Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alena looked up at Long, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Oh, yes," she assured him. "I have no reason to be telling tales. And there are additional reasons for our people to need it."

She finished working the salve into Daemon's face and straightened up again to observe her handiwork. There was no trace of the cream on the man's face; once worked into the skin, it was quite invisible and left only the slightest greasy feel.

"You see, Amon Darthir was once home to dragons," she went on, nodding to herself in satisfaction. "Dragons of course breathe fire, and so if we were to defeat them, we would have to be protected from their greatest weapon. It works quite well with all but the very oldest of dragons."

"Too many," Alena said sadly. "They killed the second sola - the younger prince, you would say here - and nearly killed the sol - princess - though she has recovered from the attack and is now queen of the nation. Daemon is quite right, the dragons of this world are not, for the most part, benevolent ... though I must say that some of them can be quite beautiful."

She smiled as she spoke, showing no ill will in her slight disagreement with Daemon's comment.

"And," she added, "those that are kind, if treated with respect, will be a friend for life."

Alena smiled again, and this time her smile was an indulgent one.

"I am one of the Firstborn," she told him softly. "One of the first to be created. After nearly thirty thousand years, I have seen most of what there is to be seen, at least in the lands where I have lived."

There were things more amazing - to her, at least - than meeting a friendly dragon.

"Indeed," Lady Alena nodded, a twinkle in her eye, "but unfortunately for both of us, this is neither the time nor the place. You are to return home so that you do not miss too much time in your world, and I have duties to attend to. Perhaps if you have the opportunity to visit us again sometime?"

At last, Shiloh peeked out from behind her mother's skirt, though she was still doing her best to ignore the two humans. Instead, she was staring up at Alena, her expression very clearly saying Let's get out of here!

Alena laughed softly and put one hand on her daughter's head before Shiloh could hide behind her again.

"I do hope so," she murmured. "But she is like this with most people, even their Majesties. She accompanies me in my duties when she can and I hope that will help her to learn not to fear people, but it may require something a bit more drastic."

Shiloh's face was red as she pouted up at her mother, and she pressed herself against Alena's leg.

"I'd best bring the rest of the kenet to the store room," Alena smiled, taking up the pouch once more. "I hope your burn heals quickly, Daemon, and that it does not cause you pain. Farewell, until we meet again."

She curtseyed again to them, and with a smile, she left, with Shiloh scurrying quickly after her.

"Kenet has some pretty amazing properties," Lalwen smiled at the two men. "I would not be surprised if the burn were gone in less than a day. And when you're finished with your water glasses, you can just leave them on the table, they will be taken care of."

She folded her hands in her lap and waited for the men to be finished with their water so that she could continue to lead them to the portal.

Lalwen smiled and rose to her feet, clasping her hands politely behind her back.

"This way, then," she said softly but warmly. "Come."

And she turned and motioned for them to follow her out of the dining hall.

Lalwen smiled at Daemon. "But of course," she murmured. "I could not leave you to find your way back alone. The palace is designed to be a labyrinth, and the underground maze even more so. Sometimes we have guests for up to a month at a time who still can't find their way around by the end of it."

Of course she was referring to an Ardan month, which was either 54 or 72 days long, depending on the month.