Every morning, Gilbert and Polly went for a walk together. Only on the worst of the days did they not go out. This morning, it was pretty nice out. Cool but not cold, the dawn still silvery in the sky, and everything completely calm, without even the slightest breeze. A perfect day for him to finally tell her everything… as long as he could get up the courage to do so.
Polly gave him a distracted smile when she came from her house, wearing loose yoga pants and a form-fitting hoodie. Drool pooled in his mouth as he took in her bounteous curves, but his mouth went dry as soon as he remembered what he needed to tell her.
“Hey, I saw your light on late last night,” he blurted out. “Couldn’t sleep?”
Polly shrugged. “I had… words… with my mother yesterday. It wasn’t very pleasant. But I don’t want to talk about it. How is your research stuff going?”
“Good. I’ve gotten some encouraging results back.” They started walking. Gilbert considered the situation. It was clear that whatever had happened, Polly wasn’t happy with the conversation she’d had with her mother. Jessica Shields. The whole clan knew her name and her story. Perhaps he ought to tell her first, so that she had the chance to tell her daughter the whole story…
That would be kinder, wouldn’t it? To hear the news from her mother, rather than him. Or was that just him being a coward?
“I don’t know what I’m doing with my life,” Polly said suddenly. They left the gated community that his and the Freeman mansions were in and Polly shoved her hands into her pockets. “Ever since I was a little girl I had all these great plans, these dreams I wanted to accomplish in my future. And it feels like every single one of them has been pulled away from me, like I’m not worthy of seeing my dreams fulfilled. I don’t even know if I’m going to get anywhere with my life.”
Gilbert took her hand in his and squeezed gently. “Why don’t you tell me what is bothering you?”
Polly sighed. “I don’t know. It’s just everything. Things going wrong. And those damn mice in my home. It makes me sick and I don’t think I’m going to be able to be comfortable in it again, wondering where those little buggers came from.”
“I’m sure that the Freemans would—”
“That’s another thing.” Her fingers tightened in his briefly before she pulled back and wrapped her arms around her waist. “They’ve helped me out so much already. It feels like I’m being ungrateful when I think that it’s not…”
Gilbert studied her face as they walked. Her head was bowed, her gaze firmly on her feet. “Not enough… not in a way that you want more from them, but more like you want to be able to figure all this out and not have to rely on them. It makes you feel inadequate, to always be asking for help.”
Polly let out a sigh of relief and nodded. “That’s it exactly.”
“Is there anything that brought this up now?”
She shrugged.
He’d seen her in these down moods before. They happened to everybody, especially when it felt like nothing was going right. He wanted to be able to just hold her in his arms and assure her that everything was going to be okay. But it wasn’t. These problems that she had… they were just the tip of the iceberg.
And sooner or later, he was going to have to make it even worse for her.
Later, he thought. If I tell her now, she might just give up all hope.
“You said that you had to give up dreams,” he said softly. “What sort of things would you do if you had the chance?”
“Archeology,” she replied without missing a heartbeat. “But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to… I’m getting older and I’m only getting worse off for money.”
Gilbert couldn’t help but laugh at that, even though it wasn’t really funny. “You’re a long way from being old, Polly. It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can always learn new things. So, don’t give up on that just because it’s not happening now.”
Polly nodded, then looked up at him. Finally, a smile spread over her face. It didn’t last long, though, like the sun breaking through storm clouds only to be swallowed up again. “Thanks. I know it’s not the end of the world. I’m just not happy today. Partly because I didn’t sleep well. Partly because I was going over my finances all night. My mom wants a thousand dollars that she gave to me for university… I don’t really understand why now is so important, but I’m all she’s got, you know? I don’t want things to be weird between us.”
“Your mom,” Gilbert repeated. His heart pounded as he saw his opening. Maybe he didn’t have to tell her anything after all… maybe she knew more than they realized… “Has your mother ever told you about your father?”
Polly gave him a strange look. “Um… what does that have to do with anything?”
“Just curious, I guess.”
“Okay… I was the product of a one-night stand. My mom met my dad and she says that she got drunk and had a fling, only to wake up the next morning alone in her bed. She never drank again.” Polly’s shoulders slumped. “Sometimes I wonder if she would have kept me if she wasn’t so… I don’t know, determined to live this perfect life in the way that she was raised. Her parents disowned her for keeping me. And I know I should feel grateful that she loves me that much, but at the same time I can’t help but wish sometimes that I had grown up in a different family. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a whining millennial who doesn’t know the first thing about real life. I just need to take my breaks and get over myself.”
His heart was somewhere in his stomach, but Gilbert didn’t speak. Sooner, later, what did it matter? They were on a time limit.
Even though he had told himself that he’d talk to her mother first, or wait until she was in a better mood, he knew that any excuse he made to put this off now would be an excuse to put it off later, too. He licked his lips, wondering how to go about it. He could tell her that everything that her mother told her was a lie, that she had been the one to leave, not her father…
But that seemed like too much.
“I know what it’s like to feel like everything is falling apart,” he said instead. The words burst out of him like a waterfall. Like if he tried to hold them in, he’d swell up and die with them. “I told you that my research was going well.”
Polly gave him a puzzled look and nodded. “Isn’t it?”
“Yeah. If I was just looking to learn more about neurology and to help future generations. But the truth is, I’m trying to work out a cure for the king of my clan.” They passed a park and Gilbert was almost tempted to suggest they sit on the swings, but they continued on. “You know I’m from a clan down in Belize, right?”
Polly nodded again.
“Well… my king is very sick. It’s a genetic disease,” best not to bring up curses yet, “and he’s dying. We don’t have much time left for him. I’m afraid that I’m not going to find a cure in time. The Queen Daughter—his heir—disappeared a long time ago. Without her, everything will crumble. And I’m afraid that…” He choked on the words that came next, that she was the one they needed. “I’m afraid that my clan will fall to pieces.”
“I’m so sorry.” This time it was Polly who took his hand. She squeezed lightly, her gaze full of sympathy. “What happened to his daughter?”
“Well—”
Before he could say another word, a van suddenly screeched to a stop beside them. They both jumped. The van was black, with tinted windows so dark that they couldn’t see what was inside. A man wearing a hoodie and ballcap sat in the driver’s seat.
The door slammed open, causing Polly to jump. Half a dozen men wearing Halloween masks jumped out of the van. Gilbert’s fires flared to life, smoke billowing from his mouth. The men carried guns and Gilbert acted on instinct; he threw himself in front of Polly and started to shift. Scales burst over his body and his wings snapped out behind him. The men started firing the bullets at him; it was like being in a hail storm, dozens of sharp stings hitting his body. The bullets bounced off his scales, though.
Gilbert whipped his tail at the men; he caught two of them and flung them over the van while the others yelled. Four more men hopped from the van and charged between his legs at Polly. Gilbert grabbed the van and hefted it into the air; it hit the ground several meters away as he turned to the men attacking Polly. She clocked one in the face and kicked another between the legs.
A swell of pride rose in Gilbert’s chest; his queen was a strong fighter, even without her dragon. He watched her for a moment, like a bulldozer against her attackers, in awe of the strength behind each punch.
Several more gunshots went off and he whirled, remembering that this was a real danger. This time the bullets pierced through his scales, making him roar with pain. Flame flickered in his mouth as he loomed over the attackers.
Do no harm.
A disgruntled noise choked him as he remembered the oath he had taken. As much as he’d like to kill these people for attacking Polly, he couldn’t. He couldn’t call himself a real doctor if he did something like that. So, he snapped out his wings and whipped his tail, knocking them all far away from Polly. She headbutted the last attacker, bringing him down.
Gilbert snatched her up in his arms. Polly gave a protesting shout, but he took off into the air at once. Polly squirmed a bit at first but grew still soon enough. His wings beat the air as he kept himself airborne. His fires hissed and burned inside of him as he considered that they hadn’t threatened Polly with their weapons, that meant that they were after her.
Had a rival clan found out who she was? Were they trying to bring his clan to its knees by taking away their Queen Daughter? He hadn’t taken the time to sniff out if they were human or dragon… but if they were dragons, wouldn’t they have shifted and fought him that way?
He made it back to his mansion soon enough. He landed on the wide lawn and shifted back into his human form. The bullets wedged in his scales fell out, leaving behind bruises and scrapes but nothing serious. They were all copper-plated; so, they had come thinking that they might have to fight a dragon. A growl rose up his throat as he picked up one of the bullets.
“We could have taken them,” Polly said. She put her hands on her hips. “What did you run away for?”
Gilbert stared at her. “Polly, they had guns. If they had turned them on you…”
Her eyes widened, as though she hadn’t even considered that. She swayed on the spot. “Oh. Okay. Then, thank you. I’m glad you didn’t let me try to fight my way out of it… who do you suppose it was? Kidnappers, trying to get me for ransom? We need to call the cops. Right now.” She glanced at him… he was utterly naked, but if she found it uncomfortable, she gave no sign. “And you lost your keys. Let’s get to my house, I left my cellphone there. Let’s hurry, if we’re lucky the cops might be able to catch them.”
Gilbert followed her as they jogged across the lawn toward the Freemans’ mansion. Despite the situation, he had to smile… she knew how to take charge, didn’t she?