Life Finds a Way

Chapter 51

The next afternoon found her standing at attention with a small contingent of Shinra employees inside a large room in the Wutai Palace. Emperor Godo, with his own contingent of people, was standing on the other side of a long table that had presumably been brought in for this purpose. There were several flowery speeches about hope for a bright future, mutual respect, mutual growth and a peaceful future. Clarissa had to school her face to not show how disgusted she was with Shinra's hypocrisy. It was only the fact that she was more disgusted with herself for helping to facilitate it that kept her from walking out.

She was starting to get tired after several hours of standing, but she didn't let it show. She distracted herself by keeping a discrete eye on both sides. She didn't miss the fact that there were several people with the Emperor that looked her way more than once.

Once all the papers were signed they had to stay for a brief time to 'get to know their new allies'. Clarissa thought about leaving anyway, but she wasn't given the chance. It was not long before she was approached by the Emperor himself. When he approached, she gave him a respectful bow. When she stood, he gave her an evaluating look. His words had her bristling. "It seems Shinra has many leashed beasts. But at least you are polite."

She took a breath in through her nose and managed to give him a tight smile. She didn't want to be the reason there was an incident when the ink wasn't even set yet. "I would hope that someday you would be able to consider us more than mere beasts."

He smiled at her obvious discomfort, but his next words threw her off balance. "Do not think that I mean that as an insult. Dragons are considered powerful creatures and great luck to have as an ally."

She raised a brow at his explanation. "I'm not sure if you mean lucky for you or not, but either way we hope to foster a lasting relationship."

He laughed at her attempt at tact. "There is no need to force diplomacy for my sake. I know what you are." When she tried to say something again, he stopped her. "Allow me to tell you a little history, or rather a bit of lore that is passed down to our hunters. As young hunters, we were always cautioned whenever we had to enter the territory of great dragons. It is said that a great dragon will not rest, even in its death throes and can take several strong men down with it. That is frightening, but not the worst thing to watch for. If a hunter was to attack and kill or mortally wound a mated dragon, the living mate would not stop until every trace of the hunters was gone or until he was dead."

Once he was finished, Clarissa found she had no idea how to respond. She was sure he had a reason for telling her that story, especially since they were calling her the White Dragon, but she was clueless as to what his point was. He finally spoke up once again. "A wise man knows that it is always better to ally with nature instead of fighting it." He gave her a nod of his head. "It has been a pleasure to speak with you. Perhaps we will have the opportunity again someday." With that he walked away, leaving her even more confused than she had been. Once he was gone, she decided she was going to wait at the transports until they could leave.

She hadn't even had the chance to get comfortable before she was joined by Genesis. "Are you ready to head back?"

She gave him a nod before he started the vehicle and headed back toward their encampment. The entire ride back was silent. Genesis had not been rude to her, but he didn't speak to her outside of official needs. She had tried starting several conversations, but none of them had gotten anywhere. After the ordeal at the signing, she was too tired to try again.

It was late by the time they got back, so Clarissa headed straight to sleep. She hadn't been able to even doze off yet when she stiffened and tried to control the shout that came up unbidden. No matter how many times it had happened, she still couldn't get used to the urgent messages Minerva sent her. Once she was recovered enough to stand she was on her feet and running out of camp. She ignored anyone that tried to ask what was going on as well as the fact that she hadn't bothered even putting on shoes.