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"First we must....you must hide," she insisted, and looked to Nej for help. She could think of a few places, but how to get him there. "What sort of magic can you do? Can you... can you..." She took a breath, staring at Nej again. "Can you take a person away from here?"

Fabel wiped her hands forcefully on her skirt, trying to steady every shaking part of her body. She wouldn't be able to stand this much longer. Actually, you couldn't say she was handling it so well right now.

Aye, I do not think my magnificent body will fit through your small doorways. I might suggest, if you are going to force me to hide, to let me remain in here. I do not think I can get out without attracting more of the slavers’ attentions. Oh yes, Ygrashmak was definitely having fun now. His mental voice had the hint of a chuckle, and he seemingly smiled, revealing rows of teeth. The front teeth were sharp and pointed, like what would be expected. However, they got duller and duller the further back they went. This silver came from a line of omnivores.

Transport people magically? I can not force either of you to teleport, if that is what you mean. I can only do that with . . . umm, a select few. My range of magic is not in death or transportation. Ygrashmak nodded his large head, threatening to bash the ceiling with his frill and skull. Thank goodness Ygrashmak wasn’t a fully grown dragon.

Nej looked over at Mistress Fabel again, and dropped his eyes down again, before looking back up. Vaguely, what Mistress Fabel seemed to be implying dawned on him, and he briefly he glanced at Ygrashmak, back at Mistress Fabel, back down at the ground, and back at Fabel again. His heart rate quickened significantly, and his arms fell slack at his sides.

Certainly she wasn't - she couldn't be- was it even possible?

Is it possible?

A dragon of his size, two, maybe three. Nonriavi sounded airy, like there would have been more breath in his speech than actual voice. It is possible. There was a slight waver in Nonriavi's speech, a hitch of... anticipation?

Nevertheless, Nej bit the hope down. There was no good in building hope down only to have it fall.

"Take Nej, then," she said with a nod. "Y-you... now that he's seen you, and me, like this, he can't be as safe here. He is... He is a favorite around here." Absentmindedly, Fabel stroked Nej's hair, but now she was looking at the dragon. "A change in his behavior, it would be noticed. They would notice."

Fabel was greatful for the thick walls of these rooms, as many a woman before her had been.

Ygrashmak watched the woman carefully. He seemed to wait for something, but whatever it was wasn’t clear. His silvery eyes seemed to reflect the two people for a long moment before he snorted.

I can do that. In fact, I can take you as well. I believe myself to be strong enough to carry your light frames, but I fear that the carrying will not be the hard part. I can not just walk out unnoticed. If you have a plan, please do enlighten me.

Ygrashmak glanced out toward a small window, seeing the world bathed in night. He could see clearly in the dark, as all dragons, but he didn’t know if other humans had the magic to do so as well. He might be able to get out of the compound, and the darkness would conceal him. But the actual process of leaving seemed to be the most hazardous. If he was spotted, even his demeanor may not protect him. He was just one dragon, and a healer at that. He wasn’t a warrior, and he didn’t know how to use his body to cause other’s harm. That would have been most undesirable.

So many thoughts, questions, concepts ran through Nej's mind, none really sticking to develop into fully fledged realizations.

There was no way - how would the dragon get out of this room? Without, that is, severe structural damage? And, however they got out, was it really possible that they could really be... gone, just like that?

We'd get caught. We'd get caught. We'd get caught. We'd-

Nej. Calm down. Think - think, breathe.

Nej winced slightly at the bitter snap to Nonriavi's mind-voice, but complied, taking a one-two-three shallow breaths. He could hardly keep looking at any one person, diverting his eyes between the large silver dragon, Lady Fabel, and the ground.

And then Mistress Fabel's distress (or at least what he perseved as distress) caused him to jerk to attention, catching only Fabel's response to Ygrashmak's suggestion. And another thought touched his mind, as brief and fleating as a moment.

Would she be coming with them?

Fabel was taking her own sweet time thinking about it. It seemed to her that somewhere in the recesses of her mind was the answer, it was just that her thoughts felt weighed down, slow. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Oh..." she whispered. "Oh no..."

"Mistress Fabel?" came the muffled inquiry after the slave on the other side had discovered that the door was locked.

She cleared her throat. "I-I'm alright. I've just had a fit is all."

There was a pause. "Mistress, may I get you any thing?"

"U-um...Yes! Yes, you can get me Geff and Leone!"

As the servant padded away, she added more quietly, "There is a porch. I can clear the halls. How badly do you want your apology, Dragon?"