Chapter 5

Dave met Dania the next day after work and escorted her most of the way home once they were out of sight of the restaurant, as he didn't want those men to catch her unaware. Dania said nothing but was rather touched that Dave cared about her well-being so much that he was her silent, supportive bodyguard.
"So where do you want to meet on your day off?" Dave asked Dania. "We can talk, some more so long as it's private, though your apartment isn't a good idea at least in the daytime."
"No, it's not," Dania agreed.
"If this was somewhere like in Europe, then I would suggest a private room at a restaurant, but there's not that type of place here as far as I know, but then, San Francisco has only been in existence for 125 years or so and is a lot more primitive then the cities in Europe, which have been around for a lot longer."
"You've traveled all over haven't you?" Dania asked and Dave nodded before verbally replying.
"I have and also those that were with me when first set foot on this plane. New York didn't even exist in its most primitive form yet when me and my companions arrived on this world."
"That's rather the fascinating," Dania admitted.
"I'll tell you anything you want to know, but later," Dave said, and Dania nodded.
"Yes, right now we need to figure out a private place we can talk," Dania agreed.
"I wish we didn't have to be so careful so I didn't ruin your reputation," Dave said with a gusty sigh. "If even one person sees us together, recognizes you and believes we're acting inappropriately when we're not married, well, that's just a nightmare we don't need."
"Yeah, most people tend to gossip about others, especially when it's scandalous," Dania agreed. "My only saving grace is that so long as we do it out of my neighborhood it's unlikely that anybody will know who I am unless I'm unlucky to run into somebody that knows me at least by sight."
The two discussed where they could meet that was private and finally decided on the park as nobody was going to there before the sun had even risen. They would have complete privacy to talk.
Dania groaned about it being too early but understood that she and Dave couldn't be caught alone together without a chaperone.
"We can't afford to do that every night as I need my sleep," Dania said.
"I need a certain amount of sleep myself, though I can go for longer than you can without it, as it's just part of being what I am," Dave said.
"You are so lucky," Dania groaned dramatically.
"I suppose I am," Dave said chuckling warmly. "I never really thought about how humans need more sleep than dragon shifters, and yes, I'm aware you're not an ordinary human, but you still need the same amount of sleep that they do, so the comparison still works."
The two of them walked along silently for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company, making sure not to touch in anyway, as there were plenty of people out and about. They didn't need people to start gossiping about them.
"What are you going to do about those men that confronted you, if they do come back? Remember, one of Buddy's men did threaten to make you pay. If there's one thing, I know men like that will go out of their way to get revenge on someone they feel has wronged them, especially women," Dave asked finally, his voice quiet as he didn't want anybody to overhear his question.
"Believe me, I'm well aware that Buddy and his men could come back and probably will," Dania said. "I could move, I suppose, but I really don't have the money for that. It's not like they pay me much where I work."
"Places of business never pay women what they deserve," Dave snorted. "Women are often hired just because the owner of businesses knows they can get away with paying them less than a man never even thinking about the fact that a women has bills to pay just like a man. Women have the same expenses as a man. They need to pay for the roof over their heads, food in their bellies and decent clothes when necessary."
"Oh, Sid's alright," Dania admitted. "He's certainly worlds better than a lot of business owners. For one thing, he never makes sexual remarks to me or any woman that works for him. That's not to say he would bother to find out why if I suddenly didn't turn up for work without first quitting, as he would probably just figure, I either left town or got married and I didn't think to quit first."
"Or perhaps you were murdered and your body just didn't turned up," Dave suggested with a half-smile to show he wasn't serious.
"That's certainly one possibility," Dania agreed. "I could've been murdered by Buddy or one of his friends, for example. Servers like me are a dime a dozen after all."
"So have you thought about my offer?" Dave asked quietly. "The one about getting revenge?"
"Yes, I've been thinking about it ever since you mentioned the possibility," Dania admitted. "I can't seem to get it off my mind actually. I keep dwelling on the fact that those men have lived for years after killing my entire family for no reason, other than we had powers, they did not. It's not even that I don't believe they deserve death but…"
"You're waffling," Dave said understandingly.
"I believe you can take care of the problem if what you told me about your training the other night is true. On the other hand, that would mean I would have to confront them for what they did and I'm not sure I'm brave enough to face them. To tell them what I think of them for what they did to my family before you put them to death."
"I think you're very brave," Dave told her quietly reaching out to give her hand a quick squeeze before releasing her before anybody could see him do it. "You survived the death of your family, because you were smart and did the right thing by hiding. You could have made a mistake and have them discover you and then you would be dead too," Dave told his mate sincerely. "Also, you must consider the fact that if these men were finally to die for their sins, it might give you closure to finally put the death of your family behind you completely.
"I mean, think about it, what happened to your family was a tragedy, no doubt about it, but you must think about the positive and that is you survived, because you were intelligent and knew you could never win and so you hid."
"You mean, I was a coward," Dania spat out in self-loathing.
"No, I said you were smart to hide and you were, as you never could've overcome all those men that broke into your home," Dave corrected her firmly. "If you had confronted them, your body would even now be molding in a grave somewhere, as from what you've said, those men had absolutely no mercy in them for those with magic."
"Logically, I know that, but in my heart, I feel I failed to protect my family from those men," Dania said.
"You weren't, even a teenager when those men killed your family and even if you had been an adult, you still likely wouldn't have won against them," Dave told her honestly. "You said that your mother had just begun teaching you magic, so there's no way you could've beaten those men when you were just beginning to learn the craft."
"I know you're right, but just because I do doesn't mean I don't still feel guilty for not coming to my family's aid," Dania said.
"People feel guilty all the time for stuff they could not prevent as guilt is not always logical," Dave said. "I think you're very courageous, as you have survived on your own, despite the many obstacles placed in the path of women in general. Most women get married young and yet you never went that route."
"Men, except for you, never look twice at me when they learn that I have no money to speak of. The ones that do pay attention want me for one night stands or as their mistresses not caring that if I took them up on it, it would ruin my reputation and sometimes a woman's reputation is all she has."
"Many men are pigs," Dave suggested with an ironic little smile.
Dave's tone was so dry that Dania didn't realize at first that Dave was joking.
"Yes, they are," Dania finally agreed with a small quirk of her lips. "I think we should go ahead and do it, but if we do, I can never go back to work. In fact, it would be best that we leave town entirely, as I'm sure there will be talk about multiple men's deaths and even if the police never question me, it's still better if we leave town. I need to do that anyway, because you're right, Buddy and his friends are the type to want revenge and it's better if I'm not here for him to corner me one day when I'm heading home from work or out running some errands."
"So, does that mean you'll agree to be my mate? To always be by my side? To accept my tooth?" Dave asked trying not to sound too eager.
"It means that I'm willing to travel with you, to pretend to be your wife when necessary, as we both know how society views a man and a woman traveling together without a chaperone unless they are married. As for accepting your tooth, I won't say I'm against it just that I want to get to know you better before I do," Dania said, hoping she hadn't offended him, as Dave had already been nicer to her than any other man she had encountered.
"That's more than reasonable," Dave agreed glad that Dania was at least willing to travel with him, pretending to be his wife when necessary. Hopefully, one day soon that pretending would become truth, where she accepted his tooth, which meant she was willing to become his mate, which basically meant they would be married by his realms laws and traditions.
Dania relaxed when she realized that Dave wasn't offended by her only accepting part of his offer for right now.
"It's more than reasonable, though I am very happy that you have decided to at least travel with me and play the part of being married when necessary. I'll buy you a ring that you can put on when you're playing my wife and then you can take it off again when you aren't if you want."
"That's unnecessary," Dania thinking of the expense.
"It is necessary, because nobody will believe we're married unless you have a wedding ring on," Dave told her. "Don't protest or argue. I have more money than I'll ever spend, because remember, I've been on this world for centuries. Even if I didn't, since I know what the money around here looks like I can easily duplicate it with my magic and soon to buy you a fabulous diamond ring."
"You can do that?" Dania asked looking surprised and also shocked.
"I can because I am a member of the royal family," Dave explained quietly. "While other dragon shifters can create money that is an exact copy of whatever it is, they're trying to duplicate, no one's but the royal families lasts, but for a few days at most. My family is the only one that can duplicate any money that we have studied and make it permanent. I suppose it would technically be considered counterfeit, but there is absolutely no way to tell."
"That's a pretty amazing ability," Dania said impressed.
"It might be impressive, but the ability can also be abused by people like my brother, for example. It is one reason I am glad that it is only the royal family that can duplicate money and make it permanent because otherwise the market would soon be flooded with counterfeit bills that looked real."
"So, your brother has the same ability?" Dania questioned, knowing that bringing up Miles was a rather sensitive subject. On the other hand, Dave had brought him up first, so he probably would answer her question without getting upset.
"Technically he does, but he's never been very good at it," Dave said. "He's sloppy so that little mistakes show up in whatever he's trying to duplicate or at least that was true 800 years ago. I don't see it being any different now though, because Miles isn't willing to study whatever money he's trying to duplicate closely take in the details, which is why he makes mistakes."
"While yours don't have any mistakes," Dania suggested.
"Exactly," Dave agreed with a wink. "Luckily, I am far more honest than my brother is and would never consider flooding the market with counterfeit bills. I did use the ability when I first arrived on this plane, but once I had a significant amount, I stopped producing money by magic and just invested instead. Of course, the true start of my fortune was the gold and silver coins that I and Calyx had on us when we escaped from our world. We had to melt down the coins, because they had the image of my father the king, on one side and the city of Dragmir on the other. Nobody turned down real gold back when we landed on this plane and we got a lot of change from those lumps of gold that we gave the innkeeper at the place we found to stay for a while. After that, it was really easy to produce the money of this plane and I split what I made between myself and Calyx and his family, since I'm the only one that can duplicate any money I come across and have it last forever. We'll talk more tomorrow, as I know you need your sleep. I'll be here at dawn so we can go ahead with our plan to go to the park and seriously talk."
"I had better fix me a quick dinner and go right to bed if I want to be up so early then," Dania said.
"Here, I'll the escort you up to your apartment and then meet you here in the morning," Dave said, as he followed Dania inside and up to the second floor, where her apartment was located.
"You're such a gentleman Dave and so many men are not," Dania told him with a smile once they had reached her apartment door.
"It was how I was raised," Dave answered simply.
"It's too bad I'll never get to meet your parents since they did a good job," Dan said.
"I also had a deportment tutor, as my parents just didn't have time to teach me all I needed to know about my place in society, as they were too busy with their royal duties," Dave explained.
"So, you never went to a normal school then?" Dania asked, and Dave shook his head.
"No, I had tutors in writing, reading, math, geography, deportment, as I have already said and many other subjects to get me ready to one day rule."
"But you never had a chance to take the throne," Dania said, and Dave shook his head sadly.
"No, I didn't," Dave agreed. "On the bright side though, is I never would've met you if I hadn't come to this world and I likely would've married to produce an heir at some point, but I wouldn't have loved whoever I did marry, as much as I already love you."
The two of them were standing in front of Dania's door inside her apartment now with the door shut, as having such a conversation in the hallway would not have been a good idea.
"That's very sweet Dave," Dania told him kissing his cheek.
"It's also the absolute truth. Shifters on my world might marry whether they've met their mates or not, but it is well known that marrying your mate is a much happier relationship and better than just marrying in order to produce children. A lot of shifters decide not to marry at all unless it's to their mate, but as a member of the royal family, I don't have that option, because I need an heir in order to take the throne after me."
"So that means marrying your mate is important," Dania suggested, and Dave nodded empathically.
"Absolutely," Dave agreed. "It means you have basically met your perfect match, as you just know when you're right for each other at least if you're mate is another shifter, though it doesn't necessarily have to be the same species."
"That's fascinating, but I had better get to bed if you want me to be up at dawn tomorrow," Dania told him and Dave nodded, leaving once his mate checked the hallway to make sure nobody was around to see him depart.
"I'll be here bright, and early. Make sure you lock your door when I leave," were Dave's last words before he quickly headed for the stairwell after he heard the click of a lock from Dania's apartment door.

~~~Dave and Dania~~

A couple of weeks later

"Ready?" Dave asked his mate as they stood outside the final home of one of the men that had murdered Dania's family.
"Let's get this done," Dania said with determination in her voice.
It had not been that hard to track down the man that had murdered the Yates family as they had a bit of a reputation for pulling the kind of crap they had on Dania's family.
All Dave had had to do was ask around and he got the information he wanted quickly.
Every one of the men that Dave had killed in revenge for his mate's family's deaths had known who Dania was before Dave had ended their lives using different methods.
Hopefully, the police would not manage to connect the dots before he and Dania were far away from San Francisco.
Dave felt absolutely no regret for the lives he had taken, as they had deserved their fate. Before Dave had performed that final brutal act, he had gotten the information out of them that they were one of the ones that had murdered the Yates family nearly 20 years ago.
At first, none of the men had remembered, performing the act until Dania had reminded them of the location and then each man had tried to justify their actions claiming that magic users were evil, and had deserved to die.
Dania had then asked them if they thought that her three year old brother had deserved to die or her five-year-old sister.
When they realized they were going to die, most of the men had pleaded for their lives, but Dania with her jaw set stubbornly had said nothing, just looked at Dave who had done the deed.
One man had been hung, another, had Dave's sword through his heart so that he'd died instantly, which was more mercy than he deserved. Yet another had been shot with the gun Dave owned and always carried with him in his trunk.
The final man was going to be smothered with his own pillow.
Dave led the way up to the guy's apartment door, making sure he made him and Dania invisible before they entered the building.
Dania was impressed with the magic that Dave managed so easily and had asked if he could teach her and Dave had agreed to give her lessons since he knew she had only been at the very beginning of her education in magic when her family had been murdered.
"Let's get this done," Dania said quietly. "Once we finish this, we can leave San Francisco behind. I mean, you've already sold your car and for a very good price. It's too bad you had to sell it as it sure was a nice one."
"I'll get another," Dave told her unconcerned. "Remember, money doesn't matter to me. I've had a couple of cars ever since they were invented a few decades ago."
"Let's not bother to ask this guy if he remembers murdering my family let's just get it done, as we already know he's guilty," Dania told Dave. "Let's not draw it out."
"If that's the way you want it then that's the way it shall be," Dave agreed without arguing.
Whatever his mate wanted, she would get and if she didn't want to hear this last man's confession, then Dave had no problem with granting her request.
They both fell silent as they entered the last man's apartment and looked at the mess that was prevalent throughout it. The place was literally a pigsty, though that was an insult to pigs. There were dirty plates and empty beer bottles all over various pieces of furniture, and it was clear that this guy probably had a landlady cook for him if the place was any indication. There were also bits of trash and it was clear why none of the men that had killed quite a few magic users over the years whenever they discovered them were married, as no women would want to pick up or put up with being abused by such men.
The men that had killed her family were simply at the bottom of the gene pool. They lacked intelligence, wit and any skills that would see them get decent jobs. They were lazy and drunk most of the time and lived off what little they made at the jobs they managed to get that required no skill whatsoever and then pissed it away on alcohol. They were basically the idiots of the community.
That these men had had enough money nearly 20 years ago to actually travel away from San Francisco said a lot about how all of them had disintegrated in that amount of time. This guy in particular was a pig, but perhaps that was because he felt at least a little guilty for what he had done to so many magic users. That he had not faced any consequences for his actions for what had happened to those he had murdered could have had his conscience if he had such a thing, pricking him making him become slovenly. That was only if he hadn't been slovenly to begin with, and therefore his pigsty of an apartment had nothing to do with a guilty conscience. These four men had acted as judge, jury, and executioners to those they considered not worth the air, they breathed whether those people had done anything to anybody or not.
The men that had killed the Yates family, and many others had not done so through the proper channels just decided to get rid of who they thought of as scourges on society, but really, they were the scourges not those they had killed.
Dania had already quit her job at the restaurant where she worked for years, and told Sid, her boss, that she was quitting, and when Sid had asked why Dania had simply told him it was time for her to move on, not bothering to tell him the real reason she was leaving, and that was because of Buddy and his gang.
Sid had asked no questions, as he knew there were plenty of young people that were looking for work and so Dania would soon be replaced.
They made their way to the bedroom once they had looked around the living area where the last man that had murdered Dania's family for no reason was sprawled out on the bed on his stomach snoring away.
Dave said nothing as he took the pillow off the opposite side of the bed and used it to smother the man's face.
The man struggled some trying to get free, but Dave held the pillow down refusing to release the pressure that he put on keeping the pillow over the last man's face, while Dania put pressure on his legs using her hands to keep them in place, so that he couldn't use them to sit up and therefore, throw off the pillow that was over his nose and mouth. The man then tried to raise his arms to get the smothering pillow off his face but was unsuccessful. Finally, he stilled, as he lost consciousness and then quietly died never knowing who his murderers were.
"There done, let's get out of here," Dania said, looking down in deep disgust at the last man that murdered her family.
Dave checked his pulse to make sure that the man just wasn't unconscious and then nodded.
"How do you feel now that the all the men that murdered your family have been dealt with?" Dave asked her quietly, as the two of them made their way through the pigsty of an apartment.
"I admit, I feel as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Dania admitted. "I feel that justice, which was long overdue, has finally been served.
"Good," Dave said pleased. "Let's head back to your apartment as we're getting on the Overland Limited first thing tomorrow."
"I know you've already bought tickets," Dania said, as she and Dave walked out of the building, that had once held one of the men that had murdered more than just the Yates family, still invisible.
Dave had discovered that these men they had just finished taking care of had supposedly killed numerous people over the last 20 years. It had made Dave shake his head in disgust at the police who had done nothing at all when people had died and all, because it was rumored that all the people that had died by those four men's hands were magic users. In the case of Dania's family, though the police here in San Francisco didn't have jurisdiction, but as for those that were killed within the city limits, nothing had been done, and the cases had gone cold, because the police hadn't bothered to put in much effort to actually solve who had killed those people.
"Which is why I went ahead and sold my car," Dave said. "We could just drive to our next destination, but frankly, we'll be much more comfortable on the train for a long journey. They're supposed to have a first class dining car and a lot of other features."
"I'm looking forward to it," Dania promised him, smiling.

~~~Dave and Dania~~~