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John's early morning dreams were lascivious and lewd. Slippery wet sensations filled his mind, so tangible they felt real. Lily was atop him writhing and bucking, her loins on his the only sound in the room. Muffled slurping sounds tugged at his mind and pulled him slowly awake, even as the sensations seemed to grow stronger. Yanked through that strange and ephemeral barrier between dream and reality, John found himself blinking in the dim interior of their tent. Before his mind had even started to come to terms with the denial of his dream, a soft, sweltering grip around his maleness drew a ragged moan from his throat.

He was on his back staring at the fading moonlight illuminating the canvas walls while the sound of messy slurping and smacking rang faintly in the night. Lily was sprawled out on her side with her back to him and her chest draped over his lower stomach. Her hands rested on his thighs, spreading his legs apart for access. He watched her neck and head bob and twist as she nursed on him. He couldn't tell how long the dragoness had been suckling on him, but it had to have been a while given how close to orgasm he felt.

He was debating speaking when she slowly pushed her face down into his groin. His tip slid wetly across her tongue, deeper into her muzzle, until the clenching muscles of her throat slowly enveloped his crown. Swallowing around his girth until her lips kissed his scales; she twisted her tongue around his spire until it slid past her lips and into the tight enclosure of his vent.

"Lily!" John gasped aloud, unable to hold his quiet any longer. Her shoulders shook in laughter, the sound coming out wet and muffled around his throbbing shaft. Unlike him, she had not altered her tongue; the slim and serpentine organ probed easily into his body. It delivered pinpoints of pleasure as she began to gulp around his cock, the powerful suction and rippling of her muscles milking him mercilessly.

"Uh! Lily," He panted, his tail slapping the cushions in warning, "I'm going to cum, you'll be stuck again!"

She pulled her tongue back into her mouth and lifted her just enough to make him breath in relief, but it proved to be short lived. Just as his body was drawing back from the edge, the tip of her tongue flicked over opening of his urethra once before easing in. Silky smooth and sinuous, it slid effortlessly down the length of John's shaft so that it bulged slightly from the inside. Again she pushed her face into his lap and so that she was swallowing around him. Tasting him inside and out, her tongue tickled deeper and deeper inside of him while the grip of her throat pulled and pulsed around his glans.

John's climax hit like a tidal wave. His folded flare opened up and engorged somewhere behind Lily's jaw, locking them together with her head in his crotch. Hot waves of cum churned up his length, slowed by Lily's tongue so that it oozed in steady stream directly into her throat. She drank eagerly from him, and John could only quiver and watch with wide eyes as her neck rippled again and again with loads of his swallowed seed. The sight only drove him on higher. When his output had eased off to a meager trickle she gave an experimental tug. Sure enough, the flare of his tip was wedged well into her neck, the outline of it vaguely visible bulging in her throat.

"Told you." John slurred in satisfaction as his climactic spasms weakened. Lily gave a strained purr of contentment. The waves of orgasm didn't disguise her weaving a spell. A tingle of cold pressure gripped John in his core, making his stomach clench in an unexpected way. Much to his surprise, even as Lily continued to tease him with her mouth, his flared tip collapsed back down. She was able to free herself, pulling her tongue out of his shaft with a nearly comical slurp.

"I didn't know you could do that." John said, mystified.

Lily turned her head to face him, "A master never stops learning."

The gravitas of her statement was completely lost on John though, as the state of her face sent him into barely restrained laughter. Small streamers of thick white cream clung to the bottom of her jaw and dribbled from her nostrils. Somehow a spatter of it had ended up along the bridge of her snout between her eyes.

"Oh heavens Lily, your face!"

She rolled her eyes, "You can sit there and laugh, or you can help clean me up so we can move on to the next part.

"You're not satiated yet?" He already knew the answer. Lily had a libido unlike anything John had seen or heard of. The first year of their marriage had been filled with acts so wanton and frequent they would have put a blush on the most seasoned of prostitutes

She snorted derisively. "Satisfied? If we could do this every night for a week I would barely be scratching the surface. No I'm not satisfied, and if everything worked as intended, neither are you." She placed one fingertip atop his still-rigid erection while she smiled at him, inordinately smug considering the streamers of semen spattering her face.

John growled as he realized his body was ready and roaring to go again, "Oh you conniving she-devil. Haven't you drained me of my essence enough for one night? You're going to be the death of me." John grumbled. He rolled over and leaned in to start tongue-bathing her face.

Once upon a time this act would have been unfathomable to John. Oh how his dragoness had broadened his horizons; as he cleaned the mess of his own seed from her face it hardly even registered as unusual. Lily closed her eyes and enjoyed the attention as his tongue stroked softly over her jaws. She didn't tolerate it for long though before she gently pushed him away and stood. "Good enough, who knows how long it will be before the kids come running in here."

She did an about face and looked over her shoulder to grin at him, "Ready?"

John ambled up behind her, placing one paw upon her hips, "As ready as I'm going to get."

Her breath escaped in an excited churr as he hopped up and slid atop her back, shoving her tail to the side. Gripping her tightly around the hips, John leaned forward to nibble and lick along her spine. Small probing thrusts of his hips soon brought his erection brushing against her swollen sex. He slid in a shallow depth and she flicked her tail across his flank in response, "Aim a bit higher John."

John blinked in surprise, "Are you sure?"

"Of course, why do you think I got you so well lubricated?"

"Like I said: conniving." He pulled back out and sent the pointed tip of his shaft sliding across her scales until it came to rest in the small groove of her bottom, so recently stretched by her tail. She gave a pleasant hum of consent and tried to relax under him. Despite those efforts and the thick slurry of saliva and seed coating his arousal, her rump was a very tight fit. John took an awkward, halting step forward, forcing the first inch of his tip past the tight opening into her rear. Bit by bit his loins closed with her haunches as he hobbled forward and shuffled up along her back. The crushing furnace of her insides battled against him; as John forced passage deeper into her backside the walls around him twitched and spasmed involuntarily. The friction had both dragons panting and shaking with overloaded nerves.

After a torturously long push inward he came to rest with his crotch cupped firmly over her rump, his hind legs pinned tightly to either side of hers so that his clawed toes splayed over hers.

"Ohhh," Lily moaned, "give me a moment." Compared to the girth of the shaft now buried in her gut, the slender tip of her tail hadn't been any stretch at all. Reminded of his tail, he curled it down to the slick crease of her vent and eased it in, hoping to override whatever discomfort she felt.

"Oh yes!" She breathed gratefully as her body gripped the scales of his tail. He pressed along the top of her sex, teasing the bottom of his shaft through her taut flesh, until he pressed against her favorite spot. Lily gave a yelp and nearly collapsed under him as her whole body went weak in shock, and then locked up from stimulation. John grit his teeth as her insides tightened their embrace.

"Uh, fuck," She swore softly, "John, you'd better be fast if you're doing that."

"Don't think you have to worry." With a lewd, wet sound, he pulled out a couple inches. She rippled around him as he pulled away, his textured cock tugging her insides. Accompanying the slow push back in was another firm flick against the spot with his tail. She tightened like a velvety fist against his intrusion while she flexed her back and strangled off a scream. He alternated his movements, thrusting his tail forward when his hips pulled back so that Lily was never completely empty.

The soft waves and ridges of his shaft pushed at pulled at the flesh of her rump, and the friction of his tail against those bumps seemed to drive her into uncontrollable seizures of pleasure. The squeezing undulations of her bowels had John struggling to maintain his breathing and focus; she had to get off first.

As if answering his prayers, she entered the first throes of her peak, "John! John, John oh f-fffuck me John!" She couldn't fully restrain her scream this time as she shoved her hips back desperately against him.

Hearing his name called in such an exquisitely needy way was all the encouragement he needed. Abandoning his attempts at control the ruby dragon ground himself harshly against her backside, shoving his tail mercilessly deep and bowing it up so that it shoved against her pleasure center and ground it against the bottom of his cock. A soft murmuring rumble was all that escaped him as bliss washed his mind blank. With a shudder, he came inside of her, his flared out tip making a plug as he flooded her belly with liquid heat.

Lily purred with contentment as her climax wore down, and she wiggled and flexed to tease him as he seeded her again. Depleted by previous activities, he was much less prodigious in his output, but his orgasm ground on anyhow, still managing to deposit a respectable bubble of warm seed in her gut. Lily stood beneath him and bore his weight, willing to let nature take its course this time while John licked desperately at her scales and rubbed himself against her.

A golden glow of sunlight beat against the canvas by the time he was able to extract himself. Lily clenched up as he pulled out so as not to spill his cum across their bedding. "We should wash up." She suggested.

John nodded tiredly as he hopped off her back, "The river is a few minutes away if we fly. I know a spot where we'll have some privacy."

"Good. If we hurry, we may be able to have a bit of fun there too!"

In the end they decided not to spend too much time at the river. They cleaned themselves far upstream of Pastock in the shelter of a narrow glen where the water wasn't running too fast. Upon their return to the estate they were greeted by an awakened camp and the smell of cooking. Lily's human guards and followers gave the dragons knowing smiles; the tent walls had not done very much to hide their activities. Someone had taken their silk wrappings away to be laundered, along with the messiest parts of their bedding.

The occupants of the house were up as well. Andrea was in a side yard feeding chickens, while Ban watched the birds, spellbound. As soon as Andrea saw them approaching her face lit up in a livid blush and she carefully kept her eyes directed away from them. "Good morning. You two were up early."

Gut twisting abashment seized John as her tone and her awkward smile made it clear that she had heard them. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"It's my fault really." Lily stated very matter-of-factly. She seemed unbothered entirely. "We don't get much time with the children to worry about. I'm afraid I was unable to contain myself after so long an abstinence. You understand."

"Of course." Andrea said simply, obviously hoping to drop the conversation. While the people of the Blazing Coast regarded sex and sexuality as a very natural topic of discussion, here it was something that was understood to happen, but collectively ignored otherwise. "Well, you two had better go get dressed. Some of Dad's customers are supposed to come by for brunch to review purchase obligations."

"Dressed?" Lily asked, nonplussed.

John wanted to crawl into a hole. No wonder Andrea refused to look at them. After arriving in their silk gowns she must have thought it was common for them to clothe themselves. "Um, Andy, we don't usually...that is clothing is restrictive in flight, and generally we don't..." He trailed off awkwardly. It had taken a good time for John to get used to the idea of constantly being stark-naked in public, and the conversation was reviving old insecurities.

"Oh! Dear, I can see how that would be something of a misunderstanding." Lily nodded sagely, but a glimmer of mischief lurked in her smile. Immodesty and impropriety greatly amused the dragoness. "No dear, we don't generally wear much at all. By design we're streamlined for flight so there's not much for us to hide." Her eyes twinkled, and John tried to brace himself. "Why, if you just glance at Johnathan's undercarriage, you'll see that there's nothing there at all."

Johnathan's eyes went wide with horror, quickly amplified when Andrea did glance, and then blushed even deeper as she realized what she'd done.

"Lily!"

"Yes?"

"That's my sister!"

"Exactly. It's necessary that she become comfortable around you. There's nothing for you to hide, so she should be agreeable with you being naked by default."

"Oh my time flies!" Andrea practically shouted in a panic. She upended the pail of chicken feed and fled towards the house. "Time to get breakfast made!" She nearly took the door off its hinges in her hurry to get inside.

John hung his head and groaned. Lily looked quite pleased with herself.

"Mom! Dad!" John temporarily shouldered the embarrassment to the side as Ban came charging through the cluster of feeding chickens. "We slept in a bed last night! Grandpa said it was yours!"

"Yes it was. Where is your sister?"

"She's lazy!" Ban said dismissively.

"Am not!" Laurelie shouted from the depths of the house.

"Grandpa said you wrecked the whole city!" Ban's childish voice cracked and squeaked under the strain of his excitement as he scaled his father's tail.

"Only a very small part of it."

"Were you fighting?"

"No, I was running away."

Ban continued to interrogate his father about the event, and was soon joined by his sister. Together the two of them asked ever more leading questions, until they were more or less telling John about the time he had burned down the city. It wasn't until breakfast was served that John was given any respite. Sheltered in the garden once more, his family took their meal. Andrea seemed to have recovered her composure, and Lily mercifully did not embarrass her husband in front of his parents.

Some of the food they had brought through the gate had gone into the morning's breakfast, resulting in a colorful dish of scrambled eggs with various chopped peppers and vegetables. "So, did you two make a decision on attending Hershel's party?" Albert asked as he suspiciously poked at his eggs. After a moment he took a tentative bite.

"Yes," Lily nodded and carefully lifted a heaping spoonful to her mouth. The dragons didn't typically use silverware, so she was somewhat out of practice. "I sent two of my men into the city to say we would accept his invitation. I'll have to augur the location later."

"Just be careful. Nice dinners aren't always as nice as they seem."

The week passed far quicker than John would have liked. The two dragons spent the afternoon of their second day cloistered in to tent to work a divination deep into the castle, scouting the location where the banquet would be held. Lily led the far-gazing, and easily maneuvered past the clumsy wards surrounding the castle. John simply acted as anchor and helped stabilize her. He had tried to scry with her once, and the bizarre omni-perspective and whirlwind motion had left him nauseous and too disoriented to make any sense of what he was supposed to be seeing. She spent two long hours searching the castle in her mind's eye before returning, satisfied that they would be safe.

Days blurred by, spent either exploring the area with Lily and the children, or catching up on lost years with his parents and sister. Finally the day of their feast arrived. John tried not to mope as they made preparations. Leaving their children unattended had both parents concerned, so the first order of business was to set comprehensive protective spells around the estate and set the guards to their watch. The wards she set would also prevent outside scrying. Since their arrival several mages had attempted to peek into the property, which Lily had ruthlessly cut short. While the feedback of her defenses wasn't exactly dangerous, John doubted anyone who had made the attempt would be feeling well enough to do it again anytime soon.

Albert and Victoria couldn't watch the children, as they had business outside the estate, so Johnathan asked his sister if she could keep an eye on them for the evening. After much begging and promises she finally agreed. Finally the only thing left was to get themselves ready. First up was a bath; Lily's entourage poured a steaming bath in one of the tents, and the two dragons scrubbed until John felt he would wear his scales off. Lily added a powerfully fragrant soap to the bath and the two of them lathered each other up and took a dunk.

The two dragons were just about to empty the bath water when Andrea and Maribel stumbled into the tent, each holding a squirming youngling. The two whelps were covered in a coat of flour, so that women and dragons looked as though they had been working in a bakery all day.

"No! We're ghosts! You can't put us in water or we'll die!" Laurelie squealed as though she was actually afraid for her life.

"Sorry John, we were playing hide and seek and they got into the larder."

John nodded in sympathy and hurried to clear a space in the tub. "Sorry, thanks again for agreeing to watch them tonight."

Andrea nodded, already looking frazzled.

"Ban, I swear if you bite me again I'll roll you in flour again and fry you in hot oil!" Maribel snapped.

"Banzhrakin! Did you bite Maribel?"

Both children immediately fell still and silent as Lily's outraged voice cracked in the air.

Ban looked up at his mother, his jaw trembling as he realized the trouble he was in. "Yes." He admitted in a whisper. Experience had taught him that lying to his parents would only make things worse.

"You apologize to her, and then you get in the tub." Lily commanded. "You too Laurelie."

"Sorry for biting, Maribel." Ban mumbled. Lily's stern rebuke had blown the fight right out of the children; they shuffled dejectedly over to the tub.

"We've told you about hurting people, but since you're having a hard time listening, you can spend the rest of the day alone in the room. If Maribel or your Aunt is feeling generous, they can bring you dinner later."

Ban flinched at his sentence and stared at the water.

Lily looked over at John for backup. "Ban," He said, stepping up to the side of the tub. "Look at me Ban." The young dragon looked at his father, his eyes shimmering with tears.

"Ban, has Maribel ever hurt you? Has she ever bit you or hit you?"

"No," he sniffled in response.

"So why would you bite her? She protects you and your sister, and your mother and I as well. She plays with you, and helps feed you and teach you. She's a part of the family, so why would you hurt her?"

"She tells me what to do, and I don't like it."

John sighed, "Banzhrakin, listen to me: everyone gets told what to do sometimes. Someday you're going to grow up and be on your own. Adults telling you what to do now is one way to teach you how to survive on your own later. If we never told you when to stop playing and come eat, you'd miss dinner and be hungry all night. If we never told you to take a bath, you'd be covered in dirt and no one would want to be around you because you smell so bad. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. When you and your sister are done with your bath, do what your mother said and go to the room. When we get back tonight, if you've been good, we'll see if you can come out and your grandpa can tell you stories again."

"Okay."

John leaned in and nuzzled Ban on the top of the head; to his relief his son stretch up into the touch. Lily gratefully did the same, licking the young dragon's cheek fondly, pulling Laurelie close to that she could share her attention with both children. "I'm sorry to have yelled at you Ban; I love you both, and I'll see you both in a little bit. Behave for your Aunt, she'll be in charge while we're gone."

Maribel stepped outside with the two of them. "I'm going to get ready and ride into town. I'll meet you at the palace." She bowed and turned towards the house.

"John." Lily turned to him gratefully, "Have I told you how happy I am that you're my husband?"

"Yes, but I could always stand to hear it more."

"I can't imagine raising children without you."

"Well, I intend to make sure you never have to."

Leaning on each other, the two returned to their tent to finish making ready. Lily was determined to make an impression, and had pulled out all the stops. A dozen attendants awaited them in the tent, each holding a soft cotton cloth and a jar of citrus-perfumed oil. Before John could protest he was swarmed with a half dozen men and women that began polishing his hide vigorously. Soon the whole tent took on the aroma of lemon blossoms; wherever they polished, they left his scales gleaming even in the dim light of the tent. He couldn't complain about the effect on Lily; she was a creature of living jade.

It was a strange experience having a dozen hands rubbing and groping all over his body, and John couldn't deny being more than a little uncomfortable as a man and woman ducked beneath him to do his underside, but it made the task go very quickly. Soon the same attendants were dressing them in their silk gowns. Lily had insisted on adding ornamentation to their original outfits. Each of them wore golden torques and silver bangles along their forelegs. Delicate golden filigree hung from the loops Lily wore in her ears, and she had John wrap small golden anklets above her feet. She gave John hammered gold sheaths that slipped over his horns, and a rich purple mantle that draped down his back and shoulders. Perhaps most important to John, Lily wore a locket that he had given her during their wedding.

It was very plain compared to the rest of her jewelry: a simple shield shaped pendant hanging from a delicately braided silver chain, but inside was an inscription from him:

Unbound, I fly free on wings You gave me,

But my skies are desolate without Your love

With Loyalty and Devotion, I return

To bind myself to You, ever after,

Johnathan.

She did not commonly wear it, as she feared to lose it if the fragile chain should ever break in flight. Most days is sat carefully displayed near the entrance to their home. John hadn't known she'd brought it with them, but was immediately glad to see it resting against her chest. He lifted one hand and placed it over the pendant, feeling her heart beat around it. "I didn't know you brought this."

She smiled and leaned in against him with her ear to his throat. "That's because you're my lovely, foolish husband. If I was only allowed to ever own one thing for all the rest of my days it would be this. I would never leave it behind." The humans quietly ducked out of the room into the rapidly setting sun and left the dragons to their moment.

After many long minutes of holding each other close, Lily spoke. "John, I know we don't have time right now, but tonight when we get back there is something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Of course Lily."

"We do need to leave though, or we're going to be late."

Reluctantly John nodded and pulled back. Looking over Lily again he couldn't deny that she looked like royalty now. Every inch of her was glittered and shone even in the slightest light, and her jewelry and dress accented her form and movements. Together they moved a courteous distance from the humans in the camp before springing into the air in a great buffeting gale of wing-beats. Arrangements had been made to fly directly to the Palace to save them walking miles through the maze of streets in Pastock. Ordinarily the thrill of flying had John's undivided attention, but this evening he found the miles passing below him unnoticed as his focus was on his wife.

Shimmering gold and emerald light from the setting sun reflected in her scales so that she looked radiant in the growing dusk, almost divine. The wind blew her jewelry like chimes, so that each sinuous roll of her body was accompanied by a chorus of tiny bells. Lily's attention seemed no less devoted to him. Her eyes met his gaze and raked his body alternately. The want and emotion in her eyes made it very difficult for John to finally tip his wings and descend to the palace grounds; he very much wanted to take her somewhere private and show her how beautiful she was in intimate detail. Instead the two dragons spiraled down towards the grand courtyard of the palace where their escort of dismounted lancers waited in a formation of fifty or so.

Before the two of them had touched down their officer called a salute. In unison the entire formation drew swords and brought them up vertically so that they staring past the hilts. When the officer turned to bow John was surprised to see it was the knight that had brought their invitation.

"Queen Lililethan, it would be my honor if you would allow my company to be your honor guard for the evening."

"Of course Sir Leroy, I will happily accept." Lily said neutrally, but politely.

The knight rose from his bow and turned back to the formation, his face blank. "Order! Arms!"

In another smooth motion the soldiers snapped their blades back to their sides, and then sheathed them. With a couple more shouted commands the troop of soldiers arranged themselves into two even columns to either side of Lily and Johnathan. "My lady. Sir." He nodded to John, "If you'll follow me."

Leroy led the way forward and his troops automatically fell into step with him. Flanked by soldiers on either side and assaulted by the metronome cadence of their march, John felt quite uneasy. He had never cared for fighting, nor the military in general. The nearly mindless nature of their movements and actions seemed too much to him like brainwashing. He tried to force aside his distaste as they progressed deeper into the Palace grounds. Servants and nobles alike stopped and stared in awe at the dragons and their royal escort. By the elaborate dresses and suits, some of the gawkers were surely other guests for the banquet. Finally Sir Leroy called a halt outside the large double doors of the banquet hall. A clamor of voices and music filtered through the heavy wood of the doors. Aromas hung heavy in the air: a mix of cooking meats, perfume, and wine. John twitched as he felt the itch of magic just beyond the portal.

Leroy turned to face them with another clipped bow, "My Lady, please allow me to welcome you to Pastock Palace." Two soldiers swung open the doors.

It had been a long time since John had been in the palace and he had forgotten the grandeur. The massive space inside the great hall was so large that Lily and John could have comfortably occupied it at their natural size. Currently it was filled with guests by the dozens. Long tables were arranged in two parallel rows and they were filled to capacity. Those without a place to sit stood at the sides or danced in the middle. A troupe of musicians played a slow tune that carried surprisingly well. The far end of the room was dominated by a raised platform with only a single table occupied by the Lord's Council. Glistening threads of magic hung all through the room like a diaphanous skein. The overwhelming tangle of minor spells made it impossible to dictate what was influencing what. The tangible threads of individual spells distorted and warped around the two dragons like oil over water.

It took a moment for the crowded room to notice their arrival, but slowly the noise died down. At the far end of the room John spotted Maribel, approaching through the crowd. Before she could get to them Sir Leroy stepped in behind them and cleared his throat. "On behalf of the Lord Hershel, I present Queen Lililethan, ruler of the Blazing Coast, eldest scion of the royal house Sanjeia, and her Royal Consort, Johnathan Wright-Sanjeia." Upon hearing the string of titles, all those present and seated stood politely in decorum.

Johnathan blinked in surprise; he had not heard Lililethan's family name since their wedding ceremony. Lily seemed unperturbed though. She bowed her head very slightly, and John belatedly followed suit.

"It seems they are thorough in their research." Lily whispered in an aside to John.

"Queen Lililethan," A man seated far right of the head table spoke up. His stern face barely moved as he spoke. "I am Lord Hershel Falthwain. As my guests, would you and your husband give me the pleasure of your company?"

"Of course." Guests parted for them as Lily and John moved down the length of the room. They were met halfway by Maribel, who took up a position on Lily's other side. Slowly, the conversation in the room regained momentum, though much of it now took place in whispers and mumbles. John could only guess that much of it was regarding them. At the head table Lily took a seat immediately to Hershel's left. There was a broad open space with a cushion conveniently placed for her to seat herself on. Once she had settled in John sat between her and the man to his left on another flat cushion. Only after both of his guests were seated did Hershel sit back down.

Nine men and three women occupied the head table: the members of the Lord's Council. Each of them was the chancellor of some function of the national government, be it the military, agriculture, economy, or something else. Once upon a time John would have been able to name all the members, but since his departure about half the faces had changed. Power here was a fickle thing that was fought over fiercely. Lord Hershel himself was a new face; a surprisingly young for the head of such a powerful household. He was younger than Albert. In fact he didn't look many years older than John himself. Still, the held an undeniable poise and confidence. His stern face and expression was accented by a certain gauntness of the cheeks and a startling widow's peak.

"Queen Lililethan, I understand that my cousin gave insult in delivering my invitation. I apologize for that; it was my orders he was following and I neglected to consider cultural differences. I hope you do not hold any ill will towards him." Hershel said, inclining his head slightly in apology.

Lily contemplated his words for a moment before smiling slightly. "I do not. I am pleased with your honesty; it shows some character to assume the responsibility." John was torn. It was admirable, he supposed, to take the blame for his family. It also seemed highly out of character for any of the nobility to take such a risk. It felt like a trick.

Hershel gestured over a server, "We've obviously never entertained dragons before. We were unsure of your preferences but I have made the kitchen available. Just ask and our staff will work to deliver."

Lily and John both requested roasted beef. As the first server departed to the kitchens another arrived with two broad crystal goblets, a cross between a bowl and a glass. "I had one of my artisans make these, he assured me they would be suitable for you."

"Strange. They look almost exactly like the types of glasses we had commissioned at home." John mused suspiciously.

Lily smiled and leaned in to John so that her breath tickled his ear and spoke in the draconic language. "I think it is safe to assume that the gathered Lords have at least a few people among our population. We've been doing trade with them for nearly a decade John."

He grunted, still unhappy.

"So, Queen Lililethan, how have you been enjoying our country?"

"I have enjoyed it immensely. You have lovely architecture in your cities. In fact, Johnathan and I overflew the Frostmire a couple days back. I have to compliment your craftsman. They've managed to create a wonderful blend of practicality and beauty in the homes there."

"Really?" Hershel seemed honestly surprised, "That is some hundred miles north of here."

Lily nodded, "Yes, and about four-thousand feet higher in elevation. The place has a very stark beauty to it; it must be harsh living there."

Hershel shrugged slightly, his face a mask again. "It's not so bad now that we've good roads there. So long as we keep them clear of snow we can bring in food and lumber if the winter goes too deep."

The conversation drifted on to the differences between their countries and cultures. Much to John's surprise Hershel never once tried to bring up the topic of their trade agreements. These evasions seemed to surprise and annoy the others at the table as well. Eventually a much older man seated two places to John's left could take no more. As the conversation paused for the arrival of Lily and John's meal, he leaned forward and spoke loudly.

"My apologies on interrupting My Lady, but let's not pretend we invited you here to simply make small talk. There are important matters to discuss between our two nations, matters that have gone unattended for too long now!" A small chorus of supportive murmurs came up from the rest of the occupants, save Hershel. John could swear their host gave the tiniest smile.

Lily's eyes narrowed slightly as she turned her gaze on the man. "Unattended? I have left no matters unattended I can assure you." With that said she turned back to her meal and her conversation with the Lord Hershel, effectively ignoring the man.

John was somewhat baffled, but he followed her lead and offered no help to the sputtering nobleman. The others seated at the table seemed absolutely shocked by the clipped exchange.

A woman seated across from them spoke up next, "Queen Lililethan, I'm not sure how state matters are conducted in your land, but ignoring such a question must obviously be seen as rude!"

"That's strange, because where I'm from, it's the epitome of boorishness not to introduce yourself to a foreign guest when they are invited to your table. Or when you address them. Or to assume that a trip taken to visit family is a state matter, just because you have business interests you wish to address." Lily's voice grew sharper with each accusation. "Forgive me if I am not literate enough to understand your written language, but the contents of my invitation mentioned nothing regarding official functions of the state."

After an embarrassingly long silence the first man spoke again. "You are correct My Lady, I apologize." John didn't think he looked like he was apologizing. "I am Lord Reilly Colton, and I am sorry for intruding upon the fine reception that Lord Hershel had provided this evening, but as the Chancellor of the Office of Foreign Affairs, I must beg of you to give some time to official discussion." Hershel looked positively smug. It was then that John realized what was going on. Hershel almost certainly wanted something from Lily, but he didn't bother approaching it so bluntly knowing that his peers would do it for him. So he managed to make the rest of the council lose face and still start the dialogue he was after.

Lily must have realized the same thing, John was sure, but for some reason she had decided to play along with Hershel and double down on shaming the other lords. The dragoness took a deep breath before nodding, "Very well Lord Colton, what matter do you wish to discuss?"

"For years now our markets have been flush with silk from your shores, but we've developed no formal trade agreements. In fact we've had no diplomatic contact at all."

"If you wanted diplomatic contact, why haven't you responded to any of the envoys I sent?"

"What?"

"The very first shipment I sent contained an official request for an establishment of an embassy here. For the first two years I sent an envoy every six months to deliver the same request. After five requests with no response, I stopped wasting the money."

"I only took the office three years ago!"

"Surely you must have reviewed your predecessor's affairs before assuming responsibility of the post."

"Of course, but there was no mention of your envoys!" John couldn't decide whether to believe the previous chancellor was incompetent and hadn't recorded the envoys, or if this one was incompetent and hadn't checked. Perhaps both.

"Then why not send one yourself? I know you have contacts in my land; I receive notice of foreigners in my territory constantly anymore. I know that you have regular trade established with countries in North Meridia, so surely we're not too far out of your way? Why not make the request yourself?"

Colton flushed and stammered, unable to think of any explanation. John could only assume Colton had some reason to withhold his own envoys, it seemed unlikely that he be _that_incapable.

Lily snorted. "Fine then. Let this be an official request." Like magic Maribel appeared by Lily's side with a quill and paper. "I request the privilege of an embassy here in your capital. In return, when you get around to it, I will provide an Embassy in our capital of Wake." Maribel quickly penned a more official sounding document, her quill moving and dipping in broad flourishes of practiced calligraphy, before handing it to Lily to sign. The dragoness placed her scrawl at the bottom of the letter, folded it, and handed it to Lord Colton. "Does that appease your need for state business?"

Flushed with anger and chagrin, the man nodded.

"If there's nothing else?" Nobody else at the table seemed inclined to press on.

The feast went somewhat awkwardly at that, as only a handful of the people at the table were willing to speak with the dragons. John soon wished for something more stout than Ale, as he found himself more or less ignored. While Hershel was plenty willing to be polite if John directly asked him something, it became clear that the Lord had little interest in engaging him. So the dragon found himself people-gazing, watching the dancers and the flutists, and trying to study the sprawling mass of spellwork in the air to see if there was anything interesting. After many minutes he was able to pick out spells belonging to those at the table. The lords and ladies seated around him were aglow with illusions and alterations. All except Hershel. The youngest lord was a complete dead spot in the web.

"No, Johnathan has turned out to be quite a skilled mage. He's picking up the knack rather quickly."

His name in Lily's voice drew his focus, and he looked over with mild astonishment that the topic on his mind had come up in conversation. "Hmm?"

Lily smiled at him slightly while Hershel regarded him with cool interest. "So the transmogrification was total then if he inherited your capacity for spellcraft? From what I was told he was only modestly able beforehand." John ignored the backhanded insult.

"I can assure you, his transformation was absolute." Lily confirmed.

"You say it's not reproducible?"

"No. The spell was a fortunate happenstance. I wouldn't dare risk it on another."

Hershel studied them curiously for a moment. "I have no talent myself, but I have hired a number of mages. They've told me you two are remarkably bare of any magic this evening."

"The same could be said of yourself." John spoke; he declined to mention that he and Lily were both veritably loaded with contingent spells

Hershel smiled, but didn't respond.

"Whether we were completely bare or not, your mages would not detect anything." Others at the table slowly tuned into their conversation. Of course they would want to listen for any flaw or advantage, John mused to himself.

"What most people refer to as magic, is simply anything that bends or breaks reality. Human mages have this capability, but it is not nearly through the same mechanism or to the same extent as us. Like a man in the ocean a human may dabble at the surface, but dragons swim through it and are a part of it. Your reality may be fixed, but to us it is a malleable, mutable thing. We see and experience it far differently than you."

She looked around at the mess of spells in the room. "We can see and interact with alterations others have made," she reached out with a hand, brushing against a spell there at the table, thrumming it, and the spell shimmered and changed. One of the Lords further down the table gasped as the illusion that colored his graying hair brown suddenly instead turned it a vibrant russet red. "Or we can end them." With a small slash of her talons through the air, a dozen minor spells ended at once.

The display of power was felt immediately as various cosmetics around the table failed; hair grayed, faces wrinkled, people were taller or shorter than previously. Lily smiled for just a moment and then went stiff as a rock, her eyes wide and frantic. A moment later John felt what she did. A foulness unspeakable and alien seeped into his mind and made his flesh crawl in disgust. Like a putrid filth trickling through the cracks in his mind, bringing images terrible and unbidden to the surface. It took much longer for the humans at the table to pick up on the sensation, but one by one they blanched. Soon people were scrambling away from the table, shouting an alarm. Maribel scanned and drew her sword, but it was Lily that finally gave a name to the presence.

"Demon." The dragoness snarled the word with a venom that John had never heard in her voice. Spells around them unraveled and vanished as Lily rapidly countered them. Effects all over the hall ended abruptly; the amplified music suddenly sounded muted, the cool draft in the air stopped, lighting dimmed. In a very short time the hall was in a panic.

"Stay where you are!" Hershel bellowed at the room. "Fetch Geofrey and the Magisters!" He demanded of the guards stationed near the head table.

They looked at each other for a moment in confusion before one turned and shoved his way towards the crowd to the exit. John swiveled his head, trying to find something out of the ordinary, trying to find the source of the disgust he felt. Something caught his attention. He wasn't sure whether it was a sound or a flicker of movement, or something else but he suddenly knew that the thing was on the platform with them.

John had never been a fighter. He'd never even owned a sword, let alone used one, and he had viewed violence as a clumsy tool of ignorant savages. The hatred and anger that rose in him caught him entirely off guard. Purely on instinct he bundled himself low. Like an explosion he surged towards the target of his ire. His booming roar shocked the room into silence and shook dust loose from the walls and ceiling.

"John!" Lily screamed, reaching out to pull him back too late. The blood red male crashed into something like a boulder, the impact smashed the thing clean off the platform, down onto the stone pavers of the great hall. A moment later John landed on top of it with the force of an avalanche. Flesh and bone crushed under his hands, and wet smears of vile, black, steaming ichor erupted from seeming emptiness. A moment later the illusion shielding the creature ended.

Under John's crushing grip was a gasping grotesque beast, half the size of a man. Its naked body was covered with matted greasy fur from the waist down and oily garish pink skin from the waist up. Its face was almost human, but twisted into an absurd rictus of permanent horror. A segmented scorpion tail sprung from its buttocks, nearly severed in half by John's assault. The damage he had done to the demon was immediately apparent by the crumbled and twisted limbs and the concave bloody pit where its chest once was. One hand twitched uselessly, trying to strike with the talon-like dagger it still held.

Humans scrambled away at the violent outburst, and then backed away even further when the creature was revealed, so that John was alone with a broad circle of humans around him. Recoiling at the foul odor of the thing, the dragon inhaled deeply and prepared to turn the monstrosity to ash.

"John!" Lily was suddenly by his side, her hands on his shoulders, pulling him away. Maribel stormed up, holding a wickedly crude blade of knapped flint. Lily continued to pull him away, further and further away from the demon as Maribel knelt and mercilessly drew the flint knife over its throat. It screamed gurgling obscenities as the same rancid gore bubbled from the gash, until it thrashed once more and went still.

Lily clutched John to her, patting him down as she questioned him. It took a moment for the adrenalin fog in his brain to clear enough to understand the words she was speaking. "John! Listen to me! Did it get you anywhere? Are you wounded at all?" The dragoness turned to the gathered humans, "I need alcohol, the strongest you have, and a coarse cloth!" When nobody moved she roared, "Now!" The fury and volume distorted her voice into a hurricane of sound and force. People went running, whether in fear or to obey her instructions John couldn't tell.

"Curse you all you gobsmacked herd of idiot sheep! Get out of the way or I'll have the lot of you hung and quartered!" Hershel shoved his way through the crowd, Sir Leroy his side. The young lords face had lost its mask of composure and was red with indignant fury. "Leroy, have the lancers lock down the room! Clear this lot away from the bloody demon, get a medic for the Queens consort and where in all hells is Geofrey!"

In very short order the Lancers had cordoned off the corpse and secured all the entrances to the hall. Maribel stood close to the dragons, sword still in hand, while Lily continued to fret over John.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you Johnathan?" Panic, relief and horror crossed alternated on her features. John couldn't understand what had her so upset, the demon had been dealt with easily enough, but her distress was eating at him terribly and he just wanted to end it.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry Lily! Please, calm down!" He murmured, trying to comfort his wife. He wanted to hold her, to put his arms around her, but spatters of ichor covered his hands and arms. At least it hadn't gotten on the silk.

A cadre of healers arrived, carrying a bucket that reeked of pure alcohol and a coarse wool towel. Leroy directed them towards the dragons, but Lily stopped them with a snarling hiss of warning. "Just bring the bucket and the rag and get away!"

The dragoness snatched up the supplies and soaked the towel before proceeding to carefully clean every speck she could see. She doused John with alcohol until it was burning between his scales and dripping from him.

Maribel stepped away from them to intercept Geofrey. The old man led a column of mages into the room. Somehow he looked exactly as John remembered him.

Finally satisfied that he was cleansed, Lily pushed the bucket aside and pulled him close. "John, please never do that again."

John nodded into her neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"My Lady," Maribel interrupted them after a long minute. The two dragons reluctantly separated.

Maribel and Hershel stood a few paces away, Geofrey and the Magisters were roaming the room, questioning people intensely.

"Queen Lililethan, you have my sincere apologies. I did not imagine someone would attack us like this tonight. Sir," he bowed to John, "I owe you a great debt. I have never witnessed someone so selflessly risk themselves engaging a demon like that. You certainly saved lives tonight, perhaps even my own."

John felt bewildered at such a sincere gesture, but nodded his head.

"We have discussed the evening's events with Geofrey, and he is convinced your party certainly had no involvement. I'm sure that you must be eager to return to your family after what has happened. The lancers will allow the three of you to depart while we continue the investigation."

Lily flew close to him the entire trip home, her wingtip brushing his in flight, but she didn't speak. Laurelie and Ban were already asleep by the time they returned. The two children were in the tent curled up together. Lily stood over them for a long time before she finally lay down silently next to them. John settled down opposite her, forming a circle with their children in the middle. Lily didn't sleep though; she gazed at him blankly, her face pained and her thoughts obviously somewhere else.

John couldn't take it anymore, "Lily, please, talk to me."

She focused on him and drew a shuddering breath as tears suddenly spilled from her eyes. "Johnathan, I hunted demons for too many years. I know what they do to those they capture; it's worse than death, worse than you can imagine. You can't risk yourself like that. You can't, not ever."

Johnathan moved in closer, catching her face in his hands and pulling her close to nuzzle her, "Shh, it's not like that. It was probably someone foolish like I was. Remember, I tried to summon an imp once upon a time."

"John," She shook her head. Her voice cracked. "You don't understand. I knew the moment I felt it John; that wasn't an imp. That was a Katraph. It was a hunter John. They only purpose they serve is to capture people and drag them back to their world."

John felt his blood chill. For the first time he realized the possible outcome of his actions, and they terrified him. He swallowed his fear as best he could and pulled her closer, tucking her head against his chest so that her tears stained his silk gown. "I'm so sorry Lily. I had no idea, I didn't want to do that to you. Never again, I promise."

She nodded quietly

"Hey, the Magisters are tearing the city apart right now to find who did this. They found me in a tiny room in a cellar in a wing of the palace where no one has been for years. They'll find the summoner." He lifted her to look in her eyes. "We'll stay here on the estate. Try and enjoy the rest of our time here. In a couple of weeks we're going to go home, we're going to move into our brand new home, and we're going to raise a beautiful family together."

She smiled weakly and nodded. "I know."

"Good."

Slowly she rested her head on the cushions near the children, and John rested his head on her shoulder.

"John."

"Hmm?"

"I wanted to tell you tonight: I don't want to be queen anymore. I am going to let someone else take office next election. I want you to give me another child, I want to feel life in me again. Soon, before Ban and Laurelie get too old to play with a sibling. And I want to spend my time with my family, not running a country. I've been doing that for too long already."

John blinked in surprise; this was the first time she'd given any indication of being unhappy with her office. He couldn't disagree with her though. He lovingly licked over her neck, still trying to sooth her nerves. "We should talk to Ban and Laurelie; explain to them that they're going to have siblings. I remember being furious when I found out mom was pregnant with Andrea. I don't want them to feel that way."

"You're right. We'll do it in the morning."

"Lily?"

"Yes love?"

"You looked amazing tonight, and I love you."

She didn't respond verbally, but her tail coiled around his and a smile curled the corners of her mouth. Her tears had stopped, and she seemed more at ease. John stayed awake and watched her until her breathing evening in sleep.