Autumnal Equinox

I looked over my shoulder. It was near midnight and the moon was the only source of light aside from the guards who patrolled the castle walls. I kept close to the shadows, trying to stay hidden and out of the range of light. The wind was blowing loudly, covering the soft sound of my feet running through the grass.

It didn’t take long for me to get to the weak spot of the back wall. I began to climb and was about to lift a leg over it when I heard someone speak behind me.

“So this is how you’ve been sneaking out.”

I squeaked in surprise and lost my footing. I lay dangling from the top of the wall and the person behind me laughed.

“You could at least help me,” I grumbled. Two hands grabbed my waist and helped me down. I turned and glared at my father. “You scared me!”

King Zeke shook his head in amusement. “Autumn, what are you doing out here every night?”

I was uncertain for a minute but the look on his face told me to be truthful. I sighed heavily.

“I can’t tell you. I have to show you.”

“All right but we’re getting your mother.”

I groaned but followed him. “Do we have to?”

“You need to learn to take responsibility, missy.”

I huffed as they climbed the stairs back to the main hall. The guards looked at me in surprise and I smirked at how easy it was for me to sneak by them. Well, until my father caught the grin on my face. I cleared my throat and waited for him to return with my mother.

A few minutes later, she was storming down the stairs. Her husband hung back, his face a mixture of humor and slight fear.

“What were you thinking?” she demanded. “You could have hurt yourself!”

“Mom, I’m fine,” I said, rolling my eyes.

But she didn’t listen. She looked me over.

“No bruises? No broken bones?” I rolled her eyes again when my mother saw my hands and gasped. “You’ve scraped your hands!”

“Only because Father snuck up on me,” I said bitterly. “I was climbing the wall.”

The queen put her hands on her hips. “And why were you climbing the wall?”

I sighed heavily. “Well, you might as well follow me,” I said grudgingly.

I heard my parents chuckle and huffed again as we walked into the cool night air. When we got out the main gate, I did an immediate right, holding up my skirts so they wouldn’t snag on the brambles. I turned around, hoping my parents wouldn’t have a hard time, but I should have known better. My mother moved fluidly and my father walked as if he didn’t even notice.

I looked ahead, smiling in spite of my annoyance. My mother had been an orphan when she first met my father. She had been a bit of rebel herself. I had always been a bit of a problem child, always getting into things I shouldn’t. It drove my parents crazy, even more so now that I had turned 18.

When we reached the edge of the forest, I heard my mother’s sharp intake of breath.

“Is that fire?” she said.

“Just wait,” I answered, practically running.

If I missed it, I would be so angry with them both.

When we finally came to the end of our little quest, my father whistled. Sitting in the middle of a clearing was a blazing fire. And, in the middle of the fire-

“A dragon’s egg,” I said happily, sitting in front of it. “It started hatching last night.”

“Did you light this fire?” my mother asked, sitting to my right and my father to my left.

I could tell she was just as interested as I was, despite her anger with me.

“No. I was out here about a month ago when I smelled smoke. I followed it and this was sitting here. I read about dragon eggs and, when an egg has been abandoned, somehow it lights this fire to incubate it since the mother can’t do it herself.”

“It’s an awfully small dragon egg,” my father pointed out.

I nodded. “It’s a pocket dragon. Apparently, they don’t get any bigger than two feet long and three feet high.”

Suddenly, the fire extinguished and we covered our faces as the egg’s shell splintered into a thousand pieces. I leaned forward, excitement spreading through me, as a small dragon emerged. It had red and black scales. It shook itself and looked up. Its eyes locked with mine and I felt a strange sweeping sensation run through my body, making me shiver.

I put my hands palm up on the forest floor. Slowly, as if unsure if it could trust me, it walked over on wobbly feet. It settled on my palms. It was very warm. I lifted it close to my face and it began to purr.

“Hello there,” I whispered. “What’s your name?”

I do not have one.

I jumped and almost dropped it. I looked at my parents.

“Did you hear that?” I gasped and they shook their heads no. “It spoke to me!” I looked back at it and tilted my head to the side. It did the same. “Oh! Mother, Father! It has imprinted on me!”

Are you my mother?

I hesitated. “No, no I’m not your mother. Well, I didn’t give birth to you.”

Are you my mother? it asked again.

“Looks like we have a new pet,” I heard my father mutter and I grinned.

I put my face close to the dragon’s and it touched my nose with one of its front paws.

“Yes, I am your mother.”

What is my name?

I thought for a minute, pursing my lips. I remember reading a name in a fantasy book that I rather liked.

“I’ll call you Pendragon,” I said finally and the dragon purred again. “You- you are a boy right?” The dragon nodded and I grinned. “Well, let’s take you to your new home, Pendragon.”

I stood up, being careful not to drop him. He extended his wings and flapped them experimentally. He managed to stay in the air long enough to get on my shoulder. Still purring, he curled into a ball and I grinned at my parents.

“I guess you’re a mother,” my father said with wide eyes.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” my mother added, reaching out timidly.

I do not bite.

“He says it’s okay to pet him. He won’t bite.”

They both smiled and ran a finger from the top of his head down to between his wing joints. He even licked their fingers gently, making my mom giggle.

“It’s late,” my father said, still sounding awed. “We all need to rest.”

I nodded in agreement. “Stay still, Pendragon. I don’t want you to fall.”

Worry not. I will be fine.

I couldn’t stop grinning as we headed back to the palace.