A/n The bebe dragon seemed to be quite popular. I got quite a few reviews talking about it. Each one made my day. Thank you to all the people who take time to review out there. And thank you to all the readers!
P.s. I have a poll about trigger warnings up on my profile. I'm sure most of you have heard me talk about it already. but if you haven't, please go and give me your 2 cents on how you like triggers to be posted in the future fics.
Anyways...On to the story!
"And then, he threw me on the back of this giant black monster of a dragon, like I was a sack of potatoes and flew away!" Kaoru clutched at the rowan tree for dear life.
The hatchling sat in the ice bowl, eyes growing wider with every minute of Kaoru's tale. She realized, quite quickly that the hatchling, though tiny and a bit premature, was incredibly intelligent. It listened to her with apt attention, seeming to understand her words even though Kaoru figured it was impossible for the little thing to know what flying was, or potatoes or a monster. But it reacted as if it did. Perhaps the hatchling was only reacting to the tone of her voice and her exaggerated and grand gesturing as Kaoru weaved her tale.
"And I had never been so afraid in my life!" Kaoru let go of the tree and stepped over to the small fire and set another broken branch in the flames. They stumbled upon the small grove of rowan in mid afternoon. Kaoru made the choice to stop and stay. The river was in sight and there was plenty of fallen wood around for a fire.
She made a small fire pit. Just large enough for the fire to give off some comfort and light, but not large enough to draw attention from all the creatures nearby. Kaoru also didn't want to have to worry about trying to keep it fed all night. They were safe in the rowan trees but she didn't want to run out of wood. Kenshin did say that you need to gather three times as much as you'll think you need. Kaoru had a pile as long as her body beside a nearby tree. She spent the rest of the afternoon gathering it, and trying to hunt at the same time. She only hit one small chipmunk which she gave to the hatchling whole. It seemed content to use its beak and tiny needle claws to rip away at it. It kept the dragon occupied while Karou wandered around for wood.
"And I had never seen so many people or dragons all at once in my whole life." Kaoru continued with her story. "Buildings as tall as trees, taller than trees!" She raised her arms high over her head to the trees around them. The small dragon looked upward at them and then blinked back at Kaoru. "It's true!" she insisted with a laugh at the disbelief in it's eyes. "I can't wait until you can talk. I wonder if you even understand what I'm talking about." Kaoru said softly, her arms dropping. "Though, I think you'll be long gone back to your clutch-mates for years before you start talking."
"-oru…."
Kaoru froze in mid-step. The strange low sound came from far in the distance. "What?..."
"Ka-oru..."
Kaoru's heart jumped to her throat and she hurried over to the fallen log she had set the ice bowl beside and scooped it and the hatchling up int her arms. The dragon gave a squawk of surprise.
"Kaoruuuuu…."
Her face went cold as dread settled in. Was it one of those unseelie creatures trying to trick her out of the rowan grove? Or?
"It sounds like Kokuei." Kaoru hissed to the hatchling. "But it could be a trick." She edged closer to the fire, putting her back to the heat so that it wouldn't harm the hatchling. Her eyes were rooted upward, hoping to see something in the twilight between the towering trees. And indeed it sounded like the deep tone of the giant lizard but Kaoru couldn't be sure. The call sounded from all around the forest.
"Ka-oruuuu!"
The hatchling slipped from the bowl, crawling up her clothing like a panicked kitten and wedged its cold body at Kaoru's neck. Its beak clacked in agitation. Kaoru reached up and gave it a pet, resting her hand on the now round and full midsection of the creature.
"It's alright." She soothed, "Don't be scared." She was saying it more to herself than to the tiny reptile but she felt better saying it anyway. She strained to hear the flapping of wings, but heard none. She wanted to call out, to add wood to make the fire roar.
But if it was a trick, all that would do would be to draw the wrong kind of attention to her. Was it Kenshin and Kokuei looking for her? She could only hope. But she was also sure that they would not hold up the mission to deliver the rest of the precious eggs any longer than they had too. Maybe the great dragon and her master had looked for her but now the Unseelie creatures were only mimicking their calls now that it was dark.
"I don't know what I should do, little one," Kaoru whispered. "It could be help, it could be a trap."
The white hatchling gave a soft sort of chitter, its wings rustled and fluttered against Kaoru's hand and its tiny needle-like claws gripped at her clothes until the hatchling had slithered up on her shoulders and set its front two feet on the top of her head and arch its neck as high as it could. She could hear the little one sniffing at the air.
In the twilight, with the soft fire at Kaoru's feet, the small reptile glowed orange in the firelight. For a moment Kaoru found herself transfixed on the glittering iridescent scales and how they captured the firelight as if lit from within.
"Kaoru!" the sound came from further away now and the little dragon gave a slow hiss before scurrying back down to the ice bowl in Kaoru's arms.
Kaoru felt her shoulders relax. "I guess whoever it is, it's too late to answer them now?"
The little dragon gave no form of an answer, and Kaoru quickly set the bowl back beside the rowan log and warmed
her freezing arms at the fire. "If it was Kenshin and Kokuei, they would understand if I didn't want to risk drawing attention to myself." She said it out loud to assure herself that she had done the right thing. It didn't help the pain in her chest. Hope and dread had sprung up at the same time. As nice as it was to think the threat was moving away, it still hurt that the hope was also going with it as well.
... . . ...
Though the regret that she could have been rescued hung over Kaoru for days after, the thought that she had saved them from some Unseelie trick overrode it. She decided not to think about it any longer. Besides, the hatchling was taking up almost all her attention and time. She knew that she needed to keep talking to it in order for it to learn to speak itself. Kenshin had told her it took a handful of years before Kokuei spoke. Yet it had been obvious from the first year that he understood nearly everything Kenshin was saying. Kaoru suspected that by the reactions of the little dragon, that her hatchling was already starting to understand more and more.
So Kaoru decided to start from the very edge of her memory and tell the hatchling her story. How she grew up on a farm...then she explained what a farm was and what they grew...her family and the war. And then she felt the need to explain what war was and why it was being fought. It took several days for her to reach the end of her life at the farm when Kenshin took her away. And Kaoru found herself having to stop to be sure she spoke neutrally about certain things. She didn't like war, but she knew why it was being fought and why it was started but she didn't know all the reasons or details for why it was going on in the first place back at the very start when the South was the dominant state.
Her skill in hunting got better and better every day. The first time she killed a rabbit on her very first throw one morning brought her up short. She knew practice made perfect. "But this is too easy." She muttered to herself as she brought the rabbit back to the hatchling. The little thing swiveled its head at her soft words, regarding her with its stormy eyes. Kaoru dismissed it. Perhaps some Seelie creatures thought to bless her with good fortune. If so, she wouldn't insult them by questioning it.
Perhaps she was starting to be affected by the magic? Was it enhancing her skills?
Kaoru shook her head and quickly skinned the rabbit and placed it whole beside the ice bowl. The hatchling was now strong enough and content enough to rip at such a large meal on its own.
Kaoru sat back, not yet ready to get up and look for her own breakfast. "I think I should give you a name, little one. It's been a few days and I know you need to learn your name." Kaoru went through all the names that she knew. But they were all names of people, not something that a rare ice dragon should be called.
She remembered some names that she had read about in the books Colt had let her borrow. Great and grand names, most of which she wasn't sure she was pronouncing them properly. A name like that would be better suited for a royal dragon.
"Amaris," Kaoru said out loud, almost seeing the name on the page of the book in her memory. "I'm not sure if it's a male or female name. Which I guess is fine, being that I don't know how to sex dragons. Eli never got the chance to teach me."
"So, do you like that name, Amaris?" She reached out and touched the hatchling on the top of its head. The eating stopped and the dragon looked up at Kaoru. "Amaris," She said again, touching the dragon on the head once more. "Your name is Amaris."
... . . ...
A high-pitched screech alerted Kaoru. She turned to the hatchling lounging in the ice bowl. Amaris had its head up and mouth open in a hiss. Its mouth a tiny bright pink opening in its face. Kaoru glanced up in time to see one of Kenshin's infamous mosquitoes.
Kaoru held her breath as her eyes darted all over. She didn't see anymore. It was just the one. Kaoru let out her breath, thanking the gods silently. Its body was the size of a bird, its stick legs as long as her arm with bright white markings at every joint and bend in its legs, of which there were many. With wings just as long that beat so fast they were a blur and made a humming noise rather than a high-pitched whine. But the important part was that needle-like mouth that would drain her blood and insert disease. Kenshin had warned her that five or six would be enough to drain her of enough blood to severely weaken her to the point of unconsciousness. But only one had to have disease to kill her days later even if she thought she was safe.
Kaoru was up to her knees in the river. Naked and covered in soap. Her clothes were resting beside Amaris, as well as her pack with her sling. It was foolish to put herself in such a vulnerable situation, but Kenshin had warned her that some Unseelie hated the scent of unwashed humans. It was always a good idea to be clean whenever possible. So there she was, stuck in the water with no weapon whatsoever. There was little else she could do so she scooped up the cold river water and splashed the giant bug.
"Go away! Shoo!" she said as the droplets rained down on the mosquito. Amaris hissed again, snapping its toothless jaws at it. Kaoru splashed it again and the bug, not keen on the rain, buzzed away back into the forest.
Kaoru huffed and finished washing quickly. "Thank you for that warning Amaris." Kaoru used her hands to scrap off as much water from her skin as she could. "We need to keep our eyes and ears open." She said to the hatching, pointing to her eyes and ears. The dragon watched her closely, and sometimes Kaoru felt she was talking to a toddler. She could almost see her words being absorbed and stored away. The hatchling had already picked up nodding and shaking of the head to mean yes or no.
"Where there is one, there could be more." Kaoru continued and hurried to dress. "We should move on."
... . . ...
The days stretched on and the river and forest seemed to go on forever. If it were not for the jungle slowly falling away to be replaced by evergreens, Kaoru would have thought she had been tricked into going in circles. But then the roar of the Dreaded alerted her that all her walking had paid off. Their large stream tipped off a cliff-side and into the churning river below. Though the waters were muddy and rough looking, Kaoru was pleased at the sight of it. Seeing the river meant that she was going the right way.
She tied her extra tunic into a sling and used it to cradle the ice bowl in front of her as she picked her way down the side of the cliff. The rock sloped gently, so the going was easy as long as she had sure footing under her. But Amaris was not content to stay in the bowl, instead, the dragon wrapped itself around Kaoru's neck and swivel its head around to take in the sight from so high up. Kaoru kept her mind on her footing and not on the tiny claws digging into her neck and shoulders. The hatchling was growing, there was no doubt about that. Already it was the size of a small cat and weighed about as much. The wingspan had nearly doubled, and the creature developed a habit of flapping the gangly limbs when excited. Which often meant that Kaoru was being slapped in the face by the cold, leathery membranes often.
Once on solid ground, Kaoru coaxed the dragon back into the ice bowl and she continued off, following the now mighty river. She kept her eyes open to any rowan trees where they could camp unmolested for the night.
The creature wound its way down her arm to nibble on the metal bracelet. It was not the first time it had done this and Kaoru laughed at how it would turn this way and that way to admire its reflection in the shiny silver. "Vain little creature. Or perhaps your kind just like shiny things so very much that it manifests so early?" She recalled the multiple bits of jewelry the white dragons were wearing, not just the Queen.
... . . ...
It was unfortunate that Kaoru didn't find any rowan to camp under. Instead, she decided to try and sleep up in the low branches of a tree. There were far fewer creatures in the trees than on the ground and there were no rules she was acting on that would trigger some Unseelie creature. That she knew of, at least. And so, Kaoru found herself once again climbing a tree just like she used to do back on the farm. Barefoot, so that she could have better purchase on the rough bark, Kaoru climbed up an oak. Not as powerful as a rowan, but hopefully enough to keep the lesser Unseelie away.
She found a comfortable spot on a wide branch and settled down with her pack still on her back. The wrapped-up bowl of ice settled in her lap as she returned her shoes to her feet.
"I used to be much more sure footed in the trees, Amaris." Kaoru nodded down at the dragonet in her lap. "I seem to have fallen out of practice a little. It has been over a year since I left the farm." How much her life had changed in such a short span of time. A starving little slave girl and a year later a squire to one of the best Knights of the new Kingdom.
A dancing light in the growing darkness caught her up short. It was bobbing in and out of the shadows of trees and shrubs. The tiny dragon slowly climbed up the front of her tunic and curled around her neck and shoulders, the small reptilian head settled at the level of her eyes. It gave a curious warble at the light and then a hiss escaped its beak.
"Hush now, Amaris. Kaoru said softly as she gently pulled the dragon from her shoulders and set it back in the ice bowl. "The light may or may not be a Seelie thing, best not to let it know we're here." The dragonet looked up at her with a string of soft chitters. Kaoru felt the center of her chest grow heavy and she wanted to crush the tiny creature to her. Sweet little thing.
Kaoru sighed, She really shouldn't bond with the dragonet. It would only cause her upset when Amaris would go off with the monks with the rest of the royal hatchlings. But she couldn't neglect it either. She had to make sure the dragon was fed, learn its name and that she talked to it as much as she could.
"Sometimes they will use lights or sounds to trick us out of the safety of camp." Kaoru said in a whisper as she settled against the branches, testing them to make sure she couldn't roll off and crack her head open in the middle of her sleep. She tied the sleeves of the spare tunic around her so that there was no chance the ice bowl could slip. "Or if they are seelie creatures, they could be trying to comfort you or lead you to safety. Kenshin told me that it was best to be cautious."
... . . ...
That night, for the first time in a long time…dreams old fat master came to her. She was small and hiding again. Kaoru couldn't actually see him but she could hear him. Huffing and puffing for air as he shuffled all around looking for her. Seemed she was in the ox stable, hiding under the hay. She could see his stout legs and fancy shoes as he ran all about. He didn't call for her, but she just knew she couldn't let herself be caught. Her back ached and burned from his whipping her. And she just knew she was in for another beating if he caught her.
The dream faded slightly, like paint in the rain, pulling and dripping and colors mingling as she crawled from one hiding spot to another. Then slowly her vision came into focus again. She found a new spot under shrubs and thorn bushes, she tucked herself away and spied her sisters being molested by her Master's workers. They didn't know she was there and watching as one sister took the offered food from the men and wrapped it up in her gauzy pink scarf, the same gauzy strip of fabric that they gave Kaoru every other evening or so, always packed with little foodstuffs. A handful of nuts, a strip of dried meat, sometimes a bit of sugarcane, a corn muffin. Such small offerings. Small, yet enough to feed their starving little sister, worth enough for them to let the men mount them, one after the other and sometimes two at a time. Giant hulking men with bronzed bodies hard as stone and about as gentle as a rutting bull. They made terrifying sounds, and laughter, always the deep guffaws that smothered out any sound from her sisters.
Kaoru squeezed her eyes shut. And clapped her hands over her ears but that didn't stop the sounds of their cries when one was too rough with them. She didn't want the food, she didn't want them to give themselves away for crumbs. Kaoru wished she would just starve and die, so they wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. She wished her brothers would come out of the orchard. Big and strong and brave. They would kill everyone and take their sisters and mother away from that place.
She wished it would happen. But her brothers never came, her father never came back. Of course he wouldn't, the monster ate him. And the bad people took her brothers away. And she was forced to walk a tightrope, to balance on the edge of pretending to be a boy. She was going to mess up. One day she would fall. She could only hold her breath for so long before she would need to breathe again. And then they would know she was a girl. What would her Master do? Beat her for hiding her sex? No, no he would beat her mother for sure, perhaps to death this time around. Then he would keep Kaoru for himself, or perhaps toss her to his workers as well. Any day now, she could feel herself tipping over, losing her balance on the tightrope…
... . . ...
Kaoru's eyes shot open, and her hands instantly went to the chill on her stomach and felt the shock of cold and the dragon still within. The sensation of tipping over was all in her mind, but that didn't stop her head from spinning until she felt herself rooted against the tree once more.
Kaoru often woke in the night and found herself making sure the hatchling was safe. She never wondered what woke her, content to believe the magic of the forest, of some Seelie creatures looking out for her. But this time, she had slept hard enough for dreams to come, bad dreams. Kaoru wiggled on the branch to ease the ache in her left leg and was just starting to calm down and drift back to sleep when she heard it.
A soft sound, in the distance. Kaoru's brows wrinkled. Thunder? Perhaps? If it grew closer it would be better to get out of the tree and find some high ground with the river still in sight. Again, sleep was almost upon her when the sound repeated itself. Kaoru opened her eyes to the blackness of the tree canopy above her. The sound came again, a bit louder this time. Then again, sooner than before. Kaoru sat up in a silent fluid motion. The dragonet stretched silently, haven been awoken by the movement, but it too froze as the sound returned. Its tiny head shot up in the air and sniffed.
It was almost like a large boulder being dropped to the ground. A deep thud, sometimes there would be the crunch of tree limbs, or forest litter. Kaoru slipped her arms into the loops of her pack and got to her feet to crouch on the branch, pressing herself against the great trunk. Kaoru was sure now that the sound was from something living. It was moving, slowly growing closer. A peek through the branches showed just a hint of predawn dusky blue on the horizon. Dawn was coming but there was still at least a good hour of darkness left. The height of Unseelie activity was hours ago. And yet that didn't matter if she had somehow fulfilled the rules to be targeted by one, then there was no time or day or night that wouldn't stop them.
The thundering sound grew closer, the very tree vibrated with each thump and it came to a halt beside the river. There came a deep sound of huffing…huffing and puffing.
Kaoru's breath caught as she tried to pretend she was just another branch on the tree. As she had when she was a young slave…holding her breath to stay hidden…willing her heart to not beat so loudly.
Amaris gave an indignant squawk.
At once the thudding steps rushed like rolling thunder down the slope at a frightening speed and a great weight smashed into the tree. Gasping, Kaoru scrambled for hold but slipped and fell. She twisted to land on her back, keeping the ice and the dragon in her arms instead of trying to catch her fall.
Her side exploded anew as she hit the ground, and all her breath left her. Which was well enough because even in the dark of the pre-dawn forest, Kaoru could make out the lumbering mass that had smashed into the tree.
A great giant, or perhaps a troll. Kaoru couldn't remember how to tell them apart. It had a single leg with no knee joint in the center of its body and a single eye in the middle of its face. The body, was quite female, with skin that looked like the bark of a tree. Her one white, pupil-less eye, as bright as the moon fixed onto Kaoru and it hopped on its one large foot, causing the ground around them to quake.
Kaoru rolled over and up onto her feet as the great beast struggled around the thick branches of the oak. She ran for the river, the giant following her, hopping on her one foot. Kaoru wanted to bolt, but she could hardly see the ground at her feet, and tripping would mean she and her small charge would be giant troll breakfast. So she forced her eyes to stay rooted to the ground just in front of her while also trying to keep the river within sight. She could hear other, smaller creatures darting away from her as she tore through the brush. She struggled to breathe around the renewed pain in her side.
The stomping was picking up speed now, and she dare not look back to see how a great one-legged beast could move so quickly. There was an enormous amount of crashing and cracking sounds as the forest gave way to the lumbering bulk of the creature.
Her injured side burned with each breath. Her eyes darted to make sure the sparkle of the river was at her right and immediately her foot stepped on a smooth rock and she slipped. The bowl of ice clattered on the stones and almost slipped into the river. Kaoru lunged for Amaris, the glowing white dragon scrambled on the wet rocks.
But the giant was there. Her thundering step was at her back and Kaoru turned over as the great beast loomed over her. She was so close, Kaoru could smell the scent of wet earth and onions that was her skin, and the great white eye. A twisted hand reached from the darkness and Kaoru could do nothing but press herself into the ground.
A flash of blue-white filled Kaoru's vision as Amaris crawled onto her chest. Wings flared wide open. The wingspan was almost as long as Kaoru's arm and the giant reeled back from the flash of moonlight off the brilliant white scales. The dragon hissed fiercely and snapped tiny jaws in the direction of the giant.
"No!" The tiny dragon cried.
Kaoru's mouth dropped open and she could only watch in fascination and then in horror as Amaris darted toward the giant and, like a mouse, scrambled up her one leg and then all over the huge body, causing the giant to hop back a step and slap at herself with her great hands.
"Oh, Amaris, it's not safe!" Kaoru shouted, finally climbing to her feet and gasping as the tiny dragon, dwarfed all the more against such a large body, starting to scratch and bite growl and hiss like a tom cat. The tiny claws and teeth were no match for the thick bark-like skin. "The eye! Go for the eye!" Kaoru shouted.
The tiny dragon lunged for the single great eye and the giant gave a roar, nearly punching herself in the face but Amaris scrambled away with ease.
The sky was growing light, dawn was already on its way. Kaoru turned and hurried for the bowl of ice as Amaris continued to distract the great beast. "Come, come to me now!" Kaoru shouted, having no idea if the dragonet would understand. The little dragon jumped away and white wings snapped open to glide over to Kaoru's outstretched arm.
Kaoru turned and ran as soon as Amaris was secure, moments later the loud crashing sounds returned as the great beast gave chase. Kaoru ducked and weaved around trees and low branches. The coming light made seeing her way go much quicker and soon, all Kaoru could hear was the sound of her own steps and ragged breathing. Kaoru stopped at the edge of the riverbank and rested her hands on her knees as she bent to catch her breath. Amaris sat upright on her shoulder to watch for the giant.
"I don't...think that...she's gonna follow. Sun is almost up...they hate the light...Kenshin told me." Kaoru gasped. Amaris settled back down but kept a lookout with soft rumbles as Kaoru sucked in air.
Kaoru stood up once she had caught her breath, took the dragon from her shoulder and held it out in front of her as one would a cat. "When did you learn to talk? And fly? What made you go after that giant? You could have been hurt." Kaoru gave the dragon a slight shake before crushing the creature to her chest. "I'm glad you are safe, though."
"Yes." Amaris squawked.
Kaoru set the creature back in the bowl of ice and continued along the river. She moved slowly as her legs were still shaking. "So when did you learn to talk?"
"Yes!"
Kaoru's lips twitched upward. "Ah, I see you know words but haven't really got the grasp of them yet. Kenshin told me about these kinds of conversations with Kokuei" She glanced down at the white dragon who was listening to her with utmost attention. "Of course this wasn't until Kaokuei was over a year old."
Kaoru paused as she considered the dragon in her arms. "Your kind is quite smart. Perhaps you learn to speak sooner." Perhaps the forest was influencing the young beast. "Maybe it's just because I've been talking at you all day long for days and days."
... . . ...
"Hungry?"
Kaoru glanced up from the rabbit she was skinning. "Are you hungry or are you asking If I'm hungry?"
Amaris was sitting in the ice bowl resting on top of a large rock. The past few days had proved fruitful for learning to talk.
"Are...you...hungry?" the dragon pronounced the words slowly.
"Yes. Are you hungry?" Kaoru held up a second rabbit. "I have another." Kaoru kept her words slow and well-enunciated now that she knew the dragon was learning to speak.
"No, not hungry...now."
"Alright. I'll keep it until you are hungry." Kaoru tied the rabbit to her belt and went back to work with her meal. A small fire crackled happily in the small stone circle she created. They were lucky in coming across a small grove of Rowan beside the river and Kaoru decided to stay and camp, even though they still had many hours of daylight left.
Once Amaris started to talk, the dragonet's ability to understand and talk back was shockingly fast. She was even more surprised to hear that the dragon could talk rather well, just like the Queen could, even though they didn't have lips, but a curved, hooked beak. The voice was higher pitched, much like a small child's voice. Kaoru often found herself talking in circles about the same things as Amaris asked for her to explain things it didn't understand. Kaoru frowned as she worked, she was getting tired of calling the dragon "It."
"Amaris, are you male or female?"
The dragon gave a quizzical chitter. "What is?"
Kaoru paused in her work, brows knitted together. "Females lay eggs."
"Oh! Yes. I will."
The girl looked surprised. "You will?"
"Yes...I known." the little dragon nodded.
"I know." Kaoru corrected.
"Kow-ru, male, female?"
"I'm female."
Kow-ru will lay eggs...too?"
Kaoru laughed. "No, people do not lay eggs. Our babies grow in our bodies and they are born already ready to grow."
Amaris looked confused. "Kow-ru did not lay me egg?"
"My egg. And no, I didn't. Your mother is a grand Queen dragon called Amaterasu and the drake that fathered you was King Byelobog. You are a noble Princess, I wonder if my name for you may not be good enough."
Icy eyes looked down at the bowl of water it was curled up in. "I like ...my...name. Kow-ru gave it to...me. Kow-ru was there when I...hatched and not those …with the long names."
Kaoru finished gutting and skinning the rabbit and stuck the body with a sharp stick and dug it into the ground so that it would sit just above the fire. Kaoru used another stick to rake over some coals to better cook her meal.
"Your parents gave you and your siblings to us to protect."
"Protect?"
"To keep you safe." Kaoru squatted down at a shallow section of the river to wash the blood from her hands. "Remember I told you about your egg falling from Kokuei's back and I had to go after you. That is why we are alone in this forest. Soon we will leave the forest and I will take you back to your siblings. They are still within their eggs." Kaoru had told the story several times. At first, Kaoru feared the little dragon had a simple mind after all, or that being born so traumatically had done damage to her. But then Kaoru realized Amaris asked because she liked to hear the story. Mostly the part about riding on Kokuei's back and Kaoru going after her when she fell.
As Kaoru stuck her hands in the cold water she noticed how her sleeves no longer reached her wrists. Her hands hung in the water, her task forgotten as she noted the large gap where her sleeve ended and her wrist actually began.
She stood quickly and looked down at her feet and saw that there too was a gap of bare skin between the end of her pant leg and where her socks started. She was growing! But how? Was it some sort of Seelie prank? Did they shrink her clothes?
Holding her arms out in front of her Kaoru turned to watch as Amaris licked at her wings to clean herself. The tiny hand sized dragon was now the size of a small dog. A few more days and Kaoru feared she would no longer be able to carry her. She was already almost too large for the ice bowl.
The magic of the forest. That had to be it. Kaoru glanced at her reflection in the water. Her hair was already past her shoulders, far longer than it should have been. How long had they been in the forest? Two weeks? The days had long started to melt together. Kaoru swallowed her panic. The forest changed people. If all she did was grow, then she got lucky. Perhaps now she would at least have a normal sized body for one her age.
Kaoru prayed that she wouldn't emerge from the forest the size of a giant.
A/n What?! Kaoru is growing and Amaris is speaking already?! This forest magic is no joke Kaoru. You better get out of there ASAP. Kaoru sure is getting thrown into the deep end. Most riders had years to raise and get to know and understand their dragons (It's easier if they have the bond, of course) but looks like Kaoru is going to have a crash course on speed rating a clever girl.
Also, did you think Kokuei and Kenshin returned and were hunting for Kaoru or do you think it was a trick by some Unseelie creature? I'm curious as to what you felt it was.
Thank you for reading! Reviews are much loved.