--She sighed and sat next to his head. "I need to ask you something."

--"Sure." He whimpered.

--"When you were staying at the castle as the man from nowhere, was that an act? Nobody was ever as kind to me as you were then. The way you treated me and loved me, was that all a sham?"

--Marco's crying ceased and he went quite. He uncovered his face and opened his big green eyes. He looked surprised and said, "Of course not! I always loved you, Lilia, even if it was for the wrong reason. The time we spent together at the castle was how I always wanted us to be. I know I've been horribly deceitful, but believe me when I say, the love and respect I gave you at the castle was genuine. To treat you any way less than that would be a crime."

--Lilia patted his face and asked, "If that's true, then why do you think you're so horrible?"

--Marco had wet tear streaks down his face but was no long crying. "Because I tricked you and took you away from the wonderful way you were living."

--"You may have surprised me by being a dragon but you never tricked me to love you. I love the kind and pure-hearted person who loved me at the castle. If that person happens to be a dragon, that's fine with me." He said raising his head a little bit.

--"But you were living a wonderful life of luxury and I took that from you."

--"That is where you are mistaken. The way I lived should not be envied. My father is a tyrant who has managed to get what wanted from the suffering of others for a long time. The people outside the castle hate me, and those in the castle are disrespectful. He doesn't care about me. The only value I am to him is a political playing piece. You saved me from that."

--"What do you mean by a 'political playing piece'?"

--Lilia sighed and closed her eyes. "My father would never let me marry for love. He says that would be a waste. Before you came to my door on the night we escaped, I heard him talking about a message to King Torin, of Engor. They arranged for me to get married to his son, Kevin. My father wants Anovia to become an ally with the kingdom to the east of us, Engor. To do that, he arranged for me to get married to their prince. My father doesn't care that the prince has a mistress who he would love rather than me. My father just wants someone to help him expand his kingdom."

--"That sounds awful. Is that why you agreed to run off with me?"

--"No. That was just a convenient benefit along with it."

--"Oh. I'm sorry if there was anything else I did."

--"No. You've been a perfect gentleman otherwise. And I still love you." Lilia said feeling assured that she still, indeed, loved him.

--"I just wish I were a gentleman." He said with a sigh. "But instead, I'm just an ugly dragon."

--"Don't talk about yourself like that. You're a handsome dragon."

--"I just wish I could be a human like you."

--"You want to be a pretty lady?" she said trying to cheer him up.

--"No, of course not. I want to be that man I was when you fell in love with me. There's nothing good about being a dragon." He said indicating that her joke did not work.

--"Sure there are good things about being a dragon."

--"Like what?"

--"You get to fly your wife around while she sits on your back."

He paused and thought for a moment. "No no no. That is not going to happen. I am not going to fly with you on my back."

--"Aww…Why not?" she asked in a pleading yet teasing voice.

--"Because that would be very dangerous. I can hardly fly on my own let alone with you one my back. I would never want to put you in that kind of danger."

--"Why are you a bad flier?"

--"I never really learned how to get good at flying."

--"Why not?"

--"I was raised… differently. I don't want to talk about it right now. Do you still think there are benefits to being a dragon?"

--"Stop being so pessimistic. There a plenty of good things about being a dragon. You're big and strong, so I'll have all the protection I need."

--"But that makes me a danger to you. I might accidentally crush you. I won't be able to touch you without harming you."

--"That's not true. I'm sure you can manage some daintiness. And I can think of some -things we can do together."

--"Really? What did you have in mind?"

--"You can take me for a walk dear. It's a nice day out, and last time was on such bad terms."

--"So where do you want to-" Before he could finish his question, Lilia had climbed up onto his head and was crawling up his neck onto his back. He was surprised not only by having his face stepped on but also by her boldness. Good thing she was barefoot, not that it would have mattered since he was huge anyways. He lifted his head and turned it around to look at her sitting on his back. He stared at her with his big green eyes in bewilderment. She was just sitting on the base of his neck, nestled between his wings, and smiling back at him. "Are you comfortable back there?" He asked in amusement.

She giggled. "Yes, your back is very comfortable, dear." She said and then started stroking his left wing.

--Marco smiled knowing he had made her happy. "Okay then. Here we go."