Sacrificed to the Dragon Prince

012: Pet

[Primus]

I cannot trust my judgment with the smell and feel of her in my senses, so I am going to see the one person I know who could snap me back to reality, my sister, Ona. She’s a star fire dragon, which means she can be extremely temperamental, unpredictable, and capricious. She is also shrewd, wise, honest, and loyal. She’d never break a bond of trust. She’s the meanest, bravest, craziest drakaina I know. I can trust her to keep my secrets and to be strong enough to fight anyone else who comes seeking them as a way to hurt me.

She is both my dearest friend and the greatest competition I have for the dragon throne. You’d think that alone would make her someone I shouldn’t give my confidence to, but we came to an understanding as hatchlings. It involved molten rock and a waterfall. Only Ona and I know the truth of that incident, and that is how we intend it to stay until we are both dead. It is far too …embarrassing. But, it was at that moment that we stopped trying to kill one another and decided instead to cooperate.

As the firstborn child of the dragon king, she has just as much if not more claim to the high throne than I do. But our mother wants her for the Sky Throne, leaving me with the Earth Kingdom to rule. Besides, she doesn't want it. Occasionally people will come to her with plans to usurp my claim and make her the official heir.

We usually have a good laugh over their burning corpses.

It takes me a day of flying to reach her island. Made of 5 interlocking volcanoes set in the middle of the Great Western Ocean, Vatra is Ona’s personal paradise. Still close enough to the mainland to retrieve any goods or services she might desire, but also far enough away that she isn’t bothered most of the time. Very few dragons, and even fewer humans, want to make the trek. This usually guarantees our privacy.

There are no ships in the lagoon, meaning that Ona is alone today. Perfect. Landing gracefully at the edge of the water, I reform my body, leaving my wings to provide a bit of shade from the hot midday sun. Walking on two legs I approach the thatched hut at the end of the beach.

As if she were expecting me, Ona is standing behind a bar, shaking something inside of a strange, round, hairy object. Her scales form a small two-piece outfit, orange and red with touches of hot pink and gold. Her slick black hair is shaped into a bob, and her black horns curl back gracefully towards her deep navy wings, following the curve of her head and stopping just short of her shoulders. Without looking up, she grabs two tall glasses already edged with salt, and from a small hole in the hairy sphere pours a good amount of milky substance into each.

“You need to try this,” she hands me a drink, her red eyes smiling. “I’ve been experimenting with the fruits on this island to see if I can come up with something worth trading. There was a bit of a collision between two boats on the southern side of the island and as we cleaned the mess, I learned that the thick stalky grass growing there is filled with a delightful nectar that makes everything almost unbelievably sweet. So I tried fermenting it and developed this intriguing brown liquid.” She lifts a large glass jug from underneath the countertop.

“I see,” I’m not sure how to reply, but she is clearly very excited.

Pulling out the cork, she moves it closer to me. “Take a good whiff of this, it’ll singe your eyebrows.”

“Why would I…”

“So why are you here?” She interrupts me, taking a sip of her beverage and making a face before setting it down and dipping more of the brown liquid inside.

“I thought I could ask your advice about something,” I confess, “Seeing as you are more experienced and wise and…”

“Stop,” she shakes her head. “You must be up to something if you are trying to flatter me. You suck at it.” Swirling the drink to mix in her recent addition, she takes another sip, coughing, she dips a bit more into her glass. “You might want to practice before you become king. Dad is an excellent liar. “ Sniffing her glass, she smiles, then takes a large gulp. Setting the cup down she shakes her head and pats her chest as if trying to dislodge something stuck in her throat. I reach forward to help, but she looks up, eyes watering, and places a single finger on her lips signaling me to wait.

“Okay…” I sit back, bemused.

With one final smack, she opens her mouth. Belching fire she laughs, “Perfect.”

“You’re disgusting,” I grimace, still smelling the fruity explosion.

“It’s one part pineapple juice, one part coconut, and about 3 parts brown stuff. I’m thinking of calling it a ‘Pina Collision.’ What do you think?”

“I think you should call it fuel,” I rub my own watering eyes, setting the glass down and away from me.

“What has happened to put you in such a foul mood, brother?” She takes my drink and uses it to refill her own before adding some more of the brown fluid. “I hear you took in a new pet. What’s wrong? Is she not meeting your needs?”

I can feel my face grow crimson as I reply. “Now what…”

“There are only two reasons a dragon like you takes a new hostage. Either to clean their house or to clean...other things.” She states bluntly looking down at my crotch to make her point. “And I know your house is self-cleaning. Your d**k on the other hand…”

I snag my drink back from her hand and finish it. “It’s not like that,” I wince as I feel the disgusting beverage make its way down my throat. “I’d never…”

“Then why did you pull the old ‘virgin maid’ trick if you weren’t horny?” Ona queries. “It’s the only good reason to take on a pet.”

“Maybe for you but..” I stammer.

“Oh, please, Primus,” she sighs. “Don’t be such a ninny. It’s boring. I haven’t had a visitor in forever, so please don’t bore me. Here,” she passes the rest of her drink over to me. “I have a feeling that you need this more than I do.”

She watches expectantly while I take a sniff of her drink. “Go on,” Ona nudges, tapping my other hand. “It’ll help you relax. Think of it as medicine.”

Hesitantly I take a drink. Either my taste buds have gone numb from the increase of alcohol, or this beverage suddenly got a lot tastier. I nod my appreciation and Ona smiles back.

“So, let’s have it,” she pushes. “Why are you here?”

“Carnelia, my guest…” I begin.

“Wait, hold up,” she interrupts me again. “You named your pet ‘Carnelia’? Like the dragon queen from that bedtime story. Good gods, you're a romantic!”

I glare at her.

“Okay, okay,” she chuckles. “Continue.”

“So I brought her into my home and we’ve done nothing but fight most of the time. She hates being in my presence. I find her shrewish, she thinks I’m a beast.” I sigh. “But then the most remarkable thing happened.”

Ona sits down on a stool. “You finally gave her a taste of your…”

“No!” I bark. “Gods, sister. Why are you such an ass?”

“Sounds like you don’t like her,” Ona surmises. “Can’t you just send her back?”

Shaking my head, “No, I’d never..”

“Oh, give her to me! It could be my hatching day present!” She claps her hands together, bouncing on her stool. “She sounds feisty. I like feisty. And it's been forever since I’ve had a pet and..”

“NO!” I roar, slamming the glass and sloshing half of its contents on the counter. “SHE’S MINE!!”

Ona stops, sits back, and grins, fangs bared. “Now we are getting somewhere. You’re more than a little attracted to her, aren’t you? You’ve only had her for 4 days now and you’re treating her like a part of your permanent collection. Let me tell you something, brother, you shouldn’t let yourself care too much for your pets,” she begins cleaning the spilled juice from the counter. “It’s dangerous. To love your pet is to have a weakness because unlike us, they are fragile, easily broken or lost.”

“It’s not just that,” I admit. “It’s something more. Something impossible.”

I can’t say what I’m thinking so I stare, hoping she gets what I’m trying to say.

Ona blinks. “She is human, right?”

“Correct,” I nod. “Completely.”

“Are you sure?” She continues to ask. “Is there anything unusual about her, anything at all? Tell me everything.”

“Other than her ability to annoy me, no,” I smirk, thinking of our first encounter. “She’s just a beautiful, frustrating, fiery human with the temper to rival my own. She has the most amazing hair, like spun flax, that floats around her, her eyes glow like fire-lit amber, and her skin is a beautiful dark brown, darker than any I’ve ever encountered. But other than her beauty and her spirit, she is ordinary.”

“Then…?” Ona draws the word out as a question, encouraging me to continue with a wave of her hand.

“I only wanted…” The words come spilling out about our bargain, my previous gift, and everything else that has happened between us from the very beginning. Ona listened carefully without interrupting, occasionally nodding her head to show me she was still listening.

“But when we were dancing, something weird happened. Our eyes locked and I felt a connection. My entire body was ignited with sensation. It was like everything was suddenly too much. I….” gulping I admit, “I left her alone in that room and ran off to see you as soon as it happened. I didn’t know what to do, or how to face this. I’ve, never…” I look up at Ona who has become very still and very quiet.

“I need to check something first, but in the meantime, Primus, tell nobody else what you just told me.” Her eyes are wide, frightened. “I will keep your secret but Primus,” Her irises glow brighter for a moment as she locks her gaze with mine. “If you want my honest opinion, I recommend that you go back home. You need to be honest with her about everything.”

“But I..”

“Everything!” she commands. “I mean it. I know you, you’ve probably tried to trick her in some way and I want you to come clean with her, now. She might be….something irreplaceable and precious to you and I don’t want you to f**k it up. Now give me that,” she snatches back her drink, “and get out of here.”

“Can I at least stay one night, my wings are aching,” I beg, rubbing my shoulders.

Ona rolls her eyes, “One. But then you go back and face your situation. I have a feeling she is just as confused and scared as you are.”

“But she hates me,” I sigh. “She thinks I’m a monster, a beast.”

“Then you’ll need to show her that she’s wrong,” Ona places a hand on my shoulder. “You are a good person, Primus, and a kind Prince. Let her see that. And if she still doesn’t want you, well, just ship her off to me.” She laughs again. “Get some rest, brother. I’ll let you know when I have some more information for you.”

Stepping away from the hut, she leaps transforming into her true self, and takes flight leaving me alone on the beach.