Chapter Eight

The following morning, as he worked out in the fields, she packed a few things, all she would be able to carry on horseback. She waited until he was on the back half of the property and then made a hasty exit, heading west. The people who would look for her would expect her to come back east where she knew people, so her only option was to go west toward San Francisco or perhaps drift south toward Galveston. Either place would give her quick access to leave America if things did get too hot.

She didn’t feel very ladylike in a pair of riding pants boots, hat and one of Angus’s old shirts, but it would make her look more masculine from a distance, which would make her travels safer than being noted as a woman traveling alone. She rode hard until dark began to fall around her and then began looking for a place to camp for the night. With only a blanket to keep her warm, she would need to find the warmest place possible as the night were still pretty chilly. Ducking into a heavily wooded area, she tied the horse to a tree and sat down on a nearby log to eat some of the cornbread she had packed, slathering it with a bit of jam.

After a while, she curled up behind the log, letting it shield her from the night breeze. She rolled up in the blanket to sleep. It took a while to drift off with the sounds of the forest all around her. She could hear coyotes howling in the distance. The fear of them remained after she had seen what they had done to Dog and tried to do to Angus. Memories of her lost home overcame her fear of what lay out in the wild as tears fell and she cried herself to sleep out in the darkness of the woods.

She awoke in the early morning hours, eating a few bites of the jerky she had packed and taking a few swigs of water from her canteen before heading out again. The days and nights all ran together as she traveled swiftly. Her food supply was running out and she felt exhausted. She wasn’t even sure how long she had been traveling or where she was headed, having decided she would just follow the trails westward until she arrived someplace that felt like she could be there for a while, perhaps forever.

“Where ya headed, ma’am?” a sprightly old man she met at a vegetable stand along the road asked.

“I’m not sure,” she replied, looking at the items he had for sale. She had no money, but was hoping he would be up for a trade.

“Not good country to be traveling in alone, if you don’t mind my saying so,” he advised.

“Thanks. I’ve no choice and no money. Would you be willing to trade a few items for a bit of jewelry? It’s gold. I brought it all the way from England with me,” she told him.

A short time later, she left with a pack full of fruit and vegetables that she could eat on the trail and a full canteen of water from a nearby spring he pointed her toward. He cautioned her to steer clear of the paths used by the influx of gold miners into the California hills and she thanked him before heading back out, careful to steer more southward toward Texas. Galveston was the place to be, she had decided.

Day after day passed as she made her way into the great state of Texas, with still quite a distance to go to get to the southern coast. The trip had been lonely and her spirits were low, but at least she had made it with encountering very few other travelers and without incident. She had feared the worst with traveling alone, but had been fortunate. Even the coyotes had never come too close and she was even more thankful for that.

When she finally made it into Dallas, Texas, she was once again running low on food and completely out of water. She traded the last of the jewelry that had been gifts from her father for a room for the night and enough food for the rest of the trip. The city was bustling with a lot more people than she had seen in most of the cities here in America. There were all too many single farmers and ranchers eager to vie for her affections and she found herself rejecting men all throughout town, even dressed in manly clothing. It didn’t seem to matter to them that she was decidedly unwomanly and disheveled.

“You sure are a pretty little thing,” a burly man leaning against a building told her. He reached out to touch the long braid that had fallen out from under her hat and hung down her shoulder. Margaret yanked away from him and scowled. “What’s the matter? You too good for the likes of me?”

Margaret jerked away from him, only to find herself in a worse situation. A pair of drunken men stumbled out of a nearby bar just as she was passing it. They smiled at her, one of them quite toothless and disgusting. He reached and grabbed for her hand and she jerked away.

“Oh, she’s spunky. I like that,” the man cackled.

“Nothing like a feisty woman to liven things up, huh, Jacob?” one of the other men retorted.

“Sure ain’t,” the first man replied taking a few steps toward her. She began edging away from him, careful not to turn her back on either of them. Suddenly hands were on her arms from behind her.

“I got her for ya,” a man’s voice came from behind.

The other men laughed and moved in closer to her, but Margaret wasn’t about to let them get the better of her. She raised her foot and stomped heavily, bringing the heel of her boot down heavily on the toes of the man holding her. He let out a howl and then began cursing as she tore away from him, running down the street toward her room.

“Hey, that ain’t no way to be!” one of the men called after her, but she never broke stride. She made her way back to her room and pushed the bolt inside shut, leaning against the door to catch her breath now that she was safe. She found it odd that she could come so many miles through prairies and wilderness only to be threatened with harm in the biggest city she had encountered since New York.

Margaret headed out at first light, eager to get to Galveston, as far away from the broken heart and bad memories of Billings as she could. Perhaps one day she would be happy again, but it wasn’t likely. What man was going to want a woman who was running from killers and had a husband she had abandoned. It was all just too overwhelming to comprehend. Whether it was something she had eaten or just the stress of traveling, she wasn’t sure but she had to stop just outside of Dallas to rest. She felt so exhausted, even after a full night’s sleep in a bed. The worst was the nausea that had begun to plague her a few days ago. It was almost unbearable as she pulled a few of the crackers she had managed in Dallas from her saddle bag and munched on them to calm her stomach.

As soon as she was able, she climbed back onto the horse and headed south again, galloping at full pace. It wouldn’t be long now until she was in Galveston. With a little luck, she should be there by nightfall. Turned out that luck wasn’t something she was having much of that day, though. She found herself suddenly being thrown from the horse as he stepped in a hole and stumbled. Bruised and frightened, she slowly got up from the ground and dusted herself off, relieved that nothing seemed broken. The horse didn’t seem to have fared as well. He was limping badly.

“Looks like this is the end of the trip for you, boy,” she said with a sigh. His leg wasn’t broken, but he was in no shape to continue with a rider. Margaret unpacked what she could carry from his saddle bags and pulled off his saddle and reigns. She hid what she couldn’t carry in some brush just off the trail. Perhaps when she got into Galveston, she could find another horse and come back for her things. For now, it seemed she’d be walking in with just enough supplies to get her there. Looked like she would be spending one more night in the woods, after all.

Walking along the trail, she was offered rides by several men passing in wagons, but she declined. She kept hoping for one that also contained a woman, a family perhaps, but it didn’t seem that would happen as she walked along. She just didn’t feel she could trust men who were traveling alone, and would rather make the long walk by herself than take any chances. It began to get dark and she started looking around for shelter for the night, finally wandering just off the trail to a small wooded area that looked like it would provide a bit of protection from the wind blowing through the heavy tree coverage.

She had just drifted off to sleep when she heard voices near her. She recognized them, but in her sleepy haze, couldn’t decide quite from where. They were growing closer and she was suddenly wide awake, looking for a hiding place. She scampered into the trees, hiding behind them as the footsteps grew closer. In the darkness, she could barely make out the faces but the voices began to register. It was the men that had accosted her in Dallas. Her heart bat wildly as she continued to cower behind the tree.

“How about that little filly in Dallas?” one of them laughed.

“I think she broke my toes,” the one she had injured replied.

“Spirited little thing, she was,” another added.

“Yeah, too bad she thought she was too good for us,” the first observed. “Maybe the women in Galveston will be more accommodating. We’ll hole up here for the night instead of paying for a room and then ride in come sun up.”

They were talking about her! And they were making camp! Plus, they were headed to Galveston, too. This was not good, not good at all. Maybe she could just stay where she was until they fell asleep and then quietly sneak away. It took them hours to fall asleep as she stood plastered against the back of the tree, exhausted and frightened. Then, all was quiet. She peered around the edge of the tree and toward where they had bedded down, seeing no signs that any of them were still awake.

The very first step resulted in a loud crunch of the branches and leaves on the ground. Margaret froze, waiting for one of them to stir, but none did. She slowly took a few more steps, hesitating after each one to listen for movement. When none came, she hastened her pace, quickly making her way through the woods along what she hoped was the edge of the trail she had come off of. She was moving so quickly that she never heard the footsteps behind her until it was too late.

“Well, lookie what we have here,” the man she had injured said as he grabbed her around the waist, hauling her backwards toward camp.

“Put me down!” she yelled at him as he carried her effortlessly back the way she had come and into the small area where he had been camped for the night.

“Bad idea for a little woman to be alone out in the woods,” one of the others said to her as she struggled against the one holding her. He was careful not to give her a chance to hurt anymore toes as he held onto her waist and tilted her sideways so that her boots were angled away

“Looks like we got ourselves a little entertainment for the evening, boys,” another said.

“Sure does,” another replied, taking a step closer to her.

“I said put me down. I’m not entertainment for anyone, you bunch of filthy heathens!” she screamed at them. They only laughed and continued toward her. Margaret began to scream at the top of her lungs in hopes that someone would come. One of the men clamped a hand over her mouth and she bit him, causing him to jump backward for a moment. She prayed for help as he cursed her and started toward her again.

“You’re going to pay for that,” he growled.

Suddenly, the moon was blotted out as something large and dark swooped down from overhead. Margaret was tossed aside and scampered behind a nearby tree to safety. She could hear the men’s screams as whatever was attacking them let out a loud screech and ripped through their camp. Terrified, she finally turned and peered out from the behind the tree, unable to believe her eyes.

The creature was huge. It looked like some sort of bat, but hundreds of times larger and with a long snout. It seized one of the men beneath a powerful talon and flung him sideways. Margaret let out a scream as his body crunched against the side of the tree and fell to the ground, broken and lifeless. Clamping her hand over her mouth so as not to scream again and garner the attention of this demonic beast before her, she watched in horror as the men were torn apart one by one. Shots rang out as one of them took aim and fired, but his bullets merely glanced off the heavy scales that covered the hideous things body.

Margaret couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Was she dreaming? Perhaps she had fallen asleep waiting for the men to do the same and this was just some horrible nightmare. She tried to will herself awake, but realized that she already was as the creature let out a powerful stream of fire, reducing the last of the men to mere char and bone. The heated smell of burning flesh filled the air around her, making her sick to her stomach once again. She turned away, leaning against the tree for support as she struggled to understand what she had just witnessed. Then, she heard a familiar voice.

“Margaret? Where are you?” Angus said, sounding a little breathless.

“Angus!”

Margaret shot out from behind the tree, running toward him. She noticed immediately that he was naked. Why was he here? How was he here? The creature was gone and here he stood, naked in the woods. She considered again whether this might be just a dream.

“Are you okay?” he asked as if nothing was amiss.

“Angus, how did you…” she began to say, but he held his hand up.

“I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to get away from here before anyone comes asking questions,” he replied.

“Where are your clothes? Where did that thing go?” she replied.

“Later, Margaret. We need to get moving,” he told her.

Margaret watched as he fished around in the men’s wagon, pulling out some clothes that were a bit too big, but at least covered his nudity. He slipped into a pair of their boots and seemed to stop to think for a moment. Finally, he helped her onto the back of one of the horses that had belonged to the men and climbed on in front of her, telling her to hold on. They galloped away, headed back into the heavily populated city of Dallas. When they arrived, Angus gave a man some money for a place to stay and they went inside.

“How did you find me?” Margaret asked once they were inside.

“I’ve been following you since I figured out you were gone,” he said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t find you and then I heard you scream.”

“How did you know which direction I would go?” she asked.

“Let’s just say, I relied heavily on the good Lord for some guidance and hoped he was steering me right,” he said.

“I’m glad he did. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along,” she said.

“I’m afraid I do. Margaret, why would you take off alone like that? And on horseback? I found your horse limping around days ago,” he said.

“I couldn’t afford the train and wasn’t expecting the horse to go lame on me,” she replied.

“But why leave at all? Do you not love me?” he asked ].

“Angus, of course, I love you. That is why I had to leave. I could see how much it pained you that I lied and that you had to kill a man because of it. I knew more would come. I couldn’t stay there and wait for men to come after me and hurt you too,” she said.

“Margaret, I love you. Do you not understand that I would do anything for you?” he asked.

“You were so angry with me,” she said.

“I was hurt to know that you lied. I was hurt that you didn’t feel you could trust me enough to come to me with the truth before you were forced to do so. And yes, I’ve never had to kill a man before. It’s a hard thing, not something I took lightly. I’ve had a lot of thinking to do, a lot of praying to do,” he said.

“I’m sorry, Angus,” she said, not knowing what else to say.

“Nothing, none of that, hurt nearly as much as walking in from the fields and finding you gone. I looked everywhere. I feared the worst. Then, I found that you had taken some things and a horse. So, I did the same. I was so afraid something would happen to you before I could get to you,” he said.

“I’m glad that you did,” she told him.

“Oh, here is something for you. I don’t know if it’s everything, but I got back what I could,” he told her, handing her a small burlap bag from his pocket.

Margaret emptied it into her hand to find that it was the jewelry she had traded along the way for food and supplies. Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at it.

“Angus, how did you get this back?” she asked.

“I had some money put back for seeds. I used some of it. We should have enough to get us back home if we are careful,” he told her.

“What will we do for seeds then?” she asked, now feeling even worse about the mess she had made of things.

“We will worry about that when we get back home safely,” he told her.

“And the men, what if more of them come?’ she asked.

“I have a plan for that, too. We can talk about it on the way home,” he told her.

“Angus, that thing…” she said.

“I am sorry, Margaret. I should have told you what I am.”

“What you are?” she repeated, not understanding.

“I was so hard on you for lying to me and it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all when it pales in comparison to the secret I have kept from you, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid that if I did, you would run away from me or think I was something demonic.”

“Oh, my God,” she replied, beginning to understand.

“That thing you saw. It’s me. It’s called a dragon. Not a lot of people here have ever heard of one and those who have don’t believe they exist or think they no longer exist.”

“A dragon?”

“Yes. I am a dragon shifter. I have the ability to shift my form from that of a man to that of the creature you saw in the woods.”

“It was horrible. Why would you want to be that?”

“It’s not always horrible, Margaret. There is a great beauty in being a dragon. I can fly and I heal so much faster in that form. Remember the bite from the coyotes? And look…” he told her, pulling up a sleeve to show her his arm.

The gunshot that had grazed him was all but gone only after a few days. Margaret remembered that the bite had healed quite quickly, as well. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, as he had kept it concealed. It was only after a couple of weeks that she saw his bare arm and noted there was not even a scar where it had been, but she had chalked it up to his just having a great ability to heal. The truth truly was stranger than fiction.

“You were so distraught about shooting the man in our house, and yet you just destroyed several men so violently,” she said, incredibly confused still.

“I know. I was upset because I came here to get away from what I am. I came from a brutal place, where it was common for dragons to fight to the death just to achieve status or power. I thought I could come here and put that behind me by just becoming a simple farmer.”

“But you couldn’t.”

“No. The desire to shift, to fly is too great. I’ve learned to keep my flights low and only under the cover of night.”

“You are what I was seeing at night – the dark figure that I sometimes witnessed when I rose, looking for you when you disappeared in the darkness.”

“I didn’t know that you had, but yes. I used the dragon to help clean up the storm debris after the tornado last year, to retrieve the tin and get it back into place. I couldn’t do that in the daytime, but with the distance in farms and the cover of night, it is easier to stretch my wings and do some of the heavy lifting.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Would you have believed me? Would you have understood?”

“I don’t know, but you could have shown me. You were so angry with me for not telling you about my perils and yet, your secret is so much more than mine.”

“Is it? Secrets are secrets, aren’t they? If you are keeping them from the one you love, then aren’t they equal in the damage that is done? I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”

“You are a hypocrite.”

“I am. I’m sorry. I realized that once I found you gone. I knew that I was no better than what I accused you of being. My anger was more about fearing for your safety than about the secret itself.”

“I don’t know what to say about any of this, Angus. It’s a lot.”

“Let’s just get some sleep. We have a long ride to get back home and plenty of time to talk about it more on the way.”

Margaret nodded and got undressed for bed. Though she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about all of this, she knew she loved Angus and nothing could change that. In the morning, they readied themselves for the ride home and began making their way back to Montana.

“I can’t believe you managed to get so far before I found you,” he marveled.

“I was determined to make sure I was far away where people wouldn’t hurt you because of me,” she replied.

“Very determined, it seems.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t find me sooner, given your abilities.”

“I had made the trip by horse until it got so exhausted and I had to let it go. I didn’t want to risk the dragon being seen and have some mob hunting me down, but then I heard you scream and had no choice.”

“Wait? You heard me scream from where? Weren’t you already nearby?”

“No. My hearing is quite amplified. I heard you from miles away and shifted to get to you quickly. Luckily, it was dark enough for no one to see me, especially the men that I needed to surprise.”

“I’d say they were quite surprised. I know I certainly was.”

“Does this change how you feel about me?” he asked.

Margaret studied his face, the sadness that seemed to envelope it at the thought that she might not be able to accept him for what he truly was. She would be lying to herself if she couldn’t admit that she found it a bit disturbing, but he was still him. He was still the man she had somehow fallen in love with despite the reasons she had come here and wasn’t the same true of him? He had merely needed a wife who could help him on his farm and it had become so much more.

“No. Knowing that my husband can change into some sort of mythical beast is going to take some getting used to, but I will learn to deal with it.”

“Aren’t we a pair? I’m a beast and you are a wanted woman.”

“More like an exhausted woman,” she replied.

“I know. I am pretty weary myself.”

They lapsed into silence for a while, traveling quietly along the dusty roads leading them home. As nightfall began to fall, Margaret broached the subject of stopping for the night.

“I’m so tired, Angus. Perhaps we should consider bedding down somewhere for the night.”

“I’ve a better idea. How about we speed up this trip and make it home tonight?”

“What? How?”

“Ditch the horse, roll up the things we have in your blanket and fly.”

“Fly?”

“Yes. I can shift and you can ride on my back.”

“Oh, God. I don’t know. That sounds terrifying,” she replied.

“Up to you. It’s just the difference in two more days on this trail and camping out in the woods, as opposed as getting home tonight and sleeping in our own bed.”

“Our own bed does sound tempting, but is it safe?”

“Yes. I will make sure I stay low and fly evenly so you don’t get bumped around or, heaven forbid, off.”

“I have to say that I’m really scared.”

“I know you are. We don’t have to if you just don’t feel comfortable with it.”

“I think it just frightens me, but how many people get a chance to fly like a bird, right?”

“This is true.”

“Okay. Let’s do it then,” she told him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Let’s just do it before I chicken out.”

Angus stopped the horse and removed its bridle and reins, setting it loose in the woods. He and Margaret tied up their things and she draped them across her back like a sling.

“Ready?”

“Ready as I will ever be,” she told him.

Margaret watched, wide eyed, as she began to change before her eyes. She took a few steps backward as his body began to change and expand, filling the clearing in which they had stopped. Scales formed as his skin seemed to rip apart and his bones crackled, breaking apart and taking on new form. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, her fear growing as she witnessed his metamorphosis right before her eyes. She cautioned herself to stay calm, to not let her fear get the best of her so that she didn’t go through with this.

Even so, she had a hard time reconciling this thing that now stood in front of her with her gentle husband. His normally soft, thoughtful brown eyes were now large, bloodshot golden orbs. His weathered skin had been replaced with thick greenish black scales that rippled across his powerful mass. Nothing of her beloved Angus was apparent in this creature, and yet, it was him. She watched as he extended his long neck and lay his head on the ground so that she could climb onto his back.

Taking a deep breath, she carefully made her way upward, using the heavy scales to pull herself along until she was seated on the center of his back with her hands grasping his neck as firmly as she could manage. It felt like her heart might explode from the excitement and fear as he slowly lifted his head and then began to ascend into the night sky, high enough into the air so as not to be noticeable, but not so high as to frighten her any more than necessary. At first, she was still terrified, but then, as they soared through the cool night air, she felt something akin to exhilaration. She was flying!

They let down in the pasture behind the shed at the back of their farm. It was at that moment that Margaret realized why she had found Angus returned from the shed in the middle of the night so many times. He must have been stripping off his clothes in the shed before shifting in the meadow behind it and then returning here to get dressed again before coming back into the house. This is what he had been doing all those nights, but where had he been flying to? Once she was off his back, he shifted back to human form, walking naked toward the house with her in tow.

“Where did you go all those nights you snuck out and shifted?” she asked.

“Nowhere in particular. A natural part of me to just wants to break out my dragon and take flight. I usually just fly across the fields where it isn’t well populated and along the river to watch the way the moonlight shines upon the water.”

“That must be so incredible, so beautiful to see.”

“It is. You didn’t really get to see the best of it on our trip here, only fields and forests. If you feel brave again some night, I can take you with me and show you where the real beauty lies.”

“I would love that,” she told him.

They made their way into the house and straight into bed, where the adrenaline of having flown home seemed to drive both of them into a carnal frenzy.

Margaret sighed as Angus kissed the soft, delicate skin of her neck. She closed her eyes, a wide smile on her face as he moved over her, the scent of his body wrapping around her. Letting her eyes open just a bit, she watched the way the morning sun streaming in through the bedroom window played on his skin, the light cutting across the taut, strong shapes of his upper body. He continued to kiss her, his hand now on her inner thigh, the feeling of his palm on her skin so close to her sex sending waves of anticipation running through her body.

"I want you so badly," Margaret said, her voice breathy, the words barely formed through the pleasure.

Angus apparently didn't need to hear another word. He positioned himself above her, supporting his brawny, muscular form with his thick, ropey arms, the muscles flexing with his weight. Margaret couldn't wait to have him in her. Their lovemaking had only grown more pleasurable since they'd begun to explore one another on a regular basis. She wrapped her fingers around the girth of his cock, taking in a sharp breath as she took sweet pleasure at the feeling of his member in her hand.

"Someone's eager," he said, his dark eyes flashing a knowing glint.

"You know I'm no good at waiting," Margaret said, her mouth forming a sensual, playful smirk.

"That's right. You're a girl who goes for what she wants."

But before the conversation could continue further, Margaret placed the head of Angus's cock on the entry of her sex, closing her eyes once again. She loved the anticipation of him right on the edge of her, knowing that just a few moments later she would be completely filled with his long, hard stick. Then, with a slow glide, she pulled him into her at a pace that allowed her to feel every inch of his thickness as it filled her up.

"God, you feel so incredible inside of me," Margaret said, taking a deep breath, the tight heat of pleasure already building in her nether regions.

"The feeling is more than mutual," Angus replied, now sliding in and out of her.

Margaret wrapped her legs around him, bringing her hips closer to his, imploring him with her body to drive himself deeper and faster into her. They'd made love enough times that Angus understood immediately what she wanted. He picked up the pace, rocking his hips into her, plowing into her harder and faster. Moans slipped from Margaret's mouth as he pounded her vigorously, filling her over and over again with his perfection. She opened her eyes just enough to observe his body work, to watch the muscles of his sculpted form tense and flex as he plunged into her again and again, her full breasts shaking and quivering with each impact of his hips into hers.

Then, a sly grin crossed Margaret's mouth. Grabbing Angus's hips, she guided him over to his side, rolling their bodies until she was on top of him, his cock buried in her all the while. Angus crossed his hands behind his head, his muscles flexing as he did. Slowly at first, Margaret rode him, bucking her hips up and down, letting him move in and out of her, the pleasure almost too much to bear. Looking down at his sculpted form, his broad, strong shoulders, and his gorgeous face, she knew that her orgasm was not far at all.

Her pace quickened, the sound of flesh on flesh filling the air. Angus moved his hands down to her hips, grabbing hold of her soft curves and lifting her up and down on his cock. Margaret leaned forward, placing her hands his rock-hard chest, bouncing herself up and down on top of him, the pleasure building and building by the second.

"Oh, fill me with your seed,” she said, her voice breathy and pregnant with passion.

Angus grunted, his face tightening as he approached orgasm. And as he approached, so did Margaret. She felt herself being pushed to the brink of pleasure, ready to fall over the precipice she had become all too familiar with and into pure ecstasy.

And moments later, it happened. Her orgasm exploded through her body, muffled shrieks slipping out of her mouth as she covered her lips with her hands. The orgasm rushed through her, the hot, pulsing pleasure rocking her body. Angus came as she did, and the feeling of him erupting into her only increased the orgasmic joy that filled her body. She rocked her hips harder and harder, draining every last drop out of her beautiful husband. Soon, her orgasm ebbed, and she collapsed in a heap on top of him.

They lay like this for a time, Margaret resting her head on his now-sweaty chest, listening to his heart beat a pace that slowed by the second, feeling the rise-and-fall of his breath.

"Have I told you how much I love it when you ride me?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Why do you think I love to do it so much?" asked Margaret, tapping the end of his nose with her finger.

"Oh, don't act like you're not getting anything out of it, too," said Angus, his tone playful.

"I can't argue with that," she said with a smirk.

A little more time passed, the two of them enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking before eventually falling asleep in one another’s arms. Still riding the wave of euphoria that had come with being able to fly and having what many in their rather puritan circles would consider inappropriate sexual relations between husband and wife, she gave no thought to what tonight’s revelation might mean for their future together. So, her husband was a dragon. There were probably worse things a person could be, though she wasn’t sure that they were or if she truly wanted to know about them.

She had slept peacefully until the sun was high in the sky above and awakened with a start upon realizing Angus was no longer in the bed beside her. She felt a certain glow as she threw her gown over her head and ventured downstairs to look for him. She found him at the kitchen table, looking over a scrap of paper laid out in front of him.

“What are you doing, love?” she asked, walking up behind him wand wrapping her arms over his shoulders affectionately.

“Deciding at how I want to lay out the crops to get the maximum benefit from what resources we have.”

“You should have woken me up. I would have come down to help,” she told him.

“You were so beautiful to watch sleeping. I couldn’t bear to disturb you. Did you get enough rest?”

“I did. I slept like a baby.”

“And what happened yesterday? Any thoughts on that?” he asked, studying her face.

“I don’t know that I’ve fully wrapped my head around it just yet, but I suppose it is what it is. There isn’t anything to be done to change it, is there?”

“No. I’m afraid not.”

“Then, it is just a matter of having a husband who also happens to be a dragon. What could possibly go wrong with that?” she replied, laughing a bit nervously.

“Plenty, if the wrong people ever get wind of it. I just want to make sure you understand the need for complete secrecy regarding my gift. People would burn us down, drive us out of town and that is if we are lucky not to be hanged.”

“I don’t understand that. It’s not as if you are some horrible monster to be feared.”

“Were you not afraid when you first saw me?”

“Well, yes, but I didn’t know it was you.”

“Neither would they and, unlike you, it wouldn’t make a difference when they found out. I would still be unnatural, an abomination in their eyes.”

“And where you came from? Were you accepted there?”

“No. It is the same for dragons all over. People are afraid of what they cannot understand. They fear it and that fear causes them to want to destroy it. It would be the end of us if they knew.”

“It is a shame that people can be like that – always ready to do harm without asking themselves what they are really doing until it is already too late. Don’t worry. I will never tell anyone what you are, but only on one condition.”

“You have conditions now, do you?”

Margaret looked at him very seriously, studying his obviously bemused expression. It was clear that whatever her conditions were held not consequence for him, but he would still entertain her ideas with a sense of humor. “You have to take me flying again sometimes when we can slip away.”

“That’s easy enough. We will do that. I can take you along the river and up through the mountains so you can look down upon the world like a bird soaring through the night. Is that all?”

“No, that is not all. I’m going to need you to make love to me all the time, like you did last night. It was so incredible to just feel such abandon.”

“Well, all the time is a bit much. How will we ever get anything done in the fields and what will people think of us in the middle of church going at one another like feral rabbits?”

“Oh, you! You know what I mean! Just promise me that we will never become one of those old boring couples that never enjoy one another intimately.”

“Are you crazy, woman? I’m a wild animal! I’m a dragon, for goodness sakes. You will never find a day when my primal nature doesn’t beg to plunder that beautiful body of yours.”

“Promise?”

“Promise, until death do us part.”

“Now, that sounds like a lifetime plan I can get behind. Shall we make what we can of the rest of this day and see about getting the fields ready for planting?”

“Are you kidding? It’s already far too late in the day to start gardening now. I have a better idea.”

Margaret giggled as he stood and whirled around, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her upstairs. They made love again for hours, until the both of them were weak and exhausted. They fell into an almost lifeless sleep, completely unaware of anything around them beyond their bodies own rhythmic breathing that kept them lulled into peaceful slumber. When they awoke again in the late hours of the night, Angus retrieved them a crust of bed and a dipper of water which they scarfed down hungrily before falling upon one another once again and continued their long day of animalistic sex.

As Margaret slipped back into sleep again, she felt a sense of contentment like she’d never known before. She lay her head on Angus’s chest as he slept beside her and listened to his breathing as he rested from their day’s antics. In the morning, it would be business as usual for the two of them. They would venture back into the fields to toil at keeping their little farm and thus, themselves alive. She had been right when she had surmised that her life here would be hard and she had been right.

Still, days like this, in the arms of a man she couldn’t imagine not loving, made it all worth it for her. She knew that she would carve her way through mountains with a hand shovel to get to him on the other side if it came to that. He was the love of her life and though it might have been by a complete fluke that she had found her way too him, there was no doubt she had followed the right path.

So, he was a dragon. Everyone had their faults. Granted, it was a bit more than just having a wart on his toe or a penchant for a drink now and then, but it wasn’t as if he could change it and he didn’t abuse his powers by using it against anyone undeserving of the destruction his dragon form was capable of raining down upon an enemy. As far as she was concerned, he was still just the simple, handsome farmer she had agreed to marry even though they had never met nor exchanged photos and that was good enough for her.

After a while, she dozed off once more, sleeping peacefully for much longer than she would have expected after having been in bed for nearly the whole day. Of course, little of that had been actually sleeping, she reminded herself. Her last thoughts as she drifted off to dreamland were of his touch and his kiss and when her slumber led her to dream, she didn’t conjure of nightmares filled with fire breathing dragons or men crunching against trees. Instead, she pictured herself holding a child, a wee symbol of their union as they walked blissfully along the trail down by the lake under a cloudless sky on a warm spring day.

A smile crossed her face and stayed there as the dreams went on to show her just how wonderful her life with Angus would be if she merely accepted him for what he was as he had accepted her. Wasn’t that what marriage was all about, after all? Compromise and acceptance? Neither of them were perfect, that much was obvious, but together they created a little corner of the world that was a perfection all its own. Life was going to be great for as long as they remained together and that was forever, as far as she was concerned. The thoughts dissipated as she slipped deeper into sleep, leaving her to find a peace that flowed over her like a soft wave upon the shore.