“It is time for change,” said the dragon, her eyes glowing a deep green.

I glanced between the two, wondering what the heck was going on, when the cloaked person stepped forward.

“Is he here?” a soft voice asked. “My father?” An old woman’s wrinkled hand pulled down the hood, revealing bright blue eyes, a hopeful look, and sharp pointed ears. Wrinkles covered her face, and her hair glowed a bright silver. The weight of time surrounded her as she glanced about the room. Her gaze passed right over the Cat, like she could not see him. They landed on me.

Lady Twilight nodded. “He cannot interfere.” She motioned to me. “She is the one who must be told.”

The old Elven woman stepped forward with a smile. “I’ve heard much about you, Sable, keeper of the Fated Shop.” She bowed her head. “You seek to right the wrong from ages past. We have much to speak about.”

Anger still pulsed from the Cat’s direction, but this woman, who must be Elven, didn’t notice it at all.

“We should sit,” she said with a smile, glancing around.

“Betty, some chairs would be great,” I whispered under my breath.

Lady Twilight nodded and headed toward the counter. The large table in the center of the room sunk down into the floor, and two dark green velvet chairs rose in its place.

“This really is it… It’s been hidden here this whole time,” muttered the Elven woman. She glanced at my wide eyes. “Forgive me. I am Liluth Faechid, one of the first.” She bowed her head again at me and motioned to the chairs. “I need to start the story at the beginning.” Her gaze went to the dragon. “Do I have enough time?”

Lady Twilight nodded. “Time passes strangely here, and more so under my influence. You will have time enough. It is the least I can do.” She leaned up against the counter right next to the Cat.

I sat down in a chair and waited for Liluth to take the seat across from me. “The beginning would be great. I feel like I am missing so much information,” I invited.

Liluth sat down in the chair, running her fingers slowly over an armrest as she did. She blinked a few times before relaxing into the comfortable seat. “It’s so strange, being here. At the edge of my senses, I can feel it.”

This did not feel like the beginning, but whatever she was experiencing it was big for her, so I gave her the space.

Her eyes snapped to mine. “I am one of the last of the First. The First of my people, the Elves, created by our father, Fey Lord Felimid Ó Cearnacháin Felix of the Towering Forest.” A sad smile crossed her face, and she continued. “He created my race in his lands within the Fey Wilds, one of the more magical worlds of the Tree. In the beginning, there were only a hundred of us that lived in the Towering Forest. We learned from our father, and we aged slowly, as part of his magic. Our people prospered over time, and children were born. Much like us, but without as strong a connection to the magic. Still Elves, just not of the First.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

A cheerful look crossed her face. “The Fey Wilds are wild, each kingdom ruled by a Lord. Sometimes, fighting took place between Lords, or there might be a small war with some other world, but nothing that shook our foundations. Not until the demons appeared.” She paused. “A crazy people, they are, who like to conquer lands. They killed some of our people, the young ones among us who weren’t ageless. The loss was felt by all, including our father. None of us knew his pain, though I wished we had tried.” She paused, glancing down at her hands.

“It led him down a dark road, searching for a way to stop them. To stop any of his children from dying, even those generations removed from us, the First.” She stopped and swallowed hard.

***

“Dragon, you have gone too far.” I wanted to attack the creature that stood next to the counter. Rage flickered inside me, yet I could barely move. The iron-strong magical bonds that held me weren’t of the dragon’s making, but of the Fates. I knew their power, I had tested it, and I knew that I could not deny their will. “Liluth will fade now that she’s left my lands. Another of my children, gone…”

The rage flickered to sadness, and pain. Another child I couldn’t protect, even with how old she now looked. In my lands she would still be young, but outside of those my limited magic faded.

“There will be no such thing, Lord Felix.” The dragon’s quiet statement knocked me out of the dark path my mind had started down. “She will join me in my home. That will pause her aging, possibly even return some of her youth. She volunteered to come when I explained to those still on the edges of your lands. Don’t you dare take this choice away from her.”

My eyes flickered over the dragon’s face searching for deception. It was their way, as abiding by my law was my own, though I had to admit this particular dragon had always treated me fairly. “Is that even possible?”

“Didn’t you once say, never make a deal with a dragon?”

“Yes, you always get what you want, no matter the deal.” The saying also worked with Fey Lords. Though, I couldn’t even remember what that felt like. So many ages had passed, I couldn’t even remember my children’s faces. Though, some nights, I could repeat the names, letting them linger in the air. Living in a ghost of a shadow of memory.

“Well, I wanted to give you a gift. Sable accepted it on your behalf.”

“This isn’t a gift.” I could feel the lie twist out between my teeth even as I said it. Somehow, it was a gift, though I was sure the dragon knew my struggle. Whatever they had found because of that demon had led to this. Sable saving a baby dragon had led to others being saved, and this Elder doing everything she could to find something worthy of that.

The story that Liluth told wasn’t the full truth. No one knew the full truth but me, and the bastard Fates.