Ana wasn’t sure if ze heard him right.

In a wary voice, Ana asked, “Why do you want my grandma to abdicate early?” Ze wasn’t opposed to zir mothers ruling, but the way Revi worded his request was strange. Freya wasn’t perfect, but Revi’s impatience to have her step down from the throne was suspect.

The gold dragon glanced away again, this time down at the glowing palace below. Revi murmured, “I heard your — cousin — the calf-shifter say that you wanted to create a better place, right? A place where animals don’t have to be exploited for the dragons’ gain?” He raised his eyes again and he looked sincere. Or did he?

Ana engaged in another staring match with Revi, hoping to catch any signs of deception from him. The gold dragon didn’t flinch and just stared back. After a while, Ana broke off the stare first. Ze was tired of this strange competition between them. “Of course, I want to change the policies, but — ”

“You’re worried that the dragon nobles and other politicians would rage, right? That’s why you’re so hesitant?” Revi asked.

Ana shot him a sharp look.

But the gold dragon was not deterred. “Again, I mean no offence to you. You are a strong dragon with an iron will and a fierce determination to match. Yet, governing your own life is different from governing a country. You said so yourself that you’re still young and inexperienced.

“Your mothers, as the daughter and daughter-in-law of the Queen, would be much more experienced, and they already have extensive connections among the nobility and other dragons. But unlike your grandmother, Teefa and Leyla are younger, and from what I’ve seen, more open-minded and compassionate towards other species.” He paused. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Once again, Ana peered closely at him. Revi looked every hint like a noble’s son, maybe even like a prince. Perhaps that was why Ana suspected that he wanted to steal the throne for himself. It wasn’t completely unheard of for a dragon to snatch a throne by force, rather than by lineage.

Revi looked impeccable and shimmering, and had a decent size. He was large enough to pack a punch, but small enough to be swift. While Ana was adept in a fight, ze couldn’t guarantee that ze could subdue Revi if he ever tried to rebel.

Ana was about to reply when ze saw a familiar figure striding through the palace gardens.

It was Mildred, alone, and still in human form. Perhaps the cow shifter was just taking a leisurely stroll to refresh her mind, as Ana had before bumping into Revi. But something felt off.

“Revi,” Ana said, “let’s talk another time. I have some other business to attend to right now.”

The other dragon frowned, but to Ana’s surprise, he nodded. “Come find me when you’re ready to seek a cure for the disease.” He spun around and flew away like a streak of golden stars.

Anastasia was aghast. Ze wasn’t sure if Revi was just bluffing or if he had some insight into the cure. He seemed so confident that Ana would look for him again, as if there was no one else that ze could turn to for this quest.

But no matter. There were more urgent things at hand now.

***

Mildred looked furtive as she shuffled in a certain direction that Ana knew well.

The red dragon kept watch from the sky, at an angle where zir shadow wouldn’t be visible to the cow-shifter.

Ana didn’t want to intervene unless something really happened, partly because ze didn’t want to get involved. But to Ana’s bewilderment, Mildred changed direction last minute and headed towards the woods instead.

Anastasia didn’t enjoy sneaking up on people, but ze had a premonition about what was to come. Ze wasn’t worried about what Mildred herself would do, but rather about —

The cow-shifter reached the edge of the wood, and to Ana’s alarm, she shifted into a cow. It was startling to see, as Ana was so used to her in human form. Yet, the cow, with her smooth, black-and-white coat, was just as tough and muscular as she was in her human form.

Anastasia followed Mildred through the dark wood, with dread coiling in zir stomach.

At long last, the cow stopped at a clearing, and a man burst out from a bush. His hair was light brown and messy. His clothes were worn. But most of all, his eyes were both angry and defeated.

He frowned at the cow-shifter, while she gave him an impatient, even reproachful, “Moo!”

The man grimaced, and he fetched a small bundle that he had hidden in the bush.

Wrapped in the bundle was a little calf. But it seemed deformed and shrunken, very different from the plump and healthy Ero.

The man scowled. “Don’t blame this on me. You know that you’re at fault, too.”

Mildred gave him another baleful moo.

The man placed the bundle underneath Mildred, and the cow gazed with concern at the calf. The small creature hadn’t even moved.

The man, who Ana was fairly certain was Mildred’s husband now, sighed and moved to fit the calf’s mouth around one of Mildred’s teats.

Ana wanted to look away, but ze was mesmerized by the sight. Mildred looked like she was bearing a burden, though she also appeared oddly at peace. Despite how lifeless the calf seemed, Ana could see that it was drinking its mother’s milk now.

It was an intimate moment, despite everything.

Then the calf spat out its mother’s teat, and began to cough. The man cursed and folded the cloth around the calf again. The cow sighed and slowly shifted into human form.

Her husband scowled at her, yet she was unfazed. She held out her arms. After a moment’s hesitation, her husband gave the calf to her.

The cow shifter cradled the calf, gazing down at it with morose eyes. “Clive,” she said, “I really don’t think Vera can live much longer. We might have to — ”

Clive’s jaw tightened in an aggressive way that put Ana on high alert. But he just glared with hostility at his wife. “I said no. We’re not giving up.”

Mildred let out an exasperated sigh. “Do you think I enjoy this? I love Vera just as much as you do, if not even more so. I want what’s best for her. And sometimes, staying alive is not the best choice.”

Clive gritted his teeth, and balled up his fists. But Ana could tell by now that the man was all sound and fury. He wouldn’t dare lift a finger to his much stronger and more athletic wife. And maybe, just maybe, there was still enough love between them to not get into a fight.

“Give her to me,” Clive said.

Silence stretched between them. But at last, Mildred relented and placed her daughter back in her husband’s arms. Mildred looked away from them both, her face full of pain but also determination.

If only Ana could find out why this was happening. Did Ero know about his cousin’s hardships with her child? At the thought of Ero, Ana suddenly wondered if there might be something even worse to this story. If the couple didn’t reveal more background information soon, Ana might not be patient enough to wait.

Just as Ana was about to leap out of zir hiding place out of sheer frustration, there was a small squeal from the bundle.

Vera went through a rough and inelegant shift, but she gradually turned into her human form. The girl had raven-black hair and blue eyes. But like her calf form, she was thin and frail, and her face was dirty, as if she hadn’t washed in days. Or maybe she had just been buried in the hiding place with her father for too long, here in the palace woods.

Come to think of it, surely Mildred didn’t have time to call her husband to come over. It was as if she had known they would come to the palace, and had her husband bring her daughter to meet her here.

“Vera,” her father was pleading and mournful.

The little girl waved her arms. “Where are we?” she whispered.

Mildred cast a soft glance at her daughter. “In the enchanted palace woods, just where we promised to take you one day.”

Vera’s eyes glittered with both joy and sorrow.

“So this is your calf and husband, Mildred?” a male voice called out.

Everyone turned to look at the intruder. A young man in a blue tunic entered the clearing. And an unfriendly smile stretched across his face.