Magic, Myth and Mysteries

The Goddess' Chosen One, Chapter Three - Karmen Kramer

3.The dragon

Lothor shifts out on the terrace. The dragon is a majestic beast. Burgundy red with spikes down his back and tail. There is just enough room on his back for her. She holds onto a spike in front of her. The wings are leathery and huge. The membrane is so dark a red that it’s almost black, but the tips shine in bright red. The horns on the dragon’s head form a twisted crown. Even the dragon’s eyes are red. She can see where he got the idea for the colour scheme of his bedroom. The scales are warm to the touch since he’s a fire dragon. He’ll keep her warm in the clouds. Hopefully, he won’t go flying that high. Just soaring over the mountains seems scary.

“You think too much,” a metallic sounding voice intrudes on her thoughts.

“Lothor? Or the dragon? I forgot about telepathy. How silly of me,” Luna chuckles.

“The dragon. But he thinks so too. He’s just a frigging gentleman who never listens to other people’s thoughts. I have no other way of communication, since I don’t speak,” the dragon tells her. There is a slight difference in the sound and connotation. She won’t have any difficulty knowing who is talking to her.

“I’m glad we get to meet. This is my first time flying, so please have mercy on me,” Luna tells the dragon.

“You’ll have to explain that concept to me one day, but I can take it slow for your first time,” the dragon chuckles. “Hold on!”

Luna has just enough time to grip the spike in front of her before the dragon jumps over the stone wall. The plunge into the abyss stops when he spreads his wings out wide and catches a draft of wind, sailing over the valley below. The view is even better from here. This is such a monumental moment, she wants to burn it into her memory for all times. Flying is not terrifying at all. It’s a thrill that sends endorphins through her body. Luna laughs and spreads her arms out wide. If she only knew how very liberating this feeling was, she’d have done it aeons ago.

“Where have you been all your life? Flying is not new. The old gods have done all the time. We were created just for that,” there is a pang of bitterness from the dragon: “before they realised we were great weapons and used us for war.”

“I was on my island. Always observing, never to interfere. I let life pass me by and then I went to sleep when the world forgot about me,” she tells him.

“Well, you’re here now. I can show you the world if you want to?” The dragon says.

“You can start by flying higher,” Luna instructs. She wants to reach for the clouds.

“Ascending up there might not be wise,” the dragon warns her. “I don’t want to be on the radar. Much less seen from an aeroplane. Humans have dominated the sky in the last century.”

“How do you fly to Milan then?” She asks. “Aren’t you in danger of being seen from the ground if you don’t fly among the clouds?”

“His lordship takes the plane most of the time,” the dragon chuckles.

“Oh. The mundane way,” Luna sighs. That must be tedious, if you can fly yourself. But she does understand the reasoning behind it. The humans would have a field day if they ever captured a dragon.

“They would be mostly dead. No respectful dragon would allow capture,” the dragon chuckles.

“You’ve got a point there,” Luna admits. She has to be careful what she thinks, or maybe form her thoughts and questions better? There is just so much she doesn’t know, so much she has missed.

The dragon makes another round over the valley and lands on the terrace again. Luna slides down his wing like it’s a slide, laughing all the way. The amused look the dragon gives her lets her know he’s not offended by it. Then he shimmers back to human form. Lothor seems to be in a good mood as well. Flying did him good.

“That was fun,” he tells her. “I can make us lunch, unless you want to return to Milan?

“Lunch would be great. Do you cook?” Luna gapes. She hasn’t seen or heard anyone else here.

“Lately, I have been interested in cooking shows. My housekeeper graciously allows me to invade her space. We even cook together on occasions,” Lothor explains. “My ex-wife would be mortified to find me in the kitchen. ‘Royalty does not work’, she would say. You know, sometimes I’m glad she walked out on me?”

“I can’t comment on that. I don’t know her,” Luna smiles gently. “But, if you feel better, happier, then she did you a favour.”

“She did. I wonder if she knows that? But I don’t care enough to dwell on that. I can breathe without her. I can explore, I can learn new things. Or, I can just sit around and read for days,” he answers.

“What are you making?” Luna inquires. The ingredients don’t make any sense to her. She never paid any attention to food, she ate what she got.

“Pasta carbonara. I love Italian food. Such simple dishes with an overload of flavour from just four ingredients,” Lothor smiles back at her. He really enjoys this, she thinks.

“Can I help?” Luna wonders. She never cooked in her life, but maybe she’s missing out on something fun.

“Sure. You can grate the pecorino. That’s the cheese,” Lothor tells her. “Just be careful. The grater is sharp. You can easily take off the tips of your fingers on that thing.”

“It looks simple enough,” she smiles. The grater really is sharp. The cheese is hard, but it comes out on the other side in little white strands. With just a little pressure, she has the desired effect.

“You can stop. We don’t need the whole piece,” Lothor chuckles when she has a full bowl in front of her.

“How do you know how much you need?” Luna inquires.

“Recipe that I have memorised. I have done this before. Then you just adjust the quantity depending on the number of people you cook for,” he tells her. “Admittedly, I got it wrong a few times, but I’m getting better with my favourite dishes.”

It turns out, she likes to cook. Preparing a meal is almost better than consuming it. All the details she noticed, and the time they have spent together far outweigh the few minutes it takes to eat it. This is something they could do together. She is finding more and more things they have in common. But, is he? How to ask without sounding needy?