Epilogue
"Xiu, I've been thinking."
The male prism dragon looked up from his meal. "Jiara," the other dragon's voice was soft. "Us telling Zari about it wouldn't have made any difference. You know that. We cannot change what happened."
"We can't change what happened to Zari, but we can make sure Ectri won't suffer the same fate."
Xiu looked curiously at his mate. "How?"
"We make sure she knows that she's not better than anyone else. We'll not let her become obsessed with appearance. We cannot let her become vain. We must keep a close eye on her."
"It could work, if we stress how little appearance means. But what if she's extremely intelligent? She could become arrogant, and think she's better than others because of her knowledge."
"We could tell her about Zari," Jiara suggested. "Maybe the story will be enough. But…. What if it backfires? What if she comes to think Zari is beneath her? I just don't know what to do!"
"Neither do I," Xiu replied sadly.
The two prism dragons walked into a room with a nest. In this nest, a hatchling slept, blissfully unaware of what laid in her future. A silent agreement was made between Ectri's parents. Their eyes filled depression, their minds made up. Zari's sister would not become vain, or arrogant, or anything else punishable by banishment. They would make sure.
OoOo
To be continued in: One Voice