The Cleansing (Book One: The Folara Chronicles)

079: Ondrea

"Mathilde." Ondrea went to her sitting so forlornly on the bar stool. "Where is your dragon?"

"My dragon?" She repeated dumbly. 

Ondrea noticed that Mathilde pushed her hand into a fold of her robe and then fingered something close to her. "You have it here, don't you?"

"I have my dragon, always, like my mother told me." Mathilde withdrew a tiny velvet box, sliding a finger against the grain of it till her nail slid under the crease where it opened and they both leaned closer to stare inside. Looking up at them expectantly was the little jeweled creature they called dragon, which had been passed on through the generations. Ondrea reached a finger to touch it, and it closed its eyes and then spurted a tiny flame of fire that startled her more than hurt her.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" Ondrea said and laid her palm flat against the box as she used to with her own dragon. It had been many years but she still remembered the feel of tiny claws as they mounted her wrinkles and pulled at her pores.

This darling little green dragon blinked its doleful eyes at her and then proceeded to climb out of its box and onto her hand without much hesitation, more as if she/ he/ it was tired of being cooped up. "How often do you let it out, Mathilde?"

"Mostly I forget it's there. It doesn't eat all that often."

"And how do you know when it wants to eat?"

"I- I feel hungry myself and then I start to think about the dragon."

"What have you fed it?"

"I haven't fed it anything. When I opened the box, it flew away for a few hours and when it came back, it went to sleep in its box."

"You know its name, I presume?"

"Name? No. I don't have a name for it. Mother never said."

Ondrea sighed and closed her eyes, projecting into the space between herself and the beautiful dragon. "I am Ondrea Taan." 

"I am Demor." Came the instant feminine reply, as the dragon stretched its scaled little legs and settled in her palm.

"Beautiful." Mathilde breathed. "I've never touched her." She said. "But I hear you talking to her and her answering you."

The shining amber eyes riveted on Ondrea's face, but slid to assess Mathilde as well. "Gretta is your mother." 

Ondrea swallowed. "My dragon was Delfi. Do you know of her?"

The dragon cocked her head, stopped scratching and poised her foot midair. "Of course I know Delfi."

"I miss her, can you tell me where she is?" Ondrea breathed hopefully, her own eyes misting a little at the remembrance of her own tiny friend.

"I can tell you." Without warning the little wings filled out and then with a mighty stretch settled once again gently along her rigid shoulders. "You want to know now? All dragons can speak to each other, and to anyone trained in Zalez well enough to answer us."

Ondrea nodded. "I have been studying Zalez." She said by way of reporting on her progress as if this little creature and it's far off counter parts were somehow wiser, or more versed in Zalez, or what to do in the event of a planetary war erupting.

"Yes, you have acquired Zalez." Demor said, and Ondrea actually thought she felt the gentle probe sent into her mind. "In its infancy." 

"I thought so!" Ondrea exulted. "I have only tapped the surface of its power, haven't I? There is so much more!" This was said out loud and her eyes were excited as she nodded to Mathilde in confirmation. "Demor, did you actually come to the planet with the Zalez, or have you acquired it?"