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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

M elora gaped down at the gold rippling up her dress, the magic twinkling in a terrifyingly captivating way. She couldn’t look away even as fear gripped her. Was this the end? Was she to become a statue as trapped as Aurie’s mother? Once again, her desire to be loved and appreciated had only caused trouble, but this time, the consequences were permanent.

Gold encompassed her entire skirt, weighing it down. It rose up her bodice and down her sleeves where, thankfully; it seemed to stop.

She continued to stare down at her golden dress for several moments, her heart pounding rapidly. Nothing more happened. The transformation was complete. She released her breath and looked up at Aurie, who looked back at her in horror. He’d moved several paces away from her, clenching his fists in despair.

“I’m okay, Aurie. It was just the dress.” She flicked at her dress to show him, to prove that she was fine. “Just like the ribbon before. You touched the fabric of my dress, not me.” She stepped closer, wanting to reassure him, to remove that self-condemning expression from his face. Everything had been going perfectly until this point. She’d wanted so badly to create a fun, memorable evening for him after all their hard work in trying to break the curse.

He backed up several paces as she neared him, his eyes wide and wild. “Stay back! It’s too dangerous to be around me. I’m dangerous.” He shook his head back and forth with intensity as if fighting the emotion rising up into his jaw. “What if it hadn’t stopped!? I was careless! I could have easily brushed your skin instead. I-I can’t do this. I’m sorry. I’m nothing but a monster!” His whole body visibly trembled. Turning away, he ran from the room, his golden jerkin glinting behind him.

Melora chased after him, a task made more difficult by the extra weight of her now-golden dress. Her hand pressed against her chest as she followed him into the garden, trying to hold together the broken pieces of her heart.

“Aurie!”

But it was too late. Spines ripped through his clothing, his skin shimmered and grew, and a torturous roar spilled from his lips, the sound echoing in her heart.

There was nothing she could do. She covered her mouth and watched in horror as she watched the reverse of what she had seen just a few days prior. His body continued to expand, wings unfurled from his back, and a tail appeared, slashing with agitation. Finally, his face turned reptilian, and Dragon stood in his place, his scales shimmering with iridescence.

He roared angrily to the sky. Melora ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, desperate to calm him.

“Aurie! It’s okay. I’m safe.” Tears cascaded down her face.

He groaned and leaned his head against her shoulder.

“This is all my fault. I’m so sorry, Aurie. Had I not insisted on dancing with you, none of this would have happened. I was too selfish, and now you’ve shifted into a dragon once more. I know you didn’t want to shift. I’m so sorry. But we’ll fix this! I’m more determined than ever to make this right. We are going to break the curse this time, I promise!” She asserted, as if she could will it into happening.

Shouldn’t make promises… can’t keep, he said.

Her tear-stained face turned up, and she gazed at at the familiar blue of his eyes.

Not your fault, he said, his voice sounding gruffer than usual.

“Dragon? Are you okay?” She ran a hand down the smooth scales on his face. He didn’t normally speak in such a broken manner. Even as a dragon, his speech had always been eloquent.

Not your fault. This is what I am.

“Oh, Aurie! No. We can fix this. We have to fix it.” She clung to him, her sobs intensifying. Somehow, she’d made everything worse!

* * *

A urie became sullen and withdrawn. He was avoiding her. Melora knew he must be berating himself about nearly turning her to gold so she gave him some space. After all, she was the one at fault here, though he steadfastly disagreed. She had flirted with the boundaries, and he had paid the consequences—so she allowed him his space for the first few days.

However, after some time had passed, she sought him out. She had made him a promise, and she intended to keep it, regardless of whether or not he was happy about it.

Her steps echoed down the hallway, along with her determination. She would break this wretched curse and free Aurie from this burden if it was the last thing she did. While he had been wallowing, she had been thinking about how to break the curse. She kept returning to the same thing. They needed to get the exact words the dragon had spoken. There had to be some piece that they were missing. Perhaps there was some way to speak to the dragon who had given him the golden touch.

Her heart warmed at the thought of finally solving this seemingly unbreakable curse. Over the time she had come to know him, she had learned how wrong her first impressions had been. She had begun to like him despite his arrogant facade, because she knew that he was really kind and thoughtful in spite of the hurt he was feeling inside.

Her shoes padded up the stairs to Dragon’s tower. Though she didn’t like to intrude on his domain, she had already looked everywhere else. She couldn’t break this curse without him, and she was past being delicate with his feelings.

She pounded on the door. “Aurie! I know you're in there. Open this door. I’ve given you several days to sulk, but now it’s time to get up and get to work! You need to take charge of your own life. You got yourself into this mess, and you can get yourself out. Only you can finish this, but I’m here to help.”

A grumbling reverberated in her head. Not waiting for permission, she pushed the door open. An enormous dragon lay in the center of the room atop a massive pile of soft blankets, looking pathetic. His eyes moved toward her, but he made no move to get up.

She clapped her hands. “That’s enough! You’ve been resting for three days now. It’s time to get up and act like the man you are!”

He bared his teeth at her. Dragon… not a man.

“Currently, but not forever. Under all those scales, you are still a man.”

Not much longer.

“No more pessimism! We are going to break the curse. I keep my promises. I’m not leaving at the first sign of duress.”

Don’t want… hurt you.

She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. “You will not hurt me. You are hurting me now by acting like this and giving up.”

Those big blue eyes of his stared at her sorrowfully, so warm and familiar. How had she missed it before?

Time running out.

“Then you’d better get up and get moving. No time like the present.” She moved purposefully toward him and shouted, shoving against his massive leg. “Alright then, up, up!” He remained motionless, but Melora kept at it. “First thing we are going to do is put that dragon magic of yours to the test, since you are already a dragon.”

Won’t work.

“Oh, you’ve tried it already?” He remained silent, confirming her suspicions. “That’s what I thought. Now where is that man who persistently pursued me, even when it seemed hopeless?”

His long narrow mouth twitched upward at the corners, and he finally climbed to his feet and shook his body. He leaned down and blew hot air at her. Let’s do this.

Melora grinned. That was the man she’d come to know and love. Love? She stilled as her heart beat a rapid cadence. Did she really love him?

Thoughts of their time together over the past few weeks flashed through her mind: laughing as she painted his cheek, comforting him when he was in pain, confiding some of her deepest fears to him, the tension sparking between them as they danced… He’d become a true friend and confidant. Somewhere along the way, he’d become someone she simply didn’t want to live without.