The Last Dragon Child

A Woman and her Tattoo

I walked in and took a look around. There was a small bed on the left corner of the small room, but other than that, it was cluttered with books, scrolls, and sacks of animal feed. I walked in as she was skirting around, collecting stray scrolls, and pulling out two small stools. She set the stools in front of the fire place and started a small fire, putting a pot to boil.

"Would you please sit down, I'm sure you've had a harsh journey."

Her tattoo showed darker when she neared the fire. Yes, it had the dragon insignia on it. It was the symbol given to the allies of my people. It darkened to black when near fire.

"So," she said sitting down with some ingredients, two bowls, and a ladle by the fireplace. "Do you mind telling me who you are young one?"

"My name is....." I stopped short, could I trust her with my real name?

"....Lasia." I finished hesitantly. 

She smirked and nodded, "Good, at least you know how to take care of yourself. I understand why you won't share your name. I am Thosa of Ramir."

"Ramir?" I questioned. "What are you doing all the way here, in Rijin of all places?"

Ramir was on the outskirts of the vast kingdom in a town known as Esoja. Dragonhill was just on the outside of the kingdom. A day or two journey out from the docks of Ramir. The kingdom belonged to King Draegan, Rijin was the capitol in the middle of his territory. 

"I might ask you the same question, considering that the King killed all of the Dragon Children, and that if you were ever discovered, you would be killed yourself." She raised her eyebrows at me and then continued, "As for your question, I liked traveling, but I ran out of money, so I opened a pet shop with the merchants, relatively successful. So, now I travel and make money. A good deal if you ask me. We always head northwest until Sarvily, then we travel south to Esoja and go up northeast till Danir, then we go south again until Malisa. We always cross here in the kingdom of Rijin."

"Is there a reason why you are telling me exactly where you go on your travels?"

She leaned forward and spoke softly, almost a whisper.

"You are alone, I know you showed me your eyes because you saw my tattoo. You need allies to help you."

"Help me? I've been doing fine for the past ten years. It's a danger to even be here with you!"

She shook her head.

"Do you not understand what the tattoo means?" She said reaching her hand nearer to the fire, till it had become a dark black. "I was an ally to your family and to your people, but that is not all, I also lived among your kind for many years. In order to earn the tattoo I had to live in the kingdom of Dragonhill for a minimum of five years. I stayed for twelve."

I thought about what she said. For someone to live in Dragonhill, that was not a Dragon Child, was a true challenge. I was only six when my village got destroyed, but I remembered life in the village. It was filled with steep cliffs and hills, few bridges existed, mostly they were for the young children to go and come from their lessons and activities of the day, but they also served for those who could not travel on their own between the cliffs. With a sigh, I nodded, I knew what she was saying was true, I needed someone else, not just myself. 

"Very well, I believe you, but I still won't trust you till you prove yourself to me."

"Fine, I can settle with that. Now, you said you wanted a pet? " she stood up abruptly and ran around the room again.

"Um... Yes." I was taken aback by the sudden change of topic. "But I need a creature that can keep up with me and..."

"...take care of itself." She finished and fiddled around the room some more. 

"Yes, I know exactly what pet will suit you. A favorite of your family, and he is one of the last of his kind too. There is only five left in the world."

She returned to sit down, served the soup, which I had not noticed her preparing, and handed me a bowl. I thanked her and started to eat the soup. The warm liquid ran down my throat and it brought back memories of my mother and father sitting around a table, with me looking up at them. It felt like a stab in the stomach, and yet a sweet remembrance. 

"It's like the soup my mother used to make." I said softly.

She sighed and nodded, " Yes, it was a common plate in your village."

I finished the soup and stood up, not wanting the painful memory to haunt me longer.

"So what is this creature you say will be the right companion?"

"Ah, yes." She finished the last of her soup, grabbed my bowl, and set both the plates into a bucket. Thosa proceeded to closed all the windows so that all the light available was the fire. Then she moved toward a curtain in the back of the room and threw them open, revealing the creature that would soon become my most reliable companion.

 A Phoenix .