It had been a long day and I was exhausted when I walked through the door. All I wanted to do was sleep—a rarity in and of itself. But she greeted me with her shining blue eyes and her smile full of wonder and delight. It was infectious, and I found myself grinning back at her despite the weariness in my bones. She had something hidden behind her back as she ran up to me. She rocked on her tiptoes in front of me, beckoning me to kneel down to her level.
As I crouched in front of her, she pulled out a fistful of the red flowers that were blooming along the driveway to the house. Her fingernails were grimy with dirt, a sign that she had picked them herself. I wondered at how she had managed to avoid soiling her white uniform in the process as I took the bouquet from her. She took my cheeks in her hands and pulled my face toward her so that our noses touched. Her pale hair tickled my cheek as she then wrapped her arms around my neck. I scooped her up in one arm, relishing the fact that she was still small enough for me to do so, and carried her into the kitchen. She giggled joyously as she bounced in my arms, squirming to get down and run herself.
I let her go as we reached the door and she streaked off through the busy room, narrowly avoiding the cooks that were hard at work. Her moonlight ponytail rippled behind her like a pennant in the wind as she ran out into the garden behind the kitchen. I loosened my tie as I wove my own way through the hustle to follow her, nodding to the chef as I passed.
She danced through the flowers and chased after some late summer butterflies. Her face was flushed with joy. She picked another flower and handed it to me before dancing away again. A black cat scampered across her path and she immediately followed it as it darted through the rows of vegetables. It slithered through a hole in the fence that was too small for her tiny form. She walked back pouting and covered in dirt. I could not help but chuckle as she looked up at me.
"Daddy, she got away." Her voice sounded pitiful, pathetic, and I could not help but be moved. I crouched down before her once more. Her mother had made a habit of adopting stray black cats; to her they were all avatars of the goddess, Bast, and many of them were as willful as a deity. But she loved them, and always wanted to pet them. And they always ran from her little grasping hands.
I took one of the flowers from my bouquet and slipped it into her hair. It looked like a ruby against shimmering silver as it stuck out of her ponytail. When she looked up at me, her eyes shimmered like blue sapphires through the unshed tears. I rubbed my hand against her soft cheek.
"Don't worry, my sweetheart. Remember, you are a dragon. And dragons can be quite fearsome to other creatures." I explained—not for the first time.
"Even Goddesses?" she asked, sniffling. I chuckled.
"Yes. Even Goddesses."
She sniffled again and rubbed her nose with the back of her dirty hand. It left a streak of black against her alabaster skin. I picked her up again, squeezing her tiny body against my chest.
"Come on, my little dragon. Let's go inside and get you cleaned up." I whispered, feeling my heart expand with the infinite love I had for the little girl.