The Master of Dragons

Chapter 14

      Daniella stood in front of the small table in the banquet hall, staring at the coffee pot with her hands on her hips. She furrowed her eyebrows as she continued to stare at the machine and the wall behind it. Her grandmother appeared beside her as Daniella continued to study the machine.

"Problems?" her grandmother asked.

"There isn't a plug," Daniella replied, continuing to stare at the coffee machine.

"A plug? Like an electrical outlet? You won't find those here. Electricity that runs through houses doesn't really work here," Lao Lao explained.

"I was 'this' close to having a cup of coffee. How am I supposed to make this work?" Daniella grumbled.

"Didn't you learn how to use the element of Lightning?"

"Well, yeah. But I don't have my staff to use that element. Are you saying that I have to have my staff to get a cup of coffee?" Daniella asked in disbelief.

"Not for a little zap of electricity to make a little machine make a cup of coffee. But if you think you can't do it, I guess you can't have a cup of coffee."

      Daniella looked from her grandmother to the coffee machine with a new determination. She reached out a hand and took a deep breath before touching the side of the machine. It blinked to life and the heating element started to glow. Daniella jerked her hand away as the machine turned off. She looked from hand to the machine and then back to her hand. She turned to her grandmother.

"Where would I find coffee in the village? I don't think that I want coffee grounds that Grandfather used," the blonde asked.

"There might be some at the tea shop, but I haven't been to the village for goods in a while."

"I see. I'll just run down and see. I'm sure Ozir knows."

      Lao Lao nodded. Daniella turned to leave the banquet hall before turning back around. Daniella looked down at her shirt and yoga pants before looking at her grandmother. She cleared her thought as she tried to find the right words.

"Do I, um, do I have to change out of what I have on? Like do I have to wear the outfit from yesterday, or something similar to that when I go out?" Daniella stumbled.

"Of course not! You can wear what you want! The outfits that are in the wardrobe are from the village dressmakers. It would make them happy if you wore it to special occasions of the village, but you most certainly wear what you have on. The villagers will understand," her grandmother answered with a small smile. Daniella let out a sigh of relief as she thanked her grandmother and left the banquet hall.

      She ran into Lotus at the front door, who was sunbathing in the light of one of the windows. Lotus stood and stretched again before walking up to Daniella and rubbed against her legs. The blonde laughed as she reached down and rubbed between Lotus's ears.

"Sometimes I forget that you are a dragon. You act more like a cat than anything," Daniella said.

"Says the one that likes naps more than me," Lotus replied.

"True," Daniella giggled.

"So where are you going?" Lotus asked.

"I am running into the village in search of coffee grounds. Lao Lao and I found the coffee machine, so I am gonna make a cup of coffee," Daniella replied.

"Do you want to come with?"

"As fun as it sounds, I think I will stay here. I want to finish my nap," Lotus declined with a yawn.

"Alright, have fun!" Daniella said, with a wave before walking out the door into the sun.

      Daniella shielded her eyes from the bright sun as she yawned again. She blinked a couple of times before walking down the stairs to the path that led into the heart of the village. She made sure to stay out of the way of the busy carts taking goods from here to there. She smiled as she watched some of the children play with a ball. When the ball rolled over to her feet, the children stopped a couple of feet from Daniella. She smiled softly and did a few little tricks with the ball before kicking it softly back to the children. They stared in awe before thanking her nicely and running off with their ball.

"See? I told you the villagers would like you," a voice from behind her. Daniella turned and smiled at Ozir who had slithered up to her.

"It's just a different atmosphere is all. How are you today?"

"I am wonderful. I was just about to come to the Great Library to give you a status report on the wall and the repairs from yesterday's fight."

"Oh, right. How much work is left to be done?" Daniella asked as her smile fell as they walked along the path.

"There was minimal damage done to the surrounding buildings, most was done from the initial explosion of the wall, so those damages have been fixed. As for the wall, the repairs have been started and the wall has been built up halfway. Our masonry workers and volunteers have been working very hard to get the wall back up," Ozir reported, reading from a piece of paper. Daniella continued to walk down the path listening to Ozir's report, guilt slowly starting to fill her stomach. Ozir turned her gaze to the blonde next to her.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Ozir asked, lowering her paper.

"Oh, yeah, I know. But I feel like I should do more to help with the wall. I don't really think I could use my powers right now, but I can use a trowel and mud to help put the bricks up. I would need to have a lesson or two though. That might slow things down," Daniella rambled as she let her thoughts flood through her lips. Ozir sped up and stopped right in front of Daniella. She held out her arms and gently stopped Daniella.

"No, you don't. You have done enough as it is! You fought the demon and banished it from the village, protecting the people. We can fix the wall, you rest." Ozir reassured. Daniella blinked before nodding with what Ozir was saying. Ozir looked into her lavender eyes and pulled Daniella into a hug. Daniella sighed and leaned into her shoulder trying to hold in the tears. They stood there for a moment before they both pulled away and started walking down the path again.

"So how are you?" Ozir asked.

"Okay, I guess. I'm still dealing with a lot still but I am making it. I am really tired though." Daniella answered with a nervous smile.

"I see. I know that there is a few shops in the village that sell teas for that!"

"Well, I was looking for coffee grounds. I found my grandfather's coffee machine and I would like to make a cup of coffee."

"Oh! I know where to find those too! Come on!"Ozir said excitedly as she grabbed Daniella's hand and pulled her down thepath.