Dragon Dream

by Elena Van Peborgh

  Give me your energy, I thought internally.

  The answer followed immediately. Their energy ran through the earth to my feet and filled my whole body. They gave me strength again. I knew the flowers were gone now. They had disappeared because I had stolen their energy. I smiled when I visualised the image of surprised wolves in my mind. They probably wondered how the flowers had suddenly disappeared without a trace after appearing just like that. The wolf who had been dragging me with him stopped abruptly which caused me to fall on the ground. I heard knocking, and then a door opening almost immediately. The wolf pulled me up again roughly and dragged me into the house.

  “Let her sit down.”

  The voice sounded familiar. Anton? Were we in Anton’s house? The wolf obeyed and pushed me into the couch. It would be better if Anton had ordered the wolf to not be so rough with me. I rubbed over my left wrist; it was painful.

  “She’s ruining it. She is ruining our land, our ground,” the wolf complained.

  “Be clearer. What did she do exactly?”

  I didn’t listen to the answer he gave.

  “You idiot! She’s not ruining our ground. She made sure that piece of land isn’t dead and useless anymore. She revived it,” Anton yelled suddenly.

  I looked up and nodded to confirm that. But I didn’t like the way he spoke of the earth. He made it sound like it was a dead, useless thing that needed to be fixed.

  “Go home. Both of you,” Anton ordered.

  The wolf who had brought me here instantly obeyed and left the house. I stood up and left as well. Anton hadn’t even apologised. I had to hold my tongue so I wouldn’t make a sound of disapproval around him. Once outside, I stuck out my tongue but quickly ran towards the house next door. Annebel sat in a chair at the kitchen table.

  “You have finished work fast,” she noticed.

  I quickly grabbed the chalkboard.

  There was a misunderstanding, I wrote.

  I wiped it away once she had read it.

  Someone took me to Anton’s house, I wrote next.

  “And Anton has sent you home when the misunderstanding had been resolved?” Annebel asked and I nodded.

  It was difficult to communicate without a voice, but she seemed to understand more or less what had happened. A while later, someone knocked on the door, and I opened it. I hadn’t expected to see Corneel so quickly again, but he stood in front of me now. He pushed me aside and came inside.

  “You’ve used your power. You’ve manipulated the earth.”

  It sounded like he was accusing me. I folded my arms over each other before my chest. What kind of way was this to greet someone?

  Hello, Tatiana. Can I come in? How was your first day of work? I thought. Apparently, I was asking too much.

  “I had told you not to do that.”

  I grabbed the chalkboard and chalk again.

  It was necessary, I wrote.

  “Yes, it was necessary because the earth can’t possibly go unused for a year to heal and recover. We must use that piece of land right now.”

  Obviously, he was being sarcastic.

  I had to prove myself.

  “Who has told you to prove yourself? Has Anton ordered you to do that? I don’t think so.”

  “Why else would he let her stay here?” Annebel asked.

  I glanced at her over my shoulder. She stood a couple of steps behind me.

  “He welcomed her here in our community because he wants to use her. He wants to use her power. But it’s a good idea to remind Anton of what she’s capable of. She can do good with her power, but she can also destroy,” she added.

  If Anton ever found out about this conversation, he’d get the three of us killed.

  “She finally wasn’t the new girl anymore. Now that might be ruined. They might look at her weirdly if she’s nearby and they might not trust her,” Corneel said.

  I doubted that very much. The wolves hadn’t seemed to mind what I had been doing. It had taken a long time before someone had spoken to me. But I still felt like I owed Corneel an apology.

  I am sorry, but so be it.

  He shrugged and left the house. I turned around to face Annebel. I wanted to ask and tell her a lot. I wanted to ask her if it was dangerous to say bad things about Anton behind his back and if she thought Corneel was angry at me. But I didn’t have the energy, so I walked past her and went to my room. I was exhausted.

  The next day, I was up early for work.

  At work, I wrote on the chalkboard before I left the house.

  I worked together with a couple of wolves on the piece of land where I had worked the day before. The earth needed to be ploughed and seeds needed to be planted, which would then need to be watered. Apparently, they had decided to immediately use the fertile soil. This kind of work would take several long and heavy days. The wolves barely noticed me. Sometimes, they still looked up when they saw me, but they didn’t bother me. They let me do my work. They didn’t say anything to me, but they barely talked to each other either.

  I followed the rhythm of the wolves. Work was heavy, and we all had to work late, so I was mostly exhausted when I came home. I only had the energy to communicate with Corneel when he came by. I hadn’t seen Jon in a while. He hadn’t visited anymore. I decided to ask Corneel about it when he came by later that day.

  What’s wrong with Avalon? I wrote on the chalkboard.

  “Oh, don’t you talk to him anymore? Doesn’t he stop by?” he asked, and I shook my head. “He’s probably busy making arrangements for the linking.”

  Oh, right. I had almost forgotten about that. Jon would get engaged to someone. I frowned and tried to remember the name of the girl who Jon was getting engaged to. Chrystal? Yes, that was her name.

  But he doesn’t want to.

  “Well, yeah, he can’t escape it. It’s a contract between my family and his.”

  Your family? What’s in the contract?

  “Chrystal is my sister. And I think the contract says the firstborn of one of our families must be linked to someone from the other family.”

  Firstborn? Who was the firstborn in Corneel’s family? Him or his sister? Or did he have other siblings?

  Are you the firstborn in your family?

  “Yes, but who should I become linked to? Lena?”

  I shrugged. Maybe that was possible. I didn’t know how old Corneel was.

  “You don’t think that’s a possibility, do you? Lena is fourteen. That means she’s eight years younger than I am.”

  He shut up for a short moment after he had said that. It was like he suddenly realised something.

  “The maximum difference in age between the two partners is ten years,” he finally said.

  I suddenly had an idea. I jumped up and signed to Corneel he should follow me. I left the house with him on my heels. I didn’t need to go far. Anton’s house – where Jon lived as well – was right next to Annebel’s. I knocked on the door and waited until Anton opened it. He was surprised to see Corneel and me.

  “Corneel? Dragon? What are you doing here?”

  I waved my hand. My sign actually meant he should move out of the way, but I didn’t mean it like that. Anton looked at me enraged. Luckily, Corneel helped me out.

  “I think she’s trying to ask if we can come inside,” Corneel said.

  I gave him a thankful look. I still held my writing tools in my hand, but I didn’t want to use them to ask such a simple question. Anton let us enter and even offered us a seat. Corneel sat next to me. He probably wondered what I was up to and what I had planned, but he remained quiet.

  “What’s the reason for your visit?”

  The contract between both of your families.

  Anton furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t have anything to say about that matter, dragon. That’s a matter between the wolves. Why would it be worth my time to hear why a change to the contract would be good?”

  I was glad Anton still wanted to discuss the matter.

  Why Aval
on?

  This confused him, but Corneel helped me out again.

  “She’s asking why Avalon will become linked to my sister. The contract mentions the firstborn, and I’m older than my sister,” Corneel explained my question.

  Anton laughed. I tried not to show any emotion in my expression, but wasn’t happy Anton practically laughed at us.

  “Aren’t you too old for Lena?” Anton asked, still laughing.

  “Eight years,” Corneel answered, shaking his head.

  Anton seemed to laugh even harder now. “Do you want to become linked to Lena then?”

  “If that’s necessary. We all know what Chrystal is like. She’d steal Avalon’s title and suppress him. Do you want to lose the title, alpha?”

  Anton abruptly stopped laughing. Both men were deadly serious now. “You’re right. But this was arranged years ago. Do you think the council will agree to changing it just like that?” Anton asked.

  “They will agree to this change. Nobody likes Chrystal.”

  Anton stood up and left the house without saying another word. Corneel and I looked at each other, confused and questioning.

  “What are you doing here?” Jon asked. I looked up. I hadn’t heard him entering the room. “Where is––?” Jon continued, but Corneel interrupted him.

  “Anton? I think he went to consult with the council. We’re trying to make sure you won’t become linked to Chrystal anymore.”

  “That’s impossible. The contract... And even if it was possible, this has been arranged for years.”

  “That’s why Anton went to discuss it with the council. He wants to check if they’ll agree with a change. I can be linked to Lena.”

  “No,” Jon answered.

  His facial expression was hard. Corneel stood up and went to stand in front of Jon. The two guys stared at each other intensely.

  “You know I won’t touch your sister. You know I won’t hurt her. You know I will protect her and take care of her.”

  Uh oh. I hoped they wouldn’t start fighting. The tension was thick.

  “She’s my sister. She’s fourteen,” Jon said.

  “And?”

  I jumped up at the exact moment Jon clenched his fist. I went to stand in between the two guys before Jon could make a move. I gave Jon a stern look. He immediately dropped his arm to his side again.

  Next, I looked at Corneel who also looked like he wanted to hit Jon. I directed my attention back to Jon when I thought both guys had calmed down more or less. I poked his chest with my finger and then put my hand over my own chest, roughly over my heart. I hoped he understood my question. I had dropped my writing tools when I had jumped up, so now I must sign everything I wanted to say.

  “What? I didn’t understand that.”

  I sighed. I gave both guys a warning look and went to pick up my writing tools.

  What do you prefer? I wrote and showed it to Jon. I quickly pointed to him and then to Corneel.

  “Lena is young. She is eight years younger than I am. And she’s still very childish but that can change. And even if it doesn’t change, I will always take care of her. I swear it, Avalon,” Corneel said.

  I smiled thankfully at him.

  “I’m warning you now I will hold you to that promise. If you dare to touch her inappropriately even once, you’ll have to deal with me.”

  “I can live with that,” Corneel smiled.

  He extended his hand to Jon, whose mouth formed a narrow line. He wasn’t happy at all. But he accepted Corneel’s hand and even hugged him. They patted each other on the back in a friendly manner during the embrace. It seemed brotherly. These two guys... They would drive me nuts. One moment they were almost fighting each other and the next, they were hugging. I would probably never understand it.

  “Now what?” Jon asked when he and Corneel had released each other.

  “Now we will wait until Anton is back and has news.”

  Well, I didn’t know how long Anton would be away, his task could take some time; so, I sat down on the couch again. Corneel sat next to me. Jon decided to remain standing, leaning against a wall. He folded his arms over each other before his chest and looked straight at me. I tried to read his facial expression, but it was pretty blank.

  The front door opened as Anton returned. I nervously moved on the couch. Corneel and I immediately stood up when he entered the room. Anton signed we could sit down again, and we obeyed. He also sat in a small armchair. He seemed shattered.

  “The council agreed. There’s only one problem,” he announced.

  A problem? Oh no... No one dared to ask or say anything. We expected Anton to continue.

  “Avalon must still become linked. It’s too late to stop that linking.”

  What? What was Anton saying? Must Jon still become linked to Chrystal, even though Corneel would become linked to Lena? That wasn’t fair! Had this visit been useless? Had this request been worthless? Had I been too late? I could hit myself. Anton directed his attention to me. I stiffened. His expression was very dark, almost evil. This could only mean bad things.

  “You. You’re old enough to become linked, aren’t you?” Anton spoke directly to me.

  I frowned. I almost wanted to shake my head. I was fourteen and way too young to get engaged to someone. An engagement was heavy since it was both a physical and mental connection. It would wear on me and my mental health. Lena didn’t need to worry; the engagement between Corneel and her would only take place when she turned eighteen and became a wolf – the same way it had been originally arranged for Jon.

  Some shape-shifters got engaged when they were sixteen in some communities, but fourteen was too young. Earth dragons weren’t supposed to transform for the first time until they turned sixteen. Anton knew that, so he obviously thought I was sixteen. Only Jon knew my real age. Sixteen was old enough to become engaged according to the rules of the shape-shifters and dragons. I couldn’t tell them my real age, then they’d know there was something wrong and ask a lot of questions I wasn’t allowed to answer. So I swallowed with effort and nodded slowly.

  “You’ll become linked to Avalon.”

  I heard in Anton’s voice he wouldn’t tolerate protest. Since I was younger than Jon, I’d experience more effects from our engagement. If a shape-shifter were older, they had less risks of becoming insane and being susceptible to the influence of their partner. Anton could control Jon by imposing his will on him. I was still free now, but in a way, he’d be able to control me through his son, and I’d also never be able to go back to the mountains. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jon moving; he wanted to protest.

  “Yes,” I formed the word with my lips without making a sound.

  I also nodded. Anton smiled, stood up, and left the room. I only dared to breathe again when he had disappeared. I hadn’t noticed I had held my breath.

  “No,” Jon protested.

  Twenty-three

  I looked at Jon. He was irate, enraged even. His facial expression was stormy.

  “Not here,” I said to him without making a sound.

  I got up and went outside. It still wasn’t fully safe outside either. Everyone would be able to hear him. I decided to take a risk and trust Annebel being able to keep her mouth shut. I entered her house with Jon and Corneel on my tail. Well, he would just need to keep his mouth shut as well.

  “What’s the problem?” Corneel asked.

  “The problem is Tatiana is the same age as Lena. She’s fourteen, so she’s too young.”

  “What? That’s not possible, is it? How old are earth dragons when they transform for the first time? Fifteen? Sixteen?”

  Sixteen, I wrote quickly.

  “Well, she’s sixteen then, isn’t she?” Corneel asked.

  “No, she used to be a lower shape-shifter. She used to be a fox.”

  Corneel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He tried to figure out how it was even possible I had been a lower shape-shifter at first while I was a dragon now.

  It was magi
c.

  “Have the druids turned you into a dragon?” Corneel asked. He sounded like he couldn’t believe it.

  I wanted them to.

  “Is that how you’ve lost your voice?” Jon asked, and I nodded.

  My payment. My sacrifice.

  “Avalon… You used to hang out with her, didn’t you? Why? You know that’s forbidden.”

  “Yes, indeed. We were friends. That’s why she risked her life and saved Lena.”

  He seemed to be sad when he remembered that moment. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to comfort him. But something inside told me that wasn’t a good idea. So I did nothing.

  “You care about Tatiana,” Annebel noticed. The three of us all looked at her. Nobody had heard or noticed her. “Does someone want to tell me what the meaning of this meeting is?” she asked.

  “Avalon won’t become linked to Chrystal anymore. The council agreed it’d be better if I became linked to Lena instead. Avalon will become linked to Tatiana,” Corneel answered.

  “And Tatiana is actually too young. Yes, I heard she used to be a lower shape-shifter. She seems to be very young, but I think she’ll be able to handle it mentally. You should keep that in mind though, Avalon.”

  “No! No, no, no! Tat… You can’t. This... You shouldn’t. I…”

  “What’s the other option? Do you want to become linked to Chrystal? Chrystal might be my sister, but I fear the day she’ll be linked to you, Avalon.”

  Corneel had spoken my thoughts exactly.

  It’s not ideal but…, I wrote on the chalkboard. I left that last word hanging in the air.

  “But there isn’t another option. Is this the best one? Don’t make me laugh,” Jon completed the sentence.

  I shook my head. This wasn’t what I had meant.

  But it will be alright.

  I knew what the consequences were. I knew what an engagement was, and he also knew I knew this. He shouldn’t try asking if I even knew what it was. He shouldn’t use me getting trapped by us getting engaged as a reason not to get engaged to him because I’d punch him right in his face. He threw his hands in the air as a sign he surrendered. He left the house and slammed the door behind him.