Dragon Marked

Chapter 8: easy quiz, and three sets of numbers.

Question 1: What is your full name? (First, middle, last.)

Kate wrote down her name. Kate Cynthia Swordstone.

Question 2: Do you have a dragon?

Kate looked down at Edith, who was still in her, waist bag. Edith told her say yes, but that I'm NOT fighting. Kate wrote down yes, and looked at...

question 3: If you answered ye to question 2, are you and your dragon willing to fight? If you answer for question 2 was no, are you willing to fight?

Kate wrote down no.

Question 4: Anyone you would request to stay with?

Kate wrote down Megan Anna Donner.

Question 5: What was your role before combing here?

With shaky, she wrote down queen in training.

Question 6: Anything else we should know?

Kate wrote down Possibly claustrophobia, and I'm willing to fight. My dragon isn't.

Kate put the quill down and turned to Neil. "So, who's in charge here? Like, is there anyone I need to talk to? Or..." Kate trailed off, having no idea what to say.

"I am the leader" Neil answered. "We can probably put you in some of the newer apartments, but they're not that great..."

"I'll take it." Kate replied quickly. Perhaps a little to quickly,

"Okay then. Follow me." Neil led her back out of the building to an area that still had very little Dracaena plants growing all over. (Name curtesy of Megan.) Dracaena plants kind of looked like bamboo with giant grass sticking out of the top. The plants on this section were younger. "Ok, it looks like 3,141,592 is available." Neil had explained the meaning of the numbers while they were walking to Kate' new home. The first number represents the section. There were 3 sections. Ancient, old and new. Section 3 was new. 141 was the sub section, and 592 was the building. There were not 592 building in any section, but they jumped around numbers for all but section numbers. "You'll be on the top floor. First room. Get comfy, but not to comfy. This is a temporary room. We should have you in your permanent room in a week, maybe two if things go bad." With that, Neil peeled away. As he walked away, his dragon followed him. Neil pulled out a notebook and started writing fiercely. Skylar stood there awkwardly well Meg just stood there. "Well, you gonna open the door, or what?" Meg's voice finally broke through the silence. "Uh, yea. Do I just open it, or do I need a key?" Kate asked. Skylar replied, "you just open it. Temporary housings don't have keys. Permanent ones do." Kate nodded and pushed the door open. It was lighter than she expected. Kate awkwardly fell into the main hall. "Three staircases to climb. Let's go!" Meg was way too cheerful. The trio walked up all three staircases, exhausted by the time they reached the top. The room was a stone box with a beaten-up rug that was purple and what Kate assumed was originally white but was now gray. On opposite sides of the room, there were two mattresses that had seen better days. Meg turned to Skylar, who was still awkwardly standing there. "You can leave, you know." Skylar replied.

"Yeah, o-ok." Skylar opened the door and walked out. Meg smiled slightly.

"He hates the stairs. I don't blame him. They are literal stone. Very hard on the feet." Meg walked over to the mattress. "You got lucky; most people don't get a sheet." Meg pulled a sheet out from under it, "Most people also don't say they don't have a dragon and write down that they do. Why did you do that?"

"Easy. Edith didn't want me to."

"Edith?"

"My dragon..." Kate reached down to pet the little dragon who'd stayed concealed in her bag. Meg eyed Kate suspiciously. "Did you... speak to the dragon, and understand it?"

Kate replied, "Yes, isn't that normal?"

"It takes most marked years to build that kind of connection. Maybe because your dragon's a royal." Meg finished putting the sheet on and glanced over at Kate. "So, what was the dragon's name agin?"

"Edith."

"It's a nice name." Edith poked her head out.

Of corse it is. It means happy. And rich. Dragons love gold. And jewels, and old stuff, we can sell those for money. Edith's tongue flickered as she smiled up at Kate.

"Yes, Edith." Kate sighed "I get it. Dragons like valuable things." Meg realized that Kate and her dragon were talking. "Should I leave, or...?" Kate shook her head rapidly.

"No. Please stay." Kate did not want to be left alone with a dragon who had the manners of a 5-year-old. "How do you know all this, Edith? You were born, what, yesterday?!"

Day before yesterday. Get it right. And I hatched.

"Sorry, hatched. Are dragons, like, born with knowledge or something?!"

"Or something." Meg and Edith said at the same time.

Dragons absorb the power of knowing through thoughts. Kate pulled the rug over.

"You can sleep here, on my bed, or on the ground. Your attitude decides that."

B-but I'm royal! I'm much higher than you.!

"When you were an egg, maybe. But this is thousands of years later."

Hundreds. Edith interrupted.

"Fine, hundreds. No one would believe you, anyways. My point is that no one cares about the forgotten royal dragon from eons ago." Kate replied. Meg looked up from where she was sitting, happy to share her knowledge.

"9,534" Kate looked at her questioningly.

"What?"

"9,354 years since the downfall of the royal blood line. Add another 2,754 years since Edith was laid to a fallen of the dragon royals. Approximately. Dragon generations have a distinctive marking on them, saying what generation they were laid in. Either Edith is a really early dragon of the next clear generation, laid wise of course, or she is approximately 12,108 years old." Both dragon and marked alike stared at her. "What? I did my research. Didn't get a dragon of my own, so I might as well know all that I can about them."