Lilly sighed. “The humans are fighting a war in the west. For some reason, dragons are aiding them, and this one came to convince me to help them.”

“So why did he attack?”

“I refused to help and give him my true name,” Lilly replied. “He viciously attacked me and mocked me as he broke all my limbs but one. Then he left me crawling in the dirt to steal my hoard.”

Shadros watched her with emotionless eyes and then spoke.

“Then why are you not dead?”

Gersius found me and offered to heal me if I would help him.”

“So he bartered your life for aid. You truly are his slave.”

Lilly glared at him as she shook her head. “You don't understand what we are doing. If you did, you wouldn't say that. It doesn't matter; I just wanted you to try something that made me feel better when I was first bound. Human food is much better than what we normally eat.”

He looked down at the plate and sneered. “That is hardly a portion of food.”

“You need to change to your human form first.”

“Never!” he replied. “You may enjoy demeaning yourself, but I will not.”

“I didn't like this form at first, but I discovered it had a lot more to offer than I thought. You're safe here. What harm is there in taking your human form to try a little food?”

He looked away, and Lilly sighed. “I brought you a robe to wear so that you won't be naked, but I won't force you to change your form. I would hate it if strangers kept giving me commands.”

“You are among strangers!” he growled. “I am the only one who is of your kind.”

Lilly shook her head. “You have no idea how wrong that is. You are a dragon; I am something more. All we wanted to do was give you a chance to be something more as well. The food is here if you want it. I will leave the robe as well, but it would be easier if somebody was here to show you how to put it on.”

She turned to walk away, and he spoke.

“Do you sleep in a field someplace besides the camp?”

Lilly smiled and shook her head again. “I share a bed with my husband and wife. I sleep in the arms of the ones I love and share in the gift of that love. I honestly hope that one day, you find a pair of loving arms to sleep in too.”

He stared at her with no words of anger or retort, and she walked away to leave him to sulk.

As she passed into the tents, Mingfe stepped out and stopped her.

“Did he try the food?” she asked.

“No, he is too stubborn to do anything we ask him without ordering him.”

“That is why his name fits,” Mingfe said. “I will see to it he eats.”

Lilly sighed and walked back to the tents, determined to enjoy the rest of her night.

Shadros sulked a the side of camp when a sharp object hit him in the leg.

“Ow!” he roared as he jerked around to see the spear sticking in his scales.

“You are a fool!” Mingfe snapped.

“You threw a spear at me?” he yelled.

“It is the only way to get your attention!” Mingfe growled as she picked up the robe.

“Now, do not make me command you to change, do it willingly, please,” she finished.

“I detest your human forms!” he raged as he pulled the spear out of his leg.

“You should detest this form,” Mingfe replied. “Because it represents that which is the worst part of you.”

“You wounded me!”

“I will heal it after you change,” she replied.

“I am not changing!”

“Then, I will order you to do it!”

He heaved with heavy breaths and shook as he struggled against the bind.

“I don't feel your foolishness over the bind, so you can be as angry as you wish.”

“I will find some way to kill you!” he snarled.

“Last chance,” she said. “Change willingly, or I will command it.”

He slammed the ground, causing a shock she felt through her legs as a white mist began to spread across his scales. In moments he was engulfed in a swirling cloud of white that hid his form and concealed the change. A moment later, the camp was filled with a flash of light and out limped a tall copper-skinned man.

“How was this not the same as commanding me?” he demanded to know.

Mingfe looked up and down his form with a smile and hesitated to help him with the robe.

“I should heal the wound first,” she said and walked up to him.

“Do not touch me!” he snapped.

“I have to touch you to heal the wound!” she snapped back. “Now be still a moment.” she placed a hand to his leg and fell into the musical healing of Ulustrah. In seconds the wound closed, and she sighed as she went to help him with the robe.

“Stop fighting me!” she quipped as he struggled to twist away.

“Why do I have to be covered in this?” he demanded.

“Because you are naked without it,” she replied. She finally got it over his arms and tied it at the waist. With a stern frown, she walked back to the plate of food. She swept it off the grass and walked back to him and held it before him.

“Now, try it,” she insisted.

“I do not need to eat.”

“I am aware you dragons don’t need to eat as we do. But Lilly eats to enjoy the food, and you will too if you would try it.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No, you do not!” she replied with a stamp of her foot.

He looked down at the plate and leaned over to sniff at it.

“This is meat,” he said. “But it smells strange.”

“It is a sausage,” Mingfe replied. “It is meat mixed it other spices to give it a rich flavor.”

“What is the white disc?” he asked.

“That is bread. I am told Lilly is very fond of it.”

He glared up at her, and she raised the plate to suggest he try.

With a sigh, he bent over and tried to bite a sausage off the plate.

Mingfe tried not to laugh as he pushed it around with his nose, almost toppling it to the ground.

“Stop, stop,” she insisted. She reached down and picked it up with a hand and held it out. “Use your hands.”

He took it from her and sniffed it again before taking a small bite. She watched intently as he tried not to react and took another bite. She pretended not to notice how he quickly devoured the sausage and then reached for the bread. He sniffed at it and took a bite turning his back to her and glancing over his shoulder a few times as he quickly ate it.

“I could see if they have more,” she offered.

“I do not need more,” he retorted.

“You certainly do not deserve more,” she agreed. “But do you want more?”

“No!” he said forcefully.

“She smiled at the lie in his aura and turned around. “You wait here, I will go and see if they have more.”

“I just told you I didn’t want any!”

“Yes, that is what your words said.”

Do you plan to ignore all my words?” he demanded.

“When they start to become truthful, I will listen to them,” she replied as she walked away.

As she walked through the line of women, one of them stopped her.

“How did you get him to cooperate?” she asked.

Mingfe smiled. “He is a man, but he thinks like an animal. You have to train him to listen first. Then you can teach him.”

“But how did you do it?”

“By treating him like the animal he is. You can train any animal if you become the source of the food he likes.” with that, she walked away to find him more sausage.