"Who is there?" asked Mei Lin, her breath catching in her throat and making her voice husky.

Out of the shadows stretched a pointed snout covered with shimmering opalescent scales glittering in the sunlight. Sharp teeth lined the mouth beneath the snout, but they did not seem dangerous to her. She sensed a calm, gentle spirit emanating from the creature, despite the heavy jaw.

She squatted on her haunches on the bank of the stream. Could it be? Beneath her bridge? A dragon!

The violet eyes blinked, the mouth opened-and a melodic voice answered, "Who do you desire me to be?" The voice rolled over her like liquid velvet, soft, sensual, and stirring her thoughts into chaos. One little sentence. "Who do you desire me to be?"

Mei Lin felt her face grow hot. "I have no desires. They are unseemly for a lady."

The dragon made a sound like a chuffing purr deep in its throat, and Mei Lin realize it was laughing at her.

Her face grew hotter still. "A true lady does not speak of desire."

"Now that is more like it," the dragon said, with a nod of its great head. "I would believe a lady choosing not to express her secrets far more readily than that she had none."

She was beginning to feel more at ease with the creature. It did not seem intent on eating her. At least not immediately.

"May...may I touch you?" she asked tentatively, reaching forth a hesitant hand.

"Of course." The dragon nodded again, bowing its great head.

Mei Lin laid her hand on its broad snout; the span of her dainty fingers-even spread to their greatest reach-was not as wide as the bridge of its nose. The glittering scales beneath her hand were surprisingly warm and supple, not the cold, brittle hardness she had imagined.

"I am Long Bai Yu. And you are?" it asked politely.

"Oh! Forgive my rudeness, Ancient One. I am Shang Mei Lin, daughter to this house. At your service." She made the curtsy manners dictated.

"And I at yours, Shang xiaojie. Now that the courtesies have been performed, tell me what it is that makes a beautiful flower such as yourself weep into my crystal stream." It settled back on its haunches like a great dog.

Mei Lin sighed. "I am so very unhappy. I wished to go out to the Dragon Boat Races, and Father has forbidden it. But that is only one cause. I despair of being the lady he desires me to be, and long for the companionship of young people my age. The children I grew up with now cradle young ones of their own, and we have nothing to say to one another. I feel like a captive dove here in the steel embrace of my father's cage."

The dragon nodded. "Many young people feel this way. It is a natural discontent. That does not mean it is any less difficult to bear. I cannot break your father's chains...but I can take you to the Dragon Boat Races, if you care to go."

"But how, honored sir? The courtyard is walled, and the gates are locked."

"Climb upon my back, and I will show you the secret ways of dragons."

Hesitating only a moment, Mei Lin stepped upon the bent knee the dragon offered and settled onto the dragon's broad back. Her skirts were too narrow to allow her to straddle it, so she stretched herself full length on the soft, shimmering scales, and threw her arms about its neck. Her hands sank deep in the warm scales to touch butter soft skin below.

"Do not be afraid," Bai Yu said solemnly. "I swear on my honor as a dragon that I will let no harm come to you."