Several nights later, Shantia stood at the crest of a large hill alongside Alandar, well away from the city. They stood in silence for a long time, content to watch the dragon soar over the mountains in the distance until it became a speck on the horizon, insignificant in the pink canvass of the evening sky.
"I had thought I would never see so clear and bright a sunset so deep in the winter months," Shantia commented idly. Alandar didn't respond, so she respected the silence between them for a moment more before trying again.
Why didn't you tell me?" she prodded softly.
He was expecting this, for she had never spoken of his deceit during the days of her recovery. He considered his words carefully before he replied.
"My master has many enemies," he said, ignoring her raised eyebrow at his reference to the dragon. "I had to protect his true identity as best I could, to elude bounty hunters and at the same time draw sympathy for his apparent…plight."
Shantia stiffened. "And I was a perfect fool."
"Not at all," he amended quickly, reaching out to touch her arm. "You do not know how much danger my master was truly in. You've done us both a great service."
She turned to regard him quizzically. "I think I'm more concerned about releasing a dragon into the countryside."
Alandar laughed. "He will harm no one. My master truly believed that the ring was only a device to help conceal his identity. He wished to use the ring to be able to travel with me to various cities, but unfortunately it contained more powerful magic than even he anticipated. It bound him to the form he chose, that of a human child. Nothing he tried could affect the enchantment."
"That must have been very hard for him," Shantia observed.
Alandar considered her words, but could give no clear insight to his master's feelings. "He was frustrated when all attempts to remove the ring failed, so as time passed he began to immerse himself more and more in the role, out of necessity I believed. But he became careless and even more willful; he did not realize how vulnerable he truly was, until it was almost too late."
"Appropriate behavior for a child."
He nodded. "In all ways but one. The ring seemed to have no effect on many of his magical abilities, which is how I was able to withstand your spell." He sighed at the memory. "I feared that eventually I would not be able to reason with him...or prevent him from destroying himself if his magic became uncontrollable."
Shantia whistled softly in understanding. "The might of a dragon," she whispered, "Trapped inside that tiny boy's body?"
He nodded.
She smiled faintly.
"What can possibly be humorous about that?" Alandar asked incredulously.
She turned to regard him in amusement. "Consider for a moment how so many dragons are already willful and stubborn as spoiled children, with no help or harm from anyone. The problem is, most of them have the power to take whatever they desire, whatever the cost. Your master has had to see the world from more vulnerable…human…eyes, and perhaps he instead became the wiser for it. Perhaps that was what the creator of the ring envisioned."
Alandar turned to stroll back down the hill away from her to hide his smile. "You are a strange one, Shantia," he tossed back over his shoulder.
"Where are you going now?" she called after him.
He stopped and looked back at her. "Home, of course. With a brief sojourn to find the party who hired those bounty hunters."
"You will need help taking care of them." A statement of fact, and one that left little room for argument.
He shrugged and smiled mischievously. "Perhaps. After all, I am only one wizard."
"Of sorts," Shantia clarified, following him down the hill. Behind them the silhouette of the dragon had long since faded from sight.
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