A Kind of Magic

Forty-Eight

The road unfolding in front of them from The Gate's gate dwindled into a narrow path surrounded by muddy stretches of ground encompassed by the omnipresent pine forest, releasing into the air the scent which in her past life meant Christmas, before Fiona could claim her place at Peregrine's side without making it look too obvious just how much she desired his closeness.

While she was wasting time pretending indifference, Freddie took the place, bringing his horse at the dragon shifter's left as his right side was occupied by Gollum, who followed Peregrine's magnificent steed like a shadow. Wasting no time, the boy started to pester his new friend with curious questions, making both Fiona and Annwyn, who rode next to each other behind them, smile.

"Will I be like her? Like Annwyn?" Freddie asked, voice laced with excitement and impatience. 

"You'll be much bigger, Freddie," Peregrine replied, reaching out and mussing his hair gently, the simple action hinting at the bond that had formed between them. Fiona's heart stumbled at the sight; the two seemed to have found mutual respect and appreciation from the very first moment. "And..." he added somewhat mysteriously, lowering his voice but not enough to prevent Fiona from hearing his words, "golden green, I guess." He looked quickly at her over his shoulder and finding her watching them with narrowed eyes, wondering whether this really was just a wild guess, he shook his head to disperse her suspicion and turned away again quickly, pulling at Shadow's reins as if the good, wise horse who seemed to know this path as the bottom of his hooves needed his guidance, even as Fiona recalled that she had told him that Lagon used to wear mostly green...

The colour of their dragon seemed to affect the colour choices as humans of some of them, Fiona concluded, looking at Annwyn's cerulean pants coupled with a turquoise jacket, partially hidden by her midnight blue cloak. Not of all, she smiled to herself, recalling Peregrine's wonderfully grey dragon, while her eyes caressed his entirely black-clad form.

Did Peregrine know Lagon personally? The thought flared in her mind, there and then gone as fast as it appeared. She didn't want to know; she never wished to speak about Lagon with him again. Freddie's father was in the past, irrelevant to what was happening in her life now, to the happiness she could feel growing stronger as the days passed within her soul, telling her that for once she had taken the right decision. Riding Snowmane through the swampy Draconia with more than half of her company being almost perfect strangers, towards her still unknown father in Freddie and Peregrine's wake, was the happiest moment in her life in a very long time. So many things that had troubled her in the past felt suddenly right that it was almost scary. It was as if the world righted itself around her with the arrival of Peregrine and his two companions. 

She doused the feeling of all this being almost too good to last that started to creep upon her before it would escalate and wipe the elated smile off her face. Of course she didn't expect that everything would always be perfect, but she would do the best with what life threw her way, she resolved, pulling herself from her reverie to focus again on the voices of the man and the boy riding in front of her, now discussing the details of shifting forms. It was... incredible. The notion that her son was a Highlander, a dragon shifter, was still so new and impossible to wrap her mind around...

Leodhais, patiently accepting Alexandra's arms holding onto him from behind for dear life as they rode at Gilderoy's side, the three of them bringing up the rear, kept his eyes on Annwyn, knowing well, thanks to the slight shiver of... pleasure that ran through her form, perfectly visible to his observant eyes, that she could feel his look, and that she, like himself, found it hard to keep her mind off the last night, their first night spent together. By the old gods, she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever encountered, he mused, shifting in the uncomfortable saddle in search of a better position, an impossible thing with Alexandra behind him.