The Dragon and the Princess

Chapter 14

Placing Lydia down on one of the kitchen chairs, Lithon began to grab everything he needed to make breakfast for the both of them. Lydia had offered to help, even though she would probably do more damage than good, but, after he had politely refused, she just sat watching him and wondering how he still had any food left in the kitchen... After all, they'd spilled some in her room, then he'd burnt a whole bunch of it... Could he even cook?

It wasn't too long before Lithon plated up two whole plates full of meat, vegetables, and even a separate bowl of porridge. For a moment Lydia just stared at it.

"I forgot to ask what you liked... Then you looked like you were thinking about something important so I didn't want to interrupt... You don't have to eat all of it, just what you want." He smiled at her sheepishly. Lydia just smiled kindly back. She knew that she could go into moments of deep thinking without meaning too. It was one of the reasons her fiancée had burned her books...

Lydia wasn't particularly fussed about what food she ate, she wasn't a vegetarian or anything like that. As long as it tasted good and wasn't too unhealthy she would be quite satisfied. Although she was raised in a castle, she had often asked the cooks to make her snacks that they would often have. She thought it was a good way to communicate with the people she would one day rule. Or to be accurate, the people she would one day look pretty for while her husband ruled...

Taking her first bite of bacon Lydia couldn't stop the soft moan that escaped her lips. She was so hungry and it tasted so good. She tried to maintain her manors, and eat slowly and with grace, and, for the most part, she succeeded. But she knew that if her father or fiancée was here than she would be reprimanded for eating too quickly. But Lithon didn't say a word. At first, she just assumed it was because he was a dragon, after all, who would expect a dragon to have proper manors? No one. But as Lydia looked up, expecting the worst, she felt her cheeks flush pink at her earlier thoughts. Lithon wasn't eating like some savage animal like she has expected and, to be honest, she was ashamed of herself for even having such thoughts about him. He was gracefully in almost everything she had seen him do and eating was no exception. He ate in almost the exact same way as her father, with confidence and elegance. But there was a distinct difference between him and her father. Were her father ate with what could be described as aggression, Lithon ate with what could only be described as humbleness. It was a refreshing change.

"Whose dress is this?" She finally asked, too curious to stop herself. When he didn't answer right away, seemingly frozen, his fork halfway to his mouth, her mind began to wonder. Were they his mothers? Or were they from previous lovers? That thought made her sick to her stomach and she refused to believe it. Lithon wasn't that kind of man, right? Eventually, he answered, and she was relieved that it was closer to her first guess than her second.

"They belonged to my sister." He answered, placing his fork back onto his plate. Relived by his answer, Lydia pushed on.

"You have a sister? What's her name? Where is she?" She inquired curiously, too relieved that the dresses weren't from previous lovers to properly filter what she was saying. Lithon cleared his throat awkwardly while staring down sadly at his plate.

"I had a sister..." He corrected, his voice rising in pitch at the end. "Her name was Aderria and..." He paused to clear his throat again. "And she's no longer in this world." He choked out and Lydia stopped eating. As his words registered in her mind, she lowered her fork, stretched across the counter, and placed her hand on top of his. She didn't know what else to do and she'd seen people so this as a sign of comfort.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. Slowly, Lithon turned his hand so that he was holding hers, gave it a squeeze, and smiled.

"She was strong-willed and loved fairy tales, just like you." He smiled at her. "She even has her own library just for all her books. It's still here and usable, if you'd like to have a look?" He asked and Lydia gave an enthusiastic nod.

"I'd love to." She beamed. Lithon smiled too, glad that he could make her happy, and stood so that he could gently pick her up. Leaving what was left of the food behind, he headed towards his sister's library.

Upon entering the library Lydia gasped. Lithon had made it sound as if every book in here was fictional but that couldn't possibly be true. There were just too many of them! How could one person go through so many books?

"Do you read these?" She asked, still looking around the room as Lithon placed her down on a comfy looking chair beside a desk piled high with books.

"No." He replied. "Bad experience with them." He shuddered to himself and Lydia thought about what could possibly make a dragon so reluctant to read a book. Images of knights piercing the hearts of dragons suddenly flashed through her mind and she winced. If that had been the first fictional book he read then it was no wonder he didn't like them. But then that made her wonder about his sister. How could she read them if she was a dragon too? Lithon's earlier words rang through her mind. 'That depends on what you define a dragon to be.'

"Can I read them?" She asked, deciding it was better to keep her questions about his sister to herself.

"Of cour-" Lithon began to say but he was interrupted by a loud thud in the forest. Snapping his head in its direction he felt a heavy feeling settle in the pit of his stomach... He knew what that noise was but he didn't want to make assumptions. "Of course you can read them." He continued turning back to her. "You can stay here as long as you like. I have to go check something in the forest so I'll be gone for a short while. I won't be too long." He said while turning to leave.

Lydia grabbed the nearest book to her and opened it to the first page, she then looked up at him and smiled. "I'll see you when you get back."

Smiling back at her, Lithon nodded and left the library. Walking quickly to the front door, he shifted into his dragon form as soon as he reached open air. Using his powerful wings to propel him upwards and forwards, he made his way in the direction of the suspicious noise he had heard. It took only seconds before he began to hear the shuffling of boots and he flew in closer to get a better view. What he saw wasn't surprising but it was a little unexpected. He knew that they would come for her after all...

Flying low over the small army of around 20 men, Lithon roared to get their attention then flew over their heads, ignoring the arrows that bounced harmlessly off his scales and the angry calls from the men below. Knowing that he had their attention he flew in the opposite direction of his home, making a large loop and circling back once he was sure that none of the soldiers could see. It wouldn't buy them much but it would give them a little extra time. He then flew back game as fast as he could to break the news to Lydia...

Lydia was happily sitting in the library, slowly picking up each book one by one and opening them at random pages. She liked to do this as it allowed her to pick pieces of already existing stories and knit them together, allowing her to make up her own story, Picking up another book she closed her eyes and opened it. When she opened her eyes again the page in front of her shocked her. It was like her favorite book, the one that was currently in her bedroom. The page in front of her was fully illustrated in astonishing detail and color. It showed a picture of a fierce dragon, large and intimidating, standing over the lifeless body of the princess. Gently closing the book she glanced at the purple cover. Why would Lithon's sister, Aderria, have such a book?

Just as that thought crossed her mind Lithon came barging into the library. Startled, Lydia dropped the book.

"It's your fiancée." He spoke sadly. "He's here."