Disclaimer: The mere fact that this story is here and not in the bookstores is enough to let you know that I don't own anything. If I could, I would have taken Lily – Iskierka is my absolute favourite, but she's quite a handful. Lily is a proper dragon, and a clever one at that.

Changes

John Granby entered the dining room, still feeling quite sleepy. However, he felt better than he had in days, the wound he had received two months ago fully skinned over. He poured himself a cup of coffee, absently wondering what would happen to him now and where he would be going next. He knew for sure that his position with Laetificat had not remained vacant, so he was currently unassigned. It was a damned pity, for he had loved being a lieutenant of a Regal Copper – they were among the most valued dragons in Britain and it had been a serious promotion. Besides, Laetificat was a fine dragon, good-natured and easy-going, although lethal in battle. I wish I could have a dragon like her, Granby thought wistfully.

The coffee made him come to his senses and now he noticed the excitement that was quite literally making the room vibrate. The senior officers' meals were never quiet ones, but this morning, everyone was even noisier than usual, talking at the same time, discussing a marine battle, Imperials and stiff-necked naval officers.

Wait – Imperials?

"What's going on?" Granby asked, and Martin started talking, very exultantly, about something that was too good to be true. "Wait! Start all over again, will you?"

Martin, a great deal younger than Granby, took a deep breath and blurted out, "We've got an Imperial!"

"We've got a what?" Granby knew that he had heard correctly the first time, but it seemed so impossible. Imperials were something like a legend among all Western aviators. One could hear of a legend and even dream of it, but no one could have a legend. Especially such jealously guarded one – Chinese would never let such a beast leave the royal palaces, let alone the country.

"An Imperial! A navy ship won the egg in a battle against the bloody Frogs and it turned out to be an Imperial, can you imagine it?"

"No," Granby answered honestly, but anyway, Martin's excitement was contagious. "Are you serious?"

"Entirely. It's all the boys have been talking about for the last two hours. Langford and Volly were here. They've seen him with their eyes. They say he's entirely black."

"Entirely black?" Dragons were not supposed to be that colour, but then, with an Imperial, who could tell? Granby started to come to his senses. "Who harnessed him?"

"The captain of the ship."

"A sailor?" Granby was appalled. What on earth could a sailor know about a dragon, let alone an Imperial? They were all so stiff-necked, all pompousness and lordliness. They could not move one leg before the other without asking a bloody permission from their superiors who were just like them, only worse. And such a fellow had put the harness to an Imperial? Does he even realize what a treasure this dragon is? Granby asked himself and had to answer with a sad and angry No. The ruddy sailor would probably consider the rare creature a mere beast, barely worth more than a dog. An Imperial. A legend. We've only heard of them without even dreaming of having one – it seemed so impossible that we never gave it a thought. And now we had one and lost it to the inadequate treatment of a bloody seaman? One of our own seamen? Nit even a French one! That's rich. It can't be happening! "Wait!" The answer suddenly came to him and he felt stupid for worrying so much without reason. "They will surely give him a proper captain, one of our own. I mean, only a man brought up to the life can be trusted to make a full use of an Imperial. Where did it hatch?"

Martin was cheerfully making his way through a huge pile of eggs and bacon. "In the north Atlantic," he said, "and yes, they've already tried to give him a new captain, one of Laetificat's crew, as far as I remember."

It could only be Dayes – he had certainly earned his right to promotion and was considered a likely candidate for the first available dragon. Granby was so happy for his friend that he almost missed the implication in Martin's words. "What do you mean, they tried?" he asked sharply a few moments later. "What happened?"

"Temeraire – that's the dragon's name, - Temeraire refused to accept the guy. He insisted on his first handler and that was the end of it."

Yes, it certainly was, Granby thought. Dayes had just lost his right to promotion – and to a sailor, of all people! These guys were like weeds – they turned up where you least expected them. It was not enough that they thought themselves above everyone else – now, they had to lay their hands to a dragon. And an Imperial! Dayes would suffer the consequences for years, and the other aviators would have to put up with a seaman right in their midst!

"When are they coming?" Granby asked. There was no question that they would come: the Loch Lagen covert was the best place for still untrained dragons or handlers. And now it seems we're going to have both, he thought.

"They are on their way," Martin answered past his cup of coffee.

Granby suddenly lost his appetite to the last bits.

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So, that was the first chapter. Is it worth continuing? Let me know – I mean, review!