KAHLUA & KHAN

“Parelia, it’s so nice to finally learn your name,” the queen responded, finding a smile crossing her face as she said it. It felt good to smile, to really smile, to feel the muscles on her cheeks crease, the skin around her eyes wrinkle, to feel happy instead of… confusion? Fear? Apathy? It didn’t matter what she had been feeling. She actually felt… ok. So, as the falcon flew off to retrieve food for the babe, something Kahlua had entirely neglected to think about, she nickered softly and bobbed her head. “Thank you. He’s a… dragon.” Her voice was soft, slow, awe filled. She had been denying the connection, trying to avoid it, afraid of the chains and the weight, but there was something about saying it… How many others had she seen sad about their companions? How many had been ruined? How many were chained and confined? None that she could count. Maybe… maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Turning her head back to the little beast, as he began to claw his way across the basket in which he had hatched, she listened to Parelia’s story and tried to figure out what emotions she was feeling. It was strange, so much to consider, so much to ponder, so much to understand. And she just didn’t even know where to begin. Sitting still was difficult, at best, so instead she lowered her head to let the little beast crawl up her mane and onto her withers, where he could sit in peace. Then, she began to walk, nodding to Parelia to come along. “Well don’t let me stop your patrol then,” she added, her voice drifting back to that strange tone she had carried at first.

“It sounds like you love your son very much,” she started, the thought of the child dragging up a problem she had been sitting on for many weeks, unsure of what to do and how to handle herself. “Do you love the father as well?” Subtlety had never been one of the queen’s finer qualities anyways. She had a question and she needed an answer, because she needed to know what love was to others. She had to know, so that she could find out if love was ever anything other than chains and walls and responsibilities and confinement and cages. She had to know, because every day she didn’t know she broke her heart and Kaj’s heart more. And now the little dragon beast as well, for could she truly love him while she still thought of love as an anchor rather than an asset? Perhaps Parelia would have an answer for her- nobody else seemed to.

@[Parelia]- bah, sorry so slow!