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    Dragon Girl Myra

    Carl Quillen

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    2009, Carl Quillen

    Cover photograph 2006, Philippe Ludwig. Used with permission.See http://www.flickr.com/photos/chacal1233/3210384516/ for the

    original source.

    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (version 3.0).Some rights are reserved. For a full text of the license, please consult http://creative-commons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/legalcode.

    In brief, you may make derivative works, for commercial or other purposes, as long asyou acknowledge your debt to the original author in a reasonable way.

    Please contact [email protected] if you would like an original digitalcopy of this work to assist you in your own creative endeavors.

    ISBN 978-0-557-08268-1

    Printed in the United States of America

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    For Mairin

    and her friend

    Genevieve

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    Chapter 1

    Chapter 1lack hairless skin flaps in the reddish twilight

    breeze as I soar between peaks. The moun-tains embrace my bloodstained form as Iglide between deep brown shadow and deepred sunset. My belly is slung heavily belowme, weighed down by heavy chunks of flesh

    torn from the ragged broken carcass of a cow left in a mountain

    meadow that Im leaving behind me as I fly into the sunset. Gi-ant skin wings beat heavily in the air making a deep roar as thegreat muscles of my breast burn with the power that pulls meforward. I can only grin, the broad bright cutlasses of my teethwhipping the wind, still red and dripping with gore, as I think ofthe soft, juicy flesh of that happy, grassfed cow. Partially crispedin places where my fiery breath had cooked it, it had sweetenedthe sound and quivering feel of her bones as they cracked under

    the force of my teeth. I was and am, winged firebreathing death,the very finest of dragons.

    As I soar, the perfume of cooked blood still filling my nostrils,the focus of my bright lemon yellow eyes, each big as a hand,smoothly drifts about, surveying the land I rule all around me.And I see, (Oh feast for the eyes!) the delightful little figure of agirl on the slopes below, running home for her dinner. Charm-

    ing and cute. Doubtlessly tasty. They always are, the cute ones.I dive, the wind growing to a deafening roar, tearing at every

    scale on my body as I descend to greet her. Lost in the noise isthe deep booming of my chuckle. I see her stumble and fall. Ihit the ground heavily in front of her. When she rises I am there,my grinning snout mere centimeters from her nose. As I exhale,still panting from the work of flying, she seems to choke. Nodoubt the heavy perfume of blood on my breath is too rich forher. I turn my head to get a better look at her, and her eyes grow

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    Dragon Girl Myra

    like full, yellow moons, reflecting the yellow of my eye as shefinds the full rows of my teeth in front of her.

    Youreyoure going to eat me.

    She is trembling, her lips shaking, and I am entranced by thegreat pearly drops of tears that well up and begin to fall acrossher face, glistening in the twilight.

    Please. Make it fast.

    And I would oblige her. But the thing is, well, Im embar-rassed to say it. But my belly is full. Really, that cow was morethan even I can eat at a single sitting. So I raise a paw to my face

    and begin to pick at the strings of flesh stuck in my fangs with aclaw at the tip of one of my fingers. Its five centimeters long,

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    Chapter 1

    pure glossy black tapering to a long, delicate curved tip where thecolor fades to deep orange as it reaches the apex. I admire thejewellike drops on her face as they slowly fall.

    Im ready.

    Now we dragons are truly splendid creatures, remarkable inevery way. But there is one slight weakness in our constructionthat Ive often wondered at, as it so little befits the perfection ofthe rest of us. And that is at the base of the neck. Theres afunny arrangement of the heavy scales there. Sort of in the shapeof a saddle. Its hard to imagine it, but a person couldsit there if

    they wanted. Not that they would last long there. For our for-ward paws are quite dexterous and can reach that spot. Which isquite useful for scratching at itches between the scales there

    Come on! What are you waiting for?

    Shes impatient now. Stamping with her feet. Jeweled tearsand sweet round face, and Im struck with a strange thought. Sheis beautiful, like the big round jewels in my giant hoard of gold

    and treasure. Why not, why should she not be part of it as well?Besides, I can always eat her later, and I gently put my pawaround her, careful not to scratch her with the cruel claws as shecloses her eyes and waits for my teeth. Then, all at once, I raiseher to the saddle at my neck and place her there. Before she canunderstand whats happening, I leap into the air. She is clingingto me with her arms wrapped around my neck, screaming as theground falls away. We are flying, and the saddle works really

    rather well. Ive always wondered if it would, and embarrassingas it is, if it helps me bring my treasure home, Im all for it.

    With the last rays of the setting sun we arrive home at mycave, high up in the shear face of a mountain cliff. I land in theentrance, and slowly walk within with the girl on my back. Theinterior is dark, but dimly lit with the glitter of jewels. Further in,the pads of my feet meet the smooth round hardness of metal

    and the musical sound of coins rubbing together fills the cave asI walk across my store of treasure. I lower my shoulders, tilt

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    Dragon Girl Myra

    them and her shivering terrified form falls onto a heap of coinswith a clatter.

    Ow!

    She shifts away from the object in the pile that hurt her and Ipick it up, a somewhat spiky and impractical ring. Not one of myfavorites. So I skewer it with a claw, pick it up, and then sittingon my haunches, transfer it to the other paw, holding it delicatelybetween the sharp points of two claws.

    Here. Hold out your fingers, I tell her.

    She freezes for a second, and then looking at me with a veryblank, surprised expression, holds out her hands. I find a likelylooking finger, and put the ring on it. It fits.

    Now not many people know that dragons can talk. It isntreally much of a secret, of course, but those people we do talk to,well, they tend to get eaten.

    Um she says, after a few silent seconds.

    Now dear, why dont you make yourself comfortable? Imgoing to go take my bath. Ill be back soon. Make yourself athome.

    And with that, I leave her to her thoughts, among heaps oftreasure, while I head into the depths of the cave, where I bathein quiet secret pools and then, with care and great dedication,brush all my many teeth. For you see, we dragons are quite par-ticular about our dental hygiene.

    When I return she is still sitting, shocked, on the soft pile ofcoins where I left her. I would talk with her, but Im tired. So Isimply walk up beside her. With her seated there Im amused todiscover that my long neck and even longer tail are enough toreach all the way around her. So I fall asleep that way while shesits rigidly against my side, afraid to move in the dark, with herwidely rounded eyes blinking rapidly.

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    Chapter 1

    * * *

    The rising light of morning raised a shimmering glare ofsparkles among the treasures of my cave, waking me. My open-ing eyes were delighted by the sight of my newest gem, standingover by the entrance peering out from the high cliff onto theverdant countryside. My movements rattled the coins, and sheturned toward me, and my eyes, sharp enough to spot a mouse at

    the height of a thousand meters saw that hers were tired, sur-rounded by the dark rings of a sleepless night.

    Good morning. I dont think I caught your name last night,I asked.

    Myra.

    She seemed to have very little curiosity. But I pushed forwardanyway, trying to start the conversation.

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    Dragon Girl Myra

    Mines Bruce. But to say it properly, you should make theend slide so that it sounds like the hissing of a snake. LikeBrusssssssssssce. I like it that way. Im related to snakes you

    know.Myra made a little sour expression. Doubtlessly a little irritable

    from the lack of sleep.

    Well Bruce. Are you hungry enough to eat me now? Idrather that than jumping from this cliff. Now that I think aboutit.

    Oh. There wont be any need for that. At my age, young

    maidens are really too rich for my delicate digestion. And hon-estly, as you are rather decorative, I thought I might add you tomy little collection of baubles. I waved my snout over to myvast collection of treasure, which is not in any sense little. But Ialways tend to speak too modestly you know. Its something of acharacter defect.

    What was this ring for? Am I married to you now? she

    asked, rather bitterly.Now for a marriage, there are certain legal procedures. Be-

    sides, you are not at all old enough for such a thing. And thelady involved usually must consent. NoI have merely addedyou to my collection of treasures. For that, I never ask anyonespermission. I gave my best smile, revealing all my very fineteeth.

    She looked a trifle dismayed for a moment, and then simplystated Well, if Im going to stay, Im going to need to find someplace to go pee. And after that, Im going to need to be fed. Icompletely missed my dinner last night.

    Well, I cant vouch for other dragons. But in my cave, at least,you can find every modern convenience that a young lady mightneed, and in fact she was much happier when I showed them toher. Food was a more complicated problem.

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    Chapter 1

    I could find you a deer. Id cook her for you. Very cute and very tasty. Theyre especially good when well done. Smokedwith dragon breath.

    No.

    How about a bear? A little fatty for my taste, though.

    No.

    Well perhaps we could borrow a sheep from a local farmer.They tend to clear out quickly if I do that too much, so I dontoften. Not unless I need a quick snack

    No!Heavens. How horrible. She couldnt possibly be vegetarian.

    That would be unthinkable!

    I want my morning porridge. Just like usual! And what willMom and Dad be saying? I havent come home all night long.

    Oh dont worry about that! Parents tend not to complain toomuch when their daughter comes back early in the morning after

    being unexpectedly out all night, when she returns on the back ofa five ton firebreathing dragon! Yes, Ill bring you home in afew minutes.

    That quieted her for a little. So I continued.

    Really, we cant have you missing school can we. And I cantcook porridge. Also your appearance wouldnt be so fetching ifyou were always mopey and sad. So Ill have you stay at home,

    and youll just have to come visit often.

    Oh I like that idea. Um not that this cave wouldnt be niceto live in and everything, said Myra, brightening up immensely.

    Now, I never give away my treasure once I take it. But asyou are mine and whats yours is mine, you can certainly havesome of my jewelry. How about this?

    I handed her a delightful little necklace with a charming rubypendant, small enough not to weigh her down inordinately.

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    Chapter 2

    We soon reached the shore, and I picked a quiet section ofwhite flat beach to settle down on. We amused ourselves pran-cing about in the sand, Myra leaving delicate little footprints inthe center of the huge, threetoed ones I scattered everywhere.Then I taught Myra how to waterski on her bare feet, while Iflew rapidly, towing her holding on to the end of my long tail.Towards the end of the afternoon we amused ourselves makingelaborate sand castles, which I am fond of making and evenfonder of destroying in dragonly ways.

    After I had flambed the last one in a enormous gout of densedragon flame, I noticed a hint of a delicious sinuous form slidingjust beneath the waves a little offshore. I turned to Myra, whis-pering.

    Look! Just there. Thats really something very special

    The beautiful webbed ears of a sea monster appeared abovethe waves, followed by the bright green eyes and scaled head of agiant, graceful snakelike creature. Myra gasped.

    With great pleasure I explained. Its one of my more interest-ing relatives. A sea dragon. We should say hello.

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    Chapter 2

    ing for anything that glittered. In a few minutes it was over, mymouth stuffed full of gold (the only convenient place to stow itwhen Im flying around) and the empty broken hull of the ship

    rapidly taking on water with the tattered sails on the brokenmasts above in flames.

    When I looked over the side I saw that Evangeline hadgathered up the pirates. They were lined up atop a loop of herlong, sinuous body looking very sad. I wondered what she wasdoing. Washing them a little and preparing them for eating?

    Were going to bring these fellows to a deserted island I

    know. It will keep them out of trouble. I think theres justenough water and food there to keep them alive. Theyll have towork for a living. I imagine it will be very good exercise forthem, said Evangeline.

    Wouldnt it be more fun to just watch them drown or geteaten by sharks? But Myra caught the train of my thought andwhispered to me Thats Genevras idea, Im sure. She must bevery kindhearted. I had to agree.

    So we said goodbye, me mumbling rather badly with the treas-ure filling my mouth, and soared off home, after promising tocome visit sometime soon. It had been a very enjoyable after-noon.

    * * *

    We returned to visit Genevra a few days later. It was clearweather inland where Myra and I lived, but as we flew closer itwas obvious that a storm was offshore. The surf was very highand the waters were troubled.

    I dont think well be able to see Evangeline today, I notedto Myra over my shoulder, as she gripped me tightly, a little dis-

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    concerted by the turbulent air. Another byproduct of the distantstorm.

    Why is that?

    I doubt she will want to come ashore on a day like today. Imsure she could manage it if she really needed, but why take thechance? Just like I wont fly without reason when the weather isbad. Sea dragons and mountain dragons are much alike in someways, I explained.

    Oh. Well I hope you arent too disappointed, she said sym-pathetically, quite understanding my feelings.

    Well just have to come again. But hey, look over there! I seea raft over by the island where we left the pirates.

    Myra was a little peeved. I dont even see the island!

    It looks like those fellows got industrious and built them-selves something to escape with. Say, we have to help those fel-lows out. The seas really too rough today for them to make asafe go of it.

    You have something in mind?

    I didnt answer, but started beating my wings quickly in a rapiddescent towards them. Those pirates were being quite consider-ate. Really brightening up my day.

    Bruce, could you please warn me when youre going to startyour attack shriek? It always hurts my ears

    I started screaming. Out of pure excitement. I figured thathaving been subjected to one of my attacks before it might bringback some good memories in those pirates. Something to thinkabout in the few minutes before I reached them.

    Um Bruce. By helping them out I hope you had somethingelse in mind, other than killing them

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    Dragon Girl Myra

    slope where I taught them how to make snowdragon impres-sions in the snow by lying back and moving your arms and legs.I made some myself too. Then we were off again looking for

    edelweiss. I was able to see some on a narrow high ledge just bigenough to let me land. So we picked a small bouquet, and thenstood for a few minutes on the ledge, buffeted by the heavywinds, admiring the fuzzy pure snowy white petals of the littleflowers we held in our hands and claws.

    Then we went off to visit my cave. Genevra and Myra happilyspent an hour investigating my treasure, with Genevra telling methat although I might never come close to matching a sea dragonwith my hoard, the jewelry in my collection was very fine; muchbetter than the few crude items that ever survived a shipwreck.This was very comforting. It had never occurred to me that thevast nuggets of virgin gold and raw uncut jewels in Evangelinescavern might be matched by the fine human craftsmanship in myhoard.

    Then we flew to Myras house for a short visit and Genevra

    stayed for dinner. Afterwards I took her back home alone. Thewind had calmed down by then and Genevra was not wrongwhen she promised me that if I went down to the beach I mightbe able to meet Evangeline briefly. She was too tired to want togo herself, so she sent me down with a word to greet her, and Iwas very glad of the excuse to go.

    Under the stars to the soft sound of waves breaking, I gave

    Evangeline an edelweiss. And wouldnt you know, she reallylikes flowers.

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    wear some rather traditional clothing. I think youll like it.Would you like to try it on? I asked, handing her a rather eleg-antly made jeweled tiara and a white delicately embroidered gown

    made of very fine linen.That looks pretty. Let me have a look, she said taking it

    from me and heading back into the cave.

    A few minutes later she returned, looking very pleased, andshe could easily have been mistaken for a princess. A very en-chanting one at that.

    Do you like it? Those are traditional dragon maiden vest-

    ments.

    Yes, and she couldnt help smiling, blushing a little as shedid it. The Assembly sounds like fun. Id like to go.

    * * *

    A few days later we were off. It was a long trip, and at severalplaces I was going to have to fly hops between islands at the lim-its of my flying range. In order to make this as safe as possible itseemed wiser to lighten my flying load. So Genevra and Myratraveled together with Evangeline while I flew on above, listeningto the sound of their happy giggling bouncing from wave towave across the entire ocean. We spent a day and a half this way,traveling together off and on when the most efficient route forflying overlapped with the one by sea, and we arrived together onthe beach at our destination.

    It was a small tropical island only a few kilometers across. Thedark cone of a volcano rose in the center emerging out of heavytropical forest. In places the dark rock was deeply cut by emer-aldgreen ravines. The forests reached down close to the beach,and their edges revealed a think tangle of ferns, brightly colored

    tropical flowers and palm trees. The constant chatter of birds

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    I laughed, delighted. Rex and Twiggly were two of my bestfriends. Twiggly shyly emerged, sparkling from head to toe withthe blue flashes of electric sparks.

    Twiggly is a really fun little guy, youre going to like him. Butdont get carried away and try to shake his hand. Hes from thebranch of the family related to electric eels you know, Iwhispered to Genevra and Myra.

    Arent dragons related to snakes too? How do you reconcilethat with Linnaean classification? wondered Myra aloud.

    Shhhh, said Genevra, elbowing her.

    Its very nice to meet you, Twiggly, said Evangeline, gentlysmiling. Why dont we all head over to the assembly arena? Imsure well see more old friends there. Id like to introduce you tosome of mine.

    We had no trouble at all agreeing to such a sensible proposal,and so we started off together walking (and slithering) up a broadmossy path toward the center of the island, where the distant

    booming of loud roars and fearsome shrieks gave a festive excite-ment to the atmosphere, while Rex explained at length and withgreat humor the many improbable twists and convolutions indragon genealogy.

    * * *

    The sky had darkened to a fathomless deep purple puncturedeverywhere by stars that dimly let through the light of heaven.Down below, dark monstrous forms lumbered in a clearing inthe shadow of a single ominously fuming volcanic peak, and theeternal peace of the heavens above was assailed by deep rumblesfrom cavernous throats and the occasional bloodcurdlingscream of a lesser dragon.

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    Chapter 3

    Festive, isnt it! I whispered to Myra, who was standing,holding Genevras hand and, along with her, looking very regal.Only a slightly stiff pose, pale face and a slight tremor in her

    lower lip revealed any want of composure.Itsunique. A remarkable gathering, she said with a voice

    that was struggling for calm.

    Yesyes. This is really quite memorable. Peerless, saidGenevra, bravely rising to the occasion.

    Just then, Rex, I and all the other firebreathing dragons castour best flame upwards as tradition demanded. The darkness

    vanished, leaving our eyes blinded by the fading echoes of fireand our faces hot from the radiated heat. When we could seeagain a giant Chinese dragon drifted into view, the ghostly pearlgray of his thick fur pelt fluttering on the breeze as his manyhundred legs walked on air, moving in waves, carrying him over-head across the sky to a ledge above on the volcano. The glow-

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    Chapter 3

    The Great Dragon opened his mouth to continue the speech,but before he could get a word out, a loud explosion disturbedthe assembly, and a spire of rock collapsed near the bottom of

    the volcano. The dirty leathery form of a strange stoopedcreature briefly appeared at the base of it, looked around withalarm, and then with a loud Oops! vanished.

    The Great Dragon muttered Trolls! and then remainedspeechless with anger for a second. Composing himself, hecalmly said,

    It seems they have chosen this moment to disturb our sacred

    assembly. Perhaps a few of the smallest of you, the best at navig-ating narrow caves might have a word with them.

    Twiggly and I rose. Thats us! we chanted in unison. HereMyra, why dont you stay here with Genevra and Evangelinewhile we deal with this. You wont want to miss any of the GreatDragons speech or the celebration afterwards.

    Myra seemed quite charmed by the Great Dragon, and was

    much more relaxed than before. Thats fine Bruce. Dont taketoo long.

    So we scampered off to the collapsed pile of stone at the edgeof the clearing where the troll had appeared, followed by a fewother small dragons. As we went I enjoyed the happy sounds ofGenevra and Myra whispering to each other.

    I had no idea that dragons were such a big part of modern

    life! Government, finance, the military, its really astonishing!Its true. The world would really be quite a mess without us.

    * * *

    We easily found the entrance of a cave stinking of the sour

    smell of unwashed troll flesh, and we all wriggled in the entrance.

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    The opening widened within, and soon we were proceedingthrough a vast, dark hallway, quiet except for the sound of ourfootsteps.

    Its funny, they were so noisy just a few minutes ago. Whathappened to them? I wondered aloud. We better let themknow were here, and I let out a loud roar, quite deafening in theenclosed corridor.

    It was silent for a second, then we heard a distant boom,which began slowly repeating, every five seconds or so.

    Sounds like a battle drum, observed Twiggly. Then we

    turned to each other and smiled.

    How considerate. Theyre letting us know where they are!observed one of our companions, and then we all ran off gigglingin the direction of the noise.

    After 10 minutes or so of racing down dark passageways illu-minated only by the soft glowing of our eyes we began to getclose. We let out roars in greeting as we approached. The drum-

    ming seemed to get quite irregular right at the end. Perhaps thedrummer was excited to finally have a chance to meet us.

    We burst into a giant cavern filled with armored trolls march-ing in lockstep and holding long spears, wicked sharp metalpoints glinting in the semidarkness.

    They put on a parade for us! What fun! How nice of them,commented Twiggly joyfully, and we all lit up the cavern with

    our flame in order to get a better view. And fortunately the firedid clear the air a little, which was stale and stinking a bit of mol-dering cabbage. The trolls reacted enthusiastically, scamperingabout with abandon, somewhat breaking the symmetry of theirpretty formation. We all took part in the fun for several minuteschasing them about and dancing with them, teaching them newdragon songs which we roared out in flame. After a few minutes,we were lying on our backs in the cavern, collapsed with laughter.

    The trolls seemed to have all vanished, leaving only a few charred

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    Chapter 3

    shoes and other items of clothing behind in their rush for theexits.

    That was really fun. We should come play with them more

    often! I observed, and was met with complete agreement.

    I wonder if these folks keep any treasure. remarked one ofour companions, wistfully.

    They seemed rather poor for cave trolls, didnt they? saidTwiggly.

    It was true. A lot had been missing shoes. Some had been wearing rags. None had worn any gold or jewelry at all, andmost were thin from poor nutrition. But they had all had plentyof weapons.

    Well, why dont we go find their king. Maybe we should talkwith him directly.

    So we went off in search of the King. Which wasnt as hard asyou might imagine. Wed just smell out where a troll was hiding,and then Twiggly would go up and introduce himself and shakethe fellows hand. Thats a bad habit of his, given how electrifiedhe is. But anyway, after a few friendly handshakes and pats onthe back, the fellow would usually be happy to help us out andon our way.

    We were directed to a large elegant palace in the depths of thecaves. I went up to the large gilded door and knocked. Itsplintered easily into large chunks and we entered through the

    ragged opening into the interior.

    The DDDDragons!!! Theyve found us! yelled a flunky,announcing our entrance in the grand formal style. I personallyprefer it when they play trumpets, but I wasnt complaining.

    I grabbed the flunky. Hey, wheres the King and whats hecalled anyway?

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    them a ride home, as it was on the way back for them. So webrought them with us. I wasnt disappointed.

    When we got back to the assembly Myra and Genevra were at

    the center of a circle surrounded by dancing dragons, singing abeautiful song together. They were working the magic of dragonmaidens, and the dragons of the assembly were charmed, everyone of them.

    * * *

    The Grand Dragon Assembly continued with much fanfareand celebration until just past midnight, when the Great Dragonagain took his place on the volcano, and with great dignity anddecorum, announced to everyone present, that as the morrowwould be a long day of travel for almost everyone, that it was of-ficially Time For Bed. The dragons present all meekly complied,

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    Chapter 3

    and soon the only sounds to be heard were the low rumbles ofdragons snoring.

    Genevra and Myra found this to be a bit unnerving, but soon

    drifted off to sleep anyway, lying atop the soft and smooth coilsof Evangeline and basking in the radiant warmth from Rex, whostrategically placed himself nearby for our comfort, and we en-joyed a restful and happy night.

    The next morning brought us the farewell screams of depart-ing dragons and a long line of new friends who wanted to hugMyra and Genevra before leaving.

    Why is everyone leaving this pretty island so quickly? askedGenevra at one point.

    Well, there certainly isnt enough food nearby to feed every-one. Not without us eating each other, or worse, going afterthose cave trolls. I explained.

    Heh heh heh. Yes, Dragon Assemblies tend to be eithershort and sweet, or long and very ugly, remarked Rex, chuck-

    ling.

    About midway through the morning Twiggly began to get alittle antsy, and finally he quietly announced that perhaps heshould get going as well. His wife was home looking after hisfive young children, and leaving them alone while he was havingfun struck him as a little unfair.

    I didnt know dragons married, said Myra, a little thought-

    fully.

    Well you know, they dont do it very often. Not with theircantankerous personalities, said Twiggly, and then continuing abit under his breath But you know, being tamed by a dragonmaiden would really rather help. I should think. And Myrasuddenly looked very surprised.

    Then Twiggly did his very best to suppress his natural electri-

    city for a moment, and with careful concentration and much

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    care, warmly embraced Genevra and Myra and then flew awaywhile we waved goodbye.

    All morning long the sky was filled with leathery flapping

    wings and the seas boiled with monsters wriggling away. But bynoon, the departures had slowed to a trickle, and the line in frontof Myra and Genevra had vanished.

    With the other dragons gone we were able to begin the rest ofour vacation, which between exploring the beautiful island wewere on, swimming in the clear ocean waters, and feasting onfresh fish and tropical fruit, was a relaxing and enjoyable one.

    Rex stayed with us for a couple days, and Myra and Genevra verymuch enjoyed his clever bantering conversation and the way hewarmed the (somewhat chilly) ocean water when he bathed in italong with us.

    At the end of the week we were well rested, and Myra for onewas getting tired of fish. She even asked me once Do you thinkyou might be able to find me a cow? and I knew it was time tohead home. The winds were very favorable this time and theweather good, so I resolved to fly Myra and Genevra some of theway, and actually I was able to carry them most of the time onthe journey home. Traveling by herself below Evangeline was in-credibly fast, flashing from crest to crest barely touching the wa-ter, really flying more than swimming. I had trouble keeping up.

    Close to home I saw a small prettylooking sailboat sailingtight to the wind with two halfdressed men on board, looking

    very athletic but rather sunburned. I admired it quietly for a fewminutes wondering if Myra and Genevra would like sailing to-gether on a boat like that, when I noticed something odd. Thesails were not as nice as the rest of the boat. In fact, they lookedlike they might have been stitched together out of old clothing.

    Hey! I exclaimed. Those folks in the boat below, theyretwo of our old friends, the pirates! and I began descending.

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    If you like. Id given her a phone recently. Her parentshadnt liked the idea, but Id persuaded them. If the weathersgood Ill come fly you to school.

    Thanks Bruce. Good night! and she was in the door.

    I floated home, buoyed up by thoughts of love and new hopesfor happiness. Not the usual feelings for an old dragon heart,but they had come easily, and they were very welcome.

    * * *

    Dust rose from a herd of cattle where it was being driven intoa large compound at the edge of the village. I was holding nailsin my lips as I helped hammer together the platform for the cere-mony, which was proving to be something of a chore to as-semble. The workmen helping me kept having trouble believingme when I told them what size to use for the supporting beams.But it would have to carry any number of dragons.

    Thats really all we need to do? Its not very complicated is it,a dragon wedding ceremony, commented Myra, as she stood bysupervising the activity.

    Good fresh food and a place to celebrate. Thats all youreally need. As it is, it was expensive enough assembling thatherd of cattle. I nodded over to the enclosure at the edge of thefield.

    Wed also had to pay the fishing fleet in Genevras village notto fish nearby for the entire previous two months. It had cost apretty penny, but sea dragons need their food fresh, and the wa-ters offshore were now teeming with fish according to Evan-geline.

    I looked over seaward, thinking of Evangeline, whose prepara-tions below the sea surface were keeping her as busy as me. Id

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    see the result firsthand with diving equipment for the secondpart of the ceremony.

    Two sails had appeared offshore. One was from a wellbuilt

    fishing vessel, and the other a small, singlemasted sailboat. Thesailors on the larger boat began to raise a flag. A pirate banner.And then I noticed the newly painted name on the smaller one.The Genevra. Its sail had a large dragon painted on it too.

    Hey, its our friends the pirates! They must be coming forthe ceremony!

    The pirates had done well for themselves. Genevra had really

    been most insistent that I help them get set up in business, sinceId completely put them out of the old one they had been in, soId paid to help them start up their own shipyard. It had costmore than I wanted to think about. But as it turned out, theyreally were proving to be good at that work, and were earning areputation for making especially seaworthy sailing vessels. Theirtrademark (Pirate Built) was well known, and they were evenstarting to style themselves Purveyors to Dragons. That littleboat Id wheedled out of them was beginning to look like a cleverbusiness decision for them. But I really couldnt complain. Theinvestment Genevra had talked me into was turning out to berather lucrative.

    We walked down to the shore together in order to greet them.Despite the bustle of wedding activity, Genevras village wasreally rather empty. Most of the villagers had reacted to the news

    of the impending dragon wedding with something other than de-light, and the number of human guests was starting to look alittle small, which suited me, and made Myra and Genevras jobof planning for them much simpler.

    I greeted the pirate leader with a handshake out on the wharf,and he congratulated me on the impending ceremony.

    I never thought Id raise that flag in this village again and get

    a friendly welcome! he said with delight.

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    Half the fishermen here are saving up for one of your boats.Its looking like a good business, I said, congratulating him inturn. Then he turned to Myra and Genevra, and presented them

    with their new sailboat, explaining some of the finer points of theadditions that they had made. I was especially happy with an art-fully carved figure of Evangeline at the prow.

    Then we said goodbye, as the pirates had other business to at-tend to. Sales work you know. They said they would try topass by tomorrow during the ceremony in order to cheer us on.

    The next morning reminded us a lot of the Grand Assembly

    again, as all manner of Dragons arrived slithering ashore and at ascream from overhead. Twiggly arrived midmorning, this timebringing his wife and his children, who were literally hangingfrom him, their mouths full of sharp little teeth firmly clampedon to various parts of him, and the entire assembly showeringlittle electrical sparks.

    Hi Twiggly! You brought the whole family! I said, delighted.

    Twiggly came up and gave me a hug, which Im afraid to say,because of the excitement was a little electrified. Two of his chil-dren then transferred themselves to me.

    Why you guys are really cute! Whats your name? Ow! Hey,turn down the voltage! I said to them, with a funny mixture ofjoy and pain.

    Its a lucky thing that dragon hide is so tough, isnt it, re-

    marked Myra as she admired all the little teeth exposed by thechildren who were now smiling, completely charmed by her.

    A short while later the Great Dragon arrived and the cere-mony got underway. Twiggly and Rex were by my side. Rex wasstationed on a small fireproof section of the stage made just forhim, and the reassuring warmth of his radiance calmed my nervesa little as I hoped it would. But I was still trembling slightly.

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    I turned to Myra. Looks like theyre getting started on thecows.

    Amid the crunching of bones, I saw that a number of other

    dragons were going in search of their own snacks to nibble on.

    Do they always do this during the ceremony? asked Myra.

    Well the legal formalities are always a little dry and boring. Ithelps to liven up the proceedings, said Evangeline, smiling atthe horrified look on the girls faces.

    You might want to watch the rest of the ceremony from thedeck of your boat. Were going to get knee deep in blood wherewe are here, I suggested to them.

    Oh and before you go, said Evangeline, theres somethingelse we wanted to tell you.

    Yes. I agreed. You know all those presents we gave you?Well we want them to be real presents that really belong to you.

    Instead of being part of our treasure, wed like to think of

    you as just really good friends, finished Evangeline.Myra and Genevra laughed. Thats what I think youve al -

    ways been, replied Myra, and they skipped off holding hands totheir boat together, amid the shrieks of dragons, the moans ofexpiring livestock and the droning of the Great Dragon as heread the marriage contract.

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