Heya you! Yes you! How would you like to display your very own drawing of Bran based on character descriptions so far? If so email me at [email protected] with your artwork. Top three get featured on chapter twelve and a name of their choosing in the story. ( Sorry no xXDaKushSlayer$$$$Xx though, names must be manageable.) Hello there my precious reader base! Someone kindly left a reply on an earlier chapter as a sort of pseudo-review, and I'm going to take a little section to comment on the big part of Bran's character he didn't like - His decision process. Now first let's ignore the whole blah, blah, I'M THE AUTHOR, HE'S SO PRECIOUS DON'T SAY MEAN THINGS ABOUT MY CHARACTER mumbo jumbo because he brought up a valid point. Bran hasn't made rational decisions for the most part. He immediately accepts the fact that a goddess just tricked him and he will never see his family again. Then sometimes he shows no regard for his life, and other times he shows almost too much. There is a simple reason for the almost non-human danger-sense he has, put simply Bran will most likely not think about danger lying ahead. Unless he is about to die he will probably try to decide what to do based off of the immediate danger. For the earlier point I want to make sure all my readers know one thing by now: to Bran his family is considered dead, and vice-versa. He has no way back, and no connections in this world to tether him there. While I like the light hearted comedy crap I'm writing right now we will get to a point where the mature tag comes into effect. Anyways that's all for now folks, enjoy the new chapter!

"No, for the last time I do not know how to make a bus nor, would I want to." I replied, this dragon wanted to know everything, and I really just wanted to sleep. Sleeping proves to be a challenge however when someone stares at you, waiting for you to wake up.

"Well little one, you are the only one who knows what a bus is and I would really like to see one." The dragon replied.

   After explaining coffee, roads and sidewalks she was still not satisfied that I was telling her the whole truth. Her suspicions were correct of course, there was no way I was explaining everything. That would not only take decades, it would be really, really boring. Then again, why hold back? It's not like I have a family to go back to. For all I know the world I came from is traveling through time at a faster rate. Maybe this world is Earth two billion years in the future. Hell, maybe this is all a dream and I'm in a coma at some hospital. Either way, what now? Should I really go find human civilization? What about Red and Blondie? They're both human, why are they with this dragon? Is it their foster parent? Do dragons even eat? It had been about twenty four hours judging by the meals, and I had yet to see the dragon eat anything.

"For such a little one you seem to have a lot of big thoughts. Why not share some of those with me, or will you still not tell me how to create a bus?" She fluttered her eyelashes. What the hell, why does she even know such human gestures like that? Is it from Red and Blondie when they ask for things? This dragon brings more questions with every answer...

"How about this then, I will tell you how to make a bus if you can solve my riddle, if not however I can ask for any three wishes from you as long as it is within your powers to grant them. Will you accept or are you afraid to lose to a human?" I had put some extra emphasis in there just to make sure she realized I was a lower species. If she thought she could easily win then I might be able to get away with these heavy terms.

"You are an interesting one indeed little one! I am truly glad I didn't eat you immediately. I will abide by those terms under two conditions. One: you must specify what two of those three wishes are immediately. Two: since I am merciful and just I will give you three riddles to stump me."

"Well how generous of you, I give you my word that should I win two of the three things I ask of you are as follows. I would like to be released from this cage. I would like you to teach me the common dialect." I replied, satisfied with what my third wish would be.

"I give you my word that should you confound me with one of the three riddles I will abide by these rules." She replied curtly. She looked like she had already won. For a dragon she seemed pretty arrogant about her knowledge. Time to bring her down a few pegs.

"For my first riddle I'll ask you one that has been passed down in my world for generations, it is called the sphinx's riddle. I walk on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night. What am I?"

"This is too easy little one! You simply must try harder, or do you want to build my very own bus? The answer is simple, Human." She replied smugly. I was starting to get tired of how smug people had been to me in the last two days, and I was getting kind of tired. Time to see if I could cheese it up.

"Hmm... You're right. I'm sorry for asking such an easy one. How about this: what is the square root of two?" I let out the words so innocently I was proud. I had won it with this, there was no way she knew the answer.

"I do not understand the question little one. What is a square root?" She gave me the biggest puppy eyes possible. Seriously? Where does she learn these behavioural nuances from? Either way, a dragon doing them did not project the same feelings as when a human did.

"It's not in the rules that I have to explain the question." The smile on my face was clear, I had won. I had beaten the dragon in a battle of wits. Doubt my "smarter" brother could have done that.

"I only keep you alive for my entertainment little one. Do not think that you can hide behind petty rules. There is no rule saying I must answer within an amount of time. Which of us will live longer, me, or you?" She smiled. Now that is bone-chilling. At least the other emotes and nuances had some semblance of humanity, this smile had none. She had a point too. It looks like I had to play fair, now what was something I knew and would stump her that didn't use otherworldly knowledge?

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

   Riddles were pretty big in a lot of fantasy settings, in fact dragons usually told them. The question was, what could stump her? What was something she won't think of? With that the answer to an old riddle came to mind along with an idea.

"Fine. I'll play fair then. When I get that third wish though, you're gonna regret agreeing."

"We shall see little one. Now, what is your final riddle?"

"Men both young and old doth curse me.

  All of nature withers and falls from me.

  I destroy both village and city.

  The thickest armor can't stop me.

  The strongest weapon can't hurt me.

  What am I?"

"That is easy little one, I am quite disappointed in you. The answer is a lich. Oh well then, looks like after that bus you have much to make and explain for me." She was positively ecstatic. Too bad for her though. I was not making a bus for her, I didn't even know how.

"Wrong." I replied smugly.

"Ufufufufu how cute, you think that you can fool me. Sorry little one but I know what a lich is and you described it well."

"Is that your final answer then? A lich?"I wasn't smiling this time. No sense tipping her off that if she didn't admit she chose lich as her answer she could continue waiting until I gave up.

"Yes that is the answer I choose. Now tell me what I must get for the bus to be made." She answered, turning around as she did so.

"Well you better open this cage 'cause you just got it WRONG!" I did a fist pump as I said it, it's the small things in life after all. Really though. What else could I do but celebrate? Through my celebration I saw what seemed like a scowl on her face.

"What is the correct answer then? If you are using some foreign concept I still win."

"The answer is time. Young men wish to be older so they curse it. Old men wish to be young, so they curse it. Eventually trees, grass, even mountains erode and decay. Villages and cities rise and fall. Of course time can't be stopped by armor or hurt by weapons. It can't be a lich anyway. They can be hurt if you destroy the phylactery." I celebrated some more, doing a little dance, and fist pumping some more. Dungeons and Dragons had really come through for me. That and the arrogance of dragons as a fantasy cliché. The dragon looked crestfallen, like I had enslaved her only child.

"I will do as agreed then. The logic is correct, I have but one single request for you."

"Sure what is it?"

"Do not take my daughter from me."

"....."

   I have no idea what to say. my third wish was going to be for her lifelong servitude but now that she said that I feel a bit bad about wanting to ask for that. She had said she wanted to eat me, if the tables were turned she wouldn't show me any mercy so why should I? That being said I was raised as a gentleman, though the last time I acted like one it backfired quite a bit. What should I do? She obviously took this a lot more seriously than I thought. Note to self, don't make oaths carelessly as apparently, they hold a lot of weight. I couldn't doom this woman to serve me till I die, that was way uncool. How could I get her to come with me, and help me though? It's not like I could just ask her without it being pseudo-slavery which I was not okay with.

"For my third wish I want you to be my friend." I let out sheepishly. I still wasn't sure it would work. Tears welled in her eyes and she looked at me like I was the messiah. Apparently a request of friendship meant a lot more here then on Facebook.

"Thank you little one, for not taking my daughter from me. At least there is a single human in this world who wouldn't enslave my race given the chance." Shit. That was an option? Don't get me wrong, I'd feel pretty bad enslaving an entire race but morals only go so far. I may have made a serious mistake, but sigh I guess a single friend is worth more than the world. Well, that's what the internet told me at least.

"About teaching you the language. It is quite easy. a month at most for the basics of it. While I know you don't like that cage it is currently the only room available." She eyed me up right then as she cut the bolts holding the cage door shut like her claw was a hot knife through butter.

"What about the room dow-"

"That room belongs to my daughter, and as we agreed I am your friend not her. You are not going to see her until I can truly ascertain your intentions of being my 'friend'."

   Ah. I see. So this is how you treat the guy who not only didn't enslave you, but your whole race. Fine then. I see how it is. You won't even be my wing-dragon later on at taverns will you? No, probably not. Well at least as my friend she will let me sleep without those intrusive stares.

"Well in that case I', tired we can start teaching me the common language in the morning." I said, turning my nose up as I faced my bed with a tiny sniff. As I laid on my bed about to go to sleep I called out one last thing.

"Good night dragon"

"Good night little one, and you may call me Astarte."

  Astarte? Well at least I had made one connection in this world. One tiny light in the void that would keep burning after I was long gone. If I was gonna be in this world till I died having a dragon as a friend couldn't hurt.