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Cladden looked at Pax with his jaw hanging open. He snapped it shut and shook his head. "He said all of that?" "I assure you that I was every bit as surprised," Pax said. Cladden looked down. "He has grown up suddenly, it would seem." "I still caution you on expecting mature behavior from him all the time," Sulvius said. "Ryan is very, very intelligent as I told you, but in many ways he still immature. I am not sure what caused this outburst, or perhaps better to say this force of will, but I would not expect it at all times." "You did not ask him?" Sulvius shook his head. "No, I spent the rest of the time trying to convince Mikail that this was not some sort of set up and that all we really wanted to do was introduce the prince." "And his response?" Sulvius laughed quietly. "Oh, he was absolutely furious. He knew that he stepped in it, so to speak, and that he was utterly in the wrong. The young prince cornered him neat as you please and did not even allow him to apologize or bluster his way out of it, and you well know how Mikail loves to fuss at people and bluster." Sulvius shrugged. "He is still angry, but he will get over it." Cladden sighed. "And you, Pax?" "I stayed with Sulvius." "So we have no idea where Ryan went off to?" Sulvius snorted. "Oh, I have some idea. Look for Tanner Wilberforce, I am certain that Ryan is nearby." Cladden picked up the phone. "Yes, locate Tanner Wilberforce and tell me his location..."

Ryan was actually alone in the garden, looking at the waterfall, wondering just what had gotten into him. It had been something Irian had said, something that Trisk had told him, that it was his birthright and there was no shame in it. He was a dragon and that alone earned him respect. Then Mikail trying to say that because he was raised by humans, because he had a human name, that he was somehow less a dragon for it! Even little Rose knew better than that! She said that his name was interesting and the rest of the class certainly didn't seem to mind that he had been raised by humans. Trisk even said that it made had given him a unique perspective. He briefly wondered if it had occurred to Mikail that his name was also nearly human, in fact could be considered the Russian version of Michael. He snorted at the thought. And so he spoke. It had just welled up within him.The injustice of it, the fact that he had been singled out. Then learning that he was the prince changed things? No. That, if anything, made it that much worse. Who his parents were shouldn't have mattered in the slightest;he was a dragon. It didn't matter his breed, he was a dragon! He sighed. Or so he felt, most days. There were those times when he really wondered, knowing so little about dragonkind, who he was, and what his position should really be. Was he really a dragon or a human outsider that happened to have a dragon form? He trilled to himself and forced his mind away from those thoughts. Or tried to. Well, he thought, at least I surprised them. And his parents and Tanner loved him, that was something else he was certain of, or at least his mother and Tanner. Oh stop it, he chided himself, your father loves you and you know it! Even if he did have trouble expressing it sometimes. Father just wanted to protect him, that was all. And, after this, he could see why. Humans surely would have ripped him apart in the same situation. His father was worried that dragons would have done the same and now it appeared that he may have been right, that even the good dragons could have issues with him. He should have figured that it wouldn't go so very easily. He watched the waterfall tumble down over the rocks and found himself wondering where Kith was, what she was doing, what she really thought about him and what had happened. For that matter, he wasn't even really sure of what he himself thought of the issue. It troubled him sometimes, when those thoughts would come up all unbidden. Especially when he woke in the middle of the night feeling aroused, and those thoughts, the whole scene, played over and over again in his mind. He flushed and pushed those thoughts away. He would never see her again; he was pretty sure of that. He looked around, wondering why nobody had come to find him. It was very rare that he would be left alone for so very long and, honestly, it was starting to make him a little nervous. He snorted. Usually it was frustrating that everyone wanted to know where he was, what he was doing, how he was feeling, and so on. Now that nobody was asking he was worried. Perhaps he should go back to the safe house. He climbed off the rock, rustling his wings into a more comfortable position and turned to find Trisk in her small form sitting a little behind the rock he had been perched on, just watching him. He chirped in alarm, startled, then settled. "Sorry, my prince. Or would you rather me call you Ryan?" she asked in her warm voice. "It is of no matter." She laughed. "As you say, Ryan. I was just outside taking some air and saw you sitting. It looked as if you were deep in thought so I left you to it." "I was thinking," Ryan admitted and looked back at the waterfall. He heard Trisk stand and pad over to him and she nuzzle him carefully. He looked over his shoulder at her. "I am certain you have heard." "Heard what, Ryan?" "About Mikail." "I knew they wished for you to meet him. What happened?" Ryan shrugged and explained what had gone on. Trisk listened, head docked, and when he was finished she bowed to him very low, and held it for what seemed a long time to him. He looked down at her in dismay. She finally lifted her head and smiled at him. "I am so very proud of you, my prince." Ryan blinked and drew his head back. "Why?" She laughed softly. "Oh my wonderful little dragon! You have no idea what you did, do you? You stood up for human rights, dragon rights, and let it be known that you would not allow yourself to be manipulated or allow any dragon, regardless of breed or how they were raised, be discriminated against as the prince. It was absolutely wonderful and you carried it off so much more perfectly than anyone else could have done." She smiled and nuzzled him, causing him to duck in embarrassment and confusion. "And the most wonderful thing is that you did not mean to do it; you were just being yourself and not putting on some front. That means a great deal to me and it will to others as well." "As you say," Ryan muttered, embarrassed. She laughed again. "You are so very fine, Ryan. You are doing very, very well with all that is being required of and asked of you." He looked at her, wondering if there was any pity there, but she simply smiled at him. "Thank you, Lady." "You are most welcome, my prince." Ryan's ears swiveled as he heard someone running though the maze, human by the sound of it. Tanner burst out of the hedge maze, looking around worriedly. He caught sight of Trisk and Ryan and breathed a sigh of relief. "Ryan! There you are! They called me and wondered if you were with me, but I said no. Sulvius said you had not been seen for a little while and...I worried," he said, finishing with a blush. "I am well, Tanner," Ryan said, going to him. Ryan marked him along his leg and looked up at him. Tanner smiled down at the young dragon. "So how did it go?" Ryan told him and Tanner knelt down and place his arms around Ryan's neck, hugging him very close. He drew back and Ryan whined at the sight of tears in Tanner's eyes. "There's my dragon," Tanner said very softly and Ryan nuzzled him. Neither noticed Trisk looking on with a look of surprise and concern.

"He hired a human hacker?" Skerios said, looking surprised. "Yes," Alexis said, her tail swishing from side to side. "That fool!" Skerios hissed. "Human hackers are rarely good enough to penetrate draconic systems undetected." Alexis snorted. "Overconfidence will get you killed." "Dragons live far longer than humans, my dear," he said sweetly. "They can gain far, far more experience than the greatest human hacker. There are dragons still living that have been working with computers since they were first created and even before humans were aware of them, to say nothing of draconic intelligence being far superior to human." Alexis glared. "I understand." "I am so very glad that you do," Skerios grumbled. "Find out more." "I have gone over ever file and piece of information that I can find!" "Then use other ways." "I do not understand." He lowered his head. "I suggest you figure it out. Flirt, threaten, or lift that nice little tail of yours to any dragon who may know something. I want to know what he is planning, who he is using, and what his next move is going to be." She stiffened. "I am nobodies whore!" He laughed. "No, whores have some pretense at honor; you have none. Now go!" She looked at him murderously then turned on her heel, storming off to his great amusement.

"Just face up to it, Mikail: you made an ass of yourself," Irian said bluntly. The ancient dragon growled. "I would like to dispute that, but I suppose that I cannot." "You need to talk to him again." "I will not apologize!" Mikail snarled. Irian sighed. "At the very least you need to take a different approach with him. You have seen that he is not going to budge on the idea of humans, being raised by them, or anything like. I should think that you would never expect him to." The ancient dragon sighed again. "I suppose that you are right." "Of course I am. Just take it easy with him, apologize if you must, and talk to him as if he were raised by dragons..." Irian trailed off. "Actually, I cannot say that is a good idea either. He is ignorant in many ways of our customs and habits. Sometimes his instincts take him by surprise, so you are going to have to be cautious with him." Mikail hissed. "Great, a prince that we have to step around." "And just what would you have him do?" He grunted. "I suppose there is nothing that can be done." "Sure. Find his parents." "They are dead." Irian shook his head. "You do not know that." "I cannot see them staying away in a case like this, at a time like this. I may not have always agreed with them, but they would never have cowered away." "True enough." The huge brown dragon's tail flicked back and forth for a moment. "Schedule another meeting with the young upstart." "Upstart?" Mikail snorted. "He has the guts for it." "He does at that. He does at that," Irian said, smiling.

"Again?" "I am afraid so, Ryan," Pax said. He sighed. "And what make you think that this time will come out any different from the last?" "Irian spoke with him." "And told him to coddle me?" Ryan said in a dangerous tone. Pax batted him with his wings and Ryan started in surprise. "Stop that! You know better than that! He told him that he was being foolish and to stop treating you like you were some sort of pariah." "Sorry, Pax." Pax crooned. "It is alright, Ryan. You just need to get used to the idea that not everyone is out to get you." "It is hard," Ryan said quietly and Pax crooned again. "I know my friend; I know. But you are doing so very well." "Thank you, Pax." The tiny dragon rubbed his head along Ryan's cheek. "Now, let us go over etiquette once again." Ryan sighed and dutifully started to repeat his lessons.

"Trisk!" Beth said in surprise as she opened the door, not expecting Ryan's teacher to show up. "Might I come in?" she asked. "Of course," Beth said, stepping back. The dragoness ducked her head as she stepped through the door way, though there was no real reason to. Beth sat down on the couch next to Allen, unsure of what to offer Trisk. The dragoness simply sat down on the floor, crossing her legs." "I would offer you a seat but.." Trisk smiled. "I understand. This room was built for humans, not dragons." "Why don't you take your human form?" Allen asked. She shook her head. "I have never been comfortable with it, I fear. I only take it if there really is no other choice in the matter." Allen looked over at Beth who simply shrugged. "So what can I help you with, Trisk, or is this just a social visit?" "Oh, a little of both, but more of the former I fear," Trisk said with al little laugh. "I have not really gotten to know either of you and I do make it a point to get to know the parents of my students. I suppose the events of the last few weeks have had some impact on that, however." Allen snorted. "Events. More long a long series of train wrecks." Trisk laughed, an odd sound coming from deep in her throat. "I could certainly agree with you there." "So what would you like to know? I assume this is about Ryan," Beth said. Trisk nodded. "Well, more about Tanner than Ryan, really." Both humans stiffened. "What about him?" Trisk cocked her head, catching their reaction. "How long has Ryan known him?" "Since we were on vacation a few months ago. Tanner was the first human besides us to know what Ryan is. We count ourselves fortunate that Tanner is a dragon friend." Trisk nodded. "So very true, and a very highly regarded one at that. Tanner has a wonderful reputation in England." "You've checked up on him then?" Allen asked. Trisk's ears came down slightly, a gesture Beth knew meant the dragoness was somewhat embarrassed. "Yes, I did some looking." "Why?" Allen asked flatly. "Again, I try to become familiar with my students parents and, in this case, as Tanner is also so very close to the boy, I looked into him as well." Allen nearly said something but Beth laid a hand on his leg. "He is close to Ryan, yes, but why are you concerned?" Trisk shook her head. "Not really concerned, per se, I just wished to know Tanner's background. What has he told you?" "His grandfather rescued some dragon and his family has been dragon friends ever since." "Very true, but it was not just any dragon that his grandfather rescued. Norian is a conclave member. The conclave is like a miniature council of sorts in the UK, consisting of dragons from all of the isles and some of Europe as well. Norian is very, very highly respected there and is a very wise dragon. Tanner's family is very important as a result. Tanner himself was educated by dragons as well as attending Cambridge and Oxford universities. He holds a doctorate in education, as well as field studies, biology and botany from what I understand. He is a very, very intelligent man." Allen looked as if he wanted to say something but finally sighed. "So he's a good person?" "Oh yes, very much so," Trisk said. "He had done a great deal of good for dragonkind." "So why are you asking about him and Ryan?" Beth wondered. Trisk lowered her head and was silent for awhile, making both humans nervous. She finally spoke. "How would you characterize their relationship?" Beth blinked. "Very close friends." Allen grunted. "It's more than that. I'm not certain what's going on there but I don't like it." "Allen-" Beth started. "No, Beth! You say it's one thing and I say that Tanner has him under some sort of...compulsion! I don't know." Allen shook his head. "You were the one who said Ryan would turn on me if I tried to send Tanner away. They're more than friends." Beth struggled for a moment, then sighed. "I agree, though I don't think Tanner would hurt Ryan." "No, no I seriously doubt that he would," Trisk said softly. "Allen, Tanner does not have Ryan under and sort of compulsion. You cannot really get a dragon to do anything that the dragon does not wish to do in the first place, if you are human. I would say that they share a very close friendship but, as I said, Tanner means the boy no harm at all." "But you're asking for a reason," Allen said abruptly. Trisk hesitated. "Well, yes, but it is nothing to be concerned about." "He's my son blast you! What the hell is going on?" Trisk crooned, holding up a hand. "Easy. I promise you that it is nothing bad and that the only real concern is that...well...that he was trying to please Tanner to the point..." she shrugged. "It is not so very easy to describe to a human." "Damn it you're not telling the truth!" Trisk sighed. "Dragons cannot always describe things to humans, and there are other things that you will have to accept as dragon only, no matter how high up you are in terms of being a human in dragon society." Allen started to say something but Beth interrupted. "Trisk, do you promise us that nothing bad is going on and that nothing is going to happen to our son?" "Yes, absolutely. If there were any danger I would have acted." "Then that's fine. But please, try to figure out some way of explaining it to us. It's very worrisome tho to know about something that may effect Ryan." Trisk crooned again. "I promise." "That's all we can ask." The dragoness smiled and stood up, stretching. "Has Ryan...ever disobeyed you?" Beth laughed. "Of course he has! He's a child!" Trisk snorted. "True, and dragon children are not always so very obedient. What I mean was there times when Ryan seemed to favor Tanner's advice over your own?" Beth frowned. "Perhaps." "You're hiding something!" Allen said. "No, I am just making sure that Ryan knows how to behave." Beth laughed. "I can believe that!" Trisk nodded. "Very good. I will leave you to your evening."

Mikail stared at Ryan who stared right back at him. No one spoke. "Well, boy?" Mikail finally said. "Are you trying to provoke me?" "Not especially." "Then refer to me as Ryan, My Prince, or He Who Must Be Obeyed, but not boy." "Obeyed?" "Yes, obeyed." Mikail snorted. "You think you rule?" "No, but it sounded good." Mikail stared again and sighed. "Aright. Alright, Ryan. What do you wish of me?" Ryan snorted softly. "To treat me like a dragon and not some outcast." "I am sorry that I dod not care so very much for humans." Ryan cocked his head. "Why?" Mikail growled quietly. "It is none of your concern, my prince." Ryan ducked his head. "Sorry." Mikail shook his head. "It is of no matter. So, tell me how you were found and why your parents hid you in the first place." Ryan relayed the story to him and Mikail grunted. "I have not always agreed with your father but in general his judgement is very sound." "I wish that I knew him." Mikail visibly softened. "I can understand your feelings, Ryan." He looked at Pax who lifted his wings slightly. "You wish for my support on the council?" Ryan glanced at Pax who nodded. "Yes." "Why? What are you going to try to do?" "Ah," Ryan trailed off. "They really have not told me yet." Mikail burst out laughing. "Boy, if you let others direct you you are going to find yourself owing so many that you cannot make any choices at all without offending someone. Better to make your own mind and way." "I understand that, but I am not so very familiar with draconic politics." "Neither I am, but I know what is right and wrong." Ryan looked confused. "As do I!" "Live by it, boy. You will find life much easier on you, or at least your sleep. You may make others very angry but at least you will be able to sleep at night." Ryan sighed. "But what is good for me may not be so for the council. It may not be so for all dragons." Mikail eyed him. "Very good boy, very good indeed. Even still, live by what you know to be right, no matter how unpopular." He sighed and stretched, groaning hugely. "I am too blasted old for this!" he groused. Ryan nearly asked him how old he was before he remembered that he was not to. "So what would you have me do?" "Denounce the evil ones, ban them, have them chased down an executed and put this whole thing to rest." "Ah. That sounds harsh." "Yes, but it would save time." "I do not think I could get away with it." The ancient dragon snorted. "No, you could not. My advice is for you to take a strong dragon centered approach and leave the humans to themselves, which is mostly how we have been doing things. You big fight is going to be agains those who wish to take more and restore some of the freedoms we have lost in the last few centuries due to humankind. There is really nothing for it; we cannot undo human expansion without killing them and no matter how much I may dislike humans, I cannot countenance that." "What about the moderates?" Pax asked. Mikail shrugged. "Stay out of human government and affairs. It will only end in trouble." Ryan cocked his head. "Did not Cladden say that dragons keep tabs on humans have have people placed in many governments?" "We do, Ryan." "Stupid mistake. Sooner or later someone with less sense is going to start playing and we will either be found out or start a major war that we cannot control." "But if humans start a world war and use nuclear weapons..." Pax said. He shook his head. "The we go underground." "Mikail, that will not work." "Humans are not that self destructive as I have warned everyone for years. Leave them be, just be ready." "As being raised by humans I can assure you that they most assuredly are that self destructive," Ryan said. "But...I can see both sides." Mikail grunted. "And there you have it. Which do you choose?" "And to what extent?" Pax asked. "Ah," Ryan said. "And other issues. Land grants, breeds, census, education, technology." Pax shrugged. "Ah..." Ryan said. "But for now worry about what the evil ones and them wishing to take over the council and probably bring down most human governments, using them for slaves and puppets," Mikail said. "The other issues are important and some tie in," Pax reminded him. "Can someone stop the world for a moment? I would like to get off," Ryan said plaintively.