Chapter 2

Zara was fascinated by Crispin, she sat on the side of the cradle staring down at the sleeping baby "I don't see any dragon in him, is he going to stay human?" she whispered, Natalie smiled and said softly back "his father and Grandfather didn't show their dragon side until they were almost a year old, so time will tell with Crispin." Zara almost fell off the cradle when Crispin woke up with a cry, fussing and sucking on his fist "is he hurt? he doesn't look sick, what's wrong with him?" a worried Zara asked peering into the cradle, Natalie laughed "he is just hungry and wants his mama that's all." Raimi came into the bedroom with a smile "I hear someone want's his breakfast" picking up the baby Raimi opened her blouse and put Crispin to her breast, Zara her tiny cheeks turning scarlet looked every where but at Raimi and the baby, "what did Strut think of Crispin?" she asked looking out the window, Raimi chuckled "Strut just snorted and said he looked like a little monkey and that at least Ailysh's hatchlings looked the way they were supposed to look" Zara laughed "I think Strut has been going to visit those fairy dragons he met at the gathering to often." Raimi and Natalie smiled at each other watching Zara flutter around straightening blankets, fluffing up pillows "there's nothing to be embarrassed about Zara, it's how most women feed their babies" Raimi said with a smile, "shouldn't you be doing it in private or something?" Zara said her cheeks flushing again, Raimi laughed "well I'm not exactly in the town square, there's only you and Natalie here." Zara hearing Revanche's voice zoomed over to the door way "you can't come in yet" she told him, Revanche blinked "I can't? why not?" Zara told him that Raimi was feeding Crispin, Revanche nodded and started to walk into the room, Zara didn't move her cheeks flushed she whispered "her blouse isn't buttoned, so you can't come in" Revanche chuckled "I've seen Raimi with her blouse undone before Zara" Zara deciding now was a good time to die of embarrassment said she needed to be off to Mar's, waved bye to Natalie and Raimi without looking in their direction and left.

Marti'en and Mar noticed that Zara seemed distracted most of the day, Marti'en finally asked her if there was a problem, Zara blushed shaking her head "I guess I'm just excited that Crispin is here" Mar chortled "with a name like that he has to be a puffer" Zara laughed at Mar "if he isn't your going to teach him right?" Mar just grinned. Later Zara sat eating her dinner, she glanced at her mother "when Connor and Miranda were born, they were both dragon and human weren't they?" Laurel smiled "Miranda was born human, Connor dragon, a few hours later Miranda turned to her dragon form, it wasn't to much later that Connor changed to his human form, I think they enjoyed switching back and forth just to keep your papa on his toes" Alex grinned, Zara took a few bites of her dinner "did you have to stay human to feed them?" Laurel shook her head "I didn't have to but I preferred it that way" Zara thought about that for a minute "did you stay in your human form when you had us?" Alex started to laugh, Laurel frowned at him "no sweetie my dragoness was the one who needed to give birth" Zara looked at her father "why did you laugh?" Alex grinned "because just before your mama had Connor and Miranda and later you, she turned into a snapping, snarling roaring dragoness" Laurel frowned "I was not that bad" Alex laughed "ask Trink who went running out of here with his britches on fire just for saying how lovely you looked" Zara watched her parents grin at each other then start laughing. "Isn't Crispin awfully big for a baby?" Zara asked after a few thoughtful minutes, Laurel shook her head "not really, he weighs about seven pounds I think, which is about average for a good healthy baby" Zara finished her dinner not saying much more. Alex grinned at Laurel after Zara had gone up to her room "I think it's time for THAT talk, be my guest" Laurel made a face at him and went upstairs. Tapping on Zara's door Laurel went into her room, she smiled seeing Zara at the open window watching the storm clouds building "looks like we're in for a good storm" Laurel commented, Zara turned from the window nodding, as a small flash of lightening showed in the distance Zara went back to watching out the window. "I thought since the subject of babies has come up, we'd talk about how women become pregnant and sexual relations between men and women, dragons and dragoness" Laurel told her, Zara sat on the window ledge mortified down to her tiny toe talons listening to her mama. Nedra almost beside herself with laughter purred in Laurel's ear "the ohhhh sooooo little one was only concerned with the worry that she will one day not be able to have a child because of her size and that her tiny dragoness has no breasts, now she is concerned that she won't be able to function with a human male because of her size or have to seek out small male dragons like Strut or the fairy dragons" Laurel groaned "why didn't you warn me sooner Nedra" Laurel could of sworn she heard Nedra giggle "because I was enjoying your ohhhh soooo insightful talk my delightful morsel, let us just hope she does not get the idea to try and change her dragons size, a full size dragoness Zara would be to much for the ohhhhhhh soooooo scrumptious Mar to handle, not to mention her mama and papa." Laurel rolled her eyes at the ceiling "Zara, your body, human or dragoness will know what's right for you, if you stay dragoness then your hatchlings will be tiny like you, if your human wants to have the child, the babies could be tiny or human size babies like Crispin. Your human is almost 15 I'm sure she has at least budding breasts, there's no need to worry nature seems to have a way of dealing with these things so they all work out fine." Zara nodded "it's all right mama, you don't need to try and explain anymore, I get the idea of how things are supposed to be" Laurel almost let out a sigh of relief, she gave Zara a hug then stood there with her for a few minutes watching the flash's across the sky. Shortly after her mother had left the room Zara took to the skies, soaring higher and higher her little roars swallowed by the sound of thunder and the crack of lightening. Nedra heard Zara's roars and sighed, she knew Zara would not now be receptive to anything she might say and decided to just watch with a little closer eye.

Malcolm walked into the main hall to see his grandson DeClan standing in front of the huge fireplace, his hands clasped behind his back, his booted foot resting on the fireplace railing, "DeClan what brings you here at this time of year?" DeClan glanced up at his Grandfather, how does one tell a parent that their child is dead he thought. "I have left the ruins of Leander's filth, I'm sorry Grandfather mother is gone, I hope to a better place, I wish I could say she died peacefully but was there ever anything peaceful at Leander's, I doubt it." Malcolm sighed "come sit with me DeClan and we will talk" Malcolm instructed a servant to bring food and drink then nodded at one of the large chairs "sit down DeClan you look about ready to drop" he said as he himself sat down, DeClan sat down looking at his Grandfather "so many question's Grandfather, so many years gone and wasted, you need not worry about Leander he is gone to hell where he should have gone a long time ago." Glancing down at his clasped hands Malcolm nodded "I tried the best I could to help you and your mother DeClan, I promised your mother when she knew she was carrying you that I would do nothing to interfere, not that there was much I could do, I'm a simple man I know not of sorcery or magic, I think your mother feared that something foul would befall us here." DeClan his eyes still on the flames of a burning log nodded "you are not to blame for anything Grandfather, there was nothing you could do, I always knew that, you lent a small boy a loving hand which was more then ever was asked for or expected, I shall always be grateful for that. Mother also knew and loved you all the more for it, who is my father? I think I have a right to know the name of the man mother loved so much that she gladly suffered rather then let harm come to him." Malcolm directed the servant to place the tray on the table between the chairs, handing DeClan a tankard of ale he frowned "does it truly matter now? yes I suppose it does, every child should have the right to know the name of the man who fathered him, your father is Dougal McGuire." DeClan's mind reeled with the name, he'd known Dougal all his life, often seeing him out riding when he'd come to visit his Grandfather, many times he would join them for supper sitting late into the evening playing chess with his Grandfather. His hands clinched around his tankard DeClan looked at his Grandfather his black eyes showing no emotion "does he know?" Malcolm sighed sadly "no DeClan he never knew, but as the years have gone by, he was beginning to see himself in your black hair and black eyes and has asked questions now and again over the last ten years or so, questions I had turned aside as was your mothers wish." DeClan leaned his head back against the old chair, so many lies, so many deceptions, a life time full. "I would be pleased to have you live here with me, DeClan" Malcolm said quietly seeing the tiredness and strain showing on his grandson's face. "I would like to stay for a while, I'm building a place of my own but it won't be really finished for a time, I'll be going back and forth though. I will also be traveling to London to check on a few investments I've made over the years." Malcolm encouraged DeClan to eat something then watched him sit for hours in front of the fireplace not saying a word. DeClan lay in his cold bed, exhausted yet sleep wouldn't come for him as he stared up at the ceiling, he wanted to cry for his mother, he wanted to cry for his Grandfather and for Dougal but his eyes remained dry. "Why don't you cry for DeClan?" Zara whispered her tiny paw touching his cold cheek, DeClan squeezed his eyes shut then quickly opened them, turning on his side he frowned at Zara "what are you doing here? little one, you shouldn't be here, you should be home with your parents." Zara looked sadly at DeClan "I know but I could feel your hurt and your pain, I can feel the tears you won't cry for yourself, it hurt's to see you so unhappy DeClan" DeClan felt a lump in his throat as he gently reached out and wiped a tear off her cheek with his fingertip "don't shed tears for me Zara, I'm not worth one single tear from your beautiful dark blue eyes." Zara purred softly and nuzzled his cheek "you can have all my tears and all my smiles DeClan because I think your worth every one, tears don't hurt DeClan it seems like I shed them all the time lately." DeClan held the tiny dragoness against his chest and cried harsh racking sobs, tears for the little boy who was punished for crying, tears for the boy who had to grow up to fast while trying to keep his mother safe, tears for the man he had become, tears for his mother and Dougal the man she had loved till her last breath, tears for all the lost years so filled with pain, despair and loneliness. Zara licked the tears off DeClan's sleeping face, her small paw touching his face, his hair, she lay curled up against his shoulder for a long time not wanting to go home. Nedra purred softly "my oohh sooo sweet temptation, it is time for you to return to your own bed, it would not be good for his ohhh soo saddened grandpapa to find you here, nor for your own mama to find your bed empty come the dawn, go home and sleep my little delight later we shall talk." Zara touched DeClan's cheek one more time then went home.

Laurel went upstairs to check on Zara when she didn't come down to breakfast, with a worried frown she peeked in Zara's room, Zara lay curled up sound asleep in her bed, Laurel touched her forehead softly to make sure she wasn't ill, then closed the window and quietly pulled the drapes. Laurel sent Mar a message that Zara was sleeping in and that she wouldn't be over, Laurel sighed as Mar came skidding in a few minutes later "what do you mean sleeping in? she beats the sun up every morning, is she ill? did you check, maybe you should send for Natalie, never mind I'll have Marti'en check her out, has she been eating well?" Laurel grabbed Mar's paw "Mar, she is just sleeping late, I checked and she is not ill, she has no fever, she probably stayed up late watching the storm, you know how much she loves storms." Marti'en came rushing in "what's wrong with Zara, Mar says she is still in bed sleeping" Laurel sighed "there is nothing wrong with Zara, she is just sleeping late." Alex came striding in with a deep scowl on his face, in his hand he was holding a white rose looking at Laurel he held up the rose "I found this on Zara's pillow a few minutes ago when I went in to check on her" Laurel blinked in surprise "it wasn't there half an hour ago when I checked on her" Mar now scowling said "there's a note on it what does it say?" Laurel now frowning looked at Alex "has Zara seen the rose and note?" Alex shook his head "she is still sound asleep, no I haven't read the note." Laurel sighed "you have to put it back Alex, it's hers, obviously it was meant for her, if she wants us to know about it she will tell us." Alex turned on his heels and started up the stairs "someone and we can all guess who leaves a rose on my daughters pillow and I'm just supposed to sit twiddling my thumbs and wait for her to mention it, we'll see about that." Laurel started running up the stairs after Alex "wait Alex don't do anything rash, until we've talked to Zara" Alex turned and looked down at Laurel "I have no intentions of doing anything rash." Alex quietly went into Zara's room and put the rose back on her pillow and walked out still frowning fiercely.