Ak'Bar's Grace Chapter 1

Ak’Bar the Red Dragon roamed through his forest in the middle of a sweltering summer day, looking for some food to take back to his den. Suddenly, he heard a loud wailing coming from the eastern edge of the oak tree forest.

Okay, what creature is making that infernal racket? It’s scaring off all the good prey that live in this area.

He flapped his wings to take flight, lifting off the ground by a few dozen meters, before he flew toward the wailing sound. It was probably going to be one of those days.

As he pierced the sky above the trees, he looked around for the source of the crying. He didn’t want to miss where this creature was, although it sounded like it was not an animal in the forest. How he knew, he didn’t know, but he was certain. The sound was also grating on his nerves.

He sailed half a kilometer toward the edge of the forest before he heard the crying underneath him.

Ah-HA! I found the source of the racket.

He nosedived to the forest floor, landing safely on his clawed feet in a cloud of dust that went up like a mushroom. He turned to the source of the noise. What he saw shocked him.

I don’t believe it… is that a human baby?

He looked the creature over, hoping to make sure it was not a trap. The creature looked like a human child, with long blonde hair and green eyes full of tears, and both upper front teeth missing. The creature wore a mixture of pink and blue clothing.

Ak’Bar’s nostrils flared a little, sniffing to get a proper scent of the creature. Upon getting a good whiff of the creature's scent, he slightly recoiled. This wasn't a fully human child, it was a half-elf! Talk about a shocker from the heavens, Ak’Bar thought.

What am I supposed to do about the child, anyway? I can't just leave it alone in the middle of the woods, but I can’t take the baby back to a human settlement, either. Humans have been hunting dragons for thousands of years, and it would be too dangerous.

Suddenly, he saw that the child stopped bawling, looking at him with a mix of wonder and delight... wait, delight?

Why would a half-elf look at me like that? I'm supposed to be a big, bad, scary dragon, for crying out loud!

Still, he couldn't just leave the child alone, not for the life of him. Why would he even do such a thing? It wasn't as if the child was going to be picked up by his parents, because there were no adults in sight.

So, without any further concerns, he carefully picked up the child and began going back to his cave to take care of him. It wouldn't do to leave the kid out in the open like that.

#

Trish looked at the face of the dragon that had picked her up from the forest earlier. She was in its arms. She didn't know how to explain it, but the look of gentleness in the dragon's eyes was enough to make her feel safe in its arms. Because of the unique combination of her genetics (half-human/half-elf), she began to reflect on her situation with a wisdom far beyond her years.

I just hope that the dragon has a name that I can call it... she thought. I don't want to continuously call it the dragon, not when I'm sure that it has a name.

She wasn't entirely sure what to do. She did notice that the dragon was a pretty shade of red… but telling that to a dragon that looked like it wanted to eat something soon would probably be a death sentence.

Why was I abandoned in this forest? I don't understand. Could my cousins have been right when they told me that I needed more worldly experience to match my advanced intelligence? I wonder if I’ve been deliberately left here.

She began to collect her thoughts. How was she supposed to make sure that nobody took advantage of her and her intellect? It was something she needed to work out.

I need to find a good way to get the dragon to trust me. What do I need to do with my life in order to get out of this situation alive?

The dragon arrived back at its cave, where it put Trish on the ground. "Now, stay here, little one," he said. "What I don't want for you to be is hurt."

Trish could only nod, even though she wanted to speak her thoughts.

"Good, you understand," the dragon said. "I'll be back with food for the both of us, don't worry." With that, he headed back out into the forest.

I hope he'll be back with some milk... I'm rather thirsty.

#

Well, this is rather odd, Ak'Bar thought. Why do I get the feeling I need to get milk for the child?

He resumed his hunt, going on his way to find a good source of food that a baby could eat.

I’m sure that the child must be very lonely and scared. I wonder if it would help if I found a playmate? he thought. I can’t safely play with the kid myself, given I'm a dragon that has a reputation to maintain… why am I even thinking of taking care of a child?

He eventually found his way to a particular tree that he recognized. The fruit of the tree was nutritious for both human and elf children. He picked a few of the fruits from the tree, carrying them in a basket that he had obtained from the cave.

In addition to looking for food for the child, he was also looking for a good source of meat for himself, as dragons must do.

He thought to himself, squirrels are too small for me to eat efficiently, not unless I eat the whole forest's worth of them. Let's see… Hearing a sound, he turned and saw elk standing in the forest. Ah-HAH! Elk! That's a good source of meat for me.

He sent a burst of fire in the direction of the elk. Because of his training, it was a narrow cone designed to strike the elk without inflaming the forest around them.

He took the elk with him as his treasure to eat when he returned to his cave. He knew that he needed something to eat a lot of, and he didn't have that much elk meat left, so this was a pleasant surprise for him. Still, he needed to be careful with how much meat he stored, because too much meat would begin to rot.

Ak’Bar also began to think about the child. Not a good thought... don't let the kid stay for all that long. However, what am I supposed to do? Take the kid into the territory of the nearest country that has claims to this forest, perhaps? No, that won't do. I need to make a good decision. How? I'm not entirely sure.

While it was true that he wanted to get the kid home as soon as possible, he had to be careful about which nation to send him to. And how was he going to be able to get the boy to go to his parents any time soon? This was going to be a right pain in the bum. Why couldn't life be more simple for him? It didn't make any sense whatsoever.

#

I hope that the food is on its way over here, Trish thought. The poor dragon needs to know what I'm able to eat. I know that, but how can I convince it that I’m able to eat most things a grown child can have?

That was a problem that she didn't want to deal with any time soon, and how was she supposed to do that? It didn't make any sense to her at all. She was scared, she was exhausted, and she was hungry.

She suddenly thought, When am I going to be able to eat a steak for once while I'm here?

She had to consider the fact that the dragon could probably smell her age as a child, but she didn't like that prospect, not one iota. It was something she needed to make sure was kept secret from all creatures and as many people as possible... especially on the human side of her blood.

Continuing her previous line of thought, she asked herself, How do I tell the dragon that I'm able to eat meat like it can?

She then sighed, before looking at her clothes. Pink was traditionally a boy's color in many circles, especially the boys of royalty. Blue, on the other hand, was the royal color for girls. Because she was wearing both pink and blue, this was an issue that was confusing, and with which she didn’t want to deal.

She sniffled. I miss Mama and Papa!

After a few moments of sniffling, she heard the dragon return. He was holding a veritable feast that she was eager to start eating. She was very, very hungry.

#

Well, better get ready, Ak'Bar thought. I need to skin the meat and give the fruit to the child. How will I know that this food is acceptable to the child?

Preparing food for a child that wasn't a dragon was tough for him.

I don't know if a half-elf is able to eat anything other than fruits yet.

This was truly going to be difficult for him, he could tell.