I was staring at the egg in my hands when the first crack echoed in the stillness of the woods. I let out a high-pitched yelp without even thinking, instinctively dropping the egg and scrambling backward and away from the fire. My heart raced, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it.

Lance shot out of the tent in a hurry, almost dropping the tent over him, still groggy but ready for a fight. His sword was already half-drawn as his eyes scanned the area for enemies. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded, his voice tense.

“I-I didn’t know!” I stuttered, still crawling backward on all fours. “I didn’t mean to!”

Lance blinked at me, confused, then turned his gaze toward the fire. Lying on the ground between me and the fire was the small white egg. A large crack ran across its smooth surface. Before we could make sense of what was happening, another loud crack echoed through the air, and the egg trembled as more fractures spread across its shell.

Lance froze, his face draining of color. “Is that…?”

I didn’t respond. Both of us stood there, staring, as the egg began to shatter.

Suddenly, with a sharp ping, a tiny white paw shot out of the egg, sending a big shard of the shell flying through the air. My breath caught in my throat, cold sweat running down my back. The next moment, a small leathery wing followed, pushing through the crack with a flick.

Lance took a cautious step back, his eyes wide with disbelief. Neither of us dared move.

Then, with a final push, a small, horned head emerged from the egg. The creature’s scales were as white as snow, and its big, fully black eyes stared right up at us, unblinking and deep as the darkest of nights. It opened its mouth, revealing a tiny set of teeth, and let out the least menacing roar I’d ever heard.

Still, I was frozen, staring at the small creature in front of me. A dragon. A real, living dragon.

We both stood there, in complete awe, as the dragon let out a chirp and wiggled free from the rest of the eggshell, its tiny body trembling as it tried to stand on its shaky legs.

The little dragon tilted its head and took a few more wobbly steps toward me. I tensed, unsure of what it was going to do, my thoughts too scrambled to do anything myself. It moved like a newborn kitten, all awkward limbs and unsteady footing. For a moment, I thought about all the legends I’d heard about them—how they were supposed to be incredibly powerful and dangerous.

But as the creature neared, I couldn’t help but notice how… cute it looked. Its tiny body was covered in sleek, snow-white scales, and its large black eyes blinked up at me with curiosity. I relaxed a little, watching as it awkwardly climbed into my lap.

I chuckled softly, despite myself. “It’s like a cat,” I muttered, watching as the small dragon tried to climb on me.

That’s when it screeched—loud and sudden, right in my face.

I winced, instinctively grabbing the creature by the scruff of its neck, just like you would with a cat. It flailed, letting out annoyed little growls as its paws swiped at me, though they were too small to do any real damage. Still, I wasn’t about to take any chances. I could feel how weak it was, its movements clumsy and uncoordinated.

“Calm down, will you?” I muttered, holding it at arm’s length as it squirmed in my grip.

After a few more attempts to claw at me, the dragon finally gave up. Its tiny body went limp, and it let out an exasperated huff, clearly tired from its brief tantrum. I lowered it gently back onto the ground, watching as it gave a big yawn before crawling back onto my lap. This time, it curled up into a ball, its little wings tucking in close to its body as it settled down for sleep.

I glanced over at Lance, expecting him to be as baffled as I was. And he was, his mouth slightly open, eyes wide with disbelief. But then, he sighed heavily, massaging his temples.

“I don’t want to deal with this right now,” he muttered, shaking his head as he turned and walked back to the tent. Within moments, he was crawling inside, clearly deciding that sleep was more important than whatever just happened.

I chuckled quietly, looking down at the sleeping dragon in my lap. “Guess it’s just you and me, huh?” I whispered.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I thought about all the heroes I knew about who either killed or had dragons. And then, I thought about the dragons themselves, one in particular coming to mind. “I’ll call you… Bael.”

And as soon as I said the words, I felt like my soul was stirred, and a familiar voice spoke in my mind, not singing, but clearly pronouncing two distinct words that joined the songs already living in my soul.

[Draconic Faeling]

⟡⟡⟡

The next morning, Lance was sitting by the fire, a look of mild annoyance on his face as he poked at the embers with a stick. His long hair was a mess, and his eyes were bleary from what I assumed had been a restless night. I couldn't blame him. Everything that had happened, especially now with Bael here, would be a bit too much for anyone.

Meanwhile, Bael was in a much better mood. The little dragon had woken up full of energy, and we’d spent the better part of the morning playing. I had my bandana in hand, flicking it from side to side while Bael watched, entranced. His wide black eyes followed the movement with incredible focus, his tiny body tensed as he prepared to leap at it.

I moved the bandana again, and Bael pounced—only to miss it by a wide margin, his little claws swiping through the air as he landed awkwardly. I chuckled, repeating the motion and watching as Bael’s determination grew, his wings twitching slightly every time he tried to jump.

“You don’t have to act so annoyed, you know,” I said to Lance, still grinning as Bael made another failed attempt to catch the bandana. “It was an accident. Besides, I know you’re also curious about him.”

Lance sighed, staring into the fire. “I’m not annoyed. I’m just… I don’t know. It’s a dragon, Argus. A dragon.” He leaned back, running a hand through his messy hair. “It’s good that it’s small, though. Hopefully, it doesn’t grow too fast… or at all.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that, shaking my head. “Don’t jinx it, Lance! I’m still holding out hope that I’ll be able to ride him one day.” I smiled dreamily, imagining myself as a hero of legend, soaring through the skies on Bael’s back, defeating enemies with a single glance. The kind of hero whose name alone would strike fear into the hearts of villains.

Lance gave me a sideways glance, sighing again. “Hopefully, he’ll be more help than trouble. Maybe he’s stronger than he looks.”

I glanced down at Bael, who was currently wiggling his tail in concentration, trying once again to catch the bandana. He missed—again—and tumbled over himself, landing in a small heap of white scales. I stifled a laugh, raising an eyebrow at Lance. “Yeah… I doubt that.”

Bael chirped in response, clearly unfazed by his failures, and jumped back up to try again.

It was peaceful—until I heard movement from between the trees.

Both Lance and I tensed immediately, preparing ourselves for whatever was coming from the woods. I stood up slowly, eyes locked on the figure emerging from the shadows. Bael was there in plain sight and, for a moment, I was scared—more hunters? Assassins?

But then the figure lowered its hood, revealing the familiar fiery hair. Tania.

“Relax, losers,” she said with a roll of her eyes, tossing a bag to the ground with a soft thud. “You’re safe. For now,” she winked at us.

I sighed in relief, my hand falling away from my weapon. “You’re back early,” I said, glancing at the bag. “What’d you bring?”

Before Tania could answer, her gaze shifted downward, her eyes widening in shock as they landed on Bael. “Wh-what is that?” she asked, her voice uncharacteristically shaky.

I puffed out my chest, smiling with pride. “Tania, meet my dragon, Bael. Bael, meet Tania.”

Bael, of course, was way too busy to notice. Apparently, I had dropped my bandana, and he was desperately trying to tear it to shreds.

“Your dragon?” Tania snapped, her shock quickly turning into irritation. She marched toward me, her eyes flashing. “I recall someone promising me a dragon.”

I crossed my arms defensively. “Yeah, but I wasn’t about to give you my dragon.”

Tania clenched her teeth, her anger clear. But then, as her gaze drifted back to Bael, I could feel her irritation melting away, replaced by something softer. She crouched down next to the little dragon, her eyes softening as a gentle, never seen before smile spread across her lips. “Hey there,” she whispered, extending a hand toward Bael. “Hi, little one.”

Bael stopped his assault on the bandana and turned his attention to her. He sniffed her hand cautiously, his tiny nose twitching as he inched closer. I couldn’t help but smile at the scene that was playing right in front of me.

And then, without warning, Bael bit her.

Tania’s smile froze, and for a moment, I held my breath, unsure of what she would do. Her other hand shifted, black claws extending, gleaming in the morning light, and Bael immediately let go of her, his mouth still open.

Tania lowered her clawed hand slowly, her lips curling into a cold smile. “Good boy,” she muttered, her voice dangerous.

Lance and I exchanged a glance, both of us shivering at the sight.

Without looking away from Bael, Tania’s smile faded as her tone turned serious. “By the way, people asked me about you two. There are more of them now.”

Her words caught me by surprise. The weight of what she said sank in quickly. Trouble was brewing. Again.