by Karine Green
“Who?”
He closed his eyes and clicked his heels together three times, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." He opened one eye so he could look around, nothing had happened, except that Méi was now looking at him like he was insane with one eye wide open and one half closed.
"What are you doing?" she asked, putting one ear straight up, and the other straight back.
"Nothing," he said, frowning. "Just stupid wishful thinking." He opened both eyes and looked around him. The vegetation was so different from anything he’d ever seen, but recognizable. It was all bigger, and seemed commingled, such as the Redwood-Willows. Even the raspberry bush seemed more like a small tree than a bush.
"You need to rest," she said, standing up to her full height on all four legs. "Come on, it’ll be dark soon. I have a small den over here. You can stay with me tonight. The hunters will come out soon because they think dragons are nocturnal. Humans are easy to run off four or five at a time, but thirty present a challenge when you are alone." She flicked her tail at him for him to follow her, much like a human would draw their finger in and out to tell someone to come over.
She led him to a low rocky area. It was covered with thick ground vegetation. She nudged back the vines and bushes with her snout, revealing a small cave and crawled inside. "I know it’s small, but we'll both fit, don't worry. It just looks that way from the outside. We won't be able to hide here much longer. We'll be entering our final growth spurt before adulthood soon, then we’ll be too big."
The cave was much larger on the inside than the entrance seemed to suggest. It was also warm. He shivered as he warmed up. "I hadn't realized how cold it had become."
"I warmed it earlier with my dragon's breath. It should keep us warm all night as the rocks cool off," she said, looking around proudly. "I haven't spent time with another dragon for thirteen years; basically, since I bit the White Witch and ran into the forest to hide." Mei abruptly sat down as she realized she was wagging her tail so hard it was shaking her whole body. "Sorry."
"For what? You didn't bite me."
"Wagging my tail like that. It is the behavior of an excited pup, not a teenage Fire Dragon entering adulthood." Her cheeks turned a deeper red, almost maroon color.
"Wow, a fire-breathing dragon. What sort of dragon am I?" he asked looking around. The walls had scorch marks on them. He guessed that he would not have liked it in the cave earlier. It would have been far too hot.
"You are an Air Dragon," she explained. "That makes us Elemental Dragons.”
“Whoa, cool. How many types of dragons are there?”
“There are two types of dragons, Elemental and Common. The Elementals keep nature in balance. There are four breeds, Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. I know we all have our formal so-called business, but I am not sure about the particulars. I had only completed my young pup's education for Fire Dragons before the war broke out. There are gaps in my knowledge. I know that the weather has been catastrophically wild since the adult dragons have nearly become extinct. Snow one day. Beach weather the next. Dry river beds, in rivers that have no history of ever being dry. Raging currents in river beds that have been dry for centuries. Super strong earthquakes – in strange places, forest fires running wild, terrible lightning storms, tsunamis so large entire villages are engulfed and carried off. Nothing is in balance."
“That’s quite a list.” He made a face. "What do the others do...the Common ones," he asked, forcing himself to sit calmly, and avoid wagging his tail.
"Common Dragons, such as Mountain Dragons, Dragon Sharks, Stone Dragons, and Sand Dragons, can all crossover two elements, but cannot control them like we can. They work well within their two elements. For example, Stone Dragons are of Fire and Earth. I’m just Fire, but I can control every aspect of Fire where Stone Dragons have a muted control over it, but also a muted control over earth. Earthquakes and lava flows do not bother them in the least. They can assist us, but the two of us would need an Earth Dragon to gain complete control over Earth."
He did not understand what she was talking about. "Maybe I should start with the basics. What is Air business?" he asked, tilting his head as he held up his claw to look at it. It was clear, hard like a diamond.
Mei shrugged, "I don't know, I am Fire. After my parents were slain by the Secular hunters all I had to learn from was a few pup’s scrolls. The Red Witch in charge at our village arranged with the White Witch of the South for me to go into hiding with what they called the 'Four Noble Dragons.’ But, I bit the White Witch and ran away." She walked in circles trampling her leaves before lying down. "Here," she said, kicking some over to him. Her obsidian claws scratching on the rock and making a terrible noise. She made a face, "I hate it when that happens." She clenched her paw up, but then quickly scratched on a scorched log to her left. "Whew, that’s better."
He stood there staring at her. "Hold on a minute. I was just a human, walking; lost in the forest. How did I come to be here? I mean right here with you?" He craned his neck to look down at his dragon body. He was so muscular in comparison with his human form.
"You walked in the cave entrance." She pointed with her tail toward the opening to the cave.
"That isn't what I mean. I am not from here. I came through some magic portal," he paused, clicking two of his claws together. "Or something." He didn’t believe in magic portals.
"I don't know. We can go ask the White Witch. I think she made her home on the far continent, on its western shores, or perhaps that was the Green Witch? Maybe we should just start out at Blue Valley. It was once the dragon capitol. We'll fly out in the morning, and figure it out. Meanwhile, enjoy the full belly and take a nap. We can go out again after midnight. The men rarely hunt after then anyway. They carry on about evil witches coming out. Frankly, humans are nuts." She curled up like a cat in a little cat bed with her leaves piled up around her. "We should put them in a deep pit and roast them all."
"Are you kidding? I am here with a fire-breathing dragon who just fed me raw deer. Then I gnawed on some antlers until they were gone. I need answers," he said, putting his hands -- no, his paws on his hips, accidentally poking himself with them. He jumped, rubbing the spot. He snorted, blowing his leaves around.
Mei covered her face with her tail to keep the leaves out of her eyes. "Well, I am not trying to mate with you if that is what you are suggesting. Despite how handsome you are; we are too young for that. I am just trying to keep you alive. Now please rest, and we will set out later to seek her. I have my own questions."
He stared at her for a moment with his mouth dropped open. Handsome? Then he muttered, "Not too young," as he turned around to face toward the cave entrance so he could gather his leaves back up. He wasn't sure why he’d said it. She was a hideous dragon. He glanced over his shoulder. No, she wasn't, she was beautiful, and her striping was complimentary. He cut himself off mid-thought; no, she was a hideous, scary, fire-breathing dragon.
"What was that?" Mei asked, opening one gold eye to stare at him.
"Nothing! See you in the...umm...after midnight." He closed his eyes, but he lay curled up like a dog for a long time, unable to sleep.
Santarini and Sarnia
They loaded Arlen onto the cart, and pulled it down to the dungeon, stuffing him into a cell and locking the door. The walls were made of enormous, grimy, concrete blocks, and they smelled musty. His cell was dark except for the dancing glow of the torches that lit the corridor.
"Did you see him bite Sanquin's arm off?" A tall one asked.
The other grunted, "How are we going to feed him?"
"We really won't have to worry about it, just breed him, and whatever happens to him is whatever happens to him. We can raise the young to be obedient man-fearing dragons. He is too old to train anyway."
"He hasn't reached adulthood, he still has a smooth tail. His tail-horns haven't grown in yet."
"Yeah, and we shall be thankful for that. Still he has his ta
il buds so it won't be long before that tail is lethal, with five inch horns. Come, I want to be there when the Brown Witch tells the King we found a living Elemental Dragon."
Both guards left.
There was a tapping that sounded like claws on concrete in the cell across from him.
"Hey," a whisper came from across the hallway.
Arlen couldn't talk, he lay there, trying to figure out what had just happened.
"He can't talk," a soft, kind voice said. "They belted him, probably to keep him from drowning, freezing, or instantly dehydrating them."
Arlen wanted to add; or throwing shards of ice arrows at them.
"Hello, I am Sarnia, this is Santarini, but everyone calls her Rini. You are in the Mad Dragon King's Palace. We heard you asking questions upstairs, before the struggle. Sounds travel well in the vents here. No wonder he can't keep secrets from his staff."
"Shuuusshsh, Sarnia, you know we don't call him the Mad Dragon King where humans can hear," Rini said.
"Oh, sorry, you are in the Royal Palace of King Lahay, Great and Merciful Liberator of the Common Dragons. Oh, we are so thankful that our master granted us freedom from the Elemental Dragons' rule."
"Well, there is no reason to go overboard."
Arlen scooted over to look out his cell door so he could see who the voices belonged to.
"Are you alright?” A jet-black dragon asked. She had dark gray stripes and a soft round face that reminded Arlen of photographs he had seen of an Egyptian Asp. Dragon or not, Arlen thought she was beautiful. He also briefly wondered if the girls were poisonous, like an Asp.
The other black dragon nodded. "We are pleased to meet an Elemental Dragon. We thought you were all dead."
Sarnia also had the same striping and pretty round face like Rini's, but Arlen couldn't take his gaze off Rini's emerald green eyes. He shook his head.
She's a freaking dragon. He scolded himself. Maybe Nancy is right, maybe I do have a problem with wanting women. As soon as I wake up from this nightmare, I will seek the counseling she urged me to get. He closed his eyes, waited for a second, and then opened them. I am still not in the hospital...damn.
Arlen stared out his cell door, unable to process this situation, but couldn't stop thinking there was something about Rini, and only Rini, that he found to be very attractive. But more than being attracted to her, he wanted to ask what an Elemental Dragon was. He sighed, there was no maybe...
Nancy's right. I am a sex addict. Wayne, you just had a royal beating, in two different worlds, and the first thing you think of is meeting and spending time with a girl. Then another thought struck him. They said they were going to breed me and take my children as slaves while leaving me to die. He snorted hard in an attempt to loosen the belt, but something else came to him. They didn't mean slaves, it sounded more like beasts of burden. Whatever they were going to do, it didn't sound like it involved me, and my future family being free. What was he thinking? I don't want a family right now unless it is my own mother to hide behind. I would even hide behind Nancy right now.
Belinda had said, he had his mother's good looks. He had no memory of his real parents and had forgotten they’d existed. He looked at the striping on his back. He tried to focus in on it, tried ...for a second...to imagine he was indeed hiding behind his mother.
Tears stung his eyes, as images of his mother filled his memories, the beautiful Water Dragon Minister. He remembered something: It was his mother lifting him out of her pouch when he was three months old, by his tail. She had carried him to his bedroom to sleep in his own little pond bed. He shifted his thoughts.
That couldn't be real. My mother died when I was almost six years old. They said she had been stabbed by her boyfriend. Dad had died before I was born; killed during in action while he was deployed overseas.
He thought for a moment; the part about his father was the only part that was true. He tried, but couldn't remember why his father had died, or what his mother’s name was beyond, Mom.
He took a deep breath and somehow got a mouth full of water. He choked it out of his nostrils. If he hadn’t been gagged, he would have yelled, "What the Hell was that." Instead, he just snorted...more water. This time, he swallowed it.
He had to get out of here. He curled up and used his hind claws to start scratching at the strap on his snout.
Stupid guards, didn't tie me up very well.
Dunia And Blue
“Oh my God.” Dunia looked up at the cliff- it was a dizzying height. It was almost like she couldn’t breathe. “Where is it!” How did she get here?
She pounded the wall with her fist. "This isn't funny! Open the door," she demanded, now angry. She pulled the towel tighter around her body as she tried to keep her voice steady. “Coach! Brittany! Sonya!”
"On time, as always, Great Lady. I knew you would come back here," a scratchy voice came from behind her. "Why are you holding your wings like that? They'll go to sleep and get all tingly."
She turned to face an old white man with a long whitish-silver beard, and dark blue robes that reminded her of something a wizard would wear. "Do I know you? Where am I?" This guy looked like he was a hundred. "Wings?" She looked back up to the edge of the cliff. “How did I get here? Have I died.”
He chuckled. "Home Lady Dunia, you are home. My, how you have grown," he said, beaming at her as he folded his hands under his chin. Then he motioned for her to follow him, "Let's get you hidden before someone sees you. Although I don't know who would see you this far out in the wilderness. That is why this place was chosen for your return location. But, let's not chance it."
"Who are you? I am not going anywhere with a strange, old, ZZ Top looking white dude. What if you're a serial killer?" she asked, backing away from him. She could run- fast.
"Ah, you don't remember," he bowed deeply, "I am the Blue Wizard, Brovast, most people call me Blue. The Earth Wizard couldn't meet you since he caused the war. I am of Water, but I will try my best. Come now, don't dawdle, Great Dragon," he said, again motioning for her to follow him.
"Great Dragon?" she wasn't sure whether or not to be offended. "Most people call me Demi, for short, and calling a black girl Great Dragon is offensive," she said tersely.
"Of course, Lady," he said, walking around to the side of her. He held up her tail to show her. "I told the White Witch that Forgottenness was too powerful. You can't even remember who you are. You were taken into hiding by the remainder of the Human Magical Council, out of fear that all the noble dragons would be wiped out.”
She stared at the tail. “What is that?
“We are sorry this had to happen to you, but we had tried everything...," he heaved a heavy sigh, "Great Lady, we were defeated. It was all we could do to get you and the other three to safety. We fear the Fire Dragon Minister's daughter was lost. She panicked and ran into the forest after biting the White Witch. No one has seen the poor little dragon pup since the Turning Battle of the Great Losing."
"I said! What is that!" she pointed at her tail and then spotted her legs...no hindquarters. She pulled her hand back up and held it directly in front of her eyes. "I am missing a pinky finger, and this manicure has got to go!" She looked down her back. She was a brown dragon with darker brown, tan, and black striping that reminded her of a Burmese Python. She looked down at her towel and realized it was wings. She let go of them, and the wings tucked away, camouflaged against her back. Then, she spread her wings out as she looked down at her diamond claws.
"Oh, Great Dragon- Great Lady Dunia, do not fly! We are in enemy territory! They will slay you. We must get you inside. Please! Come. I have..." The ground shook beneath him. "No, please, you are the Earth Dragon. I promise you are fine. Everything will be okay. I swear it on my life." He held up his hands. "Please come, I will explain everything over a nice cup of tea, and then you will remember who you are." He patted her shoulder and pointed toward the woods.
She looked up at the cliff. If she hung on the side, she would be perfectl
y camouflaged against it. The ground stopped shaking as she sat down and took in a deep breath, "I did that?"
"Yes, as I said, you are an Earth Dragon; The Earth Dragon. Your father was the Earth Dragon Minister. Hence your title, Great Dragon. You are his only heir. If you were a human girl, you would be Duchess Dunia of the Earth Ministry." He, again, motioned for her to follow. His body language becoming more urgent. "I have some tea and food you can drink and eat, and then I will show you everything I know once the tea has taken effect and you can remember properly."
She nodded and followed him, staring at the bamboo forest that seemed to stretch out in every direction.
Blue continued to smile, “You have returned one year before you grow into full adulthood. You were always on time for everything. I think your mother had something to do with that.”
He led her about fifty yards into the forest. She looked up at the trees. "These are strange trees. I don't remember seeing trees like this, ever in my life. They look like bamboo, but not." She looked and saw a small cabin that looked about the size of her foster parent's little two-bedroom apartment. "I don't remember this place either. Did I live here?" She drew in a sharp breath to steady her nerves asking, "Are my parents here?"
"I am sorry Great Lady, they were killed at the beginning of the war. We were lucky to save you. This is normally my winter home. I like the snow. It belonged to my great-grandfather’s dragon-Marut. You lived in your family's palatial barn in Blue Valley." He led her inside, closed the door, and then drew all the curtains closed. "Here." He handed her an antler. "I'll get the tea ready. The fire is already started, so it won't take long. Then you will remember everything, and I'll answer all of your questions."
"Am I supposed to decorate my so-called-barn-home with this?" She was confused. "What is it with white men and antlers?"
