Here there be Dragons

"Stop!" Lis said. "Please be rational, I'm sure there's got to be an explanation somewhere."
"The best kind of explanation would be the truth," Sandra said. "Dragons do not exist, not even on Unicorn Farm! And that's it! Definitely!"
"I don't think Daddy has been drinking," Tage added slowly. "That would not be like him. I've been thinking, that there might be a darker explanation. Somebody wants to put Daddy in a bad standing."
"Who would do this?" Heidi exclaimed. "He could not hurt a fly!"
"Have you ever heard him sing?" Susan asked, trying to lighten the mood. "That sure hurts my ears."
"Oh, Susan," Sandra said smiling. "Bless you child, for your humour, Yes that's a sound to scare maybe even a dragon away."
Kai entered the living room. "I heard you," he said. "I swear, I saw a dragon yesterday out in the end of the isthmus. I was picking some flowers for My dear Sandra, when I saw him. I was surprised, I never saw a dragon before."
"No of course you did not," Sandra said harshly, "They do not exist!"
"Let's stop discussing," Kai said, "it will only foster dissent and strife among us. Let's go and see."
 "Those are the wisest words you have spoken yet today." Sandra said. "Should we go by car or fly?"
"Oh, let's fly," Heidi said. "I am sure we all could use some fresh air."

***

  In the sunless pre-dawn of the spring day Kai led the little group back to the place where he had seen the dragon, or thought he had seen one. Soon they passed the line of trees separating Unicorn Farm from the rest of the peninsula. They ignored the warning signs telling them to stop, they ignored the branches and brambles trying to catch their hair or dangling feet, as the flew low through the woods behind The Farm. They had forgotten how cold the wind was and as they dismounted, Kai quickly hastened his slow walk to a brisk trot, and continued until he stood at the utmost tip of the peninsula. Sandra, Heidi, Susan, Tage and Lis were close behind him. Everything was quiet. The sun rose,  and made the sea glimmer like a thousand golden shards. A delicate pair of wings could just be seen at the horizon. "See," Kai said in a low but triumphant voice. "Do you see the dragon?" Their eyes were drawn to the strange phenomenon.
  "It's so not a dragon," Sandra said. "It's a whale blowing"
  "My dearly beloved wife," Kai countered, " How little I ever care to gainsay you, you are mistaken. A blow that size would take a monster of a whale to make, and it would surely not have enough water beneath its fleshy keel in these cold, shallow straits."  
  "Oh, Dad," Heidi said, her words almost inaudible over the surf. "It IS a dragon, I'm sure!"
  "Am I a witch or not?" Sandra asked of no-one in particular and mounted her broom. "I'll fly out and see!"
  "Let's all fly out," Tage said, "If it is aggressive, we are safer many together."
  All the others also mounted their brooms, and side by side they flew out over the glittering sea.

***

They flew on, over the water until they reached the next island. "This island is part of the reservation, Sandra said. I'm not sure we're allowed to go there. But as the island was fairly big, overgrown with gnarled trees and flowers, they landed on a small clearing anyway.
Kai told that there had to be a map of the bird reserve down by the pier on the beach, and went to look, flying carefully between the trees and bushes.
Sandra and the children put away their brooms and waited.

Kai returned and drew a map of the island on the ground. Two small rivers crossed the island and natural forests covered almost all of it. In the middle of the island the two rivers came close and flowed away from one another again, leaving a small island of raised cliffs in the middle.
"Mark my words," Kai said "The dragon is sleeping between the two small rivers."
They had to follow the first river almost down to the beach to cross it, and as they looked out from the forest's edge in preparation to crossing the river, they saw a boat filled with people in sweaters and armed.
 Kai got upset and gave vent to his anger: "It's not a game for human hunters even of the cruel kind. I do not want these nincompoops to shoot at my dragon. He drew his wand and spoke again: "I just want justice, I want to show you five my dragon, not the whole world, and especially not those people with their big gun."
He was about to cast a spell when Susan stopped him: "Hold it, she said. They are not hunters they are ornithologists. Bird watchers," she added, seeing Heidi's blank expression. "My aunt told us about them the very first day we were here. If you look closely, you can see, that the gun is not a gun, but a humongous looking glass, like the ones from old pirate movies."
"By golly, You're right. Let's just stay here until they sail on." Kai said, letting his wand arm sink slowly. 

***

After several false starts they finally crossed the river. The moon still hung low in th sunlit sky and the gentle breeze seeming to come from the moon, made the broken branches whisper and murmur. Several larger and a larger number of smaller branches were hanging only in thin threads of torn and shredded bark from many of the trees. And this, finally made Sandra and the children realize that Kai's dragon was real and not a bunch of lies.

As they finally found the dragon, sleeping near the water, its body was black as the night on the underside, but the upper side was beautiful enough to make them want to cry. Then the dragon woke, and jumped into action.

***

"This is a paradise," Kai whispered, as the four children and Sandra crept up the outlook to join him. "Just look at this!"
  They all looked in the direction, he pointed, and gave a collective sigh.
  "Against my better judgment, I have to capitulate," Sandra said very softly. "Even though it sounds like an old cliché, this is paradise."
  In the clearing the dragon was soaring, alert, on guard. Its dark belly and shiny wings like a thing of dreams. And they all saw, what he guarded. Another dragon, smaller, douche colours blending with sand, grass and shadows, lay curled around a cluster of eggs in motley colours.
  "You are dispensable, small humans," they heard the dragon say, as he landed in front of them. "Every being, who ever set their eyes on a dragon's nest, are as a consequence turned into a sacrifice for the conservation of our race."
  "You do not trust us, I see," Kai said. "In principle I do not disagree with you. Human beings are a despicable lot, not to use worse, derogatory terms. But you forgot to consider one thing" Kai sighed, and faced the beautiful dragon. "We are wizards and witches. We share your magic. You cannot pass judgement on us as you would on any other being in this world. We have the prerogative of choosing oblivion."
  "Oblivion it shall be," the dragon sighed. "Please walk ahead of me back the way you came." Kai bowed to the female dragon on the nest, and all took his example, curtsying or bowing their very best. Then they walked back through the woods, cross the river, picked up their brooms, and flew back to the peninsula, from where they had set out in the pre dawn hours. They landed on the beach in the mild noon sunshine. The beach was deserted, the waves kissed the sand with small lapping sounds.
 The dragon spoke again: "Face me, puny humans!" They all  turned towards the wonderful sight. Then the dragon took a breath, sucking in air, until Susan was afraid he would burst. The dragon opened his mouth, They saw a red, two pronged tongue, rows upon rows of sharp teeth, like a shark's and deep down, the smouldering embers of the dragon's fire. It roared, an almighty sound, so deep it shook them to their bones and they fell, senseless to the sand.

***

The bells in the small belfry on top of the Unicorn Farm could faintly be heard tolling three times as Susan, Heidi, Lis, Tage and their parents Sandra and Kai arrived at the small bay.
"I feel like I've been here before," Sandra said all of a sudden.
"So do I," Heidi said. "But it feels blurry, remote, like a half forgotten dream."
Her sister smiled, "I feel the same way."
"Well," Tage said. "The only thing I feel, is hungry. How about spreading out our stuff here. This place looks nice enough for our lunch al fresco."
Susan smiled. You were never bored in the company of Heidi and her family.
After the ample and tasty lunch they just sat or lay in the grass enjoying the warmth of the sun, and the beauty of the scenery. Susan was nodding over her book, when Kai looked up: "Don't move!" he said softly. "We have a visitor!"
"Good day, tiny mortals!" the dragon said. It's voice was deep and melodious, like a giant silver bell. "You have returned."
"Returned?" Tage said.
"Sorry, what!" Kai added. "As far as I remember, I was never here before."
"Your wife and daughters seem to disagree," the dragon said.
Meanwhile Susan was admiring the dragon. Its belly was midnight blue, and its wings were shimmering  in all the colours of the rainbow. She had never seen anything as beautiful.
"Puny mortals," the dragon said. "You are trespassing once again on  our premises. But this time you will not be roared into oblivion."
A memory emerged and unfolded inside Susan's mind. She saw this beautiful dragon aloft, soaring over a sand-coloured mate, nesting around some eggs. Somewhere near here, maybe. .. It was still dream like, but becoming more and more focused each second.
"Today," the dragon continued, "we hold a celebration in honour of the birth of our offspring."
The eggs had hatched, maybe today or the day before, Susan realized. She felt happy. Fulfilled.
"Today is an auspicious day. You are invited, no  called to witness the naming of our offspring. Follow me."
As spellbound the five humans followed the wonderful dragon down to the rivulet, over it and into a clearing on the other side of it. There the lady dragon sat, her colouring now resembled that of her mate, only a lighter blue hue on belly and wing undersides. She was bigger by at least a handspan, and her head shot up at the noise of their arrival. In front of her sat five perfect miniature dragons, each not bigger than a big dog.
Kai bowed deeply, and the rest of them did their very best to salute the dragons in the same way.
"Your majesty," Kai said, getting up from the bow. "We are very pleased to be here on this propitious day. We bring with us nothing to give you but our hope for an fair future for all of us, and we feel ashamed for our emptyhandedness.
"Your words are as sincere as your hearts, I see" the lady dragon spoke. Her voice too was deep and melodious. The tiny dragonets at her feet all looked at the five humans.
Their mother spoke to them in a high pitched, chirping language. Beautiful, but very strange.  Even though they could not understand Dragon, the meaning was clear. She warned the tiny dragons against people.
"And now to the naming." The lady dragon said. "It is very simple, really. You just repeat the names as I say them."
She gently picked up the tiniest dragonet: "By stone and fire, by earth and water. Be known to the world as Shayla!"
"Shayla!" repeated the five humans along with the male dragon. Then the female dragon put the dragonet down, and picked up the next one: "By water and earth, by fire and  stone. Be known to the world as Mathys!"
"Mathys!" They said in unison.
And again a new dragonet was raised to the sky: "By water and earth, by fire and  stone. Be known to the world as Tarquil!"
"Tarquil!" they echoed.
The next to last dragonet was encased in her mothers claws and raised to the skies: "By stone and fire, by earth and water. Be known to the world as Tatsu!"
"Tatsu!" They all repeated, Susan recognized the word from Kensuke's Japanese books, something to do with water, she thought.
And as the last dragonet was enclosed in the motherly claws it raise its tiny head and roared. A tiny, defiant sound.
The dragons raised their heads a bit more, Susan would have said thy smiled.
"We've better get this one named," the female dragon said. "By water and earth, by fire and  stone. Be known to the world as Alcalador!"
"Alcalador!" they repeated.