*Translations:

Grá- love.

Go gairid mo ghrá- Soon my love.

"And you thought dragons didn't exist." He said with a laugh as I backed away from the big beast that was standing only a few feet in front of me. Its huge body was purple, the scales on its body looked as if they were made of crystal the tip of its tail was silver the eyes were a terrifying bloody red. It was stomping the ground and making the most horrific sound my ears have ever heard. "Peace, Dalinda" Fable whispered to the huge beast. Almost at once the beast stopped. "Dalinda, Aaralyn isn't going to hurt you." The beast looked at me with her bloody red eyes, fear shot through my body.

The beast moved closer to me as I backed into a tree; she brought her face almost to mine and started to smell me. She started at my head and moved down till she was at the tips of my toes. "See Dalinda, Aaralyn is peace." He kept speaking in sentences that didn't make sense. "W-What do you mean I am peace?" I said scared to speak.

"Dalinda doesn't completely understand our words. I teach her the important ones. Also, she won't hurt you, you can move away from the tree now." Fable said rubbing Dalinda on her side.

"So she doesn't under what I am saying?" I said slowly moving forward. "She mostly reads your movements. She can smell emotions." Smells my emotions? I thought to myself. How can this beast smell my emotions? What other things can she do? I thought to myself.

"Then why did she go berserk when I walked into the meadow with you?" I asked "She scared me to death!" I almost screamed at Fable. He knows I don't like surprises and this, this was a BIG surprise. "She was unsure of your emotion. You must have been scared and fearful she doesn't understand those emotions completely" He looked down at the ground, "I am sorry I surprised you." He looked up and smiled at me with those gorgeous green eyes. It was hard to stay mad at Fable long.

We have known each other since birth; he was born three hours before me. I have always had a crush on him, but never took action I don't want to lose our friendship. "You know I hate surprises." I pushed him on the shoulder playfully. Suddenly the beast let out a terrifying roar. Again I found myself against the tree. "I thought you said she wasn't going to hurt me!" I screamed at Fable.

"Dalinda! PEACE!" Fable was grabbing onto her tail. "Peace!" The beast started to calm a little. "She is very protective of me. I found her when she was just hatching from her egg. Her mother was killed by villagers. Thankfully I found her before they did." Fable had a lot of emotion in his voice as he spoke. He sounded sad, almost heartbroken.

Dalinda wrapped her long tail around Fable's body and he closed his eyes and started to be lifted off the ground. She placed Fable onto her back. Fable leaned down and whispered into her ear.

"Dalinda is quite jealous of you." Fable let out a laugh. "Why?" I asked looking at the beast staring at me. "Well, apparently when you shoved me it wasn't her being protective. She was jealous of the feeling you felt." "He said laughing again. "What is so funny? The only feeling I felt when I pushed you was anger because you scared the living hell out of me." I said trying not to make myself feel like a fool. If that thing could really feel feelings like Fable said she could feel how I felt about him. "And another thing you just whispered into her ear, I thought she didn't understand how we speak!" I looked at him still trying to make him believe I was angry. "What I told you was the truth." He said rubbing Dalinda's neck as she started to move, "Dalinda, when she feels my emotions she understands much more than when she feels for another human. I have been around her entire life. It's actually a long story." He said as Dalinda started to walk in circles around me. "What is she doing?" I said trying to hide my fear knowing she would feel it. I didn't want her to freak out again.

"She is just trying to get a sense of you." The end of her tail rubbed my spine and lifted my hair. "Fable-"I tried to say, but she started to start shoving her tail down my throat. I instantly started trying to pull it out. She forced her tail to move down my throat. I tried to gasp, but it was too late. It was starting to burn, I felt like my entire body was on fire.

"Dalinda and I, from the time of her birth, till now, we have bonded. She feels as if I am her father. I did raise her as I've said before." As Fable was speaking Dalinda's tail was starting to move further and further down my throat as her tail moved it seemed to be thinning out. "About six years ago when I started to hunt more for the village or so all of you believe. I wasn't hunting I was coming to tend to Dalinda. You see I found her in a cave I wondered into one day while taking cover from the rain, and that's the same cave I disappeared to every day. The animals I came back with were merely the prey of Dalinda." My mind went back to the days when Fable started hunting everyday bringing back animals by twos.

"While we bonded the same thing that's happening to you happened to me. As soon as this is over you will know what it feels like to be free to know how it feels to get away from that dreaded Village! Not to have to live by their rules! I've been in love with you for a long time Aaralyn and tonight I make you mine forever!" The burning in my body got worse I felt like my veins were on fire. I tried to scream, but any sound I tried to make was muffled by the tail shoved down my throat.

I woke up feeling sore, my throat was burning. I sat up and tried to remember what had happen. I look down and on my arm there was a purple bruise on my wrist, it was shaped like a diamond. "How did I get that?" I whispered out loud. I got out of my tiny cot and walked towards the washroom. I looked into the mirror and around my neck was a purple crystal. I took off the necklace and admired it. It has a unique twisted leather string. "Where did this come from?" I looked at the necklace for a while. I couldn't remember where it came from. "Aaralyn?" I heard Fable's voice from outside the washroom. "I'm in here Fable." He pushed open the door and came into the washroom. He came up behind me and kissed me on the neck. "How did you sleep, love?" He whispered into my ear. I jumped around and looked at him. Am I losing my mind today? "Love? W-What's going on?" First I find an odd shaped bruise on my wrist, a crystal necklace around my neck, and now Fable is calling me love? Something weird is going on. "I know you don't remember anything right now, but in a couple days everything will become clear."

He kissed me on the forehead and took my hand in his. "I promise we can be together now. I know you've had a crush on me for years. You just never wanted our friendship to be effected. Trust me love everything is fine." I was starting to get freaked out. "Fable, what happen? I don't remember anything? You do?" I held my wrist out "Where did this come from?" I handed him my necklace, "did you get this for me?" He started laughing at me. "Why are you laughing at me! This isn't funny. I don't remember anything!" He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I tried to push back, but his grip was tight. "Love in time you will remember give it a couple days or so." He gently kissed my neck and whispered in my ear "Go gairid mo ghrá." I turned to look into his gorgeous green eyes. "I don't know what that means, but I hope it means something good. If this is real, and I'm not dreaming" I hugged him around his neck and I felt his warm breath on my neck. "Then I want to make the best of it, dream or not. "It's not a dream it's something amazing, gra . You'll see soon." He smiled a beautiful crooked smile. "What does gra mean?" I asked still in his arms. "Love." He smiled. "I don't know understand how all this happened. Why are you calling me love?" Gra- He interrupted me as I was speaking. "Gra I mean, why are you calling me gra?" He let out a chuckle. "As I've said before gra, give it a couple days and everything will come back to you."

That night at the Village gathering people kept complementing on my necklace. "Beautiful necklace Aaralyn." I kept hearing the same compliment over and over. The most awkward one was from the Mayor of the Village. "Aaralyn, what an uh different necklace you have…" he said reaching to take a closer look…."You don't mind do you?" He said already touching the necklace and flipping it around and around between his fingers. "Sure." I said feeling uneasy. He reached to touch the twisted leather string around my neck; he jerked his hand back as quick as it came. "Ouch!" He screamed. "What happen?" I said jumped back startled by his reaction. "It's nothing!" He almost screamed at me. Fable was next to me in a matter of seconds. "Is there something wrong here Mr. McTower?" Fable said grimly. "Not at all Fable, now be on your way. I am having a chat here with Aaralyn and it is none of your business." Mr. McTower said in the same harsh tone. "Actually Mr .McTower, Aaralyn is my business." He said putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer. I wrapped my arms around his waist. "That explains it all." Mr. McTower whispered and hurried away. I looked up at Fable who was staring at him harshly as he rushed away. "Fable, what is that all about?" He looked at me and kissed me on my forehead. "Nothing gra, nothing." He looked back into the direction Mr. McTower left in. "It sure seems like something."

At the Village meeting Mr. McTower stood in front of village and told everyone how supplies was getting lower. We needed more hunters to go into the woods to bring food back to the other villagers. "All food shall be shared. We have no room for be selfish." There were complaints everywhere. "My family is struggling as it is!" Someone shouted from the crowd. "My family will starve! Think of the children!" Someone else shouted. "ENOUGH!" yelled "Food from now on will be shared, all men will hunt, there is no excuses. All men should be back here in the morning to bring food back to the families. The woman will be out with pales collecting water. End of the arguing. Now everyone go home, and prepare for tomorrow's work.

The next day, I woke to the loud church bells ringing calling the men to come hunt, and the women to wake and care for the children. I looked next to me to find Fable lying in bed next to me. I remembered last night all too well, the kisses, the gentle touches, our bodies become one. Something about last night made it so special, something between us sparked, something made it so special. I can't even explain it. I kissed him on his chest as he opened his eyes. "Good morning!" I said happily as I planted a kiss on his lips. "Good morning gra." He said wrapping his arms around me.

"I must go now, gra I will see you when I return. Listen to , DO NOT let him touch your necklace." He kissed me on the forehead and started to get up. "Why not?" I asked curious. "Just listen to me gra!" He said almost harshly and then he was gone.

I fell back asleep. Since I didn't have children to tend to and women did't have to fetch water till after the men returned. I took a short nap.

I had the oddest dream. I was in the woods with Fable, he lead me back there told me there was a secret he needed to tell me. I followed him for hours on foot. We finally ended up in a meadow surrounded by trees. He told me not to be scared, and about that time a huge beast busted out of the forest.

I woke up with sweat rolling down my face. "I remember! I know what happened!" I screamed.