Bowen let her words echo in his mind before shaking it off and turning the horse towards where Draco had flown. He kept the horse at a steady trot until Aster was well out of sight and he spotted Draco in a field nearby.

Racing over, he noticed that the dragon was looking over a field of dead peasants. Each had been shoddily armed and had all been butchered, men and women alike, by weapons bearing the King's crest.

"I told you before, Bowen, didn't I? That when you attack the nobility, it's the peasants that pay for it. This is Einon's doing…but for what? I can't tell…"

Draco sighed deeply and looked down in honor for the dead. Bowen observed the field and considered burying them all, but that would take two days' work and the bodies were already being attacked by the local scavengers. It would be best if they were left to the elements.

"Are we going to move on?" the knight asked.

"Yes. Where's Aster?" the dragon inquired, turning away from the scene and beginning to walk beside Bowen's horse.

"I sent her home."

"You what?"

"She was becoming a nuisance. And no, I didn't kill her this time. I just told her to go home."

"But-…"

"Now see here, Draco. We both had custody over that…that wench…and I did as I saw fit. She wasn't any use to us; she wasn't doing any more than slowing us down. My horse won't be able to carry heavy loads for a month now that she's ridden it!" Bowen snarled.

Draco shook his head to himself and stopped. Bowen was taken my surprise and reared back his horse. They sat that way for a minute.

"What?" the knight demanded of the silent dragon.

"Bowen, you need to consider things from her point of view. I know you two fought; I can tell from your attitude and speech."

"Her point of view? I have considered it! She thought a dragon was gonna eat her and he didn't! Now she's all high and mighty because she thinks you chose not to and she thinks she's invincible! Don't tell me what she is or isn't!"

Draco shook his head again. He could barely make eye contact with the knight.

"It's more than that, Bowen. Think about before that. Her own people tied her up and threw her on the altar because they didn't want to pay a paltry sum. She was kidnapped and frightened half to death and she truly thought she was going to die.

"Now, she's grateful for not being killed by either you or me. But think about it: it was I who told you not to kill her. She remembered too late that she had sworn her loyalty to both of us, not just me. So now she's angry because she wants to regard my word as higher than yours, just because you happen to be a human, just like her.

"I'm sorry if she made you mad, Bowen. But it's best to walk around in someone else's shoes before criticizing them and sending them away." Draco looked at him in a reprimanding, yet understanding way.

Bowen looked to the horizon. He had made a mistake. She was only loyal to Draco because he had told Bowen not to kill her, and Bowen had never extended any tangible hand of friendship towards her, either. He had treated her like a servant, not as an equal at all.

"She said something to me. Told me that we weren't equals…that we were only friends because one of us couldn't kill the other."

The dragon sighed and shook his head. "Bowen, you have to understand that, while I regard you as a great friend, it isn't in a dragon's nature to think that any human could be greater than themselves. That's what makes us fight slayers to the death. Pride is one of our most precious amenities, and if we lose it, we'd be no better than the dogs that roll over at their master's command."

Bowen thought about what Aster had said. He took her advice and looked straight at Draco's eyes. What he saw there was not the same light that shone from any other knight's eyes or any other human's, for that matter. What shone from Draco's eyes was a strong power, one that couldn't be broken and couldn't be expected to compete in the same class as a human. It was above what Bowen could understand; it was beyond his understanding.

With a humble nod, Bowen perked up suddenly.

"Draco, you think we could find her?"

The dragon looked up, a pleased look on his face. "I'd be surprised if we couldn't!" he shouted, lifting into the sky.

Bowen spurred his horse towards the east. "Besides!" he yelled to the flying figure. "I don't want to give up such a good cook so easily!"