Chapter 19
Dorian had enjoyed a trot around the grounds.
He’d seen a great deal from the air, but the gardens were beautiful and full of sweet-smelling flowers and aromatic plants.
He been careful not to tread on anything and kept his tail under control.
A couple of gardeners had run off when they’d seen him and had hidden behind a tree.
He’d tried to reassure them he was a guest and wouldn’t eat them, but they remained nervous until Karl had turned up and vouched for him.
He’d thought about having a doze on the lawn as it was a lovely suntrap, but he didn’t want to scare any more of the staff, so he decided to wait until the word had got around there was a dragon in residence and not cause further worry.
The blankets and pillows Alex had arranged for him made a splendid nest, and he spent longer than strictly necessary building and shaping his bed. He was quite happy in his new rooms, as happy as he could be given the situation.
The doors slid open, and Alex arrived carrying a bag and a box under one arm. “I have a few things for you. I thought, if you didn’t mind, we could take tea together and maybe try one of the games we’d discussed.”
Dorian was delighted Alex hadn’t been placating him earlier. As elves went, he seemed trustworthy, but that was a low bar. “I’d love that.”
“I’ve also got the items Debi put together. And speaking of her, she’d like to talk to you.”
He knew she would be worried, but at the moment, he was still feeling like a prize twat for being stuck as a dragon. “I will in a few days, if we haven’t fixed me.”
He really hoped it wouldn’t come to that, and Alex and his merry band of spell flingers would sort him.
“I do think it would be good to talk to someone you know. Maybe another friend? Family?”
His parents were dead, and he hadn’t seen his sister in person for years.
They talked, but only about superficial things, and she wasn’t someone he could confide in.
As for friends, he had a few people he’d consider friends after a fashion, but again, there was no depth of connection.
He was going to sound like a pathetic arse. “No, no one.”
“I can understand that.”
Elves weren’t solitary creatures. They had the tribes and their family members, and many other networks. This wasn’t the first time Dorian thought Alex wasn’t a normal elf. “You haven’t got anyone?”
“I got myself into a position where those who would have called me a friend would no longer do so now.”
“Can I ask why?”
Alex busied himself unpacking the bag. “A story for another time, perhaps. I thought we could play a game, better than dwelling on the past.”
He wanted to know more, but respected Alex’s privacy.
Instead, he watched as Alex laid his things on the table in front of him.
There were several items he hadn’t requested, but was glad Debi had thought to include them, especially his favourite blanket.
He was surprised to see the body scrub mitt. He pointed to it. “Why is that here?”
“Debi thought it might be the best bet for something you might not have used since before working with Trevir.”
“She’s right. I use it monthly with a particular body treatment. It helps keep my skin smooth, which also then helps my scales.”
Alex placed the mitt back in the bag. “I’ll drop that off with Karl later. I’m going to have some hibiscus tea. Would you like anything?”
Hibiscus tea sounded good. “Could I get a bucket of that?”
“Of course.”
Alex waved his hand, and a tea service appeared on the table, and a soup tureen in front of Dorian. The tea smelled so good, and he was getting tired of drinking water. “I love hibiscus, they were my mother’s favourite flowers.”
“I never knew my parents,” Alex said, unpacking the box and bringing out the egg game.
Dorian didn’t know much about elf family dynamics, and he couldn’t tell if this was a touchy subject or normal. “Mine are dead now. Not too surprising as they were nearly seven hundred.”
“My parents were killed in the Ripple Skirmishes. My brother raised me with his troop.”
He wasn’t much of a historian, but from his dim recollections, that made Alex over four hundred years old. “Troupe? Like actors?”
Alex laughed. “No, as in sniper unit of the army. My education was as much about weaponry and tracking prey as learning to read.”
Dorian’s heart ached for Baby Alex. Dorian’s childhood had been full of love and belonging. He’d always wanted a relationship like his parents’, who were the perfect nestmates, but Alex had nothing like that to aspire to. “That must’ve been hard.”
“They could have left me to die. Being dead would’ve been a lot harder.”
“Still.”
“You can’t miss what you’ve never had.” He smiled, and Dorian wanted to hug him, but thought better of it as dragon hugs could get a bit bone-crunching and Alex might zap him.
“True, like human me misses not having a tail.” He waved the arrowhead tip.
Alex laughed. “You’d miss not being able to turn into a dragon as well. Some people want it all. Now, how do I set up this game?”
The egg game was a favourite of his family, and he knew a lot of dragons played with their own nest rules.
“The idea is to work together to light up the egg as quickly as possible. You tap the egg with a talon, and it lights up. If your partner taps another bit and the same colour, then that bit says lit. If not, then it goes dark, and you lose a life. You have fifteen attempts to light up the egg.”
Alex held up his hand. “I’m sadly lacking in the talon department.”
“It should work if you tap it with a finger. I’ve played it in my human form.” He was excited to show Alex the game. He imagined Alex had seen so much in his life that getting to experience something new would be quite rare.
“Let’s give it a go. Maybe you can show me first.”
Dorian was happy to oblige. He reached out with one long talon and tapped the side of the egg. A small hexagonal panel lit up in a pale orange. “Now you tap somewhere, and if you’ve found a match, it will glow the same colour and the egg will vibrate.”
He watched as Alex peered intently at the egg. He would love to have that level of concentration directed at him. The idea surprised him, and if he’d been in his human form, he might have suggested a version of the game where a failure resulted in them losing an item of clothing.
Alex tapped the egg on the opposite side. The patch glowed orange, and the egg jiggled. The delight on Alex’s face was beautiful. “Oh, look at that.”
“First time luck. Let’s hope it holds.”
“There was a game I played as a child that reminds me of this, although more combative. I like that this is something we can play together rather than as opponents.”
“A lot of dragon games are like that. We’re not a hostile species, the families get along well, and we learnt a long time ago that strength lies in cooperation.”
“Elves are not like that,” Alex said, ruefully. “We play to win, and if someone loses a body part, all the better.”
Elves weren’t known to be friendly to other species, but Dorian had always thought they’d be all right with their own kind. “Sounds exhausting.”
“But necessary. If I’d have been brought up to be soft around the ears, I’d have been dead before I reached my maturity. I flourished because I could always be one step in front, until I wasn’t.”
Dorian tapped the egg again. “Is that why you’re here and not in the elf realm?”
Alex’s turn resulted in a different colour, and they lost a life; a red circle appeared at the base of the egg.
“You could say that. I’d been elf military for most of my life. I joined the Delurian Guard and worked my way up to leading a unit in the Red Stars. I lost the confidence of my men, and I went on the run with my husband, Kagin. We learnt you couldn’t run forever.”
Dorian remembered Alex mentioning the Red Stars before; they were known as an elite group, no one crossed them, and no one asked questions. The mention of a husband surprised him; he’d not considered that Alex would be attached. “Is he at the hall too?”
“Who?” Alex looked confused at the question.
“Your husband?”
Alex dropped his gaze. “No, we were caught, he died fighting. They tore him apart… I only just escaped myself.”
Dorian reached out and pulled Alex close, wrapping a wing around him. Dragons were a demonstrative species; he didn’t like to see people upset, and their way of fixing things was to offer physical comfort. He laid his chin on the top of Alex’s head. “I’m sorry.”
Alex was rigid in his arms, and then he relaxed, but only for a moment before stepping away. “We should get back to our game.”
Dorian thought Alex needed more hugs, and he was going to find a way to make sure he got them.