by Anthology
Azoth didn't even stop to take a breath as he finished off the entire mug in one go, ending on a satisfied sigh. He grinned at her, wiping away the chocolate moustache with the back of his hand.
"Does every holiday require this to drink?"
Diana grinned and shook her head, taking a tiny sip from her own mug. "No, Christmas usually has eggnog, which is gross. I don't care what anyone says."
"I will never touch it," Azoth promised.
After Diana had introduced her medieval dragon prince to so many modern foods—hot chocolate, pizza, shawarma, pasta—he'd taken to believing her tastes were always correct. If Diana said something was disgusting, then he trusted her on it. And why wouldn't he? So far, she'd been right about all the delicious foods she'd brought him that he'd been suspicious of.
"Good," Diana said. "If you did, then I might have to leave you."
Azoth looked stricken.
"I'm kidding!" Diana said, pushing on his arm. "You didn't really think I was serious, did you?"
Azoth cleared his throat and handed her the mug. "Of course not," he said.
He obviously had, but he was doing the guy thing where he didn't want to talk about it, about how he'd been fooled, so she dropped it, even though his pouting was kind of cute.
Azoth jumped back onto their roof and picked up his hammer. For a prince, he was shockingly good at house repair and building things. So long as those things didn't involve electricity or plumbing. Not that it mattered since, so far, everything he'd built for her, from the walkway all the way down to the bird feeders, was gorgeous.
"For the new year," Azoth started, "shall I give you a gift like on Christmas?"
Diana put Azoth's huge mug down onto the table where he kept some of his basic tools. "No, not really. Some people do, but I never thought of New Year's like that."
"I should give you one, then," Azoth said, glancing down at her, and then nodding, as though making up his mind. "If that is what some males do, then I shall do it, too."
"No, well, I mean, if you really want to," Diana amended. Everything Azoth built for her was so damned pretty that it was hard to turn him down. "But New Year's isn't about gift-giving. Christmas isn't even about gift-giving. Or, it's not supposed to be."
"But we exchanged gifts on that day," Azoth said, and he frowned a little as he looked down at her, clearly confused.
Even so, he continued to hammer away without looking at what he was doing. Diana didn't doubt his work would come out as anything less than perfect, even with his eyes not on the job. Hell, he might just smash his thumb in with the hammer and it probably wouldn't hurt him.
Much.
"I know, but that's just what people tend to do," she said, trying to make sense of a holiday that Azoth had never heard of before coming out into the real world with her.
He'd been in that prison for a thousand years, suffering for a crime he hadn't had any part in. Not really. His hands had hurt a lot of people, but only because of the spell and someone else's evil that had been in control.
A thousand years was a long time for someone to pay for a crime they did commit, let alone one they didn't.
"Let me give you an example; you remember when I told you about the TV?"
He nodded. "The box that has the entertainment and the news."
"Right, well, on it are also advertisements. We'll have to get the Internet so I can go on some websites and show you."
His frown deepened at the mention of the Internet.
"Never mind, that one's for later, but the point is that, like sellers screaming out their wares in a market, the television has sellers offering us products to buy. Around this time of year, a lot of those things are toys for kids."
Azoth nodded, and a light seemed to enter his eyes. "They require the rich to spoil their children."
"Basically, yes," Diana said. "Some people get piles and piles of presents. They put themselves into debt for it. They get stress over it. You and I gave each other one thing each, we spent time together, had a good dinner, and it was fun."
Diana felt the heat in her cheeks rising at the way Azoth looked at her when she said the word fun.
Yeah, he was totally thinking about when he'd picked her up and carried her to his bed. He was definitely a medieval guy like that. He had certain ideas about the way a man treated a woman, what his role was around the house, and even in bed.
Diana had to admit, she didn't mind it. She liked cooking for her husband who thought everything she put in front of him was mind-blastingly amazing, even when it was subpar. And she liked knowing he was tending the lawn and the leaky roof, usually without a shirt on. She didn't mind cleaning for him either, since his cleaning habits also really sucked.
The one time she'd tried to teach him to use the vacuum, the bag had exploded and the entire living room had been coated in dust.
So, yeah, traditional gender roles it was, but to be perfectly fair, Azoth made it all look incredibly good. Even though they could more than afford to get food delivered, Azoth still preferred to go out and hunt for her. There was something incredibly sexy about having a man carry back a moose on his shoulders, and then turn it into meat that could be stored and cooked.
That, and he also carried the heavy dirty laundry to the stream for Diana to wash, and he carried it back when it was done and soaked to be ten-times heavier than when she'd started. He did his part.
Getting a washer and dryer was on her list of priorities, however.
What the hell had they been talking about?
Azoth was looking at her, a worried expression on his face, as though he thought the sun might be too much for her, even though it was still sweater weather.
"I got sidetracked. What were we talking about again?"
"Gifts," Azoth said.
"Right, well, anyway, what happens on New Year's is that, for the most part, we can have a nice dinner again."
"I enjoy your cooking very much," Azoth said.
Diana nodded. "And we stay up until midnight and take in the new year. We can also make promises."
"Promises?" Azoth asked, looking as interested as he had when she'd first offered him the hot chocolate."
"Yes, like, umm..."
Oh, shit. She couldn't think of anything. They hadn't been together long enough for them to want to better themselves and their relationship. Those were the sorts of promises that came from people whose relationships were in trouble.
She and Azoth were fine. More than fine. Everything between them was great so far. They were basically in their honeymoon phase.
Which was something she hoped would never leave them, or if it did, that the memory of it would never get so faded that she forgot why she loved Azoth.
He was the sort of man who would jump in front of a giant dragon to protect her, who confronted her uncle when he tried to kill her, and who didn’t take it the wrong way when an old friend from her past life had kissed her in front of him.
Nyx had been little more than a ghost at the time, and his spell had been what had saved Diana when the evil spell had taken ahold of Azoth, so Azoth seemed to think the kiss made it all even.
Though she had been strangely pleased at his jealousy, which had been further proof he cared.
"The new year will be tonight, and we should make promises to each other," Azoth said, also looking thoughtful, as though he too were thinking this through.
But then he shocked her when he grinned down at her. "I have my promise. You will have it tonight."
"Wait, what? You have one already? What is it?"
"No, no, you can only know it tonight when the clock strikes midnight,” he said, a sly grin on his face.
"That's not a strict rule," Diana pointed out.
But he wouldn't budge. "You will know it tonight."
2
2:30 P.M.
Diana had no idea what Azoth was planning. What could he come up with in less than ten hours?
She sighed as she came inside and put thei
r mugs in the sink, washing them quickly before putting them away.
Azoth seemed so confidant in himself and what he wanted to do for her, but Diana had no clue what she would to do for him in return.
She wished it would snow. Not rain mixed with a little snow, like what they'd been getting, but real snow. She knew Azoth would like to see that.
As a dragon, he used to live in the mountains. Mountaintops had snow on them, and because Azoth had spent a thousand years in a cavernous prison, he hadn't seen snow in...well, a thousand years.
Diana was not a dragon, she was fae, but her month was supposedly December, a winter month, so it seemed kind of unfair that she couldn't make it snow for him.
Despite the way ice constantly came, but melted the instant it touched the ground, causing the roof to leak, Azoth seemed to be taking it all well. He seemed happy enough, but Diana didn't know how sure of that she could be.
Was it normal for a man to spend so much time locked away for a crime he didn't commit, just to come out of it so...not normal. The last thing Azoth was, was normal, but he did seem to have a grace about the whole thing that Diana would never have had if she'd been in his shoes.
Which was probably why she wanted so badly to give him something that would really light him up. The gift she'd presented him with on Christmas had been nice enough, and he'd enjoyed it. The painting supplies she'd given him had certainly brightened his eyes, and Diana positively adored the necklace he'd made for her.
It had stones carved into the shapes of fairies and dragons. The stones looked like they'd come from someone's driveway and Azoth had just picked out the best ones for his project. The owner of the rocks didn't need to know about what Azoth had done, and the gesture had been so sweet that Diana didn't have the heart to explain how a man could own rocks of this size and be offended if they were taken.
That was for another time.
Her hand went to the necklace, and she listened as Azoth hammered away on the roof. It was an oddly soothing noise, and the fact that he worked so hard to keep their home in working order made her want to do something even better for him.
The paints had seemed like a good idea at the time. For all of those years, Azoth had no form of entertainment for himself aside from being with his dragon—which had been split from his body—and painting.
He'd made paints out of some of the rocks and stones around him, and even used the gold and jewels he'd been forced to protect as part of some of his pieces.
Diana never wanted Azoth to have to step one foot back inside of that cave. He always went with her whenever they needed money for something, but she could always see the way his shoulders and neck went tense when they were inside. As if he was afraid that they wouldn't be able to get back out.
Diana wanted to go back, if only to snap a picture of the portrait he'd done of her, but she figured it could wait until they needed some cash. She wasn't about to make him go back to the place he hated to get a photo of the portrait he'd done of her.
Back when she'd been a fae princess.
What was she going to promise him tonight? What could she give him?
And what was he going to promise for her that had him so happy?
Diana sighed and pushed herself away from the sink. She shouldn't even be thinking like this. This wasn't supposed to be a competition between them. They were supposed to be enjoying their lives together.
Even if Diana worried Azoth wouldn't be able to stay.
There. She said it.
Well, not said it, but she at least let her mind put it into words in her head, because this was also bothering her.
A lot.
Azoth was from another time, another world even. He'd lived as a prince back when dragons had soared the skies and the fae had ruled the world and the seasons. He didn't understand this new world he lived in, even as Diana tried to explain it.
Hell, Diana didn't even know if any of the life she'd remembered in this world was real or not.
After her uncle had tried to kill her, again, the spell that had been placed on her had worn off. All of her friends and coworkers had looked at her as though they didn't even know who she was, as if they'd never met her.
But Diana's memories remained. She remembered both lives, and she wasn't even sure which was real, or if the way her friends had forgotten her was just another part of Nyx's spell to keep her safe, to let her hide from anymore potential dangers. Namely, her uncle.
Azoth still saw her as Princess Diana, twelfth daughter of Maab, born in the Winter season, who had strange, vague nature powers and was gifted in drawing and painting.
Diana still didn't like thinking of herself as Princess Diana. There was only one Princess Diana, and it sure as hell wasn't her.
So, yeah, she worried. She worried this new version of herself might not be up to par with what Azoth thought she should be, or thought she was. She also worried too much technology or people after a thousand years of almost nothing would scare him, and he would have to leave to find his solitude once more because he could no longer handle anything else.
And yet, he seemed so happy while working on the roof. Of course, it wasn’t unusual for him to spend several hours at a time looking up at a blue sky. The scary parts were when he went flying in it. He liked stretching his wings out and going for a good soar now that he and his dragon were one being again, and Diana was terrified someone would see him one day.
Not like that was an impossibility, considering the size of him when he was in that shape.
She had to be worrying about nothing, though. Azoth knew how to be careful, and she'd already explained to him to not fly into power lines. Or go near anywhere that looked like there might be people around. She was stressing herself out just because Azoth didn't understand how telephones worked, or the concept of television, or cars.
He loved her. She saw it in his eyes every time he looked at her, held her, and when he was taking her clothes off with the intention of making love, or fucking. Whichever one they did, Azoth made it great.
Okay, new plan. She wasn't going to let herself worry too much about this. She was going to get her shit together and figure out something she could promise for Azoth when she kissed him at midnight.
Something great, because it sure as hell didn't look like it would be snowing tonight. Stupid weather.
3
4:00 P.M.
Okay, so she’d started writing down a list of things she wanted to promise to Azoth. It wasn’t such a great list so far.
What would a man, a former prince of dragons, really want? What would matter enough to put into a promise?
The first thing on the list was to promise to be a good wife to him. That seemed kind of obvious though, and sometimes Diana even wondered if they were still married. Their marriage had taken place over a thousand years ago, and Diana’s recollection of that day was somewhat foggy.
Either way, it seemed like a good backup promise to fall back on, so it stayed at the top of the list. The next thing on her list was places she wanted to travel to with Azoth. There were so many beautiful things to see, even just in the local area. Diana would love to show Azoth more of the mountains and the rivers and oceans, along with a couple of museums and art galleries. She wanted him to taste every good food imaginable.
She also thought about taking some trips farther away with all the money they had at their disposal. Her first thought had been the Grand Canyon, but then realized Azoth might not want to see anymore rocks the same color as his previous prison. Seeing the canyon might just give him flashbacks he didn’t want.
What else, what else, what else?
There were Christmas and holiday specials she’d also wanted to watch with Azoth. They’d seen only one so far. The old black and white version of A Christmas Carol. Diana was still trying to ease Azoth into technology, what it meant and what it could be used for.
Maybe she’d show him the Disney cartoon version next. That had always been a favorite of hers.
“You are lost in thought.”
Diana sucked in a sharp breath and looked up. Azoth was right there in the doorway to the kitchen, looking at her with a soft smile on his handsome face.
Diana immediately folded the paper and pocketed it. Azoth was still learning how to read in Roman English, but she didn’t want to risk him seeing anything she was working on.
“I’m making a list of potential promises,” Diana said, and she couldn’t resist getting to her feet, walking over to Azoth, and putting her arms around his neck and kissing him.
Sometimes she just got those happy urges.
The kiss was lingering and sweet, Azoth’s tongue gently touched and teased her lips, but that was all he did before the kiss came to an end. “You need to make a list?”
“Not everyone can have their promises all nice and ready like you do,” Diana said, only slightly serious in her mocking of him. Secretly, she was just scared what she had to offer wouldn’t measure up.
As though a New Year’s promise and kiss would be the first sign of the slow unraveling of their fairy tale romance.
Azoth smiled and stroked her hair. It was an easy touch to lean into. Even though his hand was big, it was also incredibly comforting. Diana loved it when Azoth touched her like that. She loved how he didn’t see the scar on her face either.
“You have given me everything I could ever ask for. You need not make any promises for me.”
“But I have to,” Diana said quickly, and she really meant it in that moment.
“Mia sakkra, look around you, this is a small palace. You have given me this.”
Diana’s face warmed at the dragon speak he’d slipped into. The dragon language for my love. It always made her tingly whenever Azoth called her by that endearment.
Like it was something special for her and only her. No other woman in the world was called those words.