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The Persistent Dragon Slips Up Again

Jacob let out a sigh of relief and stretched out on the grass of the garden. For once, everything seemed to be going his way. His plan had worked: Penelope's act of falling for a city drake had made it seem like his father Desmond's strict control was pushing the dragon away. After getting his father to take the bait, he had successfully argued for her release from house arrest.

So much had been happening lately, ever since Penelope had let it slip that the two had sex. And though Jacob still had more problems and conflicted feelings than he could keep track of, he was happy that at least now with Penelope free, there was one less thing to worry about.

Jacob couldn't help but feel as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Whimsically, he plopped down in the grass next to his dragon and rested his head on his hands.

"Good grief, I'm so glad this is over ..."

"Me too," Penelope churred, joining her keeper and flopping to the ground with a whoosh of air. She wiggled her body close to him until her flank was touching.

Jacob stared up at the cloudless sky overhead and momentarily became lost in the endless expanse of blue. "I'm so sorry you had to go through being constantly locked up like that, Nel ... really, I am. My father is just ..." Jacob puffed his cheeks out. A few colorful words came to mind, and he wanted to say them all at once.

"He's a difficult man," Jacob decided on instead.

"Mhm," Penelope hummed. Her eyes were closed, belly turned toward the sun. The dragon was barely paying attention.

Jacob glanced at the serene look on her face and couldn't help but smile. Here he was, struggling to balance all the stress and uncomfortable feelings that came with being thrust into an interspecies relationship with the trials of trying to live a normal life both at university and at home ... and there Penelope was, calm and placid, looking like the most carefree dragon in the world as she sunbathed next to her keeper. He watched her rising and falling chest, spying the lines of pale skin peeking out from the creases between her daffodil belly scutes as they shifted and moved with each breath. Her lavender scale overcoat--like polished pebbles--stood out brilliantly in the strong rays of the sun. The dragon was aglow with sunlight, and looked simply radiant among the soft grasses and carefully pruned flowers of the garden.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jacob spied one of the housemaids taking a peek around the hedgerows before turning away. He frowned. His father was a careful man, and at once he realized that the staff must have been asked to check in on him whenever he was alone with the dragon.

Jacob shook the revelation off. Best not to get worked up over it. He quickly decided to get his mind off the subject.

"You know ..." Jacob smirked. "When you got home last night and were looking so guilty and meek for staying out with Jasper, I had this crazy thought in the back of my mind that you two might have ..." he began to chuckle.

"Well, you know ..." he shrugged, "slept together."

Penelope opened her eyes. "Sleep?" she asked quizzically. "No no no ... we weren't tired at all. There was so much to do! I got to meet Jenivive--she was real, real nice. And ... and Jasper showed me a lot of dragon-friendly places in the city: places where people like having dragons around! Then we had dinner--Jenivive cooked for us! And, like I said, I met a few other dragons and there was a lot of talking in dragon language that I couldn't understand! ... and then, I got a fun idea, when we went back to Jasper's den ..." Penelope began to giggle.

"Yeah?" Jacob asked. "What'd you do, fly around together or something?"

"No!" Penelope giddily trilled. "We went inside and I jumped him, just like I did with you!

The smile dropped from Jacob's face in an instant. "Wait, what?"

Penelope rolled to her stomach and sat up. "Oooh, it was something I wanted to try for a while now!"

"Ah-" Jacob about choked on his own words. "You tried what!?"

"Oh Jake, it was such a rush, too!" Penelope gushed, slowly becoming more animated as she continued talking. "He sorta freaked out and tried to get away, but I tackled him and started doing all the same tricks that work on you, and he was really shy and reluctant at first and it was super cute, but and when I finally got him into the mood it was like he changed all of a sudden! He did all this stuff like bite my ears and neck and chin and rub my cheeks and lick me all over, and, oh gosh, when I felt him on my back, gripping me with his paws, it was just so hot! And his cock is so different from yours! It's bigger and all red and slimy and bumpy and the way it feels inside is just ... Mmmrf!" Penelope shuddered with delight. "The way he would growl as he took me, his powerful thrusts, the feeling of being held down by those strong legs of his, feeling his warm breath on my neck just before he bit into it ..." Penelope stared off into the distance and let out a soft groan. "... So hot," she whispered.

Jacob scrambled to his feet. "Nel, you seriously had sex with Jasper? Cripes!" he gawked, finding it hard to process the information. "You ... him ...?" he stammered, and his mouth began moving with no words coming out at all. "Nel, when you first met him you said you couldn't stand the dragon!" he angrily blurted out.

Penelope's grin slowly faded as she studied her keeper's reaction. "Jake, what's wrong? Ooh--are you jealous?" she giggled. "Jealous that you weren't there too? Don't worry," she nudged him with her snout and gave a playful growl. "I can make it up to you ..."

Jacob stood there silent, unable to form any more words. All he could do was stare slack-jawed at the dragon in utter disbelief, feeling as if the entire world had been swept out from beneath his feet. They had talked about something like this happening, before. They had even tried finding a drake to be with several times in the past. At the time it sounded like a good way to get Penelope off his back (and out of his trousers!), but now that it had actually happened ...

... and with Jasper, of all dragons! The unusually well-spoken, meek and timid, somewhat awkward drake that Jacob had assumed didn't even fancy females to begin with!

"Jake, what's wrong?" Penelope asked, noticing her keeper's shock. She bore an expression of confusion.

"What's wrong? What's wrong!?" Jacob threw his hands up in the air. "You went and had sex with Jasper, that's what's wrong!" Too many thoughts were swirling around in his head. He cast a cold gaze upon the ground and attempted to sort them.

Penelope's ear fins drooped. "Jake ..." the dragon pouted.

"I ..." he let his shoulders drop. "I just can't believe it. You and Jasper ..." He turned to the dragon in irritation. "Cripes, Penelope, you barely know him!"

"Why are you so mad about Jas mating me?" the dragon shrunk back, lowering her head.

"You were supposed to pretend to be in a relationship with Jasper, not actually mate with him!" He angrily shouted.

Starting to feel a bit defensive, Penelope yapped back "So what if I did?"

"Nel, what about us? What about-" Jacob snapped his mouth shut and turned away, silently cursing himself. No, no no no! This should be a good thing, he told himself. A good thing! Penelope was a dragon! Her falling for another dragon was a good thing! That was what he wanted! What they had talked about!

Jacob massaged his brow and closed his eyes. "I ... I need to think." Turning away, he shuffled off in an aimless wander. Concerned, Penelope watched from afar, and after a moment eventually got up to follow at a distance.

Jacob stopped off, unable to control his smoldering emotions. Jasper ... that no-good, smooth-talking, silver-tongued snake! He must have had some part in it ... maybe he was out to woo Penelope all along, and planted the seeds of interest in her. How else could he have won her trust so easily? Why else would Penelope ...

No ... no no no. All of it sounded awfully silly, to be perfectly honest. That was just his anger talking, Jacob allowed himself to admit. From the way Penelope had put it, it sounded as if Jasper had wanted no part in her sexual escapades, and it had taken her some serious convincing. He could almost imagine her pouncing the drake, teasing him with gropes and licks, seductively whispering to him in ways that always seemed to stir Jacob's chest ... he pushed the mental image out of his mind in disgust. Jacob pursed his lips tight and doubled back on his thoughts. How could she just go out and ...

Jacob looked up, noticing he had found his way to the center of the gardens. An enormous, ornate stone bird bath stood proudly at the center, bordered by a circular path and a pair of benches. He rested a hand on the rim of the bird bath and looked down at his angry, muddled reflection as its watery, rippling brows furrowed into an expression of confusion.

Suddenly, the anger and shock were gone, and all of Jacob's swirling thoughts coalesced into one single, pressing conundrum.

"Why am I so upset?" he muttered.

Jacob swallowed and thought back to his first sexual encounter with Penelope. Her carrying him away to the secluded pond in the woods behind the house. Feigning injury to coax an increasingly suggestive massage. And the pleading Penelope had done when he attempted to leave. Her confession of interest, and the sexual exploration that ensued ...

Ever since then, Jacob had been trying--for months, now--to get Penelope interested in her own kind. Jacob had even tried to get the dragon to go out and talk to some of the city drakes, with little success. The dragon liked him. She wanted ... him. But now, all of a sudden--

"Jake?" Penelope meeped. The sulking dragon creeped up behind him, head hanging low.

Flinching, Jacob pried himself away from the birdbath. He turned away--showing his back to the dragon--and wandered off, causing Penelope to let out a tiny whimper.

Jacob put a pair of fingers to his temples. Why was he so upset? This was what he wanted! What he had been trying to work for! Somehow, the words refused to take hold in his mind.

A warm breeze overtook the gardens, carrying a bounty of floral scents from the surrounding gardenias and phlox. He took in a deep breath and held it for a brief moment, trying to collect his thoughts.

This was the best possible outcome, he told himself. Penelope has someone else to vent her desires with now ... that meant no more getting seduced and coerced by her, no more awkward dragon sex, no more being at odds with the family, no more shame or anxiety or awful feelings of regret and guilt. He could go back to being in a platonic relationship, a normal relationship ... just like how things used to be. Hugs would just be hugs, kisses would just be on the cheek or forehead, and he could once again give rubdowns and massages without worry of sexual undertones. All of that sounded great.

... But, then why was he so upset?

This was what he wanted.

After several quiet minutes, Penelope thought it was safe enough to carefully approach from behind. Concerned, she gently nudged his back with her snout before coming alongside him.

"Jake ... what's wrong? We just mated once ... it's no big deal. I'm not even in heat anymore, so I won't be with egg."

"I'm ... I ..." Jacob dropped his shoulders and let out a sigh of resignation.

"Would you feel better if I said I'm sorry?" the dragon innocently asked.

Jacob turned toward the dragon, feeling pained. He sucked in a deep breath, let it out, and forced himself to look at her in the eye.

"Nel ..." he pursed his lips for a moment. "Don't ... I shouldn't be getting angry over this. I'm in the wrong, here ... not you." He did his best to smile.

"Y-you are?" Penelope blinked.

Trying to hide a pained expression, Jacob approached the dragon and laid a hand on her scaled shoulder. "Yeah, because ... well, this is how it should be, Nel. Heck, remember when I said you should have another dragon as your mate? That's the whole reason I wanted you to go out and meet more of your kind in the first place." He paused, and sighed. "I'm stupid for getting upset over it ... you know how this is supposed to be: I'm human, and you're a dragon. And--"

It was then, that his father's words echoed in Jacob's heart.

Penelope's a dragon, Jacob. She's meant to be with her own kind. Sooner or later she'll come to that conclusion and she'll want to go off and live her own life.

An icy chill ran up Jacob's spine. "No ..." he whispered to himself, staring off into the distance. He felt goose bumps run down his arms. "I can't believe it."

"Can't believe what?" Penelope asked. She looked up at her keeper in confusion.

"I-" Jacob snapped his mouth shut. He had never actually discussed with Penelope the topic of flying away before. The very thought was simply ludicrous. He refused to let it take hold in his mind.

"It-- nothing." Jacob forcibly shook the whisperings of his father's voice out of his mind. He turned and faced the dragon, trying to hide the strained look on his face (and not doing a very good job of it). "Okay, let's all get on the same page, here." He put his hands out in front of him. "You and Jasper, err ... mated. Right?"

Silent for now, Penelope scanned his eyes, at a loss to explain her keeper's behavior.

"Penelope."

"Um ... maybe?" the dragon meeped, too afraid that saying it again might make the situation worse.

Jacob closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Okay. So ... do you like him?"

"Maybe?" the dragon squeaked.

"Penelope," Jacob pressed.

"S-sorta kinda?" Penelope backed up and cowered, holding her head down to the earth. "I don't know ... I've only known him for about a week!"

Jacob threw up his hands in the air in exasperation. "That's what I was trying to sa-- nevermind. Nevermind!" He thought for a brief moment, shaking his head at his behavior. "Cripes! It's just ... well, I thought that you thought that he was ..." he gesticulated in the air as he searched for the proper word to describe Jasper's quirky behavior and mannerisms.

"What?" Penelope asked.

"You know, that he's a ... a tad strange."

Penelope cast her sullen eyes down to the ground. "He is strange. But you had me and him pretending to be mates for three days, and every day on the docks we talked. And we talked more. And more. And I found out Jasper is not like the other city dragons. He isn't big and scary. He doesn't talk all gruff and mean, or act like he's better than everyone else. He isn't cruel to me for being a domesticate, and doesn't call me a pampered pet or more nasty things. I can talk to him without being afraid, without being intimidated. Jasper is kind and warm and friendly. He's a little shy sometimes, and it's cute. He knows how to read and is really, really smart and has all sorts of interesting books he's collected. He's ..."

Penelope looked up and met Jacob's gaze with those sorrowful, blue eyes of hers.

"He's more like a human than a dragon. He's like you."

The words seemed to all hit Jacob at once. His shoulders drooped. Jasper had mentioned to Jacob of being a domesticate: a dragon hatched and raised under human care ... just like Penelope. They no doubt had more in common than he was aware of.

He let out a long, diffused sigh and scratched the back of his neck, trying to figure out what to say.

"Well, Nel ... I'm happy we got you two to meet, then," he managed.

"Jake ..." the dragon shuffled closer to him. "I'm sorry for mating with Jas," she whimpered.

"It's nothing you need to apologize for."

"But you're upset. And I don't know why. And I don't know what to do. But I'm sorry."

Jacob gave the dragon a pat on the shoulder. "Don't be. Mrs. McCollins got you your breakfast already, right?" he asked, referring to the head maid.

"Millie? Yeah ..." the dragon mumbled.

"Good. I haven't had mine, so I'm gonna go do that. I'll see you later, Nel," he said, putting on a smile. It was a stiff smile. A fake smile. And Penelope knew it.

No sooner did Jacob turn away did the smile drain from his face. He still couldn't figure out why he had become so upset. Hoping that whatever it was would resolve itself by the afternoon, Jacob tried to let the strange emotion go.

"This is a good thing, a good thing ..." he muttered silently to himself.

As he made his way back into the Broyal family estate, he left one sullen dragon, alone, in the center of the gardens. She sat back on her haunches and wrapped her wings around herself for comfort as a long whimper escaped her pouty lips.

--=-=--

"Ah, Penny, there you are!"

A voice that demure and refined could have only belonged to Jacob's mother, Lucille.

Penelope looked up, seeing a dainty middle-aged woman perambulate down the garden's stone path. Wearing petite feminine shoes, and clad in an almost too-appropriate floral-print dress with an extravagant white lace bonnet, Lucille appeared to bounce from flower to flower like a busy little bee--inspecting each plant, admiring their beauty and aroma--before finally reaching the courtyard and the dragon that lay within.

Lucille carried herself with the form and presence of a royal queen, and perhaps she was one in a way--being married to one of the richest men in the city. At the very least, she preferred to live like one, having adapted quite well from a middle-class upbringing once she and Desmond had tied the knot.

Penelope considered her face to be quite appealing for a female human, even though her age was beginning to show beneath all that makeup. She watched as Lucille carefully stepped over her tail and took her usual seat on one of the benches of the garden courtyard. Penelope then sighed and laid her head back down on the soft grass.

"So glad to see you back home, dearie ... the family was worried sick last night. You know you can't be running off by yourself with unfamiliar city dragons like that ... why, it's not safe!"

"I wasn't by myself. I was with Jasper." Penelope muttered, staring at the grass.

Lucille frowned. "And that's the other thing: we don't know a thing about this ... 'Jasper' that you've taken a fancy for: if he is a good influence ... if we can trust him. Or if you can, for that matter." Lucille raised an eyebrow. She crossed her legs and sat up straight. "Now, listen carefully, honey. Eyes on me."

Reluctantly, Penelope lifted her head and met Lucille's gaze. "Yes?"

Lucille cleared her throat and gave the dragon a concerned look. "Now, I may not be your mother, and Des not your father, but you are family here, and like any family, we will grow concerned when you go missing. The city can be a dangerous place, even for a dragon." Lucile took a deep breath and leaned forward, giving Penelope the most sincerest of looks.

"You are a delicate little rosebud, Penny ... too precious to be out and about all night by your lonesome. Especially if wild-born dragons are involved; you know they look down on domesticates such as yourself. And extra especially with you being a young, sexually mature female, surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar dragons you don't know or trust not to do terrible things ..." Lucille tilted her head. "Do you understand?"

Penelope cast her eyes to the warm stone path and frowned. "Well, when you put it that way ... it sounds really bad."

Lucille nodded. "Thankfully, nothing bad happened. Not this time. But that might not be true for next time. So let's try to not let there be a next time, okay, sweetie? You stick close to people and places you can trust, and you come home before dark. And no more running off with random city dragons, you hear? Because even if Jacob or Desmond were to accompany you, neither can protect you from a drake that's far bigger and stronger than they are."

Penelope thought for a moment, the horrible implications of Lucile's words hitting her in full as uncomfortable images filled her mind. "You're right. I'm sorry I didn't come home. I should have." She admitted, ear fins folded flat against her head.

"It's quite alright, dearie, as long as you know why you shouldn't do it again. I'm quite glad we had this little talk." Lucille gave a satisfied little shake of her shoulders. "Us girls have to look out for each other, you know?" She smiled.

"I just thought ... Jas told me that it would be okay if he was there, too ..."

"And there you go again! That drake that you've taken a fancy for! Well ... we'll have another talk about that Jasper fellow later." Lucille waved the topic away with a swish of her hand. "I do believe that's enough admonishment for one sitting. How about we switch to a lighter topic, hm? It is a Saturday, after all, and you know what that means!" Lucille caroled with delight.

Lucille produced a book and presented it to the dragon. Penelope recognized the fanciful, eye-catching cover immediately. The Secret Passions of Castle Chovreau. This was merely the most recent in a line of short novels and stories that Lucille and the dragon were reading through, a few chapters at a time.

... Well, it was more a matter of Lucille reading aloud for Penelope to listen, but the eager dragon liked to try and figure out a few words here and there.

Penelope had a few times tried to coax Jacob into reading for her too. He refused, calling the books "trashy" and "sleazy", but what did he know? The dragon simply adored the stories ... along with the charming, ravishing, and usually shirtless men that starred in them.

But not today. Penelope was still in a down mood from her talk with Jacob. She let out a sigh through her nostrils, causing the grass in the front of her face to flutter, and mumbled. "No thanks."

The grin on Lucille's face vanished. "What's wrong, honey?" She tilted her head. "Still upset from last night?"

"No, it's--" Penelope stopped in mid-sentence. Perhaps she shouldn't mention mating with Jasper. What if Lucille got angry too? Then the dragon really wouldn't know what to do! Instead she thought quietly for a moment.

Penelope sat up and looked Lucille in the eye. "Suppose you made someone really upset. Someone you really care about. And you don't know why or how to fix it. Maybe ... maybe it can't be fixed."

Lucille shifted in her seat, giving the dragon a discerning eye. "My my ... now, that is a tough spot to be in. And I would presume this something that you can't fix is more serious than, say ... a dragon staying out late by herself."

Penelope dashed her eyes away to look at the ground.

"... Maybe."

Lucille let a flicker of a smile appear on her face, and just as quickly composed herself. She switched which leg was crossed over which and held a hand to her chest. "And have you asked this person that you really care about why they are upset?"

"Yes, and they won't say."

Lucille cocked her head, putting on a bemused smile. "Interesting. Well, in that case, I would try to make it up to that person somehow. Don't just apologize, instead show him how much you care."

"H-him?" Penelope meeped.

"Him ... them." Amused, Lucille waved her hand as if to brush the suspicion away. "Whoever this nameless person might be. The important thing is, do something special for them as a way of saying you are sorry. Maybe even get him a gift. That is what I would do."

"A gift ..." Penelope thought hard. She had given Jacob a gift a while ago--a small golden gear. But maybe she needed something even better than that this time.

"I ... I don't know what to get him ... I mean, them." She admitted.

Lucille looked up and let her eyes dance around the bright flowers of the gardens, whimsically humming to herself. "Well ... sweets are always a popular option. Relatively inexpensive ... sold in many different places, including corner shops and street-side vendors ..." She directed her gaze to Penelope, "places convenient for a dragon to browse and shop."

"Sweets ..." Penelope repeated to herself, scanning her brain for all the types of sweets she knew of.

"Maybe something like ... chocolate-covered strawberries?" Lucille offered with a flick of her wrist.

Penelope cocked her head. "Why those?"

Lucille gave the dragon a smirk and a kind glance out of the corners of her eyes. "Just a hunch, dearie."

"And you think this will work?" Penelope asked guardedly.

"If you're sincere, and honest, and show him how much you care, it will definitely work."

She watched as a grin slowly spread across Penelope's face. The dragon jumped to her feet and gave Lucille a warm nuzzle, burying her snout in the woman's bonnet to touch cheeks.

"Thank you, Lucy! I mean it!" she churred.

Lucille let out a polite, feminine laugh and gave the dragon a hug. "Oh, Penny, you're a precious little thing. You're welcome. Now, do you need some money to go buy this gift of yours?"

The dragon solemnly shook her head no. "Nope. I ... It's my fault this happened. I should pay for it."

Lucille gave Penelope a look of endearment. "Why, Penny ... that's very noble of you. Very well, then!" She then picked her copy of The Secret Passions of Castle Chovreau back up in her hands with a spark of excitement in her eyes. "Now, how about we see what our sultry suitors are up to?" She patted the armrest of the bench next to her with a few petite taps.

The dragon felt her feet wanting her to get up and sit closer. "Well ... alright," she let out a churr, taking her place at the side of the bench and sitting back on her haunches. She rested a forepaw on the bench armrest. "I do want to know what happens! We were at the big date, right?"

Lucille licked her thumb and began to pour over the pages. "Correct. Lady Joan Bellaquois, the demure--but clever--princess," Lucile flashed an excited grin. "Was posing as a simple pauper, to find out if either of the men she had her eyes on would fall in love for the woman she truly was, and not her money or status. Where we left off, she had she dressed herself in rags, and was on the way to buy candles and a tablecloth for a meager candlelight dinner in the poor, run-down hovel she rented out."

"Candles? Tablecloth? A candlelight dinner? Ooh, how romantic! Where?" Penelope ducked her snout in the book so close that Lucille had to gently push her away. The lavender-scaled dragon could not read more than a handful of words, regardless of how close she was to the book!

"Right here, you silly little thing," Lucille pointed out with a perfectly manicured nail. "The sentence starts with the word 'Never'."

"Oh, okay!" Penelope nodded.The dragon stared at the unfamiliar printed words, trying to commit the strange shapes to memory.

"Right, so ... here we go! Chapter eight:" Lucille cleared her throat and sat up straighter on the bench as if she were a teacher about to dictate a lesson, and adopted an expressive, intimate tone in her reading voice that seemed to lift each word from the paper and paint a beautiful, stunning picture in Penelope's mind. "'Never in my life have I been so excited. My fingers nearly trembled as I grasped the worn, tarnished doorknob ...'"

--=-=--

Knock, knock, knock!

"Master Jacob?"

The clearly-enunciated, overly-polite feminine voice that resonated from beyond the solid wooden door was Millie McCollins, the housekeeper and head of the estate. Caring and affable, with locks of dirty blonde hair that a partially hid her calm and composed face, she had always been a sort of second mother to Jacob since he was little--and often his only mother--since Lucile spent much of her free time amongst her various upper-class social cliques. Jacob put the fountain pen down, in no hurry to get back to his university work, and turned around in his desk chair to shout at the door.

"Yes, Mrs. McCollins?"

"Your dragon has been asking to see you."

Jacob sighed. "Yes, I know. Thank you." Shaking his head, he turned back to his studies. Now, where was he ... oh, right: cancel out the square root, multiply by each side by one third, then--

Knock, knock, knock!

"Master Jacob?"

Jacob turned around in his chair once more. "Yes?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

"Aren't you going to go down and see her?"

"No, I have my final exams to study for. Tell her I am overburdened with work and really busy."

There. Now ... multiply each side by one third, then finally take the derivative of--.

Knock, knock, knock!

Jacob whipped his torso around so fast he bumped his desk and nearly sent his inkwell toppling over in the process.

"Yes!" he snapped. "Mrs. McCollins?"

"Master Jacob, you've been avoiding that dragon for three days straight now."

Jacob winced. "I know."

"I thought that she would have been back to normal with the locks off her door, but she's only gotten worse, if anything! She's been quiet and reserved and sullen the past few days."

He closed his eyes. "I know."

"And today, she's been asking for you. She really wants to talk to you."

"I know."

"And you've avoided coming down to see her ever since you got home."

"I know."

"And she was even flying outside your window trying to get your attention."

"I know."

"And the chamber maid has already been up here trying to get you to come down too."

"I know!" Jacob snapped. "I'll take care of it later, okay? It's almost finals week. I have too much work to do ... I'm busy!"

Jacob stared at the door. He stared and said nothing and he waited. The room drew so quiet he could almost hear his own heartbeat.

"Are you still there?" He called out after a minute or so.

"I haven't moved an inch, Master Jacob."

From the inside of the bedroom came the slam of a heavy book closing, the scrape of a wooden chair sliding across the floor, all followed by a few short, angry footsteps. Then, the fumbling of the doorknob announced the coming of the rush of air as the door was yanked open, revealing a scowling Jacob. His bushy brown hair was unkempt and his face was showing the parch stubble typical of young men who were too busy to shave. His hazel-grey eyes shone with displeasure. Mrs. McCollins gave him a look that instantly told Jacob she wasn't about to put up with any of what he was trying to pull.

Jacob gave her a tight-lipped frown. "Mrs. McCollins, I know--."

"Now look, Master Jacob," she assertively interjected. "I don't understand what's been going on between you and that dragon of yours the past few weeks or so, nor is it my place to ask. But, I do know a heartbroken girl when I see one, dragon or not. I can see it in her eyes, the way she sulks around and hangs her head low, and the way her wings and tail droop and hang limp everywhere she walks. She has been waiting for you out there all day. And you know more than anyone that Penny is nothing but a sweet and loving and caring little dragon with only your best interests at heart. So I don't care what's gone on between you two: you better get your INsensitive, IMpertinent, and INconsiderate butt downstairs and talk to her ... before I drag you down there by the collar of your cowardly shirt, punt you onto the back lawn where she's waiting, and lock the door behind you."

She put her hands on her hips and gave Jacob a stare so cold it could have frozen over hell itself.

Jacob couldn't bring himself to look at her in the eye. "I ..." he searched for a response. Something he could fire back at her ... anything! But the longer he stalled, the more that it seemed he had come to a gunfight without any ammunition at all.

"Aw, cripes." Jacob forced out a defeated sigh through his teeth and opened the door up wider. "Okay. Okay. I'm going," he grumbled, walking past the disapproving maid. She made it a point to follow him all the way down the hallway, across the balcony, down the two flights of stairs, into the vestibule, down another hallway, through the living room, past the chamber maid's quarters, through the kitchen, into the scullery, and finally to the back door of the estate. He spied the dragon through the window. She was lying down with her back to the house and head buried in the grass. Jacob frowned.

"I ... I should let my father know I'm going to spend time with my dragon." He said, beginning to turn away. "He's been particular about that lately and--"

"And you know as well as I do that your parents are out at a formal dinner party tonight. Nice try."

Jacob pursed his lips tight. "Fine ..." he mumbled, looking down at his clean, white socks. "But I should at least go get my shoes, first," he huffed, turning away.

Silent, Millie merely put a hand on his chest and pointed a stern finger through the window outside. Jacob held up his hands in a show of defeat.

"Alright, alright. Fine, no shoes."

Taking a deep breath, Jacob put his hand on the doorknob, turned it, and let himself outside.

Not even a few feet off the porch lay Penelope. She looking off into the back yard. He watched her ears curl back at the sound of him approaching. Slowly she lifted her head to see who it was, and when the dragon saw his face she bolted to her feet with a gasp of excitement.

"Jacob! Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake!" The energetic dragon ran a few circles around him before coming to a sliding stop, kicking up tufts of grass. The lavender dragon bore the biggest grin he had seen out of her in weeks. "There you are! I've been waiting for you!"

Despite his best intentions, Jacob couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hi, Penelope." He forced out a smile. "You wanted to see me for some reason?"

"Yes! Yes yes! I have something to show you." The dragon bounced in place. She turned around with a swish of her tail. "Follow me," she beckoned, jovially trotting to her stable.

Jacob bit his lip. He looked behind him, expecting to see Millie at the window, but she was nowhere to be found. Well, at least he could take comfort in knowing he wasn't going to be watched this time, he thought.

"You ... don't want to talk, or ... anything?" he called out to the dragon.

"Nope! Follow me!" she cried out, not even bothering to look back at him.

Jacob shoved his hands into his pockets. "Alright ..." he mumbled, following reluctantly.

The lavender dragon led Jacob to her lavish and expensive stable--which was really more like a simple one-room cabin than anything else. The dutch door was propped open with a rock, but all the windows were closed tight. A soft, warm glow was emanating from the entrance, which Jacob assumed was the dragon's small wood furnace. But why have that running in the warm summer evening?

He turned to the dragon with a suspicious look on his face. "Okay, Penelope, what are you up to this time?"

"Just go inside!" The dragon giddily exclaimed. Trotting around behind him, the dragon nudged him forward in the back with her head. "Come on, come on!"

"Ack, okay, okay!" He shuffled forward reluctantly to the entrance, being pushed along by the dragon.

What he saw there was just about the last thing he could have expected.

Candles. Large, red candles had been placed all around. On the floor. On the tiny furnace. On the storage shelves. On top of Penelope's chest of personal things. All bathing the stable in a soft orange glow. Every single one appeared partially melted and misshapen, as if someone had tried lighting them with a blowtorch ... or perhaps a dragon's fire breath.

Standing alone in the center of the stable was the large oaken barrel that usually lay sitting outside Penelope's door. There were streaks of damp earth and grass tracing from the door to its current position. On top of the barrel was draped a white tablecloth. And on top of the tablecloth was a ... something that Jacob couldn't quite make out in the dim light.

With jaw agape in wonder and confusion, Jacob crept closer, not noticing as Penelope slipped in and kicked the rock holding the door open, allowing it to close behind them. On the tablecloth was a heavily misshapen and squashed cake that had fallen apart into several large chunks. Ribbons of fudge separated the two layers of chocolate-brown cake innards, and the frosting (or what was left of it) was dotted with enormous red strawberries.

"What ... what is all this?" Jacob asked in bewilderment.

Penelope crept up next to the barrel, facing him. "It's for you. It's, um ..." The dragon's eyes darted back and forth between the ruined cake and him. "It's supposed to be a chocolate strawberry cake. But it sorta got smushed on the flight home. Also ..." the dragon ducked her head down and gave Jacob a guilty look from the corner of her eyes. "Also, my satchel might need cleaning ..." she winced.

Jacob let out a quiet laugh of bemusement. "Chocolate? Strawberries?"

"Yes ... do you like them?" the dragon eagerly asked.

"I love both! Yes!" he laughed, causing the dragon to gasp in delight. "But ... why?" He gestured around him. "Why all this?"

"Because ..." the dragon approached him and sat up on her hind legs. She reached up and rested a paw on his chest. "Because, when you found out I mated with Jasper, you got really upset. And you wouldn't say why. And I didn't know what to do or how to fix it. But, somebody told me you should do things for the people you care about when they're upset. So that's what I did ... I decided I should do something for you, to show you how much I care, and to show you that I am sorry I made you upset."

Jacob stared at his dragon, at a loss for words as his dragon's gesture warmed his stony heart. "Nel ..." A wide-lipped grin formed on his face. He reached up, took her head in hand, and gave her a kiss on the nose. "Thank you," he whispered. "I've been in a sour mood all this time, giving you a cold shoulder, and here you've been busy trying to make me happy. Now I feel like such a ..." he shook his head and sighed. "Nevermind ... you're a wonderful dragon, you know that? You're too good to me."

He wrapped his hands around her scaly shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug. As Jacob felt the pair of leathery wings wrap around him, he closed his eyes, and at once, for just a brief moment, felt all the tension and stress and worries of life leave him completely. He listened to the soft churr of contentment escape Penelope's throat, squeezed her tight, and rocked with the dragon gently, silent in his embrace.

He then pulled away, reaching up to give her a playful snout rub. "Where the heck did you get the idea for all of this? The candles, the table ... wait!" He held his hands up. "Don't tell me ... my mother's silly romance novels? She's still reading to you, right?"

"They're not silly!" Penelope defensively yapped. "They're cute and lovely and they make me feel all warm and buzzy when Lucy reads them to me. And ... maybe."

Jacob broke out into a fit of laughter. "You're absolutely adorable, you know that? Cripes ..."

His remark had the dragon giggling to herself in amusement. Penelope returned to all fours. "So you're gonna have some, right? Some cake?" The dragon waited for his response with baited breath.

Jacob's eyes scanned the top of the tablecloth-covered barrel. "Uh ... what am I going to eat it with?"

She cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"A plate, and a fork, Nel?" he asked, making the proper eating motions with his hands. "A knife to cut slices with? You know ... silverware."

"Oh. Oh!" Penelope's eyes opened up wide. "I think I might have something. Hold on!"

The dragon turned in place and bounded to her personal chest. In her haste she flipped the lid up without removing the candle on top first, causing it and hot wax to spatter against the wall. The dragon then cried out in surprise, backing up to pick up the candle, causing two more that were placed on the floor to be knocked over by her tail, spattering more hot wax on the flagstone floor.

"Nel!" Jacob cried out in exasperation. He lunged for the two overturned candles, blowing them out and picking them up.

"Oops!" The dragon cringed. "Sorry ..." She bent down to pick up the first candle in her mouth, carefully placed it upright on the ground next to the chest and fine-tuned the positioning with her toes, before going back to her search.

Sighing in whimsical affection, Jacob re-lit the two candles in-hand using a third on a shelf, and nudged that one aside to place all three. He then grabbed another candle and lit the one Penelope had snuffed out as the dragon rummaged through her chest. All sorts of metallic clinking and tingling could be heard--the chest was full of Penelope's "precious items" that she had accumulated over the years, with most of it being things Jacob would have considered junk ... although, a fair bit of spare coin was in there as well, mostly earned from odds-and-ends jobs or as Desmond's personal errand runner.

"Ah, here!" Penelope dove her snout into the chest and procured a tarnished fork. "Take thith," she said, turning to Jacob. "Buh gith ith back wheh your 'one!"

Jacob took the fork from between Penelope's teeth and held it up close to inspect it. The thing was dirty and heavily worn with dents and scratches, but there was no doubt about the quality: it was sterling silver. And the design looked awfully familiar ...

"Penelope, you got this from the house, didn't you?" He turned and gave the dragon a suspicious glare.

Penelope avoided eye contact. "Um, I dunno. I just ... I found it."

Jacob tried not to smile. "How long has this thing been in there?"

"A ... a ... a while?" she meeped. The furtive dragon glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes before darting them away again.

Jacob couldn't help but let the endearing laugh escape from his throat. "Well, I doubt anyone is missing it, regardless." He walked over to the far corner where the dragon's water stores were and did his best to clean the fork with fresh water, wetting it and thoroughly rubbing it with his shirt. He then took his place on one side of the barrel, fork in hand.

"There. Ready to dine." He smiled.

"Ah!" Penelope gasped in excitement. She bounded to the opposite side of the barrel and plopped down on her haunches. "Well ... go on, try it!"

Jacob hovered his fork over the mushed and deformed cake, unsure of where to strike his first bite. He had never eaten cake without it being sliced before, and was unsure of how to begin. After a moment of hesitation, he dove his fork right into one of the strawberries, gathered up some of the chocolate frosting, and brought it to his mouth.

"Mmmf ..." Jacob murmured as he indulged himself, letting the sweet, tart juice of the strawberry splash against his tongue. He politely swallowed before choosing to talk. "Those are some good strawberries ... Nel, I can't believe you went out and got me an entire cake," he said as he took a generous fork-full of the dessert and stuffed his mouth. "Ooh, this is good ..." The dragon studied his expression carefully, looking absolutely delighted to see her keeper enjoying himself. After a few more bites, he cleared his palate clean of the chocolate frosting and paused.

"Are you gonna have some?" he asked, turning the cake towards her. The dragon licked her lips at the offer, but shook her head no.

"Maybe later," Penelope added. "You eat for now."

Jacob shrugged, happy to go back to eating. "I still can't believe you got me an entire cake. I mean, its got my favorite fruit and all, and it's really good, but still!"

The dragon giggled. "It took me a few days to get everything together. First I went looking for the candles and the tablecloth. Which didn't take long. Then, finding a place that sold both chocolate and strawberries was the hard part. I had to give up and go back the next day. Then when I was walking past the bakery and there was a cake like this one in the window, but with white frosting. So I got an idea. And I talked to the baker and told him what I wanted and he refused until I showed him how much money I had. Then he told me to come back tomorrow, which is today ..."

"And you did this all for me?" Jacob asked between fork-fulls.

Penelope rested a paw on the barrel. "Well, yeah. Because I wanted to say I was sorry for mating with Jas. You forgive me, right?" The dragon gave him her most pitiable doe-eyed expression possible. "Right?"

Jacob stared into the dragon's cerulean eyes, seeing them aglow with reflections of the surrounding candles. He took in the dragon's remorseful expression: the way her ear fins were folded down and flat against her head, the curled frown on her lips, and the way she held her breath in the air as she waited for his response.

Even if he had wanted to, Jacob couldn't disappoint her. He felt a smile forming, and made no attempt to stop it. He looked down for a moment, letting the grin wash over him.

"Aw, cripes," he muttered, setting the fork down.

Penelope tilted her head. "What does that mean? Yes? No?"

"You know I can never say no to that face," Jacob freely admitted.

Penelope sucked in a gasp of excitement. The very way his dragon's face seemed to light up, and how her eyes began to glow with joy was all Jacob needed to see to know he had said the right words. He was not prepared for when Penelope nearly toppled the barrel over as she tackled him in a hug. Jacob stumbled as several hundred pounds of dragon was suddenly upon on him. Penelope wrapped her forelegs and wings around him tightly.

"Yes! Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!" Penelope squealed. Jacob couldn't help but laugh even as his legs began to buckle under her weight.

"Penelope! P-please!" he gasped, nearly suffocating in the embrace of her leathery wings, laughing all the while. "Off! Get down, you silly dragon, please!"

"Okay!" Penelope quickly obliged. But the dragon could not help herself, churring in delight as she leaned against her keeper. Penelope was giddy with affection, nearly shivering in place as the joy of all her hard work paid off. The candles, the tablecloth, the cake ... the everything! Everything had worked! And Jacob was happy again. He was holding her again, laughing with her again, hugging her again! Everything ... was going to go back to the way it was!

Except ...

Except, the dragon's grin began to fade when she saw Jacob quickly return to his somber mood. Something ... something still wasn't right! She inched closer, resting her cheek on his hip and looking up at him with sad eyes.

"Jake ... what's wrong?" she pouted.

Jacob ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it. "Aw, jeeze, Nel. It's just ... what about Jasper? What about us? What's going on? See--I was thinking the past few days that this whole ... thing between us is getting to be more trouble than it's worth, what with my parents finding out." He broke eye contact, and stared off to the side, sighing.

"I ... I don't understand."

"Like, the sex was ..." Jacob struggled to find terms he was comfortable admitting. "It was fun, and awkward, and uncomfortable, and exciting all at once. But now that you have Jasper, perhaps it's for the best if you just ..." Jacob shrugged. "Stick with him."

Penelope could barely believe the words she was hearing. Her ears drooped down and she reared her head back in dismay. "But ... why? I don't wanna if it makes you angry."

"It's not making me angry, it's ..." Jacob shook his head. "It just ... bothers me. And don't know why it bothers me, to be honest. But I know it shouldn't bother me. And I am trying not to let it bother me. It's okay if you want to be with him instead of me, do you understand?"

Penelope pouted. "But what if I want both? Why can't I have both?"

Jacob laughed. "Because that's not how relationships work."

The dragon was taken aback. "But that's unfair! I don't wanna choose!"

"You have to."

Penelope stamped her foot down. "Then I choose you!" She adamantly nodded.

"Arg!" Jacob put both hands out on the barrel and sunk his head down, shaking it. "But ... Jasper's a dragon. I'm not," he whispered. "You're a dragon, Penelope, and you're supposed to lay with other dragons ..."

Penelope came alongside her keeper, sitting next to him. She wrapped a leathery wing around his side rested her head against his arm. "But I don't care who I am supposed to mate with. I know what I like. And I like mating with you, Jake."

"Oh, cripes ..." Jacob pursed his lips and stared off into empty space. "How in the world did I end up with a dragon that likes sex with humans?"

The dragon stared at him, perplexed. "I ... I don't know," Penelope admitted, not recognizing the rhetorical question. "I ... just before I began my first heat, I was getting a lot of weird feelings and thoughts that I had never had before. And I would get this urge to find a mate. And ... you were the first one I thought of, and after I got the idea, it just ... wouldn't go away. And it would make me feel funny down there between my hind legs. And I didn't know what to do ... but eventually I found that touching that spot between my legs made it feel better, and--"

"Woah, woah, hold on a second," Jacob interjected, his cheeks suddenly buzzing with warmth. "You've been fantasizing ... about me?!"

"Well ... yeah!" the dragon matter-of-factly replied. "I would sit and I would think about it and I would use my tongue or my tail, and ... and it all started feeling really good, so I did it more ... Ooh! And then I would try and think of ways to get you to join me," the dragon purred. "Which is why I started ..."

Jacob felt his cheeks grow warm at the revelation as Penelope continued to expound her confessions. For a brief moment he considered the dragon's position: what it must have been like for her as she dealt with the thoughts and urges that adolescence brought about. Jacob, like many other young boys at the time, had had "the talk" and several other discussions with his parents many years ago ... awkward conversations, sure, but they had answered a lot of questions that he would have otherwise gone unanswered. But unless his own mother had had some private talks with the dragon--which Jacob felt unlikely--Penelope had no such luxury: no one to explain what her body was going through or to teach healthy ways to direct her urges. The dragon had no choice but to work it all out by herself.

And with Jacob around her day by day: caring for her, feeding her, playing with her, grooming her ... he thought back to the times he would keep her company when she was lonely, or read to her when she was bored, or stick up for her when his father would get angry at her ... all of a sudden, the dragon's interest in him didn't seem so far-fetched after all.

"Jake?" Penelope bumped him with her snout. "You've gone quiet. What is it? Ooh--" the dragon flinched. "Do you think that's hot, Jake?" the dragon seductively cooed. "Do you think it's hot that I think of you when I touch my vent?"

Hearing those words seemed to stir in his chest. "Uh ... I ..." Jacob shook his head to clear his mind and calm his heart. "But wait a sec, hold on ... what about other dragons? You said you've fantasized about laying with them, too! Plus you said being with Jasper was exciting."

Penelope scooted a little bit closer to her keeper, nuzzling her scaly cheek against his arm. "Yes, and it was ... but you're exciting in different ways," she pleasantly churred.

"Like ... how?" Jacob dared to ask, feeling terribly curious for reasons unknown.

"You're exciting 'cause ... you're Jake, Jake." Penelope simply stated, as if that was all that needed to be explained.

Jacob laughed. "No, what I was asking was ..." He began to shake his head, and turned away. "Nah, I shouldn't. Never mind."

"Shouldn't what?" Penelope gawked, bounding in front of him. "Tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Jacob bit his lip in hesitation. "I'm probably gonna regret this, but ..." he sighed. "What I was really asking you was ... how am I exciting compared to a dragon?" Jacob sheepishly admitted.

"Oh! Well ..." Penelope hummed in amusement. "Your body is different than mine, so it's more fun! I like humans ... I like their warm muscles. Mm, I really like their big shoulders and chest." Giggling, Penelope dragged a winged thumb up Jacob's sternum. "I like their strong hands that can grab and squeeze. I like their cute little noses. I like their bushy hair. I like this." Giggling, Penelope snuck a forepaw up against the front of Jacob's pants.

"Hey ... hey, hey!" Jacob laughed, turning to face the dragon. He found himself being wrapped up in a pair of leathery wings. Penelope brought her face close to his own until she was sharing his breath. She stared into Jacob's eyes with a bright and cheerful grin.

"I do, though!" she playfully churred. "I like the cute little hair you have down there. I like how it gets all stiff and throbs for me. I like the stretchy skin covering your tip that I can play with and nibble. I like how it tastes when you finish. And the smell ..." Penelope let out a husky growl. "The smell gets me all riled up. Can't get enough of it."

"Nel ..." Jacob put his hands on the dragon's scaled chest, closed his eyes, and gave himself a moment. He felt his own chest growing tight, his heart starting to beat faster ... and he knew he wasn't the only one. The dragon's own words were getting her excited ... her heart rate was quickening, thumping against the palm on her scaly chest scutes. Jacob found a thumb claw attached to a dragon wing teasing around the belt of his pants, beginning to tug and pull down.

Jacob put a hand on her thumb and held it, before gently removing the claw from his pants. "Nel, come on," he pleaded. "You know we can't go back to that, right? Not after Father found out about us and all ..."

"Silly Jake ..." Penelope cooed, dauntless in her demeanor. "You know I didn't bring you in here and light all these candles just for cake, right?" the dragon delightfully sang. She reared up from her sitting position, putting her weight on her tail to bring her chest to his. She took Jacob around the hips with her forelegs. Jacob gasped as her winged grip around his back began to tighten.

"You know what that means?" The purple-scaled dragon looked into his eyes with a soulful gaze, flashing her cheek fins and ears out wide.

Jacob began to press his hands against the dragon's chest. "Cripes, Nel ..." Jacob breathed out, feeling terribly tempted for reasons he wish he could ignore. "W-we shouldn't be doing this. Not again." He put on a pained expression. "You know how my father would react to this. I had to go through so much effort just to try and convince him I wasn't going to lay with you anymore. If he found out about this now, he'd go crazy! It's just not worth it. Plus ... you have Jasper. He can be your mate, now."

Jacob looked up to the dragon, pleading to her with his eyes. But Penelope shook her head no.

"But I already told you, Jake ... if I have to choose mates, then I choose you."

Jacob opened his mouth to respond, but not a single word would come out.

Penelope's heart was racing. She felt as if she were in the most exciting parts of Lucile's books, right before the big finale ... and knew what had to come next. Closing her eyes, she leaned in, ready to nibble and lick the underside of Jacob's chin. But just as her lips parted, she stopped ... and instead moved higher, bringing her lips to his own.

Because, after all ... humans kiss differently than dragons do!

She pulled away and looked into Jacob's eyes, hoping her actions had produced the intended effect.

Jacob swallowed his emotions down, trying to shake off the temptation this terrible dragon had planted within him. "Don't do this to me, Nel ... you know I shouldn't say yes to what you want."

"You don't have to say yes," Penelope whispered as she removed herself from her keeper's embrace. "You only have to follow me to my bed, and let me take care of the rest."

Jacob stared as Penelope turned and slowly sauntered over to her mattress, tail raised and swaying on every step. She turned her head and looked back expectantly, the shadows from the candlelight playing off of her body in magnificent ways.

TO BE CONTINUED

Post-story notes:

~Let me start off by saying I am happy with how this chapter turned out. Writing character drama is tough, and I have to juggle many things at once to balance it all out. I originally wanted Penelope and Jacob to be at odds with each other for much longer, but figured my readers (including you!) wouldn't be very happy if they had to wait multiple chapters before they made amends!

~As for why Jacob and Penelope are upset at each other ... there's a good reason for why Jacob is upset, and why Penelope doesn't understand why Jacob is upset! And I don't want to spoil it but I've left subtle clues in the dialogue for those who read carefully. It will all be explained in a future chapter, so don't worry if you don't have it figured out yet!

~It's taken me thirteen chapters to finally figure out a use for Jacob's mother. She's been such a non-factor this entire time that I hadn't even figured out what her personality was like up until just now. But now that I have, I am really happy with how she turned out. I wanted to give her the feeling of a shallow socialite (and she may be that to some extent!), but Lucille is more shrewd than she appears and might know more than she lets on to ... check her dialogue for clues! I friggen loved writing her mannerisms and dialogue.

~I've gotten a lot of feedback on Jasper from the previous few chapters and it has me very happy that he is interesting enough to spurn comments and discussion. I like Jasper. He means well. But even if his intentions are good, ill will can arise from it. We'll be seeing more of him.

~The little speech Millie McCollins gave Jacob when he was hiding from Penelope in his room was just kickass. I love Millie. She is such a motherly figure but in a completely different way than Lucile. I should write her character more often.

~Despite my best intentions, this is turning into a romance story ... even though I never wanted it to be in the first place. But with that being said, the next chapter is chock-full of porn, as you might be able to tell.

~Also, can we all agree that Penelope making a candlelit dinner for Jacob to say she's sorry and messing everything up just enough to be cute (squashing the cake in her satchel, forgetting silverware, toppling over candles) is absolutely endearing? Maybe even adorable.