Chapter Three – Lily

"Come now, even children know basic quantum mechanics."

Lily clenched her hands so tight that her nails cut into her palms. It was all she could do to stop from shouting at the horrible witch of an alien that she was not a Stlozyn child. She was considered fairly well-educated on earth, having had some university education, but that didn't mean she could pick up advanced scientific theories when Efira didn't even bother to teach her the basic jargon before launching into the complicated explanations. She had thought being taught to conduct herself in court meant learning proper greetings and etiquette, not being grilled about quarks and dark matter and ripples in the universe.

"I told you – my math was very basic," she said through gritted teeth. "I was an art student more than anything else."

"You say that as though math and art are diametrically opposed. Look out the windows. Would you say that our buildings aren't art? And yet each was produced by mathematical principles."

"You don't have to know the precise angles of each cut of glass to experience its beauty. Some things are just meant to be felt, not analyzed. I bet you wouldn't know the first thing about executing a precise pirouette form grande plie. " Lily struck the first position in ballet, centering herself. "I might not know about quantum physics, but that doesn't mean I’m stupid – not any more than you not knowing what I’m talking about makes you stupid!"

"This isn't about what I know, and I am not interested in what you know. This is about filling in your appalling lack of knowledge . . . a task I fear is going to take more effort than it's worth. A child could—"

"Children's brains are elastic. And they're still forming neurological paths. If you are so advanced, you ought to know that!" Her voice was rising but she couldn't stop herself. It was just so frustrating!

Efira’s eyes narrowed. "I can't have a conversation if you are going to just be emotional and irrational."

"I’m not the one ignoring scientific fact just so I can insult you."

Efira looked shocked for a moment before smoothing out her expression. "I can see that we aren't going to make any progress today.  Try to at least read the materials before I come tomorrow."

The dragoness sauntered away as though she was the pink of perfection. Lily resisted the urge to throw something at the door. Emotional outbursts aside, she wasn't some Prima Donna who did that sort of thing when things didn't go her way. Being talked down to for the whole day – as she had been every day since she had arrived –was enough to wear on her typically cheerful self, though.

If she expected Eyrl to shield her from it, she had another thing coming. He joined her as Efira shut the door behind herself but didn't offer any comfort. Not that she had expected any. The level of frigidness in this place made her feel like she should be a penguin. She had tried to tell herself it would get better with time, but it wasn't happening. If anything, it was getting worse.

"Look," she said to her mate to-be, "I get that things are different here, but if you are going to just stand there and watch while she treats me like an idiot, then I'm going home. I don't need to be sneered at constantly because I didn't have the educational opportunities that an advanced alien species has, okay? Humans figured out how to get to the moon less than a hundred years ago. You can't expect me to understand the same things you do when you've got spaceships that can cross hundreds of millions of lightyears in the space of a few weeks."

Eyrl didn't say anything.

"Well? Are you going to do something or not?"

"I can teach you a few techniques to help control your outbursts."

That was it. Lily stormed to her wardrobe and flung it open. She grabbed the suitcase from inside and threw it onto the bed before moving around the room to collect her things.

Eyrl watched her with an incredulous expression. "What are you doing?"

Lily didn't look at him. "I said I was going home if you wouldn't defend me."

"But I offered to—"

"Look, you want me?" Lily straightened and gave him a glare. "You want me to be your little queen consort and smile and look pretty for your boards? You want me to have your children and be your mate? Then you accept me, not try to turn me into some emotionless robot that you think I should be. I'm not asking you to give me some grand displays of romance and affection – just a little understanding and compassion. If you can't give me that, then I'm not staying."

Eyrl's brows furrowed. For a moment she thought she might have actually gotten through to him. As soon as he opened his mouth, however, that delusion flew out of the window. "You can't leave. It would reflect badly on me."

Lily grabbed the old ballet shoes on her dresser: her first pair, the ones that had made her fall in love with the dance. She had been there for a few days already and he hadn't even asked if there was anything she wanted. Well, trying to cut herself into bits and change who she was on a fundamental level wasn't worth it.

"What are you doing? I just said—"

"Exactly why should I care?" Lily turned back to him. "Will you destroy Earth if I don't stay with you? Will you force me to stay with you?"

Eyrl ran a hand through his dark hair. "No. No, I would never do that."

"Good. Why should I care about your public image when you clearly don’t care about me? I am my emotions, and if you can't handle that, it's best for everybody if I just leave."

He let out a soft breath and shook his head. "I don't understand you."

Then there was certainly no point in her staying.

"But I'll try. I will try. And when it's you and me alone, I won't curb your emotions. But in public, you have to try to do things the way they are done here, and that means bridling yourself."

Lily sat on the edge of the bed. She still scowled but she nodded. "Okay. Okay, I will do that. Compromise is important in a relationship."

Eyrl slowly joined her. His hand touched hers and she twined her fingers into his. A frown crossed his face, though it quickly smoothed away. "I will admit that I don't fully understand humans. In some ways, you seem so advanced. In others . . . "

"I could say the same about Stlozyn."

They sat in silence for a moment before Eyrl rested his hand on her knee. He appeared to be struggling for a moment before he faced her fully.

"When I was a young dragon, my mother wanted me to recite a paper my father had written just before I was born. It was fairly simple, comparing the geomorphic composition between two planets. I became so nervous standing before the boards that I forgot every word. So I went ahead and instead quoted the Ethics of Science, a treatise that governs all our procedures." He looked away. "My mother told me that the next time I couldn't do as instructed, I was to admit my fault and sit down."

Lily wanted to be shocked. She really did. But having met Xæm, all she could think was that it was perfectly believable. Thinking about her children growing up in this repressive atmosphere made her shudder. "Why did you pick a human as a mate?"

"Your fertility and—"

"I know the logic behind you picking me," Lily interrupted. "I want to know why you picked me. Your culture is so different from mine, and it's clear that human emotion is frowned on. So why go through all this trouble? There have to be thousands of dragonesses that would cut off their right hands to be your queen consort."

"I didn't want a dragoness."

Lily prodded him in the side to indicate he needed to continue.

"I don't want the cold that I grew up with." He finally met her eye. "I don't want my children to grow up the way I did. I want someone who is warm and passionate. I want a wife, not a queen consort."

He turned to her fully, his hand tightening on hers. There was a determination in his eyes, something that had fires burning in the pit of her. She leaned forward slightly, nodding. She had a feeling that if she said anything, he'd stop talking. She didn't want that – not when they were finally getting somewhere.

"I have plans," he whispered, as though they were secret. "Stlozyn society is changing, becoming more tolerant. We have colonies where religion is openly practiced. There are more dragons on the boards than ever before. I want to open up research into helping those who have never had a chance before. I want compassion to be as highly valued as objective knowledge. I wouldn't be able to do that if they stuck me with a dragoness that tried to rule for me."

"And you think I can help?"

Eyrl nodded. He brushed his thumb over her lip briefly before pulling back. "Yes. I do. But getting you to be queen consort is going to be a challenge . . .  Let's turn your compassion into a strength for all to see. You should start a program to help the quality of life for individuals."

"Okay . . . like what?"

The prince gave her a half-smile. "That, you'll have to figure out yourself."