The Dragon and the Princess

Chapter 13

Lydia just stared unblinkingly at Lithon as she tried to comprehend his words. The still present haziness from their moment of passion was making it harder to think. When it finally did register with her what he had said she doubted her own ears. Surely if she had heard correctly then he would be rushing to the kitchen to put the fire out. But he wasn't. He was just laying there, under her, waiting for her to respond.

"F-fire?" She squeaked as she brought her other hand up from Lithon's chest to her own breast. She couldn't hear, see or smell anything that would suggest a fire but then again he was a dragon. His senses were beyond hers.

Lithon waited patiently as the news of the fire finally dawned on Lydia. Slowly he nodded, answering her question that, yes, there really was a fire. He knew that he needed to put it out but he didn't want to just suddenly jump up and rush for the door. If he did then most likely he would end up hurting Lydia, besides, if he were to do that then she would be left in the bedroom wondering what was going on, probably worrying, and he didn't want to do that to her. A princess should be happy, not worried. And Lithon wanted to make her happy. So he would take her down to the kitchen with him but he needed her to realize what was going on first and that he wasn't lying.

"We need to put it out." Lydia spoke firmly as she tried to crawl off of Lithon. She didn't know how she could help but she was determined to try. She wouldn't just sit here and do nothing while he could get injured putting out the fire. No! She would help. Crawling to the edge of the bed Lydia stopped. How would she get downstairs to help? She couldn't crawl all the way or she'd just injure her knees like she had done her feet...

Lithon watched Lydia crawl to the edge of the bed and stop. He was curious as to what she was doing so he just watched for a moment. But as her intentions dawned on him he sat up fully and gently picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He heard her squeak, surprised at his actions, and he gave her a small reassuring smile as he began to head to the kitchen, the sheets still securely wrapped around her body and the excess dragging lazily behind them.

Now that they were closer to the kitchen the scent of smoke and burning food was obvious to Lydia. She could even hear the harsh crackle of the fire that she now knew was from a pan on top of the stove. It's wasn't a large fire but she wouldn't call it small either. Then again, she had never seen a fire that wasn't under a mantelpiece. She's heard stories though, stories from the cooks about stoves bursting into flames or their clothes suddenly catching fire. It sounded terrifying to her.

Lithon gently placed Lydia on the worktop far enough away from the fire so that she wouldn't get injured but close enough so that she could see. Making sure that she was alright before he left he quickly walked over to the pan that was on fire and grabbed the metal handle. Hearing a gasp and Lydia's accelerated heartbeat, he quickly turned around to check that she was OK. Seeing she was fine he gave her a confused look which she just returned.

With a shaky finger, Lydia pointed towards the pan in Lithon's hand. She's heard other stories for the cooks, horror stories really, of what happens if you touch a metal pan or pot with your bare hands once it's been on too long or set on fire. She'd seen the scars caused by such pans and they looked beyond painful. She wanted to rush over to him, hit the pan out of his hand, and place it in cold water. But she couldn't... Her poor injured feet wouldn't allow her to...

Seeing her point towards the pan in his hands Lithon finally understood why Lydia looked so panicked. Smiling kindly at her he raised his other hand and waved it at her.

"Dragons are fireproof." He explained as he began to put his hand in the leaping flames and pull out the burnt food. "Even in our human forms." He finished as he patted the flames down in the pan, effectively extinguishing them. He then opened all the windows in the kitchen to let some fresh air in and drive away the stench of smoke. After this he turned back to Lydia and, seeing that she was still worried, Lithon placed the pan back on the work surface and walked over to her, holding his hands out for her to inspect.

As soon as he was within reach Lydia grabbed his hands and pulled him closer to her. Turning his hands over and over again she saw nothing. Not a burn, not a blister, not a single blemish in sight! She was speechless. She'd heard what he'd said about dragons being fireproof but she couldn't just erase years of teachings. Since a very young age, she has been taught that fire is dangerous, never touch it, fire burns. It was basically instinct for her to fear the damage fire could cause. But Lithon wasn't like her, he was probably raised to think that fire was nothing. Like warm air...

Lithon waited for her to say something, anything... He was beginning to get worried... Surely this didn't make her view of him change? She already knew that he was a dragon and she'd begun to accept him, hadn't she? Or was his human appearance deceiving her and only now did she realize that he was still as much of a dragon in this form as he was in his scaly one?

Lydia was too engrossed in her own thoughts and her inspection on Lithon's hands to notice how upset he was growing. When she did finally speak, it immediately calmed his tormented mind.

"This is amazing." She breathed as she ran her fingers over his hand. Lithon breathed out a sigh of relief and shivered at the contact. "Is this the same with all dragons?" she inquired. Slowly he shook his head.

"That depends on what you define a dragon to be." He replied with a sad smile, thinking of his sister once more.

Lydia wanted to ask what he meant but she couldn't as she began to shiver. Now that the heat of the fire was gone, the damp sheet wrapped around her was only making her cold. Sneezing at the cold she wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. Lithon noticed this and gently picked her up, taking her to another bedroom that was close to the kitchen.

"Wait here." He said gently. "I'll go quickly grab a towel for you to dry off and get you a change of clothes." He smiled at her as he spoke and she smiled back.

Leaving only for a moment to go to his sister's room he chose another dress that was similar to the one Lydia had picked before. Quickly grabbing a towel from a storage cupboard he returned to the room she was in and held up the dress for her to inspect.

"It's beautiful." She breathed as she took the dress from him. It was a little old and the color had faded a little bit it was still beautiful. And clean and dry. She added as an afterthought. Placing the towel on the bed Lithon began to leave the room.

"Let me know when you're done or if you need help." He smiled as he gently closed the door behind him. He didn't think she would need help as now that the floor wouldn't be soaking wet she could get changed much easier. Even with her injuries. It just seemed the right thing to say at the time. Heading back to the kitchen Lithon began tidying the mess he and the fire had made while he waited.

Lydia did have a bit of trouble getting the dress on but she still managed somehow. Adjusting the dress so that it properly covered her sitting form, she began to towel dry her hair as she softly called to Lithon.

"Lithon, I'm ready." She knew that she didn't need to speak very loud. With his advanced hearing he could probably hear her whisper from the other side of the castle. Tilting her head at her curious thoughts she decided that she would need to test that theory someday. She suddenly sat up straight. Someday? Did she plan to stay long enough for there to be a someday? Thinking about their heated moment in the bedroom she flushed and concluded that, yes, she did want to stay. But there was a problem... Her fiancée would eventually come for her... What to do, she asked herself over and over again but came up with no answer.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. At her gentle "Come in", Lithon opened the door and smiled at her.

When he finally got a good look at Lydia, Lithon momentarily froze. She looked so much like her... His sister... There were obvious differences like her hair and eye color and the shape of her face, but, that dress was the dress his sister wore the day before the incident happened... It brought back painful memories for him but he quickly shook them off and smiled at Lydia once again.

"Let's get something to eat." He said, still smiling as he gestured towards her, asking permission to pick her up again. After her nod, he bent down and gently placed one of his arms under her legs and the other behind her back. Carrying her to the kitchen he couldn't resist saying one other thing. "I'll try not to burn down the kitchen this time." He chuckled and a warm feeling spread through his chest as he heard Lydia's soft replying giggle.