The prompt was removed off of WP fairly swiftly but I was kind of happy how my response turned out so I wanted to share it.

"Not what you were expecting then?"

He turned and looked at her. On the surface, she looked as human as he did. Two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, single nose, single mouth. She moved gracefully but with a touch of otherworldly dexterity, a smoothness that a human could never achieve. She moved as if she was far larger than her lithe frame, as if she had something behind her.

Her hair was brilliant silver, not the venerable grey earned by many years lived. Her eyes were old but vibrant, they saw too much, lived too differently. Her features were alluring but too sharp, too angled, too...designed. Her pupils had the slightest angle to them, the tiniest hint of a slit instead of an oval.

He spoke carefully for he knew the wrong word would mean his death. "I did expect gold and I have found it, just in a different form."

She smiled. Her mouth was just a little too wide. Her teeth just a bit too sharp, a gleaming pearl white. "Well said." She sat in a large chair, one that could easily accommodate a form many times her size. "I am curious why you did not fall for the decoy."

He snorted, slightly at ease since he was still alive. "Because it was obviously a decoy."

"Pray tell, just how obvious?" She looked amused.

"It was left in piles and bags. Cheap gold that was scattered here and there. Statues that gleamed sticking out at random. Gems just lying about." He shrugged. "Would fool most but not me. It was too easy Not all treasure is gold."

"Are thieves less greedy in this age?"

He grinned. "I prefer archaeologist instead of thief."

"Is that not a thief sanctioned by a university?"

He laughed heartily. "That is funny. I have heard that before."

"The Founder of your Department said it. Egin Glass. Also known as The Delver of the Deep."

Surprise flitted across his face. "That is correct. He was a Founder of the University. How did you know that?"

She looked sad. She left the chair and walked to the wall of rings. Without searching she lifted a slim silver ring down, dangling off a silver chain. She held it out to him.

He gaped. The symbol of the University was engraved on it. His name engraved on the inside of the band. He looked at her with awe. "You are Sonya, the hidden benefactor? How did you come by his ring?"

"Because I gave it to him and I took it back when he passed." She hung it back on the wall, caressing it gently. "Yes I am the Benefactor of the University. I was also his wife." She smiled softly. "He hated that title by the way. Delver of the Deep. He thought it was gaudy and romanticized how dreary his job really was."

His mouth hung open for long moments before he swallowed. "That...that was something that only the higher ranks know. From one of his journals. You must really have known him." He almost mentioned how long ago he lived than thought wisely of it. He blushed, noticing her looking at him knowingly, as if following his thoughts. "Actually, there is a bit of a debate we have. He always wanted to be known as something else. Would you know what it was?"

She nodded.

"Would you tell me?"

She shook her head.

He tried to not show his disappointment. "Why not?"

She frowned. "Because it is incredibly intimate and wholly inappropriate. Or have people become much cruder these days?"

He blushed harder. To hide his embarrassment he looked at the wall. He could not begin to count all the dangling rings. "So each ring is someone you...loved?"

She sighed. "You put it much more politely than most do. I thank you. Yes. Each ring is one fashioned by me and given to a beloved. Each ring worn to their last day. Each ring reclaimed by the one cursed to remain."

"Forgive me for asking, why do you continue to love if you know the results?"

"A question I ask myself often." She sat back down in her chair. "Many times I think to take a dragon as a mate. But I find the company of other dragons wearisome, boring. Humans live such interesting lives in such short years. So many ambitions. So many dreams. Each human as different as a snowflake. As precious as a drop of water. Time always draws me back to them."

She held a hand to her heart. "No matter the price I know I will pay."

He felt sad for her. "I think it is noble to continue to love despite the pain."

She smiled. "Or horribly tragic in a tawdry romantic way."

He shared her smile. "Could be both."

She looked at him for a long moment and rose, beckoning him to follow. "You have discovered one hoard, I suppose you deserve to find another."

His curiosity drove him on. He followed her eagerly.

She opened a large door, one that much larger and stronger beings would find difficult to shift. She said an ancient word and hollow globes burst into light. Within this room held books. Books upon books sat on many shelves. Again she approached one seemingly at random and drew a large tome off the shelf, handing it to him.

He almost dropped it when he read the title. "The personal life-story of Egin Glass?!"

She patted the book cover. "Yes. I write the stories of my loves. I ensure that they will not be forgotten." A single pearl of water fell down her cheek. "The years are long and my memories...they sometimes betray me. I never wish to forget anything about the ones I give my heart to."

His heart ached for her. "You are far stronger than anyone I have ever met."

She snorted, an inelegant sound. "Or am I weak for continuing to hurt myself? To pursue futile folly?"

"At least you encourage yourself to feel, instead of shutting yourself away." He breathed deep. "You have given me a gift. I would like to give you one."

She smiled teasingly. "A strange proposal and trust me, I have heard many."

He blushed but soldiered on. "I would like to ensure that your loves are also never forgotten. Would you allow me to write stories of your loves? To share with others? To show the world why you found them worthy? This way they will always find their place in history, never to be forgotten."

"You would do that for me? For them?" Her whisper was louder than thunder, brighter than lightning. "Why?"

"Because not all treasure is gold."