The five years that followed were some of the happiest I had ever lived. Allie and I flew together. She learned how to breathe fire and grew up before my very eyes. She hadn’t grown much more since the first night we met.

Allie didn’t teach me a lot about the dragon world. She didn’t think that I was ready yet. I was annoyed with her but I knew she meant well.

I had changed more than I had expected to. My hair had grown down to the middle of my back and I grew taller and leaner. Stronger. I was seventeen.

My family and I were actually going out to eat. A new café had opened up close to our house. It was cute and quaint—but expensive. I choked on my lukewarm tea as I realized what this meant.

Jason (why was he here in the first place) patted my back softly.

I hadn’t told him about my engagement to a man I didn’t know. He still thought that there was a chance between…us. Boy was he going to get a shock out of seeing our guests today!

Lord Leo was visiting us which meant that I was most likely leaving in a few days. Leaving…it suddenly hit me like a slap in the face. Mother had made me dress fancy for this outing. The deep, purple dress was itchy and ugly in my eyes. I preferred nice cotton pants and a shirt.

Apparently that wasn’t ladylike enough.

Luke looked at me in concern.

I leaned toward him and lowered my voice. “You do know why we’re here, don’t you?”

His eyes widened as he caught my double meaning. “Father would have told us.”

I shook my head. “Father has been acting strange these past few days. I think this might be the last time…” My voice faded as I caught sight of a group of four headed our way. There were a few maids surrounding them.

I saw Luke tense.

Father had a pleased expression on his face. Mother looked worried and Jason just looked confused. 

I suppressed a sigh.

The oldest man had graying black hair. He was broad in the shoulders and still had muscle for a man of his age. He was tall, too. But his eyes were freaky. They looked a deep red—almost black.

The second oldest man had black hair, deep ocher eyes, high cheek bones, tall, and looked extremely strong. He walked like he owned the place which, in my life, that might actually be true.

The third man, who looked the youngest, had deep brown hair and penetrating silver eyes. He had a prominent jaw line and was extremely tall and graceful looking as he made his way over with the group.

The youngest of the group was a girl. She had shocking blue hair that reached her waist, golden eyes that seemed lifeless, and looked a few inches shorter than me. She was lean and tan and had a pointed chin.

All of us meager folk stood to greet them. Father and Luke bowed low and Mother curtsied beautifully. I steeled my nerves and curtsied as well. Jason, for whatever reason, didn’t bow. He only glared at the small party and gave my father a suspicious glance.

“Welcome, welcome,” Father boomed. “Lord Leo, may I present my daughter, Emily.”

Embarrassed, angry, and furious; I plastered a smile on my face and curtsied low. He extended his hand. I believe he wanted me to kiss the fancy ring on his finger. But I didn’t. It would have felt too degrading. Instead I shook it and this time I felt my smile come more naturally.

I could see Father’s jaw twitching.

“Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Lord Leo.” No way was I calling him “my” lord.

“Likewise, Miss Emily.” He nodded his head once. The man with ocher eyes stepped forward. “May I introduce my eldest son, Milton.”

I felt my stomach drop to my feet.

I curtsied again and extended my hand. Milton gently took it in both of his strong hands and raised it to his lips. I mentally screamed at myself for not wearing my gloves today.

“My pleasure, Miss Emily.” Milton’s voice was deep and rich. I saw something flash in his eyes.

Staying polite, I replied, “The pleasure is all mine, sir.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Father nod in approval.

Milton lowered my hand and slowly let it go. It drove me crazy knowing that I couldn’t simply pull my hand away after the formal introduction was over. It would have been rude and impolite.

Lord Leo looked pleased as well. “Now, may I introduce my youngest son, Silver, and my niece, Moonlight?”

As their names were called, each stepped forward and greeted us all in a very formal, very royal way.

Shortly after all the introductions were made, everyone settled down at the small café table and ordered. It felt like the table was divided between us and them.

Of course Father wasted no time getting down to business. Lord Leo seemed eager as well to get things rolling for he was the one who brought up the conversation.

“You have such a lovely daughter, Mathew. I’m surprised no one snatched her away these past five years.” His voice was rough and I saw a hint of amusement in his eyes as he stated how long his son and I had been engaged.

Father chuckled thoughtfully. “Yes, I am quite surprised myself. Of course, with all the arrangements made I hardly stopped to notice. My Emily was already taken.”

“Now,” Lord Leo stated in a loud voice that made me jump. “I have arranged for us all to stay in the local inn for the next two weeks.” His eyes quickly flashed to mine then away. “There is no rush.”

I felt a bitter taste enter my mouth. I wasn’t getting married just yet.

Mother’s eyes narrowed the tiniest bit. “What do you mean, Lord Leo?”

Lord Leo smiled at my mother’s concerns. “I simply mean, ma’am, that your daughter will be moving in with us before she marries my son. Emily must become acquainted with royal life before she marries royalty.” His slow chuckle grated my nerves.

“Then why did you not tell us this before you came to…visit?” Mother didn’t seem to like this idea. I couldn’t guess as to why.

“Good heavens, woman!” Lord Leo roared. I grabbed Luke’s arm to keep him from rising to his feet. “I didn’t want to pay the extra cost when the knowledge could be obtained freely. Emily will learn from the best. After proper training she will marry Milton.”

My mother’s face flushed a deep red. I could see the argument in her eyes but she remained silent.

Jason finally spoke up. “When they finally do marry, how will we be able to attend the wedding?”

Moonlight let out a little tinkling laugh. “Uncle, we really are in the country. Listen silly, weddings take a while to plan. Everyone will have enough time to arrive at our home. You won’t miss a thing.”

Her golden eyes bored into mine. I felt my mouth twitch in an attempt to smirk at her.

That wouldn’t have been wise.

“May I ask who you are, boy?” Lord Leo asked Jason in a hard voice.

“He is friends with Luke and Emily.” Father interjected.

I understood Father’s concern, for once. Jason was in dangerous waters right now. It wasn’t normal, in the city, for a young lady and a young man to be best friends. Which is why Father had said Luke’s name first and not mine.

Lord Leo relaxed slightly. “Good, good. We wouldn’t want any problems, would we?”

Father agreed quickly enough. He looked worried and kept casting anxious glances my way. In case he’d forgotten, he was the one who’d arranged this.

“I should note that only family is allowed at the inn.” Lord Leo stated in a conversational tone, his eyes locked on mine.

“Of course, sir.” Mother replied.

I noticed that she didn’t call him “Lord Leo.” He seemed to notice, too.

After a very uncomfortable lunch, we rose to depart. Us to pack for a trip to the inn that was a ten minute walk from our house. Honestly, to force us to live at the inn for two weeks was just insulting. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about.

As we were turning to leave, Milton caught my hand once more and brought it, very slowly, to his lips. Despite my anger, I felt my face heat in embarrassment.

“I look forward to this evening, Emily.” His eyes scorched into mine.

“What is this evening?” I asked warily. He had lowered my hand but hadn’t let go.

“You’ll see.” Milton replied in a smug voice.

I curtsied again and pulled my hand free. Humor flashed in his ocher eyes. I quickly caught up with the others.

Jason left us at the fork in the dusty road while the rest of us hurried home to pack.

I felt extremely guilty for not telling him everything. But it would have been too risky for us if the information of my engagement had spread throughout town.

“Mother…why does he want us to stay at the inn with them?” Luke asked in a very strained voice.

Father answered in a hard voice. “He fooled me, son.”

“How?”

“He is giving Milton a chance to court Emily in the proper way,” Mother replied. “Once they return home they will immediately marry.” Her voice was bitter.

“What exactly does that mean, Mother?” Luke cast me an anxious glance.

“It means that we are losing Emily for good. We will never see her again after she leaves.”

I couldn’t bear to hear my mother’s sad voice.

“That’s insane!” I shouted. “Of course you will see me again!”

Father wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders. “I am afraid, my little Emily, that your mother is telling the truth. Five years ago I was so happy to find a royal family to marry you in to. I didn’t pay attention to what the details of the date meant.”

“I don’t understand, Father.” I was extremely confused.

“After five years of being engaged you must marry or face the penalty of death—for us at least. It is different where they come from. Regardless of that, if we do not consent to what Leo wants, he could very well end your life.” Father finished in a hollow tone.

I couldn’t believe this. I looked at my mother for some shred of hope but the haunted look in her eyes daunted my resolve. We had no choice. My fate was decided by a stranger.

What do I do, Allie? I thought hopelessly. I felt like there was a key piece missing and I just couldn’t find it yet.

You must follow the path laid out before you. There is not much I can do at the moment. I will stay by your side. Do not reveal me to them, Emily. I have taught you as much as I could but please do not let your emotions cloud safe reasoning. It will not end well for either of us if we are discovered. Allie ended her well meant advice in a sad voice.

I felt like she wasn’t telling me everything but I would never pry in her mind to find out what. I respected her too much.

Lucy was being taken care of by Jason’s family. My family and I had packed in subdued silence and slowly made our way back to the inn. Mother and Father insisted that I change my dress to a pretty emerald green.

I didn’t feel like arguing so I complied.

We were a quiet group as we entered the three story inn.

Lord Leo was there waiting for us. A maid grabbed our bags and carried them to our rooms…on the third floor. Milton entered the lobby a moment later.

The hotel was bustling with people, surprisingly.

The hotel was a deep, honey colored wood. Soft candles and lanterns provided the only light. It was much bigger than I had expected. My family had never set foot in this fancy a place before.

Milton offered me his arm and I had no choice but to take it. I still wasn’t wearing any gloves.

“I thought these two could dine alone.” Lord Leo stated in a calm voice. “The rest of us can dine together in the guest quarters.”

Luke shot me a panicked look as I walked down a narrow hallway and entered a small room. Lord Leo was separating me from the herd, so to speak. All Milton had to do was ask me one simple little question and my fate would be decided.

Milton gently squeezed my hand and guided me toward a small deck that led outside. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky along with my hope of escaping this arranged marriage.

Milton cleared his throat. “I gather that this is not what you had planned for your future, Emily.”

Looking at the setting sun I replied, “No, not particularly, sir.”

He dropped my arm and walked toward the edge of the deck looking out over the hilly lands of my village. “You know as well as I do what my father expects of us both.”

“Yes.” I managed to say.

He turned and stared deeply into my eyes. “I am truly sorry, Emily. If it were up to me I would not deceive your family in this way.”

I had nothing to say to that so I remained silent as he made his way back to me. “Emily,” I froze as he knelt on one knee and pulled out a tiny square box and opened it. “Will you marry me?”

The ironic thing was that we were already engaged. This was just an act to make it “official” official instead of technicality “official.” The ring was beautiful I must admit. It was a simple diamond surround by smaller diamonds enclosed in delicate silver lines.

I took a deep breath before saying, “Yes.”

A small smile touched his eyes but otherwise his face remained impassive. “Thank you.” He sounded extremely relieved.

To my embarrassment, my hand shook as he slipped the ring on the ring finger of my left hand. As he rose he gently placed his hand behind my neck and took a step closer. “Tradition,” he whispered as he pressed his lips to mine.