The Dragon Knight Prophecy

1-24 The truth comes out

 "I'm sorry, Lilly said as Thayle sat her on the bed. "I shouldn't have attacked that man."

Thayle sat on the other bed with a hand to her face trying to think of how best to handle the situation. Taking Lilly out had been a mistake, but for reasons she found surprising. In a fit of rage, she had come to Thayle's defense in a very public way. Now the temple was closed, and word of the incident would spread far and wide.

"Say something," Lilly urged as tears moistened her eyes.

"Lilly," Thayle began with a sigh. "I am not angry about what you did."

"But you seem mad at me," Lilly replied. "Why are you so upset?"

Thayle had no idea how to explain it, considering she didn't understand it herself. Somehow Lilly was displaying affection for her, provoking a strong response. She needed to find some way to take Lilly's mind off the recent incident and then remembered the gift.

"I almost forgot," Thayle said and reached for her pouch. She withdrew an object and kept it hidden in her hands as she smiled at Lilly. "Hold out your arms." Lilly looked nervous but did as Thayle asked, holding her arms out between them. Thayle reached up with a pair of silver bands woven to look like delicate ropes. She wrapped them around Lilly's wrists while explaining that they were called bracelets.

"This is for me?" Lilly asked as she held up an arm to inspect the object. She held it under her nose and took a long sniff, explaining that she could smell the silver. Everything about her mood changed as she turned her arm over to see three tiny blue stones and held it close to her necklace.

"That's why I bought them," Thayle said as Lilly noticed the similarity. "I wanted them to match your necklace."

"They are beautiful," Lilly exclaimed as she held up both wrists.

"And they are your," Thayle replied with a smile. "Just remember to take them off before you turn into a dragon. I would hate for you to break them."

"I love them!" Lilly cried and suddenly lunged off the bed. Before Thayle could react, she was wrapped in a hug as the little dragon crushed her in her grip.

"Lilly, what are you doing?" Thayle cried in alarm.

"I am giving you a hug," Lilly said as her grip loosened. "Isn't this how humans show affection?"

"Well, yes," Thayle said as she struggled not to return the hug. "But, you should only show affection like this for people you love."

Lilly suddenly pulled away and looked at Thayle curiously before looking down and letting out a sigh.

"I did something wrong again," she said and played with a bracelet.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Thayle urged. "You just need to think about what you're doing. That's the kind of affection you should be showing to Gersius."

"Because I love him?" Lilly asked.

"Exactly," Thayle urged.

"So why can't I show it to you then?" Lilly said innocently.

Thayle froze as the implication of Lilly's words drowned out her ability to think. Gersius was right, and Lilly didn't understand the rules of love. She was bonding to whoever was closest, and right now, that was Thayle. She realized that in order to do her job, she needed to be away from the little dragon. With that, she got up and went to leave, but Lilly grabbed her hand.

"Wait," Lilly cried. "Don't go."

"I have to," Thayle said without looking back.

"But why?" Lilly pleaded. "Did I make you mad at me again?"