Fated To The Dragon King

63. Defending My Queen

*Mijo: could be translated as 'boy', but it's not its Spanish equivalent (which is niño). It's like referring to a girl, 'gal'. It's not a pet name but it's a way to refer to someone more personally.

Phoenix:

I was fuming. 

First, I was taken aback by how her family reacted to her arrival. The first one to react seemed to be her little sister, Bianca. I thought everyone would throw themselves at her but that didn't happen.

Maybe they were still too shocked to react since they probably thought of her to be dead.

But then her mother lifted her hand on Lilly, and my idea of them shattered.

How could that woman try to hurt her own daughter? The worst was that Lilly seemed ready to take it, closing her eyes before contact.

Inside, I was seething. I couldn't understand how Lilly could be so calm about it. She blamed the circumstances, that they were stressed and anxious about her disappearance, and their emotions must be at odds.

I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, for Lilly. She really wanted them at our wedding, but by how they have been acting... I wasn't so sure anymore.

We sat in front of them, and Lilly narrated to her family the lie we prepared.

She made a rushed decision. An organization was desperate to recruit volunteers to help in the Amazons and she just hopped on the train. They told her they provided everything once there and since she wouldn't have reception, she didn't bother to bring her phone, and that's why she was unreachable.

When they asked about the organization, we told them the name of one we found listed on the internet.

Lilly recognized that she fucked up, but really wanted to do something good for the environment and better the life on the planet. She insisted she was really sorry. Admitting that she should have found a way to reach out to them, again, apologizing. She said she was willing to compensate for their lost time and resources and passed the bag to her speechless parents.

I then joined saying that my family business was doing very well and decided to sell some investments so I could give them back what they spent coming here, and help them return home.

"Damn..." whispered Bianca, grabbing a wad of one hundred bills. "Now I won't worry about my plane ticket."

I felt the pang of sadness Lilly felt through our bond. She felt guilty that not only were her family worried about her whereabouts, and if they had to plan her funeral once back home, but they also were worried about the money they had spent and couldn't afford to lose.

I squeezed her hand in reassurance, and she smiled sadly at me.

"Mija, this... It's a lot, more than enough!"

Her dad didn't seem to take the money very well. Maybe it was pride, or maybe was scared because he didn't know what to do with so much money.

"If the cash causes you too much trouble, I could always put it into your bank account." I offered, and his father nodded. I could see he was starting to sweat.

"I... I can't pay you back, mijo. I-"

I stopped him before he could continue.

"No. It's a gift. I know you spent these months worrying too much, and I feel bad for keeping your daughter away."

We thought telling them that Lilly and I met in the Amazons was easier. She was a volunteer and I was a businessman who wanted to see how the organization was doing before investing in it.