Vanquish had realized fairly quickly after lifting her that the woman that she had grabbed in the garden couldn’t be Ardwynn. She was considerably slimmer. And although Ardwynn’s scent while under the influence of Lothinar’s pheromones was not unpleasant, the person screaming in her claws smelled decidedly human. When she had urinated on herself it had removed all doubt. Vanquish quickly began looking for a safe place to set her down. A mile or two away from the villa and up the road she saw a couple of rather ornate horse drawn carriages moving slowly away from the ambassadors mansion. Flying over and past them she circled and gently set the now whimpering woman down upon the road. Vanquish landed softly beside her almost fully filling the paved surface. The carriages were still out of sight but they would be along shortly. The occupants would probably be willing take the young woman to wherever they were going.

”There you are lady. Down safe and sound. I’m sorry for that. It was a case of mistaken identity.” She said as sweetly as she could manage.

”Compared to Firestorm you’re huge!” The woman exclaimed hysterically. “Why did you grab me? Wait a minute. This is... oh no! I’ve wet myself. This is your fault! This dress is ruined! Do you know how much a dress like this costs?”

Vanquish just looked at the woman. It seemed a honest mistake. Even out here with better light she did look a bit like Ardwynn. She could hear the clatter of a carriage and horse hoofs coming closer from down the road. Candasar was now facing Lothinar alone. She didn’t have time for this.

”You know that I could have dropped you anywhere. I didn’t have to take the time to bring you to a place where you most certainly will soon have a ride home.” Said the dragon. “

“Those are probably the others girls from the party.” She said. “You can’t expect me to let them see me like this!”

”Why not? You look fine to me.” Said Vanquish.

”But I smell like pee and day old tuna!” She retorted

Vanquish sniffed her claw. It did smell like fish.

“You will just have to take a bath.” She said.

”But the dress!” She wailed.

”When I said I could have dropped you, dropped, meant literally. You know, a fall from a great height kind of situation. Things could have gone much worse for you tonight.” Said Vanquish.

”Fine. But I’m coming back to the Ambassadors villa tomorrow and I expect you to tell Lothinar how sweet and reasonable I have been. Mistaken identity my foot! I’m Regent Courtney’s daughter Michelle. While the king is away from Sivantra my father is in charge!” She said raising her voice.

“Got to go now.” Said Vanquish stepping away from the angry girl and running a bit to get some velocity before flapping her wings. When she did extend them she felt the tips brush against the trees that came up near the edge of the road. It was going to be a tight squeeze. She managed to get into the air. Wheeling around to head back the way she had come she saw the carriage approaching. Michelle was standing in the middle of the road in the moonlight with her hands on her hips. She was staring up at the dragon as the carriage pulled to a stop in front of her. Vanquish made a turn and the scene disappeared from her sight.

—————-

Lothinar stepped out of the garden shed. He was holding a red sword.

"Hi Candasar" he said. "I certainly didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon. How are the eggs?"

She grimaced.

"Actually I'm not sure because I had to leave them with Tundor when you called for help." she said somewhat snippily.

Lothinar's smile evaporated. He looked back at the shed then took a few steps toward the blue dragon.

"What are you doing with that sword Lothinar?” Candasar asked cautiously.

”Oh, I was just taking it from where Ardwynn had hidden it” he said. “It was lucky that the gardener was looking for a particular hoe this morning and mentioned finding Crimson in a barrel. Did you know that they make a special hoe just for weeding mung beans?”

”That sounds perfectly reasonable to me.” Said Candasar, nodding. ”Mung beans are so delicious that they no doubt deserve their own special gardening tools.”

Lothinar dropped the sword. It fell into the grass with a thump.

‘Candasar shook her head.

”Hey did you just..?”

”That thing is incredibly dangerous.” Said Lothinar with a shudder.

"Why did you do that? Now I crave Mung-Beans?" asked Candisar. "I don't even eat beans!"

Lothinar ran across the lawn and came to a stop just in front of Candasar.

"I'm sorry." he said. He gently reached up and stroked her face before clinging to her neck and hugging her. She let him. In a few moments she realized that he was crying.

“Hey! None of that” she said. “Big tough dragon-elfs like you are not supposed to cry.”

”It’s just that I don’t see any way out of this Candy. I still love her. I know that I shouldn’t, but I do. She is also carrying my child!”

Candasar was keeping her eyes on the garden shed door. She was also watching the sword lying in the grass. She was trying to decide if she could beat Ardwynn to the sword if she made a grab for it from her hidden place in the shed. With Lothinar now weeping on her shoulder she didn't think that she now could cover the distance faster than the pregnant elf. She knew that she could not risk Ardwynn handling that sword again.

“Firestorm would you mind going over to where Lothinar dropped that sword and moving it a little farther away from the shed please.” Asked Candasar.

Firestorm started towards the sword, then she stopped. “It’s lying flat and I’m sure it’s pretty sharp. This might be tricky. Are you sure? Why can’t Lothinar do it? She asked.

”Yes please. It’s very important.” Said Candasar. “Lothinar is dealing with something else right now.”

Firestorm grumbled a bit but walked over to where the sword lay. She grabbed the hilt with her mouth but also came up with a bunch of grass and dirt as well. She walked over to where Candasar stood and glared at her with her teeth clenched on the handle. It was wet with dragon drool. A little mud and a few tufts of lawn were stuck to her chin. She dropped the sword. It fell straight down and hit the ground vertically, blade first. It stopped upright stuck in the lawn quivering. Firestorm spit.

“Blech! Is that what you wanted because that was harder than it looked. Why didn’t Lothinar just do it. He hands hands and everything! Is this a pecking order thing because you’re back now? Because if it is that wasn’t very nice. I even brought you a goat.”

”It is not a pecking order thing Firestorm.” Candasar said.

Lothinar sighed. He let go of Candasar and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He took a knee and reached out to embrace the young red dragon.

"Firestorm, Candasar had you bring the sword over here because she was worried that Ardwynn would pick it up." he said.

"Why would that be a problem?" the little red dragon asked.

"Because although you might not remember it, Ardwynn used it on you."

"I do remember a conversation with her. It happened a few nights ago. For some reason I fell asleep in the hallway. It was a good thing that Ardwynn woke me up."

"Do you remember why you were sleeping in the hallway Firestorm?"

"Not really. Its actually a terrible place to try and sleep. That's actually been bugging me a little." she confessed.

"Hold on," said Lothinar. "I think that there is probably an easier way to do this." He rested his hand on the pommel of the sword.

Candasar felt herself involuntarily flinch.

"I'd like you to try and remember why we came to Sivantra Firestorm. Can you do that?" asked Lothinar.

"We brought Ardwynn." she said immediately.

"Why did we bring her all the way out here?" Lothinar asked.

"To have her baby?"

"We could have probably done that back on the mainland." said Lothinar. "What lives on the mainland that there are very few of out here?"

"Duh. Dragons. There are tons of little dragons running around over there right now. I'm not going to be the smallest anymore. I think that's great!"

"Why was it important to keep Ardwynn away from them?" he asked.

"So that she couldn't accidentally bond with one and break free of your pheromones..... Crap. I remember everything now. She manipulated me didn't she." said Firestorm. "I mean she had the sword. How could I have missed that?"

"Its not your fault. It's mine." said Lothinar. "I got lazy and complacent. I left this sword laying around where she could get her hands on it."

"But you had to hear what she said to me. Sword or not! It was heartbreaking! I think she really meant it too Lothinar!"

"I'm sure she did. The Ardwynn that is love with me would never want to hurt me, or you or anyone. But that's not the real Ardwynn."

"Why can't it be?" said a voice from the garden shed. Ardwynn was standing there. Tears were running down her face. "I want to be that Ardwynn."

"It's just not real." said Lothinar. His jaw was set in grim resolve. "Do you remember who you turned into when you broke free of my chemical prison? You almost killed Mavis. Actually you did. Then you took Tundor away to give him to your uncle Argent against his will."

"I do remember doing those things." admitted Ardwynn. "But do you also remember when I fought my own father and was willing to help you kill him?" Do you remember when I acquiesced to the deaths of my mother and brother? That sounds like a pretty solid commitment to us Lothinar. I even tried to refuse to bond with Tundor. You actually made me do it!" she was sobbing. "Why did you make me do that? I was so happy being with you."

"Life isn't always simple." he said. "What if I'm killed. What is my pheromones somehow change or lose their effectiveness on you. Who will. you become?"

"I don't know!" she wailed.

"You are Argent's bloodline" said Candasar angrily. "That will never change."

"Then kill me now" she yelled. "Me and my unborn child. He's related to Argent too. You didn't forget that did you? What are you waiting for? Why prolong this?"

A dark shadow passed over the garden and in a flash of blue Ardwynn was gone.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Lothinar looked up into the empty night sky. He stood to his feet and pulled the red sword out of the dirt. Without a word he went back into the house.

"Is Vanquish coming back?" Asked Firestorm.

"I believe so." said Candasar. "Eventually."

"Then I had better run out and catch another goat. You two must be really hungry."

"I've actually lost my appetite." said Candasar.

-------------------------

Vanador watched Mo-Rung fly over the dairy and make his turn. He was lined up to land in the large open area. It had been a while since he had seen the red dragon. He had accompanied Mavis to the capitol. She must be back he thought. Suddenly he realized that it wasn't Mavis on his back. That was unexpected. It looked like Siophra was riding him. The large white dragon trotted out to meet them. He was always glad to see Siophra. Mo-Rung landed. Vanador stopped. It was confusing. She looked like Siophra but she was definitely not. He eyed the newcomer warily.

"What is going on here Mo-Rung? Who is this?" he asked with concern.

"It's a complicated story" said the newcomer. "I'd like to tell it once. Are Ardwella and Muina here?"

"No. They had a bit of an emergency. They are at their home at the other end of the lake." said Vanador. "The Queen is here and so is Ronni."

"Can you get them for me? I need to discuss a few things with them." said the elf that was no longer entirely just Siophra.

"I have had a long relationship with Siophra. I consider her a dear friend. I must insist that you explain to me who you are and why you look so much like her.

"I am Tundor and Candasar's daughter Zinariya. My nest was attacked up on the mountain by one of Argent's daughters. My egg was stolen and then broken." she said. "Mo-Rung here saved us.. He killed the perpetrators but Siophra unfortunately was badly injured."

"I have, more than anyone experienced the numerous ways that Siophra has been wounded. I am the one that healed her most of those times. Said Vanador. Tundor has also healed her. What was different about the injury this time?" the white dragon asked.

"She was hit by an electrical discharge. She took a lightning bolt directly in the forehead." said Mo-Rung. I saw it myself.

"She also sustained other serious injuries in the subsequent fall." said Zinariya. "I began healing her almost instantaneously after joining with her."

"How is her brain?" asked Vanador. "A direct electrical strike could do a huge amount of damage."

"I was initially unsure, but your friend is incredibly resilient. A lot of that is due to how much healing has been done to this body over the years. All of it is excellent work."

"Unfortunately, I had a lot of opportunity to practice." said Vanador. "Her brain injury, though concerns me. There are irreplaceable memories in there."

"It is going to take time, but I'm continuously working on her. I now believe that with some time she will recover. She may have some gaps in her memory." said Zinariya. "Some of them she might even be grateful for."

"She has suffered more than anyone that I know. I wasn't able to do much about the memories or the nightmares." said Vanador.

"I am in a unique position to do her some real good while I inhabit her body."

Vanador looked her up and down.

"How is that even possible? A baby dragon is fairly small but not that small. What did you do with the rest of your actual body?"

"We are sharing the space. I've made myself very dense. Mo-Rung can tell you that I'm almost twice as heavy as Siophra was before."

The Red dragon nodded. "She definitely is heavy."

"I am surprised that you could do such a thing" said Vanador. "Apparently what I thought that I knew about Gold Dragon abilities has been underestimated. You are a gold obviously. The eyes give it away."

"You are correct. Now that we have established that can you get the human King and Queen over here? I have some important things to discuss."

"No." said Vanador.

"What? Why not?" asked Zinariya.

"She is a gold dragon. She is technically our superior." Said Mo-Rung.

”Someday her magic and power will be greater than mine, but she is still a child. Today I am in charge.” Said the big white dragon. “I'm not letting you go anywhere until I get to talk to Siophra."

Mo-Rung bristled. "You are disobeying her?"

"This is an unprecedented situation and Siophra and I have a long history. I consider her one of my closest friends." said Vanador. "You have taken her body. That does not feel right to me. I insist on speaking with her!"

Zinariya looked irritated, then her eyes softened.

"Your loyalty to Siophra is admirable. I therefore will acquiesce. You may speak with her, but we can not do that here. I will need to be lying down. I do not think Siophra will have enough control of this body to remain standing. I also do not know if she will be fully capable of understanding or answering your questions."

"Nonetheless I must insist." said Vanador.

"Do you wish for me to lay down in the mud of this pasture then? That would be rather inconvenient."

Just then a couple of Enderline's soldiers ran up to them.

"Is everything alight here Vanador?" one of them asked. He looked at Mo-Rung and Siophra. He looked again. "Your eyes changed. Wow."

"Do I know you?" she asked.

He looked surprised and a little disappointed.

"My name is Ross. We have met before. I was with you when you and Tundor were fighting Byron and his soldiers in the woods. You were incredible!"

"Thank you Ross. Do you have a bed around here close by?"

The man blushed furiously.

"You may be a gold dragon," said Vanador, "But you are still very young. You obviously have a great deal to learn about human customs and innuendo."

"What do you mean?" asked Zinariya.

You just asked Ross here a question that could quite easily be misunderstood."

"What could possibly be misunderstood about that?"

"Humans and Elves do other things in a bed besides sleep." said Mo-Rung. "Cantrell and my bond Mavis for example..."

"Lets not get into that right now Mo-Rung." said Vanador. "Lets go to the central courtyard in the dragon temple. It's large enough for all of us and we can probably find something for you to lay down on so that you don't get your clothes dirty while you let me talk to Siophra."

While they had been talking they had begun to attract a crowd. Soldiers and some ladies from the town were starting to surround them. They each seemed to have a little dragon accompanying them. They looked curiously at Ziariya.

"It is strange to see these young dragons." she said. "Knowing that if I had hatched normally I would have looked like them."

"Lets go to the temple." said Vanador. "Until I talk to Siophra I'm not sure that I'm going to allow you to keep wearing her body."

"There's not much you can do about it." said Ziariya.

"You might be surprised." said Vanador. "You had better hope that conversation goes the way that you think that it will."

"I'm sorry you feel that way Vanador. Tundor didn't seem to mind me using Siophra's body." said Ziariya.

"You are his child." said Vanador. "And even then, I'm sure this would not have been his first choice for Siophra. "

The golden eyed elf looked at the white dragon.

"Obviously not. Do you think that I wanted this? I had nowhere safe to go and she was dying." said Ziariya. "It was the best option at the time."

"That is one of the first questions that I am going to ask Siophra." said Vanador.

The two large dragons, the smaller dragons and all the human bonds began walking out of the dairy and toward town.

"Why are they all following us?" asked Ziariya.

"They are curious about you." said Vanador. "You have to admit that it's a strange situation."

"I suppose." she said. "I just want to get this over with."

The procession entered the city and then the temple. The crowds of humans continued to grow. Ross went into one of the side rooms and with the help of one of the other soldiers pulled out a bed. He wiggled his eyebrows at Siophra. She glared at him.

”Keep an eye on that one for me Mo-Rung” Ziariya said.

”I was just joking “ said Ross.

”Now is not a good time for flirting” said Vanador. Ross nodded and stepped back into the crowd.

Vanador stood close to her and watched as Ziariya lay down on top of the bed. She closed her golden eyes. About a minute passed. When she opened them again, they were green. They looked up at him in confusion.

"Hey Siophra." He asked. "How are you feeling?"

She looked at him. She looked at all the people and small dragons surrounding her.

"Vanador? Where am I? What's going on?"

"You were attacked by one of Argent's daughters. She had some power. I am told that she hit you with lightning."

”Why are all these others here?”

”They are serving as witnesses. Most of them are just concerned about you.”

”That’s nice, I guess.” Siophra said.

”Do you remember anything about what happened?” Asked Vanador.

"I was feeding the little blue dragons. Tundor was attacked. I ran out of the house. I don't remember anything after that."

"The third egg, the golden one was stolen and then dropped. It was damaged." said Vanador.

"That's terrible." said Siophra. "Tundor will be very upset." She paused. "Why can't I feel Tundor Vanador? Did he die?" she began to cry.

Ross stepped forward quietly and passed her a handkerchief. She took it, wiped her eyes and smiled at him. He stepped back into the crowd.

Mo-Rung gave Ross a strange look. Vanador rolled his eyes but continued.

"No no.. nothing like that. " said Vanador. "Tundor is fine. He wanted to be. here with you. He's watching the baby dragons right now. Cantrell is with him."

"Who is that? Cantrell? Do I know him? asked Siophra.

"Yes, you do, or rather, you should." said Vanador. "He's the one who married Mavis."

"I don't know who that is either." she said. She was starting to look upset.

"Listen Siophra." said Vanador. "Those names are not that important right now. I'm sure that in time your memories will start coming back. I only have one other thing that I want to talk to you about right now"

"You know Vanador, I can't read your mind anymore, but I can see it on your face." said Siophra. "Something is bothering you."

"When the golden egg was dropped, it cracked." said Vanador. "The baby gold dragon inside wasn't ready to come out and live on her own."

"Did the baby gold dragon die?" asked Siophra.

"No Siophra. Somehow she managed to use your body as a shelter. She's inside you right now."

"How can she do that?"

"It's some sort of gold dragon magic I suppose." said Vanador. "What I need to know, and this is really important, are you willing for this to continue?"

"Will she die if she doesn't get to use my body as an incubator?"

"Lets assume not." said Vanador. "What do you think about sharing your body with a dragon for a few weeks?"

"Will it harm me? I just kind of got my life back. I don't want this to hurt me." said Siophra.

"She claims that she is healing you and that you will be better for it." said Vanador. "The truth is, I really don't know."

"She is Tundor and Candasar's daughter." said Siophra. "I will put my trust in her."

"Very well, Siophra. I will let you get some rest. "I will talk to you soon." said Vanador.

Siophra closed her eyes. When she opened them again they were shining gold.

"Are you satisfied now?" asked Ziariya

"For now." said the big white dragon. "But I'm going to be watching."

"Exactly!" said Ziaiya. "I knew that you would insist on it. We need to leave for the Capitol immediately!"

---------------------

"I don't know much about baby elves, but I'm curious about something." said Heirwyn. She was watching Ardwella nurse the baby. Albarad had just walked out of the room. He had claimed that he needed to see a man about a horse.

"What is it you want to know?" asked Ardwella.

"Your baby girl looks so peaceful at the moment, but every time Albarad is close by she seems to be looking at him. It's probably my imagination but she seems to be watching him closely."

Ardwella looked at Heirwynn and grimaced.

"It's dragon trouble I'm afraid. You've met Platinum?"

"Yes, and it wasn't that great an experience" said Heirwynn.

The baby shifted on Ardwella's breast and gave the young human girl a decidedly unfriendly look.

"Now that's just creepy." said Heirwynn. "I'm sorry to have to say that, but it is!"

"I have to admit that I've never seen anything quite like it." said Ardwella. "Yesterday I was over at the dairy and Platinum approached me. She asked me if I would mind if she bonded with my then unborn baby. When I said no, she did it anyway! I'm very upset about it."

"It certainly triggered Albarad's protect and rescue reflex" said Muina. "That's why he went to the dairy."

"When I met Platinum, she seemed very pushy." said Heirwynn.

"My baby was not even due to be born for several more weeks yet. Platinum has been hastening her development and birth with magic." said Ardwella. "Its not safe and I have been damaged physically because of it."

Snow nudged Night-Sky. He looked at her. They shared a long moment.

Night sky finally spoke. "Snow and I both agree that in this case Platinum may have overstepped." he said. "There were many other suitable candidates to choose from for her to bond with, and bonding now was not even really a necessity."

"But what can be done now?" asked Heirwynn.

"We can have the bond disolved." said Muina. "It's been done before. Vanquish can do it."

"Vanquish is not here." said Night-Sky. "It may be some time before she returns. I suspect that perhaps that is why Platinum chose to do this now and now while she was not around."

"Are you saying that Platinum is breaking dragon rules?" asked Albarad walking back into the room.

"There is no real set of rules regarding bonding" said Night-Sky. "But bonding with the unborn is unprecedented. Also, in a situation like this, there is a lot to be said for what we may have to refer to as good manners. The infants parents are clearly opposed to this."

"I am definitely opposed." said Albarad.

"As am I." said Ardwella. "I told her as much."

"I will speak to Vanador about this." said Night-Sky. "We will ask her to minimize her contact with the child through the bond until it can be broken. Unfortunately that will have to wait until we get have a mature blue dragon to completely undo the bond."

"Can you make her do that?" asked Ardwella. "She is a platinum."

"No, we actually can't. But she is a still a juvenile and Vanador's magic is pretty strong. I'm hoping that she will see reason in this."

"Why would she do this at all? Why bond with an unborn child?" asked Heirwynn.

"Don't take this the wrong way Heirwynn." said Night-Sky, but for a dragon, bonding with an elf has many benefits over bonding with a human."

"Ok. I suppose I can understand that." said Heirwynn. She looked sadly at Snow. Snow walked over and shook her head. Heirwynn was hit with an huge emotional surge of acceptance and affection.

"It's mostly the lack of telepathy." said Night-Sky. "Elves have it humans do not. Additionally even I can feel the magic radiating off this child. Ardwella has been pushing a lot of good things into her while she was in the womb. She will be an exceptional elf. It's very clear to me. I'm sure that Platinum also could feel that."

"So she's selfish. She wanted to claim a healthy powerful elf!" shouted Albarad.

"Well, she probably also thought that she was doing your daughter a favor. Bonding with a Platinum is usually considered a great honor." said Night-Sky.

"Maybe you should reconsider this Albarad." said Muina. Dragons that carry the color of the precious metals are exceedingly rare. They are considered dragon royalty."

"I don't care!" said Albarad. She had no right to do this when my child could not even speak for herself. I'm sure she had no idea what was actually going to happen."

There was a knock on the door.

"Are we expecting anyone?" asked Heirwynn.

"Excuse me for a moment." said Albarad. He left the room and his footsteps traveled to the front door. There was a creak and a sudden slam.

Albarad dashed back into the room.

"It's Enderline and Pewter!" he said in an urgent whisper. “Also Killingsworth is back!”

"You slammed the door on the King?" asked Ardwella.

"I had to!" said Albarad. "He was wearing a formal tuxedo!"

Heirwynn turned as white as her dragon.

"I thought that we had resolved this!" she said. "I'm not getting married!"

"Yes you are." said Ardwella's baby. "And Aunt Muina is soon going to be under arrest for murder."

------------------