A Dragonlings' Magical Christmas

by S. E. Smith

  Alice released a tired sigh. “Okay,” she whispered. “But, I’s so very tired.”

  “I’s help you,” Bálint said in a low voice. “My symbiot and I’s will help you. It can carry’s you on its back.”

  “What about you?” Alice asked, biting her lip and looking at Bálint with wide eyes. “Aren’t you tired?”

  “I’s a man like my daddy. I’s not need a nap,” Bálint said bravely only to ruin it when a big yawn escaped him.

  Alice giggled and shook her head. “You’re silly,” she said with a sigh. “I likes that.”

  Bálint grinned as Alice turned to talk to Phoenix and Spring. The grin turned into a grunt when Roam hit him in the arm. Turning, he stared at his best friend.

  “I’s thought we decided we don’t like the girls,” Roam said, sitting down next to Bálint. “Remembers, we have a club with no girls in it so Amber and Jade can’t beat us up like they do Zohar.”

  Bálint looked at where Amber and Jade were leaning half in, half out of the raft so they could make faces in the water. His eyes moved to where Alice was sitting before they returned to Roam. He looked back and forth several times before he finally answered.

  “Alice isn’t like Amber and Jade,” Bálint said. “Neither are Spring and Phoenix. They’s don’t beat us up.”

  Roam glanced over at where Spring was sitting. She looked up and caught him staring at her. Roam flushed and growled when she stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Well, at least Amber and Jade is good at catching fishes,” Roam admitted reluctantly, turning to look at Bálint. “Buts after we saves Christmas, I’s not being friends with girls no more.”

  Bálint didn’t say anything. Instead, he watched as Zohar ordered the symbiots to move them toward the shore again. Amber and Jade didn’t wait for the raft to touch the bank. They shifted and fell out in the shallow water, splashing each other as they waded toward the shore.

  *.*.*

  The small group moved across the rocky ground toward the tall forest of trees. The sun was beginning to sink further down and there was a chill in the air. The symbiots, tired from their journey, moved slowly along with the group.

  “I don’t wants to go in there,” Jabir whimpered, looking at the dark opening. “It’s going to be darks and there might be monsters hiding in the trees.”

  “Monsters!” Amber and Jade whispered, their eyes wide with excitement.

  “Real ones that will try to eats us?” Jade asked in awe.

  Zohar turned and scowled at Jabir. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at the youngest dragonling before he turned to look at Amber and Jade. A low snarl escaped him when they tried to move around him. Both girls looked at him in surprise and shrunk back to stare at him in confusion.

  “There’s no such things as monsters,” Zohar said. “You’s two have to behave.”

  “Why?” Amber asked in confusion. “Don’t you’s want to find a monster?”

  “I says there’s no such thing,” Zohar growled in a firm voice. “My mommy and daddy said there wasn’t, so there.”

  Jade folded her arms and stuck her bottom lip out. “I heard’s your daddy say there was monsters in the palace,” she said stubbornly.

  “Yeah, you and Amber,” Roam muttered under his breath. “That’s what my daddy says.”

  Jade turned and glared at Roam. “Takes it back,” she growled.

  Roam glared back at Jade. “No,” he said. “It’s true. You’s and Amber are always getting into things and beating Zohar up.”

  “We’s just curious,” Amber retorted, stepping up next to her sister. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Mommy and daddy says there ain’t.”

  “You’s monsters,” Roam snarled. “You’s always making noises and nevers sleep.”

  “Argh!” Jade hissed, shifting and tackling Roam.

  Roam rolled in the sand along the edge of the woods and shifted into his tiger. Amber, seeing that Roam had twisted and managed to get on top of Jade, shifted and jumped on Roam’s back, knocking him to the side. The two rolled several feet until Roam got his back paws under Amber’s belly and pushed her off. He rolled to the side to get up, but Jade tackled him before he could get all the way to his feet. Amber, mad at being pushed, grabbed Roam’s long tail and bit down on it.

  “Ouch!” Roam cried out, shifting back to his two-legged form. “That hurts!”

  Jade shifted and held Roam down while Amber wiped frantically at her tongue, trying to get the cat hair off of it. Roam started crying when Jade hit him in the mouth with her head when she tried to see what her sister was doing. What none of them expected was the sudden explosion of white, pink, and gold as Spring hit Jade from the side, knocking her into Amber.

  Jade and Amber watched as Spring put herself between them and Roam. Her head was down and a low, menacing growl was escaping her. The small group watched as Spring flashed her sharp teeth at the twins, warning them to stay back. Her symbiot had transformed into gold armor around her, shielding her head and chest as she took a step toward the two other girls.

  “What’s wrong with Spring?” Jade whispered, looking frightened and confused. “Why’s she growling at us?”

  “You hurts Roam,” Phoenix said, stepping closer to where Roam lay crying. “You shouldn’t hurts others, especially us.”

  “I’s didn’t means to,” Jade whispered as her eyes filled with tears. “He called us a monster. We’s not monsters… We’s… we’s just curious. We don’t wants to hurts no one.”

  “Sometimes you do without thinking,” Phoenix said, kneeling next to Roam. “Spring, sees if your symbiot can heals Roam. His nose and lip is bleeding.”

  Spring’s small body shook as she fought for control of her dragon. It wasn’t until Zohar touched her shoulder that she drew in a deep breath. Taking a step backwards, she kept her body between Amber and Jade and Roam. It wasn’t until she almost stepped on Roam that she focused on both her symbiot and her dragon.

  Turning, she knelt down where Roam was laying on his side, soft sniffles coming from him. She gently touched him, sending a command to her symbiot to heal his cuts. She watched as the gold ran over his lips and across his nose.

  “Is you hurts anywhere else?” She asked in a quiet voice.

  Roam nodded and winced before he turned to glare at Amber. “She bit me,” he reluctantly admitted. “My tail hurts.”

  Spring smiled. “My symbiot make it better,” she promised before she turned and stood up. She took several steps toward Amber and Jade. “If’s you ever hurts Roam again, I’ll tears you both apart.”

  Turning, Spring shifted and quickly dug down into the soft soil, disappearing beneath their feet. Jade and Amber stared down at the hole in the ground in confusion. Glancing up at Roam who was now standing, Jade rubbed her hand across her nose.

  “I’s sorry, Roam,” Jade said.

  “I’s sorry, too,” Amber muttered. “I’s not going to bite you no more. Cat hair don’t taste good.”

  Roam nodded before glancing once more down into the hole. He smiled down at Spring who was watching him. With a nod, he turned and followed Zohar and the other children into the forest.

  Chapter 10

  “They were here,” Trisha said, kneeling next to the hole.

  Creon nodded, looking down at the familiar entrance in the ground. “Spring,” he said before he drew in a deep breath and looked into the forest.

  “It is too dark to follow their trail tonight,” Kelan said. “Even with our eyesight.”

  “I don’t care,” Vox replied. “I can shift and sniff them out.”

  “We take too great a chance of either missing their tracks or ruining them and not being able to find them at all,” Trisha said. “The air is heavy with the scent of rain. Not even your cat can find them right now.”

  “But the rain could wash away any tracks they might have left behind,” Ha’ven said, thinking of how small Alice was compared to the other creatures of the forest.

 
; “Yes, but not the other evidence that will be left behind,” Trisha explained. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but I know from experience what rushing through this can do. Every fiber in me wants to continue, but my instinct tells me if we do, it could take longer to find them in the end.”

  “There are no moons tonight,” Creon whispered. “Between that and the rain, they will be defenseless to the creatures that stalk their prey at night.”

  “Not defenseless,” Zoran interrupted with an intense stare. “They have their dragons and centuries of instincts to guide them. They also have their symbiots.”

  “Yes, but you said the symbiots were young,” Vox snarled, thinking of Roam. “My son doesn’t have a symbiot,” he added in a quieter voice.

  “Just as my Alice doesn’t,” Ha’ven pointed out. “I could light this entire forest,” he suggested in a hard voice.

  “And draw every predator in the forest to where the children are hiding,” Trisha retorted. “Some of the creatures here are drawn to the light. They know that where there is light, there is food.”

  Ha’ven turned on Trisha with a menacing step. “You expect me to do nothing all night? You expect me to leave my daughter out in the night? Defenseless?” He snarled, clenching his fists that began to glow.

  Kelan stepped in front of Trisha, a dark look of warning on his face. “No, we expect you to keep your daughter and the other children safe,” Kelan stated in a cold voice. “Trisha knows what she is talking about. She spent time in these forests.”

  Ha’ven tensed when he felt a hand on his arm. Turning, he stared into Creon’s smoldering golden eyes. He could see that Creon was having a hard time controlling his emotions as well.

  “Listen to her, Ha’ven,” Creon said in a quiet voice. “She knows what she is talking about. She learned from the best. You have seen Paul. Neither one would recommend this if it wasn’t in the best interest of the children.”

  “They survived last night and continued on their journey,” Zoran said, staring at the hole in the ground with a growing smile before he glanced up at the rest of the group. “What do the Grombots do when they are threatened, Mandra?”

  Mandra frowned as he thought about the strange question. “They burrow down in the ground at night so as to not be found by their…” Mandra looked down at the hole in the ground. “Predators,” he finished with a grin. “The kids would go underground. We’d never be able to find them anyway.”

  “Exactly,” Zoran replied with a more relaxed posture. “Set up camp. We’ll want to find where they bedded down as soon as possible tomorrow.”

  Ha’ven and Vox looked at the hole in the ground again before they looked at Creon. He was kneeling beside the hole, a contemplating expression on his face. Stepping closer, they knelt beside him.

  “What is it?” Ha’ven finally asked.

  Creon shook his head before he looked up at the thick forest in front of them. “They are so much like their mothers. Roam and Alice might not have a symbiot, but they have something just as powerful.”

  “What’s that?” Vox asked, staring at the forest with a frown.

  “They have friends who will always be there for them,” Creon replied in a quiet voice, turning to look at the two men kneeling beside him. “Roam and Alice are just as powerful as the rest of the children in their own way. Together, they will take care of each other and watch each other’s backs.”

  “How can you be sure?” Ha’ven asked in a low voice.

  Creon smiled as he stared at the two men beside him. “Because I know their mothers and fathers,” he said, rising to his feet. “They are just like them.”

  *.*.*

  “I’s like this, Spring,” Jade whispered as she scooted over to where Spring was sitting. “I didn’t know you’s could do’s all this.”

  Spring looked around the wide burrow she had dug out of the soft soil under one of the immense trees above. The roots of the tree spread out, helping to support the walls of the den she had made. Inside the den, small droplets of water ran down from several of the roots and dripped into the large acorn shells that Bálint had found above.

  When it became too dark to see and the rain began to fall, Spring had opened a hole near the base of the tree and told the other dragonlings, their symbiots, Roam, and Alice to follow her. The symbiots, happy to finally have a chance to rest, quickly shifted together until they formed a large mattress on the soft, cool dirt floor.

  Alice, Phoenix, Jade, and Amber used the red blankets to make a bed for them. The boys had returned to the forest to find food. Fortunately, there had been a berry bush and mushrooms close by. Jabir had also found some crawlies that he swore were good if toasted first. Alice and Phoenix declined the crunchy snacks while the others tried at least one, including Roam.

  “They ain’t so bad,” Roam said, between crunches. “As long as you’s don’t looks at the legs before’s you puts them in your mouth.”

  “Yew,” Phoenix replied with a shudder. “I can’t believe you’s tried them, Spring.”

  Spring shrugged her shoulders. “I’s don’t usually toast them,” she replied with a sheepish grin. “There’s always lots of them when I’m digging.”

  Jabir grinned at Spring before releasing a huge yawn and crawling over to the center of the blankets. Before long, one after another burrowed down under the blankets and snuggled up against the other for warmth until only Phoenix remained awake.

  She turned when she saw a faint glow in the tunnel. Curious, she glanced at the other kids. They were all softly snoring. Turning, she watched as a golden light danced several feet away.

  Phoenix carefully crawled off the mattress and stood up. She glanced behind her once more before she turned and began following the lights. It floated several feet in front of her, pausing when she did, but always staying just out of reach. It wasn’t until she passed the entrance to the burrow and moved further down the tunnel her sister had made that she wondered if she should do this. Stopping, she watched as the orb shifted into a different form.

  “I’s know you,” Phoenix whispered in a low voice. “I’s dreams about you.”

  *.*.*

  Aikaterina smiled at the small dragon standing in front of her. Turning, she gazed at the tunnel Spring had dug. With a wave of her hand, the tunnel expanded, growing larger and larger and the walls more solid until Aikaterina could take the form Phoenix was used to seeing her in.

  “Yes,” Aikaterina said, waving her hand again. A golden chair formed behind her and she stepped backwards and sat down. “You don’t sleep, child. You must be exhausted from your adventure.”

  Phoenix shook her head before pausing and nodding. “I’m a little sleepy,” she admitted, stepping closer. “Why are you’s here? Is it time for me to goes bye-bye?”

  Aikaterina bent down and lifted Phoenix up onto her lap. She gently brushed the dark hair back from Phoenix’s face. Her fingers tracing the delicate chin as Phoenix turned her dark brown eyes to her.

  “Not yet, child,” Aikaterina whispered. “I was curious as to what you children are doing? You are very far from home.”

  “You don’t knows?” Phoenix asked in surprise. “I thoughts you knew everythings.”

  Aikaterina chuckled and shook her head. “Not everything,” she replied with a smile.

  Phoenix’s lips parted in confusion before she slowly closed them. Aikaterina could tell that Phoenix was thinking about what she had just said. Touching Phoenix’s chin, she gently raised it.

  “What is so important that you would all go off on your own?” Aikaterina asked.

  “We’s have to finds the old dragon of the mountain before he steals Christmas,” Phoenix explained with a serious expression. “He’s different likes me, but he doesn’t have no friends. We’s are going to be his friend so he knows that he is loved and doesn’t have to steals Christmas.”

  Aikaterina’s eyes darkened for several minutes as she tried to understand what this ‘Christmas’ was. Her eyes cleared
as she thought about it. It must be another human holiday.

  “Why do you think he is going to steal Christmas?” Aikaterina asked curiously.

  Phoenix haltingly explained the story of the old dragon of the mountain. The more Aikaterina heard, the more fascinated she was by the tale. It would appear she had missed out on much during her absence from Valdier.

  “And you and the other children are going to climb the mountain?” Aikaterina asked with a slight smile.

  “Yes,” Phoenix replied, exhausted from her tale, her adventures, and having a full tummy. “We’s all going to be his friend,” she added with a yawn. “Even’s Roam and Alice.”

  Aikaterina drew Phoenix’s small body closer to hers and closed her eyes, sending a wave of warmth and calm to the small dragonling. Rocking her back and forth in a gentle motion, she rested her chin on the top of Phoenix’s head, a soft sigh escaping her. There was something about these species that captured her attention and pulled at something deep inside her. Something that she didn’t even think still existed. It was almost as if she had a… heart.

  With a quiet whisper, Phoenix disappeared from her arms and reappeared tucked next to her sister and Roam. Waving her hand, the tunnel returned to its natural state as she once again became a beacon of golden light. Rising up, she would make two more visits tonight.

  Despite her insistence that her species remain uninvolved, she couldn’t resist visiting each member’s dreams in the camp near the river. Just a brief suggestion, or knowledge, that their children were safe. Once finished there, she did the same to the troubled sleep of those in the palace. Satisfied that they rested more comfortably with the knowledge that their young were safe, she rose high above the palace, oblivious to the rain falling. It was as much a part of her as the wind and soil. Floating along the dancing currents out to sea, her thoughts once again reflected on the unfamiliar feelings coursing through her.

  A heart, she thought as she neared the rocky island where the Hive was. Such a strange thing to have.

  Chapter 11

  “We’s almost mades it,” Jade laughed in delight, looking up the tall cliffs to where the clouds covered the top of the mountain.