Chapter 20
Lilia left the cottage the next morning to find Marco was laying outside. He could barely stand up. After that long journey, he was taking a well deserved rest. Lilia decided to accompany him. Now that he had all the ingredients, Rinaldo was busy preparing them. He didn't want to be disturbed. She might as well stay outside with Marco just for some company. Besides, no matter what context, it was always fun sitting on top of a dragon. She should enjoy that novelty while it lasted. “Marco, can we go for a walk?” She wanted to ride on his back.
“I just walked across half the continent. I need a rest.”, he said with his eyes still closed.
"That's a good point. You deserve a rest. Sorry for asking."
"It's alright. When my strength returns, I'll take you for one last ride."
That kind of made Lilia sad to hear. He wouldn't be a dragon much longer. While she was looking forward to him being a human like when they first met, he did have a certain charm as a dragon. She thought back to when she was watching him bath in the lake with her. She sat on her husband and stroked his snout while he took a well deserved sleep. As she waited, Rinaldo was creating the potion that would supposedly change him into a human once for all.
The concoction took two days to complete. When it was finished, Rinaldo brought it out in a brass bowl looking very proud of himself.
The bowl was sitting on a table in the basement when Marco and Lilia arrived back from their walk. Rinaldo assembled them together in the basement.
"So all that's left is for me to drink it?" Asked Marco.
"Indeed. Marvelous, isn't it?" answered Rinaldo.
Lilia was silent. Marco and Rinaldo turned to look at her. Surely they were expecting her to also be excited about this. But she just stared at the bowl lost in thought. This all seemed so sudden. They were going to do this as casually as one would sew up a torn sleeve. He was going to change from a dragon into a human. That's a big deal. She finally spoke up, "I don't know."
The two of them were taken aback.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Rinaldo exclaimed "This is something to mention before I agreed to make the potion."
"I thought we already agreed that I could change back. That's why I walked for days so we could do this." Marco chimed in.
"That's not what I meant. I'm not saying you shouldn't take this." She replied.
"Then what's the hold up?" Rinaldo asked.
"It just feels like we're forgetting something."
"I've got a checklist right here. I didn't forget anything." He said, tapping some parchment on his work table.
"He's just going to change into a human in some basement? It's just happening so fast." she tried to explain.
"What do you mean?" Marco said curiously.
"That's just not how you do things. Remember how the king held that big dinner just because you were visiting him? That's because it was a special time." she could hardly believe what she was saying. She did miss having those stupid celebrations. "Back at home, we wouldn't sell a horse without a ceremony of some kind. But now you're doing to change into a human forever. Isn't that a special occasion?"
The two of them were silent for a moment pondering this.
Rinaldo spoke first, "What kind of party would you have for a dragon turning into a human? Have you ever celebrated something like that before?"
"No I suppose not."
"What kind of celebrations do you have? Are they all feasts?"
"No. Not all of them." Lilia tried to think of all the different kind of occasions they had. "We have hunting celebrations, where the new trophy is paraded around the castle. We have feasts for holiday. The king cuts a big ribbon whenever a new building is finished. Family members watch a coffin get buried whenever a loved one dies. uh… when a couple get married, both families watch and drink while they tell each other nice things and put their rings on. Dances are held when-"
"That didn't happen when we got married." Marco said, interrupting her.
"It didn't?" Rinaldo looked surprised. "I thought you got married at the castle before you left."
"No, we stopped to get married in a carriage on the way here." Lilia said. That was a pretty disappointing way to get married now that she remembered it."
"That's the worst wedding I've ever heard of." said Rinaldo.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know how that worked. Could we redo the wedding?" Marco said.
It was true she wasn't satisfied with that rushed wedding they had on the road a few months ago. "I suppose we could have a second wedding. There's no harm in that. And you changing human would be a fresh new start to our lives together."
"I could use a fresh start. The last start of our lives together didn't go so well." Marco said looking guilty again. He was obviously remembering how he chained her to the bed a day after they got married.
"So should we have a wedding after he drinks this?" asked Rinaldo.
"I think he should drink it during the wedding." Lilia replied.
They finally agreed that they would have a ceremony during which Marco would take the potion. Then they would kiss after he changed into a human to signify the wedding being the first step into their new life together as a human couple. They spent the whole evening just planning the event. Marco didn't like waiting. He was worried he might have another accident. But seeing Lilia so happy during planning seemed to calm or at least distract him.
Lilia was very much enjoying herself during this planning. She had not done much of anything since they arrived. But this was a project she could really invest herself in. In the castle she had done some planning for certain events, but she never got to truly enjoy it because of the constant bickering surrounding such planning sessions. Not to mention how mundane the occasions were.
But now was not the time to dwell on then. She had work to do.
Decorations would be wildflowers since those were plentiful. This could be outdoors, but indoors would be so much better. The best option with wide open space was Marco's cave. The entrance was spacious and got plenty of sunlight in the early day.
Marco wasn’t much help with making choices for the celebration. The only celebration he had ever attended was the feast the king threw for him. So he had more questions than answers.
Lilia had him carrying furniture. The whole ordeal took a day to set up. Soon Marco's troubles would be over.
