The plan was simple. Be brutally honest with Dashen about everything. When they say honesty is the best policy, this truly applies to Dashen. However, the way the truth was presented to him must be done in such a manner that it will not put him on the offensive at all. So, Sabrina set the plan in motion.
She asked Dashen over to her side of his mansion. The plan works better when she is in her own quarters and he is out of his usual environment. For whatever reason she could never fathom, Dashen has an aversion to going over to her living quarters in his mansion. Technically, it is also a part of his mansion and it belonged to him, not her. Still, he had considered it as hers and seldom ever steps foot inside. Usually, he will stand outside and tell her to come out or go over to his side.
So, when she asked him to come over, he was reluctant. He had insisted that she go over to his side instead.
"Whatever it is you want to say to me, you come on over, I don't see why I must come over to you," he told her.
"Well, it's about Meera and your kids, you don't really want them to hear what I will be telling you," she said.
He grunted at that. He will do anything for Meera and his kids.
"Fine, but make it fast, I can't stay over on your side for too long, it is not right at all," he said.
He came over almost immediately and entered only after she invited him in. He can be such a stickler about keeping it formal and separating Sabrina's living space to his. For all intents and purposes, her living space is like a separate house to his side.
After he has settled on the sofa, he looked at her sternly.
"Well, what is it?" he asked impatiently.
"Meera wants to marry you, she wants a huge wedding," she went for the kill.
He looked startled. Shocked even.
"She didn't say anything about this to me at all…are you lying again?" he asked suspiciously.
"No, honest, dragon's honour, cross my heart and hope to lose my immortality," she pledged. It is true. Meera really does want to marry him. She is only opposed to the immortality part. But, there is always a way around it. There are always a way around all these things.
"However, you can't marry her because we are still married," she pointed out.
"Fine, I will divorce you, today even, but are you ready to go back to the sea jade palace then?"
"Ah…there's the catch then…"
"Sabrina…I told you…"
"Wait, let me tell you my plan,"
He raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her. He didn't look like he believed her plan will work, even before she tells him about it.
"Well?"
"We just sign the human divorce papers without informing the elders," she said.
He opened his mouth to protest but she raised a hand to shush him.
"I am not finished. You see, I've checked, the elders never did say anything about human documentations, what they said was that I have to be back at the sea jade palace once you release me from duty, divorcing me legally in the human world doesn't mean you release me from duty to you," she said.
She sounded like a lawyer. Well, she had to to do a lot of reading about the old dragon laws and regulations and traditions to find this loophole. It helps that Dashen is an elder so he can continue to keep her on duty for him and she will never get sent back, regardless of their legal marriage status in the human world. The dragon shapeshifters never had much respect for human laws anyway. They often laughed at some of the ridiculous laws and prejudices that humans practise.
"Okay…looks like you found a loophole," Dashen replied grudgingly.
"What about Meera? Does it mean she agreed to be an immortal too?" he asked.
Sabrina shook her head.
"No, you need to respect her wishes and not make her immortal unless she asked for it. You need to give your word as a dragon elder," she told him.
"You forgot something, the moment she marries me, she will automatically become an immortal, have you forgotten that?" he asked her.
"Ah…you forgot something too. Meera is still a mortal now, she is still human and by getting married, she meant ONLY in the human world, through the human laws and dragon shapeshifters will not be involved at all," Sabrina said.
"What?? You mean keep it a secret from the council of elders and the clan? That is blasphemous!" Dashen is turning red with anger. He obviously doesn't like the idea.
"Think about it this way…you love Meera don't you?" she asked him.
He nodded in response.
"Why not marry her using human laws and traditions as per her wishes? Let's just put the dragon traditions on hold first," she said, keeping her fingers crossed that he will at least consider this option.
This uses the same rules of their divorce. If Dashen and Meera get married using only human traditions and signing the human documents without involving any dragon traditions, the clan and elders do not have to be informed at all. So, Dashen and Meera will be officially married in the human world but in the dragon realm, they are not.
"We can't keep it from the clan forever," Dashen said reluctantly.
"Yes, so you need to work on slowing buying Meera over but what's important is that if you marry her here, in the human world, and did not force her into immortality, maybe it will sway her somehow,"
He nodded slowly. It looked like he was about to agree to her plan.
"Just remember, the wedding must only be kept to fully humans, no other dragons must be involved," she told him.
"Okay, I think it should work. I am sure that once she marries me and see that there is nothing to worry about being immortal, she will agree to officially marrying me the dragon way," he said.
Sabrina wanted to roll her eyes at him. Why are dragon elders such a stickler for 'the dragon way' and traditions? Honestly, why even stay in the human realm if they are such stickler for old rules and traditions. Might as well kidnap some human to make them produce offsprings and then later release that human back to the human world.
"Oh, there's one more thing," she said when Dashen got up and looked like he was about to leave.
"I thought you are done? I will get the human lawyer to settle our divorce in the human court first, this should be done first before we start arrangements for my wedding with Meera," he said. Trust Dashen to start planning things meticulously, she thought.
"What is it this time? Is it about your boyfriend's health condition?" he asked.
"First, you need to promise me that you will never force Meera and your two kids to do anything that they don't want," she said tersely. He rolled his eyes at her.
"When have I ever forced them to do anything? If anything, they are the ones to force me into doing things I don't like," he retorted.
"Please, Dashen, give me your dragon's word first," she said.
He raised an eyebrow.
"What are you planning to do now?" he asked suspiciously.