Page 48 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

I nodded.

“I don’t like eating live animals. I almost always use this table.”

“But…but the sheep! The lords have seen you steal oxen and sheep and things. I saw it myself.”

He tsked quietly. “Stealing is such a crass way to describe what I do. Iclaimthings; I don’tstealthem. But I usually just take them and drop them at farmhouses where I know there is a need. I don’t want to watch anyone starve, not when I can stop it. If the lords aren’t taking care of their hoards, I’ll claim them as my own and care for them.”

“So when you need to eat as a dragon, do you just tell the table to give you hundreds of pounds of meat?”

“No. I don’t like the bones crunching. As long as no one is around, I just shift to human and dine like normal. It’s sort of hard to explain, but as long as I’m full when I’m human, I’ll stay full when I shift back to a dragon. It’s like the food multiplies just like my size and weight does. But this way, it takes less time, is much less messy, and human foods have a wider variety of flavors than just endless pounds of raw, unseasoned meat. It gets rather dull to eat the same thing over and over.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “You’ve been sneaking off to eat as a human?”

“It’s hardly sneaking if it’s in my own cave. I can do whatever I want, Your Snack-sized Majesty.”

“Oooh, Snack-sized Majesty, I like that one. Now, your royal lizardness, why didn’t you tell me about all this before? I thought we were friends.”

“Is that all we are?”

My heart leapt into my throat and obstructed my ability to breathe normally. “What else could we be if you refused to tell me such a big secret?”

Pollox ran his finger around the rim of his goblet. “Staying in dragon form is much less complicated. You sought me out as a dragon, so it can be deduced that you wanted a dragon companion, not a human one.”

“But don’t you see? This opens up a whole new set of possibilities.”

Pollox’s head snapped around faster than he could dive out of the skies. “What do you mean?”

I began ticking off on my fingers. “We can pretend you saved me from the oh-so-fearsome dragon or you could pose as a guard and…”

“Oh.” Pollox turned away, shoulders hunched.

I caught his hand. “There are all sorts of things we can do now that I know.”

“I have no interest in staying human when our same arrangement was all you wanted,” Pollox snapped. “I need to organize some of the treasure while I still have hands instead of claws.” He stood abruptly and stomped off down the hall.

Oh scales, he wanted to be significantly more than friends. I stared at his abandoned plate of food. Did I want that from Pollox? He was my best friend, and he knew more about me than anyone else, even Father. He certainly was attractive and had never once been afraid of me or intimidated by my antics. I always enjoyed snuggling up with him at night, at least as a dragon. He had a witty sense of humor, but…

Griffin’s face swam into my mind, fuzzier and less memorable than before. He had been nothing but sweet and honorable. He risked his life to rescue me. A flame of resentment licked at my chest as I remember that it was he who had shot Pollox. But also, he was doing so to protect me, not knowing that Pollox would never harm me. I couldn’t fault him for that. Nevertheless, I regretted my hasty signing of his letter. I didn’t want to give him any false hope. Between the two, I wasn’t sure who I would choose.

Could I be happy with a life on the run with Pollox? At least with him, I wouldn’t be pelted with overripe fruit as Father was, hated for ruling and blamed for every wrongdoing. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. Why couldn’t life be simpler?

Pollox didn’t return to the table, and I eventually left through the wardrobe. If Pollox didn’t want to talk to me, there was no reason to stay. If he genuinely wanted a relationship with me, he wouldn’t sulk in his treasure room. That was dragon behavior, and a dragon and a princess would never work out together.

* * *

It was mid-morning before Pollox turned up the following day. I hated how long I’d stayed up the night before, unable to sleep while hoping that Pollox would come to apologize. Then after I’d finally given up hope and gone to bed, I found it impossible to sleep and tossed and turned all night, plotting out snarky retorts for if Pollox did ever show up to address his childishness. Because I didn’t want to think about the dragon, I tried to revive my early fantasies about Griffin, but I discovered that it was impossible to focus on his face; it was always replaced with Pollox’s, no matter how hard I tried to forget his features.

Stupid dragon. How could he expect me to rush into some sort of romantic relationship with him when I’d just barely found out he could shift? He could have at least extended me the courtesy of talking about things before he left to sulk, but at the same time, I was grateful for the solitude. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. If I were to choose someone to be in a relationship with, there was no comparison. Pollox cared for me, he cared for the orphanage, he was willing to be painted as a villain if it meant helping those in need.

Most men I’d met would eagerly seek praise for their accomplishments, but Pollox didn’t. He always did what he thought was right, no matter what anyone else said, and I admired him for it.

A knock from the inside of the wardrobe startled me out of my reverie.

“Rapunzel?” Pollox’s human voice called, slightly muffled by the wardrobe.

“Come in.”

He stepped out onto the rug and held a bouquet of roses out to me. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry for my behavior last night.”

---