The Impossible Dragon
Asha tried to get through, she really did, but everyone was bigger than her, and she got pushed out of the circle. She worked her way around the throng of kids, all clambering to get the best dragon, trying to find an opening. Finally, she saw an opening on her third way around. Maybe she would get a good dragon after all! However, as she pushed her way through she realized the opening was because all the dragons were taken.
Tears sprang to her eyes, she was the only one without a dragon. Maybe she didn’t belong here after all. Some eggs must not have survived the winter. Asha sank to the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees. She wasn’t a dragon tamer. Everyone cleared away, showing off their new dragons to family and friends, boasting that theirs was the best. Headmistress Vera saw Asha sitting in the middle of the hatching field and winced, her gray eyes sorrowful as they met wet black ones.
Suddenly, Asha felt something nuzzle her leg and looked down at the fiery, crimson body of a scaly fire dragon. Horrified, Asha slid away from it. It shuffled over to her, wobbly and unsteady. She heard the headmistress gasp and shout something. Soon, all the Master dragon tamers thundered down the steps and over to her, still edging away from the unwanted creature. Muttering and whispering spread like wildfire.
“A fire dragon!”
“...Dangerous…”
“Can you believe it?”
“I thought we had successfully unbred those…”
“...Not for a hundred years…”
“...Unstable, untamable…”
As it happened, Asha eventually backed into a rock and since she had no where else to go,the scarlet dragon caught up to her. It crawled on her lap, yawned to show it was hungry, and looked her straight in the eyes. Black met black and something sparked to life inside Asha. Fyra. Her name is Fyra. Her body felt calm and oddly whole, as if a fire had been lit in a cold hearth. Then it was gone. Rough hands grabbed her frail dragon and carried it away.
Crying out, Asha scrambled to her feet and ran after the swiftly retreating figure. “Where are you going with Fyra? Bring her back, she’s mine!”
Startled, Master Brynn turned and faced the white haired child scowling up at him. Asha snatched the tiny creature from Master Brynn’s hands and held Fyra under her belly. Asha stroked the little body from head to tail, comforting her cries. Something flashed in Master Brynn’s eyes, and, as understanding hit him, he gestured to the other masters to gather around the bonded girl and dragon. Then they escorted Asha up the worn, stone steps to the Meeting Room.
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