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Chapter XXXVI - The Mating Ritual

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"Drink this. It will help," spoke Sir Claudius. He handed Heart of the Flame a bubbling concoction.

She sniffed it and wrinkled her nose. "What is this?"

"One of my potions." He began to put up the ingredients he had used to make it, sealing them away in various cabinets around the potion room. "It's a remedy specifically for dragons. I came up with it myself."

Heart of the Flame took a tiny sip. "Thank you, Sir." Some of the colors began to return to her alabaster skin. It had a pinkish glow to it.

"Of course. It will help your system get used to food again. Give it a few moments."

"What are you going to feed me?" she asked. "I've sworn off humans."

"Live humans," Claudius corrected. He swerved over to one of his drawers and showcased a dazzling array of various animal—including human—remains. "I know it is rather gruesome, but I do have preserved human remains here, as ingredients of course. You may use them to your delight."

"I hope this will help rebuild some of my strength. You know, I'm supposed to frighten the human's families. But, this will have to suffice for now." She set down the cup and traversed toward Claudius. "At least, until I can come up with a new duty to complete."

Sir Claudius's shoulders fell. He walked away from the cabinet and sat down in one of the rugged old chairs.

Heart of the Flame's eyes protruded, turning gold, as though she had found a treasure trove. She transformed into her dragon form, which oddly enough was the perfect size for the room, and began devouring the human remains.

Claudius paid no mind to it. He stared off into space while the sounds of dull flesh being ripped apart bounced off the walls. A few fingernails, toenails, and bones flew past him every now and then. But his face remained gaunt and skeletal. His eye sockets drew in and he sighed, putting one hand under his chin.

A few minutes passed by and Heart of the Flame slowed her eating down. She licked her claws and sucked at the skin in-between her toes. After proper cleaning, the dragon transformed back into a human. She donned Claudius's cloak once more, draping it around herself.

"Ah… that was the best meal I've had in so long! I'll take human remains over nasty deer any day!" she said, licking her lips.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." He smiled for a second then dropped his face again.

"Tell me more about your clan, Sir Claudius. We've only a few minutes before you transform, so I want to hear it in your own words." She sat down in the chair beside him. "When we transform, then I'll tell you all about my clan in my own tongue. Sound good?"

Claudius nodded. "I don't know if there's much to say. Our duty was to light forest fires and to terrorize humans. And after a certain number of years, if we don't terrorize anyone else, we turn to stone."

The woman looked so eager, as though she were ready to pounce on him at any second.

"My father… Oh, I've never told anyone this…." he said. "Not even Athena. My father was… the Patriarch of the clan."

Heart of the Flame gasped. "No!" she called. "I can't believe it." She laughed and threw her hands up in the air. "I bet he was so mad when you said you wanted to be human! Isn't he the one who cursed you?!"

"Yes. He was… beyond angered by my choice, but he let me do it anyway. I was one of his illegitimate sons anyway. I wasn't in line to become the next Patriarch. Everyone in the clan hated me, too, so he let me go. Only the people in my clan knows I'm his son. He didn't want word getting around that one of his offspring betrayed their race." Claudius's chin sank deeper into his palm. He sighed. "There is one thing I thank him for, however—besides allowing me to be at least partially human. He was a Master of Potions and taught me how to master the art as well. Of course, he was years beyond me in mastery. When I left, he gave me a variety of potions to have in case I ever needed them." Claudius stood and went to one of the safes of the room. He unlocked it and pulled out a few viles. He pointed to one that was glowing red. "This one will turn a dragon human for a few days. I had… planned on using it before I turn to stone."

Heart of the Flame furrowed her brows, creating an "11" in-between her eyes.

"I've saved it after all these years. I've never been able to replicate it, for my Father was too powerful and many years ahead of me in mastery. Not a day goes by I wish he hadn't given me another dose. My plan is that when I turn to stone, and my body is almost ready to return to the earth, someone—preferably Athena, if she outlives me—will pour this over my dragon body and I will be able to speak to all of my loved ones, one last time." He laid it back into the safe and looked into Heart of the Flame's eyes. "But alas, I may not have to turn to stone."

The woman smiled. "So, indeed, you have thought about it, Sir Claudius."

"I have." He locked the potion back into the safe. "I'm not sold on it, but, I am considering it. If it means I will have more time with Athena and my other friends—who I hope to see one day—then I may do it."

"Even if it means mating with me?" She leaned in.

Claudius wrapped his arms around himself. "Please, I don't want to think of it. He turned away from her.

Tapping her long fingernails onto the countertop, the woman sneered. The candles flickered in the candelabra above her, almost as if they sensed her growing anger. And the room grew hotter with each passing second. "You know, Claudius," she said, "there are many perks to mating with me." She slithered about the room, closing in on him. "I'll allow you to be who you are. I don't care if you are a man by day and a dragon by night. Not many dragons would mate with you over such a curse. I'll even let you love who you want to, and if you by chance found another dragon to mate with in addition to me, I'll allow it. If you by chance find another little human friend and you want to love them alongside Athena, I'll allow it. Just because we are Patriarch and Matriarch of the clan does not mean that we have to love one another. We only have to mate once, you know. I'm not asking for offspring either! We can instead find other rogues, just like us, and take them in." She ran her fingers along his shoulder blades. "Take the deal," she whispered in his ear.

Claudius leaned forward, his eyes opening wide. He then lurched over and the candles in the room began to fall all around him. "It's time!" he yelled. The man sprinted to the dungeons, and Heart of the Flame followed suit, jogging behind him at a brisk pace.

The woman cackled to herself. I have him, I have him right under my claws.

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Athena stood at Beochaoineadh Castle's massive doors. Her hand remained raised in a knocking position, but she dared not move. The morning sun's glistening rays broke out over the ocean and bathed the land in a golden-orange glow.

Finally, she sucked in air and gritted her teeth together, and knocked.

Several minutes passed by. No response.

She knocked again.

From inside the locked doors, she heard footfalls, and a suave voice called out: "Miss Everleigh? Is that you?"

It was the Heart of the Flame.

"Yes, it's me." Athena shuddered.

The doors unlocked and a creak broke out of the castle as the doors opened, like some old decrepit man shrieking out his last dying breath.

Athena lifted her head and the morning glow refracted onto Heart of the Flame. She still had that cloak wrapped around her like a trophy. The young girl winced. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Heart of the Flame."

"Likewise, Miss Everleigh," she said. "Won't you come inside?"

Glancing past the woman's shoulders, Athena took in the darkness of the castle. "Where is Claudius?" she asked.

"Still sleeping. We had a lengthy chat last night in dragon form, all the way until almost three o'clock. We had much to discuss the new clan we are forming." Heart of the Flame grinned; pointed fangs dangled out of her thin pale lips.

"Of course," Athena spoke.

Heart of the Flame allowed Athena inside and ushered her to the Grand Hall. "Let's sit and chat for a moment, shall we?" Her voice was like fine wine, but with poison mixed in.

Athena nodded.

"Do you understand why Claudius and I are forming a new clan?"

"Not entirely, I'm afraid," Athena replied.

"Well," she said, "both of us despise our duties as dragons. You know that. We want to form a new clan entirely made out of rogue dragons like us. We're not sure what our clan's duty will be yet, but it will be much less menacing and harrowing as our current ones." She pulled the cloak closer around her. "However, there are some stipulations…." She looked into the fireplace and picked at her clawlike nails.

"Okay..." Athena spoke, hesitating.

"Firstly, when desiring to form a new clan, two dragons—a male and female—must go before the Elders and present their duty."

Athena grabbed onto the lacey white gloves that Claudius had given her. She held onto them tightly.

"We do this by building a fire out in the woods at precisely midnight. Recite a few chants to call upon the Elders in the stars. Then, in the most ancient form of dragon tongue, we present our duty and the reason we want to begin a new clan. And, this is the part Claudius and I need your—agreement upon…." Heart of the Flame turned to face Athena. She pulled down her cloak and revealed some cleavage before licking and wetting her lips.

Athena closed her eyes and winced.

"All clans begin with a mated Patriarch and Matriarch—"

The young girl shook, her legs wobbling. She bit down onto her lip.

"Of course, we both agreed to not have offspring together, but rather recruit rogues into our clan. So there's that. But, Athena—" Heart of the Flame placed a palm onto Athena's gloves.

She opened her eyes, which had tears in them.

"We must perform a mating ritual before the Elders, and if they approve of it, then we are allowed to build our own clan."

Athena sobbed. "Did— Did he… agree to this?" She wiped away her tears.

"Yes, he did."

"Without even… consulting me?" she cried.

"He did not want to face your reaction when he asked this of you, so he sent me to do it." Heart of the Flame patted Athena's hand, before placing it back onto the armrest. "You must understand, Athena. This will be good for the both of us. There is a high chance that your Claudius will turn to stone any day now if he does not change his duty. He could—"

"You really think so?" Athena whimpered.

Heart of the Flame leaned back. "Yes, I do. But Miss Everleigh, hear me out. He still loves you, truly. Although we may be mated, that does not mean that I will not allow you to see each other and love one another. You can even 'marry', as you call it." The woman crossed her arms.

Athena wiped away a tear. "Really? I'm not sure I understand. I thought mating—"

"Ah… human marriage is so different from mating," she said, slightly revolted. "So vastly different. Let me explain it to you." Heart of the Flame stood up and paced around the hearth. "Dragons live for such a long, long time, unlike petty little humans. Of course, we're going to want different mates after awhile! You see, Miss Everleigh, in dragon culture, there is such a thing called 'branding.' Each dragon's tail club is different from the other. You may have noticed Claudius's is diamond-shaped."

Athena nodded, taking off her gloves and wiping away her tears with them.

"When dragons prepare to mate, they light their clubs on fire and then brand the other, leaving a black imprint on their skin, almost like a tattoo. And then they mate officially after that. And just like you can have more than one tattoo, but never remove them, so you can have more than one mate but never remove them. And we have mates of all sorts in the dragon world. Males can be with females, females can be with females, males can be with males. It's so different from your little human concept of marriage."

Athena thought she might spit out of disgust if she went on any longer.

"But as I said, Miss Everleigh, if you want to marry Sir Claudius, so be it. I won't mind. And I'll only mate with him once. But, just know, he cannot love you fully. Humans don't experience full love, only partial love." She crossed her arms.

Athena began to cry again. Her cheeks turned pink. "So… if Claudius—d-does this," she sobbed, "he will live?"

"Yes, Miss Everleigh. That is correct." She tapped her fingernails on the fireplace.

"Alright. As long as I hear the words come out of his mouth that he agrees to this, so do I." She buried her face in her palms.

Heart of the Flame's smug, confident look melted away as Sir Claudius strolled out of the dungeons and into the Grand Hall, yawning.

"Athena… what are you doing here so early?" he asked. "Although I'm not upset, just curious, love."

"Claudius!" the girl cried. She picked herself up out of the chair and ran to him, enlocking him into an embrace.

"Darling, what's the matter?" He petted her hair. "What happ—" Sir Claudius lifted his head. Heart of the Flame held one of her arms in the other hand. His face fell and his eyebrows furrowed together. Snarling, Sir Claudius let go of Athena.

"Wait! Claudius!" Athena yelled. "I agreed to it. I did." She ran over to him and pulled on his sleeve. "I want you to live! That's all. I can't bear the thought of you dying before your time. Please, Claudius. Heart of the Flame said you would do it as long as I agreed to it."

Claudius lurched his head up and stared Heart of the Flame down. The woman dug her claws into her snakelike skin.

"Athena, wait outside, please. I need to have a short discussion with Heart of the Flame," he said, his voice low, deep, and deadly.

Letting go of Claudius's sleeve, Athena slid outside the doors.

"You lied," Claudius grumbled. "You lied to her."

"I did nothing of the sort." Heart of the Flame turned around, gazing into the fireplace and soaking up its warmth. "Last night, you said if Athena agreed to it—"

"That I would highly consider it. I didn't say I would do it." He broke down. "Now she'll never let me have a choice. She wants me to live so bad she won't even think about any other possibilities."

"I can tell she loves you, Sir. But it's not enough. Her love will never be enough to fulfill you and you know it."

"What do you know about me?"

"I know that it's very likely you've had urges to love other people besides Athena. Tell me the truth."

Claudius squeezed his eyes together and his black locks caved in over his face.

"I know it's true. It's in your nature."

"But they were before her! I loved them before her!"

"And you'll love them after her when you see them again. And quite possibly new humans, or new dragons! Human marriage is just a construct, created by men to control women. And no one ever loves each other in marriage! You'll never be able to love Athena the way you could love me! When you live for so many years, you've got to find other beings to fill in those gaps in your heart. And I'm allowing you to do so." Her eyes caught aflame. "You're being so selfish! Think of all of the other rogue dragons who we could help! If you don't do this, you'll die and leave Athena alone! You'll leave me to wander about the countryside, preying on humans! Do you know how many people and dragons you will affect!?" Heart of the Flame stepped closer and clamped down on her teeth. "It's time for a decision, Sir Claudius. You know what's right."

Claudius stood up, picking himself up off of his knees. His face was bright scarlet and fiery, raging like a wildfire. "I do know what's right. And it's Athena," he snarled. "I will marry Athena and love only her. She has saved me from death. I would not be here if it weren't for her."

Heart of the Flame's demeanor changed. Her arms fell to the ground and thus the cloak. The scales on her back began to prick up. And smoke came out of her nostrils.

"Athena is my life. We will be married and buried side-by-side, and thus live on in the afterlife together forever." Sir Claudius looked her straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Heart of the Flame, but I will not mate with you, nor anyone else, ever."

Heart of the Flame's eyes peeled back, revealing white. "Then I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands," she said, in a gruff husky voice, so unlike the silky one of her human form. More scales protruded on her back and horns sprouted on top of her head. The fireplace swiveled back-and-forth, rocking as she transformed until she became clouded in an inferno of white and yellow and red.

Sir Claudius stepped back, and his face grew pale as he realized what beast he had awoken. He widened his stance and summoned all of the flames in his stomach when—

Heart of the Flame in her full white glory stood before him, and instead of sparring and launching balls of fire at him, she bolted for the entryway. Clanging footsteps shook the entire castle. Stones from the ceiling fell down and clouded Claudius's vision.

The man's heart stopped beating. All flames subsided. "Athena…."