Dragon Dust

Bianca

"Dorian. Wake up," Artemis said gently. Dorian opened his eyes. It was very early. He woke up facing his balcony and could see it was the crack of dawn. The morning of the final harvest had arrived. Dorian's sixteenth birthday.

"Why so early?" he groaned. He'd been up late, as usual, dealing with the effects of his curse. He felt his mother place something on his bed near him. Whatever it was, it was vibrating and twitching. He flinched with shock and sat up in bed to see what his mother had given him. She chuckled with excitement.

It was an egg. Dorian watched it intensely as it began to crack. A small cheap came from the shell. He wondered if he should help the creature inside. A small, glittery, violet wing emerged. He flinched again at the sudden movement. An arm pushed out. It tugged and pulled. The head must have been stuck. Dorian reached over and peeled some of the shell away. The baby spread its wings and the egg cracked open completely. It tumbled over and somersaulted toward the edge of the bed. Dorian gasped and rushed to her rescue, but she didn't fall.

"Careful little one. I don't want you to hurt yourself," he said. It was a newborn dragon that looked up and saw him for the first time. She cheeped excitedly and flapped her wings. Dorian's heart swelled up at the sight of her. He was in love again. She flapped her wings again and tried to fly, but she had a day or two to go before she could do that. She jumped right into Dorian's arms and gazed up at him with bulging amethyst eyes. She cooed and gurgled baby noises. This made Dorian laugh. To his amazement she nestled her head into his bare chest, making herself comfortable. He sat down on the edge of the bed, continuing to cradle her in his arms.

"Happy birthday, Dorian," Artemis said softly. He looked up at his mother gratefully. She knew how much he loved dragons. He would admire their flight from his bedroom windows as a child. Every year he would ask for a pet dragon for either his birthday or Yuletide. Artemis would never satisfy his desire for one, until now. After all, dragons are a handful to take care of. She hoped this would enlighten her son to responsibility as well as please him.

"I love her already," he said. Artemis smiled warmly at her son with his new pet. It was like he was a little boy again, but she had to look past that because he wasn't. Things were changing and they had to.

"What will you name her?" Artemis asked curiously. Dorian gazed down at the dragon in his arms. He thought to himself for a while.

"I like the name Amethyst, because of her eyes," he said. Amethyst climbed up onto his shoulders. Dorian winced from her claws digging into his skin.

"That's a perfect name. Now come on and get dressed. You've got a big day ahead of you. Your cousins from the western kingdom are here," Artemis explained. They were Queen Meinwen's children. They were triplets. The eldest was Nymphera, a red-headed beauty who was as fiery as her mother. The youngest was Arvane, a calm and quiet young thing. Right in between the two sisters was their brother, Tiernan. He was the jealous type, the one that always strived for attention. He got along with Dorian and Demetrius just as well as the two of them alone did. They took care of him like he was their baby brother more than e was a cousin, but on occasion he could be a bit annoying.

Dorian descended the grand staircase into the fore of the castle, dressed and ready to greet the family he hadn't seen in quite a while. He felt movement at his feet. He looked down to see that Amethyst had followed him.

"Hello girl," he said. She climbed up his leg, around his waist and chest and over his shoulders. Dorian stepped forward heading toward the front doors again. His triplet cousins were the happiest to see him. They ran toward him and they all embraced in a group hug.

"How was your trip?" he asked casually.

"Agonizing," Arvane answered miserably.

"I'm sorry," he said. Arcane looked at him and smiled. She hadn't intended to be mean to him. "Was Tiernan terrible to you again?" Tiernan crossed his arms in playful offense at Dorian's question.