Authors: Andy Holland
John shrugged. "If they find out what you are, things may spiral out of yours and their control. This is why I couldn't tell Daisy or anyone else anything yet. I had to wait until you knew."
"Maybe you don't need to tell me anything," a quiet voice said from behind a tree. Daisy stepped out into the half-light and stood in front of them both, regarding them quite calmly.
"Daisy! You followed us!" John almost shouted.
"Did you hear everything?" Crystal asked in horror and disbelief. "Did you see?"
She nodded. "I wanted to talk to you. I didn't want this to be our last night. I was going to ask if I can come with you when you leave."
John stepped towards her cautiously and took hold of her hands. "Are you alright? I'm really sorry, I didn't want you to find out this way. I was going to tell you, I swear, but when the time was right."
"What are you going to do, Daisy?" Crystal asked nervously. "You know what we are now. Are you afraid of us? Should I be afraid of you?"
Daisy shook her head and smiled reassuringly. "Of course I'm not afraid of you. You're still John and Crystal. You haven't changed. Besides, the sun has just set. Neither of you could transform now."
Crystal shook her head in disbelief. "How can you say that? You saw John. He's not a Red Dragon."
Daisy reached out and took Crystal's hand and squeezed it gently. "No, but I guess he never has been, so nothing has actually changed other than what I know. But he's still John. He'd never hurt me."
"Daisy, if anyone finds out, you know what will happen, don't you?" John asked her.
She nodded. "I guess I do. But I don't care. I still want to go with you."
"You have no idea where he's going," Crystal told her.
"Neither do you," she replied. "But John expects you to be able to make that decision. Why can't I?"
"You don't have to!" Crystal exclaimed in disbelief. "You belong here, you have a family here."
"And the same is true for you, Crystal," John pointed out. "Your family are just as real today as they were yesterday. You have friends here and a place in this society. You do have a choice as well."
"For how long? As soon as someone finds out it'll be all over."
"I would never tell," Daisy assured her. "You can trust me to keep a secret."
"No one has found out for sixteen years. It doesn't need to change," John added.
"Wait, so you're telling me
not
to go with you?"
"Of course not. I want you to go with me. I'm telling you that you have a choice. My task was to get you to this choice, to keep you safe up to this point, to help you stay concealed. Where you go from here is up to you."
"And up to me?" Daisy asked, a slight hint of bitterness in her voice. "Do I get the same choice as she does? Don't I deserve that as well?"
"You do," John agreed reluctantly. "But not like this. You should have enough time to think it over properly. What I really am and what our children would be. What it means for your family. It's not fair on you to have to make this decision so quickly."
"I've thought it over. There was never any question."
"You're really alright with him being...being different?" Crystal asked.
Daisy smiled. "He was always different. That didn't stop me loving him before. Why should it now?"
"But your children would be—they wouldn't be the same as you," Crystal argued.
"They'd be like me in the ways that matter," Daisy retorted. "I've been listening to his lessons too, remember? It's a little different for us in the West anyway, being further removed from the conflicts on our borders. But for me, it's even less of an issue. I never hated in the same way as everyone else. This isn't that hard for me."
Crystal nodded. Daisy was different in that way; she did see the best in everyone. Suddenly Daisy seemed to be much more mature than the rest of them, quite different from the little girl she had always been before.
"What about your brother?" Crystal asked. "Would he let you go?"
Daisy shrugged indifferently. "He couldn't stop me. Remember, I'm only weak when I'm like this; as a dragon I'm his equal. Besides, he has no real authority, whatever he thinks. Gerald is legally my guardian while I'm away from home, not him, and I think he would actually let me go. Not that I would give him the choice."
John frowned. "Arthur couldn't stop you, but you wouldn't be able to stop him either. He wouldn't let you go on your own; he'd insist on coming. And you can't just sneak away. You owe him more than that."
"Could he come with us?" Daisy asked hopefully. "I could explain it all to him. He would understand, I know he would. He's like me really, on the inside; he just keeps it well hidden."
"If he comes, then he'll know about me as well," Crystal pointed out. "Yet another person. How long can this remain a secret?"
John looked at her wistfully. "I don't know. But what choice do we have? I have to go. If I don't go, or if I am unsuccessful, then everyone here, everyone you care about will die. If I go, so will Daisy. I could try to stop her, but I won't. She'd just try and follow me, and put herself in more danger and I won't allow that. Either way, her brother would go with her and she'd have to explain why. You still have a choice whether to come or not, but for me, for Arthur and Daisy, the decision has already been made."
Crystal turned to Daisy. "That's not true. It's out of his hands but not yours. You could stay. You're being selfish. If you do this, you put me at risk of being found out. You'll also put yourself and Arthur in danger. That means John will have to protect you and you'll be putting him in danger too."
"And you're not being selfish? You want me to give up John? For what? So you can continue to pretend to be what you're not? John will need me when he gets there. He doesn't realise yet but he will need me. You forget who I am. I'm the granddaughter of a prince, the ruler of the largest and richest principality and the most powerful man in the Kingdom after the King. Who could be a better ambassador than his granddaughter? John is many things but he can't represent the Red Dragons because he isn't one. How could he strike an alliance on our behalf? I could. Especially with Arthur with me. We need allies, Crystal. Look what John can do on his own. Just imagine what an army of Johns could do! Now, my mind is made up already. You can do what you like, I don't really care, but you won't change my mind. I'm going to speak to my brother now."
She turned and headed back along the path towards the campsite, but John ran after her and caught her arm. "Wait, come back, Daisy."
"I'm not changing my mind, John," she replied firmly. "I'm coming with you."
John smiled at her and took both her hands in his. "I know that, but that means I will have to keep you safe. So I'm not letting you out my sight until we arrive safely. Starting now."
Daisy wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body against his. "I think I could put up with that," she said with a smile.
"Ugh," Crystal said in disgust. "Are you going to be like this for the whole journey?"
John laughed. "So you're coming?"
Crystal raised her eyes to the moonlit sky. "I'm sure I'll regret this, but yes, I'll come. Just don't do that any more."
"Do what?" Daisy asked innocently before kissing John on the lips and laughing.
"Yes, I am definitely going to regret this," Crystal declared, walking past them and back to the camp.
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