“She’s with me,” Dainin said, holding out a swirled clover symbol in plain silver. “I am so sorry.”

“You’re… a knight?”

Dainin felt impatience with the woman’s question. “Yes, I am a knight of Mysteera, that dragon is in my charge. I am sorry she startled everyone.

The woman behind the counter was joined by an older-looking woman who had a deep red face. “You scared every customer out of here. Do you know the damage you have done to my business?”

Dainin bowed politely, “I am sorry,” he said again.

The guard breathed out, “You knew she was a dragon?”

“Yes,” he said.

“And you brought her in here?”

“Yes.”

There was an awkward silence. “Why?” the guard finally asked.

Dainin looked at Path who was not looking at him at the moment. “She is important to Mysteera. She has been cursed with a human shape most of the time, and I am looking after her. I did not realize she would transform. I can only imagine,” he stared extra hard at her until he saw color coming to her cheeks, “that she didn’t realize what impact it would have to surprise others in this fashion.”

There was a pause, “I do not have any response from Goddess Aurell either way,” said the guard after a moment, more guards were gathering outside. “But I can see that you are indeed a Knight of the Mischief Goddess, Mouse-Lion.”

Dainin hated that title too, but he nodded, “I know we owe some restitution. I do not know that I can pay for it, but we… can work,” he said.

The guard looked to the older woman, “Let me go see what was damaged,” she said gruffly, stomping her way into the back.

There was also a crowd gathering outside that made him uncomfortable. What a scene. He glared at Path, who still did not quite look at him. I guess if the complaint is that we have caused lost business, I can try to leverage this.

And then his thought for a little petty revenge took root in his heart, and he smiled just slightly.

***

Path waited for the woman to come back, knowing full well she had not damaged anything, and prepared to argue about it if the angry human made any such claim.

The red-faced woman returned with a grumble. “Nothin’ looks damaged,” she said to the guard. “But there’s still been a whole lot of people scared out of here. This has harmed my reputation.”

Dainin spoke then, “Well, there is a big crowd out there now, gawking. As you can see, Lady Path is not actually harmful. Perhaps, we can help draw in people for a few days, since she is so determined to be a dragon in public.”

Path looked slowly at Dainin, feeling her heart rate pick up a little bit. “What…”

He ignored her, “I bet most of the people in this city have never been near a real dragon,” he continued. “So, perhaps, a couple of times a day, a real dragon could appear outside your shop, with guards, and promotions so everyone knows that it is not a threat, and people could come to meet her in person, pet her scales, and she tells people what a lovely bathhouse you have and how it is her favorite.”

The owner of the bathhouse looked thoughtful for a bit, and Path tried to glare a hole into the side of Dainin’s face, to make him take back this terrible idea. Dainin ignored her as completely as she had been ignoring him a moment ago. “We can do that?” she asked the guard.

“There is no specific reason why not,” the Aurell knight said. “As long as the dragon doesn’t hurt or damage anything, we can certainly allow for this, uh, promotion, to mend the wrongs. No one was hurt.”

“Excellent!” Dainin said.

“Wait,” Path said as he moved to her and took her hand. “Wait! I don’t really want…”

But he took her outside with all the people gathered around and the guard followed them. Dainin waited for her to speak to the other knights of Aurell, and then he said, in a big voice. “Hello, everyone! This is Lady Path, a dragon. You’ve all come because of the commotion you heard, well, this bathhouse is so fine that even a dragon wants to bathe here.”

Path felt color coming to her cheeks, and she saw a whole bunch of the crowd moving back. Dainin, she thought grumpily at him.

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“Do you have a merchant fleet of ships to sell me too?” a man jeered from those that had gathered. “That’s just a woman.”

Dainin looked at Path, “Well?”

Path looked at the gathered guards, looked at Dainin’s intense yes, felt the glower of the owner of the bathhouse behind her and sighed. It came even easier this time when she transformed.

A bunch of people squealed about the green with some pink highlights dragon appearing in the middle of them, but as Path laid down, playing along, there was a more settled quiet. This feels weird. She was close to a large group of humans, and nothing was happening. People were just looking at her.

A boy escaped the grasp of his father and came right up to her, patting her front claw. “The scales are smooth!” the small child grinned up at her.

Path nodded wordlessly.

It started a flood, several braver souls, mostly younger humans patted along her feet, her legs, the end of her tail.

She counted about ninety heartbeats before Dainin spoke again, “Path is pleased to meet everyone. We are grateful you let us stay in your town. We hope to see more of you utilizing the bathhouse that makes her scales so smooth!”

He nodded to her. She got rid of the dragon shape.

People were still around her, a lot of them smiled with delight. Someone giggled, then some started making noise with their hands by slapping them together. She skulked toward Dainin, people made room for her.

He put his arm around her. “Thank you! We’ll be heading back inside!”

And he steered her that way, with her heart pounding. People followed them. She wanted desperately to escape.

“Can I have Path’s things?” Dainin asked the woman who had been working the counter.

“Oh, yes. I will go and find them,” she said, ducking into the back.

“What was that?” Path demanded at a low hiss.

“A way to make the chaos better and not just terror,” he said with a low voice back. “You had to know that you would make a scene by transforming there.”

“Well, yes, but I am a dragon,” she huffed at him.

“You are. Now you will be a dragon getting patted by children at least once a day for a few days…” He hugged her to him with one arm, “That was really good, by the way.”

She looked away from him and growled a little, That was not good. I was paralyzed. “What does the hand slapping mean?”

“The… hand… slapping?” he asked confused. She made the motion with her hands. “Oh, clapping. That means people were pleased.”

There were people hovering around them. The worker came back after an eternity with her things in a bundle. “You can keep the robe for now,” she said.

“What time tomorrow?” he called to the owner.

“How about just before dinner? Around six?”

“We will see you then. We are staying at the Voyager’s Lantern.” Dainin said, putting the bundle of her dress and shoes in her arms before he picked her up and carried her out.

“Why did you tell them all that? Won’t there be a bunch of people there now?”

“No. We are going to be watched by the guard every day that we are here. I heard them.”

She sighed.

“You need to think before you act,” he admonished slightly as someone touched her foot and she squirmed in his arms.

She went to bite him; she did not need to hear it from him.

But he turned his face into her and pressed his lips to her forehead and made a noise with it that surprised her. “What was that?”

“We call it a kiss. A sign of affection, or in this case, a convenient thing to do with a woman who expresses her displeasure with her mouth physically instead of with her words.”

“I think I hate you.”

“I don’t doubt that at this very moment, you probably do,” he chuckled. “Come on, let’s get you inside where you will feel less in the open, and maybe you can go back to liking me agian.”

“I do not like you,” she said with a squirm.

“The first time you transformed into a dragon you were coming to rescue me. You must like me a little.”

She flailed so much he had to put her down or risk dropping her. She glared at him as he reached over and pulled the robe more securely shut since it was showing the space between her breasts almost down to her waist. “I decided you belong to me,” she said flatly, looking at him with defiance.

“A part of your new hoard?” he teased, his smile barely repressed on his lips.

She was infuriated he was so amused. She was infuriated he found a good way to punish her for her impulses by making her have to be around people for a short eternity at least once a day for the next few days. “Yes,” she said defensively.

“Well, that works for me, if it gets you to play a little nicer and help me.” He stretched, “So, walking with your bare feet?”

She tested them against the warm cobbles. “It seems fine.”

“I did promise you a certain kind of treat, but you may be cooled off too much by the time we get it that you will not realize why it is nice after a hot bath. We’ll try again tomorrow if it doesn’t work.”

She was a little surprised he planned to let her have a treat at all after her behavior. She followed him, walking slowly and carefully along the cobbles back to the inn, where he requested a chilled fruit tea.

“Take a big gulp,” he advised as she was handed her cup. When she did so, the sensation of cold sliding through her was dramatic, and just as he had promised, pleasing. The drink was also sweeter, so she enjoyed it.

“Tomorrow, if you are better behaved, I’ll teach you about frozen treats,” he said.

“I will behave how I like,” she huffed, feeling sassed.

“I know.”

The most irritating thing he does is agree with me when I want him to react, she decided with a huff.