"That's not how the story goes"

Chapter 1

"Sit." A young wizard lifted his arm, his robe hanging over his hand. In his hand, a treat. A small dragon in front of him followed the wizard's hand. Their tail swished back and forth as they sat down.

"Good boy!" The boy dropped the treat into the dragon's mouth. He knelt down and gave them a hug.

A tall woman walked in and watched the two play for a moment. She smiled and lightly knocked on the open door. The two looked at her.

"Your father wants to go into the town. He was wondering if you wanted to go with him." She explained. The boy's face lit up. He stood and ran to a hook on the wall, the dragon following him on all fours.

The boy took a harness and leash off the hook. He turned to the dragon and helped get it on. He clipped the leash on and ran over to his mother.

"He's downstairs," his mother said. The boy ran downstairs with the dragon. "Be good Alexander!"

"Hey there kiddo!" The father knelt down, his son running into his arms. The boy dropped the leash as his dad lifted him up into a hug. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes!" The boy cheered. The dragon rubbed against the man's leg. The dad laughed and patted the dragon's head.

"I see you're ready as well" The father laughed. He placed his son back on the ground and handed him the leash. "Lets go,"

Alex ran after the dragon, giggling. The dragon ran up to a stand, the leash dragging behind them. They slowed down at the stand. They jumped up and stared at the butcher. The man laughed and rubbed the top of the dragon's head. Alex caught up and grabbed the leash.

"Down," He giggled. The dragon took their hands off the stand and sat down. Alex took a treat out of a satchel and threw it. The dragon caught it and smiled at the boy.

"'Morning, Alex." The butcher smiled.

"Good morning!" Alex cheered. The butcher bent down and fiddled with some things for a moment. He placed a piece of paper down with a dozen cooked pieces of bacon on it. He wrapped the food with a string and handed it to Alex.

Alex took out gold coins from his satchel and placed them on the stand. He took the bacon and the dragon sniffed it, their tail wagging from excitement.

Alex said goodbye to the butcher and the two went over to a wooden bench. Alex sat down and dropped the leash. The dragon climbed onto the bench and sat down next to Alex.

They sat and ate, watching people go up and down the dirt road. Alex pulled out a small notepad as the dragon chased a butterfly around.

"Grrrr...."

Alex turned to watch the dragon for a second. The dragon pounced at the butterfly, a click from their teeth clenching together. The butterfly landed a couple feet away from them. They snuck up on it and pounced again. They failed once more and flopped on the ground and rolled around a bit.

Alex giggled and turned around again. His father walked up to them.

"Hey buddy!" Alex's dad sat next to him. He looked at the notepad and smiled. "That's a really good drawing Alex!"

"Thank you!" He replied. The dragon pranced over and rested their head on Alex's legs.

"Haha, I think Elijah wants to see too." Alex's dad laughed. Alex turned the notepad and showed the dragon. Elijah's tail swished and they smiled.

"I think he likes it," Mr. Orman said. "Let's head home."

"Awww," Alex mumbled. His dad grabbed Elijah's leash with one hand and held Alex's hand in the other.

【┘】

Alex grabbed the leash from the floor and pulled it slightly. He heard a deep growl come from the dragon hiding under a blanket.

"C'mon! You gotta get up!" Alex called. Elijah growled again. Alex sighed and looked around the room. He spotted a small plastic bag sitting on a high shelf. He grabbed it and smiled.

Alex shook the bag. Elijah's head shot up. They crawled out of the pile of blankets and sat in front of Alex.

"I knew that'd get your attention," Alex laughed. He grabbed a hair brush from the nightstand. "Now time to-" Alex looked back and Elijah was gone. He looked around the room. He saw a large tail and wings sticking out from under the bed.

Alex groaned and walked over. He bent down and looked under the bed. There, Elijah was curled up, his horns getting stuck on the bed.

Alex stood up and kicked the dragon's tail. He heard a small yelp from Elijah.

"Elijah, I need to brush your hair! You've got like 4 feet of hair! You're lucky I'm not gonna cut it all off."

The was silent for a moment until Elijah came out from under the bed. Alex sat down and began brushing and braiding Elijah's hair.

Once he'd finished, Elijah went off to change and Alex went downstairs. He saw his parents gathered in the kitchen.

"Ah! There's the birthday boy!" Mr. Orman cheered. He put his arm over Alex's shoulder.

"Happy 17th birthday sweetheart," Mrs. Orman said. "Your grandma was in town and decided to stop by."

Alex smiled and walked over to the older woman in the wheelchair. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she smiled.

"Happy birthday Alex." She reached out and touched Alex's face.

"Thanks grandma," Alex mumbled. There was the sound of claws clicking on the hardwood floor. Elijah came into the kitchen. They noticed the old woman and ran over, their tail wagging.

"Haha, careful Elijah." Mr. Orman laughed. Alex guided his grandmother's hands to Elijah. She patted the dragon's head.

"They're really happy to see you again." Alex smiled. His grandma smiled as well.

"It's been a long time since you were MY guard," The grandma whispered. "Are you treating Alex well?" Elijah put their head on the woman's lap.

"Krista dear, could you get the gifts out of my bag?" 

"Of course Mom." Mrs. Orman said and got two wrapped boxes out of a bag. She handed one to Alex and the other to Elijah.

"Sorry I missed your 150th birthday Elijah." The grandmother said. Elijah opened the box and pulled out a toy. They began playing with it, a squeak heard every couple of seconds.

Alex opened his gift. There was a small ring with a bright red jewel.

"Wow, it looks beautiful!" Alex said. 

"It's not just the looks Alex," The grandmother mumbled. "It's magical. It allows you to talk to them." She pointed in the direction of the dragon, playing with their new toy. 

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