Kingdom of Dragons – Part 2

Not a bad day, Henrik thought as he threw a cover over his stall. He frowned at the small cage next to the box of displays he would lug home. Only one little dragon didn’t sell.

Now that the season had concluded, with what he was sure was great fanfare, no one would be in need of further adornments for months. He tapped his chin as he watched the miniature creature snooze. 

It was then that his son ran up, nearly knocking into the displays. “What should I carry?” he asked with a sheepish grin. He was supposed to have been back in time to help pack up. 

But Henrik couldn’t help the soft spot he had for his only child, so he simply mussed his son’s hair. He looked again at the little dragon. “How about you carry this, Paavo?” He handed his son the copper cage. “You might as well keep him, since he didn’t sell.”

Paavo’s eyes went wide. “Truly, I can have him?” He lifted the cage to stare at the bronze furry dragon inside. The creature gave a little sniff and opened its eyes, blinking at the boy. “Oh, thank you, Papa!”

“Mind you take good care of it now. It will help you prepare to assist me next season,” Henrik told his son.

Paavo nodded quite seriously and reached a finger in the cage to stroke the dragon. It leaned into his touch and let out a satisfied hum. “Can I take him out and wear him on my arm?”

“I suppose that would be alright, as long as you still carry the cage home.” Henrik reached into his pouch and pulled out some coins. “Stop by Ander’s stall and get us some dinner too. Now run along while I finish up here, and I’ll meet you there.”

Paavo placed the coins in his pocket before letting his new dragon out of the cage and settling it comfortably around his forearm. Then, he picked up the cage by its handle and scampered down a nearby alleyway. His stomach was rumbling at the thought of Ander’s meat skewers. 

Paavo was too busy admiring his new dragon and petting its fur to pay much attention to his surroundings. But he could navigate to Ander’s stall with his eyes closed anyway. It was only the stiffening of the little dragon’s fur that alerted him to the stranger blocking the way ahead.

The man slid a knife out from his hip and pointed it at Paavo. “Just give me all your coin and I’ll be on my way.”

Paavo only hesitated a moment. He knew his father would rather he hand over a few coins than get hurt, even if it meant they might not be able to splurge on dinner. He reached into his pocket and held out the coins.

When the man stepped forward to grab them, the little dragon shot off Paavo’s wrist and into the air. With a screech, his fur turned into glinting bronze spikes. The man hesitated, but the dragon didn’t. He let out a small roar, and the spikes shot from his body straight into the man’s face. 

Paavo blinked as the man howled and reached for his face. “Run,” the dragon squeaked out, flying up to Paavo. 

They both took off back the way they had come. For a few turns, all Paavo heard was his pounding feet and the flit of dragon wings near his shoulder that let him know the tiny creature was still following. 

At last, Ander’s stall was in sight. Paavo stopped and placed his hands on his knees, panting. After he caught his breath, he turned to his dragon. 

“Why didn’t you show the customers your spikes?” he asked. “Surely one of the lesser nobles would have bought you.”

“What, like the woman who called me a brown lump of fur? I wasn’t about to show my spikes to her, certainly.” The dragon let out a little huff. 

The boy laughed and patted the dragon on his head. “You’re different than other dragons, aren’t you?”

“Well, I–” the little dragon’s spikes returned.

Paavo held up his hands. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. In fact, I like you.”

The dragon’s fur smoothed out. “Oh, well then, I suppose I may be…different.”

…

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Thanks so much for reading!

-Clever & WTF