Book 1, unused conversation about beauty.

“Why would I know that?” Lilly demanded.

“I do not know. Sometimes you seem to understand completely and other times I have no idea what your thinking,” Gersius replied with a stern tone.

“I am a dragon. I know a very little about you rodents from my mother. She told us to stay away from you and now I can see why, your impossible!”

“Lilly I am trying to guide you through human interaction so you can learn our ways in safety. But you refuse to be guided. You refuse to heed any warnings I give or accept even the smallest suggestion.”

“Every time I think I can trust you some human runs at me with another piece of clothing and starts trying to tie me in it!”

Gersius sighed. “Is that really what is bothering you?”

Lilly glared at him in anger. “No. It does bother me but it isn’t what I am angry about.”

“Then what are you angry about?”

“Have you forgotten who I am? You keep telling me that your judgment of me is clouded by this form. I know it still is. You see me as a human. I am not a human, I am a dragon! I want to be treated as one.”

“I am sorry Lilly. It is difficult to remember who you really are when all I ever see of you is this,” he said gesturing to her form.

“It makes me sick how some of these rodents look at me. They smile and sneer. They stare at parts of me and then make little gestures with their mouths.”

Gersius closed his eyes as he understood. He knew this was going to be a problem. Lilly was undeniably attractive. She was tall and thin and curvy. She had extremly long hair that alone gave her an air of the exotic. But to make her hair that silver blue and pair it with impossibly fair skin, she was a magnet for the eyes of men, and he had noticed some women.  

“There is something I need to tell you.”

Lilly glared at him and turned and looked away.  

“What?”

“Lilly, by human standards you are very beautiful. You radiate an air of what we call the exotic. Your hair color is not normal for any culture I know of. Your skin color is what we call fair. You are tall and shapely with all the features any man would find desirable in a woman. You are attractive to man and woman alike.”

Lilly turned back around and tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean attractive?”

Gersius sighed again. He wished he was being attacked by bandersooks right now.  

“Lilly humans choose partners, or mates mostly because of what we humans refer to as attraction. One human will see something in the other human that catches their eye. It draws their attention and makes them want to approach the other person.”

“So your saying these humans see something in me that makes them want to approach me?”

“Lilly, with you it is many things. Most women have one or two features that a man might call attractive. You have all of them. You even have things that no other woman has. Your hair color alone makes you stand out in any crowd. Have you seen any other woman with blue hair?”

Lilly pondered the thought a moment, she honestly couldn’t say she had.  

“And look at how tall you are, You stand a full head above most other women. You are easily noticed and when you are noticed your other features draw people in.”

“So these rodents are attracted to me, what does that mean?”

“It means many of them would like to know you. To talk to you and perhaps even get you to be attracted to them,” Gersius replied.

“Why?”

Gersius knew there was no point in avoiding the answer she needed to know.

“Lilly they want to mate with you.”

The look of disgust that crawled across Lilly’s face made Gersius wonder how she could crinkle her face up so completely.

“Those filthy rodents want to mate with me!” she yelled throwing her hand out as if point directly at the masses of people.

“Calm down Lilly, it isn’t as serious a thing as you believe.”

“I will not calm down! I am a dragon and these filthy dirty scurrying rodents want to touch me! To mate with me!”

“Lilly!” Gersius yelled to get her attention back then continued on in quieter tones. “They do not know you are a dragon. They think you are a beautiful human woman. Remember the flowers, remember how I described the flower I named you after. I told you that among flowers this one was one of the most beautiful. Well among human women you are one of the most beautiful. Those people have likely never seen anybody as beautiful as you before. Instead of being so angry, you should feel rather proud.”

“Why would I feel proud that these filth want to mate with me?” Lilly said in disgust.

“Your not feeling proud that they want to mate with you. You are feeling proud that they are acknowledging that you are radiantly beautiful. Their attention is in many ways showing a form of respect for your beauty.”

“I do not want their attention!”

Gersius shook his head. “There is no way for you to avoid it. Lilly you are beautiful beyond words to describe. Every woman in the land would give anything to have your problem. They would give up all they owned just to have people say such a thing about them.”

Lilly pondered his words a moment. “So, I am special? I am something more than most women?”

“Very much more and that is why you draw so much attention. I would dare to say that if I was not at your side so much, many of these people would approach you and attempt to speak with you.”

“Do you find attraction to me?” Lilly asked.

Gersius froze as he desperately sought a way out of the trap.  

“First Lilly a human would say ‘do you find me attractive.’ Second,...” He paused and took a long breath. “Yes I do.”

Lilly leaned back away from him and her face scrunched up a little but not in the pure disgust from earlier.  

“So you want to mate with me then?”

Gersius shook his head. “Lilly, no. I am a man and I can see and appreciate your beauty. But I am aware you are a dragon. I have not permitted myself to think such things.”

Lilly pondered the words a bit longer. “If I was a human and not a dragon would you want to mate with me?”

“Lilly you should not ask such questions,” Gersius tried to defelct the conversation.

“Would you?”

Gersius ran his fingers through his hair. He never knew how she would respond to things especially the truth. He steeled himself and told her the truth.”

“Yes, I would.”

Lilly nodded her head and turned back around.  

“I am a dragon,” 

“Lilly, I know your a dragon. That is why that question was pointless. You are here to help me save my people. You are not here for anything more, though I had hoped you and I could become friends.”

“What are friends?”

“Friends are when two humans like one another. They enjoy spending time together and doing things together. They show concern for one another and care about each other. But not in a sexual way. They do not mate. They simply mean more to each other an a stranger would.”

“Dragons do not care for each other, and they mate,” Lilly said.

“Some humans do that too. You will come to understand the meaning as time goes on. You will see I mean you no harm and that I do care about you.”

“You care?” she repeated her back still to him.

“I can honestly say Lilly, I want you to be my friend. But I understand if you can not. Reguardless I will do my best to keep you safe and to honor you as the dragon you are. I think perhaps when we are in the country and we stop for camps you should change back. It will do me some good to see you as the dragon.”

Lilly nodded her head.  

“I do enjoy doing some things with you,” she said after a long pause.

Gersius looked up at her. She still had her back to him and her arms were folded across her chest but she seemed more relaxed.

“I enjoy the foods you show me. I like the breads and the white mud you put on them.”

“It is called butter.”

“Yes, butter. I do not like the humans who make the clothes, but I do like wearing the clothes you buy me.”

“Part of why you have to go through that is because you are so tall. They do not make clothing for women so tall. I have to have them custom made for you.” He saw her head nodding as he spoke.

“You will keep these rodents who are attracted to me away from me?”

“I promise Lilly. If one of them approaches you I will send them away.”

She nodded again.

“You are my friend?”

Gersius stared at her. He hadn’t expected such a question but he was undeniably happy she asked it.

“I am Lilly, I wish only to be your friend.”

“I, I wish to be your friend too.”

Gersius struggled not to tear up a little. A very large bridge had been crossed here. They had been acting like friends already slowly gaining one another’s trust but now it was a spoken thing. More importantly she had spoken it. She had demonstrated that she wished to have a better relationship with him than just dragon and human.

“Then we are friends, Lilly.

“I wish I could make them stop looking at me like they do,” she said in a somber voice.

Gersius smiled. “Someday Lilly we will come back to this town and you will walk in as the dragon not the woman. Let us see how they look at you then.”

Her head turned around to look a him her lips curled up in a smile.  

Gersius was reminded in that moment that despite her beauty she was indeed a dragon.