Alicja
I watched until he left. The crowd was encouraged to leave as well. I guess I wasn't 'public property', yet.
I really needed to know the source of these bonds. It bothered me. This was the first outcome of our bonds-mating. This or a variation of this. Was I supposed to be public property here? Was that fate or just a really good idea? And whose idea was it?
With him gone and the crowd gone, I turned and approached Uncle Max.
"Hello," I said, not knowing what else to say.
"Welcome. Let's sit at the table, shall we?" he said.
Uncle Max was tall, with a full mane of bold silver hair. His eyes shone as sapphires from inside the narrow space between his eyelids. At the side of his eyes, deep crow's feet carved up the leathered flesh. His mustache and beard were trimmed, but full. And thick. And white. He had the same set of shoulders Victor had. I wondered about that, because they really did look very similar.
"You're a dragon," I said, making it a statement.
"Yes," he said, as we approached a table set for two, placed off the main room. "You could tell?"
"Your shoulders," I said. "They are remarkably the same shape and form as Victor's. But he said you aren't related by blood."
"So you made the leap of logic, and then tested your observation. But not as a question," he said, and pulled a chair out for me.
I sat, and let him ease me to the table. "Did that offend?"
"No," he chuckled as he walked to the other chair. "Not at all. Shows you are confident in your observations and your mind. I would expect nothing less from the Enedra. But may I ask, why?"
I hesitated, and then told him the truth, "I don't know which sources I can trust yet."
"Ah, yes. The source is important," he said as he sat. "Are you hungry?"
"I am, but I'm not sure what to ask for."
"I've taken the liberty..." he said. "Do you eat meat?"
"Yes, thank you," I said. Noting he must have had some experience with outsiders. That's what I was here, an outsider. "May I ask, what position am I in, right now?"
"Position? An honored guest, with a room she can go to whenever she chooses, while confident in the knowledge that she is protected."
"From whom?" I asked.
"Ah, well, from bothersome old men for one thing," he said.
I grinned, "Fair enough."
"So," I said, as he motioned to a server standing nearby, "You don't want to hold me captive? Or contain me?"
"Why would I do that?" he asked.
"The Morrigan," I said.
"Huh," he grunted. "Well, that would be a thing. But it's not a likely thing."
"No?"
"No, that's a very uncommon event. Don't get me wrong. It does happen, I've met three in my life. But over the course of two hundred years, you understand. But they do only come from bonds like yours and Victor's."
"Like ours?" I asked. "You mean between an Enedra and a Dradam?"
"Between an Enedra and a Royal Dradam," he corrected.
"Huh," I grunted. "Interesting. So, that would suggest that the source of the bonding makes them with current events in mind?"
He sat back and two servers approached, one placing a stoneware plate down in front of me with what looked like a grilled chicken breast and brown rice. It smelled divine, though that could have been my hunger. Max had a thick steak on his plate, which looked much too heavy and I was happy I had the ... bird.
"That's an interesting conclusion, you made. Food for thought." Max said, as he picked up his knife, and cut into the steak. "I don't know if I can add to it. I don't understand the bonding myself. Some have claimed to know, others were mad enough to believe they knew. I have listened but accepted nothing thus far."
That's all it was, a conjecture really. I had no data to ask and no tools to do so. But I did file it away for another time. "What is the Morrigan?" I asked.
"That, I know a couple of things about. When you bond with a dragon, you share in the energy that makes him a dragon. That stuff we generally call Mana. Some call it Magick. More people get upset when you call it that, so I stick with Mana."
The chicken, or next best thing, tasted wonderful. Perfect herbs and peppers. "Yes?"
Servers came and set down wine glasses and what looked suspiciously like lemonade. I sniffed it. It smelled like lemonade as well. I decided against the wine and took a sip. It was ... lemonade. Somehow that warmed my spirit.
"When that Mana from him is shared, you are changed. You're already changed. Soon, you'll begin to feel that change as it spreads out through your body. Are you familiar with the concept of a retrovirus?"
My throat went dry, and I nodded my head.
"It's not a virus, but I'm told from some very reliable sources that the change is much like that kind of experience."
"Is it," I said, my voice letting the words fall out onto the stone floor.
"Takes two, maybe three days for the effects to be noticeable. Perhaps a full week for the change to be complete."
"And where did you learn about retroviruses?" I asked, after taking a large sip from my lemonade while reconsidering the wine.
He sat back, touched his napkin to his lips to dab them clean, "Oh, I got a doctorate on your side, at a place called Cambridge. Have you heard of it?"
"Yes," I said, nodding. "A doctorate in what?"
"Engineering," he said, but then waved his hand, "but you learn all kinds of things going to classes at those places."
"Yes, of course. Not all engineering is bricks and gears and rivets."
"You're right about that. This was ... oh, a hundred years ago. I'm sure it's changed quite a bit."
"Yes, I'm sure. So, what about the changes then?"
"Oh, right," he said, leaning forward and picking back up his knife and fork, "These changes have a few things in common, I guess. Common enough to mention with some confidence, away."
"Sure." I said, getting a little impatient now. Was he evading? Didn't he bring up the subject? "What would you say is the most common change?"
"Most common?" he said. "That's got to be the Mana ability."
"What is that?"
"Well, the ability to use Mana. For things like opening a Way door. Or, well, whatever you learn how to do, I suppose."
"Is Mana a thing on my side?"
"Yes, but few have the ability to exploit that," he said. "Those few are likely women like yourself who are over there for their own reasons."
"Like, for example, we live there?" I asked.
"Sure, exactly," he agreed, continuing to focus on his food.
"Ocean made it sound that he was under orders to bring me across," I said.
"Well, yes. Sure he was. Standing orders. Especially a royal, or possible new royal family member. I understand that you two aren't — well, sex is usally involved by this point of the discussion. So of course we want to be responsible and available if you were to need anything."
"Do you mean, if I were pregnant?"
"It does happen. Far more often than the Morrigan, that's for sure," he said, continuing to cut, and chew.
"Oh," I said, not really knowing what to think of that. "And that's the main concern?"
"Not in this case of course. Just to ensure you get through the change and you're not in need of anything when that's over. Not sure what you might need, because it's too early. Just not enough facts right now."
Victor brought up the Morrigan. I had at least one passage in Oma's journal about the subject. Uncle Max either didn't wish to discuss it at this point or maybe he really felt it wasn't worth worrying about. Either way, I had a credible source, so I dropped the subject.
He leaned back, pushing his plate forward, signaling he was finished. A server moved forward and took his plate. "Now," he started, "What do you think about Victor's reason for being over there?"
Oh, shit.