Dragon Dream

by Elena Van Peborgh

  I looked at Jon. I hoped he could answer that question for me.

  “She can’t talk, father. She doesn’t have a voice. But she had written her name for me in the sand earlier. She’s called Tatiana.”

  It was obvious Anton was pleasantly surprised by the fact I couldn’t talk. Well yeah, I didn’t have a voice so I couldn’t protest or question his authority. It was much easier to cooperate. I had noticed that already; it was very exhausting to explain something.

  “Well, Tatiana, I am very grateful you have protected my children. You can stay in the house of my sister. Avalon, son, lead her to Annebel’s house. Everyone, get back to work! There’s nothing to see here!”

  I heard Anton was lying. He wasn’t grateful at all. He didn’t do this out of gratitude. He had his own hidden agenda. He wanted to use me and my powers; I was well aware of that. I must be careful.

  Jon led me to Annebel’s house. He knocked on the door and Annebel opened it almost instantly. She was tall and slim with long blonde hair. I noticed the similarities between Jon and her. Annebel looked directly at me and smiled widely.

  “Father said Tatiana could stay in your house,” Jon said.

  She didn’t look at him but instead she gave me all her attention. “Oh, so you’ll become my new guest. Please come in.”

  She spoke directly to me and let us enter. She went to the kitchen, and we followed her. I pulled out a chair from under the kitchen table.

  “Please sit down. Do you want to drink something? Just pretend like you’re at home. This will be your home from now on,” she said, smiling.

  I liked her. She was friendly and made effort to make me feel welcome and comfortable. I shook my head to say I didn’t need anything and went to sit on the chair.

  “You don’t need to be shy. I know the others are rather mean. They will probably ignore you and act like you don’t exist but I’m not like that.”

  “Auntie, she isn’t shy. She can’t talk, she doesn’t have a voice.”

  She turned her attention to Jon. It was like she only realised now he was here as well.

  “Oh. Well, it’ll be difficult to communicate with sign language, but maybe I have a solution which will make the communication easier.”

  Jon and I looked at each other questioningly when she left the kitchen. Neither of us had any clue what she meant. She returned with a small chalkboard, some chalk and a tiny sponge. She put all the stuff on the table.

  “If you want to say something and you don’t know how to sign it, you can write it down. That will make communicating easier.”

  I quickly grabbed the chalkboard and some chalk.

  Yes, this will definitely help. Thank you, I wrote.

  I showed her what I had written and then wiped it away with the sponge. I was glad Annebel had given me something to write on.

  “You probably don’t have any other clothes with you. Avalon, can you go get some for her?” Jon immediately left the house. “I’ll show which bathroom you can use and where you can sleep.”

  She waited until I stood up, and then led me out of the kitchen to the stairs. I followed her and we ended up in a hallway with several doors at the side and one door at the end. She led me to one of the doors on the left side. She opened the door, and we entered the bathroom. The room was very spacious and light. Annebel pointed to the washing table, where there was some toothpaste and a toothbrush.

  “You can use that toothbrush; it hasn’t been used yet. It’s just there in case one of my nephews or my niece stay over.”

  I scanned the room quickly. The bathtub was large and white. It was far more luxurious here than in my house in my village. We left the room again and crossed the hall. The bedroom was dark. A piece of fabric hung in front of the window.

  “This will be your bedroom. It’s the closest bedroom to mine. I sleep at the end of the hallway. If you have a problem at night, you can come and wake me. I’ll leave you alone now so you can look around. Avalon will return soon with clothes,” Annebel said.

  When she left the room, I was alone. I first checked out the closet standing in the room. There was a small pile of clothes on one of the shelves. I checked if they would fit me, but they were too small. I was rather tiny, but I knew Lena was even daintier than I was. These were probably her clothes and were kept here in case she stayed the night. I closed the closet and went to sit on the bed. It seemed to be comfortable; it wasn’t too hard or too soft. I had just sat down when I heard someone knocking on the front door.

  Twenty-one

  I immediately went to check if Jon had returned. When I entered the kitchen, I saw it was him, but he hadn’t come alone; another guy stood next to him. I didn’t know if I had seen this guy before. If I had, I should have been able to recognise him; his hair instantly caught my attention. It was very light, almost white but there were also blonde, beige, and grey hairs in between; it reminded me of the fur of a wolf.

  “Tatiana will stay in Lena’s room. Do you want to take her clothes there?” Annebel spoke.

  “Will you come help us, Tatiana?” Jon asked.

  I followed the two guys up the stairs to my new room and helped them put everything in the closet.

  “It’s possible she might be swimming in some of the clothes. She’s rather short for a dragon. I thought dragons were taller,” the guy with the notable hair said.

  “I think she’s still growing, Corneel. When do dragons transform for the first time? Around their fifteenth or sixteenth birthday? She can still grow. We were also shorter when we were younger.”

  Jon was right. My body was still maturing since I was still so young. The name of the guy surprised me though.

  “Corneel?” I formed his name with my lips without making a sound. His name sounded weird and old-fashioned.

  Corneel looked at me. “I have no idea what you just said. So the rumours are true? She really can’t speak?”

  “Of course. Do you think someone would make that up just to please my father?”

  “What the hell does Anton have to do with that? It’s only a massive and annoying inconvenience for Tatiana.”

  “It suits his purposes though because she can’t protest.”

  The two guys looked at each other with intense scrutiny; it seemed like they would start fighting each other. I glanced between Corneel and Jon. Corneel was taller, wider, and more muscular than Jon was. But Jon would become the next alpha.

  Eventually, it didn’t turn into a fight. The two guys stopped staring at each other very abruptly and continued with their previous tasks. They continued sorting clothes, folding them and putting them nicely in the closet. I wondered how it was possible they seemed to get along one moment and then it suddenly seemed like they’d start fighting each other in the next.

  “Maybe I should show her around,” Corneel offered when we had finally finished putting the clothes away.

  “Don’t you have work to do?”

  “Not at this moment.”

  I hated that the two guys were talking about me like I wasn’t even here. I might not have a voice and couldn’t talk, but I could hear them, and I could also produce small, short sounds. I tried to cough, but I produced a weird sound. It sounded like I was choking. It drew their attention as they both stared in my direction now.

  “Is everything alright? For a moment, I thought you were choking,” Corneel said.

  I tried to sign I wasn’t choking. I put both of my hands around my own neck and shook my head. They seemed to understand that. Next, I tried to sign I didn’t like it that they were talking about me like I wasn’t there. I pointed at them, made a sign which meant talking and then pointed at myself. Corneel was confused, but Jon seemed to understand my intentions.

  “I know it’s frustrating and annoying for you being unable to talk. I wasn’t doing so on purpose, and I don’t think Corneel was either. Sorry.”

  “Do you understand her sign language?”

  “It’s not that hard. You just need to look at what s
he’s signing. You need to pay attention, Corneel.”

  I made a writing sign in the air.

  “Can you give me the translation of that fluttering around, Avalon?” Corneel asked.

  ‘seriously, Corneel? That just means she can write down what she wants to say. Annebel gave her a chalkboard and some chalk she can use to write. You’re going to need that, Tatiana. He won’t even make the effort to understand what you’re trying to sign.”

  Corneel was irritated by that as he sighed. “Don’t you have work to do, Avalon?”

  I rolled my eyes now. Boys... I walked past them, went downstairs, and fell into a chair in the kitchen. I was tired because of the work, and those two had exhausted me even more by bickering. The two guys entered the kitchen together.

  “I’m going to continue with my work,” Jon informed us.

  “Tatiana, grab your writing utensils. I’ll show you around,” Corneel ordered me.

  “Don’t get too close to the other wolves,” Jon shouted before he opened the door and left the house.

  “Don’t worry. They won’t hurt you. If Anton hasn’t been clear enough already, I’ll protect you,” Corneel said to me.

  I grabbed the chalkboard and the chalk from the kitchen table. I went outside with Corneel. He didn’t say anything while we walked through the streets between the houses. We headed straight towards the fields.

  “You’ll have to work. I think Anton will let you work on the fields,” he said.

  That was logical. Even in my human form, I had an affinity for the earth. Earth was my element. He seemed to have heard my thoughts.

  “Can you manipulate the earth now in your human form?” he asked, and I nodded. “Try to do that as little as possible. It reminds the others of what you are.”

  I understood that. It wasn’t my intention to use my element a lot. It was draining. It took a lot of energy to manipulate the earth, and it was even more taxing in human form. Some shape-shifters looked up and stared at me for a moment. But they didn’t have time to stare for long; they needed to continue working. We walked next to the small irrigation channels to the water pump. The wolves used it to pump out water from the ground. I saw Jon working a little bit farther away. Apparently, he oversaw the water supply. He made sure there was enough water flowing towards the fields. The tour was over in a heartbeat and we returned to Annebel’s house.

  There isn’t much to see here, is there? I wrote.

  “No, there isn’t. I am sorry for the short tour, but I thought you wanted to go outside for a bit. It’s handy you know where the fields are situated now. If Anton lets you work there, you won’t need to ask where you need to be.”

  We stood in front of the door to Annebel’s house. Corneel left me alone because he had to go back to work. I assumed I didn’t need to knock so I just opened the door and found Annebel sitting on the couch.

  “Oh, you’re back already. Did Corneel have to get back to work?” she asked, and I nodded.

  I sat down on the couch. She pointed towards the bookcase standing against the wall. “Do you like to read? I own several books. You can check if there’s anything interesting to you. You can read all of them. One of these days, Anton will assign you a workplace. Work will take up most of your day, but you’ll still have some free time.”

  It seemed like she knew me. I loved reading a lot. I hadn’t held a book for a while. I hadn’t had a lot of free time while I had been living in the mountains with the dragons. My job as a messenger had been a rather taxing one and had often left me exhausted. The times I had been free, I had needed to eat, wash myself, sleep, or fly outside. I didn’t think they had books in the mountains. It would be hard to read there. During the day everyone worked, and during the evening it was too dark to read outside, and the only indoor light source was the flickering light of the torches. Maybe the mountain druids had books, but they had time to read during the day.

  Annebel stood up and walked towards the bookcase. She grabbed a book from a shelf and handed it over to me. “Here, try this book.”

  I examined the front and the back cover. It was a book I was unfamiliar with. I started reading it, and it turned out to be a great recommendation. I got totally lost within its pages.

  Not many people visited me the next two days, so I had a lot of time to read. Only Jon came by daily, but he never had a lot of time. I hadn’t seen Corneel since he had shown me around, but I didn’t go outside, and he was probably busy.

  Someone knocked at the door, and Annebel opened it. I had assumed it was Jon again. I wondered why he always knocked. Annebel was his aunt, but maybe he wanted to be polite. It was an unpleasant surprise when Anton entered the living room. I instantly jumped up. It probably wasn’t very polite to sit while the alpha stood.

  “Dragon, it’s about time you contribute to our community by working.”

  I wasn’t happy at all with the tone he directed towards me, but I didn’t think he’d ever expend the effort to learn my name. He’d most likely always keep calling me dragon. I bowed my head to show respect and as a sign I agreed.

  “Because earth is your element, it’s logical for you to work on the fields.”

  I had expected this and had hoped for it too. On the fields, I could stay in touch with my element. Anton looked at me with an annoyed expression. He probably expected me to start working right away. I didn’t get a lot of explanation or instructions from him. It wasn’t necessary anyway. He could just rot in hell. I would never ask him anything. Most likely, I wouldn’t get an answer anyway. I strode past him towards the door. Once outside, I went straight to the fields. I was glad Corneel had given me a tour, even though it had been short.

  Nobody paid attention to me when I arrived at the fields. I noticed a piece which was lying fallow. I picked up one of the tools spread out over the ground and walked towards the wasteland. I raked the ground with the pickaxe. The earth was so hard, pain coursed through my arms.

  I noticed some wolves finally paying some attention to me now. They probably wondered why I was the only one working here. To them, this piece of land was useless; according to them, it needed to be unused and left to rest so they could cultivate it next year and maybe use it again in two years. Those rules didn’t apply to me; I’d show them the potential of this area. The upper layer was dead, but the layers below were full of life, I could feel that.

  I went to sit on my knees, right next to the place where I had put the pickaxe in the earth. I put my hand next to the point of the pickaxe. My fingers barely touched the metal. I tried to get the energy from the bottom layers, but the dead layer was too thick. I hadn’t put the pickaxe deep enough. I would have to do a lot more work here.

  I got back up and pulled the pickaxe from the ground. I almost fell over. I didn’t have a lot of strength, and the ground was as hard as a rock. Water would rehydrate and soften it. I looked up towards the blue sky and white clouds. It didn’t look like it would rain soon. I sighed. I threw the pickaxe on the ground and followed the irrigation channels towards the water pump. I was glad to find Jon immediately. He came towards me.

  “Tatiana? What are you doing here?” he asked.

  I pointed to the fields. Next, I tried to draw the shape of a bucket in the air. I thought my drawing wasn’t very clear; it looked more like a rectangle.

  “You work on the fields and you need a bucket?”

  I was very surprised he had understood that. I nodded heavily. He ordered me to wait, then he turned around and left me alone. He wasn’t gone long; he returned within minutes with a bucket filled with water. He placed it right at my feet. I was glad he had understood the bucket should be filled. I nodded gratefully, grabbed the bucket, and returned to the patch of land I had been working on. The wolves stared at me questioningly when I passed by them. Had they never seen a girl carrying a heavy bucket? I poured the water over the earth. One bucket wasn’t enough. I needed more.

  Eventually, I needed to run back and forth about five times to refill the buck
et. In the meantime, the wolves had gotten very curious about what I was up to. Some had even dropped their work to stare at me while I worked. But no one bothered me or asked me what I was doing.

  The ground became muddy as I poured more water over it. Picking the pickaxe back up, I started hammering the earth with it again. It was a lot easier to rake into the soil now. I continued to work until I thought I was deep enough. I had created a small and shallow pit. I sat on my knees and put my hand right next to the pickaxe again, feeling the bottom layers thriving with life. Feeling the stream of energy below my fingers, I brought the energy to the upper dead layer, bringing it back to life. Now, I didn’t feel the energy deep in the ground anymore, but at the surface and also in my fingers. I stood up, pulled the pickaxe out of the ground and filled the small pit again.

  Twenty-two

  A wolf – much taller than I was – stood in front of me when I finished. I looked up at him in a questioning manner while he spoke.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  I smiled faintly, only moving the corners of my mouth. Finally, someone had the guts to ask me what I was up to. I went to sit on my knees again and let flowers grow everywhere on the wasteland where I had been working. The wolves had thought the land to be worthless, but now it was a field filled with flowers. I heard everyone gasp. But the wolf who had spoken to me reacted very differently.

  “What have you done? What’s this? You’re ruining it! You’re ruining our land!” he yelled.

  He grabbed my left arm roughly and pulled me up. I didn’t resist when he dragged me with him. I had no energy left to fight back. He didn’t understand. His assumption was wrong. He thought I had ruined the land by letting flowers grow. But the ground wasn’t dead anymore. It was filled with vitality now. I could realise a lot, but it was difficult to even make flowers bloom from the dead earth, especially in my human form. I closed my eyes while the wolf dragged me with him. I focused my mind on the flowers. I felt their energy in my mind, but I also felt the earth under my feet.