The torrents of flames the dragons breathed out attacked Elly from all directions, utterly drowning his figure in colorful flames. The combined fires around him hissed and roared, wildly fluctuating.

They continued pouring out their rage through their blinding flames.

When the flames calmed and subsided, he was sitting at his desk with a mild glare. “I can’t concentrate if I can’t see.”

“WHAT MADNESS IS THIS?!” the black dragon shrieked.

“I… I do not know…” the blue one lowered her head. She seemed embarrassed.

“He is immune, it seems,” the white one commented.

“OBVIOUSLY!” the black one snapped.

“Perhaps… he is a practitioner… of the archaic… arts,” the orange one chimed in. He was a slow talker.

“Then what do we do now?!” The yellow dragon looked around at the rest frantically.

“We eat him!” The black one’s confidence didn’t falter. “His magic is troublesome. And it should be quite nutritious.”

“Calm down,” the green one said. “Let us think this through.” His tail continued to sway.

“Yes, is that really a wise idea?” the white one questioned.

“Of course it is! All mortals are food!” He wouldn’t back down. “It is that simple!”

Elly flashed all of them a dangerous look with a light flickering in his eyes. “Interrupt me again, and I’ll cut all your heads off.” The magic circle on the back of his left hand glowed.

They all fell quiet for what felt like ages.

Now he could get back to his drawing. He was making good progress, and then he would move on to shading in the shapes with the crayons later.

Peace and quiet…

Snap.

The pencil point broke. Fortunately, he had brought a pencil sharpener. He took it out of his pants pocket and sharpened his pencil.

A question popped up in his head. “If I kill one of you, would that make me a dragonslayer?” Elly asked.

“Indeed,” the white dragon replied.

“D-DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM!” the yellow one shrieked.

Finally, the blue dragon mustered up some courage. “May we have your name, boy?”

“Elliorette, though Elly is just fine.” He set the sharpener with the shavings on the desk and ran his fresh pencil point along the page without glancing up. The point made slow, graceful movements across the page. Up and down. Careful strokes. Gentle curves…

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Oh, a wonderful name,” she replied.

As far as I know, I’m only wonderful food to you. “Do you need something?” He worked his pencil around the tails. A short glance up to her was all he needed to reconfirm the details of his drawing of her on the page. Perfect. His eyes focused hard on the page again. Now he just needed to shade everything in. I’m not the best artist. But he was still eager to see the result.

“Oh, no, no! I… was just…”

Skip the pleasantries. Jeez.

“Would it be too much trouble if…”

He moved his pencil up the page to the maws to brighten the lines. “What.”

“I accompany you back to your world?”

Snap.

His point broke. He paused. She can’t be serious. In her form? She wouldn’t fit in the house.

“You cannot be serious!” The black dragon flapped his wings in a spasm of anger.

“Calm yourself. It is her decision to make,” the white one said.

“W-whatever works. I just want him out of here already!” The yellow one was trembling.

“Your comment… is not very… nice,” the orange dragon commented.

The yellow one, now ashamed, lowered his head and stretched his wing around his face to hide it.

“Meh,” the green one lay on the floor, his eyes closed and his tail wagging.

“DON’T JUST ‘MEH’!” the black dragon glared at the green one.

“And why should I?” Elly lifted his head all the way up to look her in the eye.

“I am curious about your nature and wish to learn more about your cultures. And I have been meaning to explore your world for quite some time. There is not much to be done in this realm. You may draw me to your heart’s content.”

His pencil slipped out of his grip as the realization struck him. This was a brilliant opportunity he shouldn’t pass up! “Deal!”

“Then it is settled.” She looked to the rest of the dragons. “Worry not. I will visit once in a while.”

“Just do not bring him back!” the yellow dragon begged.

“Very well,” she replied.

Everything around him and the blue dragon warped, and they were in an empty space—with many stars around. It seemed to be a different part of the dimension.

“Do you have a smaller form?” Elly asked.

“What sort of form?”

He was thinking of something portable and convenient. “How about an earring for now?”

“I think I can manage.” After closing her eyes, her body shined brighter and brighter until she emitted an intense flash of light.

Elly closed his eyes until the light dimmed.

When the light cleared, a sky blue stud earring floated down to him.

He opened a hand and it landed in his palm. “How do I put you on? My ear lobes aren’t pierced.”

“I will adjust my magic wavelength to yours, then I should attach like a magnet.”

He waited a moment.

“Try now.”

He put his hands up to his right ear as he tilted his head to the right. Once he fixed it to his earlobe, it stuck.

“Am I comfortable enough for you?” she asked.

“Mm-hm.” He hardly felt any pressure against his lobe.

With a swipe of his hand, the portal to home opened, and he stepped through. He knew should head to bed now before Sapphire caught him. “I’ll keep you as my retainer. Understood?”

“Yes, master!”

She sounds a bit too excited for this. “Anyway, I’m going to bed. Don’t do anything while I’m asleep.” He walked along the hall to his room.

Elly had no idea how he would explain this to Sapphire or his parents, but that problem was for tomorrow. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. He slipped into his room. Sapphire hadn’t moved from her spot.

Quietly, he crawled into bed.