The DragonWitch Tales - An Unexpected Beginning

by Shannon Harris

  “As much as I would like to stay here all night, she’s right, Paisley. The girls get awfully cranky when they don’t sleep in their own beds at night.”

  “You’re both right. It has been a long day.” She untangled herself from the couch and had to tear herself away from Alexia and her family. She laid Amelia down beside Alexia. Today had been a good day, and maybe her lucky streak wouldn’t end anytime soon. She kissed Alexia on the cheek, grabbed her backpack, and followed Addison out of the house. She couldn’t wait until the time came that she didn’t have to leave them, but today wasn’t that day.

  ****

  Despite her strong assertions to the contrary, she missed her first lesson with Alexia, and it tore her up inside. Addison knew a young boy she trusted, so Paisley sent a note to her aunt to give to Alexia, explaining why she was missing her lesson.

  After she completed her weeding of the garden that morning, Beatrice had assigned her the task of digging up a few small trees that had sprouted up in the garden. Of course, since this was Paisley, nothing ever went according to plan. The first few trees came up easy. By the fourth tree she was on her hands and knees, scraping the dirt away from the roots with her fingers. She slumped down as sweat tricked down her nose, and stared unfocused until the sun reflected off something in the hole. “Give me the water.”

  Addison tossed the bottle, and Paisley caught it and poured water over the object. What the…? She grabbed the small shovel, and as carefully as possible, dug underneath the item. When there was enough space for her fingers to get around it, she pulled until it began to loosen. With a final tug the object came loose, and Paisley fell backward with a thud. She stared at the object in her hand, not believing what she was seeing. “Addison, is this what I think it is?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Paisley jumped at the sound of Beatrice’s voice. “So, it is an egg?”

  “Yes.”

  Paisley stood and tried to hand it over, but Beatrice took a step back. “I cannot take it. Only you will be able to care for it.”

  Paisley scrunched up her nose. “Care for it?” It was roughly the size of a football, in multiple shades of blue and purple. She kept a firm hold of it, but kept it at arm’s length and eyed it warily. It looked old and weathered. Several small fractures could be seen running along every available surface. “There can’t possibly still be something alive inside.”

  Beatrice didn’t bat an eye. “It’s a dragon egg.”

  Paisley eyed the egg, then Beatrice, then Addison. “A dragon egg? Really? Isn’t it a bit, I don’t know, small to be a dragon?”

  “Come inside and I will explain. Bring the egg. Do not let it out of your sight.”

  Paisley instructed Addison to grab her backpack while she followed behind Beatrice, holding the egg to her chest. For some reason she couldn’t explain, she already felt she had to protect it.

  Beatrice waved to the table. “Sit.” Once everybody was seated and she had served them each a cup of tea, she started talking. “Dragons come in all shapes and sizes. It is true the larger varieties are nothing more than stories told, but dragons did and still exist in some form.” She pointed to the egg Paisley had set on the table. “What you hold in your hands is a rare egg. I can’t recall the last time a Palm Dragon hatched in this area of the country. There are still Dragon Masters in existence, and to fully understand your dragon you must be taught by one.”

  Paisley stuttered. “My dragon?”

  “Yes. You would have never been allowed to pick the egg up out of the ground if it hadn’t called to you. That’s why I had you weeding. It has long been rumored that a dragon egg was buried in the ground on this property. In all my years, no one has been able to locate it. Don’t you find it funny it only took you less than a week?” She arched her eyebrow.

  Paisley ran her fingers over the hard surface of the egg and sighed. Did she need this complication in her life right now, with everything else going on? She adjusted her glasses and chanced a look at Beatrice. The answer was written plainly on the old woman’s face. Whether she liked it or not, she had just become the sole owner of one dragon egg. “What exactly is a Palm Dragon?”

  Beatrice pushed back from the table, stood, and walked to the bookcase in the corner of the room. She pulled down a small hardbound book and set it down in front of Paisley before retaking her seat. “That is the complete history of Palm Dragons thus far. Palm Dragons are just that—when they are born they can sit in the palm of your hand and they don’t get much bigger.” She bit her lip. “Don’t let their size fool you. They are one of the rarest, but also one of the most magically based dragons ever to live. To tell you the truth, not much is known about them. No one, to this day, can fully say what powers they hold. There are varieties within: fire, ice, and lightening, just to name a few. Do not let anyone know that you have the egg or the book. I am only telling you this in the presence of your guard because you trust her. Addison, do not tell anyone what you have seen here today.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I still don’t understand. How does this affect me? Why did the egg choose me?”

  “The dragon that lays dormant inside the egg chose you and it did so for a reason that is known only to it, and when it hatches, to you. You should be proud of that fact. The dragon chooses its master.”

  “So, I’m a Dragon Master then?” That sounded cool, to be able to train a dragon and have it do her bidding. Maybe her day was looking up. “What do I have to do to care for it?” She nudged the egg. “It’s an old egg. Do I do anything special?”

  “No. Just keep the egg out of sight and with you at all times. It should fit in your backpack. Keep it there.”

  “Okay.”

  Beatrice stood. “I believe that will be all for today. You should take the rest of your day and look over that book. It will give you some insight into the type of dragon you have been granted.”

  Paisley also stood, along with Addison, and she slipped the egg into her backpack while Addison held it open for her. After securing the pack on her back, she turned to Beatrice and finished her tea. “Thank you.” A dragon egg in her Wonder Woman backpack. If that didn’t make her a superhero she didn’t know what would.

  She rocked back on her heels and crossed her arms across her chest. “I have to say being a Dragon Master is pretty cool.” Paisley started to fidget under Beatrice’s gaze. After a few tense moments, Beatrice seemed to make up her mind.

  “No, my dear,” she said, a smile slowly splitting her face. “You are not a Dragon Master. You, Paisley, are a DragonWitch.” She held up her hand. “And before you ask, I will not get into that right now. Just suffice it to say that all will be revealed in time. Do not mention that to anyone either.” She pointed to the door. “You both have a wonderful day.”

  Paisley turned on her feet and walked out the door. First she finds out she is the sole owner of a dragon egg, then she is told she is a DragonWitch. The title seemed self-explanatory, but she wondered if it was that simple. She was a witch, and she apparently now owned a dragon. She still couldn’t wrap her head around it, and until she saw the thing hatch she would reserve all judgment on the matter. She probably should have gotten used to the unexpected.

  ****

  After leaving Beatrice’s, they’d only been walking for twenty minutes or so toward her family’s farm when Addison grabbed Paisley’s arm and stopped walking. She held up her hand to ward off any questions, and Paisley scanned the area but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  She closed her eyes but didn’t hear anything weird either. Granted, she wasn’t an expert in such matters, so she cracked open one eye and looked toward Addison, who tensed beside her, then pulled Paisley behind her when three men walked out of the shadows of the trees to their left. Paisley had never seen anyone wearing the types of robes these men had on. But by the look on Addison’s face, it was clear she knew exactly who the men were.

  The three men were roughly the same height as her,
and even though the robes concealed the men’s clothes, it wasn’t hard to tell they each held a slim build. The two men in the back were clean-shaven, but the man in the front had a beard that went down to the middle of his chest. When he took a step forward and held out his hand, Addison drew her sword.

  He moved his hand in a circle. “We mean you no harm. This is the first opportunity we’ve had to meet the new princess, and wanted to offer her our sincere congratulations.”

  “Your kind isn’t welcome here. You step out of the shadows like ghosts before us. The Brotherhood dare confront a member of the royal family.” Addison took a step forward and was attempting another when Paisley walked up next to her.

  So, these three men were members of the Brotherhood. The insignia stitched onto their robes must have been an indication of their rank, since all three symbols were different. They looked friendly enough, but from her experience, looks could be deceiving. She shrugged. “So, you’ve met me. Now what do you want?” She had to fight the urge not to fidget or bring attention to her backpack. Now that she knew it was there, she would have a hard time not looking at the egg ten times a day. The last thing she wanted was these men finding that she had one. Her dad had told her she didn’t have anything to fear from them, but she wasn’t about to let her guard down.

  Paisley opened her mouth to speak, but clamped it shut when out of the corner of her eye she spotted five soldiers step up behind them. They were not soldiers for the royal family. Her first ambush. How quaint. She crossed her arms. “Really? What do you hope to accomplish by doing this? I am no threat to you.”

  He spread his arms wide. “We’ll be the judge of that. You haven’t been around long enough for anyone to miss you, now have you?”

  “Lana would miss me.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Maybe, or maybe she would miss what you could offer her. Your power is immense. I can tell that by looking at you. The pendants that hang around your neck can only do so much. You need someone to teach you.”

  “I have a teacher.”

  He snickered. “Beatrice is an old fool. You need someone that would be willing to go to bat for you. Someone willing to stand beside you in battle. Someone who would gladly die for you.”

  She had that with Alexia. She bit her lip and fought the urge to fiddle with her glasses. It almost sounded like he wanted to be the one to teach her. The ruby felt warm against her skin. “What do you really want?” She watched their facial expressions, but all three remained neutral. “And why the extra protection?” She pointed to the soldiers.

  “I really only wanted to meet with you, and the added protection is just a precaution. One can never be too careful.”

  “I hear that.” She bit her lip. “So you will let us pass freely?”

  “In time. First though, let me give you a word of warning since you’re new here. These people”—he waved his hand in the air—“are not your friends. To them, you are a royal. They will not treat you like you should be treated. They will treat you how they think you should be treated. Do not trust them. Everyone has their own agenda. Remember that.”

  “Even you?”

  “Even me.” Paisley kept her feet planted on the rocky ground as the members of the Brotherhood, along with their soldiers, walked back into the trees. As she lost sight of them, she released a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. Without looking at Addison, she spoke. “What do you think?”

  “I think we need to be getting you home and not to your family’s. Please don’t argue. They will understand, and tomorrow after Beatrice’s you will go to them, explain your absence, then you will train with Alexia. For now, I believe to keep up appearances, you need to go home and spend time with Lana. She does not need to feel isolated right now. You don’t have to love her—or even like her—but with everything still up in the air and your powers still untapped, you need to make the effort.”

  Addison was right. Things were still up in the air. She would miss seeing Alexia, but she would spend the rest of the day with Lana and Jynx, just relaxing and enjoying the evening. “You’re right. Onward bound.”

  ****

  After a week of training with Beatrice and Alexia, her grasp of her magic was starting to reveal itself, but she was still a long way away from having a firm grip on it. She came home exhausted and hungry every night. Lana never complained or questioned her, and she always had dinner waiting for her when she arrived home.

  Paisley still didn’t feel any type of spark when she was around her, but she had finally admitted to herself, if a bit reluctantly, that Lana could become a friend. Maybe. She would never fully confide in or trust her, but she wasn’t against spending time with her. What she didn’t enjoy was dinner with the royal family she was forced to attend once a week.

  They had arrived at the castle right on time for dinner, and Paisley still felt like she was going to a firing squad every time she entered through the doors. This was their third dinner together, and thankfully the queen hadn’t been present for the second, but such wasn’t the luck tonight. Paisley avoided her stare, but she could feel her eyes boring into her. Paisley knew it was only a matter of time until the queen addressed her.

  “Paisley,” the queen said. “What have you been doing with your time?”

  It seemed like an innocent question, but Paisley knew better, and she fought the urge not to squirm under her gaze. “I have been learning quite a bit from Beatrice. I only wish that I could learn more. She is a good teacher. I didn’t think I would ever get her garden weeded for her.” She chuckled, then took another drink of her wine.

  The queen threaded her hands on top of the table when their dinner plates were taken away. “She is a fine teacher and will bring out the best you have to offer. A little bird told me that you have also been spending time with your family.”

  To keep her hands from shaking, Paisley clasped them in her lap. When she looked up, the queen’s eyes bore into hers, and at that moment she knew the queen knew that she had been training with Alexia. She also knew that she would never come out and say it. “I have enjoyed getting to know my dad’s family. I miss my grams back home, and even though it isn’t the same thing, my dad’s mom has been a godsend to me.”

  “Family is important,” she said, moving her hands away from the table when a bowl of fresh fruit was set in front of her. “I, for one, would never do anything to jeopardize the safety of my family. Nothing and no one will ever harm a hair on their heads if I have anything to do about it. Don’t you agree, Paisley?”

  “I agree.” She finished her fruit in record time, because there wasn’t anything else left to say. When Lana had finished hers she informed everyone she and Paisley would be going home. After arriving, they sat on the couch, each lost in their own thoughts. The silence was bordering on uncomfortable when Lana spoke up.

  “Do you have something you need to tell me?”

  Paisley turned to face her. “What’s this about?”

  “My mother can be a bit forceful at times, but she is never without reason. Can you think of anything that you’ve done or said that would cause her to doubt you or your ties to this family?”

  Paisley tried to remain calm, but on the inside she was freaking out. Did Lana know, too? She wasn’t about to tell her and risk not seeing Alexia or her kids again. That wasn’t an option. “No, I’ve done nothing to risk your family. I have enjoyed getting to know my family. It’s the next best thing to having my dad with me. They give me a reason to carry on.” It wasn’t a total lie—they did help her regain a sense of family and she did enjoy spending time with them, but seeing Alexia every day was what kept her going.

  Over the past week, after her lessons were completed, they had started to open up to each other more. Paisley told her about her childhood and Alexia shared stories about her girls. Physically, they had kept their distance, but every evening Paisley would place a kiss on Alexia’s cheek, and every evening Alexia would draw her into a hug before they departed. It w
as getting harder and harder to leave her each time. Never in her life had she ever grown so close to someone in such a short amount of time. K.G. would have been proud of her.

  The overwhelming need to be around Alexia scared her, but there was no way she could fight her attraction. She dared not speak the word love aloud, but she felt it and she believed Alexia did, too. Looking at Lana now, Paisley felt a twinge of guilt, but it wasn’t enough to make her back off or change the course she had set for herself. No, she would continue her path, and be damned if anyone or anything stood in her way.

  Lana stood up and started pacing, then abruptly turned toward Paisley. “There is something else I wanted to discuss with you.”

  She looked nervous. That couldn’t be a good thing. “Okay.” Paisley tried to remain calm, but when Lana sat down next to her and picked up her hand, she started freaking out.

  “You’ve been here for almost a month and you still sleep in the guest room. I don’t want to rush you, but do you think maybe you could try sleeping with me, just for a few nights? We’re married, Paisley. I understand your need to train and see your family, but we hardly spend any time together.” She bit her lip. “What I’m trying to say is, can you maybe devote a bit of time to working on us? If we don’t even give us a try, we’re doomed before we start, and I want to see if this can work.”

  Paisley fought down the nausea, slipped her hand out of Lana’s, and stood up. She knew she should be spending more time with her, at least to keep up appearances, but the fact was she didn’t want to. It already felt like a betrayal to Alexia that she even lived in the same house as Lana. Now this. She would have to concede something larger for Lana not to become suspicious.

  “You’re right. I have been awfully busy. Everything is so new and exciting, it’s hard to prioritize everything. Lana, I’m trying my best here.” She tensed when Lana stepped up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. This is not where she wanted to be and this was not whose arms she wanted around her. She stepped out of Lana’s embrace and ignored the hurt that flashed across her face. “I’m sorry, but I’m not ready yet.” She straightened Lana’s collar. “Please, give me time.”