Serali was returning to her room after that discussion when she ran into the blue-green dragon who had first led her to dragon stone. Literally ran into him in fact, since she was lost in thought as she wandered back to her room. Not noticing the dragon rapidly approaching down a cross hall, she bumped into him with some force.

"I'm so sorry!" Serali exclaimed, recognizing the dragon who had attacked her.

"No, it is I who should be sorry. I meant to apologize for attacking you earlier, but I have not been at the Dragon Stone often since then." He ducked his head slightly, a gesture of apology.

"There was no harm done, and if I had not met you, I might never have found this place. So I owe you that."

"Shall we call it even then?"

"A marvelous idea." She turned to go, the stopped. She'd been curious about the reason for the dragon's unprovoked attack since she'd come here, and now was her chance to find out. "Sir… I'm afraid I don't know your name…"

"I'm called Trillor," the blue-green replied.

"I'm Serali. But Trillor, I want to ask you. Why did you attack me when we first met?"

"I mistook you for someone else. The full story is a long one, and... not one I really want to tell in full, honestly." He looked sad.

"Oh. I'm sorry to have bothered you," she said.

He looked up at her. "I don't know. Maybe I should tell someone. I have never really talked about it to anybody, not even my mate. She... doesn't want to talk about it at all."

"Maybe we could find a better place than the middle of the tunnel, and you could tell me about it? I don't mind listening."

"All right."

The two found one of the small side chambers that dotted the Dragon Stone. It was furnished with a pair of the padded lounges that most dragons favored. Settling herself into a comfortable position, Serali said, "Tell me what happened."

His voice was flat as he began, and Serali sensed that he was trying very hard to hold in his emotions.

"I've been mated for almost twenty years now, and my mate Rialna and I had a single hatchling. We'd been lucky to have a clutch after only a few years, but it was a small clutch and only one egg hatched. Our hatchling was a girl, turquoise blue with Rialna's amber eyes. We named her Laurill and loved her more than anything.

"She was twelve years old and she'd been learning how to fly. She was already good at it, and we'd wandered far afield, enjoying our flight together. I can remember it all so well. I don't think I'll be able to forget a single detail until the day I die. We had landed by the bank of a stream. Laurill was in the water, swimming like a fish, and I was sunning myself on the bank when a group of strange dragons landed near by. They were royal dragons, a couple of bronzes, some coppers, and a brass that seemed to be the leader. Most mountain dragons look down on us plains dragons and royal dragons even more, so they were looking forward to pushing around a little burrow-digger, that's what they call us."

Serali shifted uncomfortably at that. She would never dream of saying such a thing, but somehow she felt guilty by association.

"The brass was about your size. Which isn't really big for a brass, he couldn't have been adult for very long But he was bigger than me, and he'd shoved me across to one of the larger bronzes. They kept pushing me around, from one to the next. They never let me fall over, but they never let me get my feet under me either. They were all yelling insults and making noise. I was shoved back round the circle to the brass and he hit me hard. I fell over and I couldn't get up.

"Then Laurill came out of the stream. She was angry, angrier than I'd ever seen her. She had her wings spread was acting like she was bout to flame the brass. I suppose she might have. She was old enough to flame, though she never had before. The other dragons went quiet when she showed up. They were just out for some fun, they weren't really after trouble. But the brass, he didn't calm down a bit, he got even madder. He pushed Laurill over, and she couldn't do much, he was ten times her size. But she did what she could. I think she wanted to protect me, and if that brass dragon had been sane it might have worked.

"The other dragons didn't like him pushing a hatchling around, they started muttering. He spun around on them and cursed them all for cowards. One of the bronzes said something about there being no courage in hitting hatchlings, and he flew off. The rest of them followed after.

"That just made the brass madder. He yelled and cursed them, calling them cowards and fools. He was raging. I've never seen a dragon so angry. It was more than just anger, it was madness. He turned back to Laurill and started kicking her. She, brave child, fought back the only way she could, she bit his leg. He howled, a sound like I've never heard, and grabbed up Laurill. Then he threw her to the ground. I could hear the sound she made when she hit. He seemed to have forgotten me, but I was still too dazed to move. He kicked Laurill a few more times and then left.

"I finally managed to pick myself up and go over to my daughter, but it was already too late, she was dead." Tears were trickling down Trillor's face as he spoke, and his voice had lost its unemotional flatness.

"Brass dragons have very short horns, and their crest spines are joined together into a ridge that looks just a bit like your crest. You are about his size, and brass looks much like gold in dim light. I was so grief-mad that when I saw you, I thought you were him." After he finished there was a long silence.

"Trillor," Serali spoke at last, "I don't really know how you feel, I've never felt anything like it, but there's one thing I do know. If ever I meet the dragon who did this, he will not live past that meeting."

Trillor looked up in surprise. "You who hardly know me would do this?"

"I haven't been raised in the ways of dragons, but even among humans this would cry out for punishment. I could do no less than this for any dragon."

"You say you do not know our ways, but I say that you know them better than many who have lived them all their lives. It has been many long months since my Laurill died, and few indeed are the dragons who have offered such help to me." He clapped his wings sharply in respect.

Serali shook her head. "I only wish I could do more. Revenge is not much to offer in place of such a loss."

"None but the Creator himself could offer more, and I know that Laurill rests safe with him. She will be happy there until the day I can join her."