The Dryad and the Dragon

I'd lived over a thousand years, I had led men into war and lived to tell the tale. I've seen horrors no one should ever see. And yet, none of it had prepared me for dealing with entitled humans. "I didn't order this!" A human woman with bleach blonde hair yelled at me. Her accent let me know she wasn't from this part of the world. Maybe American? I'd seen some human TV shows and the accent was similar. "I ordered shortbread cookies!" "Ma'am, that is shortbread. It just has extra toppings-" "I didn't want extra toppings! I wanted plain shortbread cookies" "But ma'am, that's what you pointed out on the menu" I felt a twitch coming. It wasn't the entitled people that I struggled with, it was resisting the urge to rip their heads off that was the worst. "I'm scottish," Not from Scotland, obviously " and this isn't how shortbread is made" Yes it is, I wanted to snap. "But I wouldn't expect a c***k to know that" I almost snapped there and then, I already felt my muscles tense as I prepared to lunge at her. But I felt an hand on my arm, and I looked down to see my manager, Katie, standing there. "Daiyu" Katie spoke, "why don't you take a break?" I wanted to give the customer a piece of my mind, but remembered I couldn't get away with things like I use to. So all I could do was nod before I left for the backroom. Katie found me there, sitting on the ground in a lotus pose, trying to control my anger with some heavy breathing. When I noticed she had entered the room, I released a long breath before looking up at her. "I kicked the b***h out" Katie grinned at me. I cracked a smile back, my shoulders relaxing. "Good. I wouldn't have been able to control myself if I saw her again" "Americans" she sighed. "We always get the worst of them, I swear" "Well, let's hope she gets eaten by a troll or something" "Daiyu!" Katie gasped "that would make the troll sick!" We both then started laughing, and I felt the anger completely leave me. "Are all humans so bad?" "No" Katie answered. "Not all of them" "I've yet to meet a good one" I sighed. But then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked back to see Winnie, Katie's human sister. She was holding a piece of paper that read 'What about me?'. I chuckled softly and pulled her onto my lap. "Okay, I know one good human" The story of Katie and her sister Winnie was a strange one. You see, the two of them were born the same day, the same year. Except, Winnie still looked like a child. They weren't biological siblings. No, they were changelings. While Katie was a fae raised by humans, Winnie was raised by the fae. But living in the fae world stunted her growth, leaving her looking like a child while Katie was a grown woman. "See, Winnie is proof that humans can be good" "She was raised by fae, though" ".. True, I guess" Winnie pulled on my apron, and I looked down to see she had written in her notebook, 'I'm hungry'. Something had happened to Winnie during her stay with the fae, and she was left unble to make a noise, so she communicates by writing. "Well, it is lunch time" I stood up, picking Winnie up into my arms as I did. "Let's get some lunch" ~~~~ At the end of the day, I found myself back in my small apartment with a bag of groceries I picked up on my way home. It was a one bedroom, one bathroom place with an open kitchen and living room area. It wasn't what I was use to, but it was all I could get at the moment. I stopped by my bay window and picked up a watering can, then proceeded to water all the little plants I had at the window. It was the closest I could get to nature here in the city. After finishing, I went to the kitchen and took out my shopping. I wasn't in the mood to cook tonight, so I picked up a frozen meal I could just put in the microwave, which I did. I spotted a tiny plate on the counter, seeing it was spotless when I had left food there this morning before I left. I smiled and took out a small muffin I got from the Cafe, and placed it on the plate. I got distracted by the beeping of the microwave, letting me know my food was done. Humans were horrible, but I had to admit the things they invented were useful. I took out the plastic plate and removed the plastic layer on top. Something I didn't like about their inventions, all the plastic. I got a fork from a drawer, and went to sit down at my small table. I peaked over at the plate, and spotted a small person eating the muffin. It was my house brownie, useful little creatures that helped around the house. As long as you were good to them. I gave her a little wave, and she waved back. It was nice knowing I wasn't all alone here. As I started eating, I couldn't help but think of home. It wasn't much different really. After the deaths of all my brothers, dinners there were quiet too. Father was too busy, Mother too uninterested in spending time with her murderous daughter. Finishing in silence, I got up and threw away the packaging in the bin. I could see brownie was still eating, so I wished her night before heading out of the kitchen. I did my nightly routines, and stopped infront of my mirror. My dragon tattoo came to greet me. I knew it was an unusual sight to some of the other fay. The vines wrapping around my body were one thing, but the living dragon tattoo that could move wherever it wanted to was strange to them. I smiled slightly and gave it a scratch, before it retreated to my back. I then headed to my bed and climbed in. It has been a couple of months since I had to leave everything I knew behind, and I had to learn everything about this strange place. But I could manage, and tomorrow I would do better.