Anya pulled her hand back as Thestian released it and stared at it in shock. It was a simple line drawing of a flower blossom, and was certainly nothing too extravagant.

  She emitted a small stream of magic from her fingertip to ask what this was, but just before it began to light up, her heart began pounding violently. She fell to her knees and gasped for breath. This was not as painful as the Siol Draiochta had been, but Anya still felt immense pain. She could not breathe, and each attempt to take a breath only intensified the pain.

  She reached out, and Thestian grabbed her extended hand.

  “Relax,” he said. “It will pass.”

  His tone reassured her, and Anya calmed down. She was able to breathe again, and her heart had stopped beating so hard… for the most part. She was, after all, still collecting herself from the surprise of it all.

  Before she had a chance to write out her thoughts, Thestian began to explain:

  “There are several dragon clans in this world, and each treat a contract differently. Some do not form contracts unless it is under life or death circumstances. Some only contract with women, or vice versa. Some grant their power to their contractors, while others take power from their contractors. My clan, the Evening Violet Clan, do not take special care in choosing our contractors. The vow of our clan is binding. Once the vow is made, it cannot be broken. Whether it is against your will or not, you will never betray me, nor I you. In exchange for this, our clan grants part of our race’s magic to our contractors. What you felt just now was the magic of the Evening Violet Clan entering your bloodstream and integrating with the magic from the Siol Draiochta. I thought it might be unpleasant, but I did not think that it would cause you so much pain. My Lady Anya, I am deeply sorry about that.”

  He bowed his head apologetically and sincerely, clear strands of glasslike hair falling out of place.

  Anya was struggling to understand what exactly Thestian meant, but eventually, she sighed and accepted it, figuring that she would understand it when she needed to understand it.

  “Am I your lady because you vowed to be my knight?” she asked.

  The dragon shook his head. “You are my lady because we share a contract.”

  “If you address me so respectfully because of the contract, should I call you my lord or something?”

  Thestian snorted in amusement. “No, there is no need for you to address me in such a manner. It is just another custom of my clan. You gave me my name, so I am indebted to you, but as we are equals, we simply refer to our contractors a bit more politely. You are under no such obligation.”

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  “I am not sure I understand. You say I am your equal, but now I am your lady?”

  “Nothing more than a title to acknowledge that you have given me my name. We are equals in every other aspect, my Lady Anya,” Thestian explained, smirking at her confusion. “We dragons place a great deal of significance on our contracts, but we also have a great deal of pride. We show our gratitude in subtle ways, but we do show it. That is the root of this.”

  Anya nodded, though her eyes were a bit unfocused.

  “My Lady Anya, we should return to the festival now; don’t you agree?” He looked around. “Where did that servant fairy go?”

  The young girl searched as well, but she could not see him.

  “I am here.” The fairy servant’s voice was heard from right behind her. The fairy closed his eyes and bowed lightly. “You may remember that we are always present here, but we possess the ability to become invisible so that we do not spoil the atmosphere with our humble appearance.”

  Thestian shook his head with a low growl. “An archaic tradition upheld since the times when humans and fairies were friendly with one another.”

  Anya was surprised and perplexed at Thestian’s disgruntlement. “Is there something wrong? Kiridian told me that the servant fairies were born to support the noble fairies. I have never seen any of them look upset when people ask them to do things.”

  Thestian shook his head knowingly and smirked. “Oh, my dear, innocent child. My Lady Anya, servant fairies are born from the magic power of noble fairies. This is done subconsciously by noble fairies, but since servant fairies do not possess the natural magic of other fairies, noble fairies take it upon themselves to protect them in their places of dwelling. In return, noble fairies ask servant fairies to maintain their residences. Originally, servant fairies were called noble-sprung fairies, because they were sprung from the magic of nobles, but over time, their position has degenerated to such a state. If they were truly satisfied, it would be easy to see it on their faces, but instead, all you can see is apathy and resigned tolerance.”

  Anya looked at the servant fairy, who had been floating there, listening without uttering a single word. “Do you wish that you were not a servant fairy?” she asked him.

  The servant fairy closed his eyes and lowered his head respectfully. “It is a great honor to serve the fairy queen. It is an honor that the fairies she rules over would never be permitted. Perhaps the servant fairies of lesser noble fairies would not be as content as those of the queen, but we all are very happy to serve her. Queen Kiridian is a wonderful mistress, and she never mistreats us.”

  “Open your ear-holes, you dumb servant fairy. She asked if you wished you were not a servant fairy. Do not dodge the question with your pre-packaged words of praise for the queen.” Thestian glared at the servant fairy.

  “Lord Thestian, I am very happy to be a servant fairy under Kiridian. My words of praise for her are genuine. You would not understand. As long as we complete our tasks given to us, we are allowed to pursue anything that interests us. Be it love, art, or any hobbies that may interest us, the queen supports us and we support her. I believe some might refer to our relationship as symbiotic.”

  “What if what you wanted was to go out and explore other cultures?”

  “Our Queen allows us to pursue any of our interests. We must inform her, and then we can be diplomats. Going to other countries under the name of our Queen also grants us greater protection than if we were an ordinary fairy traveling. Lord Thestian, it is excellent to know that you care so deeply about our welfare, but I can assure you that we are indeed faring well. We need no help from you.”