Life can be cruel as a Dragon | Rio's Story

Chapter 13 New Beginnings and Sudden Endings

They waited patiently, day after day, night after night. Until the big day finally came. The egg began to twitch and wobble. You could hear a scratching and even small squeaks. Rio and fen sat tensely in front of the egg. "Should we help the little one? how do we know the baby will make it?" stressed Fen. "The baby will be fine, it's his instincts that tell him what to do. Don't worry." Rio tried to calm Fen and took her in his arms. He was worried about that too; he just didn't want to show her.

But there! a crack appeared on the egg. The crack almost went around. The little one tried to break the shell by jumping against it, and the shell kept opening briefly every now and then. So, the two could catch a glimpse of their baby. That made them even more excited.

Then, finally, it hatched. A small, healthy dragon girl was born. Before she could open her eyes, she felt a large tongue lick over her. Fen licked her baby daughter clean and then carefully picked her up to show her to Rio. "Look darling, our baby, our beautiful daughter." said fen proudly.

Rio was head over heels for her. He could hardly believe that he was now a father. He swore to protect her with everything he has and to love her with all his love. He took her out of Fen's paws and held her in his arms while mom cleaned the nest. When he turned back to her, he noticed that she tried to open her eyes. it wasn't that easy, the sun was so bright, the world was sooo bright and cold. Very different than in her egg where it was so warm and dark.

"Fen, look, she's trying to open her eyes!" said Rio excitedly. Fen ran to them, expectantly they watched the baby. When she finally opened her eyes, they both gasped. They were as beautiful as the night sky with twinkling stars in it. Midnight blue with hints of purple and green in it, like the northern lights. Her skin was a dark turquoise with purple on the tips of her wings and some white from her chin to her stomach. In the evening the little one saw the night sky for the first time. she was amazed by all the stars and shooting stars. she always did this for all the following nights.

A few days later Rio approached fen "how is our sunshine doing?" he asked. "Well, the way a baby does, doesn't move much yet, looks around a lot, likes to cuddle. I think she's happy." she answered. "that's good, have you already thought of a name?" he wondered. "Yes, yes I did. I was thinking about Stargaze because she loves the stars so much. what do you think?" suggested fen. "That's a great name, suits her." Rio turned to his daughter. "What do you think, huh? Does Stargaze sound good?" Rio asked smiling while he carefully stroked the little one's Belly with a claw. She smiled and giggled at him, trying to grab his claw to chew on it. The happy parents looked at her with incredible love and just let out an aww.

Months have passed since then and little Stargaze grew and grew. She could already walk a little, although it still looked very clumsy. One afternoon, gale stopped by unexpectedly, worried he really wanted to talk to Rio alone. The two disappeared briefly in the forest. When they came out, Rio's facial expression had completely changed. He looked like he used to, cold and angry. Fen was sitting on her nest with Stargaze who was sleeping when Rio came over to them. As he approached her, he looked at his daughter who was sleeping blissfully. then he looked at fen. "what's up Rio? what did gale want from you? did something happen?" asked fen worried. Rio took a deep breath, gave his daughter and fen a kiss on the forehead and said: "I love you two with all my heart, never forget that okay?". Fen looked puzzled. "Honey, what's the matter? you scare me." she answered. "I have to go, I have to, do you understand? Don't worry about me, take good care of our daughter. If anything happens, Gale will come and take you to Master Pho, you'll be safe there." he said in a slightly trembling voice which he is trying to hide. He looked at both of them again, sighed, and before fen could answer or react, Rio flew away. Overwhelmed with the situation, fen could only look behind him while she hugged her baby. She whispered, "I don't know what's going on here, but it's going to be alright Stargaze. Mommy's here." she curled up in the nest with her baby and cried softly. Will he ever come back?