Part One- Albus

Albus Dumbledore—1864—age 18

I believe now that I was waiting for her. We were four years apart, and four years is a world of difference when we are children. Elizabeth was still a child when I was growing into a man. In any case, I liked to believe that I was becoming a man.

I looked forward to seeing her on holidays and during the summers. I see now that she was good for my sense of self-worth (not that that needed much help in those days); she always listened to what I had to tell her, she asked questions, and she always seemed glad to see me.

She told me a long time later that she credits me for her interest and success in dueling, but I must disagree. She was obviously naturally talented, and it gave me great pleasure to offer her little hints on how to improve. It was quite satisfying to see her run and tell Filius everything I would teach her. I didn't get the privilege for very long; by the time she was fourteen, she could defeat me or anyone else in the school except Filius. Often she could defeat him, too, just by being more aggressive. Or simply more stubborn.

She was my champion. I don't think she ever realized how closely I followed her career in those years we were apart. And every time she told a journalist that a boy she knew had introduced her to the sport, I knew she meant me, and I would carry the knowledge close to my heart for days.

At first, when we were growing up in the countryside around Ottery-St. Catchpole, I simply regarded her as the sister I never had. As the younger brother, it was novel and gratifying for me to have someone younger to whom I could impart my wisdom. I considered myself very wise in those days. Much wiser than I am now, I'm afraid. I do recall, however, the day I began to look at her differently.

It was her first day at Hogwarts, and my first day as a Prefect. I took my responsibilities very seriously indeed, and when I saw Julius Malfoy picking on that little tiny boy, I intervened before I even thought about it properly. Fortunately, the situation was diffused fairly effectively; that was, at least, my estimation of events. Apparently, however, Julius didn't concur. He attempted to continue our discussion while my back was turned. Elizabeth saw him coming and attacked him. She was rather violent, but she was so small that she did him no real harm. I think Julius was more shocked than hurt; in any case he gave me little trouble for the rest of the day.

I remember I called her my champion. Nobody had ever stood up for me before; it was usually I who stood up for others. She had so much heart, so much courage, at such a young age, and she offered it to me. I remember thinking that she was going to be an amazing woman someday. I have seldom been so right.

I did not intend to hurt her by courting Griselda Marchbanks. Indeed, Griselda and I were simply enjoying each other's company. But Elizabeth was too young, and I was a healthy young man. I sensed that someday Elizabeth and I would be important to each other, but when one is sixteen, someday seems very far away. I do not regret my time with Griselda; in fact Griselda and I have enjoyed each other's company regularly over the course of the years. She was always a good student, and was hired almost straight out of Hogwarts by the Wizarding Examinations Authority, so she returned to Hogwarts at least once a year. The first time she came back was my own N.E.W.T. year. Somehow she arranged to be my examiner in Transfiguration and Charms. I'm afraid that from the position of authority that I hold now can I see that we spent much of the examination time in clear violation of several significant laws.

As you see, I did, indeed, have moments of impetuousness in my youth.

Later, much later, Griselda would come for the exams and stay an extra night. I have fond memories of Griselda, and the utmost respect for her work, so I would not have anyone speak ill of her.

But it was always Elizabeth who held that central place in my heart. There was a long time when she and Filius were on the road; on the tournament circuit. And when they weren't competing they were giving seminars, or traveling around the world to train Aurors and other law enforcement officials. She and Filius are entirely responsible for the dueling curriculum still being used by Aurors all throughout Europe. They were a brilliant team, those two. I was thrilled when they came to teach at Hogwarts, and pleased to take credit for bringing them there.

Elizabeth was finally able to best me at dueling when I was in seventh year. She was only in third year, only just turned fourteen, and I was nearly eighteen. I think I could have bested her if I had put my mind to it—perhaps if she had been trying to kill someone. But even by then, her skills in that area equaled mine. She never believed it, but she was much more than a world-class duelist. She was a very powerful witch. She never thought she was as powerful as I was, but she was mistaken.

I was Head Boy that last year, and I hope I was a fair and effective leader. I have no way of knowing if that's true, of course; I can only assure myself that I did my best. I was surprised by how reluctant I was to leave Elizabeth alone at Hogwarts. It wasn't that I didn't think she could take care of herself; it was never that. I don't believe she ever understood that a man can feel protective of a woman without ever doubting her ability to take care of herself. She was already an interschool champion at her level, and she and Filius had taken the grand prize for partners' duels against students much older than they were.

But she was still young in many ways, and she had never really been on her own before. She worked so hard to prove herself, and the rare times she failed tended to depress her. She would bounce back, of course, and work even harder, but I wanted badly to make her understand that there was room for fun and relaxation in life.

"But this is fun and relaxing," she would insist.

And I wanted to make her see that it was all right to fail every now and then.

"But you never fail," she would point out, as though that were obvious, or even true.

I had in fact failed to notice what a lovely young woman she was becoming. I had failed to understand that the distance between eleven and fifteen was significantly longer than the distance between fourteen and eighteen, which was what we were in my last year at school. By the time I did realize it, the school year was over, and it was time for me to leave Hogwarts.

On that last day, we rode the Hogwarts Express back to London together, with the gang, as she called them, those young men who were as much her older brothers as they were my dear friends. Dear as they were to me, I wished them all elsewhere during that train ride back to London. They never afforded me any time to speak with Elizabeth alone, and before long I found myself standing next to her and two heavy trunks on the front steps of her parents' farmhouse.

"Well, thanks, Albus," she said brightly.

Her dark curls reflected the moonlight. I shoved my hands in my pockets, because I didn't know what to do with them. I wanted to grab her and kiss her, but was afraid to do so. I felt awkward, uncomfortable in my own skin, and that made me angry. This was Elizabeth, my friend, the girl I had known her entire life! Why should I feel awkward or afraid around her?

While this battle raged within me, I continued not to speak. I was just too tongue-tied to say anything sensible.

Faced with my continuing silence, she spoke again. "I suppose I'll have to make the journey by myself in the autumn, won't I? That'll be strange. I'll miss your company, yours and the gang's."

I looked down at my boots, and my hair fell into my face. I shrugged it back; it was getting quite long at this point. I was quite vain about it in those days.

"You still have Filius," I said croakily, finally finding my voice.

"Of course I do," she said, as though I were being foolish. She couldn't imagine a time when she wouldn't have Filius; it was like they were long-separated twins who had found each other. "Just because I have one friend present doesn't mean I won't miss the one who's absent."

"Right," I said, frowning.

I still didn't know what to do with my hands; I slipped them out of my pockets and pressed my fingertips together in front of my mouth. At that precise moment, I discovered a previously unknown loathing for the word "friend." I didn't care for being referred to in the same manner she used to talk about Filius.

She was watching me. For a girl who talked so much, she also observed a great deal. "Wait here, Albus, all right?"

I nodded, causing my hair to fall in my eyes. She grabbed up her trunk and dragged it into the house. I heard her call, "Mum! Dad! I'm home!"

There were squeals and warm welcomes, and some murmured conversation. A few minutes later she returned to the front step with a piece of parchment and a quill, with her little Scops owl sitting on her shoulder.

"Here," she said firmly, "write to your mum and tell her you're back and you'll be home late."

"Will I?" I asked, my mouth going a bit dry. She smiled and nodded. I did as she said, and she attached the note to the owl's leg. As it flew off into the night, she threw the quill back into the house and said, "Come on, then."

And she took my hand.

I was ashamed for a moment. This girl, so much younger than me, was afraid of nothing, and I had been too afraid to hold her hand, to kiss her, to tell her that I was going to miss her. But the feel of her hand, as we walked through the darkness of the farm, drove out any shame or fear. In fact, I discovered that I was grinning quite a great deal.

"You never did tell me what you'll do now, Albus," she said as we walked the perimeter of the pond. "Did you get accepted into Auror training?"

"Yes," I said, distracted for a moment by my dilemma. I found that I wanted to share it with her, to hear her thoughts on the matter.

"So what's wrong?"

"I also got accepted into Healer training," I said, frowning. "I'm not sure which I want to do. And Mum wants me to go into the Ministry."

I laughed ruefully at my poor mother, whose ambitions were well known to Aberforth and me. As Aberforth wanted to do nothing at all, and I wanted to do everything except go into the Ministry, it seemed that her ambitions to be the mother of the future Minister of Magic were destined to be thwarted.

Elizabeth laughed lightly and squeezed my hand. I stopped breathing for a moment.

"That is a tough choice," she said. "Which of those things can you see yourself doing all day every day?"

"Well, each of them has several different areas that interest me. Each of them requires me to study further in Potions, which I always hoped to do, and Transfiguration, which particularly interests me…"

Elizabeth laughed louder this time and I stopped there at the edge of the pond, feeling confused and rather foolish.

"But Albus," she said with affectionate exasperation, "at some point you have to stop studying and actually do something! You can't study forever!"

"Study forever…" I breathed. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever heard. "I wonder…"

"No, Albus," she said firmly, though she was still smiling. "You can't study forever. You have to do something, and since you'll be good at anything you try, you should do something you enjoy."

"You know what I would enjoy?" I said, looking down into her hazel eyes.

She raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"This," I said, and bent my head to kiss her.

It was a clumsy line, to be sure, but it got me where I wanted to be. I touched my lips to hers softly. I could tell right away that this was her first kiss; she opened her lips hesitantly. I moved my mouth across hers, and she responded to me, imitating my movements. Her breath came more quickly, and I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her close to me. She felt so good, so sweet, that I deepened the kiss, and she followed. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed herself against me.

I moaned and pushed her away from me. She didn't know what she was doing. She was so innocent; she didn't understand how a young man's body would react to her. How my body would react to her. I was far from innocent, thanks mostly to Griselda Marchbanks, so I had to be responsible.

"I'm sorry," I said, breathing quickly. It was hard to read her face in the darkness.

She cocked her head and looked up at me. "Why?"

I blinked. Why did she always have to be so direct? "I was taking liberties…"

She seemed to consider that for a moment. "Is it still liberties if I wanted you to do it?"

"Er…I don't know," I said. It had never felt like taking liberties with Griselda, who definitely wanted me to do it. "I suppose not."

"All right, then," she said, her voice soft and cheerful. "Do it again."

I froze. I couldn't do it again. I didn't have that kind of self-control. At the same time, I had never wanted anything more than to kiss her right then. I ran a hand through my hair, nearly paralyzed by indecision.

As ever, Elizabeth faced no such dilemma. She simply stepped up to me and stood on her toes, returned her arms to their position around my neck, and kissed me as I had kissed her. I could not resist her; I returned her kiss with all the passion burning inside me, which, at that point in my life, was considerable. Her passion was considerable, as well, and it pleases me to this day that I was the one to awaken it in her.

We did not consummate our passion that night. That momentous event would not come for many more years. But we did kiss a great deal, and learned whatever we could about each other's bodies while still keeping our robes in place. I seem to recall a great deal of rolling around in the grass near the edge of the pond.

Eventually we broke apart and lay next to each other looking up at the stars. I thought of Elizabeth as I glanced at her face in the moonlight, how she always stood up for herself, how she always protected others, even in the face of people who were bigger and stronger. I remembered her declaring on that first train ride that she was going to fight bad people, and I thought I knew what I should do.

"I've decided to become an Auror," I announced.

"Good," she said, turning to me and smiling. "You'll be great at that."

I did, in fact, complete Auror training. It was fascinating; I learned a great deal about defensive and offensive Transfiguration, Potions, and Charms. I enjoyed every lesson, every new assignment, and I graduated at the top of my class. My letters to Elizabeth must have been terribly dull; full of the new incantations and spells I was studying, even, I recall to my chagrin, long lists of potions I was learning.

During my three years of Auror training, Elizabeth and Filius were attending both interschool and exhibition tournaments. They were too young, by law, to participate in international tournaments until they were seventeen. Still, her summers were so busy with all her traveling that I seldom saw her. We continued to exchange letters, but I began to keep company with other young ladies of my acquaintance.

While Auror training was interesting and rewarding, the actual life of an Auror was something else altogether. It was, alternately, deadly dull and unnecessarily violent. I kept getting in trouble when I tried to initiate discussions with criminals in order to avoid violence. The department's motto at that time was, I believe, "Curse first, ask questions later." I preferred to ask questions first; it simply made more sense to me. How could we proceed intelligently unless we had all the necessary information? Unfortunately, criminals often declined to engage in productive dialogue, preferring to use the opportunity to run away, and I soon found myself without employment.

I then entered Healer training, convinced that I had made the wrong choice when I entered the Auror program. This program was every bit as fascinating as the Auror program; I had not known, for example, that the Entrail-Expelling Curse could be reversed by the administration of a potion comprising a combination of sunflower seeds, newt eyes, and goat's milk─

But I digress.

I lasted longer as a Healer. I truly enjoyed helping people. But I always felt we could be doing more to ease their suffering, so I spent a great deal of time experimenting in the Potions laboratory at St. Mungo's. Unfortunately, some of my most effective potions had unforeseen side-effects, and by the time of a certain legendary laboratory explosion, I was already, shall we say, on thin ice with my supervisors.

You're determined to do it, aren't you? Elizabeth wrote to me when I told her about my second failed career path. You're determined to be a student forever. You'd better come see me, Albus. I have the European semi-final in Romania next weekend. I'll get you tickets. Filius qualified, too. Then we're going to sit down and have a serious talk, you and I.

Suddenly I couldn't wait to see her. It had been too long, almost three years. The last time I had seen her was the night she finished Hogwarts at the party her parents threw for her and Filius. But again, we did not get a moment alone. She had invited all of the old gang, as well, and at first it had been quite good to see them all again. But then I noticed that John Potter was spending far too much time with Elizabeth—my Elizabeth!—and that she wasn't discouraging him at all. In fact, they leaned toward each other and touched each other in an intimate way that made me understand that Elizabeth had not waited for me during these years apart any more than I had waited for her. I realized that John had not been absent or inattentive during the four years in which I had been precisely those things.

I tried to tell myself that she had every right to spend time with another boy, we had made no promises, but it did no good. Reason seemed reluctant to penetrate my sense of betrayal at Elizabeth for taking up with someone else, and anger at myself for not being the one waiting when she was ready to take up with someone. I had been gone, and John had been there, and I was angry and frustrated about the entire matter. I seem to recall I left the party early and overindulged shamefully in a bottle of firewhisky.

I had not spoken to her since, but suddenly I couldn't wait to see her.

I had never attended one of her international tournaments before. My jaw dropped as I sat in the crowd and watched her. She moved so fast that she was nothing but blurry streaks, and she never stopped moving forward, so that her opponents were forced to retreat. Filius had taught her a great deal about the creative use of charms, but her main tactic was still her assertiveness, and I watched with pride as she pushed her opponent inexorably toward defeat.

Later she and Filius competed in the partners' events. It was a thing of beauty; they must share a mind, those two. Watching them duel, without seeming even to communicate at all, was like watching one thought in enacted in two bodies. I was deeply impressed, and slightly envious. She shared an intimacy with Filius that was crystal clear as they dueled, and I wondered if I would find myself once again too late to find a place in her life.

They stood on the plinth to receive the Cup from the referee, and it was announced that they had qualified for the World Cup competition. The crowds cheered, and she and Filius hugged each other. Finally she climbed down from the stage and made her way to the locker room, where I stood waiting outside the door. I was so proud of her, and at that moment, so in love with her, as she walked toward me through the crowd, that it was all I could do not to shove the crowd aside and grab her up in my arms.

I had to smile, because when she saw me, she shoved the crowds aside and threw her arms around me. I closed my eyes and murmured, "My champion…" She squeezed me extra hard, then let me go so I could shake hands with Filius. He barely reached her shoulder now. Elizabeth was now twenty-one, and I was twenty-five.

I waited while she and Filius spent some time talking to reporters. The two of them were becoming famous, the young stars of dueling. They were responsible for the revival of dueling teams and dueling clubs all through Europe. I understood the importance of taking time for reporters, but I was growing impatient and resented any attention she wasn't giving to me. Finally, the three of us pushed our way through the crowd, and escaped onto the street. A moment later we entered the inn where Filius and Elizabeth were staying.

"Oh, my, it's getting late," said Filius, giving an exaggerated yawn. "Long day, you know, best get to bed!" With a wink at Elizabeth, he scurried up the steps, leaving us alone together.

"Let's go up to my room," said Elizabeth, with no preamble. "We can have food sent up."

I followed her obediently. I wondered at the propriety of being alone in her room, but when I realized she had already gotten in the shower, propriety became the least of my concerns. She had promised we'd talk, and I wanted desperately to do so, but I was perilously close to being irreversibly distracted by the thought of Elizabeth in the shower. I could hardly blame her for wanting to refresh herself; she was an athlete, after all. But as I paced, I stopped in front of the bathroom door on each circuit of the room, telling myself that if she took any longer I would have to go in there to make sure she had come to no harm.

I had just laid my hand on the doorknob when the door flew open. I jumped back, startled, and tried to pretend I hadn't been lurking outside while she was naked on the other side of the door.

"All right, Albus," she said, giving me a knowing look as she came into the room. She was wearing a short dressing gown and drying her hair with her wand, exposing the length of those shapely, muscular legs. My mouth went dry, and I collapsed into a chair, barely registering that she was speaking.

"Albus!" she snapped, and I glanced up from her legs with a guilty start.

"Er…yes, my dear?"

She simply smirked at me, knowing full well where my attention had been. "I said, what's next on your livelihood horizons?"

She looked young, with her hair wet and no glamour on her face. I remembered rolling around in the grass with her all those years ago. I'm afraid I quite forgot the question. My mouth was quite literally watering now.

"Albus?" she said. I blinked and looked back at her. "Work?"

"Oh, yes," I said. I was glad that I had an answer to her question. "Yes, I have been thinking about that, and I believe that coming to Romania has inspired me."

"And?"

"Dragons."

"What?" Her hair was dry, and she tied it back in a simple ribbon as she gave me an incredulous look.

"Do you remember that in Potions we learned that there are three primary uses of dragons' blood?" I asked, momentarily pulling my attention away from her bare skin. Her mouth dropped open.

But I was very excited about this new prospect, so I jumped out of my chair and began pacing again. "I've done some research on it, Elizabeth, and I don't think that theorem's correct. I think that each of those primary functions could be broken down into three, perhaps even four, subsidiary functions, which are in fact so unique that one might be able to classify them as primary in themselves."

I frowned, thinking about it. "Unless I'd have to go in the other direction and consider them tertiary functions." I rubbed my little sprout of a beard, then shrugged. "Anyway, rather than the three, there could in fact be as many as nine, or even twelve, primary uses of dragon's blood, and I'd—what?"

Elizabeth was laughing and shaking her head. She looked sad, somehow, but she was laughing. "Oh, Albus," she said, "how I've missed you."

My heart sped up a bit. "Have you?"

"Of course I have," she said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I thought perhaps you had others to keep you company." I shrugged, trying not to let bitterness creep back in.

"Of course I did," she said in exasperation. "That doesn't mean I didn't miss you!"

"Were you keeping company with John Potter?" I asked.

I couldn't help it. I was jealous, though I would never have admitted it at the time. As Elizabeth would point out to me much later, that was quite unfair, since I had kept company with more than one young lady in recent years.

She grinned at me. "For a while," she said unapologetically. "He's good company. You should write him."

"Why?"

"He's getting married," she said, and she sounded rather wistful.

"Are you upset by that?" I asked, a bit afraid of the answer. But I couldn't stand for her to be unhappy either.

She shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm happy for him." She was quiet for a moment. "Albus?"

"Yes?"

"Are you ever going to kiss me?"

"Yes," I said hoarsely. For a moment I couldn't move. I was frozen, like I had been that first night, with the force of so many desires. But I knew she wouldn't rescue me tonight.

I thought back to that first night, and remembered that I hadn't even had the courage to hold her hand. Perhaps I could rectify that now. I took two steps toward her, and bent down and picked up her hand from where it rested on her thigh. I used it to pull her to a standing position, and slowly, almost reverently, pulled her into my arms. I rested my lips on hers and breathed in a moment of perfect closeness, perfect intimacy.

Her hands slowly slid up my chest and rested on my shoulders, and I opened my mouth and deepened the kiss. Our mouths fit perfectly, and I caught my breath as our lips slid back and forth over each other. She tasted sweet, and I flicked my tongue out to taste her. I never went this slowly or carefully with any of the ladies I spent time with; but every moment with Elizabeth was precious, even sacred, and I wanted this first time between us to be beautiful.

Which made me think to raise my head and look at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips moist, and when her eyelids fluttered open, her hazel eyes glowed beneath them.

"You are beautiful," I whispered, and her eyes fluttered closed again. I bent my knees and picked her up in my arms and laid her down on the bed.

I lay down next to her, feeling as dazed as she looked. Her short robe had fallen open, and her lovely body was visible to me for the first time. My hands began to shake and I suddenly felt unworthy to touch her. But she raised a hand to my face and pulled my head down to hers, and once our lips touched again, I could not have stopped touching her for anything.

For a long time we only kissed each other, lips caressing, tongues exploring, playing and experimenting with passionate plundering and teasing tastes. Her teeth nipped at my bottom lip and I punished her by crushing my mouth to hers so hard our teeth clashed. She traced my lips with her tongue, and I fought for control of the kiss by forcing her tongue to duel with mine.

But I was not content to taste only her lips, and I soon became hungry for the smooth column of her throat and her creamy, muscular shoulders. She cried out as I sucked the skin below her ear, her hands clutching my shoulders as she tried to push my robes off me. She was naked and writhing beneath me before I had kissed anything below her shoulders, and it was unbearably erotic to see her smooth skin and muscled limbs contrasted to the emerald damask of my robes. But she was insistent, and the demanding little noises she was making increased my urgency, so I removed my robes and came back down on top of her, skin rubbing against skin.

"God, Albus," she breathed, and hearing her say my name was like lightning in my blood. "You're so strong, you're so beautiful."

Her hands grasped my upper arms, feeling the muscles, and in that moment I felt strong and beautiful.

"Please, Elizabeth, let me taste you," I murmured as I smoothed my hand over her full bare breasts. She gasped and arched her back, pressing herself more fully into my hand. I took her roughly into my mouth. Nothing had ever tasted so good or fit so perfectly; her breasts had been made for my mouth and I suckled harder and harder as she moved more insistently beneath me.

But it wasn't enough. I had to know every inch of her, so I slid my open mouth down the crest of her breast and to her firm, flat stomach. I nibbled down the sides of her torso and she gasped, and I licked across her narrow waist, pausing to circle a ring around her navel. I licked and tasted lower and lower until I grabbed her hips and sank my teeth into the tender flesh of the curve. Immediately she turned her body toward me, allowing me to raise one of her legs and taste her most secret places.

She was wet and slick and tasted like salt and honey. I moved slowly, sliding my tongue up and down, trying to keep control while she pushed herself against me.

"Albus, please," she moaned, her fists grasping the sheets, and hearing her say my name was my undoing. I planted my hands on either side of her hips and pushed myself forward until her breasts were crushed beneath my chest and my eyes met hers.

I fumbled and found her hands, and we grasped each other for all we were worth. Her legs wrapped around my hips and I thrust forward, sliding into her. Our hands clung, our eyes held, our bodies joined. She gasped, and for a moment we were utterly still. I could not have told you at that moment where one of us ended and the other began.

As one we began to rock, levering against each other's hands, our movements gathering urgency as she drew closer and I tried to hold back. I dredged up enough control somehow to watch her thrust against me one last time before she went over, her head thrown back and her mouth open, and then I followed, finally tearing my eyes from her face as I clenched them shut and concentrated on the sensation of finding release inside Elizabeth's welcoming body.

We held each other, sweating and panting, while our bodies recovered. Our hair was tangled together and stuck against the bare skin of our shoulders, and I watched in fascination as Elizabeth's elegant fingers stroked it where it clung.

"I must stay, Elizabeth," I muttered against her shoulder. "I must stay with you."

"Of course you'll stay," she said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Indeed, at that moment, it was.

In the morning, I held her and studied her face in the early sunlight. I wanted to ask her again to let me stay, to marry me, to love me. How could I face life not knowing when I'd see her again, when I'd be with her again?

As I thought about these things, my eyes fell upon the trophy she and Filius had won the previous evening, and I knew I could not ask her to give her life to me now. Who was I to ask her such a thing? I was nobody, an unemployed, impoverished professional student. She was a champion, on her way to ultimate success and with very little need for someone who would be more than willing to demand she put him before everything else. I didn't even have a livelihood. I had no way to support her, to care for her or any children we might have.

I wanted to ask her to stay with me, but I couldn't.

I wonder now if she was waiting for me to ask. She awoke and kissed me, then made love to me in the morning sunshine. She didn't talk much, which was unusual for her, but I felt her eyes on me as we dressed and gathered our things.

I didn't ask, so she kissed me and left, on to the next city, the next competition, the next prize.

Perhaps the next lover.

And I went off to study dragons.