Baqman and Martha stood back to allow Tristan into their home. He’d returned to humanoid state before scooping her into his arms and carrying her from the vessel, which made it easier to maneuver inside the building that was built to house humanoids and not dragons. His powerful muscles bulged as they gently laid Chloe’s limp body onto the bed in the guest room. “She saw us in dragon form and fainted. I gave her a sedative to prevent her waking while in transit with us as we passed through the land of meta-naturals while still in dragon form, but I question if I gave her too much. She should be awake by now, right?”
Martha pushed her way close to inspect Chloe. “If she fainted from shock, as I assume she did, that will add to the length of time she is out. Leave me with her so that I can inspect her more closely.”
“Come, son,” his grandfather said as he touched Tristan&rsquo
Chloe was washed, was in one of Martha’s shifts with a hair ribbon holding her long locks in a neat braid down her back, and was well into her second serving of potato-leek soup and home baked bread by the time Tristan returned to the house. Her eyes lit up at how striking he looked in his kid leather pants and Daniel Boone style shirt. When she saw Baqman standing behind him in similar attire, she smiled. “Is it a family thing to dress like that?”A look of surprise came over Tristan as he checked out his clothing. “Like what?”“We work with nature here, dear. You will find limited man-made materials,” Martha explained.“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Chloe said quickly. “I guess I forgot where I was. This house looks like it could be from the surface.”“Who do you think taught the surface humans how to build?” Baqman said as he slid past Tris
The world that Tristan lived in was amazing to explore. Chloe felt as if she was walking through a federal preservation park run by the Smithsonian Institute as she took in the array of giant foliage and creatures, long thought extinct, around her.“I feel so small and insignificant,” she said as she moved along a path lined with an array of enormous foliage including philodendron, lily, croton, and palm plants. Beyond them was a blend of evergreens, oak, birch, redwood, palm, and many more she couldn’t identify. All were blending and living peacefully together. “It’s amazing to see tropical plants right along trees you’d find in the north where I come from.”“I thought the same thing when I first arrived,” Martha mused. “After the horrors of war, it took some time to adjust to everything and everyone living in peaceful harmony.”After explaining that they were
Chloe helped Martha with a few of the chores around the farm that could be done at such an odd hour of the day before heading back to the house. The closer they got to the house, the more anxious she became. Would Baqman have the test results? Was she contaminated with vampire or werewolf venom? Or both? Would she need to have her blood cleaned? How did they plan on doing it? Were they going to give her a blood transfusion? As far as she knew, Martha was the only one in Manthella who had blood that would be compatible; providing it was the same type as hers.She had herself so worked up about the subject, that by the time she reached the house her legs could barely support her. She assumed Tristan was watching out of the window because as soon as her legs began to buckle he was racing off the porch and down the path to sweep her into his powerful arms. She felt weak and helpless, yet secure and happy, as she rested her cheek aga
“I will answer any questions you may have,” the doctor said as he focused on putting his equipment back into his bag.With the opening to release the question that raged within her during the entire examination placed before her. Chloe wasted no time in asking it. “Am I pregnant, doctor?”“Call me Vidar. Doctor sounds too formal,” he said as he closed his bag and turned to face her. He folded his arms across his chest, crossed his ankles, and casually leaned his body against the edge of a nearby table. “You are an oddity, my dear. As with the bloodwork and the urine sample, my examination was inconclusive. We will have to wait a bit longer to find out. Very odd.”“Why would that be?” she asked with panic.He shook his head in thought. “It is a mystery. You are certain that you are from surface earth?”Her brows knit together
“I understand that things are done differently on surface earth, but you are back in Manthella now. I expect you to behave accordingly,” bellowed Baqman as he stood in the doorway of Tristan’s room. His look was a mixture of disgust and disappointment as his clear eyes met Tristan’s dazed ones. “Wake up, both of you. The king is demanding we bring Chloe before him.”As the reality of the situation sank into Tristan’s cloudy mind, so did panic. He’d been caught in bed, by his grandfather, with a woman he was not mated to. If that wasn’t bad enough, the king was demanding to have her brought before him. Neither of these things was a good thing.“Your grandmother brought fresh clothes for Chloe,” Baqman grumbled. “I will wait for you outside.”“Grandfather,” Tristan said as he sat up with a look of chagrin on his face.“Not a wo
Tears impaired her vision. Chloe’s lungs ached as she sucked in air and her heart beat wildly as she ran as fast as her legs would go. She had no specific destination in mind. It didn’t matter since she didn’t know much about where she was anyway. The only thing she did know was that the dangers of being captured by Antoh Sudnik seemed more appealing than remaining in a land filled with giants who could turn into a dragon at any time. She wanted to go home.When she found herself in familiar surroundings, she stopped to catch her breath. With her hands braced against her thighs, she struggled to normalize both her breathing and her heartbeat. A thick coating of sweat on the back of her neck made her hair feel heavy and cumbersome as it clung to her flesh. She pulled it up and away from her head as best she could to help with the cooling down process.The braying of a sheep in one of the wooden buildings caught
Tristan paced in front of the white marble steps of the great hall that was made of equally white marble while he waited for his grandmother to produce Chloe. She’d called him on his connector - which he learned functioned in a way similar to surface earth’s cellular telephone- to tell him that, although still not comfortable with the fact that she was in the land of giant hybrids, Chloe agreed to go before the king for Tristan’s sake. He clung to that spark of kindness, telling himself that great fires could come from the tiniest of sparks. There was still hope that she would move past the fact that he was part dragon and return his love.His heart skipped a beat when he finally spotted her walking down the tree lined lane that led to his home. Since the clothing and toiletries Martha intended for Chloe were at his house, the women went there first so that Chloe could look her best.Chloe approached the building without
Myriana stood at the entrance of the vessel while she watched Tristan and Chloe board. Her heart beat double-time while she struggled to remain calm and civil. She wasn’t sure what hurt more. The fact that Tristan admitted to being in love with a puny surface human even though she clearly wanted nothing to do with him or the fact that he’d declared that he would fight in her stead if Myriana insisted upon challenging her.She leaned casually against the door frame while she watched with smug amusement as Chloe struggled to climb into the vessel which didn’t provide steps for tiny people. A ‘humph’ escaped her when Tristan came up behind Chloe and lifted her by the waist into the vessel. Chloe thanked Tristan without looking at him before scurrying past Myriana -without a glance in her direction- toward the bowels of the vessel where she hoped to be left alone.Myriana didn’t move until the last of the soldiers boarded the