Chapter 7
Humans. They could be so emotional.
Take my male servant, for example. His expression couldn’t have been more twisted if he tried, and all because he had to remove pieces of my skin from the bed.
Apparently, he didn’t understand what an honor I’d bestowed, allowing him to handle the aftermath of my first molt, and a quick one, at that.
In only hours, I’d finally rid myself of my first layer.
The rapid shredding occurred because I’d increased massively in size overnight. Good food would do that for a dragon.
While he grumbled and stripped the bed, I clambered onto the window ledge for a peek outside. The snowfall had ceased, and while sunshine couldn’t get past the clouds, daylight showed a world layered in white.
Snow. So much snow. But I didn’t feel the same sense of repugnance for it as before. Rather, I found it pretty. Tempting. I might just take a wander through it later, after I ate.
Sniffing something cooking, I headed downstairs to see the female standing at the stove, stirring a pot while the mini human once more stared at her strange, glowing, and portable window with animated creatures moving around on its surface, singing and talking.
Even as I paid it little mind, I absorbed the words spoken.
Absorbed everything, actually. I’d learned enough to know the child watched educational things called “videos,” some in a language called Italian, which the child spoke.
Others were in English, which my first servant used for speech.
These so-called videos proved instructive, teaching me about the world I’d hatched into.
Such as the name of the rumbling carriage that transported me before the storm: a car, also known as a machine with intricate moving parts.
Quite clever, actually, and faster than a horse pulling a wagon.
Although a horse would have made it up the hill in the snow—so long as a dragon didn’t eat it.
The woman called the child over in Italian. “Zaza, breakfast.”
Soon, I’d be educating her that when a dragon was present, it should be fed first. But I wasn’t ready to reveal myself quite yet.
Being hungry, rather than demand my portion, I scurried close to the child’s seat and chirped.
The woman glanced down at me and blinked.
“How did you get so much bigger overnight?”
I rolled my eyes. By eating of course.
“Is it me or did you change color too?” She crouched and peered at my new scales.
Surely, she didn’t think I’d remain that hideous, mottled hue forever.
“Are you hungry?”
Why did humans ask pointless questions? I rubbed my belly in reply.
She laughed. “Such a clever lizard.”
What an insult. Comparing me to a lowly reptile. Dragons were in a class of their own. A good thing I’d decided to take her on as my cook, or she’d pay for her ill-chosen word.
She set a bowl down on the floor as if I were a dog. I would have minded more, but Zaza also sat on the tile with a bib around her neck. She grasped a spoon with chubby fingers and stabbed at the gruel sprinkled with sugar and fruit.
I looked at my own bowl, lacking a utensil. Previously, when ravenous, I ate like a savage animal, but now that I’d molted I could be more civilized. I left my bowl to tug at the woman’s leg. When she glanced down, I pointed to Zaza.
“What is it?” the female asked. “Do you not like the oatmeal?”
I wouldn’t know until I tried it, and, for that, I needed a spoon. I could have asked, but again, I wasn’t ready to let them know just how special I was. I indicated the drawer where she’d pulled the utensil from.
That led to her frowning. “You want a spoon?”
I nodded.
She grabbed the utensil but muttered. “This is insane. Lizards don’t use spoons. It probably wants something different to eat.”
I took the proffered silverware and sat down. Gripping the utensil carefully with my forward toes, I began to eat. I’d just reached the bottom of my portion when my first human appeared.
And of course, the female couldn’t help but exclaim over the simplest thing.
“Percy is eating with a spoon!”
“Er, what?” He glanced at me and arched a brow. “Well, damn. That’s not something you see every day.”
“I think you mean never. And how did Percy get so big overnight?”
The male grimaced. “Don’t know, but it probably had something to do with the skin it shed in my bed.”
“Oh dear.” The woman giggled.
“Not funny. I just about fell out of bed when I woke up with my face practically buried in it.”
“Let me get you a coffee and some breakfast to help you recover from the trauma,” she offered.
Coffee? Must be the black stuff she’d brewed in a metal pot on the stove. A few steps were involved to steep the dark, aromatic grains she’d poured into the middle.
“Storm seems done,” the male noted as he sipped from a mug.
“Lots of snow, though. Looks to be about a foot and a half,” she remarked, sliding in across from him at the table.
“I’ll get out after breakfast and shovel a path to the road. Then I’ll see if I can’t get the car up here and parked before the plow tries to come by.”
“You think they’ll clear the road today?”
He shrugged. “No idea, but I’d rather not get the side of my car torn up by its blade if it does.”
Boring human talk. I finished my meal, begged for a second bowl, cleared what remained of Zaza’s, then wandered off in search of something interesting.
I found nothing because the tablet had died, to Zaza’s chagrin.
“Sorry,” the woman apologized to the man as she held the crying child. “She doesn’t understand we can’t charge it until the electricity comes back on.”
“I’ll probably cry too when my laptop dies. I’m going to shovel. Holler if you need anything.”
When the male—whom the female kept calling Bruce—put on his boots and coat, I scampered to be tucked close when he opened the door. He paused in the threshold and glanced down at me “You sure you want to go out there, Percy?”
I did. The snow called to me.
Unlike before, the chilly air didn’t bother as intensely.
My molt had left me feeling stronger, more resistant to the elements.
Or at least less affected by the cold. Given we hatched in extreme heat, fire and hot temperatures didn’t bother us.
And now, for me at least, neither did the snow.
To test my resiliency, I tunneled muzzle first into the soft fluff and emerged, blowing flakes from my nostrils.
Bruce chuckled. “Someone’s full of piss and vinegar today.”
Hardly. I’d vacated my bowels in the chamber pot already, and as for vinegar? Why would I be full of it?
As the male cleared the walkway and worked his way to the car, I explored, invigorated by the fresh air and freedom.
In the egg, I’d not really been conscious of my confined space, but my hatching left me in a cloistered network of tunnels.
I’d never been so happy as the day I’d found the exit into the wider world.
And now I was on track to begin my domination of the world.
A lofty ideal? Hardly. Becoming the ultimate ruler was every dragon’s goal, but it took time.
Time for us to grow. To conscript servants.
Accumulate wealth. Achieve a grandeur that had humans either fearing or worshipping us.
A dragon always knew how well they did in that respect by how many sought their death.
Although, it should be noted, while all dragons aspired to rule the world, my inherited memories didn’t have any recollection of one doing so.
My kind ever seemed to fall short, the failure partially because we tended to try and eliminate rivals, usually resulting in catastrophic injury, but mostly we never achieved our destiny because humans rebelled against the dragonlords.
Not the loyal servants, of course. Once bonded, those who catered to our needs remained steadfast for life.
However, those who’d not been honored? They apparently could not see that serving us was in their best interest. And they wondered why we ate those who proved contrary.
The rumble of a car motor let me know Bruce had reached the vehicle and now attempted to crest the swell of the hill.
It took him a bit of time to coax the vehicle the short distance.
I sat atop a mound of snow and watched. Also listened, as the process involved cursing, which increased my grasp of the human language.
Bruce employed all kinds of tricks to get the car moving.
I watched with interest as he poured some sand from a bag, the grit providing his wheels traction to get past the icy spots. Ingenious.
It took him a while, but eventually, he managed to pull the car close to the house and emerged from its interior to huff, “Well, that’s done. Now to shovel the path to the hot tub.”
He had just finished clearing a wide trail when a loud wailing erupted from inside.
Bruce ran for the door and flung it open, exclaiming, “What’s wrong?”
I peeked between the male’s legs to see the child red-faced and yelling, sitting on the floor, waving around a boot.
“Zaza wants to play in the snow but I told her we can’t. My things are still wet from last night.” Nicky pointed to the clothing draped by the wood burning stove.
“Oh.” Bruce’s lips pursed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for her to disturb you.”
He frowned down at the child. “She likes the snow?”
“This would be her first time. She is too young to remember me taking her to play in it last year, but she’s seen it in videos.”
“Does she require interaction, or could any adult oversee her as she played? Assuming, of course, you’re comfortable with her coming outside with me.”
Nicky’s mouth rounded. “I wasn’t suggesting you had to take her out.”
“I know. I was offering. To watch her, at least. I wouldn’t know how to keep her entertained, though.”
“Pretty sure she’ll entertain herself. Just make sure she doesn’t try to eat any yellow snow.” Nicky grimaced.
Bruce chuckled. “I think I can handle that. Suit her up and send her out. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
As would I. The mini-human lacked the cognizance of a dragon. They were born quite stupid and useless. While my kind might not usually have much use for human younglings, I did find this one rather endearing. She’d done her best to keep me warm when the chills hit me the night before.
In short order, Zaza waddled outdoors, cooing and clapping her mittened hands. She promptly planted face first in some snow and Bruce yelped, “Geezus,” as he put her back on her feet.
The child giggled and flung herself down again and flailed her arms and legs, leaving both me and Bruce baffled. A watching Nicky from the door said, “She’s trying to make snow angels just like her favorite characters in her show.”
Weren’t angels religious, celestial beings? I cocked my head. I didn’t see the resemblance in the snow the child smushed.
“Get inside before you get cold,” Bruce chided. “I’ve got this. Pretty sure she can’t outrun me.”
“Don’t be so sure. A determined toddler is both fast and stealthy,” Nicky warned.
Not as fast and stealthy as a dragon.
I stuck close to the child as she patted the snow. Ate it. Flung it. As for Bruce, he dragged his shovel through the yard, creating winding trails that made no sense until Zaza began following them, her short legs able to navigate the path he’d cleared.
He also created a large mound, and I wondered at it until he gripped Zaza and sat her at the top. The youngling blinked at him not understanding why.
I did, though. I showed Zaza what Bruce wanted her to do. I clambered up the small mound, sat on my bottom with tail lifted, gave a little wiggle, and went whizzing down.
And almost got crushed by the youngling as she immediately copied me and came flying after.
“Whee!” Zaza squealed in excitement. “Ancora.” She scrambled to climb the mound and got nowhere until Bruce sat her at the top again.
Up and down. Over and over. I gave up after a few runs, suddenly cognizant that acting like a human child lacked dignity.
When Zaza eventually flopped, she lifted her hands in the air and exclaimed, “Portalo, Mamma.”
“Uh. Okay. Let’s go inside then.” Bruce pointed to the door.
Zaza shook her head and lifted her arms again. “Portalo Mamma!”
“You want me to get her?” The man looked confused. Or was it just his stupidity coming out? Surely, he understood what the child wanted.
“Su. Portalo Mamma” The child stamped her heels and waved her hands.
“Yes. Yes. I’m going to get her.”
Bruce took one step towards the chalet, and I couldn’t help it. He truly was that dense. It led to me saying in very clear English, “Zaza wants you to pick her up and bring her inside to her mother.”
Bruce whirled. “Who said that?”
“Me.”
“Show yourself!” he yelled, dropping into a fighting crouch. A promising thing to see, if he was to be my protector.
“I’m right here, you big goof,” I huffed, my words finally leading his gaze to drop. Drop all the way down to where I stood, not even knee-high, to my annoyance.
Bruce’s eyes went out of focus, and he swayed on his feet as he muttered, “This is not happening. Lizards don’t talk.”
“Lizards don’t, but dragons do.”
And with my epic announcement, what did the big and strong Bruce do?
Fell like a tree in the forest, causing snow to puff to the child’s delight. As for me? I seriously rethought my choice in servants.