scrubbing the gristle from the wet whitenes
neath the lamb meat, that it reminds Ethan Edgecr
e floor when I am bored. My hands rub raw from the wor
an and laps it from my hand
id bones clean each night – the same
r of the dining hall, waiting for me to transform them. It is a ritual for Ethan,
well, but instead, he has me pla
them. The blue flames leave no smell, and in seconds they
asy to snap, when he thinks I am being impulsive.
his green-blue scales flow when he recalls how fragile I was when he found me, chained to a rock a
rinking only the rainwater, le
." Gently, Ethan bi
ng being swallowed into the great fiery
thed me as best he could, his low s
oungest princess of my kingdom, an
could, boxing him on the nose. He sneezed, with great force lik
ly you crave a proper introduction. My name is Ethan Edgecromb, and I have come to take you home. I hope you find my fortress accommodating,
for a dragon! How do you get respect from other
er dragon. I suppose it is a silly name for a dr
g that had been very rare in my household, as I was the youngest of a veritable horde of children from my
the cliff side. "I'd rather stick with Et
Ethan, I could be anything I wanted to. I jumped at t
ow. "But isn't that a b
e of all the heroes in stories, Jack the Beanstalk
alisa Who wanted to be a wilting flow
ll have to give me a sword, because all proper heroes have swo
've struck a deal, Jackie," the dragon declared. He exten
dubiously. "That's a v
to protect
my own battle
sced. "You're ri
ped it vigorously, trying to d
not frightened b
rightened of anything, come hell or high water, dragons or the dea
se, like a proper la
climbed onto his offered neck, holding on t
?" he
ppose