Page 43 of Eliza's Cursed Dragon

“What do you mean?” I asked, adjusting my bow tie.

“I mean your dad and her look awfully cozy in your library.”

“Excuse me for a second.” I cursed.

Making my way through the gathered crowd wasn’t easy. Of course my father had used the wedding as an excuse to invite anybody with a name, ignoring my bride’s and my wishes to keep this wedding private.

I forced my way through the throng of people standing around, wanting to stop and chat with me. I nodded and shook hands, but made it clear I was in a rush.

The crowd thankfully thinned closer to the library. The sound of subdued voices reached my ear. I was sure my father had cornered poor Lucy. She was just his type and my ire rose when I thought of her innocent person being subjected to my father’s worldly wiles.

The door was slightly ajar and I was just about to pull it open, had my fingers around the edge, when the sound of Lucy’s voice stopped me. It didn’t sound at all as if she was in distress.

“… believe me, I’m not making this up. Her name is Eliza, she is a witch from Fable Forest, about to ensnare your son.”

It felt as if someone had doused me with a bucket of ice. No, I thought, that can’t be.

“She already put a spell on him, one that… does things to him at night.” My heart rate picked up, pushing my cold blood through my veins so I could hear a rush in my ears. “But that wasn’t enough for her. She wants what you’re building here. She wants it for her own power.”

“Fable Forest?” My father’s voice.

“Yes, she is a well-known witch there. One of the evilest ones,” Lucy said, and the image of the green witch came to my mind. She hadn’t looked at all like my love. No, like Eliza, because for some reason I thought that name was fitting.

“She can’t speak in your world, because she has to use all her power to keep looking like one of us,” Lucy continued.

“And how do you know all this?” my father asked surprisingly reasonably.

“I have friends in Fable Forest. I had no idea who she was when I took the job, I only found out last night, otherwise I would have warned your son. But I’m afraid the spell she’s put him under won’t allow him to react reasonably to this.”

Spell? I reflected deep into myself. Was my love for Eliza truly a spell? I shook my head. No, that couldn’t be. I loved her with all my heart.

“Go up there, make her talk to you, and you will find out yourself,” Lucy challenged my father.

“I’m not lying, I swear.” Lucy’s eyes filled with tears. “I have friends in Fable Forest, they told me all about the witch who condemned a man to live as a dragon.” Her words stung and I shrunk back.

“And now she wants your son as her puppet. She wants the town you’re building here to strengthen her power. She will open another portal and summon up more evil creatures like her from Hollow Earth.”

I knew my father well enough to predict that the mere mention of creatures from Fable Forest living in his town raised his ire enough to throw all rationality out the window.

Just the idea that Eliza was a witch would be justification enough for him to throw her out, and me to boot, if I didn’t toe the line.

“You are wrong,” I interrupted their little conversation.

Two heads turned abruptly toward me.

“Edward.” My father had the good grace to look guilty, while Lucy had the gall to walk toward me.

“Oh Edward, I’m so sorry, I meant to talk to you, but I couldn’t find you and your father was here, and—”

I held up my hand to stop her speaking and her advance. “I’ve heard enough. Eliza is neither evil nor a witch. I don’t know where you got your information from, but you are wrong.”

“Oh Edward,” she repeated, breaching the distance between us and placing her palm on my chest. “Please. I’m so sorry. I know you think you love her, but if you would just listen—”

I took her wrist and pulled her hand from me, shaking my head. “I want you to leave. Now.”

“Edward,” my father interjected. “Let’s look at this logically. What do you know about your bride?”

“I know that I’ve spent the last two years of my life with her and that she makes me happy. I know she loves me and I love her. I know that she is the mother of my sons, your grandsons, that she is loyal and good and that is enough for me.” I stood my ground.

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