The Dragon Under my Bed

Hatching day

As I was heading to bed that day, I remembered something Zagem had told me when we had first met. 'My hatching day is in 7 sunrises.'

Today is the seventh sunrise. I realized, Jumping onto my bed. Not knowing very much about dragon culture, I wondered what a hatching day would even look like. Knowing that these were dragons, I doubted cake or celebration with friends were involved. Almost instantly, Zagem's head popped out from under the bed, as though he could feel me come onto the bed (I mean, tenacity he could, Being right under it.)

"Garret! I knew I'd see you today." Zagem said, smiling.

"Well, You'll see me every day, you don't have much of a choice." I pointed out.

Zagem laughed. "I know. Anyways... You know what day it is?"

"Yup. Happy Hatching day, Zagem." I said. " How old are you now?"

"64," Zagem said. "Another year is done. Still not dead yet!" Zagem beamed with pride.

"You seem happy about that," I said,

"When you're a dragon, you're constantly in danger. There are hunters, Diseases, other dragons, and gods know what else." Zagem said. "Another year lived is another victory achieved, father always said.

"That must be hard, knowing every day that you might die." I said, wondering what it would be like waking up thinking: 'This might be my last day on earth.'

Zagem shook his head. "Nah, we don't constantly think about dying, Most of us don't have time to think about that. What I usually think about is what I feel like eating and if there's a new area I haven't explored"

"Wait wait wait wait," I said. "You said 'hunters' right? What kind of hunters?"

Zagem snorted. "The kind we all fear of, dragon hunters." He said as if that were the most obvious answer.

"Those exist?" I asked, surprised.

"Well of course," Zagem said. "Dragons exist, I thought you'd put two-and-two together by now."

"Right," I said. "But in the twenty-first century?"

"Yes!" Zagem said. "Wait, what year is it?"

"2023," I said. "why?"

"Never mind. Anyways. Yes, dragon hunters exist." Zagem said. "Why they exist nobody can figure out."

He proceeded to tell me about the humans who wore armor made of dragon scales, and slayed dragons, and sold their claws, tails, organs, and heads to the highest bidder.

"They do other stuff besides that, I hear that some capture them alive and force them to fight to the death for the viewing pleasure of humans, and a lot more stuff that I'd rather not think of on my hatching day." Zagem shook his head as if to clear the thoughts in his head.

"That reminds me. What do dragons do on their hatching day?" I asked, changing the subject. "Us humans host celebrations, is it any different for dragons?

Zagem shook his head. "No. Celebrations between dragons don't occur during hatching days. But we do host gatherings and celebrations at times. Mostly to celebrate the death of a well-known dragonslayer, or to have brief moments of peace between us."

I tried to imagine what a gathering of dragons would be like. I figured I would never get to partake in one in my entire lifetime, but it was fun to imagine anyway.

"Anyways, I was thinking, and I thought it would be fun to have our own little celebration right here!" Zagem said cheerfully.

"Right now?" I said.

"Yes!' Zagem said. "Here, come down."

I removed the blanket covering me and jumped down to the ground. Zagem poked his head out further until eventually, he pulled himself fully out from under the bed. It was the first time I had ever seen his whole body, despite not being fully grown yet, he was still really tall. His tail like a giant snake, waving slightly in the darkness. I could see his wings folded in, and it never occurred to me he even had wings.

"Wait, you can fly?" I said.

Zagem laughed. "I may have wings, but I still can't fly yet. About a few more decades though."

He poked his snout back under the bed and came back out with a large jar and a smaller cup and goblet. He pried the jar with his teeth and began pouring a strange liquid in the cups. Once he filled them, he nosed the smaller cup over to me. I picked up the cup and sniffed its contents. The liquid smelled like lemons, and I figured it was some kind of cider.

"Where did you get this stuff from?" I asked.

"I went and grabbed it while you were out," Zagem said, taking a tongueful of the liquid. "Go on, I'll feel bad if I drink this all myself, and you don't get any."

I took a long sip of the liquid, It tasted like lemonade, but had a strange consistency that felt like jelly.

"What is this stuff?" I asked.

Zagem stopped drinking. "Its imperial cider, it comes from many kingdoms. Zagem explained. "I believe it has other names, but this is what it's called mostly."

"Interesting..." I said, drinking more.

We continued to drink the cider until the jar was empty. When we were finished, Zagem thanked me for the happy hatching day and slid back under the bed. Almost instantly, I could hear his gentle snoring, and soon enough, I felt tired too. It was certainly a wonderful night, and probably was my favorite memory of Zagem. But the next day... Zagem told me something. Something that changed my entire life even to this day...