CHAPTER 3: HATCHING

Several hours later, I waded back out of the water and lay down in the sand. My back and legs ached with the hours of unaccustomed work. The pain was not without rewards, though. In only a few hours, I had caught enough fish to feed a small family for two weeks. I wondered absently how long it would last a dragon.

When my skin was dry, I put my clothes back on with the exception of my over shirt, jacket, riding pants, and gloves. I was glad I had worn shorts under my riding pants. Dressed in only my undershirt and shorts, I loaded the fish into the cloak I had been wearing over my jacket. I felt guilty about the damage the fish would do to the velvet cloak.

When I reached the cave, I unloaded the fish and began collecting sticks for a fire. When the fire was burning, I used my dagger to scale a few of the fish and set them to roast over the fire. The other fish I left in the cloak bundled within easy reach of the egg.

By afternoon, I had eaten and gone through the sticks I collected for the fire. When I found one I thought would suit my purpose, I took the binding from my hair. I ran the stick through my hair and when finished, I braided my long locks into one large braid. When night fell, I curled up next to the fire for warmth and, exhausted, fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke and went outside. I noticed, to my delight, a raspberry bush. After collecting as many as I could carry, I headed back to the cave. I sat next to the now unlit fire and began to rebuild the flame. After I restarted the fire, I sat comfortably by the egg to enjoy my breakfast of wild raspberries.

Halfway through my first handful, I noticed the egg beside me was moving. Startled, I jumped up. When I realized what was happening, I grabbed the bundle of fish, wincing as I misjudged its weight, and planted myself firmly between the egg and the mouth of the cave.

I hadn't realized at the time that it might take hours for the egg to hatch. After about an hour of watching the egg carefully, I decided I might as well eat while I had the chance. I went back to the egg and retrieved my pile of berries. By the time the egg hatched, the day had melted into twilight and the night was on its way.

Out of the top of the roughly oval shaped egg, came the nose of a baby dragon. It took several minutes for the dragon to free its self from the egg. Curious, the little dragon came up to me. Not sure what to do, I pulled a fish from the bundle beside me. The dragon took it immediately from me and gobbled it down greedily. After five fish, the little dragon had had its fill. It curled up comfortably in my lap and went to sleep.

With the excitement of the hatching over, I now had time to actually look at the dragon. The first thing I noticed was that it was a girl. She was about three feet long and two feet tall. Her looks shocked me, first because they were strikingly beautiful and next because they resembled me. She was a deep midnight black, and her eyes were the exact same unnaturally emerald green that mine were.

I decided on a name for her as I watched the night take the day. She would always and forever be the twilight of my life as Princess Dawn, heir to the evlen throne, and the beginning of my life as Dawn, dragon tamer. The thought made me smile. Twilight, it fit her so perfectly. I thought of the sweetly sentimental feeling it had to it, and fell asleep with the twilight of my life curled safely in my arms.