The Dragon Kitten

A Story

The Kingdom of Panamalandia

        Queen Sylvia awoke as the sunlight splashed into the room in colorful streaks, filtered by the stained glass windows portraying the history of dragons. The artwork closest to the throne showed a queen dragon, above all others, wielding the Orb of Enchantment and the Scepter of Power in either talon. Now, as the queen awoke, her gaze rested not on the windows, nor both the Orb of Enchantment and the Scepter of Power laying among her throne and valuables, but on the small bundle of fur and wings at her feet.

        "Rise up and greet the day, child." Queen Sylvia whispered gently. The cat dragon's ear twitched and her eyes fluttered open.

        "I believe it's time you got up." Queen Sylvia murmured as she slowly drew herself to her full height and shook slightly, causing a waterfall of excess golden coins and gem fragments down along her red scales.

        The cat dragon drew herself up as well and stretched her tight muscles.

        "I'm ready." Her voice seemed tiny and lost compared to the queen's iron fisted yet caring voice. Queen Sylvia reached a talon out and the cat-dragon stepped on and was lead up to the back of the queen's neck. 

        "Hold on." Queen Sylvia said. The cat dragon held on tightly as the queen gently walked along the corridor. The cat dragon squeaked in excitement and climbed cautiously up to the queen's head.

        There was a knock.

       "Enter." Queen Sylvia said simply. The doors opened and the same maids, including Skyler, were back and they had what seemed to be a bunch of boiled animals with them.

        "Morning meal, Your Highness." Skyler announced, setting the food on a half broken pillar that met the queen's eye level. Another maid flew up to the pillar and opened a tray of gems. The last and smallest of the maids flapped her wings vigorously until she reached the top.

        "And food for the little one." She panted, opening yet another tray with shreds of chicken meat and a gem on the side.

        "Thank you, you are dismissed." Queen Sylvia said. The maids bowed their heads and were gone. 

        The kitten took one look at the queen and stuffed her face into the tray. She ate so fast Queen Sylvia didn't even notice that she'd begun. The only thing left was the gem, and the cat-dragon looked quizzically at it. 

        "I take it you've never eaten a gem." Queen Sylvia chuckled at the cat-dragon's appetite. 

        "Nor seen one." The cat-dragon added. "What is it?"

        "Why, it's a gemstone. A ruby, to be specific." Queen Sylvia said, taken aback at the cat-dragon's lack of knowledge. "Dragons eat them to become bigger and more powerful. That's why all queens and nobles are so big; they have access to much more gems than a servant or farmer."

        "Oh. But I am no dragon. I'm not even quite sure what I am." The cat-dragon said, looking at her wings, then her tail, then back a the queen.

        "How is that you don't know who you are?"

        "I'm not sure. I don't remember much."

        "I think now is a good time to tell me about your past."

        The cat-dragon looked at her with those mystical eyes. Queen Sylvia felt a deep connection with this cat-dragon already. The cat-dragon nodded.

        "I know that I was raised by only a father. He was a small dragon. He was very kind, but he always seemed to be sad. Every time I looked at him he smiled, though. He taught me very much about words and writing, and he loved to draw. He would draw maps of our homeland, paint portraits of those passing by, and he would always create things to make me smile."

        She took a breath.

        "One day when he was painting me, there was a knock on the door. Two brute-like dragons entered and shoved a paper in front of my father's nose. There was a lot of talk before one dragon clawed my father in the face. I tried to stop them, but one grabbed me and shoved me inside a cage. My father tried call for me, but I do not have a name else I've forgotten it, so his time was wasted. They flew off with me, and I know nothing of what happened to my father. They took me to their cave in the mountains and chained me up, leaving these wounds on me," The cat-dragon gestured to her bandaged cuts. "Three nights ago they left the cave. I felt something come over me and suddenly the chains melted away like a stream of cool water. I flew for hours and hours to the nearest kingdom, in the hopes of receiving help. Each door was slammed shut in my wake, so I flew for even longer to this kingdom, where I collapsed, not knowing nor caring if I lived or died. Yet, you saved me. For that I am eternally grateful." The cat-dragon bowed her head.

        Queen Sylvia looked the cat-dragon up and down.

        "You needn't be grateful, child. I should be grateful that you chose to share such a tragic past with me. I will do what I can to give you a happy life, away from whoever those dragons were." Queen Sylvia promised.

        She would keep that promise......