Thestian seemed disinterested in asking the servant fairy anything else. They headed back to the festival without talking much.

  In all honesty, Anya wanted to talk to Thestian more about their contract, but she did not quite know what to say. She had grown somewhat familiar with the fairies, but the other races were all still very unfamiliar. She did not know much about the world beyond humans. When she thought about it, even when it came to the human world, there was a lot she did not know. Her knowledge was limited to her small village, and her family had made sure that she was lacking in knowledge and common sense, since they could hardly be bothered to explain more than the bare minimum to a child they deemed broken.

  When they returned, Queen Kiridian smiled gently at the pair. Thestian smirked in response. He appeared to be a bit more free-spirited now that he was dressed properly, or perhaps he had always been this way and was just expressing himself a bit more. He and Anya had only known each other for less than a day, after all.

  Rau flew up to them excitedly. “I waited forever for you! Where did you go? And who’s the dragon?”

  Anya lifted her hand to start writing, but Thestian pushed her hand back down.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he told her. “My name is Thestian. My Lady Anya gave this name to me. We formed a contract.”

  “What?!” Rau exclaimed in disbelief. “But don’t dragons only form contracts with people who are-”

  “Hush, fairy! My clan is not like other dragon clans. What you know about other dragons does not necessarily pertain to me!” Thestian interrupted her, glaring at the small blue fairy.

  “If it doesn’t pertain to you, then why did you stop me from talking, Evening Violet clansman?” Rau chuckled knowingly. There were a great many things that Rau liked and disliked, and these were obvious to those who had known her for any length of time, but the thing that the Starry River fairy hated the most was being interrupted. It was safe to say that Thestian cutting her off had pushed a button.

  “You know that I am from the Evening Violet Clan?” Thestian could not help but ask, a trace of surprise flashing across his expression before he quickly returned to normal.

  Rau nodded. “Oh, yes. I knew from the moment I saw you. It was very obvious to me.”

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  “I would like to ask how you know…”

  “Anya, you should know the reason that he kept me from speaking earlier-” As she said this, Rau shot a pointed glare at Thestian, who rolled his eyes in response. “Dragons don’t form contracts with people when they don’t have an interest in them.”

  “An interest?” Anya wrote, confused.

  “Oh yes. But a casual interest is not enough. Dragons pride themselves on their original forms, among many other things of course. They pride themselves on their teeth, their scales, their aloof demeanors. Some clans take pride in their spikes or claws. I met a dragon once who prided herself on having heterochromatic eyes, and she was just-”

  Thestian rolled his eyes once more as he realized Rau was rambling. He had not known the blue fairy for very long, but he was quickly coming to understand that if this fairy was not speaking, it was likely because she was dead.

  He had interrupted her once before, and the fairy had already given him a bit of grief. It was not so important that this remain secret in any case, so he decided to let her speak.

  As if I could stop this chatterbox from talking. I could probably slice her tongue out, and she would still find a way to keep talking, Thestian thought to himself, smirking in amusement.

  “Why would a dragon change their form if they take so much pride in it, then? You see, the reason is really very simple. The dragon wants to mate with you,” Rau reached the point rather abruptly.

  “Oi, fairy! I am a child, and so is she! Do not pass off your perverse interests as my own!” Thestian snarled.

  At this point, even Queen Kiridian got involved. “Rau, dear. They are children. I doubt the dragon has any interest in that yet, and I am certain that Anya does not. Do not get ahead of yourself. The dragon just wanted a companion. You know the Evening Violet clan is on the verge of extinction. Thestian is so young that this is most likely his first time outside of his clan’s protection. He met Anya, who happened to be close in age to him. She is most likely the first child that he has met, and wanted to be closer to her. Come here.” She held out her hand for Rau to stand.

  Rau listened and situated herself on the fairy queen’s hand. The fairy queen spoke quietly in a low voice so that Thestian and Anya could not hear her. Her tone had been gentle when she was addressing Rau in front of everyone, but while she was speaking to Rau as she held her in front of her, the little fairy’s expression rapidly changed into one of fear and horror.

  “Queen Kiridian, I admit that I was mistaken!” She clasped her hands together and desperately knelt down in front of her queen.

  “If you understand your mistake, then I will let you go. Be careful not to make this mistake again.” Queen Kiridian smiled gently, but to Rau, the queen’s ethereal beauty was a horrifying figure that wielded absolute power over her.

  It was unknown just what this majestic fairy queen had told the little fairy to bring her to such a state, but it was clearly enough.

  Anya frowned in confusion. “What did you mean when you said he wanted to mate with me?”

  Rau trembled as she met Anya’s innocent gaze. “Sweetie, he just wants to be your friend.”

  Thestian scoffed and chuckled, showing his signature smirk.