Goliath paused in mid stride, his hand on the door.
"You knew?" Broadway burst out, then hung his head at his outburst. "Sorry."
"But if you knew," Angela said, turning to the table, "Why not just ask us about her?"
"We wanted to see just how far you would go to try to hide it," Chun-Hei admitted. "A former clan mate of yours contacted us quite some time ago about organizing this council. We were hesitant, but she brought news of other clans, from far away, and even helped us to speak with them. In preparation for this meeting, she had told us of the human's presence here."
"We all have had our own experiences with humans," Lachlan said. "Very little of it good, so you can understand our hesitation."
"Other clans," Xuilan pointed out, "The clans from Japan, Guatemala and England have all met you, Goliath, and spoke highly of you. They spoke well of Elisa as well," She said with a smile. "They have no argument about your leadership, but we could not believe it when all of the talk included a single human female."
"No one mentioned the mating," Lachlan said, his voice still carrying a measure of doubt.
"Not many outside of our clan know," Elisa said. "For the same reason that you felt compelled to question Goliath just now."
Goliath reached an arm out and snagged her around the shoulders. He gave her a warning squeeze, and Elisa fell silent.
Xuilan got to her feet so that Elisa could see her between the Gargoyle wall of protection still in between herself and the table and approached them. "My clan has an old legend that has been passed down for much longer than any of us can remember. Would you have time for me to tell it? It may help explain why we felt the need to approach this unique situation the way we have."
There was a moment of silence that was almost deafening to Elisa where it was almost as if the castle itself held its breath.
Elisa felt the gradual relaxing of Goliath's arm across her shoulders.
"Alright," He said reluctantly. "We will listen."
"I thank you," Xuilan said with a bow. "Please, let us sit again and be comfortable."
Slowly, the Manhattan clan sat at the table again, but this time Goliath insisted that Elisa sit beside him with Brooklyn sitting to the right of him.
"A long time ago," Xuilan began, "Long before humans began to label their years with numbers, the human race themselves were still new to this world. They shared their lands with those who had come before them, creatures of magic and light. Those creatures shared their knowledge with the humans, teaching them all about the world.
"Eventually, humans began to far outnumber the elder beings. They allowed their anger, greed and desire to possess everything around them to color their actions. They built castles of stone, with high walls to keep those they thought would take their possessions out.
"In one such place, however, there was a young human girl," Xuilan continued. "This human was unlike the others, and wanted nothing more than to be as her people once had been. By that time, however, most of the magical beings had faded or had hidden from the humans from fear.
"The girl found the last remaining dragon, hidden in a cave by the sea, and wanted nothing more than to befriend it. She brought him offerings of meat and treasures, and spent her days sitting with him and keeping him company.
"A few years passed, and the young girl grew into a beautiful woman. She still visited the cave every day, and every day her dragon was there waiting for her. Unaware of the powers of the Dragon, the girl did not realize that he had another form. Then one day, the dragon changed into a human male, and professed his love for her. They were married, and soon they were expecting a child.
"It is said that it was only the outer appearance of the dragon that was changed, but in the end, he was still a dragon. When the child was born, it was more dragon-like than human, with wings, tail and claw."
Elisa was fully into the story, leaning forward in her seat to hear more.
"The woman remained unchanged, loving her child with the ferocity of any mother. Together, her and her dragon lover had many children, each one taking on a slightly different appearance, yet still a combination of human and dragon. That was the beginning of the fierce Gargoyle race.
"Many years later, the woman was no longer beautiful, age robbing her of her youth, while her family remained young and strong. When she died, the dragon used the last of his magic to turn him stone during the day, so that he would not be forced to face the daylight without his love by his side. His children joined him in his day sleep, and vowed to watch over the humans to honor their mother and her people.
"It is said, though it may be true," Xuilan said, giving Elisa a small smile, "That one day, a human and a Gargoyle would once again find their ways to becoming mates, a true match, and will be showered with all the blessings of the Dragon Father, and they would be the ones to once more heal the rift between the humans and the Gargoyles."
"My clan has a similar legend," Chun-Hei said. "Which is why we were so curious to come and meet you, the human woman who protected a clan so fiercely."
"To be honest, we didnae think much about it, but it was last night," Lachlan said, looking a little embarrassed, "that caused us to take a second look at ye."
Elisa frowned. "What happened last night?"
"You came here, to the clan," Xuilan said. "You were tired, and hurt, and you had your father with you. You could have gone somewhere else, but you chose to come to the clan. You had no fear that you would be turned away, or that you would be hurt further because of your weakened state."
Elisa stiffened again. "The clan would never hurt me."
"You need not defend them to us," Chun-Hei said primly. "We know that you would be safe."
"You very loudly declared your love for Goliath," Xuilan put in, giving Chun-Hei a disgruntled look. "Chun-Hei overheard you when you arrived last evening, and brought the news to us. It was as if the legend had come to life."
"Which is why you came to talk to me last night," Elisa said, finally putting the last puzzle piece into place.
"We have been hoping, for so many generations, to see the rift healed," Chun-Hei said, true apology mingled within her words. "Please forgive our actions, but we had to be certain."
Elisa frowned thoughtfully. "And you think that the legend points to Goliath and I?"
"Of course," Xiulan said.
"Well," Lachlan said, stoking his beard thoughtfully. "My clan has many stories, but none like this one. It is an interesting one, though, and one I shall take back with me."
"It is good," Xiulan said, "to be able to share our stories and legends with others. My clan has been very isolated for a long time."
"With your permission," Chun-Hei said, "We would like to finish our discussions for this council."
Goliath remained still, but Elisa could almost feel the wheels turning in his head. He had had his doubts of the council, she knew, but maybe he was finally seeing the good that it could do.
Finally, he nodded, and discussion began again in earnest.
Elisa began getting to her feet, but Goliath pulled her back down into her chair giving her a stern look. "Stay," He said firmly.
Elisa gave him a smile, and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. "Alright," she said quietly.
