Epilogue
Celia adjusted the pack on her back as she kept trudging up the mountain.
Darian's uncles had offered to come with her last night, but when she turned them down, they had insisted that she load herself with anything necessary from the store. This included a brand-new pack and all the supplies to fill it to keep her safe and taken care of on her journey.
She sighed as she kept walking. She had not gotten nearly far enough today, but she had reached the mountain and begun climbing it, and that was all she could ask for.
Every step was one step closer to finding Darian.
She was beginning to look for a good campsite for the night a few hours later, when she heard a chittering noise that she recognized.
Her heart beat faster and she began running as fast as she could with her pack on her back, stopping just a moment before a horse-sized orange dragon bowled her over.
“Flame!” she exclaimed in delight. “You found me.” The dragon began chittering, and Celia grinned. “I have no idea what you’re saying,” she admitted, “but I'm glad I found you too. Can you take me to Darian?”
The dragon said something that Celia could only hope was a yes.
“Then let's go,” she said, adjusting her pack on her shoulders once again.
But instead of beginning to walk, her hatchling crouched down in front of her, looking at Celia expectantly. “You want me to ride you?” Celia asked in disbelief.
The dragon chittered and chirped, and Celia frowned. “Aren't you a little young to be carrying someone as heavy as me?”
Flame only sounded more insistent as she somehow leaned even closer into the ground. “If you say so,” Celia said, as she tried, as carefully as possible, to step on Flame's knee to boost herself up enough to be able to sit on her back. “Does this work?”
Flame crowed and straightened up. Celia threw her arms around her dragon’s neck as she began walking through the trees, and then her walk sped up until she was running far faster than Celia could have ever walked.
I'm coming for you, Darian, and you’d better not leave me ever again.
***