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Chapter XXX - True Form

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Athena flipped another page in her book. The air was soft and quiet in the library; all of the shelves and tables and lounges were freshly clean. It almost reminded her of the time when she had to put her crying baby sister to bed—tragic at first, but once over with, all was calm and gentle. Athena fell asleep in the bed next to the crib. The white linens were fresh powdered snow and she dreamt of the very first snowflakes of winter. That's what the library was like.

Athena lifted her head. The window was fogged, and tiny droplets of rain and snow mixed together in the air outside. She shivered and her shoulders caved in.

Sir Claudius twisted in the seat next to her, then closed his book and stood up.

"Claudius, where are you going?" Athena coughed. Mist flew out of her mouth.

Claudius walked toward the fireplace, picked up a few logs, and then whispered, "Watch."

Athena paid attention to the slight grin on his lips.

He held the logs in front of him, perhaps a meter away from his barrel chest, then sucked in all the air of the room into his nostrils. Not two seconds later, it looked as though a train was about to come out of his mouth tunnel. And before Athena could blink, the logs, and consequently Sir Claudius's fingers, were on fire.

"Claudius!" Athena rushed to his side.

"I'm fine, Athena." He laughed. "I'm alright, see?" The man threw the logs onto the fireplace then waved his flaming hands around.

Athena stepped back.

"You still don't believe me?" Claudius asked.

"No, I believe you," she said, wincing. "I'm just glad it's not me whose hands are on fire."

"Perks of being a dragon, I suppose." He looked down. "One of the few."

"What other perks are there?" Athena asked. She still had her book in hand and pulled it closer to her chest. She swung her curls around to her front side.

Sir Claudius somehow turned off his flaming hands and his eyes darted about the room like a caged bird. "Why... do you want to know?"

"No reason. I'm just curious to know more about you," Athena replied.

"You don't need to know about that part of me, Athena." He chuckled, sitting back down in his chair and picking up his book.

Athena marched over to him, lifted his chin with the cover of her book, and said, "I may not need to know, Sir, but I want to know." She huffed.

Sir Claudius's mouth dropped, pushing the book down slightly. His flame-blue eyes went from the book to Athena, and back to the book again. "Fine," he said. "If you're so inclined," he pushed her book away with one finger, "then come back at sundown and I'll show you a few of the perks of being a dragon."

Athena dropped the book; it landed on Claudius's boots. Her mouth formed an "O" shape before transforming into the brightest grin. "Really? Oh, thank you, Sir Claudius! I can't wait!" She danced around the room, twirling her skirts and kicking her feet up in the air. "And all your powers! And how big you are!"

Sir Claudius picked the book up off of his feet. "Just don't make me regret it," he said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, I won't!" Athena squealed, doing an old jig. "Do you know it?"

"What?"

"This jig."

"Of course, I do," he replied. "I learned it a hundred or two hundred years ago. Step aside." Sir Claudius leaped out of the seat and began doing the old Irish jig. He looked rather out-of-place with his tailored suit and black boots (Athena had only seen poor men on the street doing it), but his movements were nothing short of perfect. Athena did it alongside him, humming; he joined in. Their humming was the melody while their shoes scraping the floor became the beating drum.

The library was warm and loud, like home.

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"Where are you goin', Athena?" Ma scrubbed one of her pots in the sink.

Athena laid a hand on the knob of the back door. Her body went numb. "Just wanted to take an evenin' stroll."

"Hmm…" Ma didn't even bat an eyelash. "Off you go then."

"Are you sure? I can help around the house if you—"

"I said, 'Off you go.' Now get goin'." Ma scrubbed harder.

"Alright, then." Athena opened the door; she glanced behind her a few times and saw the back of Ma's pale dress from the sink. "Bye, Ma," she cooed.

"Bye."

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"Ma was actin' so strange this evenin'. I don't know what was wrong with her," Athena said, stroking the handle of her cup of tea. The fire crackled and popped a few feet away.

"Really? I wonder why," Sir Claudius said, leaning into the fireplace.

"Well, she knows that every time I say I'm goin' for an evenin' stroll that I'm really goin' to go cattin' off somewhere."

"Except not this time."

"No." Athena smiled. "Not this time."

The dungeon wasn't quite as expansive as the library, nor as well-lit, but all the sounds Athena and Sir Claudius made echoed for several seconds, bouncing off the long, long walls. It seemed that the dark corners went on forever, leading to longer hallways, even though they didn't.

She looked into her tea and saw freckles, almond-shaped eyes, and a small, round chin. "Claudius."

"Yes, Athena dear?" He turned his head toward her.

"Do you think I'm… attractive?"

Sir Claudius's cheeks flushed. He brushed his sleeves with his scarred hands. "Uh… Of course, I do." He gazed into the fire.

Athena let out a puff of air; ripples formed in the tea. "Even when I was pale and sickly, you still thought so?"

"Well, I know you did not like yourself when you appeared that way, so no, not as much—but only because you yourself did not like how you looked."

"That's fair. I hated bein' pale. I much prefer bein' this way. I feel…" She breathed in. "I feel myself again."

"I always get sunburnt whenever I go outside. I suppose after years and years of mostly staying inside, my skin just doesn't want to accept anything different. I can stand the rays for a few minutes, but soon I feel those blisters and have to go back inside."

"I can't imagine!" Athena put her tea down on the table next to her. "You, of all people, getting sunburnt! Earlier, your hands were flamin' for God's sake!"

"I know, I know. It's hard to understand. I don't understand it myself. But it's the way I am."

Athena shook her head. "Do you know what I used to do when I got sunburnt as a child?"

"What?" Claudius asked.

"I'd put mint leaves on the red spots so they'd heal faster. After bein' out in the sun every day though, I think my skin just got used to it and now I don't have sunburns anymore. Maybe one every now and then but not as bad as when I was a child."

"Perhaps I just don't like being out in the sun."

Athena rolled her eyes. "Everyone likes the sun, Claudius. Hush with that."

"I like fire, but not the sun. Fire is sun enough for me."

"I just don't understand you sometimes, Claudius."

The fireplace in the dungeon crackled on, reverberating off the walls. Dark gray columns made of stone held up the ceiling.

"Are you ready, Athena?" Claudius asked.

She lifted her head. Flames reflected in her eyes. "Oh, yes, please!" Athena jumped out of the stone-cold chair and reached out to Sir Claudius. She grabbed onto his hands; her pearly white teeth glinted in the flames.

Sir Claudius beamed. His scruffy, scarred face wasn't as harsh as the first time she met him. "I'm nervous." He laughed and sweat trickled down his forehead; he pulled away from her.

"Why?" Athena spoke, her eyes losing their shine. She chased after him.

"I'm afraid you won't like what you see. You know, I won't be able to talk to you."

"I figured as much. You'll be a dragon for Pete's sake," she said, throwing her hands in the air.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," he said. "I'm not ready—"

"Shh…" Athena stroked his beard.

He melted into her palm and his pupils dilated until his eyes went almost fully black.

"I'm already here," Athena spoke, "and I will be your friend no matter what you look like."

"Okay," he whispered. "Your hand is cold. Let me help." Claudius removed her palm from his cheek, took hold of her arm, and planted a kiss on the top of her hand. It was the warmest kiss she had ever received.

Athena lifted an eyebrow. "You know, Claudius, my hand is not the only part of me that's cold." She wrapped her slender fingers around his rocksteady hand. "Feel." She pulled the back of his hand to her cheek.

Claudius tremored. He took a step closer to her then pushed a single curl behind her ear. "Yes, your cheeks are cold, too."

He leaned in.

Athena closed her eyes.

Claudius kissed her right cheek. His lips felt like a warm, wet stone, worn away and smoothed out by river water.

She let out a hot breath; it misted and touched his pale skin.

Claudius lifted his other hand and rested it under her chin.

Athena remained stiff, lost in him.

Soon, he pulled away and Athena opened her eyes, exasperated.

"Are you warm now?" Claudius asked.

She nodded, her mouth hanging wide open.

"Good." He walked back a few steps. "Stay there."

"Where are you goin'?" Athena asked.

"It's time. I want to ensure your safety. Please, do not come too close." He backed away farther.

"Of course, Claudius, though I'm positive you'll not endanger me in any way." Athena grinned, tapping her toes on the stone floor.

Claudius grimaced. He sucked in air and it whistled in his teeth. "Stand away from the fireplace, please." He closed his eyes.

Athena glanced behind her at the flames. "Why?"

"Just do as I say." Claudius re-opened his eyes; they had small fires in them.

Athena's heart skipped a beat. She ran around to the other side of the fireplace and backed into the wall. Gripping onto the protruding stones, she tried to calm her breathing.

The flames in the fireplace began to sway back-and-forth, as though sprouting from a fountain. They swirled about and about, growing until the entire fireplace was encased. Athena winced, shutting her eyes and putting her hands in front of her face as the flames whirled out of the fireplace and shot into the night air.

The dungeon lit up. Athena screamed. All of the flames circled about Sir Claudius. He reached out to touch them, and when he did, his fingers started to burn. His arms and hands turned an ashy black color.

No, wait. He wasn't burning. Those were his scales.

The ashes on his skin turned to shiny black scales. Every now and then ash would fall and it would be bright red, and so the scale would turn red, too. They all settled into his skin until he became fully black with small pricks of red every five centimetres or so.

Standing before Athena was something the size of Sir Claudius, although it looked nothing like him. He was no longer a man nor was he a dragon, but something in-between.

"Athena!" he growled, his voice dropping, becoming a harsh bass instead of baritone.

She fell to the ground, protecting her face but keeping one eye peeled.

The noise of shredding clothes ripped her eardrums open. The flames tripled in size, and with them, so grew Sir Claudius.

The heat from the flames hugged Athena; she felt its arms wrapped around her and her face turned red.

Sir Claudius roared: small spurts at first, but after a minute, his roars became full-size in sound and strength.

Athena covered her ears. She glanced up and only saw a fire, with a shadow of a dragon trapped inside.

Moments later, the flames began to fall. Smoke replaced them. The heat unwrapped its arms from around Athena's face and neck and she rose to her feet.

The dragon lay on the ground, taking shallow breaths.

Athena coughed and swatted away the smoke. She took the neckline of her dress and covered her mouth with it. "Claudius!" she yelped.

A short grunt echoed in the dungeon.

The smoke fell away, breaking over the dragon's body. There he was. Almost fully black, with silvery horns burgeoning from atop his skull. His tail had a red tip on the end and was shaped almost like a diamond.

"Claudius, please, let me know you're alright. I'm fine, but are you?" Athena pleaded as she ran toward his body before stopping right in front of his head.

He opened one eye, the size of Athena's face. The pupil was small and thinly strung at first, but grew into a circle before landing on her. His dragon eye was the same blue as hers.

Tears streamed down Athena's face. "It's you. It's really you."

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End of Part III - Master and Apprentice