13. Celia
Chapter thirteen
Celia
Celia could hardly keep herself from crying all morning.
Darian was coming later today, and they were going to go see if the last fire dragon nest was ready to hatch and tell the triplets that they had to leave. She didn’t want to, but Darian was right.
They were getting too big, and they were more than old enough, and they needed to go, even if she desperately didn’t want to see them leave.
She had never grown this attached to a set of hatchlings, and if this was how much it hurt to watch them leave, she never would let herself again.
She was going to be alone again.
Flame growled as Celia leaned over the fire with a match, as if to say, What do you think you’re doing?
Well, she didn’t have to be alone yet. Celia moved, and with one breath, Flame lit the fire for her, then leaned back and looked at her in satisfaction.
“I’m sorry, I should have known better,” Celia said with a laugh as she reached for the dragon’s head and scratched it.
Even Flame, the smallest of the three, was the size of a small donkey by now—except she had wings and a tail that kept getting everywhere.
She tried to back up, nearly tripping on her tail, and instead curled it around herself, looking disgruntled as Celia tried to walk around her.
“You should be outside,” she said. “There’s far more room for you out there.”
Flame merely grunted. Of the three, she was the most attached to Celia and rarely left her side. Celia wasn’t sure how she was going to navigate life without her there anymore.
There would be less tripping, at least.
Celia prepared breakfast for herself, making a few extra biscuits and setting them to the side when they came off the fire. Darian was always hungry.
It wasn’t much later when she heard the sound of hoofbeats and heard Spark and Sizzle calling back to him.
“Good morning!” she heard him call as he tied up the horse and came in.
“Good morning,” Celia said.
She tried to keep her voice even, but there was a wobble in it, and she knew he could hear it, because he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back against his chest in a one-armed hug.
“You’re allowed to be sad,” he said.
The words unlocked the gate, and Celia began to cry in earnest.
“Oh, honey,” he said, shaking his head and spinning her around so she could cry into his chest. “I wore my crying tunic just for you.”
Celia laughed through her tears as Flame came up next to her and butted her hand with her head.
“I’m all right.” She pulled the dragon close, petting her rough head even as she cried into Darian’s chest. “This is so unlike me,” she said, looking up at him through her tears.
“Well, you’ve had a lot of change recently,” Darian pointed out.
“Found out you know someone who could talk to dragons, and it turned out he’s an irritating fellow who won’t leave you in peace.
You’ve had three dragons stick around longer than you’ve ever had anyone stay before, and you realized for the first time since you left where you came from, you’re not alone. ”
The words brought a fresh wave of tears.
She was weak. She should never have let herself become so close to him that she was able to fall apart like this. She needed to get a grip.
“I know,” he said soothingly as he rubbed circles on her back. “Let it out, Celia.”
It took longer than she would have liked before she was able to control her tears. Flame rubbed against her anxiously until she did, and Celia smiled at the dragon through her sniffling.
When she finally stepped away from Darian, she turned to Flame. “I am well,” she told the baby—who was no longer a baby at all. She was an adolescent who needed to grow up and leave.
Flame shoved her head against her chest and Celia leaned down to kiss her smooth scales. They were always warm.
She would miss kissing Flame.
“They are going to have the greatest adventure,” Darian said soothingly, “and you and I will go find them again someday.”
“How do you know that?” she asked.
“I just know,” he said, exuding such confidence that she almost believed him. “You’ll see. Now, do I smell biscuits?”
Celia laughed. Of course he would be distracted by biscuits.
“You do,” she admitted, pointing out the plate on the counter.
Darian let go of her and bounded over to the biscuits, and Celia tried not to laugh at how his entire mood could change when there was food involved.
“You and your biscuits,” she teased.
“Biscuits are delicious,” he said. “You make the best ones I’ve ever had. Of course I get excited about it.”
Celia smiled.
“Should I eat these here,” he asked, “or while we walk?”
Celia sniffled. “Let’s get it over with. Let’s walk.”
She gathered her bag, and they left the house, Flame barely squeezing through the door that she had fit through easily last night—which somehow made Celia feel better.
They really were outgrowing this place.
They needed to go to the mountains, where they had all the space in the world to grow and be free.
It made it easier, in a way.
They made their way to the hatching grounds, and Celia wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that there was a fire dragon nest currently hatching. On one hand, it meant that she had something to distract her while she watched her babies chase Darian around one last time.
On the other hand, it meant that she was torn between watching them and watching the new nest.
But the nest didn’t need her attention for a bit, so she watched as the babies played, her heart breaking a little.
They would be fine with each other, but would she be fine without them? She wasn't sure.
She watched half-heartedly as the last baby dragon climbed out, something in her chest saying this was the last one. She watched as her babies investigated the new fire dragons with curiosity.
They really were going to have so much fun exploring everything in their new home. There was nothing they loved more than exploring—she knew that much.
As the last dragons hatched, Darian helped her use the shovels to carefully scoop dirt away from the nest. There were no babies that needed her help in this one, a bittersweet realization.
It was the end of the hatching season. There was one water dragon nest left that might need her help, but the chances of there being a water dragon that needed help were slim. She hadn't had one yet. They seemed to be less likely to injure themselves, somehow.
There was a lump in her throat as Flame made her way over to her, her big, scaly head against Celia’s side.
“I sure am going to miss you,” she told Flame, the words catching in her throat as she knelt down to be on her level. “Don’t tell your brother and sister that you’re my favorite.”
Flame let out a noise as if she was saying, I know, and Celia smiled at her, kissing her nose before Flame let her heavy head rest on her shoulder.
“You have to go to the Gloaming Mountains,” she whispered into the dragon’s ear. “You know that, right?”
Flame let out another noise, as if she was asking Celia if she was really asking that question.
“I know, you know,” Celia said with a sigh. “You don’t need me anymore. You’ve shown that plenty of times. But maybe I’m the one who needs you.”
The words came out in a whisper and there was a lump in her throat so big she could barely breathe as Flame rubbed her head against Celia’s neck one final time before making her way over to her brother and sister.
She said something, and Darian gave a short bow of respect before saying, “We will meet again.”
Sizzle said something, and Spark tackled Darian to the ground, pouncing on him as if he’d forgotten that he was now the size of a small horse.
“Easy,” Darian said, laughing.
Flame looked back at Celia, and if she hadn’t known better, Celia could have sworn that she almost winked before she began walking toward the mountains, without waiting for her brother and sister to follow her.
Celia smiled through her tears. Of course Flame was the first to go, the first one to leave. She might be the smallest, but she certainly was the leader.
As the two larger dragons caught up to their little sister, the three spread their wings and lifted into flight, sending a wall of flame into the air before zooming toward the mountains at a speed she rarely got to see.
There was an ache in her chest that she couldn't ignore, and tears began to stream down her eyes as she watched her favorites leave.
Darian came close and wrapped his arm around her waist, and she turned into him, hiding her face on his shoulder so she didn't have to watch them grow smaller and smaller.
“We can go home,” he said. “Breeze will need you.”
“That's true,” she said, the words catching in her throat.
She turned to leave, and they watched as Breeze flew toward them from home, chasing after the fire dragons.
Celia nearly burst into tears. “Or not,” she said.
Darian let out a dry laugh. “Or not,” he agreed. “She must have ripped the bandage off.” His grip around her tightened for a moment before he said, “Why don't we go into town? I know just the place to take you to cheer up.”
Celia glanced at him. “You want to take me somewhere?” she asked.
“They have the best muffins I've ever tasted.”
“I do enjoy muffins,” she said quietly.
Darian smiled. “I bet. I don't know anyone who doesn't like muffins. Let's bring your stuff home and get the horse, and we can go.”
Celia wasn't sure she wanted to be around people, but sitting at home alone didn't sound entirely appealing, either. So she took his hand, and they began to walk home.
Spending the day with Darian sounded like a much better alternative than sitting at home missing her dragons.
She dried her tears as they walked.
At least she still had him.