Hatch: A Dragon Story

Chapter I: Smaug's Message

"You?" Marman's face was not just of surprise but of horror. "Stop playing tricks with me, fool. I will burn you to the ground if you don't hand over the human right now!"

Olivias looked frightened all of a sudden and she cried, "But it is me! I'm the one you captured from the palace!"

Marman's mind began whirling.
"it can't be," he said.

"It is! Has your mind gone funny or something?"

"Yes, I think it has."

Marman squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, but the girl was still a dragon. Marman was now very confused. He was sure that he had captured a human, not a dragon. 

He leaned forward and sniffed Olivias. Yes, she was definitely a reptile, but did she know that?

"What type of species are you?" asked Marman, peering deeply into Olivias's eyes.

"I'm human, of course... or... wait," Olivias frowned. "Why are you suddenly smaller than you used to be?"

"I think," said Marman, "that you'd have better look at yourself in the stream."

Olivas nodded and got up, but then immediately fell back down.

"I... I feel heavier," she said. "Almost as if a giant rock is forcing me down."

"Try again," he said.

She did, but this time managed to stumble a few steps forward.  When she got to the stream, Olivias peered down, roared with fright, and toppled backwards.

"Did that... did that come out of me?" she asked and then clasped her hand over her mouth realizing that her voice sounded a lot deeper than it usually was.

"And that... dragon in the stream," she said. "Was that... me?"

"I... think so," said Marman, suddenly having respect for another dragon.

"And this claw..." she looked at her talons, hardly breathing. "This is also mine?"

"Yes," said Marman, also shocked.

"And these wings?" she said, looking at her wide purple wings.

"Those are yours," said Marman, wishing that he had as fine wings as hers.

"But... how?" Then Olivias remembered the potion she drank and laughed. "I did it! I did it! I am now a dragon!"

Olivias hopped around gleefully while Marman looked at her with astonishment and disappointment. Now he would have nothing to prove to the Tester that he had captured a real-life human.

"Can you, erm, possibly turn back into a human?" asked Marman.

"No way!" roared Olivias. "Now that I am a dragon, no one will boss me about! I will be the toughest dragon in the world!"

Marman thought about getting a new human from the castle, but it was too far away and they would probably be armed by now.

"Now that you're a dragon," huffed Marman. "I suppose you can fly away now. You know, go live by yourself. Eat fish for the rest of your life and never return home."

Olivias stopped celebrating and turned back to Marman.

"Oh, yes," she said. "I suppose you're right. But..." with this, she looked hopefully at Marman. "Can I... maybe... just maybe... for a short time... stick with you? Just so I can get used to the outside world, you know."

Just as Marman was about to say it was a terrible idea, he remembered how sad and lonely he felt when his mother had always left him and gone hunting for fish.