Rex Draco Farm

The wind blows past the house as the windows rattle inside their frames. Arthur looks to Mia, a worried look on his face as he looks out the small kitchen window to see dust swirling by and a laughing voice carry in from the yard. “I think we need to check on what is going on.” Getting up and rushing to the door, Arthur opens it to see Draco running in a circle faster and faster, tighter and tighter, and the circle closes in on itself. He stands and spins, using his tail to balance himself like a forty-foot top. “what are you doing, Draco?”

The young dragon looks over as he spins madly around. An uneasy feeling shot up from his stomach as he circled and falling to the ground, laughing. He looked around, his head swaying from side to side as he tried to focus on Arthur and Mia. “Hey there, Boss, I was trying to practice a new idea I had for flying. I wanted to see if I could start a tornado.” His head drops to the ground as he closes his eyes. “Oh wow, on second thought, I better not. I am rather dizzy now.”

Mia walks over to Draco and puts her hand on top of his head. She was brushing the mane of hair that went from the top of his head down to his tail. “Draco, I do not think we should be trying to fly by starting tornadoes so close to the house, and in all honesty, you do not look so good right now.”

Arthur walks up beside Draco and sits beside Mia. “Yeah, Draco, you do not want to hurt your bush. That is your ticket to long-lasting life and dragon adulthood.” Jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to point at the three-foot-tall bush in the front garden.

He picked his head up off the ground to look towards the house. “That is my Imperial Pear tree. It only looks like a bush because they grow to fit the area around them. Usually, this tree would be twenty feet tall when planted in a wide-open area.” Standing up and walking over to the tree, Draco gently touches it as a faint glow of green emits from the tree; tiny fruit blossoms emerge as the light fades; small fruit can be seen just starting to grow. “As you can see, I am connected with the tree, and it is a part of me as well. Once these tiny pears are ripe, I will be able to take my place among my family as a fully grown dragon.” Draco shakes down the length of his body as a charge of static runs along his mane.

Arthur walks over and pats him on the back. “Oh, come on, buddy, you know you will end up staying here with us.” Putting an arm over his shoulder, he walks with Draco a little ways toward the barn. He leans in and asks in a soft voice. “do you think everything is ready for tonight?”

Draco looks back at Mia and shakes his head. “Oh yeah, Boss, no need to worry, leave everything to me.” A large grin spread across his face. “So, are you sure you want to have it in the barn?” Draco looked over to the barn that stood tall and proud. “Okay, so Boss, if I understand what you want, I have set up lights and made sure to clean the stalls of all the filth, but what should we do about the banner? I do not think there is any spot to hang it and keep the cow from trying to eat it.”

Arthur lets out a roaring laugh. “Well, then I guess we will have to find a good place to keep the cow out of the way.” He slaps Draco on the shoulder “come on, buddy, let us go and take care of what we need to do.”

They go about the rest of the day, Arthur to keep Mia busy inside the house and Draco setting up the barn for the special evening that was fast approaching. As dusk approaches, several cars drive up, and Draco leads them back behind the barn and out of sight of the house.

Arthur looks out the window just in time to see Draco peek inside with a larger-than-life smile. “Mia, what do you say to going and enjoying dinner down in the barn with Draco tonight? It has been a while since we had eaten in there.” Holding out his hand, he takes hers, and they walk from the house down the well-worn path to the barn.

The front doors were open as they approached from the side. As Arthur and Mia step inside, a flash of light and a loud “Surprise” Exploded from inside the barn.

Mia looked around and saw her mother and father, along with Pan and John. Draco had run his flames along his body. A bright blue flame from the top of his head down to the tip of his tail. He held a sign Happy First Year. A smile burst forth onto her face as Arthur stepped beside her and grasped her hand. “Has it been a year already?”

A burst of flame comes from Draco, and he releases the fire that was running along his body. It sails into the sky and erupts into a display of sparks. As the fireworks above continue to fall, the party begins.

Mia walks over to her mother and father as they marvel at the size and ability of Draco. “Mia, I am proud of you and Arthur for being able to raise such a fine dragon as Draco he seems to have taken a liking to the farm.” Pointing out over the field and towards the sky as another burst of fire erupts. He certainly has a knack for controlling his fire breathing.”

Mia looks towards Draco with a warm smile. “Well, we never could figure out how to make him breathe fire, but he can control it well as his hair catches fire from there; he can move the flames around as he likes.”

Arthur walks over to Pan and Little John as another fireball erupts in the sky. “So, John, how does it feel to be next to a real dragon who can throw fireballs?” Looking over, Draco juggles two balls of fire. “Oh, just launch them, you big goof.”

Looking from Draco to the sky as the next two balls fly into the sky. “Well, to tell you the truth, it feels good. I am glad to see that the stories I was told as a child by my grandparents were false.” Looking towards the sky as another ball appears in the sky. Arthur, that ball of fire looked different from the others.”

Looking to the sky to see what John was talking about, Arthur spots a ball of fire closer than the others. “Hey, Draco, make sure they explode a bit further from the farm; no need to risk a fire if we do not need to.” Looking to Draco, who has a worried look on his face. “What is wrong?”

Draco glances down at Arthur, a look of fear on his face. “Those were not my fireballs, Arthur Mia lookout.” A third fireball erupts just above the barn, showering sparks over the area. Draco moves to the front of the barn, quickly gathering the flames to shield the barn from whoever or whatever was attacking them.

A harsh roar rips through the night air as another dragon swoops from around the backside of the barn. “What are you doing why protect the hunters? Were you not just calling for aid, little one?” Another burst of flame bursts overhead

Arthur looks up as the new dragon speaks out to see a bright red body with a yellow mane of hair. black edges ran along this new dragon’s fur as it prepared another ball of flame. “Excuse me, dragon. We are having a celebration. Hopefully, you can see there are no hunters here.” Ducking back behind Draco as another ball of fire forms in the dragons’ hands. “I am gonna have to ask you to leave if you cannot control yourself,” Arthur yells from a relative safety that Draco provides.

Draco bares his fangs at the new dragon that has been trying to attack his friends. “Go away. There is no need for you to be here.”

The new dragon still with fury in its eyes. “You say you are having a party and there are no hunters present, then why do I smell a hunter’s blood coming from within the barn? Where are the master breeders, little one? I will get to the bottom of this before the end of the night.” Looking around, the new dragon spots the banner lying forgotten on the floor. A table flipped on its side with food covering the ground and a large head peeking out from behind. “Oh, it seems I might have made a mistake” The whiskers drooped on the new dragon.

Arthur stepped out from behind Draco as he heard the low voice of the new dragon change from one of rage to that of embarrassment. “Dragon, I am Arthur. I have been living here for one year with my Girlfriend Mia. If you are looking for us, we are the new breeders living on this farm.”

The new dragon glared at the human, who claimed to be the breeder. “Nonsense, Arthur, you might only be an apprentice breeder. I am looking for the master breeders. They raised me here on this very farm nearly three hundred years ago. They named me Tana. Let them know I have arrived, and they will explain everything to me.”

Stepping forward, Mia takes hold of Arthur’s hand. “If you are looking for his grandparents, they passed away eleven years ago. Their line and breeds were broken almost eighty years ago. So they began to age and raised a family. Arthur is their grandchild who just so happened to fall in line at the right age as a new dragon hatchling arrived. However, he was too young, and his grandparents set Draco aside in the last few years of their life until he was a little older.” She looked towards Tana and then to Draco. “If you two need to talk things over, she might listen to you better.” Walking back into the barn. “Alright, everyone, I guess the party is over. I am glad everyone came out, but I do not think it is wise to continue the celebrations.” Hugging her parents before they leave, Mia bids farewell to Pan and Little John and walks back to the house.

Arthur steps back into the barn, pulling a slightly scorched package from just inside the door. “Well, Draco, I guess our plans did not work out so great.” Patting him on his side Arthur walks back to the house, trying to clean the burns away from the small box in his hands before putting it in his pocket and stepping inside.

Dracos whiskers were drooping as he listens to Arthur. “Do not worry, Boss. I will make sure nothing ruins our next attempt.” Turning back to Tana. “so Tana was it? You ruined my best friend’s party. Do you know what he was getting ready to do tonight? No, of course not. He has been waiting months for this, and you show up and ruin everything.”

Tana looks over at Draco, a confused look on her face. “Well, it is not like that young man was getting ready to ask her to marry him, was he?” Her face changed from confusion to shame at the look Draco sent her way at her words. “Oh my, I did not know.

Draco shakes his head. What is done is done. Just try not to ruin the next attempt.” He closes the doors and walks away towards the house.