Pearl's Dragon

by S. E. Smith

  “Eggs – big, alien eggs that Jabir hid among the things you and the others brought back from Earth,” Asim stated with a shake of his head. “I guess Mandra didn’t know Jabir had snuck them in.”

  Trelon glanced back and forth between Asim and Vox. “And why did you two get me involved in this? Why isn’t Mandra taking care of it?” Trelon asked in exasperation.

  Asim shook his head. “Mandra doesn’t even know about them. Even if he did, he couldn’t be involved; Ariel would know. Jabir has been sneaking out every few hours to the barn. That isn’t so unusual, but when Tina and Viper came to visit a few days ago, they brought that damn bird with them. It has been laying eggs all over the place. I was collecting them and heard it in the barn area. It was sitting on top of an enormous green egg unlike anything I had ever seen before. When I picked it up, I saw more buried in a bed of warm grass that I use when one of the other creatures we have are nesting,” he explained.

  “Okay, that explains Mandra and Ariel, but it doesn’t explain why you are in such a hurry to get rid of the eggs. What is the problem? You have all kinds of creatures up on the mountain, what are a few more?” Trelon asked in exasperation.

  Asim smothered a growl and glanced around. He had flown here early this morning with the cache of eggs hidden under the seat of the transport he had traveled in with Lord Mandra and Lady Ariel. Jabir had come several days earlier with Pearl and his symbiot so he could play with his cousins and see Leo and Roam. As it was, he was running out of time. He had promised to meet Pearl in just a few minutes. Fortunately, she didn’t know about the eggs either – or at least as far as he knew.

  Asim ran a hand down over his face and sighed. “Little Jabir and Lady Ariel have brought home an abundance of animals, but they are all ones I’m familiar with. I’ve never seen eggs like this. What happens if they can’t survive on our world? I don’t want Jabir to be heartbroken if they don’t make it and don’t get me started on Lady Ariel! She tries to hide it when one of the newborn creatures dies, but I know she still cries. Then I worry about how dangerous they could be to the tiny lord and his mother. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to one of them. I swore to your father, Lord Trelon, that I would protect the royal family. It is my responsibility; I should have taken care of them. I’ll take the bags,” he murmured, and held his hands back out.

  “No, Asim. You’ve done enough. I don’t want Ariel and Jabir upset with you. You are there every day. Vox and I will take care of them,” Trelon promised when a wave of guilt swept through him.

  “You need not worry, Asim. I have a plan,” Vox replied with a grin.

  Asim looked critically at the smile on Vox’s face. Trelon bit back the groan that almost escaped. He wasn’t so sure that Vox’s plan was going to work. Vox had only given him a brief overview and it sounded simple enough – take the eggs with them out to the meadow and hide them – deep into the forests where there was no chance of them surviving the predators that lived there. They would be honest about what they were doing – they were hiding eggs.

  “If you are sure,” Asim replied with a slightly skeptical expression.

  Vox slapped Asim on the shoulder and nodded. “I’m sure. It will be easy,” he promised.

  Trelon watched Asim nod before the other man turned away. He waited until Asim had disappeared around the corner before he shifted the bag of eggs in his hand. Opening the bag, he blinked in surprise when he saw how large they were.

  Taste good? his dragon asked.

  You can’t eat them! If we ate these, forget about what Mandra would do to us; think of what Ariel and Cara would do! Trelon growled.

  I eat Ruby eggs, his dragon pouted.

  Those are different. I don’t know how, but they are, Trelon retorted.

  These no look as tasty, his dragon agreed with a grumble.

  True. Who would ever want to eat green eggs? Trelon replied.

  “Trelon, come on. We’ve got to go talk to Ha’ven,” Vox said.

  “Ha’ven! What does he have to do with all of this?” Trelon asked, dread filling him.

  “I’ve got a new idea,” Vox said.

  “Why does that not sound good?” Trelon muttered, closing the bag of eggs.

  Chapter 4

  “You want me to do what?” Ha’ven asked in an incredulous tone before he shook his head.

  “Do that thing that Emma did at Halloween when she made those costumes for the women. You know, like when she made Riley into that sexy ghost,” Vox replied with a grin.

  “I’m blaming Pearl for this,” Ha’ven muttered under his breath. “I think she shot you one too many times.”

  “That was in his ass, not his head. I think his brains were scrambled when Riley used that device she had for shocking him,” Trelon replied with a chuckle.

  Vox scowled at the other two men. “Riley hasn’t used the Taser on me in years. I took the battery out of it and told her it was broken,” he stated, rubbing his chest at the memory.

  “You really want me to create a costume – for the both of you – so you can do what?” Ha’ven asked again.

  “I have a picture of it. I had Adalard send me a picture of one for the kids. He sent me this thing called a movie that is supposed to be good. It has a large bunny that throws this thing called a boomerang and talks with a funny accent,” Vox said, pulling a small vidcom from his pocket.

  The three men watched a large creature with long ears hop across the screen. Behind the creature, tiny decorated eggs walked. It was obvious that the characters were not real, but there was something enchanting about the images that kept the men’s eyes glued to the screen. It wasn’t until almost the end that Vox muttered a curse under his breath and shook his head. He scrolled through the list before he found what he was looking for, a drawing of two Easter Bunny costumes from Earth.

  “This is what we need,” Vox said, holding up the vidcom in front of Ha’ven.

  Ha’ven stared back at Vox for a long time before he turned a pained expression to Trelon. “Are you serious?” Ha’ven asked, staring at the two rabbits holding hands on the screen.

  Trelon returned Ha’ven’s gaze and nodded. “Amber and Jade want to keep one of the creatures in the eggs – each. With my luck, whatever is in the eggs has to have long rows of teeth and poops a lot,” he replied.

  “That’s called a baby dragonling,” Ha’ven chuckled. “When do you want the costumes?” he asked with a shake of his head.

  “First thing tomorrow morning,” Vox said, glancing at Trelon. “We’ll volunteer to hide the eggs. All you have to do is meet us just inside the edge of the woods. You can create the costumes and be back before anyone knows you are gone.”

  “That’s all?” Ha’ven asked in a dry tone. “Trelon, please tell me you can see how many things can go wrong with this plan.”

  Trelon raised his hands up in the air. “I just don’t want any more demented creatures crawling around my house. I have enough with Amber and Jade, and Cara is due any day. I’m in survival mode,” he said.

  “I’ll warn you now. I will deny all knowledge of this,” Ha’ven vowed.

  Vox chuckled and slung his arm around Ha’ven’s shoulders. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. What could go wrong?” he asked with confidence.

  “I know nothing,” Ha’ven repeated, shaking his head.

  “I’m pleading insanity,” Trelon only half joked.

  Chapter 5

  Early the next morning, Paul chuckled and set Morah down on the ground. The little girl shifted and bounced over to where the other children were playing. Morian walked up behind him, carrying a platter of fresh fruit. He leaned over and picked a red piece of fruit that reminded him of a plum and popped it into his mouth.

  “She is growing so fast,” Morian said with a smile, watching her tiny daughter stop to touch Leo’s purple hair in awe.

  “Too fast,” Paul agreed.

  “Mommy, can I have purple hair, too?” Alice asked in excitement.
<
br />   Emma sighed even as Viper and Tina laughed. Alice had already changed her yellow dress to purple with dozens of small colorful eggs on it. Leo was eating up all the attention his new color had drawn from the girls.

  “Thank goodness she hasn’t learned how to change her hair color yet. Is Melina going to make it with Hope?” Emma asked as the small group walked up to Paul and Morian.

  “No, they are doing a special Easter Egg Hunt with Christoff and Edna back at the village. I wish they could have made it, but I guess the tradition is spreading,” Abby replied, placing several of the baskets for the kids on the table.

  “It is amazing how much fun it is. I don’t remember Easter being this cool when we were growing up,” Riley said, picking up a cookie and eating it.

  “It helps having a meadow like this to hide them in, though you have to admit all the bikers did a bang up job for you girls,” Pearl agreed, holding her granddaughter on her hip.

  Riley leaned over and tickled one her tiny daughter’s toes. “Hiding money in liquor bottles decorated with paper isn’t quite the same,” she drawled.

  “It worked and I didn’t hear you complaining about the cash inside,” Pearl commented.

  “You mean the cash that you made us put into our savings account?” Tina quipped.

  “You had more in your savings accounts than most of those high society misses, and you married princes. I’d say you did pretty well,” Pearl retorted, pressing a kiss to baby Pearl’s temple. “Isn’t that right, my little princess? I taught your mommy how to kick some ass too.”

  “Butt, Pearl. I don’t want the girls’ first words to be ‘ass’,” Riley teased. “No, we don’t, do we?”

  Pearl chuckled when little Pearl’s lips parted on a giggle. She glanced around with a frown. Her expression relaxed when she saw Asim talking with Paul. She quickly glanced away when he turned his head toward her. There was no sense in letting the grouchy old dragon think she missed him or anything.

  “Where are Vox and Trelon?” Riley asked.

  “They volunteered to hide the Easter Eggs this year,” Cara replied with a slight groan.

  “Are you okay?” Trisha asked, walking up to help Cara when she dropped a ribbon on the ground.

  “Yes. I just had a slight twinge. I think this baby is ready to see some daylight,” she admitted with another wince.

  “Why don’t you sit down? We can take care of the rest of this. You’ve been doing too much for the last few days,” Trisha gently scolded.

  “I feel like a bloated whale about ready to pop,” Cara said, sinking down into a chair.

  “You look like…,” Kelan started to say before he winced when Trisha elbowed him. “You look – big.”

  “Thanks, Kelan. I’ll remember that on your birthday,” Cara promised.

  “Goddess, I didn’t mean it as an insult, Cara,” Kelan replied with a shudder. “The last gift you gave had those bizarre creatures from Halloween in it.”

  “That was a mistake,” Cara said with a wave of her hand. “I meant to send that to Dulce. He’s helping me figure out why the symbiots turn out that way when the girls put them in the replicator.”

  “Your girls should not be allowed near anything mechanical, Cara. At least not until they are about a thousand years old,” Zoran interjected.

  Cara leaned her head back and smiled sweetly up at Zoran. “Try and stop them,” she said.

  The sound of laughter echoed through the group when Zoran muttered he never got any respect anymore. In the background, Ha’ven casually glanced around before he stepped behind a tree and disappeared.

  Chapter 6

  “Really, Ha’ven? You just couldn’t resist, could you?” Trelon asked with a disgusted voice.

  “You look fine, Trelon,” Vox said.

  “You aren’t the one wearing a dress and pink toe nails,” Trelon retorted.

  Trelon awkwardly turned and rested his paw covered hands on his hips. His vision was partially blocked by the cover of the mask he was wearing. This had to be the absolute stupidest stunt he had ever been involved in before.

  Ha’ven’s lips twitched. “I have to get back before Emma and Alice miss me. You asked – I created. Now I’m denying any knowledge. But before I go, I have to say, you make a striking couple,” he added.

  “Ha-ha,” Trelon muttered in a muffled voice and tried to lift the middle finger of his paw.

  “I think it is great! He even put springs in the feet so we can bounce,” Vox said.

  Trelon turned toward Vox to add another biting comment, but instead he paused and fully took in what Vox looked like. Vox looked – ridiculous. Ha’ven had created a perfect costume from the image. Of course, Vox would have preferred the one from the movie vidcom to the one from the picture.

  Vox was decked out with long, white ears that stood straight up. He had large, dark brown eyes with long eyebrows above each eye, a short pink nose, and a wide mouth with two long teeth hanging down. Trelon chuckled when he saw the large yellow bow and shiny purple jacket. His gaze moved down over Vox. His body was covered in a soft fur material that looked so real, Trelon actually wanted to touch it. His gaze moved down to Vox’s feet. If he thought Vox had big feet before, it was nothing compared to the mammoth bunny feet he now wore.

  “Turn around,” Trelon ordered.

  “Why? You know, you make a pretty bunny. I like the floppy ears, less likely to get caught on a tree branch,” Vox commented before he turned and glanced over his shoulder. “I’ve got one fluffy tail.”

  “It wiggles,” Trelon laughed.

  “Let me see if you have one,” Vox ordered, twisting back around.

  Trelon turned around. “This dress makes me look bigger,” he complained.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Vox assured him. “Amber and Jade would love to see you dressed like this. I can just see Cara crashing the communications system again if she were to broadcast you in that outfit.”

  Trelon shot Vox a glare. Of course, it was pointless as Vox couldn’t see his expression. Still, it made him feel better.

  “It better not happen, because if it does, I know who to hunt down,” Trelon warned.

  “We’d better hide the big eggs first so they can be eaten first,” Vox said, glancing through the trees.

  “That sounds…,” Trelon’s voice faded when he heard a soft gasp.

  He turned and tilted his head to get a better view. He glanced around, trying to see, but his vision was limited. Twisting back to look at Vox, he saw the other man searching as well.

  “Do you see anything?” Trelon asked.

  Vox’s large bunny head shook back and forth. “No, but we’d better get these eggs hidden fast if we want to get rid of the others. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” he said, turning and almost tripping over his feet.

  “You think?” Trelon muttered behind him.

  Neither man saw the three heads peering up from the hole in the ground. Three sets of large, rounded eyes watched in awe and excitement as the two large rabbits haphazardly bounced down a wide trail in the forest. Another soft gasp escaped the little blue dragon that was staring at one of the eggs peeking out from a knapsack – a large, very familiar green egg.

  “It’s the Great Easter Bunny that you told us about Jabir,” Spring whispered.

  “There’s even a girl bunny!” Phoenix exclaimed, turning bright shiny eyes to her sister.

  “But… the bunnies got my eggs. I don’t want our daddies to eats my new eggs. Phoenix, I can hears the babies chirping. We got to saves them,” Jabir pleaded.

  Phoenix looked at her sister with concern. “We’ll need help. They are hiding the eggs,” she said.

  “Let’s get the others,” Spring replied, turning in the hole she had dug.

  Chapter 7

  “Those sound an awful lot like Emu eggs, Asim,” Paul was saying. “I know Chad was talking about raising some. Their meat is supposed to be good. Where did you see them?”

  Asim swallowed and
raised a hand to rub along the back of his neck. He’d been having second thoughts about what he’d done. The more he’d thought about it, the more he wanted to just talk to Mandra and Lady Ariel about his concern. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of Paul Grove. If anyone would know whether or not the eggs were dangerous, it would be the human mate of Lady Morian.

  “Jabir hid them among the items that Mandra brought back. I noticed he was going out to the barn a little more frequently than normal. Then, Lady Tina and Lord Viper came to visit and she brought Ruby. The chicken was laying eggs everywhere. When I was searching for them to gather for the Easter egg event, I found her on top of one of the large green eggs,” he admitted.

  “Well, I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much about them. They can have a powerful kick and have a claw, but you’ve handled bigger and more dangerous things than that. I would make sure that you explain to Jabir that he needs to be careful. If you raise them from hatchlings, they should be fine with the other large animals. If you have any problems, I’d be happy to come out and help,” Paul recommended.

  “Thank you, Paul. It would appear I should have talked to you sooner,” Asim replied, looking out at the woods.

  “Any time,” Paul said, turning when he heard Morian call his name.

  Asim nodded. “I hope I can find them before it is too late,” he murmured.

  “Too late for what?” an amused voice asked from behind him.

  Asim grimaced. With a loud sigh, he turned to face Pearl. He rubbed his hands together and tried to think of a way to tell her what had happened – without really telling her what had happened.

  “I need to go find Trelon and Vox,” he said.

  “And…,” Pearl asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I may have given them something I shouldn’t have,” Asim admitted.

  Pearl chuckled and stepped forward. Asim’s eyelids lowered when she raised her hand and stroked his cheek. Goddess, but this woman never ceased to amaze him.

  “Good luck. I think you are going to need it,” she murmured.