The Dragonlady

Chapter Four

The scenario repeated night after night. He refused the bowl at first, but when Rin returned the following day, it was empty. Blue rumbled happily when she arrived and petted him, only hissing when she mentioned leaving. Rin began to stop reminding him about leaving, preferring to enjoy their camaraderie.

A great festival was planned in the city. Rin's employers wanted to attend, so granted her the whole day off. Eno planned to watch the procession from the vantage point of their window, preferring to be out of the crowds and the crush.

"I'll go to see Blue. He might be worried about the noise." Rin said, picking up a small bag of food for her dragon.

"Aye. That might be a good idea. He's not accustomed to noise. It will be better for him when we return to the cave again."

Rin had not mentioned Blue's apparent reluctance to return to the cave, and thought it best not to mention it to Eno just yet for fear of marring the day. She made certain that Eno was comfortable in the chair by the window and that he had food and a drink at his side.

"I won't be too long, dad."

"Take as much time as you need with Blue. He must be feeling quite lonely out there on his own."

Rin nodded and left, forging her way against the growing throng of people coming through the city gate. It was easy to spot Blue. Many people, most commenting on his colour, surrounded the dragon. The people of the city had become used to him and the rarity of his colour, but these people were obviously visitors, drawn by the festival. Rin was a little irritated by the amount of people crowding around Blue until she saw that there was another dragon at his side. This one had scales that had a green sheen which complimented Blue's tone, adding rather than subtracting from the fascination of the rare colour. Standing near the green dragon was a young man, attempting to maintain the crowd a comfortable distance from the reptilian pair. Rin squirmed her way through the crowd to Blue's side.

The young man frowned as she broke through the scrum and yelled. "Get back. Leave them in peace. For your own safety, please keep your distance."

"Blue is mine." Rin shouted back, crossing the empty grass towards her dragon. Blue rumbled a greeting, raising his head and sniffing the air. The other dragon also raised its head, turning towards Rin. The young man tried in vain to prevent Rin reaching Blue. Blue hissed at him as the man pushed Rin back.

"What do you think you're doing?" The young man yelled as Rin embraced Blue around the neck. Blue nuzzled her with affection, rumbling loudly. The eyes of the green dragon opened wide, surprise evident in the ocean-blue depths.

"I said, Blue is mine. I've known him since he was a nestling, and raised him to adult."

"Yours?" The young man sounded incredulous.

"Mine." Rin hung on to Blue's neck as the dragon turned his head to the young man, hissing a warning. The crowd moved closer, as if to rescue the young woman, although many made surprised comments about the ease in which she had approached the dragon and her foolishness in hugging it around the neck. The young man stopped arguing with Rin and tried to push back the encroaching crowd. Without warning, Blue dipped his head and inhaled. He let out a roar and belched a flame. The crowd stumbled back in an attempt to flee. There was chaos for a few moments, then the crowd moved as one toward the city gate, screaming and shouting for help. Rin just giggled and released Blue, patting him on the neck, then stroked his cheeks. Blue rumbled gently and nuzzled Rin once again.

"That's got rid of them all." Rin laughed. "Good boy, Blue." The green dragon watched Rin warily, but as Blue seemed totally at ease, it poked its snout between Blue and Rin, sniffing and flicking its tongue into the air.