The Sealed Warrior

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"Dahlia, what are you doing here?" The Queen asked her daughter. The little girl turned to look at her mother. Her strawberry-blonde hair glimmered in the light.
"What are they making in the garden?" The little girl asked. The Queen looked out the rectangular window. Slaves, from the last battle against the Kingdom of Teedor, were building a house-like structure out of white marble.

"That, my dear, is a Den." The Queen simply stated.
"A Den?" The girl inquired. "What is a Den?"

"A Den is the place where the Dragon lives if it chooses. Most of the time, though, the Dragon chooses to live in the cave. But that's no matter," the Queen answered.

The girl opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by her mother, "The Dragon is a guardian to the princess. It is the princess's companion. The Dragon is reborn every one hundred years. Today is the rebirth of the Dragon. That is why I came to get you," The Queen gestured for her to follow, and they walked through the damp corridor. The only light was the sunlight coming through the windows. It shone in multiple, beautiful colors as the sun slowly made its descent from the sky.

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"Your Majesty! Lady Dahlia!" The knight who was guarding the Nursery ran and kneeled in front of them. The Nursery was a pure white building, one story tall and six feet wide.

"Rise, Sir Lamorak. Has the egg hatched?" The Queen inquired. Sir Lamorak slowly raised himself to stand.

"No, Your Majesty but it's about to," he answered the Queen hastily. His armor gleamed, and a large sword hung by his side.

"Come along, Dahlia. Let's go inside. We don't want to miss the Hatching." The Queen told Dahlia. They entered the Nursery.

The Nursery, Dahlia thought, was a bit depressing.

It seemed as if everything was either black or white, and the atmosphere was peacefully sad. Dahlia and the Queen arrived in front of a big red door that bore a knocker shaped like a dragon head.

"Listen carefully," the Queen said. She tapped the knocker against the door in a careful pattern.

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There was a two-second pause between each set of knocks. The Queen released the knocker, and the door swung slowly open. Dahlia felt a warm breeze come from the doorway, then she heard a voice.

"Enter Princess. I have been waiting for you," The voice said. It seemed to be a girl. Her voice was relaxing and calm.

"Mum, did you hear that? Let's go in!" Dahlia exclaimed, racing down the stairs.

The Queen smiled and briskly walked out of the Nursery and back to the palace.

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"You're almost there, just a little farther," the voice whispered. The Princess stepped carefully down the stairs. When she reached the end, Dahlia gasped. On a platform in front of her was the biggest egg she had ever seen. It was a fluorescent blue and had a smooth outer shell. Dahlia, ever so slowly, reached out and placed her index finger on the surface. At the spot where she had touched it, a crack appeared. It was tiny at first but began to spread along the egg. Dahlia stepped back and held her breath.

Had she done something wrong? She wondered. After a second, a tiny head peeked out of the crack.

It was pure white and covered with scales. Its eyes slowly opened to reveal two beautiful magenta irises. It had two horns, connected with pink hued skin. It slowly worked its way out of the egg, revealing more of its body. It had two wings and four legs. Its belly was also pink and it had a tail that unfurled to a sharp point. The smell that came from the egg wasn't what she expected it to be. It had a soft smell of lavender and she swore she saw a spark of lightning in the egg shell. The creature stared at the girl with curiosity. Dahlia did the same. She looked into the eyes of the creature and something swelled inside her. The creature was a beautiful sight and it seemed that she had seen it before, but Dahlia had never seen this creature before in her life.

"We meet again, Princess," The creature seemed to tell her. "You seem confused. I am a dragon if you could not tell. I do not yet have a name. That is for you to choose, Princess."

The dragon looked at Dahlia expectantly, waiting for an answer. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She turned to look at her mother who was not there.

"Is there-Is there a specific thing I need to say?" Dahlia inquired. Her mother always wanted her to be polite on any occasion. Even when she asked to use the washroom during classes.

The dragon shook her head, "No, tell me the meaning though. As everyone else does."

Dahlia's mind started to race. What should her name be? Is it even a girl? Of course, it was a girl. She had a girl's voice. Finally, Dahlia made up her mind.

"Dragon," Dahlia said, looking the creature in the eyes, "Your name will be Levina. Which means 'Lightning bolt.'"

Levina opened her wings and jumped into the air, hovering in front of the Princess's face. Her wings tickled the Princess's nose causing her to laugh. Dahlia's excited eyes met Levina's eyes

"I will protect you until I die, Princess," Levina promised.