Not one of my longest or one of my better. T_T. I don't own Jane and the Dragon. Please read and hopefully enjoy.


Fitting In

Dragon looked from his perch on the castle wall, down at the courtyard where the knights usually practice. Today, however, it was almost empty, save for himself and Jane, who was smacking around the dummy with a wooden sword. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

It had only been about a week since he had met Jane, and he cherished their friendship dearly, but what he didn't like was that when he came down to watch Jane practice, all the other knights would leave the yard as soon as they saw him coming. It wasn't that they were afraid of him, no, they just plain hated him. Jane had tried the best she could to make her friend feel somewhat welcome when he came, but it didn't stop the fact that he had heard the knights whispering to one another on several occasions, calling him a 'savage beast' and 'fire-breathing monster'. They didn't dare say anything directly to him, in that they were frightened of him. But the whispering still bothered him like a haunt, and they wouldn't let him or Jane get near enough to tell them to stop.

A small movement down in the courtyard caught his eye, and he straightened up just in time to see the princess, Lavinia, skip merrily into the yard. Suddenly, she looked over to him, an unreadable expression on her face. Dragon tried to give a friendly wave, but once he saw her eyes land apprehensively on his claws, he drew them out of sight. He was trying to make a good impression, not scare her!

While he was berating himself for an apparently failed chance to break the ice, he failed to notice Lavinia tap Jane, pulling the young squire out of her practice session. Lavinia whispered something in Jane's ear, lightly pointing to Dragon for a moment. Jane thought, then whispered back, a small smile on her face. And with that, the princess turned and skipped out, and Jane resumed her practice. Dragon on the other hand, had only tuned into the last few seconds of the exchange, and didn't catch any words at all.

What was all that about?

A few hours later, Jane and Dragon returned from a fantastic patrol just in time to catch a few ladies-in-waiting including Jane's mother, rushing about the castle, calling for Lavinia as they went.

"Mother, what has happened?" Jane asked, just managing to get her mother's attention before she could follow the flock.

"It is the princess, Jane! She is nowhere to be found! You haven't seen her have you?"

"Not since this morning, no." Jane replied, a troubled look adorning her face. Dragon gave a light wince. He hoped nothing bad had happened to the little girl.

While Jane's mother hurried off with the other ladies in waiting, Jane turned to the lizard behind her with a concerned look that mirrored his own.

"Dragon, would you be alright checking the castle from the air?"

"Alright, but what about you?"

"I'll go see to some areas that they might have not thought to check yet. Are you certain you will be alright?" His friend asked again, a different kind of worry in her voice. Over the last week, Dragon had been very unwilling to leave her side. It was understandable, since a majority of the castle scorned the out-of-place reptile like he was a blot on the fine name of their kingdom.

"Better start looking for that princess quickly, men, before the fire-breather gets her. You know how they get around princesses." A knight said off to the side of the courtyard, quiet enough to escape Jane's ears but loud enough for Dragon to hear. His face turned from meekly impassive to a boldly vivid glower. He was tired of them insulting him behind his back, and of their disrespecting him and Jane. He was going to show them that he could be good for something, and that he could earn their respect.

"I'll be fine." He replied before taking off for the airspace around the castle. Jane looked after him for a moment, wondering what had brought about the change, before remembering the urgency of the task at hand and starting off for what she knew were a few of the princess's favorite hiding places.

Dragon soared around one of the turrets of the castle, keeping one eye on the towers and one eye on the search below. He saw Jane darting around to different places that he didn't think were even possible to accommodate one little girl. The reptile had the feeling that Lavinia did this often, finding more and more elaborate hiding spots as she went. His mind was half on the search, half on the remark that he had just heard. Why did shortlives feel a need to pick at things like that? All he wanted to do was to help his friend on her way to knighthood, was that really all that bad?

His inner rant was interrupted when he spotted a flicker of light violet on a castle tower.

He flew a little closer, and nearly fell out of the sky in shock. Lavinia was standing on the stone border of the tower, and walking on it like balancing on a tightrope. By the way she was wobbling, and how she was dangerously close to the edge, the only outcome that he could think of happening was her falling to her probable death on the cobblestones a good ways down.

A few people below had noticed the scene, and were pointing up at the little princess, calling for her to come down, hopefully not in any drastic change of height. Dragon's instinct overcame any initial fear, and he dove for the little girl before she could hurt herself. He could hear people shouting from below, but the words seemed to be almost non-existent in his ears, his mind focused solely on getting Lavinia to solid ground. Reaching out, he let out a sigh of relief as he felt his paws cup lightly around the girl.

Dragon flew her carefully down to the courtyard below, eyes trying not to fall on those of the more livid looking knights. If he thought they had hated him before, he'd sure hate to think what they'd do now that he'd outshined them. It wasn't something he wanted to dwell on at the moment.

The lizard tried to focus on the fact that the king was coming over to thank him, and collect his daughter, but right away his ears picked up the whispering from the knights. Hurting, stinging words that felt like hot pokers were coming at him from the group, making him want to speak up, or at least show some indication that he wasn't going to take much more of the abuse. His attention was drawn back to the king when the princess climbed out of his paws and practically dove into her father's waiting arms. The scene momentarily warmed his heart, bringing a small smile to his face, and he decided to throw in his own bit.

"I'm just here to help." He was looking meaningfully at the knights as he said it, letting them know it was his stand. At first, it would seem that his well-chosen words had no effect on the cold-hearted metal-clads, but a few began to look at Dragon with intentness, as though seeing the lizard in a new light. Dragon nodded in their direction, showing no hard feelings. The others were all looking like he was something that crawled out of a sewer drain and died. He sighed; couldn't win them all, but at least he had gotten through to a few of them. That alone was good enough.

He spied Jane coming over, giving a quick bow before throwing a questioning glance at Dragon. He shook his head a little, indicating that now wasn't the time or place.

A little later, he and Jane had retreated to Jane's tower, and were now discussing the events of the late morning. While they were talking, Dragon happened to notice a knight down in the yard, swinging away at the dummy. When he spun around to strike again, the knight's eyes caught his, and it was as though an invisible beam of understanding went between them. The man nodded curtly, and Dragon returned the gesture before coming back to their conversation. Not by much, but it was definitely a step up from prior treatment.

"I'm sorry I sent you off by yourself." Jane was saying.

"Oh, no it's alright. I was fine." Dragon amended. She would have no idea how much it had helped.


There. This one ran on the idea that everything couldn't have been comfortable for the first few days of visiting on Dragon's end. Not really happy with it, but if you like, you like. Please review.