He paused for a moment, took out the egg and laid it in his daughter's hands.
“Happy birthday, my jewel.“ He lovingly kissed her on the forehead.
The eyes of the child beamed and became far in amazement.
“Is that really for me? A real dragon egg? I'm overwhelmed, you've never given me such a great gift before, thank you very much.“
The fascination with which the girl looked at the egg, filled me with pride. I had brought together two beings previously determined by fate. But the joy didn‘t last long, for my brother immediately vetoed it.
“My Lord, do you think your plan is wise? After all, we‘re talking about a dragon, this isn‘t a dog. Dragons are dangerous creatures.“
Even Lucia joined Claus. “How can you give our daughter a present like this when you're out of your mind?"
It was at this moment that all the adults began to wring their hands on Ephraim. Everyone expressed their concerns. Except me.
“That's enough now“, Ephraim cried out loudly and silenced everyone, “stop the confusion. I don't want to hear any more from any of you. That's a done deal. My daughter will raise the dragon because she's the one for it. If someone has a problem with my decision, he has a personal problem with me. I don't like being questioned. And now we sit down together at the table and eat comfortably, this talk of yours has made me very hungry. And if anyone mentions the dragon at the table, I'll throw him out on his head.“
My little appeal to Ephraim three days ago must have been fruitful. He had put his foot down and has put his fist on the table. The mood was tilted, but there was no mention of it at the dinner. Even my brother held back, even though it was burning under his nails. Thank God he didn't know where Ephraim got the egg.
After a week I received a joyful message from the castle. Larissa asked me to join her, she wanted to show me something. I found her in the back of the garden, by the rose bushes. And she wasn't alone. The newly hatched dragon was enthroned on her shoulder. His skin was black and the underside of his belly reddish. Two horns rose from his head and his eyes were azure blue. He typically had four legs and two leather wings. The elongated back was spiked.
“Well, what do I see? It's a beautiful creature.“
The dragon aimed at me. I stopped as I had learned and bowed deeply. These beings were very proud and had to be treated accordingly. He noticed that I was well-disposed towards him and therefore continued to sit on Larissa's shoulder. The girl knocked on the empty place next to her, as a sign I should sit down. The dragon sniffed curiously at my hand, he memorized the picture of me by drawing in my smell. But it was a while before he trusted me, too. Then he spread his wings and flew up lofty. Fascinated, we both watched him draw wide circles in the light of the sun.
“Have you thought of a name for him yet?"
“Yes, I did. His name is Crux.“
And for the first time in three hundred years, the call of the Dragon resounded out into the world.
Moving out
Crux didn't leave his new girlfriend's side anymore. He ate with her, ran with her through the woods and even slept with her in a bed. The two were inseparable. The castle quickly got used to him. You only had to lay his food raw down for him anyway, he could roast it himself. Larissa always made sure that her dragon didn't break anything in the castle. Although Crux was still a bit clumsy at first, he went to such lengths not to disgrace her. The winter was over again and the snow began to melt. The first offspring were sticking their heads out of the ground and Larissa and Crux were playing in the garden. I watched her to make sure everything went as expected. Behind me I heard footsteps in the gravel road and when I looked around, my brother stood behind me.
"Hello, sister. Do you admire this misfortune?"
"Claus, I don't know at all why you're so negative. We have nothing to fear from this dragon, I had assured you of that after his birth.“
"It's this whole team that worries me. Having a dragon raised by a child is more than negligent and dangerous.“
I looked at him in disgruntled mood, he wanted to argue with me again.
"Oh, well, then explain one thing to me. Why are you the only one who doesn't like this thing? All vampires, the complete clan of werewolves and also our circle get along with it. Why don't you? Why can't you just stop being so dogged and enjoy yourself for a change? There hasn't been such an event for three hundred years, and now it's happening right in front of us.“
"May I not be afraid? Didn't any of you think about the consequences? One day the dragon may not be so nice anymore, then he will attack a village, plunder the treasures and leave nothing but burnt earth behind and when that happens, sister, I have won for this time.“
He took his finger off my chest, he had drilled it threateningly into my flesh and looked at me discontentedly. When he was gone, I heard Larissa's voice.
"What's Claus got against me and the dragon?"
She stood behind me, had once again approached unnoticed, she was so quiet.
„Have you been eavesdropping again? Well, don't worry about him, he'll get over it. You have to know it's the fire that he fears so much because he can't control it like you and I can. That's why he doesn't like the dragon.“
“Crux will never harm anyone, not even Claus. Not even if I wanted to.“
“And that's a good thing, too. Your job is to raise Crux, and you're doing good. If you continue as before, you will lead a long, carefree life together.“
The dragon grew fast. Already after a short time he had no more room in Larissa's bed and got a stable in the back of the garden. One day all of a sudden valuable objects disappeared from the castle. A gold-plated candlestick had been stolen from Ephraim's study, the fine porcelain plates with the silver rim had been stolen from the kitchen, Lucia had been robbed of her jewellery, and Larissa missed her gem-set hair clip, which her mother had given her for her birthday. They called me for advice. If I could see where the pieces were now. If the thief was caught, he'd be properly punished. I already had a hunch, it could only be that way. And when I led them to the dragon's den, they had found their culprit. The dragon had stolen the things, he had become magically attracted to them and had brought them here with him. Everyone stood bewildered in the door, only the dragon made an innocent face.
“Well, that's enough now, Larissa. I told you not to make him a thief, but to raise the dragon properly.“
“I'm sorry, Father. I had no idea what he was doing here.“
“Please forgive me, Ephraim“, I intervened, “your daughter is not to blame. This is a completely normal behavior of young dragons. He's hoarding. He collects precious things from his surroundings and then brings them here. It's a clear sign of letting him go soon.“
Larissa came up to me worried. “What do you mean, let him go?"
“He needs a new place to stay. Hoarding's the first sign of that. He can't stay here forever, in a few years he'll be full-grown, then he'd be much too big anyway. You'll have to let him go so he can find a burrow nearby.“
“And where will he go?"
“This I don’t know. He has to decide for himself. Dragons will choose their caves according to various criteria, partly because of the food supply, but also because he wants to stay close to you.“
Lucia, as always, had reservations. “Does it really have to be that you let him go? What if he doesn't come back or worse, people see him?"
“They won't, my dear. Since the last dragons were forgotten, people have forgotten to perceive them. Only if they were taught again they could see him. I will not deny, however, that