There is a feeling I sometimes get when I write. I read my text, and I don't know why, something bothers me. And I can't ever put my finger on it. When it happens, I know that if I begin changing too much of the text, I will make it worse.

At some point, I have to accept that I don't make perfect texts, and stop thinking too much. Overthinking ruins the pleasure, and I still like the way I go with my little stories^^

So here have the main part of this series finale. A little addition will follow, I still don't know when. It will bring closure to this story and bring the transition for the next :)

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Amaria smelt the air, looking for a specific scent. His scent. In the nature, she could find him in a matter of seconds, but in the city, it took more concentration.

The dragoness had just finished the little ‘task’ her lover gave her, and now she wondered where she might find him this time. It had been days since the attack. The reconstruction of the city was in good way, people were slowly getting back to their normal lives, and he… had been acting a bit strangely. She couldn’t help but worry that there might be a traumatism left from his return from the dead. But he kept saying everything was fine, that he needed a bit of time to focus.

Focus on what, that was the question. But every time he sent her to accomplish some mission, she always found him in odd places. The first time, he stood in front of the new building that once was the warehouse where they met. The second, he was on top of the highest building, just watching over the city. The next, in the treasure chamber where he died. Since the destruction of its gate, it seemed that some relics showed signs of deteriorations.

She couldn’t tell why, but part of her considered it was a good thing to finally allow these objects to fade away in peace. But it wasn’t like they’d be gone forever. Some people took the freedom of engaging a study of these antiquities, already bringing some new thing to the city. The long lost secrets of ancient times would probably not resist long to the clever human minds, now that they were unearthed.

This time, it seemed that his tracks led outside of the city. Strange, where had he gone? She finally found him in a corner of land covered in sculpted stones and bumps on the ground. Some of them were decorated with plants and flowers. But the ones he stood before didn’t have any. Like every time, he was just gazing, lost in his thoughts. She had asked what he was so focused on, but the answer was always the same: he would tell later, or it would spoil the surprise. As for what he could be thinking of when she found him, it was said to be ‘a way to move on’.

Nothing but mystery… It quite bothered her, but she couldn’t help but trust him. It wasn’t like he had lost his tenderness with her! She still was happy to see her efforts rewarded when night came. A whole city of humans was far easier to spare from her instincts, when they got so well satisfied by the end of the day. She couldn’t deny either that it was good to walk freely among the people, considered as part of this city even. No fear, no weird look. When they weren’t hostile, humans could be touching, cute even. But feeling at ease on this ground still didn’t match the coziness of their home.

She hoped his plans were still to get back there… Because she had honestly no idea how he planned to escape his position in the city. Only him could find a way, but for that he had to want it.

“Really? Sending me to a class of human children? Because yes, now I know what a ‘class’ is.” She accused him. Not a real tone of anger of course. Rather an amusement. He always made her get through tests when they were in this city, or at least she perceived his requests as such. And every time, his ideas stood on the edge of common sense. “I’m still a dragon, you know? Even I can tell it’s not wise to let your younglings nearby a carnivorous beast.”

“I know you wouldn’t harm them. You like children. And I’m sure it will be a good thing that young spirits remember feeling that a dragon can be kind and nice.”

He welcomed her by lifting an arm, and she gladly passed her neck under it to gently rest her head against his. It was a peaceful place. A bit odd looking, but she sensed an appeasing energy all around. Some places were deeply marked by the feelings of their visitors. She wondered what kind of importance it might have to humans, what was the purpose. And especially, why it held an importance to him.

“It’s hard to not be kind and nice with them. They were cute. And they all gave me meat. I do suspect you’ve tried to overfeed me so I would skip dinner tonight.” She teased him gently, peaking her tongue through the sides of her scaly lips to give a sneaky lick. One that meant his plan had failed if it was so.

“I didn’t ask them anything, it was probably their ideas.” He replied with a giggle, welcoming her tongue by pressing his cheek against it. “Maybe it’s a good thing the dragon will also remember that humans can be innocent and generous too. Besides, I know you’ll always have room for me. And tonight especially, I think you might appreciate doing this at home.”

“Tonight?” She repeated, feeling a spark of joy in her heart. Had she heard well?

“Yes, tonight, my dear dragoness.” He smiled at her, a smile of victory on the face. “David returned this morning. The treaty has been signed, peace is set in good trail. I think we can let them make their own story from here, and get back to ours.”

He then looked down at the two bumps, covered in grass, with sculpted stones that rested before them. And she had to read his feelings to try and define what expression this strange face conveyed. Sadness and joy like mixed together. Fear and peace intertwined. It was nearly impossible to even get how all of these contradictory feelings could merge like that.

She had to relate it to what he just said to understand it. Whatever these things were, he was seeing them for the last time, probably. Sadness to leave things behind, the end of an era... Joy of a new beginning, back to the life they both wanted to live. Fear of missing. Peace at the end of the struggle. He was more complex in his emotions than he let appear, and it had always given him a charming side. She also sensed that this time, her presence was of good support.

“I actually sent you to that class because I know you always loved kids. I wanted to give you the opportunity of one last good memory of them all. Just like I’m here to say goodbye.”

“What?!” She reacted instantly, rising her head.

“No, not to you. To them.” He stumbled a bit, pointing at the stones with a finger. “These are my parents.”

She looked at the stones in confusion. His words made no sense at all… Had he consumed that ‘alcohol’ they served in some places of the city? If so, she would have smelt the strong scent of the nasty substance around. She might have missed a point here…

“So your parents were…. rocks…” She tried to summarize, looking at him with attention. Maybe was it due to some scars of his temporary death?

“No they are… under. We humans bury our dead.” He laughed.

He laughed, but she suddenly felt a bit bad. It was good to hear that he still found some humor in the topic, but she basically just had been insensitive about his human traditions. And a bit disrespectful toward his lost ones. With the experience of David, she had acquired quite the belief that humans had troubles to make peace with their dead. So it surprised her to hear him laugh. If there was one who had difficulty getting over things, it usually was him.

“It’s okay, Amaria. They would have laughed too.” He tried to reassure her, bringing his hand to her lower jaw and offering her his gentlest smile. “I never believed that when we die we stay in the body. And actually, I don’t know many people who believe that. Almost everybody has a conception of something happening to the soul after death. But it always helps people to have a place to come to, to feel the presence of the lost ones and honor their memory. That’s how humans move on.”

“And did you move on?”

The man had a sad smile, and knelt close to the lump… It was heartwarming but at the same time, so unlike him. He who always worried and thought of the worst that could happen, seemed relieved of a huge burden.

“I think I did. You know, parents and son, it’s always a bit of a complicated relationship for humans. Parents can be mentors, rivals, guides, clumsy… Mine were good people, but we have still had our ups and downs. Now that I think about it, I always thought of myself as mature when I was actually so childish. Did you know they were the reason why I hated my name?”

“You never actually told me your name.”

He turned to look at her, with a gaze of little embarrassment, like he tried to seek for his words. Maybe now was the good time to remind him he had promised her, when the troubles would be over. Would she really need to?

“You know how embarrassing it can be when there was a big mystery about something, when it’s actually nothing but trivial? Like, everybody is expecting a big reveal, when the reasons of this mystery were in fact silly personal ones? That’s kind of how I feel now. My parents called me Teehm.”

“Teehm?” she repeated, a bit disappointed actually. She quite understood why he would feel the way he described. “I really don’t see the matter… Maybe not a great name to human standards or… a bad one?”

“Neither of those, actually. Their mistake was just to explain me why they chose it.”

“So? Were these bad reasons?”

“Not even. The motivation was honorable. They chose a weird orthography because they thought the more different the letters it would spell with, the faster I’d recognize letters and learn to read. And my father told me they liked to call me by a name sounding like ‘team’. He used to say as a pun that the day I accomplish something great, people would say: that was great Teehm work.”

“Still not seeing the problem here… These were rather positive ideas.” The dragoness admitted.

“Well, when you’re just a human child and your own parents say they chose your name out of usefulness over one I could enjoy wearing, it kind of hits you hard. Plus, even if the idea was positive, I never heard my name the same way after that. Like I wasn’t supposed to be a person, I was supposed to be a team, to accomplish great things and not even saying I deserved my part of glory. Like nothing I would ever accomplish would ever really be mine, but thanks to a group. I felt diminished. When I got to a more introvert phase, and people started to call me Teehm-id, that was the drop for me.”

Humans… They loved to talk, but they sometimes managed to alter the point of speaking. They had this ability to focus on the words and personal interpretations instead of the sense and intentions they conveyed. No wonder why he had felt such shame about it, if the core message had been so badly interpreted.

“The way I think about it… It sounds like your parents were only hoping the best for you. You maybe heard it differently as a kid, but what happened in this city is an obvious example of what your father meant. The citizens will probably remember David saving us all, but you and I know that it was you who turned him into their hero. Because you haven’t given up on him when everyone else, including me, had lost all hope for him. You did what you could, he did what he could, both for the same goal. Team work. And know that you’ve done exactly what your parents hoped you’d accomplish, tell me… Do you feel they were they wrong to hope this for you?”

He stared at her for a few seconds, before smiling sadly.

“Always the wisest… No, they were right. I never actually wanted to be recognized or famous. I’m happy enough I helped David achieving his full potential.” he admitted, a little tear rolling down his cheek. Maybe to distract her from his silent cry, he pointed at another lump next to them. “And I hope he heard that too. His son is a hero thanks to me.”

She looked at him, disturbed. It was easy to guess by his words who was buried here. But the fact that such a horrible man’s remaining rested so close to people he murdered was wrong to her. And that was a topic she just had to voice.

“How comes he is here? Isn’t this… strange to bury him so close?”

“Many think so…” he stood up to walk closer to the tomb, and remained straight. Like he was showing respect or… maybe savoring his victory at last? Hard to tell. But he read what was written on the stone with a solemn voice. “Here lies Fred Guien Devon. Consumed by madness, Got what he deserved.”

A pretty accurate description if anyone asked her. Not once she had sensed a spark of goodness in Mr. Devon. Hateful, sneaky, relentless, violent… To her, it was only justice that he was killed that night, especially for trying to murder her lover! But still, it was surprising the city dared to write such hard words about their hero’s father, as bad as he was.

“When he was buried here, people thought it was my body. That’s why he rests near them. They didn’t relocate him because I forbad anyone to do so. But they did change the tombstone and took freedom in the writing since I didn’t mention anything specific about it. They blame him for everything that happened. I would have asked them to correct it, but I know this would be the kind of case where the heart would speak louder than the head. And since David cannot feel anything, including pain for such blame, they’ll simply argue I have no valid point to give him a proper grave.”

“Wouldn’t they be right? I don’t understand why you care so much about his memory when he was nothing but a bad human. He caused many deaths and brought nothing good to this world. Whether you like it or not, he is to blame.”

“He brought David. And he brought me, in some way. I wanted him to stay close to my parents because I know he once was a good man, a benevolent soul who would have done anything to protect those he cared for. He was a friend and a fatherly figure to all who were in distress. And I hope that my parents and him will be able to make peace eventually.”

“Maybe in another life. In this one, he was nothing but bad.”

“You’re entirely true, it was another life. But he once was the one who never gave up on me. I hope I honored my debt. And I gave him justice in the end.” He said, pointing at the stone.

When she paid a bit more attention to it, Amaria wondered how her human had been able to decipher the whole text with the scratches it had on. It had been months since the last time he made her practice reading, but she still felt able to do this. All the letters of the word ‘madness’ had been damaged except for the ‘a’ and the ‘n’. The ‘o’ of the word ‘got’ had been modified to look like an ‘e’. And a whole new line had been sculpted between the two others.

The whole modified epitaph spoke something like…

“Consumed by an unforgiven deed, didn’t get what he deserved?” She read out loud, a bit lost.

“This is between him and me. This way he will know that the last person who remembers will never forget.”

The sound of loud instruments could be heard from within the walls. She had heard the children speaking about an event this afternoon. Their teacher had even said something about ending class earlier for this occasion.

He looked at her, smiled and made a sign of head that meant they should go to it too. She saw no objection. She was far more comfortable around humans than before. And actually, she didn’t dislike their gatherings. As long as her lover was by her side!

“I was wondering, you never talk about what happened to you… I mean, after death.” She asked, uncomfortable to remember that day, but also to bring it up to him. But she had the feeling that she wouldn’t dare to ask anymore if she didn’t now. “What was it like? Did you see something?”

“I don’t know if it was hallucination or something else. I saw many people I knew, and whom I lost years ago. However, Devon wasn’t there. But then, Bolner wasn’t here either, so maybe was it my brain avoiding to face regret in the end. Last thing I remember was the feeling that there was something I had to go next. Even death left me on a cliffhanger.”

“It’s probably better that way… ”

“You’re right. At least I know I have experiences left to live. And it would spoil the surprise when my time would come. Which I hope is a long, long time from now.”

The young dragoness hoped so too, and it brought a smile to her face to know that he didn’t intend to give up on life just yet. His words also reminded her that he promised a surprise, and she still didn’t know how he would make them go without troubles. But maybe wasn’t it the time to ask yet.

When they entered the city, Amaria was amazed how dense the crowd was. During feasts and other celebrations, they didn’t look so numerous. With those who were dead, this could probably mean that the whole city had gathered. This time, no one to stay at home. The dragoness hadn’t heard what this event was about, but it seemed quite important.

In the other end of the crowd, Amaria noticed a strange structure had appeared, like an elevated flat surface that rose above the people’s heads.

“What is the city celebrating exactly?” she asked as they stopped a bit away from the people, more and more curious as she observed the faces. Some grumpy, some sad… probably those who carried the deepest scars from the recent events. But many looked enthusiastic, and she wondered what made these ones in such good mood.

“Officially, rewarding David for both his act of heroism, and the pacific signature of the treaty with our former enemy. In short, honoring him for bringing peace.”

“Isn’t it a bit too much for him? I still don’t find him so great…” She grumbled a bit. She knew that he was quite redeeming himself, and had honorable intentions. But she still couldn’t forget all the troubles he caused them. She probably wasn’t as forgetful as her lover. “Besides, do you think everyone will take it well? Some of them lost family and friends. Knowing humans, some of them will seek revenge. How do you know you are not creating a hundred of new David with this peace treaty? Feeling of injustice was what made him so dangerous…”

“It’s not for him. And he knows that too, because he simply cannot care about recognition and yet he’s still standing on the podium. This is for them. To make them feel that they are not alone through dark times, that they will be there for each other. To show them that their leaders care about this tragedy to never happen again. To make them feel safe and accept to leave the atrocities of the past behind. They’ll move on in time. In peace. They are living a major step in human history, the beginning of an era where humans will have to cooperate, open their minds to new possibilities, for a greater good and not only theirs.”

“This is a bit naïve… No one is ever safe, nothing is ever granted… And I kind of like humans but they will seek for personal interest first. It’s in their nature.”

“Maybe, but right now their best interest is to cooperate. Everyone keeps the trauma of what happened. A fear that it might happen again. Most humans will behave if they think they might provoke this nightmare again and take the blame for it. That’s what the treaty is for. To give everyone a personal responsibility in sustaining the peace. This is not naïve, this is practical. And that should last for a few generations if we’re lucky.”

“And if we’re unlucky? Should I worry it might fall off during our lifetime, making you go all heroic again?” She asked like a little accusation. This story had gone well for them in the end, but who knew which result a potential next one would have?

“Not a chance.” He smiled gently at her, visibly understanding the matter. “I told you we would let them live their lives after this. It would really have to threaten us directly to make me take this path again. We did what we could in our time. What’s next is up to others. I’ll be leaving without regret, without doubt. I’m sure there will be other guys in the future to carry the flame.”

“What makes you so sure?” she pointed, a bit skeptical.

“I was kind of… promised that things would go this way. One generation at a time. Step by step.”

“Who promised you such thing?”

At this moment, something bright materialized next to her, surprising her. And anger made her growl instantly after, for the scare and for the being visiting them. He had brought her lover back, but she wasn’t ready to forgive him either. The white shadow would never be welcome around her.

“Is everything in order?” her lover asked, like they had planned something together. She threw a look at him, but his eyes were fixed on the white shadow.

No answer was spoken. The being of light seemed to nod, and the instant after, he vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Weird… Something was off… She maintained her stare on him until he finally met her eyes.

“You said it was David’s celebration.” The dragoness spoke, obviously meaning that she wasn’t blind to his shenanigans. He was up to something. And she didn’t like it when he kept secrets.

“I said it was the official reason. I never said that was why we were here. Just think of it as our… goodbye party.”

“But you’re their leader, they won’t let you just go.”

“You know how persuasive I can be. How about we ask them nicely?”

He had that confident smile of when he was definitely up to something. However, it was that particular smile that convinced her to not ask further and follow as he walked toward the crowd. That smile meant he knew what he was doing, and that it would benefit her too.

As they approached the edge of the crowd, some people noticed her and alerted the others of the dragoness’ presence. Groups of humans could be quite disorganized, yet within seconds, a clear path opened before them, and even the volume of the talking decreased.

All the faces were turned toward them. The dragoness walked a bit closer to her lover. It had always felt strange to her, to be scrutinized like this by humans. But this time was a bit different from her memories. Back then, the similar situation was filled with suspicion, animosity. This day, they were smiling, sadly but supporting for some, enthusiastically for the rest. And she was discovering that there could be different kinds of fear generated by stares… This was… really uncomfortable.

“What are we going to do?” she asked him, nervous. There were many whispers around, and none she could hear clearly.

“Well, congratulate David of course. It’s my honor as the head of the city. And people know I don’t do anything without you by my side.”

The dragoness frowned a bit. She knew when he was giggling on the inside. To her it didn’t make sense. For which of the two possible reasons they were going to that strange platform? Was it the official celebration or their goodbye? He was keeping the confusion to mess with her mind and she knew it. He did tell about a surprise, but she hated it when he teased her. That was her domain!

But then, he knew that she wouldn’t throw a tantrum in front of everyone, when she was a bit intimidated by the number surrounding her. She would make him pay for that later… when all witnesses are gone.

When they climbed on the platform, she found another source of discomfort. Why did humans have to decorate their thing with shiny metal pieces? One of them reflected the sun directly on them. Maybe wasn’t it a big discomfort to human eyes, but she had to half close her eyelids to compensate.

There, David was standing, with his perfect imitation of a smile. But if it fooled the crowd, she couldn’t miss how inexpressive this smile was. Empty, just like he was on the inside. A good face just to please others, a good appearance.

Behind him, a pack of light rose, the white shadow emerging just like he did a few minutes ago. What was he up to… No, what were they up to? Her human was involved in whatever was about to happen, and it strengthened her anxiety. She hoped her lover didn’t expect her to speak to the crowd!

“Heart of the city.” He declared out loud. And this time, even the whispered disappeared as hundreds of eyes got focused on him. “The city, our body, has been injured. A few days ago, you lost friends, family, and people you didn’t even know you had around you, who defended your lives with theirs. Today we’re here to remember all those we lost, all the victims who should have never died that day. But we’re going to do what all bodies do. We will heal. It will take time, and we know we will never forget. But we will grow stronger from that tragedy. As a city. As human beings.”

As mischievous as he sounded when they talked privately, there wasn’t any amusement or inside joke in his words. It didn’t sound like a prepared speech either. He had created texts he tried to recite to her in the past, and when he did so, she always spotted hesitations in his sentences. There, he wasn’t reciting, no hesitation or stumbling, it was spoken spontaneously.

When she saw him like this, the dragoness didn’t find it surprising that he was where he was today. He was at his shiniest when he spoke his true compassion. Almost shinier than the reflection that bothered her eyes. Behind his mask, he had always understood others’ pain. He knew what people needed to hear so their pain would be a bit soothed. One of his greatest qualities, and probably the one that allowed him to reach her in the first place.

“We may hold pain, anger. It would be easy to consider the citizens of our neighbor city as responsible for the horrors of their mad leader. But let’s not forget that this war happened because a man from our city. We are responsible for that too. Now that the main actors of this tragedy are either dead or detained, it leaves us all with an equal responsibility for the past, but also for the future. Today is also a day of hopeful celebration. The day we can finally say that these deaths weren’t in vain. Their memory will be the foundations of a new world, ensuring future generations will grow up safe from these atrocities and from hatred. To help us move on. To help us remember that peace is precious, and up to every single one of us. And for this occasion, I’d like to ask the man who ended this madness to step forward.”

He turned toward David and made a sign to come next to him. Amaria didn’t doubt that the old David would have been surprised as much as she was, but this new, soulless one just stepped forward like he was invited to. As bad as he once was, the young man inspired her pity…

“You all know David. Not so long ago, he was an outcast, ignored by many, victim of an injustice and of the silence of this city. Even if it was in self-defense, I kill his father and no one has ever admitted it to his face. He had all the reasons in the world to hate this city, and no reason to love it anymore. And yet, when no one else could, he chose to be better than us and save us all. He obtained a fair treaty ensuring everyone’s safety for years and years to come. Just because he was a good man. Just because he chose to incarnate the values that this city was supposed to be based on. Today, I couldn’t be prouder of him, but my pride would mean nothing because he proved to be better than me too. So I’m offering the next best I can give him. My sincere respect.”

In front of the captivated crowd, the head of the city presented a hand to shake to his old nemesis. Everyone knew David couldn’t be touched by the words, but it was probably symbolic for the humans. They could see two deadly enemies finally putting an end to their conflict, could it inspire them to do the same?

However, when David rose his hand to shake his, he seemed to freeze. And a cloud-like thingy appeared around his head, forming a gaseous helmet. The reflection annoying her eyes had disappeared, and Amaria could notice that everyone in the crowd was in the same state. Everyone but her lover and herself. What was this? He didn’t seem surprised, and that was what bothered her the most.

“When they get back to normal, just play along. I know what I’m doing.” He winked at her like he was amused.

“What’s going on?”

“A little trickery, with the help of our bright friend. You were right, they wouldn’t let their leader go. So it’s time to give them a new one and take a quiet leave.”

“But I don’t understand, you knew about this?”

“I’ll tell you the details later, we don’t have much time. But the ghost told me the day after you brought me back, to prepare a good story to give them. The clouds are fading. Remember, play along.”

He then took a concerned face with a still warm smile a second before David blinked and shook the head, visibly confused. And a firm handshake was given, taking the disoriented young man’s attention. David looked down, then rose his face, visibly a bit lost.

“It was a real honor to meet with the new head of the city himself. I’m sure that with our good will combined, we can achieve a better future for everyone.”

“I’m… I’m sorry I think I had an absence.” David apologized.

“Do not apologize, sir. I know your role in this city is taking much of your time and mind, I cannot blame you. I was just expressing the concerns of my city toward yours, and apologized for not being able to stop this bloody revolution. We were held hostages in our own home, and I knew many whose families were threatened by Alexander and his men. We were hopeless and helpless, until you finally delivered us too. And I’m sure that your words will also give your people faith in our common will for mutual help in the healing process. I, for one, am glad you invited me and my friend to speak in the name of our people, despite of my origin or my friend’s nature. Being open

“That’s it… I invited you here because I wanted to show that we do not hold grudge.” David repeated, like he still wasn’t sure of what he was saying. Was he… actually buying this? Had he forgotten? “I must say it’s uncommon to have a dragon for friend.” David looked at her, still not certain of what he was saying, obviously.

“Which I guess is why you allowed me here for ten minutes only.” Her lover laughed, like it was a trivial subject.

It would have seemed indeed believable that a city not knowing her wouldn’t set little conditions to her presence. Was it actually a city that didn’t know her? She had been among them for quite a while, she had shared their food, this surely was some kind of bad joke. But when she glanced at the crowd, she sensed nervousness in them, and saw that the stares had changed… Whatever happened, it seemed to be working. What kind of magic was that? As her lover lifted his arm, she understood he invited her to stay close. She wouldn’t need a second invitation, she suddenly felt uncomfortable under all these stares, especially David’s.

She even thought she senses… something in him, for a brief second. But it was probably her mind warning her about potential animosity. He didn’t look at her like he used to, and this curiosity of his felt strange.

“But it was time enough to present you my respect and support in your new position. I know you’ll be an inspiration for both of our cities with your wisdom. I should probably go now. This is your day and I feel like Amaria and I are stealing the attention.”

He had been wise to give her instructions, because otherwise she would have looked at him like he had lost his mind. This story was too absurd, they weren’t from the other city. No human would have even let an unknown dragon in their territory. This was too big, this couldn’t work. Yet, David smiled warmly and even bowed.

“In this city everyone will be treated as friend as long as they hold no hostility, human or not.” David replied respectfully “Your dragon and you aren’t prisoners, if leaving is what you want. Know that you’ll also be safe here if you want to stay, as long as you are good willed.”

To Amaria, this was a moment of truth. Whatever happened to David and the other citizens, this was an offer to stay or leave. And she had to admit, despite his nice words and smiles, the dragoness felt nervous he might choose to stay.

She had sensed he had attachment to this place. He had grown up in it, he had lived in it, and many of his good memories were here. Of course she would stay with him if he chose the city. But as well as she managed to keep her instincts under control around humans, it would be tiring on the long run.

“That’s a very generous offer, sir. But I think it’s a bit too soon for people to feel comfortable around a dragon. I don’t want to impose ourselves to your city.” He replied to her relief. “But be sure that I’ll keep in memory the hospitality you showed to me. This world needs more people like you, who inspire with their compassion and sense of fairness instead of fear. I will leave now. Congratulation again for all you’ve done.”

“Have a long life, my friend. And may it keep you away from troubles.”

“I’ll leave the troubles to other people…” he chuckled with a slight bow of the head, then turned naturally. Confused, Amaria let him lead the way, hoping thing would just go as smoothly as her lover seemed to think. And strangely, it did…

It was unrealistic, too easy… People moved the same way to let them a clear path, but the stares had changed. She had forgotten how creepy the look of a scared human was. The same citizens that used to look at her with respect and friendliness now stared at her, from the corner of their eyes, like they expected her to suddenly leap on them. And she felt strange too…

Her instincts, that hadn’t had been teased by the smell of a genuinely scared humans in a while, found a thrill in the situation. But at the same time, she felt a bit heartbroken. They had put such investment in changing their mind, in gaining their trust. Even if she never got actually close to any of them, she had grown such attachment for them, especially the young ones. And all this had been apparently reduced to ashes. Because like a sadistic turn of fate, the young ones looked the most terrified.

“So they all… forgot us?” she whispered to him once they got away from the crowd, saddened.

Like her, he couldn’t help but stop and turn around to watch them for a last time, once at reasonable distance from the citizens. David was already beginning a new speech about promises of safety and prosperity to come. Now that she saw him in this role, she could think of no better way to use his talents. He wanted recognition. He wanted people to see that he existed, and that his words deserved to be heard.

Now he existed. Now he had a purpose. And now he had the recognition of the entire city. Somehow, she knew he would work hard to preserve that. That was all that he had, now that he was broken. The promise he made to himself to be the better man.

“When you revived me, the white shadow tricked Karen into remembering my story from an outsider’s perspective.” Her lover explained, visibly holding some emotion too about this final departure. “Picture the brain as a multitude of dots. And each action, each thought, each memory is a unique pattern of electric current lighting up the dots. This is far more complicated in reality but that’s how he explained it to me, saying he had to… adapt to my level. I kind of felt insulted there. But that is the overall idea. Copying a pattern, or at least the main parts, so it can be more easily mass suppressed.

“How is that even possible…” Amaria sighed. “We played a huge role in their lives. My venom saved dozens of them. Someone will notice there is something missing.”

“The thing with the human mind is that it hates voids. It can’t help but fill the holes with a believable story. They will probably make up a story about how David took succession from his honorable father, which wouldn’t have been killed a year ago. They will remember maybe that their city once had a miracle remedy to every sickness or injury they may suffer, but lost it because of a stupid war. A story that will give them faith in their new hero leader. Who knows if he can also reflect their faith to make the citizen feel like everyone believe in them.”

“But still, there is something that disturbs me… OOF!”

She turned, a bit too distracted probably. Her head bumped into a human that was coming from outside. Fortunately, he was big enough to take the collision with only a few steps back. Instantly, like he had done this for literally a year, her lover came to the man and presented sincere apologies in her name. A way to appease any feeling of aggression…

“I’m so sorry she didn’t see you. Don’t worry, she doesn’t mean you any harm.” He spoke a bit fast. But was welcomed by a warm pat on the shoulder and a laughter, to both the dragoness and her lover’s surprise.

“Kid, I’ve grown past the age of taking a head bump for an aggression.” The man replied casually, wiping his clothes with a hand. “I used to head bump with friends to look cool back in my days. We do stupid things in the army, but at least we were smart enough to wear helmets to do that.”

The dragoness exchanged a look with her lover. Not because of the words spoken, but because she somehow instantly knew that he had sensed it too. An annoying gut feeling. She was certain she didn’t know this stranger, or at least she didn’t remember meeting him. It was surprising that a human showed no naturally distrust toward a dragon. And the weirdest was… that she was convinced it wasn’t the first time she saw this huge man. She knew her lover felt the same way, because he had the mimic he made when he furiously tried to remember someone’s name.

“I’m sorry, you look familiar… Do I know you?” he dared to voice.

“Well I’m sure you do…” the man replied with a snicker.

Amaria exchanged a new, confused look with her human. This time, she even dared to shake her head to mean she had sincerely no clue. But still this gut feeling… The man dropped his snicker and even looked a bit sorry for a brief second. The entire face of the stranger looked a bit darker, actually.

“Oh… I see…” he then smiled more warmly, though keeping a strange stare. “The new ruler of Mercy? I thought you’d recognize me.”

“Mercy?”

“Yes. We renamed our city in memory of these last days. To remember that when we were at our darkest, it was mercy that vanquished the demons that were poisoning our heart. I... thought you were from my city?” the huge guy rose an eyebrow with suspicion.

Amaria began to feel nervous, and she could feel her lover was too. His intentions had been nobles, but they were backfiring. He had pretended to come from the other city so his words would have positive impacts, but this lone man they bumped into had already busted them!

“Just kidding, I would have remembered if a dragon ever set a claw in my city.” The man broke the tension with a laughter. “But this was a wise move. I wouldn’t have spoken better. I approve the little trick, but that will have to remain between us.”

The words set a doubt. Was the big man referring to the fictional speech that was supposed to be apologies from the other city? Yes, it was probable. He couldn’t be referring to the actual speech that had been made. He had been brainwashed like the others, or hadn’t witnessed it at all… right? Amaria couldn’t even tell why she had such doubt. But she sensed that her lover fought the same struggle in his mind.

“You have my word it will.” The young man replied with a solemn tone. “I’m really sorry to insist, but I truly feel like I personally know you. Do I?”

“You should work on your pick-up lines, young man.” The man laughed. “I’m more into women…”

“This is not a pick-up line.” He replied seriously. Amaria had rarely seen him so focused. It was like this feeling bothered him even more than her. “Please just say a clear ‘no’ if you don’t know me.”

“You may know me as a future friend of this city, I hope. The world is only ever growing, and we have to get over the childish conflicts to find better ways.”

“You know that wasn’t the meaning of my question.”

“Just like you know that I purposely avoided answering to it.”

For a moment, both humans stared at each other’s face in silence, with only the voice of David in the distance. It felt tensed. Amaria tried to read the huge man’s feelings, but it was… really weird. It was… respect, tinted of sadness.

The foreigner rose a hand and put it on the shoulder of Amaria’s lover, resuming his way forward. Walking past them, as they didn’t dare to move.

“Just… don’t waste too much time looking for the answer, okay? I know you can be a bit obsessive sometimes…”

The dragoness and her human turned around to look at the man entering the crowd, both confused. She had such a feeling that she missed something! This was so irritating!

“Amaria… You were saying that something disturbed you… What was it?” he asked, still staring at the crowd. Her eyes had lost the man, but she was sure her human still stared right at him.

“You said the white shadow made everyone forget about us… Does it mean he could do the same to us?”

With an expression of intense thinking, he looked at her, with a little drop of sweat on his forehead. Eager to mask his emotions to her, as always, he giggled a bit nervously.

“Come on, that makes no sense. I clearly remember becoming head of the city one year ago, after the Devon’s incident. It’s been such a long year, it took me time to reach David… and paperwork is clearly not for me.”

“Indeed. How would you have forced them to accept me among them if you hadn’t accessed to power?” She nodded, glad that he came back to his senses. She would have felt quite upset if he dared to forget one year of nice behavior! “It’s not like they would have approached me on their own will… After all… I’m a carnivorous dragon!”

Tired of twisting her mind to riddles they would probably never solve, the dragoness decided it was time to take things back to her familiar ground. With a quick movement of jaws, she sealed her lips around his wrist, hand swiftly captured.

It was good to see that despite his big attitude, her lover would always be so predictable in his reactions. He looked at her with this cute shocked face, tone turning a bit darker. She knew he didn’t like her doing this kind of thing in public. And well… that could count as a first little punishment of a long series to come, for all he had done recently.

“Amaria, there are other humans around…” he protested with tamed volume.

“And we’re on the leave. Meaning we’re getting back to the good old rules… And you remember what contradicting me involves…” She replied with a chuckle, unfolding a wing to shield them from any potential viewer.

She wasn’t fool either, she wouldn’t give humans an excuse to attack her. But hidden from sight, she let go and sucked his arm in until his shoulder came stretching the corner of her jaw. Always such a treat… And when the dragoness swallowed it felt like such a satisfaction to feel his arm slide smoothly into her throat.

If she let him wonder too much about mysteries, he might choose poorly once again. So maybe was it time to stop leaving him the choice. As the proud dragoness she was, it was relieving to drop this careful behavior and take back her legitimate role. He was hers. And she wouldn’t let him endanger himself with heroic and noble actions again.

With a paw, she made him face the same direction she did. The gates of the city. The only landmark that separated them from home… which included a cozy cave, and all the vast territory that wasn’t enclosed in these walls. The world was theirs again.

The corner of her jaw, already stretched by his shoulder, extended a little more into a smile as her eyes gave him a loving stare. And she stepped, making him walk by her side out of this city. Arm trapped in her tight throat. Not leaving him the choice… It felt so good, after playing nice for so long. Her tongue even slithered up his arm to reach his neck.

“We’re lucky everyone is too busy listening to David to notice this.”

“I endured seeing humans holding hands without speaking a word. My turn to do as I want.” She teased him with a chuckle. It was little, but feeling her throat knead on his well alive arm as she laughed was a joy in itself. Her reward after all she endured. “Besides, I haven’t forgotten you dared to die on me. This is only the beginning. Say farewell to your freedom, my servant.”

“That’s not holding hands.” He simply replied.

Oblivious as always… So naïve, and so trustful toward her. He knew this was a game, because despite her desires to do bad things to him, she would never do him any harm. Swallowing a load of saliva, feeling it washing down around his arm, she leant her head against him as they passed the gates, for good this time.

“That’s the closest I can do. Shut up.” She said, her laughter accompanied by his, this time.