She wasn’t the only one with problems though, Celestria had her fair share of them. One afternoon while Morgaine was working in the mews Celestria came to her in tears. She tried to get her royal friend to tell her what was wrong, but she said she couldn’t speak of it in the palace. Morgaine had the afternoon off to do gardening for Shan Chi and she took Celestria with her. Only when she had been sitting on a stone bench in the middle of Shan Chi’s garden for a few minutes, tears still on her cheek, did Celestria tell her what was wrong.

“I am to be betrothed,” she said wiping tears away.

“Then this should be a joyous occasion,” Morgaine said, relieved and happy for her friend.

“I know, but it isn’t,” she said breaking into tears again. When she had her sobs under control she said, “My parents are negotiating the terms of my marriage as we speak. They want me to marry the king of Salsify. He didn’t even come to see me, but sent an advisor. They say that it will be a wonderful alliance.” She started sobbing again.

Morgaine hugged her friend and said, “Shhh, there’s no need for you to cry. I’m sure that this king is a wonderful person. And it’s not as if you’re to be married tomorrow, I’ve heard your mother say many times that she wont see you wed until you’re at least eighteen.”

“That is less that a year away. Then I will be forced to leave everything familiar, to leave my home, my family, my friends. I can’t do it, I’ll kill myself first!”

Morgaine almost slapped her. Her voice was very stern as she said, “Don’t talk like that. You’ll do no such thing. You’ve known all your life that this would happen.” More gently she said, “Don’t worry, you wont have to leave everything familiar. I could go with you.”

“Really? What about your apprenticeship to Declan?”

“He told me just this morning that I was as ready as any he had seen to take the test to become a journeyman falconer. After that I’m free to go anywhere and practice for a few years.”

“And you would go with me to Salsify?”

“Of course, you’re my best friend.”

Celestria hugged her and said, “Oh Morgaine you’re wonderful!” She hesitated then asked, “But wont you be missed here?”

“Of course I’ll be missed, but Declan has always known that I wouldn’t stay here forever and the others, well, they’ll understand. Why don’t we go back to the palace and talk to Declan about those tests?”

A week later Morgaine was a journeyman falconer. She took her tests and passed them. Declan told her that she had done better on the tests than anyone he had ever known. That gave her a certain amount of pride, but she had to wonder if she had only done better because of the dragons. She did have two very unfair advantages over any other falconers. She could talk to the birds and since the cave she had been able to heal birds with a touch, both were hers because of dragons. It made her wonder what kind of talent she really had. Then she thought that the only reason she was a falconer was really because of a dragon. She wondered what she would have done if her parents hadn’t been killed. Trying to figure that all out hurt her head.

Still it made her wonder and brood so when it was announced that Celestria wouldn’t be married until the summer solstice of the next year Morgaine decided that she had time to find some answers. The one place were she could find those answers was her old village, Yuras. She knew that Celestria would be displeased to say the least to hear that she was leaving for a while so she made her preparations in secret. She wanted to be all ready to go by the time she told Celestria so she wouldn’t be able to convince her not to go. She broke the news to Celestria and promised to return before the wedding. An hour later she had left Sario, traveling north to the mountains.

A day away from Yruas Morgaine used a bird to send a letter to Celestria. She told of her journey so far and that she was just arriving home. She also said that this bird was willing to bring her back any message that Celestria may have.

The next day she drew water from the town well and sipped the cool water graciously and let her horse drink it’s fill; it was exceptionally hot for a summer’s day in the mountains. She looked around the small village with fondness, all of her childhood memories were from here and it’s where she had lived most of her life. She still considered it home. She wasn’t sure now why she had returned home or what she intended to do here, but if felt right. She still stood reminiscing at the well when someone said, “Morgaine? Is that you?”

She turned to see a girl abort her age with long sandy hair and big blue eyes. Her clothes were plain and summery, but well kept and she wore a kerchief over her head. She looked familiar, but Morgaine wasn't quite sure who it was. The girl smiled and she recognized her at once. She said, “Yes it’s me, but Kaelyn I barely recognized you. You grew up and changed quite a bit.”

“I’ve changed? Look at you! You cut your hair and your eyes! They’re stunning, what happened?”

Morgaine ran her fingers through her hair and by her eye nervously. A little lie could explain about her hair, but her eyes were another matter all together and she wasn’t sure that she could explain it to her old friend. No one in her village, save Arram, knew about her ability to speak with birds, but they all knew about the dragon. They understood about that, but she wasn’t sure that they would understand about this. She got out of answering by saying, “It’s a long story, but Kaelyn you must tell me what has gone on here since I left.”

“First let’s go someplace more comfortable, the sun is hot and I need to get these buckets of water back.”

Morgaine lead her horse and carried a bucket to Kaelyn’s house. She tethered her horse in the shade and went inside with Kaelyn and asked, “Where is everyone?”

“Father and my brothers are out working in the fields. Mother and my little sisters went to take them lunch; they should be back soon.”

“What about Lana?”

“Lana! She’s probably at home. She got married not long after you left and has two children now.”

“Lana married and having two children, I just can’t imagine it,” she said shaking her head. Lana was Kaelyn’s older sister and was only a year older than Morgaine and had always been so shy and timid that it was hard to believe that she could run her own home and be a mother and wife. It made her realize that she was getting to the age that people in this village would expect her to think of marriage. In truth it was the farthest thing from her mind.

Kaelyn was talking. “Well she is. She married the son of a merchant who lives in Feinnes. They’re well off and it’s just so wonderful.” Then looking around as if someone might be listening she lowered her voice and said, “Do you know what else is wonderful? Fynn, the falconer who came after Arram died and you left, asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

“Kaelyn that is wonderful! I’m so happy for you.”

“Yes and he’s coming here tonight for dinner to ask for my father’s blessing. Oh Morgaine please stay for tonight, I just know that your being here is a good sign.”

“Of course I’ll stay.”

A moment later Kaelyn’s mother and sisters came in. They greeted Morgaine warmly and invited her to stay with them until after the mid-summer festival that was a few days away and held in Feinnes. She couldn’t refuse. She wanted to visit her old home and other places around the village so it was nice to have someplace to stay and the festival was only a few days away. Also with the festival coming travel wasn’t that safe with the kind of thieves and rabble an event like that attracted.

Morgaine helped with chores and cooking though it had been years since she had done anything like this. Chores at the palace consisted of things like cleaning the mews and exercising birds. This was nothing like that. Cooking bread, cleaning hearths, watching children, and feeding sheep all seemed foreign to her. It made her realize that in the few years she had been gone she had changed it such away that if things didn’t work out she could never come back here. She just wouldn’t be content to be someone’s wife, cook and clean, and have children, as Kaelyn was.

It was towards evening when Kaelyn’s father and brothers returned home. Morgaine knew them all quite well; Arram had been good friends with Kaelyn’s father, and her eldest brother, Ewan, who was five years older than Morgaine, used to hang around the mews a lot. They all seemed happy to see her and were glad to hear that she was staying until after the festival. Their reunion was cut short when a knock came on the door. It was Fynn come for dinner. Kaelyn introduced them and finished by saying, “Morgaine’s a falconer too.”

Fynn raised an eyebrow and looked her over a little unconvinced. Morgaine was un-rattled and said, “I’m not a falconer yet, simply a journeyman.”

Before he could say anything Kaelyn said, “Yes Morgaine has been at the palace the last three years training there.”

“The palace, really?” he asked more than a bit skeptically.

“Yes, under Master DeMoss,” she said trying to regain her credibility. “May I ask who trained you?”

“Master Thaon in Feinnes.”

“Ah yes, I’ve met him a few times. Most recently to pick up his prized gyrfalcon that Master DeMoss purchased for the King.”

“He really sold that bird?” Fynn asked and suddenly it was as if they had been friends for years. They could have stayed there all night taking shop about falconry if Kaelyn hadn’t steered them towards the table for supper. Throughout the meal there was a steady stream of light conversation, but Morgaine knew there was something that they all wanted to ask her. What had happened to her eyes.

Finally someone did; it was Kaelyn’s father. She chose her words carefully. “Changing they’re color was sort of a gift from a mage. I helped her friend and and it was a reward.” She wasn’t sure what their reaction would be, but was pleased when he said, “Well it seems that you’ve made some powerful friends at the palace.”

Then everyone started pummeling her with questions like, Had she met the King?, Were the lords and ladies of court as glamorous as they had heard, and Was the palace really as beautiful as everyone said it was? Morgaine answered all their questions knowing well that everything she said would soon be known all over the village. Gossip in this town could spread faster than a wildfire on a dry mountain in the wind.

Supper wound down and Morgaine helped to clean up. Fynn and Kaelyn’s father went off to talk. Kaelyn waited with Morgaine in anticipation. When they returned it was announced that Fynn and Kaelyn would be married in the fall. There was much celebration and rejoicing and congratulations for Fynn and Kaelyn. It was then that someone, Ewan, asked Morgaine if there were any plans in her near future to marry. She told them no and the question then was why.

She thought before answering and finally said, “I’ve been trained as a falconer since I was four and recently have had the opportunity to train under one of the best falconers in the realm. I have two years of training left, to marry now would throw away my life long dream of being a master falconer.”

No one had anything to say to that. They were all thinking something different about her, but she didn’t care what they thought.

They talked a bit more that evening then good-byes and good-nights were said. Fynn left and everyone else got ready for bed. Morgaine was able to put down her bed roll in the room where Kaelyn and her sisters slept. Fortunately at the palace she had kept a strict routine of getting up before dawn because here that’s when everyone in ? got up. At the palace it was easy to lapse into not getting up early.

She helped with chores in the morning, the least she could do for them for taking her in. By late morning she set out on her own to have a look around the village. Mostly she just walked around remembering. There was Goldwin’s Tavern where she had always been able to find Arram if he wasn’t at home or in the mews. Also ? General Store where she always sold feathers for making arrows to get extra money. Then there were people’s houses, old friends and neighbors. She didn’t got talk to anyone, but she let the memories of her childhood flow over her. Memories of good times and bad. The names they had called her after her parents died and how kind Arram was to her. The joy of discovering she could talk to birds and the fear that knowledge brought. There were many others and more emotions than she thought she could feel in one day.

She walked by Arram’s old house, the house she had been raised in. She didn’t go in though. She didn’t feel like asking Fynn if she could look around and she wasn’t in the mood to talk to the curious birds she could feel occupied the mews. Then she went home. The house where she was born was a bit farther up the mountain. It was in poor shape, the roof was gone and the walls had started to rot away. It still invoked memories and emotions in her though. Her earliest memories were of this place and she vividly remembered the day her parents died. As she stood there the whole scene played out her mind. Her father dead on the ground, her mother dead on the ground, her on the ground but not dead and the dragon.

The dragon. Loving memories of Jade filled her head and her heart. She knew where she had to go next. After the slayer killed Jade he had wanted her to show him where Jade’s lair was, but she refused. She never told anyone where the lair was, though she would often visit it. The cave no longer showed any signs that a dragon had ever lived there, but it still held memories. Jade was so kind and gentle and beautiful. If Morgaine closed her eyes she could still see her and, if she opened her imagination, feel her warm breath. As she walked into the depths of the cave she was hit with a memory of something she had long forgotten.

She was in the cave talking with Jade. Jade always spoke to her aloud, she never heard her voice inside her head. Morgaine had asked why she wasn’t like her, a dragon. Jade had told her, “Because your parents weren’t dragons.”

“Aren’t you my mother?” she had asked. In the few weeks that she had lived with Jade she had forgotten her parents and knew only Jade and the cave. For some reason her question pained Jade and she said, “No. If you cannot remember who you are it’s not right for me to keep you. You need to go back to your own kind so you can remember who you are. Then one day you may be ready to live with me again and learn all that I could teach you.”

As the memory faded Morgaine fell to her knees and started sobbing. She never had been able to remember why Jade had sent her back to her village. Now that she could she felt horrible. She had always hoped that somehow Jade’s death wasn’t her fault and now she saw that it was. If she had been able to remember her parents Jade would still be alive now.

She sobbed there until she heard someone call her name. She quickly became alert and wiped her tears away. In the dark cave no one could see her, but she could easily see them. Unfortunately they didn’t come inside the cave, rather they stood at the entrance. With the light to their back she couldn’t make out who it was. They called her name again and she recognized the voice.

“Ewan,” she called. “What are you doing here? How did you find this place?”

Before he answered he came into the cave and found her. She was about to get up when he took a seat beside her. Then he said, “When you didn’t come home for lunch Mother got worried and sent me to find you. I found this place when I followed you here once when you were about ten.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me you knew about this place?”

“I figured you came here to be alone.”

“I do. I suppose you know that this is the cave where the dragon kept me when I was gone.” He nodded. “It’s very peaceful here, full of good memories. I don’t see how people can think that dragons are monsters. How could anyone kill them? How could they kill her? She just wanted me to go home.” She started crying again and Ewan put a comforting arm around her and said, “The dragon was your friend wasn’t it?” Still crying she could only nod. “You think it’s your fault don’t you?” More sobs and a nod. “It wasn’t your fault. I remember the night the slayer killed it. I’ve never seen anything more horrible in my life, it never had a chance. It was the slayer’s fault, not yours.”

She wiped the tears away. “Really?”

“Yes, he had a net all ready for it. The net had been soaked in oil first and when he caught it he lit the net on fire and the dragon burned as he threw spears at it. For it’s own sake I’m glad that one of the spears hit it’s mark to put the poor thing out of it’s pain. If there was any monster there that night it was the slayer, not the dragon.”

“Thank you for telling me that,” she said wiping away fresh tears. “It makes me feel better to know that.”

“Your welcome,” he said standing up and helping her to her feet. “Let’s not tell anyone about you being in my arms though. Some people might get the wrong idea.” He winked at her. “I have my eye on the miller’s daughter for a wife and I wouldn’t want to lose my chance. Now that you’ve lived in the city a few years you’ve got a reputation.”

“What reputation?” she asked. He just laughed and started for home.