Chapter 5: Worries, Revelations, and a Proposal

As they lay in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Janet slid a finger around on Ellis chest, finally taking the bull by the horns. “I’ve missed you so much, Ellis. I don’t think I could have survived very much longer if you hadn’t found me,” she said, forcing down a sob of desperate, painful relief. “The nightmares were getting worse almost nightly, and I feared so much to sleep that when I did, it wasn’t very beneficial, else those men wouldn’t have caught me by surprise.”

“Hush, Janet, my love. That part of your life is over and done with now. You shouldn’t torment yourself with the past. The loss of our family will, in time, heal enough so as not to be so painful to you, my love. I’m here to help, in any way I can, even if it’s just staying by your side.

“I won’t leave you alone again without good reason. You know I couldn’t help what happened that day. I hadn’t had any sleep, having so recently gone through my Awakening. But believe me—I do not intend to leave your side for anything, if I can help it.”

A thought suddenly hit Janet, making her sit bolt upright. “Ellis, what if I conceived, just now? I don’t think I’m ready to be a mother, just yet ... I have too many things to get used to, first, too many things that are still in flux. I wouldn’t want to have a child right now, when I might end up hating it, and myself, and ... And...” She was sobbing, now, her pain and despair evident in every little movement, the sobs shaking her entire body.

“Janet, love, relax!” he replied, gently pulling her down against his shoulder again. “Stop worrying. There’s a reason I waited for this morning to do this. If I thought there was any danger I would not have let it go so far. You see, a woman can conceive before her Awakening, though there is a chance that she could lose the child due to the trauma it causes. However, if she is of Dragonkind, it is impossible for her to conceive between Awakening and Chrysalis. Her body is still in flux, much more so than during the Awakening itself.

“In the next couple of weeks, you’ll probably start feeling slightly ill, somewhat feverish, sometimes too cold, and sometimes too hot. It can be rather uncomfortable, but the results, I think, are worth it. On the third-to-last day of Chrysalis, you will literally form a cocoon of magical energy around yourself, then fall into a deep sleep. When you wake up three days later, you’ll emerge from that cocoon as a Dragon. And I think you will be the most beautiful Dragon there ever was.

“Believe me, Janet, there was no chance of conceiving this morning. In a few weeks, however, that will be a different story. But, I think, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, hmm?” he finished.

She nodded timidly against his shoulder, still shaken by her emotions. “I’m sorry I’m so weak, Ellis. I...”

“Hush up, now. You are not weak. You wouldn’t have survived even the first week alone outside if you were weak. You are one of the strongest people I know, and believe you me: I know many people who would say the same thing, none of whom is a weakling. Start believing in yourself, my love. I already do.” Again, she nodded into his shoulder, crying a little while longer, then, with a great sigh of relief, she slipped into sleep once more. Ellis held her close, the whole while. Once she slept, he mumbled “I wish I could take all your pain away, my love. But pain also helps you learn, make you stronger. You’ll survive. You always have, and you always will.” He then set himself into a meditative, restful trance, still holding her tightly against his side, waiting for her to wake once more, hopefully healed somewhat by her outpouring of her internal pains and fears.

Once more, Janet woke him with a kiss. “Good morning, lover!” she said sunnily. Looking out the doors to the balcony, he saw that it was indeed morning—dawn, in fact. They had slept the rest of the day and the whole night through. “Could we ... go fly for a little while?” she asked hesitantly. “I found it somewhat relaxing, the other day.”

He heard the slight quaver in her voice. He realized that her smile seemed a little forced, though the love in her words was true, as was her desire to be outside. He also realized that she had now been in the city for four days, when she had been living free in the wild for over three years. Her agitation was not due to yesterday’s emotions, but because she was not used to being indoors so much ... in fact, almost not at all.

He got up, calling on his bracers for his everyday clothes. A moment later, he was dressed in a pair of breeches, a tunic, a cloak, and a pair of knee high-soft boots, of a strange design. He walked over to the door of Janet’s quarters, where he informed someone who had been standing watch outside that they were going out for a while.

He returned to the balcony doors, which he opened, then assumed his Dragon form. Janet, now dressed in her riding clothes again and holding an excited Guardian, climbed aboard. He exited the room, and then flew off toward the lake end of the crater.

He resumed his Elvish form once they were once more on the ground, saying “Will this do?”

Janet nodded, the relief flowing through her evident as her body relaxed. The woods by the lakeshore were quiet, undisturbed by the sounds of the large city on the other side of the forest. “It’s so peaceful, here,” she said, basking in the glow of the rising sun, breathing in the fresh air, scented with the odors of the nearby woods, the feeling of the cool breeze from over the lake, and absorbing the sounds of the waves of the lake, hitting the nearby shore.