A Dragon for Christmas

by M. D. Neu

  “You don’t know.”

  Mattie nods. “Yes I do, ’cause you promised to marry me and we can’t do that unless we both have dragons.”

  I look into her eyes and smile and nod.

  Mattie always makes me feel better.

  “SEE, I TOLD you your mom would let you come outside with me and Gary.” Mattie brushes her ponytail back over her shoulder.

  “Why can’t I walk? Why do I have to sit in this stupid wheelchair?” I grumble as we watch a pair of Canadian Whites chase each other, using Gary as the target to run around. I was right about the air. The clouds and the slight chill make it smell fresh and clean, even with the musty smells of the dragons.

  “You know the rules. You can’t overdo while you’re recovering from the testing. The charms are good, but not that good. They can’t keep the curse away all on their own, just temporarily.” Mattie rubs a hand under Gary’s muzzle as he huffs out some smoke. “He’s getting annoyed at the Whites.”

  “Yah think?” I was getting annoyed just watching them.

  “Listen, in a few more weeks you’re going to go in for your final test. Once you pass, you get the charms for your dragon.” Mattie smiles at me.

  Gary snaps at the Whites and they scurry off.

  Mattie and I laugh to the point where we both start coughing. I don’t mind the coughing because it’s good being out with Mattie.

  “What do you think it’ll be like when we get older?” I ask after we both calm down.

  “We’ll have a big house with plenty of room for our dragons, of course.”

  “Of course.”

  “I’m going to be a detective. I want to help people.” Mattie leans back and glances up to the blue sky.

  “I think I want to be a magic teacher like my dad.” Dad promised to teach me after I get my dragon and come home.

  “That’d be cool.”

  “If I do that, I’ll get to bring my Blue Bottom with me to school.” I laugh. “That would be so amazing. Not a lot of magic teachers have dragons.”

  Mattie’s phone chirps, and she pulls it out of her pocket. She sighs. “It’s my mom. She says we need to come back. The DTs want to check you out again.”

  “They suck.”

  “If it helps you to get your dragon, does it really matter?”

  “I suppose not.” I release the brakes of my wheelchair, and we head back to my room. Gary flaps his big wings behind us.

  Chapter Two

  TODAY IS MY final test and I’m really nervous. If everything goes well, I’ll get my first set of charms that will link me to my dragon. Dad holds my hand as the DTs wheel me and my gurney down the hall to the testing center. I glance up at him. He’s so tall, like really tall—about six feet. His professor robes dust the floor, but it’s his hat that makes him look even taller. Strands of his brown hair peek from under the cap. We have the same brown hair. He faces me and smiles, and I see his dimples. I got those too.

  Mom chats with the Master Dragon Trainer ahead of us. She’s wearing jeans and a peach sweater. Her black hair bounces around her shoulders as she and the trainer talk.

  Dad stops our journey and reaches into his robes. “My class has been working on this charm for you.” He pulls out this little purple bag, and I get the whiff of rosemary and coffee. It kind of stinks. “I understand how important it is to you to get a Blue Bottom and you want it to be a girl just like you, so—” He tucks the bag into my hand. “—if you don’t get what you want, my whole class fails, so it might be a good idea for you to make sure it happens.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I slip the charm bag—bad odor and all—in my pocket.

  As long as I’ve been coming to dragon training, my dad has been making me charms. Unfortunately, magic isn’t an exact science, so sometimes they don’t work, but lucky for me, dad is smart and powerful so they mostly work. Well, to some degree.

  “Dad?”

  He squeezes my hand.

  “What if a dragon doesn’t pick me?”

  “Carmen, the dragons have already selected you, I have to believe that,” he says. “They chose you the day you were born.” He gives my hand another squeeze. “Today is all about ensuring you’re ready for the bonding.”

  “But last time…” I glance at my feet.

  He squats and takes my face in his big hands. “We pushed you too hard last time. We all knew the risks, but we thought… ” He inhaled. “You weren’t ready. That’s why you couldn’t see your dragon, and that’s why you got the Yellow-Tip. It wasn’t what any of us wanted, but we hoped. I guess the dragons weren’t ready for you then, but now they are.”

  “How do we know I’ll be ready this time?”

  He peeked up to Mom and then around the hall. “Do you feel ready?”

  I nod.

  “Can you picture your dragon? Every detail?”

  I close my eyes.

  Blue with purple highlights and purple eyes. She’s going to have a long muzzle and sharp pointed horns at the top of her head that grow in smaller spikes down her neck to her back. Her wings are going to be huge, double her height. Her arms will end in four-fingered paws so she can hold things if she wants, or if she needs to fight. She’s going to have a long sleek tail that has three spikes at the end.

  “You picturing her now?”

  I nod again and open my eyes.

  “Do you feel ready?”

  “I think… I know I’m ready. I can feel it.” I play with the ends of my long hair, twisting it in my fingers.

  “That’s my girl.” He hugs me tight. “When you were seven and we found out you were special, your mother and I weren’t sure what we were going to do. Curses are scary stuff, even with the best magic and most powerful charms. It wasn’t easy for us, but we learned all there was about dragons and I know, deep down, you’re going to be the best Dragon Keeper out there.”

  “You sure?”

  “Of course. You’re my daughter, and you can do anything you want.”

  “Even marry Mattie?” I figured I would push how far his support would go since he was being so supportive.

  “If that’s what you and Mattie want, then your mother and I will be there and we’ll have the biggest and best wedding for the two of you possible.”

  I wrap my arms as much as I can around Dad.

  “I hope you’re saving a hug or two for me.” Mom says.

  “We are,” Dad says.

  My mom pulls me and Dad tight. All three of us are quiet for a bit, but finally Mom whispers, “You ready?”

  I pull back from them and nod. Suddenly, I’m scared. I want this to work so much. I want to get my dragon, and I want it to be before Christmas. According to the DTs, Christmas Dragons are even more magical and more powerful than other dragons. They say the bond at Christmas is the strongest because of all the Christmas magic in the world. I hope they’re right.

  The Master Dragon Trainer walks over to my gurney.

  “I was talking to the Master Dragon Trainer, and everything is ready for your test.” Mom smiles, but her eyes are red and that means she’s been crying again.

  The Master Dragon Trainer peers down to me. “Well, Carmen, this is it. You excited?”

  I gulp. I wish Mattie was here with me. My parents promised that she’ll be there when I’m finished. Dad even talked to Mattie’s parents about it while I was there with them all. I wish she could be here now. I could do anything with Mattie by my side.

  “I think she’s a little worried,” my dad says, not letting go of my hand.

  “All your tests have been excellent. You’ve scored higher than 90 percent of our candidates. You’re as ready as I’ve seen. You’ll be fine,” Master Dragon Trainer Baqri says. His white teeth stand out against his caramel-colored skin and short black hair.

  “Will you be with me the entire time?” I ask.

  Master Trainer Baqri nods. “Of course, Carmen. I’m with all my candidates during their final test as are my team of DTs. We just need you to give us the g
o-ahead.”

  I inhale and glance up at my mom and dad. I smile. “I can do this.”

  Dad wraps his arm around Mom’s waist. “Of course you can. I’ve never doubted it.”

  “We’ll see you after your test.” Mom is standing there so tall and strong I really want to be like her when I grow up, even though we don’t always get along.

  “You’ve got my charm?” Dad rustles my hair.

  I pull out the stinky bag and show him.

  “Remember,” he says with a wink, “all seventy of my students passing rely on you passing today.”

  I smile at him and stuff the charm back into my pocket. “I’m ready.” My dad won’t fail his class, but it was nice of him to say that.

  My folks stand there, and the charm in my pocket begins warming up.

  The DTs seem to appear from the walls and start pushing me again. We follow Master Trainer Baqri through a large set of double doors, then another set of doors into a large white room. I look around at all the testing equipment and wrap my hand around the charm.

  “Carmen, what is the name of your new dragon?” Master Trainer Baqri asks.

  It’s all right to tell him. It’s part of the rules. “Her name’s gonna be Rella.”

  “Rella.” He makes a note of something. I can hear him writing. “What kind of dragon is Rella going to be?”

  “A Blue Bottom from Tahoe.”

  “That sounds like an amazing dragon. I want you to close your eyes and start to picture your Blue Bottom. Every detail, and let’s hope your Blue Bottom named Rella hears you.”

  I do as I’m told, and I start to picture Rella. She’s blue with purple highlights and purple eyes. She has a long muzzle and sharp pointed horns at the top of her head that grow in smaller spikes down her neck to her back. Her wings are going…

  I BLINK MY eyes clear. The sky is bright blue. The air is cool and damp, and the rushing wind whistles in my ears and blows my hair back. I glance down, and I’m on the back of my fully grown dragon. She’s beautiful. Every detail about her unchanged. Even down to the three fingers and thumb on each of her paws. Her eyes are the color of lilacs, and her skin is so blue it almost vanishes in the sky. Just like I pictured, her wings are purple.

  I raise up my hands as we sore past a big puffy white cloud. “This is amazing.”

  Rella goes into a nosedive and I hold on. Her power and speed force me close to her back. Her skin is so warm. I can’t believe it. This is better than anything imaginable.

  I was expecting her skin to be hard and scaly, but it’s soft and smooth. It moves easily under my touch.

  She glances back at me and nods. I run my hand along her back and lower neck. I love this. I’m able to control her movements with simple touches. I read that as you and your dragon’s bond continues to grow, you can think commands and she’ll do it.

  I think about home and Rella banks to the east towards my distant neighborhood. We get real low to the trees. Everything is decorated for Christmas. All the Christmas lights and the displays in people’s yards. Up ahead I see my house. There aren’t any lights up, and I don’t see the tree in the front window. I guess my parents didn’t want to do anything this year with me at dragon training.

  Next year, I’m gonna help, and we’re gonna have a big tree with lots of presents and more lights on the house than anyone else. Rella huffs and I rub her neck. “Right, girl? Next Christmas is gonna be huge, and we’ll both be there.”

  Rella circles my house a few times. I get a faint scent of fresh cookies. It must be the neighbors. They always bake. I love the aroma from their house at Christmas. I hope they are going to bring us cookies this year.

  I wonder if I could fly to Mattie’s house from here with Rella. It’s a long trip by car, but on the back of my dragon, we’d be there in no time. “I bet you could have us there in minutes.” I rub Rella’s neck again. She clicks her jaw, and a quake runs through her body.

  Is that a dragon laugh?

  “I want to see the park.”

  Rella’s giant wings flap, and soon enough, we’re downtown. It’s night, and Christmas in the Park is all lit up. The big tree outside the hotel and all the carnival rides flicker like jewels in a treasure box. It’s so pretty. I haven’t been down here since I was little, way before my dragon training. Mom and Dad brought me, and I got to sit on Santa’s lap. I love seeing all the displays and the trees. The smells of hot cocoa fill my nose, and I get hints of cinnamon from the food vendors.

  People wave to us as we fly back. I lift both my hands and pump them in the air, and people clap and cheer. Rella’s neck elongates, and her wings flap, shifting up to the right then to the left.

  She is showing off.

  A choir sings “Silent Night” on the main stage next to the huge Christmas tree. The words and music echo off the buildings. My cheeks are aching from all my grinning. Laughter catches my ear, and I turn, which causes Rella to move in that direction, and we fly over to the ice skating rink. I want to do that when I’m finished with training. I can’t wait to do all these new things once I get Rella.

  As amazing as this all is, it’s time to get back to the training campus. I want to fly away with Rella, find Mattie and Gary, and the four of us fly far away. That would be so amazing.

  “Someday,” I whisper as we head back to the campus.

  Chapter Three

  GRADUALLY, I OPEN my eyes. My mouth tastes like a sandbox, and I can’t move. As I blink my eyes, I remember flying on Rella. Totally amazing. I was free and happy, and it was the best I felt in a long time—well, since all the training and testing started. I take a deep breath and sleepily glance around. I’m back in my room. I’m not on the gurney anymore, so I must be better.

  “Mija.” My mom jumps from her chair next to my bed.

  “I’m tired.” I manage to say.

  “The testing was harder than they thought. They had to bring in a specialist and additional equipment,” Dad says. He’s on the other side of my bed.

  I turn to face him.

  “How are you feeling? Can we get you something?”

  “Did it work?” I try and shift, but my body is slow to respond. “Did I get my dragon? I don’t feel any different.” I see all sorts of charms around me—some I’d never seen before and some I was unfortunately too familiar with, like the one to keep the curse away. That one always makes my stomach upset so I can’t eat. I hoped never to see that particular charm again. But it’s here so maybe the testing didn’t work.

  “We haven’t been told yet.” My mom hugs me.

  “Where’s Mattie?”

  “Outside.” Dad lets go of my hand. I didn’t realize he was holding it. “Everyone is here. Mattie and her folks as well as your Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Joaquin and your grandparents.”

  “Okay,” I say through a drowsy haze.

  “We were worried about you.” Mom lets me go. “The final test took longer than expected. The DTs and Master Trainer Baqri were with you, so we had to wait for news until you were finished.”

  “Did I get my dragon?” I think I asked already, but I don’t remember the answer.

  “Mija, we don’t know.” Mom takes my hand in hers.

  I think I frown, but the side of my mouth is a little wet so I probably drool instead.

  Gross.

  I reach up with my other hand and wipe my mouth. I sniff and the stink of the coffee and rosemary assault my nose. I drop the charm and it lands on my lap.

  They let me keep it. I thought that wasn’t allowed. Something must have gone wrong.

  The door creaks open and I turn my head. The light from the hall floods into my room, and standing there is the outline of Mattie. She rushes over next to my mom, stopping short of jumping on the bed.

  “I saw Rella,” I say.

  “Rella?” Mattie asks.

  “I named my dragon, Rella. After Cinderella, your favorite movie.”

  Mattie smiles. My body warms and my heart speeds up.

  Mom lo
oks at her, then over to Dad as everyone shuffles in. Both sets of grandparents are here and Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Joaquin. I never realized how small the room was until everyone piled in.

  Everyone is talking so fast and my mind is moving so slow that I don’t understand much of anything. My grandparents are fussing, not over me, yet, but over my mom and dad. I’m glad for the break. There are four of them and only one of me, and that’s a lot of fussing. My uncle chats about how I better be getting my dragon after all this, or he is going to have a conversation with the DTs and Master Trainer. Mattie’s parents are talking with my parents about the process and what to expect at this point.

  Mattie pulls over a chair and takes my hand.

  I give it a squeeze. It feels nice and makes all my worry and fear vanish. Still I have to ask. “Where’s my dragon?” I whisper.

  “It’ll show up. You’ll feel it.”

  “But the bonding.” I frown. I need to start the bonding right away, and I have to get the new charms or none of it will work and I won’t be protected from the curse. At least according to the books.

  “But, it’s almost Christmas, and it won’t matter. You’ll end up with the best possible bond.” Mattie pats my hand.

  “Mattie.” I lean closer and glance over to my family who are all busy talking. “Mattie, I’m scared. What if it doesn’t work? You had your dragon right away.”

  Mattie’s gaze narrows, and for the first time in all the years we’ve known each other, I know she is angry, her blue eyes bore into me. “Don’t you talk like that, Carmen Maria Garcia. You’re going to get your dragon. We’re both going to have dragons, and that’s that.” She squeezes my hand tight enough to make her point.

  “Okay,” I’m not sure I believe her, but I don’t want to upset her more than I already have.

  We sit there quietly, not talking, watching each other. My abuela comes over and stuffs my hand with a new charm. My dad’s family is big on charms. This one smells like vanilla and cinnamon. As far as charms go, this one smells great. I sit there as my abuela says a few prayers with me, and Mattie gets pushed farther away as all the fussing begins.