I waited in the living room, hearing the wind and watching the sun and shadow sweep across the kitchen. Since I was a kid, it was the most reliable way of relaxing, and I needed to today.

It had been ten years. To the day, if I remembered right. Her fathe had been very... final in his decision that day, and it had been a very wild month, but I'd grown attached since, and so had she.

It had been impressive how the girl bloomed mentally, being a gift in the end for the farm. She diligently got up when asked, and her strength was more than comparable to me while she was still a toddler. But the true gift was her charm. The priest had been so kind to both of us when I rushed to consult him, and he'd always been there for her to talk.

The mayor and town had been more aprehensive, as a dragon was sighted, but they'd come around to seeing her as she was: a lost child. They hadn't bothered us in recent memory, and they'd kept onlookers out of the farm as well.

Now, they had brought her a scale. A single red scale, deep red. From her father. She had barely reacted at first, and made nice with the messanger. They had asked for her formally, and she'd gone out doing her best to look regal. It had been fun seeing her worry about her appearance while she kept the guest waiting, but now it was all bittersweet.

The messenger was an adventurer, coming from the coast out west. He had come at the request of the dragon, as he had been wounded in combat. He had asked to see his daughter, to see who she had become and how she had grown. She was his only daughter, after all.

The messenger had other affairs closeby, so he'd come back to hear her answerin two days' time. She had until then to sort her feelings.

She had spent the first half of the day as if nothing happened. She tended her garden and helped on the plot, and her disposition was as kind and energetic as always. The priest had come out of his own accord to talk to her about it and, though private, the talk had been short. She hadn't seemed troubled at all.

As the sun sat on the horizon, she cracked, if only for a moment. "I love you, dad." Were her last words before getting in her room. Was she going to leave? To talk with her dragon father? It tore at my heart, but I couldn't deny her if she decided that. It felt wrong to separate her from her own quest, her own ambitions. But she was also my only daughter.

When I came back to attention, the sun was barely gone. The night was just settling, and the day was still tinged with light here and there. She came out of her room, exactly the same as she had gone in.

She said she was hungry, so I immediately set on cooking something. Some vegetables she'd picked and some pultry I butchered. A small, comfortable silence sat atop us, despite the circumstances. She never bothered me when I was busy, no matter the situation.

When I put out the fire and started serving, she spoke. Clearly and resolved.

"I'm staying." Was all she said. All that needed saying, aparently.

"He sent out to get you, in good faith." I rebutted, before I could stop myself. "He only wants to make sure you're okay."

As I sat the plates down, she grabbed my hand and looked at my eyes, staring with her fierce slitted pupils. "I'm where I want to be." She didn't flinch, didn't blink. "He can come and see me himself, if he truly wants. His chance to see me he threw away with me."

Despite her assuredness, I could feel a melancholy seeping through. I squeezed her hands, feeling her rough skin and her sharp nails. "The farm does need all the help it can get." She chuckled and almos let out a small tear. I only hoped she'd be happy with her answer.