A year later, I was laying back on the grass under the large oak tree behind my house, yawning lazily. My birthday had been a few days earlier, in the middle of summer. I turned twenty and had a good bit of money saved up. I've been on my own for two years. Things were going well and I was happy with my new life so far. Sias's fish market was only open four days out of the week, so we trained together on the three days he was off. On my birthday I found out that the Great Dragon's name was Razeth and that he was an important member of our society, which meant that I was important on some level because I was his ward. The land he gave me was actually a part of his land, which meant the river I fished in belonged to him. That was daunting to find out. I also found out that Sias's family held some importance as well since they owned most of the main fish markets in the coastal territory. It didn't seem to bother him though, he treated everyone equally.
I wonder what this all means for me; being the ward of a high-ranking member of our society and the lover of a ranking member in the coastal territory. It would explain why everyone watches me when I'm in town. Sighing quietly, I closed my eyes to take a nap for a while. I only worked two days out of the week, not counting my three-day training sessions. Razeth owning the river would explain why I was the only one who fished there and why the fish were so plentiful.
Razeth and Sias watched me sleep from the edge of my property while talking quietly. "Do you think she's ready to start learning about the ranks and other matters of the elites in our society, Sias?" Sias thought quietly to himself for a moment before answering Razeth's question. "I think we should wait until her twenty-first birthday, Razeth. Give her time to save up a bit more money and finish paying off the last bit of her debt to you." "Hm," Razeth nodded, "That sounds reasonable. It would also be one less thing the court could use against her. By mid autumn her payments will have finished, so she'll still have plenty of time to save." The dragon looked at the dog demon seriously, "How is her training going? Her relationship with people? Her relationship with you?" Sias hummed quietly in agreement as he stared back at the dragon just as seriously, "Her training is going well. I'm still helping her build her reputation at the market and the bar, people are starting to really like her and respect her." He frowned a bit as he shook his head, "People are starting to question my relationship with her and word has reached my family. They're insistent on meeting her, but you know how disastrous that could be if she's not ready. They've spent the past several years trying to get me to court Saya."
The dragon frowned as well, "It seems I need to tell your family that as my ward, they aren't allowed to talk to her until I see fit. I know how they are and I will not tolerate their games." Shaking his head, he smirked, "So, am I to assume your relationship with Ali is going well?" The dog demon smiled and laughed, "Good to know you're on my side of the matter. And yes, it's going very well. I don't want to make anything official until Ali's learned her way around the court, though. Matters like these can get ugly, especially with those that will refuse to see her as a true demon."
"Hm... Yes, that is a problem, which is why I gave her a small part of my land. She'll always have my protection so long as she lives here." "I couldn't thank you enough for doing that. I worry less about her now." They smiled at each other and shook hands. Together they would make sure Ali stayed happy and safe. "I should go wake her and bring her in the house." "Hm. Take care of her, Sias. I'll be back soon." With that, Razeth transformed and flew away. Sias waved goodbye as the dragon flew away.
He walked over to my sleeping form and nudged me awake, "Come on, sleepy head, let's go inside." I grumbled as I sat up, rubbing sleep from my eyes, "What are you doing here, Sias?" "I was talking to Razeth about a few things and decided to wake you up after he left since it's almost evening." He smiled down at me as he grabbed my hands and pulled me onto my feet, hugging me once I was standing. I giggled as he pulled up and hugged me. Returning the hug, I smiled as well. "Really now? Do you two make a habit of watching me sleep while y'all talk or did y'all just happen to be in the area?"
He rolled his eyes before kissing me lightly on the lips. "We were in the area. Shop closed early today, we're expecting a big storm to roll in. So no bar tonight." "Hm... Okay. Everything secure then?" I took his hand as I led him into the house. Walking into the kitchen, I began making a couple of sandwiches and brew some tea for us. He let me lead him into the house, sitting down on the couch while I worked in the kitchen. "Yes, we secured everything. Not sure how long the storm will last though." Leaning back, he watched as I got everything together on a tray and brought it over. "You know you don't have to do this every time I come over."
I chuckled quietly and shrugged my shoulders, setting the tray on the small coffee table before sitting beside him on the couch. "And? I like too. As for the storm, I think it'll be around for a couple of days. All of the animals seem spooked." I handed him a cup of tea before picking up my own cup and sipping on it. "Hm," Sias nodded and sipped on his tea as well, "So you noticed too.." He sat his cup down and picked up a sandwich, taking his time to eat it. "Yeah." I set my cup down to do the same. We sat in companionable silence for a while as we ate and drank. Our eyes glancing towards the windows as we heard thunder rumble in the distance, a quiet collective sigh escaping our lips. It was going to be a long night for us. We both disliked severe thunderstorms.