Author's Note: Decided to do a new version of one of my old stories. This is the result.
A few hours journey away from the Vinolian capital lies an estate of reasonable size. At the time of our story, it belonged to an iguana named Maja.
Maja was a widow, her husband, a fellow reptilian by the name of Manfred had died six years earlier, under circumstances which will be revealed later in our story. Leaving Maja to raise their son, Felix (who was two at the time) by herself.
Aside from Maja and Felix, the household also consisted of a handful of servants, as well as a private tutor.
In his second year, Felix was almost carried away by an illness. His health had been a constant source of worry for his mother, ever since.
A few words about Manfred. Maja had first met her late husband in one of the capital's bookstores. Both of them had reached for the same book, their eyes had met and a spark had been struck between them. A tiny spark, yes, but one that would grow brighter with subsequent meetings.
On this day, Maja was sunbathing on her veranda, while Felix played in the garden. She had almost fallen asleep, when she was woken up by her son's voice.
"Mom! Mom! We have a visitor!"
A visitor? Maja wondered. Who can that be?
She did not need to wonder for long. Following in the heels of her child, was a person Maja had not seen in almost a decade and had thought she would never see again.
"Hello, Maja" Argath said. "It's been a while. Missed me?"
****
Nine years earlier, Maja was sitting on the edge of Argath's bed, after the two of them had finished making love.
"I can't help but notice that you seemed rather preoccupied today" Argath observed. "Is there something on your mind?"
"There is" Maja replied, after a moment's silence. "I've been seeing someone."
"That would explain why I haven't seen much of you lately. Is this person male or female?"
"His name is Manfred. We're getting married, in the spring."
Argath stared at Maja, it was the first time the iguana had seen her at a loss.
"Married..." Argath repeated the word, as if she had never heard it before. "Oh, well" she shrugged, "it's not like it will affect our relationship."
"But it does. Don't you see, Gath, once I'm wed to Manfred, I intend to be faithful to him. That means we can no longer be lovers, but I hope we can still be..."
Maja stopped, the look on Argath's face was unlike any she had seen before.
"Don't say 'friends' the dragon snarled. "Don't you dare."
Maja felt that maybe she had better leave. She stood up and was about to head for the door, when Argath grabbed her by the arm.
"I could kill you" the Crown-Princess' voice was soft as she spoke. "Perhaps I should."
"I'll scream" Maja said, a faint tremor in her voice. She did not try to get free of Argath's grip, knowing that it would be futile "Besides, how will you explain my body?"
Argath shrugged.
"Accidents happen, even in bed."
The Two of them stared at each other. Then, Argath relaxed her grip.
"Go" she whispered in a strained voice. "Get out."
With her heart in her throat, Maja left the chamber on unsteady feet. A few months later, she and Manfred were married. Felix hatched from an egg, half a year into their marriage.
****
Now, it should be mentioned that Manfred's parents had died when he was very young and so, he had been raised by an uncle. Said uncle was an official at the Court and as an adult, Manfred worked for him, which kept him away from home, sometimes for days.
Even so, their marriage was a happy one. Whenever he was home, Manfred did everything to make up for his absence, both to his wife and his son.
Then, one evening, after Felix put to bed, Manfred revealed that he had been chosen to be a part of a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Guanaca. The Mission was to be led by Argath.
"And you've accepted?" Maja asked.
"Well, I couldn't exactly refuse a request from the Crown-Princess herself. Besides, it's a great honor to be chosen." Manfred frowned. "I thought you'd be happy for me."
"I am. It's just that, Guanaca is far away. You'll be gone for such a long time."
"I know. If its any consolation, I shall miss you and Felix as much as you'll miss me. Maybe even more."
Maja looked down at her hands.
"How soon are you leaving?" She asked quietly.
"In three days, though I will spend those days with you."
Three days later, Maja stood in the harbor, lifting up Felix so that he could wave good-bye to his father. Neither husband nor wife knew that this was the last time they would see each other.
Why didn't I stop him from leaving? In the years to come, Maja would ask herself that questions many times.
*****
"Go find your tutor, sweetie" Maja said to Felix, who was tugging at her sleeve. "I believe its time for your next lesson."
Felix was about to protest, but something in his mother's voice told him that he had better do as he was told. With a quick bow to their Royal guest, he disappeared behind the house.
"An obedient child. And polite too. You've raised him well."
Maja ignored Argath's comment.
"May I ask, Your Highness, to what we owe the honor of this visit?" She asked, as politely as she was able.
Argath made a careful study of her claws.
"Well, I happened to be in the neighborhood, when I was suddenly overcome by a desire to see you again. It's been so long and during our last time together, I might have overreacted a smidge."
Maja's was aghast. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Overreacted? She thought. That's one way of putting it.
"Since Your Highness is here I wonder if you would humor your subject by granting a request" she said, after a pregnant pause.
"But, of course" Argath beamed. "Your wish is my command. And all I ask in return is that you call me by name, like you used to."
"As you wish....Argath."
Had Argath been feline, she would have purred.
"Like music to my ears. So, what can I do for you?"
"There's a question I want to ask you and I want you to swear that you'll tell me truth."
"Have I ever lied to you? Very well", Argath placed one hand on her chest and raised the other. "On my honor as a Princess, I swear to tell you the truth, cross my heart and hope to die. Is that satisfactory."
"It is."
"Glad to hear it. So, what did you want to ask?"
"Why did you choose Manfred to be part of your mission to Guanaca? I can't think of any reason. Unless..."
"Unless I had an ulterior motive. It's true, I did. My plan was to tell your husband about our relationship and how I would like to rekindle it. I figured that if he was open to it, any qualms you had would melt away like ice in the sun."
"You did, did you?"
"Can you honestly tell me that there haven't been moments during all these years when you missed what we used to have?"
Instead of answering Maja, merely looked away.
"Anyway", Argath continued, "it's not as if I wouldn't have been grateful to Manfred. Quite the opposite, I would have given him anything he wanted. Unfortunately, before I had the opportunity to broach the subject with him in private, he left this World. It was all in that letter I sent you, which I'm sure you still remember."
Of course Maja remembered the letter. It had been written in a dry, impersonal style and the first lines had caused her legs to give out under her.
The Memory of that day made tears come into Maja's eyes. Had she been alone, she would have let them run freely down her cheeks. However, the thought of crying in front of a visitor made her feel embarrassed and so, she wiped them away.
She realized then that Argath was not watching her. Instead, the Crown Princess was looking up at the sky, her hands behind her back.
"Tell me, Maja" she said. "Did you ever suspect me of having a hand in your husband's death?"
After a moment's hesitation, Maja nodded.
"The Thought did occur to me. After all, you did not take me breaking off our relationship very well."
"True. To be fair, you had just ripped out my heart and stomped on it."
Maja rolled her eyes.
"Please, you were with plenty of other girls while the two of us were together."
"Yes, but there's a difference between them and you, Maja."
"Oh? And what difference is that?"
"You're an intelligent woman, you'll figure it out. As for Manfred, I swear that I had nothing to do with his death. What happened to him was an unfortunate accident, nothing more."
"And what would you have done if he had refused your proposition?"
"I guess we'll never know. Though I don't think he would have. I might not have known Manfred as well as you, but I could tell that in some ways, he was a reptile after my own heart."
Maja could not think of anything to say to that and for a moment, silence reigned on the veranda. Eventually, Argath decided to break it:
"Well" she said jovially, while rubbing her hands together. "This has been nice, but I think I've imposed upon you enough. Farewell, Maja. I shall not ask for a good-bye kiss, but I'll gladly accept one if offered."
She looked hopefully at Maja, but received no response. The Iguana was staring down at her feet, evidently deep in thought. Deciding to take the initiative, Argath went up to Maja and kissed her on the cheek.
The Kiss brought Maja back to reality. Blinking a few times, as if newly awakened, she raised her hand to her face and touched the spot that had been in contact with Argath's lips.
Realizing that she was alone on the veranda, the iguana looked around to see where her visitor had gotten to. She soon spotted her, heading towards the gate, her cape fluttering in the breeze.
At first, Maja merely stood there and watched as the distance between her and Argath grew. Then, she called out the dragon's name and, as Argath stopped, Maja hurried down to join her.
