AN:/ Sorry for the late post, everyone. I overdid it last year with my class load and internship. I did re-edit chapter 9 and will be working on the next chapter for this story soon after my Ulquhime fanfic. Enjoy and comment. I do want to hear from you guys, so comment.

Chapter 10: Secret Revealed

A week passed

Alys and Risa were in their office at the shop, and Risa was trying to apologize for ruining the date.

"Alys, please. I said I was sorry, can you please forgive me," Risa begged her tirelessly.

"I heard you, Risa, but you followed us throughout the entire date, and you brought along his family on your little FBI following investigation recon. Did you ever think about my or Selendrile's feelings when you concocted this plan of yours? It was embarrassing, and the worst part is what hurts the most is that you didn't trust me enough to do well on my first date?" Alys stated, almost tearfully.

Risa felt like she was slapped across her face from Alys's statement. She never really wanted to hurt anyone's feelings, mostly Alys. Selendrile, yes, but never Alys. Risa thought she was helping while staying behind the scenes if Alys was having trouble or felt uncomfortable being around Selendrile because of her not having any experience with boys or dating in any retrospect. She thought she was doing what any friend would've done for another, but maybe she could've done it differently. Alys shakes her head at her dear friend and leaves the office in Risa's wake. She felt that Risa's silence was the answer that she didn't need to hear. Her feelings didn't matter to Risa, and that was hurtful. Alys was now in the shop, getting some of the displays looking beautiful and very eye worthy of finding whatever jewelry would be wanted right away. Alys was trying to get her mind off of her friends' betrayal but couldn't. The pain was unbarring because of the trust she had in Risa. Risa usually lets her do whatever is best in Alys's case, but now it felt different. Before she could think more about the issue with Risa, the bell dinged, reminding her there was a customer. She stopped what she was doing and went to gaze at the customer.

"Welcome to Love to the Eye. How can I help?"

"Hi Alys," Nathan greeted with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, hi, Nathan. It's nice to see you again. I'm doing semi-okay. What about you, and how can I help you?"

"Um, I'm here to order a ring for my mom or something in that range," he answered.

"Why did she send you? Is this a punishment or because you volunteered?" Alys asked, motioning him to follow her to the ring display.

"I volunteered because I wanted to get away from a date with your cousin," he mentioned, scratching his head nervously.

Alys smiled and giggled at his nervous truth. "That's understandable. I've been trying to run away from her for years."

"Haha, I keep forgetting that you live together," Nathan said.

Alys nodded while fumbling with the keys to the ring case display. She opened it and waited for Nathan to tell her which ring he wanted to look at for his mother. He was going through his phone, looking at the ring in his messages between him and his mother. She sent him to the rings display. Nathan showed Alys the image of the ring. Alys gazed at the photo and glanced down at the multiple rings in the display case until she found the right one that Nathan's mother wanted. Alys grabbed it and placed it on the counter. The ring was beautiful. The band was a gold rose and was encrusted with wave swirls. The gem was two-toned ruby red and sapphire blue. The lighting of the sun landed on the ring, and it glistened in all of its glory. It was glossy but not too polished. Unlike the loud and jealous rings that are overly shiny, the shine was muted so that they might steal the show. But with the muted glow, it will be gracious and will last a lot longer than the obnoxious ones.

'She has great taste in jewelry," Alys thought.

Nathan's mother, Susiana Merslet, has been in the girls' lives for a very long time and was their first long-time client for jewelry, especially the rings. She was a jewelry buyer for the nobles and celebrities. She only shops at Love to The Eye for the crucial clients who want any piece from the girls' shop, which gives the shop more anchor than most.

"It's beautiful. How much do I owe you?" Nathan asked, getting his wallet out of his left pocket. Alys motioned him to follow her once again, but this time to the register. She grabbed the ring and headed towards the PO system, punched in the numbers, asked the standard repetitive questions, and announced, "It's 114.19 euros ($127.27 in U.S dollars)."

Nathan grabbed the card out of the wallet and handed it to Alys. She swiped the card and gave it back to him. The change was exchanged, the ring was put in the bag. Alys gave him the bag with a smile.

"Thanks, Alys, you're a lifesaver. So, what happened?"

Alys gazed at him with shock, 'How did he know? I swear he could read my mind sometimes. Should I tell him what happened?"

"Come on, Alys; you can tell me anything. We've known each other since we were kids. You can talk to me," Nathan encouraged.

She knew he was right. They knew each other since diapers, so she told him. Alys told him from when Gower told her about her arranged engagement, the meeting with her new fiance and his family, the day he asked her out on a date. Risa, his family, Una, and Atherton followed him. Nathan attentively listened to Alys telling the story. He wasn't surprised that Risa followed Alys on a date with her fiance. Risa was overprotective when it comes to Alys, and so is he. Still, he wasn't going so far with his overprotectiveness. Nathan could tell that Alys wasn't happy with Risa's actions, but he understood both sides and hoped to fix this smoothly.

"I feel like Risa doesn't trust me when it comes to dating the other sex. When I think about it in that sort of way, it hurts my feelings, "Alys mumbled hurtfully.

Nathan saw Alys' eyes getting cloudy from emotion. He understood that Alys didn't get why Risa did what she did and was very hurt by it. Still, he felt that the girls needed to talk and see each other's perspective regarding this subject. He loves Risa and Alys like family and hates to see them argue over something so trivial, so he says:

"Lys, maybe what Risa did was unconventional but might have had a good stand behind it. Risa is overprotective of you and wants what is best for you. Knowing her, she did it with a good heart, but I think she didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I see where both of you are coming from, and I think you two need to talk. It'll help both of you straighten this whole issue out. OK?"

Alys nodded while sniffling. Tears were overflowing at this point. Nathan grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped away her tears. Alys smiled in thanks; Nathan patted her head affectionately and left with his mother's order. Alys smiled, wiped out the remaining tears, and thought about what Nathan said. She knew he was right; Risa was only thinking about Alys' wellbeing. Alys knew that her best friend only has her best interests at heart even though Risa's overprotectiveness can be stressful, but it was out of love. Alys took a deep breath and saw it in Risa's point of view, then she understood.

"What kind of friend am I?" Alys sighed.

She knew that she would've done the same for Risa, just like how Risa did to her. That was how their relationship worked. They protected each other from anything and anyone. Well, except for the abuse that Alys is getting from her relatives. Alys sighed once more while moving her hair behind her ear. Alys decided it was best to take Nathan's advice and talk to Risa about this issue a bit more and hear each other's standpoint. Before Alys could even turn to go back upstairs, a hoard of people scrambled to get through the establishment door. Customers were yelling for attention and waving their money in the air. Alys could feel the tension of a busy day with no rest. She called down Risa from the office, and they went to work.

"I guess our talk will have to wait. Right now, money is calling," Alys mumbled.

The Presd'eaux Family

Selendrile was at his office signing papers, reading the accounts, paying bills, and trying not to think about the almost perfect first date with his fiance, Alys. The date was going better than he expected but was ruined by her best friend, a lawyer, her flirty cousin, and his family spying on them. He hadn't talked to his parents since then. Heck, he hasn't spoken to Alys either. Selendrile was so embarrassed by his family's doing that he couldn't call Alys. Selendrile wasn't on good terms with Risa for apparent reasons. He doesn't like Atherton and Una. Sighing from remembering the little antics of those people, Selendrile decided to fix things with Alys first before leaving for home to face his family.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about the dinner tonight at her uncle's house," he mumbled.

He scrunched up his nose with annoyance. Not only does he have to be around Alys' family for dinner, but he also has to apologize to Alys. And have to be around his family, who he's not talking to at the moment. He was starting to feel tense, and Selendrile and edgy doesn't go very well in the same sentence. Selendrile glanced at the clock to see if there was some leeway to go flying. He needed to calm down and relax before going to this dinner of pure unjust hell at Alys' family's house. Finding out that he had only thirty minutes left before he could go home. Nodding his head at how many minutes he currently has left, Selendrile went back to reading proposals and tried to keep his mind off the other issues.

At Selendrile's place

While Selendrile is at work, his wonderful family is sitting in the television room watching Avengers: Endgame. Making little comments here and there about the graphics and the action scenes. Listria wasn't getting into the movie very much since she was still thinking about what happened last week on Selendrile's date. Presuming that what they did showed how much they care about who they chose to be with their son, somehow it turned a straight hard left and an angry son who hasn't spoken to them.

"Darling, are you still thinking about what happened last week?" Taurus asked. Listria glanced at her mate from the corner of her eye and nodded, returning her attention to the movie.

"Is she still thinking about what happened?" Tira asked.

Corvin turned away from the screen to gaze at his mother. "I don't see why she's still hooked up about last week. We did what we did, and Selendrile should get over it."

Listria sighed a heavy sigh. Taurus rubbed his mate's shoulder, trying to make her feel better, but it wasn't working.

"I don't see why he's mad at us," Listria huffed, "we were thinking about his well being and were making sure nothing went wrong. Why is he not appreciating our efforts of wanting this marriage to work?" The other three sat there in silence, thinking about what she said. They ignored the big explosions and the fighting noises from the movies. Corvin was the first one to get out of his stupor.

"How about we go flying to clear our thoughts, and then we can talk to him."

Tira and Taurus agreed with the idea, and Listria nodded her head in agreement. Flying was a good idea, and it will help give her some courage to talk to Selendrile. Since they've arrived, Selendrile has continuously been so hard to talk to, and he's been distancing himself from the family. It was hurting her terribly to the point she didn't know what to do. Taurus paused the movie, and they all got up to leave. Corvin leads his family to the changing room. They began undressing, then started to change forms and left the house.

With Selendrile

Selendrile was far enough from the city gazers to change entirely into his dragon form. Taking in a deep breath and releasing fumes in the air, which calmed him down considerably. All of his worries washed away. The troubles were left behind on the ground. Selendrile enjoyed the peaceful flying experience. The lousy date was long gone, and he was far away from Paris. His flight took him above Gower's home. Lazily, Selendrile slowed his wings so he could glide. After gliding for a peaceful two hours, Selendrile was heading back to Paris. Until he saw from a distance, he could see four dragons coming towards him at a languish speed. It was his parents and siblings.

"Oh, great," he thought, "I hope they didn't notice me." Sadly, they noticed him, and Listria was the one that spoke first.

"Oh, Selendrile, we weren't expecting to see you until later, but since you're here, let's talk," she said with hope laced in each word.

Selendrile's scaly eyebrow raised in curiosity about what they wanted, but he wasn't ready to talk to them. They ruined his first date. HIS FIRST DATE! Even though he never wanted to be in this situation with Alys, he tried to leave a good impression. He felt that his family and Risa ruined that for him. Knowing how his mother is, Selendrile decided to humor them this once and then speak his truth. He motioned them to follow him to a forest behind Griswold's national park. The five dragons tried to land as softly as their claws could without creating havoc.

"What do you want to talk about?" Selendrile asked, keeping his tone in check. Dragons are known for their anger, and Selendrile was still seething about the dating issue, but his family deserves respect.

"What is wrong with you?" Corvin asked, "you've been a prick since we've been here. What gives Seley?"

"Don't call me that," Selendrile growled lowly, "and if you don't know the reason, then you don't deserve the answer."

Corvin snarled at his little brother's reason. Tira nudged him with her head to calm down. They were trying to talk to him calmly without arguing. Corvin ceased his snarling and didn't say anything afterward. Selendrile was starting to get mentally drained, so he lay down on the grass, waiting for his family to continue their conversation.

"Selendrile, we don't understand why you're upset with us," Listria said, "I feel you don't have the right to be angry with us for looking out for you."

Selendrile rose his head off the grass and questioned, "I don't have the right to be angry? I do so believe that I do have that right."

"No, you're not," Tira seethed, "We are your family, and we care for you and want what's best for you."

"Exactly, we care about you and want you to be happy, but we still have to be leery of who we let you be around," Listria added.

Selendrile listened to each nonsense that his family was sprouting, and his anger grew at each statement until his mother's last comment about who he should be around. That made him so distraught that he changed into his human form. He was standing naked in all of his glory and started yelling. "When the hell did you care about who I'm around, or about my feelings or what's best for me? You never even considered my feelings or about how I wanted my life to be. You decided on Alys, and I are getting married, and here you are speaking nonsense. I didn't want this, but you decided without talking to me. You wanted me to go on a date with Alys so we could get to know each other, and what did you do? You and her friend followed us throughout our date and ruined it when we started a new conversation. I don't have the right to be angry? YOU BET YOUR SCALY ASS I HAVE THE RIGHT!"

After his tirade, there was a rustle in the bushes. The dragon family froze, and Selendrile mentally cursed. Silently, Selendrile went over to the bushes and forcibly separated the branches away from each other. There was none there. The culprits escaped. They were seen by whoever, and now they're in trouble.

"I've got to go," Selendrile said in a hushed tone. He changed back, flew away from his family, still contemplating his tirade, and being seen by a human.

What Happened?

Alys and Risa

The rush hour from earlier was over, and both girls were tired to the bone. Risa slumped against the wall, and her arms covered Alys' head on the glass countertop. They were both panting from exhaustion. Alys was thinking of what she and Nate were talking about earlier that day with her eyes closed. She knew that Risa only did it to make sure she was alright. Deep down, Alys knew that she would do the same thing to her. Sighing, Alys got up from her position, gazed at her best friend, and knew the only way to clear the air was to feed her. She left the room to go upstairs to the office to grab their belongings and headed back downstairs.

"Risa?"

"Hm."

"We need to talk, but let's have ice cream over it," Alys said while standing near the door.

Risa perked and scurried out the door. Alys smiled at her friend and locked up the store. A couple of blocks from their shop, going down the street, was an ice cream parlor called Pozzetto Gelato Caffe Paris. The walk was silent between them. Risa would sneak a glance at Alys from the corner of her eye and began to wonder what Alys was thinking about. Alys and Risa arrived at their favorite parlor. It was very inviting. The walls' designs were squares and were painted pink, mint green, and white. The tables were steel, and the booth was a shiny white. Alys and Risa ordered the sweet dessert in cups since they weren't staying. Alys wanted to talk to Risa outside, where they had some privacy. With their orders in hand, Alys paid for the sweet treats and left the establishment. They began walking towards the national park of Griswold like they usually do when they're fighting. Alys took a bite of her salted caramel chocolate ice cream. The incredible salty-sweet taste naturally calmed her down from the anxiety she was feeling. Risa was feeling the same. Usually, their arguments weren't this big. Mostly it's about the abuse Alys receives from her uncle, aunt, and cousin. Still, now it's about losing a friendship over the trust. Risa didn't want to lose Alys. They both needed each other, and she can cook like a professional chef. Still, Alys gives excellent advice on situations people go through.

They went further into the park, where there were massive amounts of trees and bushes. After finding the perfect spot to finish their ice cream and have a chat, they both sat down, enjoying the silence and the gentle breeze of the wind. Risa finished her sweet dessert and started thinking about the problem she had created. She wanted Alys' first date to be unique and comfortable, but it could've all been avoided if they left at the last spot, then maybe she wouldn't be in this predicament now.

"Risa.."

"Alys, I'm so sorry that I did what I did. I wanted to make sure that your first date wasn't horrible and Selendrile was treating you right. But after seeing Una and that weird guy doing the same thing, I had to make sure she wouldn't ruin it. Maybe I should've given you a chance and let you take this new experience on your own, but I was worried about you. Next time, I promise I'll never follow you on your dates again. I swear," Risa rambled with tears streaming down her cheeks. Alys sat there, listening to her best friend, and felt terrible. Nathan was right; Risa was only thinking about her wellbeing. Since her father is gone now and not able to teach her about men, Risa, Tommy and Nathan are the only ones Alys have to go-to when it comes to these kinds of situations. Dating was totally new to Alys, so having Risa or Nathan to monitor the date wasn't a bad idea, but it still hurts. If Risa did it differently, Alys would be more forgiving and understanding, but that again won't take the pain away.

"Risa, I know you only did it for my sake, and don't get me wrong, I would do the same for you too, but it still hurts my feelings about what you did. You followed us throughout the entire date, and I felt that you didn't consider my feelings before taking action. Maybe if you did it differently, then I'll be alright with it but not at the expense of my feelings," Alys explained, "but I do forgive you. I love you. Risa, you've been with me through my troubled life and now the arranged marriage with Selendrile. Thank you for being there and thinking about my wellbeing."

"I love you too and will always be there," Risa sniffled. They gave each other a big hug and giggled. They released each other and felt normal once again.

"So, what did you think about your first dating experience?" Risa asked, breaking the silence.

"It was...awkward at first, but after a while, it did get better. In the beginning, I did trail behind and bumped into him and waited for Selendrile to hit me, but he never did. The last spot, to me, I don't know much about how he felt; gave off a nice charming tone to it. Still, it had more of a romantic vibe than he originally planned, I guess. Still, I enjoyed it very much," Alys narrated. Risa listened with open ears and was a bit worried about the 'expecting a hit' part. Because of the abuse Alys gets from her family. It was good to hear that Selendrile never put his hand on her in that way, so he got an A+, but that still doesn't mean she had to like him now. "I better give him more tests before accepting him fully with Alys," she thought.

"I'm glad that you had fun. I'm a bit worried about your reaction when you bumped into him, but I'm glad he didn't do anything heinous to you. While watching you guys, the air was awkward, but you were coming out of your shell slightly, which is nice. You need to let go once in a while and be yourself. I know it is hard for you to be yourself because of your family's situation and the fear of being abused for being you. Not only that, you do have a fear of men. I noticed that whenever you are around men, you get scared and expect the worst. Of course, you are not afraid of Nathan since he's a sweetheart. Heck, you're fine with Tommy and the men in Selendrile's family too. Still, you do need to understand that not every guy out there will hurt you, just only the ones that your family lets you around. I want you to be happy and safe with a guy that will love you and let you be yourself with no walls guarding you. Even though I don't trust Selendrile yet, I do think he can help you come out a bit more," Risa said.

Alys sadly bowed her head in defeat with what Risa said. It was true that she's afraid of men, but when she's with Nathan or Tommy, she's OK, but she had noticed that she was OK with Taurus, Corvin, and Selendrile. Maybe Alys was opening up a bit to men but not entirely. "I'll try," she said in a small voice.

Risa sadly smiled at her hurt friend and hoped that Selendrile would get Alys to open up more and be normal again. She missed her dear friend a lot and knew she would put too much pressure on the guy, but if it meant she got Alys to come alive again, then so be it.

"How about we go…" Before Risa could finish, the ground started to shake.

"Aaahhh," Risa and Alys screamed while grabbing hold of a tree for dear life. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped.

"Was that an earthquake?" Risa asked.

"I don't know, but it was scary," Alys answered. Then there was a growling sound behind the bushes, which frightened the girls even more. "Do you think it's a lion or a bear?" Alys asked, shaking with fear. Knowing there was a slim chance that it would be a bear or a lion running amok in Griswold, but you'll never know.

"I don't know, but let's go see," Risa said. She let go of the tree and started crawling over the bushes.

"Are you mad? What if it's a killer or a rabid animal."

"We might as well find out, shouldn't we?"

"Fine, move over." Alys huffed. Alys only crawled an inch or two before she was next to Risa. They were on their knees, glancing over the surface of the bushes. To their utter surprise and shock, golden four dragons were standing in a circle staring at each other. The girls were unnoticed by the dragons, and one of them decided to lay down while the others were growling at him.

'Ddddragonssssssss!'

'They exist? But how?' Alys and Risa asked, mentally. The next thing they knew, the one lying down stood up and changed into a human. A buck naked human but not just a random guy, but it was Selendrile.

'Selendrile is a dragon?'

Alys and Risa listened to Selendrile's rant and felt it was time to go. They tried to leave silent, but their bodies wouldn't let them. Their bodies were so numb from balancing on the knees for so long that the girls fell, making the bushes rustled. Risa and Alys quickly crawled away from the scene and began to run to the park entrance. They both stopped to catch their breath from running.

"I.. can't..believe..that.. he's..a dragon," Risa said, panting.

"Neither..can..I. Who do you think Selendrile was yelling to?" Alys asked, still panting.

"Well, he mentioned you, the date, and the arranged marriage so that he might have been talking to his…"

"Family," Alys finished. Risa nodded.

"You're marrying into a family of dragons."

AN:/ Selendrile and his family's secrets are out. Alys and Risa are in shock and can't believe what they saw. Will they tell, or will they keep the secret? Will Selendrile ever have peace? Will his family ever get answers to their questions? Will Una stop flirting with random guys? Will Nathan finally dump her? Find out next time on...Cry for Love.