Simon

"Greetings to the camp!" I yelled out at the soldiers as I approached the tents. I was sure they had seen me – it was a sunny morning, and there wasn't much in the way of cover between the hill of Enola's home and the flat area the soldiers had set up camp on – but it was still best not to risk any misunderstandings when approaching soldiers preparing for battle.

Especially since they had doubtless seen me talking with the dragon they had been sent to kill.

"Hold there!" A voice called out from the camp, and I spotted an older man walking towards me. He had a sword at his belt and wore a shirt of chainmail that clinked with his steps. I took that to be a good sign – if they had been worried about me then one of the younger soldiers would have approached me in full armor, instead of what looked to be the leader in 'casual' armor.

I stopped where I was and held my hands up, making it clear that I wasn't armed.

The man walked through the camp to meet me, and I waited patiently in place while he did. I took a quick glance back over the camp – I didn't see anyone who looked obviously like a mage, which was a good sign – but there were a lot of tents that could have concealed a mage from view. My plan had always been to work this out through letters sent back to the king, and I was not happy with the possibility of mages nearby... but that plan had flown the coop when the soldiers had shown up. If I ran now, I wouldn't have any way to get a favor from Enola. Even if she survived this fight, she wouldn't trust me, and I wouldn't be able to learn the truth about the dragons for the other Wellsprings. I would just have to trust my charm to hide my magic, avoid shaking any hands, and hope all the spoiled mages had stayed back at the city while the soldiers came all the way out to Lakeshire to do their dirty work.

I spotted two soldiers with bows paying close attention to me from back at the camp. The rest of the soldiers didn't seem to be very concerned, though. Most of them were trying to stay focused on their individual tasks, but I still caught them sneaking occasional glances back at the pink dragon huddled in the tunnel entrance.

I tried not to look back to see how she was doing. I still had no idea what to make of what I had just seen. If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn the mighty creature had been terrified.

"Who are you, and what business do you have with the king's soldiers?" The soldier finally reached me, and I focused my attention back on him. "We are preparing for battle. We have little time to waste."

"My name is Simon, and that's why I am here. I have come to try and negotiate, in the hopes that battle can be avoided. For all our sake."

"I am Captain Mason." The man frowned, and I felt him scrutinizing me. "Are you the dragon's rider? That beast is outside of the dragon territories; we will not let it intimidate us in our very own kingdom, or threaten the people here. We are prepared to fight it if need be."

I smiled, hoping the expression would come off as friendly instead of arrogant. "No, I am not a rider. But I have become friends with that dragon and have an understanding with her. She has harmed none of the villagers who live here, and has no desire to fight anyone. She only wants to be left alone."

Mason continued to squint at me, and I wasn't sure if he was suspicious of me or just trying to decide if I was stupid. "She has made her home on a crystal mine of considerable value. Her presence will frighten workers and impede any mining efforts. I have been ordered to secure the crystals within the mine for the king – if she has no desire to fight, then she should leave. Otherwise, we will drive her from here by force."

"Is that really necessary? If all you care about are the crystals, there is another way to go about this. One that won't risk the lives of your soldiers."

"Oh?" A grin came over Mason's face, and he folded his arms over his chest, suddenly interested. "Well then, you have my attention. Just what do you have in mind?"

~

Enola

I clutched my tail between my hands and watched as Simon talked with one of the knights from the camp. The two were much too far away to hear, and I had no magic to enhance their words with, so all I could do was wait.

And watch as the rest of the camp continued preparing to kill me.

It was still so hard to believe what I was seeing. For the thirty years I had lived here, nothing like this had happened. There had been cases where a single human had tried to rob me, or even a group of two or three, but never anything like this. Even with that overdressed cupbearer showing up to tell me to leave, it had been easier to believe it was all just some coincidence, or maybe some trick of Simon's, or perhaps some kind of mistake. The silly king and the greedy mages would tire of harassing me and move on to some other trivial human distraction, not... this.

The sun drifted over the sky as the two talked. A third human joined them after some time – one dressed as ridiculously as the herald I had dropped in the lake waters – though he seemed far less pleased with Simon. A representative of the king, probably. Somebody sent along with the authority to make deals, or handle any unexpected developments. Maybe... maybe that meant Simon had a chance.

Several hours passed... then the three humans finally turned and began walking away from each other. I tensed as the knight and the representative returned to the camp, flexing my wings in case they were about to attack... but the camp remained still. None of the knights went to their horses, and none of them led a charge towards me.

I waited in the freezing grip of terror as Simon walked back to me.

"Enola?" I looked away from the camp as Simon stopped a few paces away from me. He was worried. Humans were supposed to be nervous around dragons, that was only to be expected... but this wasn't fear of what I could do to him. This was that same worry I had come to see far too often in the expressions of Cess and the other dragons.

Pity.

Helpless, useless whelp...

"What." I growled out the word, hoping he would get the hint. It was bad enough to be pitied by other dragons, or to be chastised by my mother in a moment of frustration. To have a human dare to look down on me too, as if I was too weak to even meet their low standards...

Simon hesitated, and I saw questions bouncing around in his head... but he either got the hint I had growled at him, or decided to wait until another time to ask the questions. "I spoke with the soldiers. They are willing to work out an arrangement that will let you stay."

"What do they want?" I had very little to give. Humans were always interested in gold, but what little I had was no match for the value of the crystals they could get if they drove me away. Other dragons sometimes bartered in spells, too, but that was not an option for me. If Simon had committed me to giving them something magical, I would have to refuse it. That would give them hints that I had no magic... then they would be even less concerned about attacking me...

"They only want some of the crystals. That's it. As long as they get a certain amount each month, they don't care if you're here." Simon lowered himself down to the ground, sitting down and looking back at the tents on the other hill. "I think they'd actually prefer you to stay here, honestly. You scare off a lot of the bandits that might otherwise cause problems in the area, which means the king doesn't have to worry about leaving soldiers here, instead of putting them where they could be more useful. So all you have to do is give them a few each month."

"I have no interest in digging through the dirt like a silly dog, or fetching treasures for the pleasure of a human." I felt myself growling again at the very idea. "I am not some packmule to be ordered around or made to work for your whims. I am a dragon. I will not mine crystals for them."

Simon paled a little at my growl and held his hands up in a cautious posture. "They aren't asking you to – nobody even thought of that; of course you wouldn't be expected to mine them."

Which would mean the humans would be the ones mining them. Humans would be crawling through my home. Making a mess of the tunnels I had carved and smoothed out. Demanding new tunnels be added to help them find more crystals. Tramping through my living room, poking at the few treasures I had... and learning more about how weak and helpless I actually was. "I will not let a rabble of desperate peasants into my home either. That is just asking for one of them to steal from me."

Simon shook his head. "You don't have to. All they want are the magic crystals; so long as they get them in the end, they don't care how it's managed." Simon looked back up at me, and I saw him hesitate again. "I can handle it by myself. You'd only have to let me in your home – one human, not a rabble, and not a 'desperate peasant' either – and I promise you, I won't take anything but crystals. And even then, only ones you agree to give away."

I relaxed the grip on my tail, suddenly feeling a trickle of warmth through the chilly terror. "By yourself? How could you possibly handle that many?"

A grin came over Simon's face, and I could tell he was pleased with himself. "I talked them down to fifty each month. That won't be hard to meet."

"Fifty? That's all?" I stared back at Simon, confused. What he said made no sense. Humans were known for being remarkably greedy, and human mages were even greedier than most. The crystals in my home represented a literal mountain of power, and I knew there were thousands upon thousands of crystals to be found beneath the ground. How had Simon talked them down to such a low number? "How did you manage that?"

"Simple. I explained to them that they didn't actually want all the crystals. That if they took all of them, then there would be enough magic crystals for every mage in the land to have as many as they wanted. Which would mean the king would be stuck with a bunch of leftover magic crystals. They would just cause him problems – he would have to store them somewhere, and pay someone to protect them, even though he wouldn't be able to get any money for them. Whereas if only a few crystals came in every month, and he controlled that supply, he could charge a fortune for each one." Simon glanced back at me, still wearing that triumphant grin. "Fifty crystals this way would have the same value as hundreds of crystals that he would get otherwise."

I stared at Simon for a long moment... then slowly shook my head. "You humans are strange little creatures."

"Heh. I guess we are. It might not have worked if I had been negotiating with an actual mage, since they would have been too determined to get as much power as they could... but I guess none of the mages were willing to walk all this way with a group of common soldiers. I was speaking with a lower-ranking noble that had been pushed into the job, so he had more appreciation for the costs involved, and I think he was happy to have the chance to get a little revenge on some of the 'stuck up court mages'. And I think the king wasn't too happy with the mages trying to boss him around, either, and would actually like to have an outcome that leaves them a little unhappy." Simon looked back at the camp, and his smile faded. "Are you okay with this, Enola? I may have to bring equipment to help me dig out crystals – shovels and such – but I'll do my best to respect your privacy. You can show me which tunnels to stay out of, and I won't intrude on them."

The idea of somebody in my underground lair at all was still a hard one to stomach... but... I could still feel the chill when I looked at all the deadly weapons in the other camp. As annoying as Simon was, I had to admit that I was growing used to him, and that he had shown respect for my boundaries once he had learned them. He had dropped the subject of helping me in our conversations, and had stopped asking uncomfortable questions about Cess. He was slow to learn, but... he could be trained. If the alternative was fleeing my home, or being killed in battle...

It would mean more debt. It would mean being saved by a human. Again.

"I have one adjustment." I rose to my feet and walked the rest of the way out of the tunnel. I had been cowering like a frightened rodent, and that was unbecoming of a dragon. "The crystals grow here by leeching off a source of magic deep beneath the ground. I can make use of that to recharge depleted crystals. So each month I will allow you to remove up to thirty crystals... but I will also recharge thirty spent crystals that mages have drained of magic." I looked back at Simon, and tried to push some of the chill filling me into my gaze. "Otherwise, you would be filling my tunnels with the sound of your constant chiseling, and I will not have you disturbing my sleep."

With any luck, that would nullify any potential magedebt. I would be contributing just as much to Simon's efforts as he was contributing to mine. We could both be said to be doing the other a favor.

It was unlikely the stubborn rules of the magedebt would see it that way... but the only alternative was to be stabbed to death by knights.

Simon's grin returned. "I think I can make that work."

"Very well." I looked at the camp once again, then turned away – though this time, I took care to avoid hitting Simon with my tail. "Then I am going to hunt."

I spread out my wings and began running to pick up the speed I needed to take flight.

The constant feeling of freezing fear began to fade a little as I gave in and fled in terror from the human knights, replaced by the burning in my wings as they struggled to carry me away.