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"Ryan, would you like something to eat?" Athena asked. The little dragon just sat on the bed, staring at the floor listlessly. Athena sighed. "My prince, you need to eat."

Ryan shook his head, a very slight movement almost unnoticeable, not looking up at her. Athena came up beside him and carefully reached out to stroke his neck. He trembled at her touch and finally brought his head around to look at her, eyes awash in grief and pain. She smiled at him as reassuringly as she could. "You will be fine, my prince."

"I killed someone," he nearly whispered.

"You were defending someone, Ryan. You did nothing wrong."

He looked down at his feet. "I could taste his blood."

"Do not think about it, Ryan. Would you like something to eat?"

"I do not think I can."

"I'll get you something anyway, my prince," she said and started away from the bed when he suddenly chirped in alarm, loudly, causing her to start. She spun to face him. "My prince!"

"Please do not leave me alone!" he said urgently.

She went back to him and started to run her hands over his head in a calming gesture. "Alright my prince, alright. I'll call someone else to bing you some food, will that be okay? I just have to go to my desk and use the phone, I will not leave the room."

Ryan nodded and watched nervously as she went to her desk and called. She came back to him, smiling, though uncertain of what to do. It hurt her deeply, seeing him sitting there looking frightened, and unsure of himself, as if he thought himself to be evil perhaps. She pet him again and he lay his head against her chest.

"Ryan, it will be alright."

He shook his head slightly. It would never be alright again.

She held his head to her chest and pet him, making soothing noises, as they waited for the food to come, time seeming to pass like mud through and hourglass. There was finally a brief knock at the door and Sulvius walked in with a tray of food in his arms. Athena smiled at him and nodded.

"They thought it best that someone he knew bring him the food," Sulvius said.

"Probably best," Athena said. "Ryan, look here, Sulvius has brought you some food."

Ryan looked up with a dull look in his eyes, his ears barely coming up at the sight of his friend. Sulvius sat the plate down on a bed table and wheeled it into place. Ryan sniffed at it briefly then looked up at Sulvius, who smiled, trying to keep the pain out of his own eyes.

"Sulvius, I hurt someone."

"I know. I know Ryan, but you did what you had to."

"I feel sick."

He stroked the young prince's neck, then rubbed his cheeks. "It will pass, Ryan. It's a shock, I know, but it will pass."

Ryan barely nodded. "Here, try this," Sulvius said, picking up a small piece of chicken. Ryan looked at it and opened his mouth. Sulvius glanced over at Athena worriedly and she just nodded.

"It should be fine."

He let Ryan take the food form him and the little dragon chewed it listlessly. After he swallowed his stomach let out a huge roar, causing him to start and look down at his belly, then look up at them with a sheepish expression and the pair of adult dragons smiled at him. "See?" Athena said, "you were hungry!" Ryan nodded and ate the rest of the food with a little coaxing and reassurance from the two of them.

He preened himself and finally settled back, looking at least a little better. He looked at Sulvius. "Where are my parents?"

"They're in their rooms," Sulvius said a little evasively.

"They have not come to see me," Ryan mumbled, looking at his fore claws.

"It's been hectic, Ryan, and we wanted to make sure you were well enough to receive visitors," Athena said smoothly. "I'm sure they will be down to see you soon."

"Okay," Ryan said. He looked away again, swallowing hard. "Tanner?"

"He's fine, Ryan. A bit bruised, but fine."

"He wasn't wound badly, Ryan," Sulvius said. It was a head wound and those bleed profusely. It looked far worse than it was."

"I wish to see him."

Sulvius glanced over at Athena for a moment. "He had to go to the airport to pick up a friend of his. He'll be back soon."

"Friend?" Ryan asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

Sulvius glanced at Athena again "Yes. Norian."

"Oh. The dragon his grandfather rescued."

"Yes, that's him," Sulvius agreed. "He can be rather fussy when it comes to travel, so Tanner went to pick him up. Always best to have someone the dragon knows in such situations."

"I understand," Ryan said tiredly. He sighed deeply. "So very tired."

"I know," Athena said, crooning softly to him. "Just sleep my prince. Things will seem better in the morning."

Ryan nodded and curled himself up tightly. Athena very carefully wrapped his tail around him and tucked him in as best she could. Ryan yawned and soon fell into a deep sleep. Athena looked at him and sighed, dropping her ears, her shoulders sinking, wings drooping, her body showing extreme weariness. Sulvius reached out and pet Ryan for awhile, tears running down his muzzle. He finally turned to Athena. "You should sleep."

She nodded. "I will doze here. I'm not going to leave him, not like this."

"You put something in his food to help him sleep?"

"Yes. He really needs it," she said a little defensively.

"I understand." Sulvius sighed deeply, looking back at the sleeping prince.

"So what's the real story with his parents?"

"They're...his mother at least is scared."

"Of Ryan?"

"I'm not sure it's Ryan so much as the blood and gore and that he was involved in it. It's hard for them to adjust that Ryan could do something like that."

"I cannot see how. He's a dragon!"

"They raised him as human and never saw that side of him. If Ryan threw a tantrum it would have been a very minor thing as compared to what happened out there."

She nodded, watching the sleeping little dragon. "If they show fear of him it's going to hurt him badly."

"I know. I've been trying to counsel them and talk to them about it, but it's not been easy. They're furiously angry about the incident as you can imagine and Allen wants to know why it happened again after we beefed up security."

"Because dragon security is supposed to be prefect, right?" Athena said a little bitterly.

"Easy, my friend. He is their son, remember that. You would act poorly if rose were hurt."

Athena nodded and sighed again, shaking her head. "Yes and she's not even my daughter. I will try to understand but it is not so very easy. Ryan needs them."

"Yes. Yes, he does."

"And Tanner?"

Sulvius hesitated. "I am not so very sure. We will see what happens."

"I hope it turns out for the best for him, no matter what it means for us."

"I hope you are right; I only hope others will think the same."

Sulvius walked over and kissed Ryan on the forehead, then quietly left, leaving Athena to watch over the young dragon.

"Please, he is not dangerous to you at all," Sulvius said.

"I- I guess not," Beth nearly stammered, leaning on Allen.

"He is your son!"

"He killed that dragon, tore his throat out," Beth said in a quiet, nearly fearful voice. "You saw the- the way he looked, the savageness." She trailed off. "That was not my son."

Sulvius closed his eyes. "Ryan is a dragon."

"We know that!" Allen snapped. "And had you all done your jobs this never would have happened!"

"If you think that ignoring this is going to make it go away or that it would never have surfaced then you're fooling yourself," Sulvius said bluntly. "Ryan is a dragon and there is nothing that can change that fact. He is going to act like a dragon no matter how much you wish otherwise and that means a dragons rage is a real possibility."

Allen glared. "So now what?"

"You treat him like your son. You love him, reassure him, and by all that's holy you make damn sure he doesn't think you're disgusted by or frightened of him or that he has in any way done anything wrong."

"It's hard," Beth whispered. "I just never- just never thought."

"I understand," Sulvius said. "Please, you're going to have to do your level best for him."

"We know!" Allen said, hugging Beth to him.

"I certainly hope you do."

"Look, we're not the ones who made all these demands on him and put him in danger!"

"Allen, he was in danger from the moment he hatched and it would have come for him no matter what. You should feel lucky that we found him first and not the evil ones," Sulvius said, gritting his teeth, trying to reign in on his anger.

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Fine. Just make sure you do go see him and that you're gentle with him," Sulvius said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Don't you dare tell me how to manage my son!"

Sulvius turned. "Manage. What a fascinating choice of words," he said, then left.

"Athena!" Beth yelled as she quickly walked down the hallway towards the dragoness.

The dragoness turned and smiled. "Ah, Beth. How are you feeling my dear?"

"I'm...better," she said quietly. "I would like to see my son."

"Fine, that's just fine," Athena said in a soothing voice. "Where is his father?"

She hesitated. "He doesn't know."

Athena started. "Keeping secrets from your mate?"

"It's not like that! Allen is just... he would worry Ryan. He's just not ready yet; it's been so hard on him," Beth said, nearly pleading.

"I see," Athena said. "You wish to see Ryan?"

"Yes, please."

Athena very carefully reached out and grasped Beth's shoulder, keeping her talons sheathed and Beth flinched away from her, nearly jerking away. Athena released her shoulder. "Are you certain? You cannot react to him that way."

Beth looked down and took a deep breath. "He's my son. I won't."

"Alright," Athena said quietly and led her to the room where Ryan was convalescing. She turned to the human before they entered. "Kheros is with him; he...does not wish to be alone. Please, be very, very gentle with him, be very calm. If you do not think you can handle it, tell him you need to use the restroom and Kheros will escort you out."

"Sounds like you have this planned out."

"It is best that we do for Ryan's sake. Are you ready?"

Beth took another deep breath and nodded. Athena opened the door and they both walked into the room. Ryan was sitting on the bed idly kneading the mattress, staring at his fore claws, not really paying much attention to anything. Kheros stood guard at the bedside in his bipedal form, occasionally looking around the room as if looking for enemies, then looking worriedly at the prince. He looked up at his ears perked at the sight of Beth and Athean. "Ryan, look who is here!"

Ryan looked up and ducked his head slightly. "Mother!"

Beth hurried over to him. "Ryan, I--"

He whimpered and reached out for her and she flinched back from him, unable to stop herself. Ryan jerked back hard. "Mother! Mother, please, I did not mean to hurt him! I did not mean to!"

"No, Ryan, it's okay, it's just fine," Beth said hurriedly.

"You flinched from me! You were so very frightened! You looked at me," he looked down his eyes haunted. "I am not evil...please mother, I am not!"

"Ryan," she groaned. The two locked gazes for a long time, saying nothing, and Ryan whimpered quietly and reached out for her once more. She very carefully pulled him up into her arms and rocked him, finally settling down in a nearby chair, arms full of a trembling little dragon.

The two adult dragons watched for a while and then left the two to their peace.

"Where is father?"

"He's..." Beth trailed off.

"He blames me," Ryan said so matter of faculty that it nearly broke her heart.

"No, Ryan, he doesn't."

Ryan ducked his head away. "Mother, please, father does not always like me."

"Ryan!" Beth said, startled. "That's not true! He just worries about you."

"If he is so very worried then why is he not here?"

"Ryan..." she started and put a hand over his eyes, stroking his head, calming him. "Ryan, your father has to learn how to deal with all of these changes every bit as much as you or I do. You're a dragon, we know that, but now you're really starting to act like a dragon and are in the company of other dragons. It's...it's not always easy."

Ryan looked at her for along moment. "You regret," he said softly.

"No! Not for one second!" Beth said, grabbing his jaw and forcing him to look at her. "Stop it! Stop feeling so sorry for yourself!"

Ryan whimpered, unable to pull away. "It is so very hard! I have nightmares mother! I can-," he broke off and closed his eyes. "I can taste his blood, mother."

Beth froze for a moment and closed her eyes. After a moment she said. "Ryan, I can't pretend I know how that feels and I can't lie to you and say that it does not shock me. What I can say is that no matter what it takes, how long it takes, I am going to be here for you. I am going to work with you and I will always, always be your mother and love you."

Ryan looked her in the eyes and she found herself getting lost in his gaze. They discovered long ago that looking deep into Ryan's eyes while he was in dragon from was an unusual experience, making you nearly feel as if you were being swallowed up in some way. He nuzzled her. "Thank you so very much, mother."

"You are most welcome, my son," she said, hugging him tightly to her.

Mikail looked down at Cladden from where he was resting in his dragon form. "How is he?"

"Shaken. Athena says that he sustained no physical injury."

"Good. It would be a terrible thing if the young prince were harmed."

Cladden nodded. "What did you need to talk to me about, sir?"

The ancient dragon sighed deeply. "Ryan trilled at Ebony, did he not?"

"I believe that is what happened," Cladden said. He cocked his head. "Why?"

"I fear that if he trilled at and then killed Ebony it would be considered against draconic law. Once a dragon has been trilled into submission it must be bound and kept, not killed, otherwise the royal breed could easily kill most any dragon the wished by simply incapacitating them and then tearing out their throats as Ryan did."

Cladden looked startled. "But he did not know!"

"I know that and I see nothing wrong with what occurred. Ebony, whatever his real name is, was threatening one of his friends, quite possibly his bondmate. He deserved what came to him. Even still, should the council find out there could well be questions."

"And they cannot logically hold a dragon responsible for his actions who had no training and no knowledge of the laws!"

"True, but since when did the council ever act logically?"

Cladden looked down. "He can never find out about this."

"No. It would only upset him all the greater."

"Does Irian know?"

"He was the one who brought it to me. I would have said nothing about it had he not brought it up, feeling the law is old and obscure to the point of being forgotten."

Cladden sighed. "I should tell Kheros at least, and possibly Sulvius."

"I leave that to you."

Cladden looked at the ground, ears flicking, looking troubled. He looked back up at the ancient dragon. "Do you feel that Ryan will do well?"

Mikail lifted his wings slightly. "It is so very hard to say He does have that way about him that makes people tend to like him, but the council is old and hard in many areas. We can only hope."

"Do any support him?"

"More than will actually say once he comes out. There is," Mikail rustled his wings irritably. "Fear, currently."

Cladden growled, tail lashing. "Cowardice amongst dragons."

"If you believed that the only royal dragons left were captured or killed you would also be a little careful of what was going on."

"True." Cladden hesitated. "You know nothing of where they could be?"

"No. And honestly I believe them to be dead, Cladden."

"Damn it don't say that to Ryan!"

"Better to leave the boy with false hope?"

"Better to let him have some happy dreams to sustain him while he goes through this. If they truly are dead the sad truth of it can be known later after he has had time to become stable and more mature as a dragon."

"Again, I leave that to your decisions, not my own," Mikail said and yawned hugely and stretched himself out. "I believe that I will take a nap."

Cladden snorted, looking amused. "As if you did much else."

"Privilege of age and of rank," he rumbled. "And if Norian actually comes this way send him to me. We have much to catch up on."

"Two ancient dragons holding court?" Cladden asked, looking even more amused.

"Norian? That youngling ancient?" Mikail shook his head. "Go, before you ask questions that will only lead you into trouble."

"Yes oh ancient, and maybe, possibly, every so slightly crotchety one."

Mikail eyed him. "I will, in my benevolence, forget you said that."

Cladden smiled at him affectionately. "As you say, honored one."

"Get!"

"Damn!" Cladden roared in full voice, waking anyone in that part of the safe house. Pax came barreling into Cladden's office, closely followed by Irian and Sulvius.

"What the hell is going on?" Pax asked.

Cladden shook his head. "Get Ryan, get his family, and get everyone packed. We have to get to the council chambers."

"What?" Sulvius said, looking startled.

Cladden looked at all of them grimly. "They're claiming to have found Ryan's parents and have called a convocation."

Pax shook his head. "Is it true?"

"No, it is most likely a ruse."

"They why worry about it?"

"Because they're making a legal push for it and the council has agreed to hear it."

"But they do not even know about Ryan!" Sulvius protested.

"They're about to," Irian said grimly. "That or the imposters will step up, claim authority, and then lord only knows what will happen."

All of the dragons looked at each other, quite nearly bewildered. Cladden shook himself. "Go!" he roared, "There is no time to waste!"