The next morning Renna felt ready to come forth. Beast whined - it wanted to try flying. Renna did too, but she suspected that there would be something more required than jumping off a cliff and hoping for the best. She assured the beast that the male would soon teach them how to fly and if he wasn’t, they would just try it out themselves. The beast agreed to withdraw.

Arion had already woken. She was not sure if he had gone out to fly or was having breakfast, but she was hungry and headed back in. First order of business was some clothes. When she got to her bedroom door she noticed that it had merged into one double-door room with Arion’s next to it. When she opened it, behind it was one big room that looked as if the wall between rooms had shifted into a cavern wall and the beds had merged in the middle. She had always suspected that the whole cavern was somehow magical and this feat of redecoration definitely proved it.

Her magical wardrobe was still there too, tho now in the furthest wall. She walked up to it and pulled out a dress. It was dark blue, almost black and sparkly, exactly like her beast. She put it on happily, slipped her feet in a pair of slippers and went out to find breakfast.

Margarite was setting the table. Renna felt hesitant approaching. There was a twinge of guilt - she was still here… Margarite greeted her with a nod and resumed her work.

“Margarite…” she started not knowing how to formulate the question or even what it was she wanted to ask.

“Yes, my Lady?” She said looking up from her work.

“I'm sorry…” Renna whispered.

Margarite looked at her sharply. “Don’t be. You saved him. Not just for this spring, but forever.” she said and resumed her work.

“If there is anything I can do for you and the others… Please tell me.”, she implored.

Margarite smiled. “I will think about it.” She said.

Moments later Arion strode in, crashed in his chair, greeted her with a small kiss and dug into breakfast without mercy.

“Eat up, ” he said, “We will need to face the mirror today. I hope my mother has answers…”

Renna did not need to be prompted twice, she was already quite hungry. With two hungry dragons at the table, soon there was nothing left.

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After breakfast they headed to the mirror room.

“It’s not my usual time to call, Mother may not appear fast,” he explained as they approached the door. “And please - do not let go of my hand. Your dragon will support you but handling the mirror is… a skill. One I learnt holding my mother’s hand for many years…” he implored.

To Arion’s surprise Mother appeared instantly, as if she had been waiting for him. Her face was worried.

“Arion, you are safe!” she exclaimed.

Then her eyes fell on Renna and stopped at the cracked amulet on her neck.

She let out a sigh of relief, “I guess you already know what that amulet was sealing, daughter”, she said with a hint of amusement.

She turned to Arion, “Is she a magnificent beast, dear? I can’t wait to meet her when you return…”

Renna was startled. Return… where? Arion squeezed her hand.

“You seem to know more than we do, Mother… Perhaps you will tell us too?” He asked.

“That seal is a very complicated piece of magic. It was made for one very specific dragon. Long time ago there was a dragon scholar whose daughter was aging and growing in power but had not yet found her mate. She became… unstable. Like you. So he made this amulet to seal her dragon in her, rendering her mortal and sent her to the realm you are now so that the suppressed magic would keep the seal intact and the dragon in her in a dormant state. This was a thousand years ago and the scholar himself has been lost to us for centuries. It was presumed that she died in this realm long ago. It stands to reason that Renna is her direct descendant. And the dragon who had been sealed in her ancestor is now reborn in her.”

“But why did the seal break now?” Asked Renna.

“Can’t you guess, daughter? The seal was never made to last forever, only until the dragon spirit found its mate.” She told her.

And looking at her son asked “Have you told her yet, what that means?”

Arion shook his head.

“You have lots of explaining to do then,” she said.

“Mother, you said the dragon spirit is old, but Renna says she remembers nothing. She is a newborn beast…” Arion changed the subject swiftly. Mirror time was limited.

“She might remember some day…Or she might not. She’s been dormant in human bodies for longer you have lived, son.” Mother answered.

“You will need to teach her how to be a dragon, the same way I taught you when your beast awakened. Some things she will learn fast as if remembering… others might come slower if she never learned them in the past.” She explained.

“But when you return… There is something that will need to be discussed at council - her inheritance.”

Renna was confused. Inheritance? But the mirror time was almost spent. They had to go.

Renna had some questions and she would ask them as soon as they were out of the mirror room.