“This is beautiful!” I heard my mother say as we drove up to the house I now owned a week later.

“It will be once everything’s in place.” I smiled at her happily. “We won’t always be here, Henry still has duties in his own world, but this will be my home from now on.”

Just like my aunt and my mother, I’d chosen a house on top of a tall mountain, accessible by a dirt road only. It was two stories of dark-stained log cabin that blended perfectly into the background. A wide porch, braced by wide beams into the side of the mountain, overlooked the valley below. It sat perfectly to catch the morning sunlight with the large panes of glass that served as walls. Henry had found it online, when he’d discovered how to use my computer, and showed it to me. He knew it was the one I’d want, and he’d been right.

Money appeared for the transaction through a company his world had set up a long time ago and a deed was brought to me by courier a few days later. Now I had the keys, and I’d driven Mom up in the new car Henry had also provided for me.

“He’s coming by later, but he had to get some work done this morning. Come on, let me show you around.” I grinned at her as I turned the engine off and we climbed out to head up the steps of the back of the house. We walked into a large room; smaller rooms branch off it to one side. The first floor had the long and wide living room, a kitchen to the right, a staircase on each side, and a full bathroom on the left. Upstairs there were six bedrooms, a bathroom, and a room I was going to use as my music room.

I beamed as Mom gasped and looked around at all of the space. “Oh honey, he’s done right by you.”

“I think so.” The furniture was due to arrive the next day and we’d planned to set it all up together, but I couldn’t wait to show Mom.

“It’s just beautiful.” She walked around the room, her steps a hollow sound in the now empty space. “I can’t believe it. It’s so beautiful.”

“Thanks, Mom. Look, over there on top of that hill? That’s your house. I can wave at you from here.” I pointed off into the distance and she laughed.

“Oh honey, I’d never see you with these old eyes of mine. I’ll have to get a telescope to see you wave.”

I felt a pang at her words. Except for the time I’d spent at the university, we’d never really been apart. I’d always lived with my mother, and we’d taken care of each other over the years. “You know you’re always welcome to come here and live with me? There will be many nights when I’m alone here.”

“Oh, Willow, no, baby! You need to settle in with Henry and get used to each other. Neither one of you needs me underfoot as you make that adjustment.” She patted my cheek and wandered off to the stairs to the left of the house. That’s where my piano would go.

“Henry’s ordered a new piano for me. I told him my old one was fine, but he wants to hear me play a grand piano.” I smiled when her eyes went wide.

“He’s good to you, baby. Don’t ever doubt that.”

I didn’t, and when we walked into the room, I had even more proof of how good he was. Black lacquered, highly polished wood greeted us, set up in the perfect place. The piano was luxurious, beautiful, and more than I could have dreamed of. Henry sat behind it on the bench, a grin of expectation lighting up his eyes.

“Well?” he asked, his eyes on me.

“It’s beautiful, Henry!” I let my fingers dance on the piano, memorizing its shape as I moved along.

“Rachel, I have a question,” Henry piped up and I turned to him. What did he want to ask my mother?

“I know Willow’s father isn’t the picture, so I won’t worry about him, but you’re present and a huge part of her life. I feel it’s only right, to do all of this right. I’ve learned that it is your custom to ask for permission to marry, so, if you would do me the honor, may I please make Willow my wife in every way?”

“Seems to me you’ve done that part, already.” Mom had the audacity to snicker and she laughed even harder when she saw my shocked face. “Look at her face! Of course you do, you silly man. Imagine such a thing!”

I didn’t know which of them had shocked me more, Mom or Henry.

“Willow? Princess?” Henry had to snap his fingers to get my attention. I was still stunned, and my jaw dropped a little bit more when he bent in front of me and took out a ring box.

He opened it to reveal a delicate, dragon-made ring of gold, diamonds, and a large, centered, square-cut emerald, between the band of diamonds. “Willow, will you marry me?”

It was every schoolgirl fantasy I’d ever had come true! I stared down into Henry’s eyes and forgot how to breathe. “Uh...”

I couldn’t make words, I couldn’t even shake my head, all I could do was try to blink away tears as the man who was now my best friend, my literal soul-mate, and the man of my dreams asked me to be his wife. I finally sank down to my knees with him and kissed him.

That started my brain again, and I whispered yes to him over and over again. Mom gave a whoop of delight and ran out of the room. She was calling Aunt Eve, if I knew her at all. Henry stood up and pulled me against his body. His kiss was one of happiness, not passion, and his smile was infectious when I pulled away.

“Put me down, silly!” I laughed, and he put his hand over my stomach as he followed my command.

“Can you hear her yet?” We’d both been waiting for the voice of our child to become real to us.

“Not yet, but I guess it will happen. Arista said it happened with her. Galen turned out to be a boy, though, do you think that’s the difference?”

“Could be. If she’s pure hunter with none of my dragon aspects, that might be why.”

“You’re right. So, when do you want to get married?” I waited expectantly, thinking it would have to be soon if I wanted to find a dress that wasn’t huge so it would fit over my belly.

“This weekend?” he looked eager and I couldn’t say no.

“That’s way too fast, but why wait?” I gulped a little. A few days to find a dress and have a wedding, oh that was going to be fun.

“Exactly. There’s no need for it. It will be a test too, to see how you react to more dragons around you now.”

“It went okay at Mal and Arista’s wedding...” I hadn’t developed my full powers at that point, though.

I’d had time to heal, become used to my powers, and learn how to focus them since then. It could prove dangerous.

“We’ll just measure how you feel as each one arrives. My father will be here, my brothers and sisters, and a few other dragons in my extended family. When you reach a point where you think you can’t handle it, we’ll start to turn guests away.”

“I knew you were a smart man, Henry.” I leaned over to peck his cheek and sat down at my piano. I began to play for him, the first song on my brand-new piano. It had been tuned perfectly and was in just the right position to catch sunlight and moonlight, throughout the day.

I’d started out hating this man, this dragon, but now I couldn’t imagine life without him. It wasn’t just the awesome sex, the gifts, or the fact he was gorgeous as sin. It was that he was generous, he made me laugh, he lifted me up, and he let me into his own world. We were one in spirit, definitely, but we’d also become really good friends, and that’s what mattered.

You could have the man of your dreams but if you couldn’t have a good time together, or you just went places with him to make him look good, or if you only liked to have sex with him and not do the things he liked to do, it wouldn’t work. You had to have separate hobbies, of course, but you had to have some kind of common ground, otherwise it wasn’t really a relationship.

Now, I was about to be a wife, a mother, and a best friend. To a dragon. The music I chose, a piece I’d composed myself, sank into a darker melody as my fingers pressed into the keys with more weight. I’d panic about my future if it wasn’t so brilliant looking. I’d planned a life of music and nothing more, but Henry had changed those plans. He’d given me a different direction to go into, while supporting my original goal at the same time.

The notes became lighter, happier, as my thoughts changed, and Henry and my mother, back from her phone call, both beamed at me with pride. Six months ago, I thought I’d be dead by now. I thought I’d have withered away to nothing, with nothing to show for the life I’d lived, except for a few pieces of music I’d composed. How my life had changed when Henry showed up with Malcolm.

I closed my eyes and let myself fall into the music. It flowed from my brain, down my arms, and into my fingertips, each note memorized, executed perfectly now.

It’s beautiful, Willow. I opened my eyes and looked around. I didn’t recognize the childish voice.

Who is that? I thought, perhaps, I’d wandered off into a psychic connection, but I hadn’t. I was in for another shock.

It’s your daughter, Willow. You’ll name me Marya when I’m born, or so I’m told.

Marya? I wasn’t sure I liked the name, but if she said that was her name, then so be it.

Yes, Marya. Please don’t stop playing, Willow. It’s beautiful, this music you play.

Henry! I looked up at him to see he’d heard it too. Our baby was alive and well. And quite precocious for her age, I thought with a grin.

I played another piece, a different composer, until the baby went back to sleep, or whatever it did. I stopped being aware of her after a while but kept playing until I was too tired to play anything else.

“Let’s go find something for dinner, Willow.” Henry came to lift me from the piano bench and I didn’t think the world could be any better than it was now.

Maybe it was pregnancy hormones, maybe it was just months of ceaseless upheaval, but in this moment, the world was perfect. I didn’t have to say the words, Henry saw it in my eyes. I loved him, for all that he was, despite our bond, not just because of it.

If Arista was this happy, then we both had far more out of life than we’d expected to get.

“Your mother is waiting for us.” I knew the rest of the sentence was, “or I’d fuck you crazy on that piano.”

“We have time, Henry, we have time.” I patted his cheek and then we went downstairs.

I’d have to call Edana, I thought as I drove us off of the mountain. “Mom, do you know how to contact Edana?”

“Your cousin?” Mom asked, as if she wasn’t certain about who I meant.

“Yeah, I think she was. She used to babysit Arista and me when we were little.”

“I think Eve might know how to contact her. I’ll find out. Do you want her to come to the wedding?”

“She was the first one that told us about veils and special dresses, and she used to bring dresses she’d made from old pillowcases for us to play wedding day in. Yeah, I would like to invite her.”

“Then we’ll find her for you, baby.” Mom patted my arm from the back seat.

“You know, if you can handle it, we’ll have to have a dragon wedding too?”

I almost hit the brakes with that one. “Pardon?”

My eyes were wide and I could feel how high my left eyebrow had arched.

“Father will want it, as will the elders. Malcolm and Arista are planning theirs already.” Henry sounded like he wasn’t any happier than I was about the prospect.

“We’ll figure it out, Henry, don’t worry.” I patted his hand and tried to concentrate on the dirt road filled with sharp rocks that had been weathered from the ground.

“I hope so. We can do without it if we have to, but it would be nice, just to keep those in my world happy. I’m third in line, now that Galen’s come along, so I still have to follow some of the traditions.”

“We’ll sort it, I don’t know how, but we’ll get through it, Henry. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Having each other to get through the good and the bad times together.” I gave him what I hoped was a brave smile, but inside I felt panicked. A wedding in an entire world full of dragons? It might be the end of me!