The dragon’s cave was large, dark and unwelcoming. Despite appearing to Silvane’s eyes nothing but naked rocks, she felt the presence of the large, terrible monster whenever, wherever she put her feet on. Any noise louder than a whisper could be her own end; trembling, she imagined the dragon’s nose already sniffing her, ready to protect its hoard…

But she had no choice. That was going to be her family’s new home – forever. It had been the price to pay, in order to save their baby.

After the joy of seeing Ildarg winning the bard battle, had come the terrible revelation. It had come only after all the crowd had finally left the village, leaving her, Ildarg, Elise and the dragon alone. For the whole time, her husband had looked like he had to tell her something important; but every time he called for her attention, his lips would stop making any kind of sound. Only the dragon’s words made the truth finally ring out.

“I will give you some time to pack your belongings before you relocate to my lair. How many days will you need?”

“W...won’t you take us directly there?”

“I thought you disliked it.”

“Yes, but...but we need that book, as soon as possible. Every day could be the last for-”

“Ildarg?” Silvane intervened. “What does the dragon mean, relocate to its lair?”

Her love took the longest breath she’d ever seen him take, before finally explaining.

“Well, when I got back to his cave, we made an agreement...”

When he finished explaining, she felt like a whole mountain had fallen on her. Go live...with the dragon? Forever? Abandon their village, their community...for that monster?

“Silvane,” Ildarg timidly whispered, “I...I’m so sorry...”

“It’s...it’s fine,” she whispered as well. “As long as we can cure Elise...I’d have done the same.”

Ildarg smiled, the largest smile she’d ever seen him make.

“I should have known you’d say it-”

“Hem, hem,” the dragon interrupted them, “you still haven’t answered my question!”

Ildarg turned his head to the dragon. “We’re coming now.”

So here they were, towards the belly of the cave. Ildarg walked ahead with a torch in his hand, while she followed his steps with Elise on her arms, as always. Her coughs, harsher than ever, echoed through the stone walls.

“Soon,” Silvane patted her front, “soon...”

After what felt like a whole life, appeared a light in the distance. “Here we are,” Ildarg announced.

The light became bigger with each step, until it finally opened to a vast, illuminated rocky room, completely filled with books. Silvane couldn’t help opening her mouth wide in amazement, looking at that spectacle. Above the gigantic pile, stood the yellow dragon, looking at them with his serpentine eyes.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Welcome home,” he greeted them.

“Thank you,” Ildarg replied, with indifferent tone. “Have you got the book?”

Kirja’s tail moved sinuously, and ceremoniously offered a large tome wrapped in its end.

“The compendium of every possible human sickness,” he announced, “all of them.”

Both the adult humans looked at the book’s size with dread. “We...we don’t have all that time to read it,” Silvane said.

“What sickness does your cub have? I can look it for you.”

Ildarg referred the Kirja what the village’s healer told them. The dragon nodded. “Let me look in the index...ah, here it is!”

“What’s the cure?”

“Give me the time, human,” Kirja replied, slightly annoyed. “Hem, hem...this sickness, verily, happens to be the commonest of infancy’s deadly evils, but fear thee not! For the remedy is simpler than your offspring’s harsh coughs may make thee think. Honey, mushrooms and blueberries, mixed in a hot cauldron and offered once a day for seven days shall free them for the impurities that afflict their tiny, innocent souls.”

Ildarg and Silvane looked each other, stunned.

“That’s all?” She asked.

“Looks so,” the dragon replied.

“We need to get back to our village,” he stated, “once we get what he said, we can put everything in the cauldron and it’ll be alright. Kirja, can you take us there? I promise I won’t scream.”

“Fine. But remember, you just promised it. One shout, and I’ll fly back.”

***

Six months had passed since then.

Ildarg and Silvane had grown accustomed to living in the cave. Kirja turned out to be affable, once you learned to treat him with respect. He proved to actively listen to their needs: it didn’t take long for him to realize his humans missed daylight, so he rapidly made sure they’d be outside for half of the day, under his supervision. Despite still hesitating to share his books’ vast knowledge with mere humans, knowing Ildarg seemed to have excavated a breach within his mental defenses. Now he didn’t mind reading some stories to Elise, who after being offered the cure, was even more lively than before her sickness. She was still an infant, but laughed content at his dad’s clumsy attempts at improving with the lute. That was the only other knowledge the dragon accepted to share: he had to, since Ildarg was going to be his personal bard, and his baby after him. “You have ten years to prepare yourself for the next battle. This time, I will expect the very best music,” he proclaimed.

“But...wasn’t it every hundred years?” Ildarg asked, his arms swinging exhausted after hours and hours playing the lute on his legs.

“I and Boken made an agreement,” he said, “since she lost because of an accident caused by her bard, we anticipated our next battle to let her have a reasonable rematch. Same bards, same venue.”

“What...I’ll have to battle Rikastil again?”

“In ten years,” Kirja nodded, “in the meanwhile, you’ll make sure, once you’re decent enough, to travel my lands to remind my other human subjects their duties.”

“That is, giving you their books, right?”

“Of course.”

Next to him, Elise touched the lute with her tiny hands. As they strummed the chords, it produced a series of notes that did have no harmony, yet made her laugh in amusement. “Now, dear, daddy has to practice,” Ildarg told her, patting her head.

“I think you did enough for today,” the dragon said, “we can now switch to our singing lessons-”

“Kira!”

“Uh?” Both Ildarg and Kirja exclaimed, turning their heads at the baby. She was now crawling on the pile of books, clearly directed towards the huge dragon’s figure. Her mouth opened.

“Kira!”

Ildarg let the lute fall on the ground. Her first word...her first word has been the dragon’s name!

“Don’t let it fall!” the dragon thundered. “I’m not going to get you another if it breaks!”

“Kira!”

“It’s Kirja,” he replied, getting his head close to the human cub, who kept climbing on the books. “Kee-ree-jah. Say it well!”

“Kira!”

The dragon snorted. Meanwhile, Ildarg didn’t have the word to say anything.

“So,” Kirja said, opening a book, apparently uncaring of Elise touching one of his paws, “let’s begin with our usual warm-up exercises, shall we?”

The adult human didn’t realize immediately what he was telling him.

“Can you hear me?”

“Uh...yes, yes!” He reconnected with reality. “Elise, get back here!”

“Kira!”

“Oh, alright, stay there! You’d rather have a dragon as your father, right?”

Kirja giggled.

“Don’t encourage her!”

“She’s clever,” he joked, “she’s already recognized dragon superiority.”

Ildarg lowered his head in submission. After all, she wouldn’t be there with them if not for his book hoard...