Mourning May Bells

Prologue: A name is all I have

      Summer storms are usually quick and unpredictable. They come unexpectedly and go unexpectedly. This June night was no different.

     A cold wind was blowing from the sea. Waves were surging and furiously smashing against the rocky cliffs and dark clouds were ominously swirling in the sky. No rays of moonlight could find its way through. Anyone could feel the electrifying sensation in the air that preceded a disaster. Up on the cliffs, dry yellowish grass tossed wildly in the wind. Usually only its dreary rustling could be heard, but that was now drowned out by the howling gales. There wasn't a single living being on the shore. Everyone who had been living in this place, and there weren't many, hastily found shelter far away from the sea in an attempt to avoid the bad weather. There was a small grove there, and although it didn't look very exuberant, it was still a better option than staying out in the open.

     Lightning lit up the landscape and was immediately followed by rumbling thunder. It didn't take long before the first raindrops fell to the ground. They were big and heavy, and the clouds let go of everything they held. It was raining ropes and they drenched anything that crossed their path. Even the dragoness, who was hiding among the young trees in the grove, was completely soaked. Yet it looked as if she had been awaiting the rain for a long time. She waited for the grass to form puddles and then impatiently began to roll in the fresh mud. She was on her back one second, then on her stomach the next. The dragoness was digging into it with her snout and rubbing it on her skin. A fin at the end of her tail helped her reach places she couldn't reach with her hands. Apart from the mud itself, she mixed fallen leaves and grass into it. She looked very agitated, her movements were rash and distracted. Whatever she was trying to do, she was effectively able to cover up her own scent. But the rain was relentless and vivid yellow skin was showing through the mud here and there. The dragoness paid no attention to that. She scooped up as much of the soft soil as she could in one of her hands and staggered off into the thicket.

     The place she was headed was a miserable-looking nest hidden among low bushes and tree roots. There were two small eggs sitting in it, beige in colour with uneven blue spots all over them. The dragoness slipped through the branches and threw the mud she was holding onto them. Another bolt of lightning shot through the pitch-black sky. It only took this brief moment for the light to reveal her shaken expression and pale eyes full of worries. Her limbs trembled as she tried to camouflage her eggs. Just as she finished her work, a small crack appeared on one of them. Then a second one, a third. "No. No, no, no," the dragoness cried in despair, "not now." She hunched over and grasped the egg with both hands. It couldn't have chosen a better time for hatching. The dragoness became even more panicked than she had already been. What's more, the other egg started cracking, too. She put the one in her hands back into the nest and pulled them both closer to her body, shielding them from the battering rain. Curled around them, the mother watched as a little dark blue head peeked out of the broken eggshells. It was slightly shivering and letting out quiet squeals. Not long after, a second head appeared. This time, it was light blue with a beige lower jaw.

     As soon as both hatchlings turned to their mother, she broke out in a cold sweat. "Why do they all have yellow eyes..." she muttered. Looking into those two pairs of glinting beads, she wanted to shout and run away, but... They were her children after all. She couldn't abandon them just like that. Not yet.

     The dragoness quickly looked around, then back at the two little dragons who were struggling to completely get out of the eggshells. She helped the light blue one as it obviously wasn't strong enough. She thereupon took it in her arms and the dark one gently in her mouth. As she was getting ready to take off, something in the bushes startled her and she unknowingly tore the wing of the little one in her arms. It yelped loudly, but couldn't be consoled for anything. Alarmed, the dragoness didn't wait any longer and spread her wings.