Two notes before we begin. One, dragon laguz live to be super-duper old, so when Kurth says he's a big boy at the age of fifty-seven, he's really still a pipsqueak. Two, this is directly copy-pasted from my computer, and my siblings have been known to add weird things at the end of my stories. You've been warned.
The grass whispered in the breeze. The crickets chirped contentedly. An owl was hooting softly. The lake gently lapped against its banks, and the moonlight danced upon it.
“It's so... beautiful,” Ena sighed. She leaned on her companion's shoulder.
“Yes. Lovely,” said Rajaion, gazing fondly at her. His head came lightly down on hers, and he squeezed her hand a little tighter.
It was very romantic, just the three of us.
“It's getting late,” Ena eventually murmured. “Should we get him to bed?”
“I'm not tired,” I said, jerking upright.
“You were falling asleep on Rajaion's leg,” said Ena.
“Was not! It's just so nice and cushy that-”
“Cushy?” said Rajaion. He poked his thigh and sighed. “All this time, I thought it was muscle....”
“You screwballs ruin every tender moment,” Ena giggled.
“Sorry, sorry,” said Rajaion, scooting a little closer to her.
“Tender moment?” I said, nestling down in my niche between them. “What's tender mean?”
“It means romantic, Kurth,” said Rajaion as he tousled my hair.
“Ah,” I said. “Okay. Wait, does that mean you're gonna kiss?”
“Maybe,” said Rajaion.
“I don't think so,” said Ena. “Not in front of little boys like you.”
“Hey, don't call me that! I'm fifty-seven!”
“Well then,” said Rajaion, lifting his head, “if you're old enough to handle it-”
“No!” I said, holding my hand between their faces. “It's gross! ...Eww!” I said when Rajaion bumped against me. They both laughed.
“Definitely too little,” said Ena. She guided Rajaion's head back onto hers. I wiped my hand off and settled down too. We were all silent for awhile, just snuggled together by the lake.
“...I wish it could always be like this,” Ena said quietly. She must have thought I was asleep. I fought my drooping eyelids and listened.
“It could be,” said Rajaion. “You should move in with us. There's plenty of room in the castle.”
“But princesses live in castles. I'm not a princess,” said Ena.
“Not yet,” Rajaion whispered. “When we grow up, we could get married....”
“Could we really?”
“Sure! You want to?”
“Of course!” Ena whispered. I could feel her trembling a little.
“Awesome!” said Rajaion. “When we're older, we'll do that then. It'll be fun! And we'll be able to sit out here whenever we want.”
“...Oh... Rajaion....”
“I wanna come too,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. They didn't answer, so I looked up. “Ah! Stop it!”
Ena crossed her arms. “Every. Moment.”
Rajaion laughed. “Okay, time for bed, squirt.” He picked me up and followed Ena along the garden path, back toward the castle. I think that was about when I dozed off....
So I didn't see the ominous dark figure standing near the castle, his bald head agleam in the moonlight.