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The Persistent Dragon Meets a Drake

It was late evening. The setting sun cast the world in the shadow of twilight. Dark clouds obscured the waxing moon and the crickets sang their serenades in the ever darkening dusk. A pair of boots walked across the dewy grass, their soft shuffling hushing the insects that were nearby.

There was a knock on the oaken door. A heavy voice sounded out in the night.

"Penelope?" Desmond called out. Jacob's father threw open the lock to the dragon's stable and opened up the top half of the Dutch door. Inside, Penelope was curled on her bed.

"Penelope..." Desmond's voice carried a sharp twinge of disapproval. "Come here."

The lavender-hued dragon obediently got up from her mattress and approached her keeper's father. She jumped up and put her forepaws on the Dutch door to speak face-to-face.

"Yes, Desmond?" Penelope asked with a pleasant smile. "Is it another errand? A message to deliver?" she asked politely.

"Actually, I've come to ask about your last job I had you do. The special job ." His eyes narrowed.

Penelope flattened her ears against her temples and leaned back slightly. "Oh... I... I'm sorry, Desmond." The dragon dropped back to all fours and turned away from the door, shying back into the shadows.

"Sorry?" he growled. Desmond unlocked the bottom of the Dutch door and let himself inside. "Sorry?" He approached the dragon as she shamefully slinked away, fearing punishment.

"Yes... I -"

Desmond grabbed the dragon by the horn and wrenched her head violently backwards, causing her to squeal in pain.

"Now you listen to me, you little flying iguana." He sneered as he brought the lantern next to her face and leaned in close. "Sorry is not enough," he hissed. "Sorry does not make eighty pounds of stolen silver magically appear on my doorstop. This is the second time now!"

Penelope grimaced as Desmond pulled hard and twisted her neck backwards at a painful angle, causing the dragon to writhe in his grip. "I... they got away! They took a new route through the woods... I lost track of them from above! The... the trees!" she let out a pathetic whine out of both pain and fear.

He pulled harder on the dragon's horn, bending her neck back even more. "Then you intercept them before they reach the woods." He spoke to her harshly. Desmond scoffed. "This is not difficult. This is not complicated. Even you should be able to figure that out, dragon."

"Dessie, please," the dragon whimpered, her face contorting into a miserable frown. "They... they had guns this time..."

Desmond released his grip of the dragon's horn and took a step back. His expression, once burning with anger, now bore a look of surprise. "They... what?"

Penelope's face was contorted into a miserable expression. "Des, I... I was afraid. I didn't want to fly in close because they'd.... " The dragon turned away, cutting herself off mid-sentence.

Desmond turned away and ran his hand through his receding hairline, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Great... just great. So they knew you were going to be there."

Upset and trying her hardest not to cry, Penelope turned away, whimpering to herself.

"Hmm.... " He stood there in silence, tapping his feet and thinking for a moment. "What else did you notice? Was it just one man with a gun? Or did they have several?"

"It... several," she meeped. Penelope hung her head low to the ground. "This time there were three more men. There was a big mean one on top of the wagon with the barrels, and two more on horses. Each one had a big, big, scary looking gun." Penelope turned and leaned her head against Desmond's stomach, looking up with eyes pleading. "Please, Des, I'm sorry! I didn't want to get close..."

Desmond brushed the dragon off of him, pursing his lips tight. "No, that's... fine," he let out an exasperated sigh. "It was only a matter of time before they got smart. Ah, I don't want you to go and get yourself killed... I'll have to think of something," he grumbled.

"I don't like doing these special jobs.... " Penelope muttered quietly.

Desmond let out a short laugh. "I own you, dragon. You'll do what you are told."

Penelope winced at the words. "But..." she mumbled.

"But nothing. This is important work," Desmond sneered, leaning in to the dragon's timid face once more. "Very important. And I can't afford more slip-ups. Do you understand?"

"Yes..." Penelope meeped, hanging her head low. "Yes, I understand."

"Good. Now, there is one more thing I need to discuss." Desmond let out a weary sigh. "It's about you and my son. I think you know what I'm going to have to do." Jacob's father lifted a heavy chain in one hand.

Penelope's ears perked up. "Dessie, please don't..." she whined.

Jacob's father was stone-faced. "Don't give me any lip. You think I want to do this?"

"Yes..." Penelope whimpered.

"Well, I don't. But I have no choice. You brought this upon yourself, dragon." Desmond turned away, chain swinging in hand.

Tears welled up in the corner of the dragon's eyes. "Please..." she whimpered. "Please don't."

--=-=--

Jacob awoke in a somber mood. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon - he had slept in longer than he had wanted to. The events of yesterday were still fresh in his mind. Penelope's slip-up. His father finding out the two of them had been having sex. The awkward and difficult talk afterward.

It already felt like hell, and he hadn't even been punished yet.

Feeling the need to talk to his dragon, Jacob had forgone a shower and shave for now to slip on a pair of shoes and sneak out the back door . He began to think about how happy she'd be to see him after last night, how relieved she would be....

But as Jacob drew closer, his smile dropped. Swearing to himself, he broke out in a run.

"No. No.... No no no no no no !"

Jacob crashed against the door with a heavy, wooden clatter. The fat, heavy chain wrapped and locked around the handle held fast. He jiggled it in vain.

Penelope was locked in.

"Penelope!" he shouted through the door. "Penelope, are you in there?"

"Jake?" Penelope's voice rang out from behind the door, her tone sounding shrill and upset.

From the side of her enclosure, Penelope's snout stuck out from between the bars of her window. In a panic, Jacob ran to her. From inside, Penelope looked miserable, with ears down and lower lip quivering like she was about to cry. Jacob cradled her snout in her hands.

"Dessie did this..." she muttered. "He told me he was going to lock me up for a week."

"Oh, cripes... "

Jacob leaned in and rested his forehead against his dragon's snout.

"Penelope, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Jake..." Penelope sniffled, trying her best to appear positive. "Dessie'll let me out eventually. He has to."

Jacob closed his eyes and thought. And after a moment, a warm tingle ran up his spine. It had to be now. He knew.

"You're right. He will." Jacob turned around and marched straight for the house.

"Jake, where are you going?" Penelope clamored. She pushed against the bars of her window in vain.

"I'm going to talk to my father!" he yelled behind him. Jacob swore to himself and tried to fight down the fear of the impending confrontation. Jacob knew his father well, and he was not a pleasant man when angry.

And after what he was going to do, he definitely would be angry.

--=-=--

"You can't do this!"

"It's done."

"You can't just lock her up and treat her like... like..."

"Like some animal? Like some four-legged, scaly, fire-breathing animal?"

Jacob found his father in the lounge, sipping coffee and reading the morning newspaper. Warm sunlight splashed across his lap and onto the stark words printed on the thin paper. Desmond had his reading glasses on, giving Jacob's father the look of a quiet intellectual that seemed to mollify his imposing personality, if only in appearance.

Jacob hissed through his teeth in frustration. "Just... just because she doesn't dress in clothes and walk around on two legs doesn't give you the right to mistreat her!"

"I'm not mistreating her. I'm keeping you safe." Desmond's eyes narrowed. "From her."

Jacob opened his mouth, but he faltered on the words. "But... I..." Jacob closed his mouth and stood there, seething. "I'm perfectly fine, Father! I don't need protection from my own dragon just because she's getting amorous!"

"Jacob..." Dismissively, Desmond shuffled his newspaper and brought the pages up to his face, blocking his son from view. "I'm doing this for your own good."

"You're punishing both of us for something she did!"

Desmond momentarily looked out from over the newspaper. "Correction: something you both did. Something that you had every opportunity to prevent her from doing."

Cross, frustrated, but determined to not give up just yet, Jacob folded his arms over each other and held his ground. "This isn't right. We can talk things out instead of resorting to locking her up."

"Your mother is doing you a huge favor, you know," Desmond began , ignoring him. "She spent the morning making calls, talking to her friends and acquaintances... . A couple of them have daughters about your age that you might like."

"What!? " Jacob yelled louder than he should have. "I don't want some girl thrust into my life like that!"

"No? Then what about that Rebecca girl that lives down the road?" Desmond folded the paper down to judge his son's reaction.

Jacob wrinkled his nose. "I haven't talked to her since I was fourteen years old!"

"Well maybe it's time to change that. Better that you be banging the neighbor's girl than your dragon," Desmond callously retorted , bringing the paper back up to his face. As he said it, a maid entered the room to collect Desmond's empty coffee mug and croissant plate. Jacob's face turned red with shame and embarrassment as she passed by him and left.

"Rebecca is..." Jacob grimaced.

"Does she have small tits?"

"What?" Jacob asked, slightly taken aback at the rudeness of the question.

Desmond lowered his newspaper to look over the top. "Does she have small tits?" he repeated, as calm as could be.

"No!"

"Then what's the problem!?"

Jacob was taken aback. "I - she.... " he stammered, starting to turn red in the face in embarrassment. "Rebecca is a very... large woman."

"I don't mind," Desmond grumbled, going back to his paper.

"Well, I do!" Jacob replied, feeling flustered. "Wait wait wait - just hold on a moment," he gesticulated wildly. "We're not talking about Rebecca... w e're talking about my dragon, here."

"No we aren't," Desmond replied , calmly. "There's nothing to discuss."

Jacob sucked in a big breath and latched on to whatever bravery he could muster. "I'll... I'll tell her to stop working for you."

Desmond chortled and dismissed his son with a wave from behind his paper. "I can hire an errand boy for a couple dollars on the hour to take her place."

No. Not that." Jacob shook his head. "What about all those nights when she's gone on her 'special' jobs?"

Desmond froze. A chill ran down Jacob's spine. That was it. Losing control of the situation. That was his father's trigger.

Jacob's father sat still for a moment. Jacob waited. His father then slowly lowered the paper in his hands, folded it on his lap. He put his hands on the chair armrests, leaned forward, and gave his son a death stare from over the rim of his glasses.

"You're treading on thin ice, Jacob." Desmond warned, as calm as could be. The words shook Jacob to his core.

"I'll... I'll tell her to stop helping you. All I need to do is to say the word. You know she'd rather listen to me."

"The dragon will do as I say," Desmond grumbled. "One way or another, I will make sure of it."

"How are you going to do that, Father?" Jacob asked. "You already took away what's important to her," he added, bitterly.

"She's still living here in our backyard, isn't she? I still have the deed to her ownership..."

Jacob blinked, taken aback. "You wouldn't..."

"I would."

"No..."

The words didn't sit well with Jacob. They didn't sound right. And slowly, as the pieces began to fall into place, an invigorating chill traveled up his spine.

The words didn't sound right because they weren't right. And Jacob was pretty sure he knew why.

"Fine. You win," Jacob muttered and turned away.

"Jacob?"

His father's tone was that of suspicion. All the more reason to ignore the sound of his name: Jacob didn't want to risk showing any more of his cards. All he knew is that he had to talk to his mother. Only -

That's right... she was set to leave on holiday today. A trip to Lavington to visit her sister and brother-in-law. She wouldn't be back for another three days.

Oh, cripes...

"I need to get ready for class," Jacob bitterly grumbled, exiting the room in a show of anger. All he had to do was bide his time.

Bide his time and wait.

--=-=--

Jacob quickly found he couldn't so much as look at Penelope for the next few days. His father had muttered something about "needing to put some space" between the two , which was about as big of an understatement that Jacob could think of. Penelope was to be locked up at all times when home. During the mornings and late at night, the dragon was kept busy with her work for Desmond. He couldn't see her during the day due to being busy with classes at the university, and when she was let out at night the dragon was kept under close supervision.

Jacob was far too scared to risk trying to meet with her during the times she was let out, but now and then he would sneak out to speak to her through the window of her stable. Conversations were short, muted, and glum. Jacob attempted to keep himself happy for the both of them, but on the inside he felt broken.

Adjusting was difficult. Jacob never realized just how much he missed the dragon now that she was all but gone from his day-to-day life. He had always been close to Penelope, especially at a young age, and now, in having the dragon taken away from him, Jacob felt like he was without purpose. It was odd not being able to go back to her stable after class to talk, to not have her help him study , or ask questions about his homework, or ask to be saddled up and go riding on the trails behind the house.

Jacob went through the motions of day-to-day life: going to university, sketching Penelope's face in the margin of his notes during class, thinking about her on the carriage ride back home. At night he would look out the window of his room - the one overlooking the back yard, and look down at her stable, wondering how the dragon was holding up.

By the third day the only thing he could think of was talking to his mother. He knew his father wouldn't tell him no matter how much he asked, but his mother....

If she knew, she would tell him.

The first thing Jacob did when he got home from university was head straight for the study.

"Mother, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course, Jacob."

Jacob's mother was at the desk with pen in hand, tending to a letter. Jacob paused at the sight. Part of him feared the contents of the letter was about him. About some girl she was trying to hook him up with, some prospective girlfriend to divert his attention away from his dragon. Jacob gulped, feeling immensely uncomfortable .

"I have a question. W...What is it that Father needs Penelope for?"

When the question was asked, Lucille paused, put her fountain pen down, and gave her son a concerned look.

"Desmond didn't want to tell you. We both agreed you'd get worked up over it."

"Mother, please..." Jacob begged . "I deserve to know if it's about my dragon."

Lucille sighed and turned in her seat to face her son, giving a smile that said she couldn't resist giving in. "Your father has been having trouble with the black market lately. The company's hemorrhaging money from stolen bulk goods. And well, Desmond decided that having a dragon near the docks at night can do a lot to scare away thieves looking for crates to loot."

Jacob blinked. "He's... he's putting her in danger?"

"Oh, don't worry, Jacob. It's nothing she can't handle." She smiled, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Penelope's a brave girl, you know that. Desmond just needs her until the police are able to catch the thieves in question... or at least until she can scare them off for good."

There were a million questions on Jacob's mind concerning Penelope's special job. But right now there were more important matters to discuss. "And he needs her bad enough that he wouldn't sell her, right?" Jacob asked, trying to lead the conversation.

"Oh, don't listen to that old goat when he says things like that," Lucille waved him off with a laugh. "You know your father likes to talk and say things to get his point across... it doesn't always mean he means it. Your father needs Penelope more than ever, now. To be honest, he's more worried about Penelope going out, finding a mate, and leaving us; than he is about... well, you and her."

Jacob said nothing, but a pang of guilt wormed through his heart at the reference to his dragon's amorous adventures. He stared off into the distance with the gears turning in his mind. His father.... his dragon... there was something not right about the situation, and he knew what it was.

Lucille frowned at her son's pained expression. "This whole... incident with your dragon has been difficult on all of us, okay? Try not to let it get to your head."

Jacob let out a sigh of relief and attempted to not show excitement. "Thanks, Mother." He bent down to kiss her on the cheek. "You've been a big help."

Lucille gave him a sweet smile. "You're welcome. Shut the door on the way out, would you, dear?"

"Yes'm" Jacob replied, closing the door quietly behind him. As soon as the bolt clicked shut, he couldn't hide his grin any longer.

Jacob had a plan. Now all he had to do was wait for a time to put it in action.

--=-=--

By a strike of good providence, it was early next morning - after four days of Penelope's punishment - that an unexpected knock came at Jacob's bedroom door.

"Master Jacob?"

Jacob recognized the voice and smiled. "Come in, Mrs. McCollins!"

A blonde haired maid in her mid-forties entered the room. Jacob's face immediately brightened when he saw her. Mrs. McCollins was like an aunt to Jacob, and he had known her almost as long as his own mother. The maid was sweet, caring, and close to the entire family.

"Master Jacob, I don't know what trouble you and Penny got into, but boy did you get yourself in a pickle." She shook her head.

"Mrs. McCollins?"

"Keep this just between you and me...."

Turning her back to Jacob, the maid procured a heavy key from her pocket and held it behind her back for Jacob to see. His eyes opened wide.

"This is..." he trailed off, taking the key from her hands in wonderment.

"Shh. " Millie hushed. "Mr. Broyal entrusted me to take care of the dragon in your stead." She turned to face him, her expression warm and caring. "But you know I can't stand to see ol' Penny locked up and kept away from you any more than you do. Seeing her mope around every day is breaking my heart, and all she does is talk about you."

Jacob looked at the large, iron key in his hand, dumbfounded. "You're just gonna give it to me? What about you? Father can't find out you gave the key away! You're supposed to feed her and take her out every day."

Millie put a hand on her hip and patted her pocket, giving a knowing grin. "Oh, I might have gone into town to get a duplicate made. I'll keep up the show of feeding her and whatnot. Just be sure to keep this between you and me, and definitely make sure you only go and see her when Mr. Broyal is out of the house, do you understand?"

Jacob nodded so quick he felt his head begin to hurt. "Yes. Yes!" He jumped up and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight, causing Millie to let out an "Oh!" in surprise.

Jacob felt a pair of arms slowly wrap around his back as the maid returned the hug. "I already made sure that Mr. Broyal has already left for work, so you're free to go see Penny for a bit and cheer her up before she leaves for her errands, you hear?"

"Thank you..." he whispered. "Thank you so much, Mrs. McCollins."

"You're welcome, Master Jacob. Don't mention it." Abruptly, the maid broke the hug. She took a step back and pointed to the door.

"Now go and see that dragon of yours. I demand it."

"Yes, ma'am!" Jacob gave a facetious salute, causing Millie to smile. And then, in a flash, he headed for the back yard of the mansion.

--=-=--

Inside of her lavish and spacious stable, the dragon lay silently.

Penelope was a dragon that was small for her size, being about the height of a large pony at the shoulders, though she was a tad more agile on her feet than any pony Jacob knew. Waxy, smooth scales of lavender ran down the top and sides of her body. The color was broken by flecks of a deep sky blue here and there, mostly on the shoulders, thighs, and on the tips of her wings and ear fins. Across her head were the gnarled, pointed scale growths of a still-maturing dragon. Dark purple at the base and tipped in blue, they were still quite short and stubby for her age. Her belly scutes were the shade of sandy daffodil, as was the webbing of her large and powerful wings. Four muscular legs ending in paws tipped with dark grey claws and a long, swaying dragon tail rounded out Penelope's form. All in all, the lavender-hued dragon was a rare breed of uncommon colors.

While the dragon was normally playful, exuberant, and excitable in equal measures, Jacob now spied through the window a depressed and despondent creature moping on her bed. Her toys no longer interested her, nor did she look forward to the times where she was let out and allowed to stretch her wings, and dinner time, which she normally loved possibly more than life its self, became just another chore. It seemed that she had all but given up on ever being let free. Jacob swallowed down his remorse for her, as he felt all the worse for it...

He knew that all that mattered to the dragon was that her keeper was not with her.

Seeing the dragon like that seemed to make the moment of unlocking her door all the more liberating. As the thick tumblers clicked and the lock fell open, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from Jacob's shoulders. Penelope flicked her ears back at the sound of the lock opening. The dragon made no attempt to get up or even look his way. She merely sighed and rolled so that her back was facing the door, feeling unwilling to have company at the present.

Jacob paused, not sure of what to say. He waited in the threshold of the doorway for a moment. Slowly, the dragon lifted her chin off the mattress. She sniffed the air curiously.

"Jacob?"

The dragon turned her head.

"Penelope..." Jacob smiled.

And in that one moment Jacob was sure he had never seen a happier dragon in his life. In a flash, she was up on her feet and bounding towards him.

"Jacob!"

"Penelop-oof !"

Before he even knew what had happened, Penelope had tackled him to the ground.

"Ooh, I've missed you so much! So much, so much!" She cried, wrapping him up in a hug with every limb available to her. Jacob squirmed as he was enveloped in her wings. The leathery membrane between her wing's fingers stretched around his shoulders and back as the dragon's strong forelimbs squeezed around his chest tight.

Jacob couldn't help but laugh as the dragon began to effusively lick his face and neck, completely smothering him in affection.

"Nel, cut it out! You're squeezing me too tight. I can hardly breathe!"

"Ooh, I'm so sorry!" the dragon quickly and profusely apologized, getting up off of her keeper. Jacob sucked in a deep, welcome breath as the several hundred pound dragon lifted herself from his chest. Jacob sat up, and Penelope wasted no time in continuing to dote, licking and nuzzling her keeper's face in excitement, rubbing her scaled snout across his cheeks and chin so eagerly that Jacob thought she could cause a chafe.

"Oh, I can't believe you're back! I've wanted to see you so much, you had no idea how horrible I've felt, how much I wanted to take back what I said and fix everything, and -

"Nel, Nel!" he sputtered. "Give me some space! Please!"

"Oh." The dragon flinched. "Okay!" She happily obeyed, sitting down on her haunches and allowing Jacob to stand up. He smoothed out his shirt, dusted himself off, and then took a deep breath. He then glanced at his dragon, who appeared to be practically shivering in excitement with tail rapidly swaying left and right in anxiousness. Jacob grinned.

"Penelope..." he began. "I've missed you." He approached her warmly and gave the dragon a hug around her neck, which Penelope happily accepted. She rested her cheek on his chest and wrapped both wings around him, holding on tight and letting out a warm churr of contentment.

"Did Dessie let you in?" she asked, letting him go.

Jacob frowned. "Ah, no... Mrs. McCollins gave me a key. I can see you whenever I want now, as long as it's when Father is out of the house."

Penelope let out a gasp of excitement. "Millie!" she cried.

"You have to fly errands for Father today, right?"

The dragon nodded.

"How much free time will you have today?"

Penelope frowned. "I dunno, Jake... I'm usually done by mid-day... and Dessie doesn't put me back in my stable until late afternoon when you get home."

Jacob smiled. "Great. Meet me at the clock tower when the bell strikes two. I'll be there."

"Alright!" the dragon nodded with a smile. But before Jacob could say another word, Penelope interjected. "But wait! You have classes today!"

"Oh, I know," Jacob began, taking the dragon's head in his hands. "But I'm gonna skip my afternoon classes just this once, so we can spend some time together."

Penelope took in a deep breath with the biggest grin, and leaned in to nuzzle her keeper on the chest. "Let's do it!" she cried, hugging him once more.

"I'll meet you at two, okay?"

The dragon eagerly nodded. "Got it."

"Good. I'll see you then." Jacob smiled and headed for the door. "And Penelope..."

"Yes?"

"Be a good girl and don't let Father know I came in here."

"Yup!" The dragon nodded once more. "No slip ups this time, I promise ."

Jacob smiled and gave his dragon an affectionate snout rub. "Nel, not having you around for days made me realized how much I missed spending time with you."

"Including the times when we mate?" she innocently asked.

"Yeah..." Jacob gulped, feeling ashamed to admit it. "Including the times when we mate. Alright, I have to go."

Jacob smiled as he closed the door. He hadn't known what had come over him, deciding to skip his classes like that. All he knew was that seeing his dragon had become the most important thing on his list. It was almost as if....

As if...

Jacob stopped in his tracks, half way to the house. No. It couldn't be.

Penelope was a dragon. It didn't seem possible! They were just friends, right? Well, friends with benefits?

No. There was no point in denying it. Jacob closed his eyes and sighed.

He was starting to have feelings for the dragon.

"All the sex we've had is getting to my head," he muttered.

--=-=--

The time was 2:15 PM. Jacob was downtown.

Rows of wooden stalls lined the streets. Bushels of freshly-picked apples being pitched by a gangly farmer and his son. Hunky slabs of beef just recently cut hung on meat hooks next to a massive, bearded butcher. Cages full of chickens. Casks of grains and nuts to be sold by the ounce. On the side walk, a shady vendor selling crystal necklaces with purported health benefits. People were everywhere: shopping, chatting, and browsing the goods on display. A mother running after her hyperactive child. A blind man with a cane, holding out a cup. Above the humble tents, stalls, and shops proudly stood a large Victorian clock tower, which dominated the view from afar. All around was the sound of shouting voices, the droning murmur of a hundred different conversations at once.

Such was the scene of the market district.

Weaving between the passersby was a young man and a curious lavender-hued dragon. Penelope was clad in her flight vest, backpack, and a pair of brass flying goggles resting on her forehead. She was chatting incessantly. The dragon had apologized for her slip-up about a hundred times already, much to Jacob's amusement.

"Penelope, it's okay..." Jacob began with a slightly flustered sigh. "To be honest it's kind of a relief not having to worry about my parents knowing." As shocking as the incident four days ago was, Jacob felt that he had been taking the event remarkably well. It certainly helped that much of his thoughts were too focused on the future to worry about the past.

"I've never been in this part of town before..." Penelope looked around in wonder at the various vendors selling their wares. "There's so much food! Let's buy some! Please, Jake? Please?"

Jacob pursed his lips. "Alright, I'll get you a snack. But only if you're good."

The dragon stopped in her tracks in the middle of the street, sat down on her haunches, and brought a forepaw up to her chest. "I promise I'll be good forever and ever! Now pleeeease?"

Jacob couldn't help but chuckle.

--=-=--

Five minutes later, and Jacob found himself sitting on the rim of the lavish fountain in the center of the pavilion. The fountain bore the image of a stone-hewn mermaid lying on a reef, pouring a constant trickle of water out from her outstretched hands. Jacob was in the middle of chewing on a rather delicious piece of goose jerky from the butchery stall. Penelope had long finished her strip and was staring intently on what Jacob still had in his hands.

"...Yes, I'm going to finish this." Jacob glared at her as he smacked his lips and chewed off another chunk.

Penelope hung her head, drooping her ears limply. "No fair. You have some and I don't..."

"You don't have any because you scarfed it all down as soon as I handed it to you!" he laughed.

The dragon frowned and turned away as Jacob finished off his piece, taking time to lick his fingers clean.

"Okay, so let's talk about my plan. Are you listening?" Jacob asked between chews.

The dragon nodded.

"So here's the deal. Father is afraid of you and me doing..."Jacob faltered on the words. "Well..." he gesticulated awkwardly. "You know. But he needs you for his work, right? He needs you for that... that special job of yours. So, he's also afraid of you leaving the mansion, finding a mate, and living somewhere else."

Penelope's eyes opened wide. "But Jake, I would never do that! I want to be here, with you! Especially..." the dragon began to churr as she rubbed her snout against him. "Since you're my mate now."

"Woah woah woah.... Not in public, Nel!" Jacob swallowed down his anxiety as he gently pushed the dragon away.

Penelope pouted. "Sorry," she whispered.

Jacob swallowed thickly. "It's fine. Listen, now: Father doesn't want you going out and falling for another dragon. So we're going to play to that fear. Understand?"

Penelope nodded with a look of abject confusion on her face. "Yes... I mean, no."

Jacob licked the last bit of meat spice off his lips. "Alright, so here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna go out and find you a guy dragon. You pretend to fall in love with him, threaten to leave and be with him. This will get Father really, really angry."

Penelope reared her head back and flared her nostrils, as if smelling something unpleasant. "But I don't want to get Dessie angry! He does mean things to me when he's angry..."

Jacob swallowed thickly. "We may have to risk it for your sake."

"Why?"

Jacob smiled. "Because once he sees he's in danger of losing you, he'll want to prevent that. And sooner or later he will realize that the only way to get to you is... well, through me."

Penelope cocked her head. "How does this help?"

"Because..." Jacob began with a smug look on his face. "I'll tell him simply that you're seeing another dragon you've met in the city because you can't see me anymore. He's gonna have to choose between letting you out for good, or losing you forever."

Penelope let out a gasp. "That... that makes sense!"

Jacob nodded. "Yes it does. And we're going to have to act on this as soon as possible for it to work, do you got it?"

"Yes." Penelope nodded.

"Great. So let's go find us a guy dragon to help us pull this off!"

"Wait, what?" Penelope gawked. "A... another dragon?"

"Well, yeah..." Jacob began. "That's why we're here in the city. We need to find one that'll be willing to play along... for a small price." Jacob held up a small coin purse and shook it, causing the tinkling of small coins to sound out.

"Is that gold?" Penelope asked, leaning in eagerly. "Is it?" Her snout made a bee-line for the pouch, nudging it with her nose.

"Ah-ah" Jacob chided, pulling the bag away from her. Penelope pouted. "It's not for you. It's for the lucky guy dragon that'll agree to help us."

"Oh..." Penelope cast her gaze upon the ground, disappointed.

Jacob laughed and gave his dragon a rough pat on the head. "You're funny, Nel... "

--=-=--

"Hey... look at that."

Moving from stall to stall was a mail courier. These couriers, which were usually wild-born and feral dragons looking for work, acted as airborne parcel delivery across difficult-to-navigate areas such as crowded cities, where a man on horseback would be slower. While many ferals refused to interact with human society, preferring to live off the land, some of the more practical or desperate ones would take a job in return for a stable to call home and some money for food. It was hard to believe, Jacob thought, that in this day and age even dragons needed coin sometimes.

The courier in question was mossy green in color and even from a distance Jacob could tell he dwarfed Penelope in size.

Jacob nudged his dragon. "Now's your chance, Nel. Go up and talk to him."

Penelope whirled around with a look of shock. "What? No! I can't! I'm too scared."

"You gotta do it, Nel," Jacob reassured her. "Remember the plan?"

The dragon winced. "You go talk to him."

Jacob laughed. "Why are you so reluctant? There's nothing to be scared about."

The dragon began to hyperventilate. "Because... he... he's so..."

Jacob cradled the dragon's head in his hands. "Listen, Nel... take a deep breath with me... good. Now listen. I know you can do it. I know you're scared to talk to other dragons, but I know you can do it. Just be calm, walk up, and say hi. Okay? That's all I want you to do."

"No!" the dragon wriggled out of his grip turned around, attempting to back up.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Jacob lowered his shoulder into the dragon's hindquarters and pushed as hard as he could, forcing the dragon forward a few inches on every nudge. "You're... going... to... talk... to... him!" he grunted.

"Okay, okay!" she whimpered. Tucking her tail down and lowering her neck meekly, Penelope pulled away from her keeper and tip-toed up behind the mail courier as he was dropping off a series of packages to a shop owner on the side of the street.

The male dragon at first pretended to not notice the lavender-colored female staring at him, but after a few moments he abruptly turned and gave an annoyed huff. He stared back with a narrow gaze and addressed her with a strange collection of grumbling and growl-like noises. Neither Penelope nor Jacob understood the sounds, though the latter recognized it as the dragon's native language. It had some weird name he couldn't remember. Penelope, having been born in captivity, had never learned it. The mesmerized female merely stared back with eyes the size of dinner plates. His sheer sized dwarfed Penelope's lithe body.

The mossy green courier repeated his words, but seeing no response, he gave a tiny frown and tried again in broken, stiff Common tongue.

"Human speak?"

Penelope nodded vigorously. Her wide-open eyes didn't blink once.

"A domesticate, you are?"

Silently, Penelope slowly nodded again. Still flabbergasted, her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

The male dragon gave a tiny snort of annoyance and momentarily looked away. "Do you need help, domesticate?" he spoke gruffly.

"I... um..." the lavender-hued dragon stumbled over her words. "No," she meekly replied.

The courier jerked his head in mild confusion. "What do you want? You... in the city, lost?"

"No! I... I'm with him." Penelope, still holding her awe-struck expression, pointed behind herself with the thumb claw on her left wing. She missed where Jacob was standing, aiming far to the left to a discarded barrel on the end of the street. Jacob awkwardly side-stepped into the rough direction of Penelope's pointing and cordially waved.

"Penelope! Say hi!" Jacob shouted encouragingly.

Her keeper's voice snapped the dragon out of her spell, and she flinched and looked back for a moment. Jacob saw the face of a dragon both terrified and in awe of what was in front of her.

"Um..." Penelope sheepishly poked at the ground with her toe claws. "Hi."

The mail courier blinked. "Hello..."

The two stared at each other for a moment, each not knowing what to say.

"Oh, cripes... " Jacob put his head in his hands. This wasn't going well.

Jacob approached the dragon, deciding intervention was needed. "Hello there," he cordially nodded. Immediately the green dragon flinched and reared back a little, letting out an unpleasant snort of surprise. Jacob quickly saw in the dragon's face that he did not like being approached by unfamiliar humans.

"What do you want?" the dragon grumbled.

Jacob put on a big smile for the dragon. "I was wondering if you would be up for a little job me and this dragon need you to do. You'll be paid, of course." Jacob took out the small leather pouch and showed the dragon the coins inside.

The mossy green dragon stepped backwards and gave another snort. "No. No. Do not want." He began to turn away.

"W-wait!" Jacob stammered.

"No. No. I must... work," the dragon grumbled awkwardly. Before Jacob could say anything else, the mail courier walked away, threading himself among the throngs of shoppers in the crowded streets.

"Man, what's wrong with him?" Jacob paced. "You'd think some coin would - hey Penelope, you okay?"

Jacob's dragon was staring into the crowd, her head low and her eyes fixated on the dragon walking out of sight. She gulped.

"Did you see him?" she whispered.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "It was kind of hard not to... "

"He's so... so... "

Jacob expected 'scary', or 'frightening', or even just 'big' ... but what he heard instead made him do a double take.

"He's so hot."

"Oh, cripes..." Jacob shook his head. He took a step back, where he suddenly bumped into someone. "Excuse me."

"No, my fault. I'm terribly sorry."

From the sound of it, the words came from something distinctly non-human. Jacob turned, revealing the owner of the voice to be a aquamarine dragon a little bigger than Penelope, with a tan underbelly and a pair of large fins gracing his jawline. He was wearing an open leather satchel around his neck that contained various foodstuffs that had no doubt been purchased from the markets.

"No it's fine, really-hey! You speak really good Common!" Jacob remarked.

"Oh! Oh, well, yes I do." The dragon cordially bowed his head. "Thank you for noticing! My Common speak is something I like to pride myself on. Spent a lot of time around Jenivive, my caretaker, you see. And she teaches me lots of things every day, like -"

"Pardon me, but what's your name?"

"Jasper! It's Jasper. A fine name, if I must say." The dragon furrowed his brow. "Hmm, not quite sure who gave it to me, now that I think about it. Could have been my previous owner. You see, I don't really have an owner at present. But I am up for sale!" he chuckled. "Jenivive, my caretaker, works at the city dragon stables not too far away, and it's where I stay. Currently, I'm out looking for some -"

"Yes, yes, that's great," Jacob interjected , feeling flustered. "I have a question. I'm looking for a dragon that would be willing to take an acting job of sorts. Would you be up for that? You'll be paid."

"Me? Oh, no no no ." The dragon shook his head. "I couldn't possibly accept unless Jenivive says yes first. But I do know where you could find a lot of other dragons to ask."

Jacob coked his head, wondering if there was some place dragons meet in the city. "Where?"

Jasper smiled and fanned out his cheek fins. "Why, the city's dragon stables, of course! They'll let you in if you were to accompany me."

Jacob opened his eyes wide. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Oh, sure. I'll be headed back there in a few minutes. It'd be of no burden to me to have you join."

Jacob grinned. "That's fantastic. Thank you! But ah - hold on, I need to go get my dragon first."

"Oh!" Jasper remarked with curiosity. He nodded. "Very well, then. I'll wait."

"Great! Thanks!" Jacob replied, turning away.

It hadn't taken long for his dragon to become distracted. He found Penelope not twenty feet away, gazing lustfully at some rather tantalizing salmon on display at a fisherman's stall.

"Nel, let's go," Jacob encouraged, tugging on her flight vest. Penelope blinked.

"But-" she stammered as she was reluctantly pulled away.

"I found someone who'll take us to the city dragon stables."

"What?" Penelope shrieked, turning to gawk at him in horror.

"What's wrong?" Jacob stared at her. It was immediately clear from the look on her face that the dragon had no intention of going.

"I don't like that place... big, scary dragons live there." The dragon miserably pouted.

"Nel!" Jacob waved his hands out. "Cut this nonsense out. You're a dragon, too! For cripes sake, come on, you need to get over this," he nagged , pulling roughly on the dragon's flight vest.

Penelope whimpered. "Where... who is taking us?"

"That dragon over there." Jacob pointed across the street.

Immediately, Penelope put her paws out and ground to a halt. She gasped. "Jasper!"

The blue-green dragon turned Jacob's way. "Oh, hello, Penelope." He smiled.

--=-=--

TO BE CONTINUED

--=-=--

~There. I finally did it. I made a clean chapter. Now thousands of boners have become suddenly very sad. Don't try and guilt me. I already feel bad over it. (still marked adult to to the heavy referencing of the sexings)

~Next chapter will have t3h pr0nz in it, and will be posted tomorrow when I finish putting the polish on it fixing all the fucked up formatting from when it was pasted into MSword.