The Dragon Circle

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

I can recall the first time my best friend Moni and I discovered one. We were supposed to be headed to school, but the warm spring day and the lake across the field from her house was calling us.

"So what do ya say? Are ya still game for some swimming today? I wore my suit under my clothes. My mom didn't even notice." Moni pulled her collar down far enough to reveal a bright yellow swimsuit strap.

"Me too, lets go. It's the last week of school, they expect us to skip right?" We laughed and detoured off the road to cut across the field of Pampas grass. Though it wasn't all the way summer, the grass had already grown to a height of 6 feet.

There was a trail straight down the middle that lead to the lake. We had walked it so much it had become permanent.

We got there and discovered we weren't the only ones with the idea of ditching school in that last week. Running towards the lake we tossed our belongings into the pile of shirts, shorts and shoes under the huge old magnolia tree.

"Last one in's a rotten egg!" Moni yelled out.

"Well you better get used to being called 'Stinky' !", I laughed and whizzing by her I grabbed the thick knotted rope that hung from one of the tree's branches. With legs kicking wildly and loud whoop, I sailed clean across the kids below me in the water, letting go of the rope I balled up and made a terrific splash!

After swimming we climbed the hill that over looked the lake, the field of Pampas grass and all the way over to Moni's little brown house. In the opposite direction we could see the road that we would have caught the bus on for school. After eating our sack lunches, we lay down on our backs, and watched the few scattered clouds being slowly blown across the bright blue sky by the soft warm breeze.

"We are moving away." Moni whispered into the sky.

I lazily turned my head, unsure of what she had just muttered I asked, "What? What did you say?"

She sat up on her elbow facing me. "My dad has a new job and we are moving away. We are leaving at the end of summer. I have to go to a new school and everything."

I sat up. "Moving?! How long have you known? How far?"

"Its pretty far. We have to fly there. My dad is going to leave before us and come back when we are ready to leave and fly back with us. Mom says the new house is near the beach." "Dad told us last week".

I could not believe my ears. My best friend since we were 2, was moving away.

"But....but what about high school! We start next year, what...what am I supposed to do without you?!" I stammered as I sat all the way up.

"Lacy, I.... I don't know. My mom says the high school there is big and I'll have more chances to do things and....and more opportunities will be open for me and for little William too."

Moni sat up. She started getting dressed. I just sat there staring at her.

"Please don't make this weird Lacy. I can't do anything about it. I don't want to go and my mom says if I protest it'll just make things harder for me. So mom says to be positive about it." Moni's face suddenly lit up, "Mom says I can come back and visit over the summers and you can come visit me as much as you like."

"Yeah, and I bet she said we can call and video chat with each other too." I pouted.

"She did! Lacy, I just don't want to hurt my mom and dad, they are really excited about everything."

I tried to smile, it was crooked and un heartfelt. I was reeling on the inside with emotion. Moni and I had had our lives planned out from middle school all the way through to the two guys we were going to marry, the daughters we were going to bear, and name as if they were twins and our move away from this Valley!

Now...now she was moving away on our high school summers eve. I was devastated.

Moni paused putting on her sandals she looked over at me, "Aren't you going to get dressed? We still have to be back home like the bus dropped us off...."

Looking over at her, "You go on. I'll just tell my mom I got off on your stop today."

Moni placed her hand on her hip as she stood up, "Lacy, come on you're going to get us both in trouble."

"It doesn't even matter. Just go on." I stood up and gathered my clothes, "Where's my other shoe?"

We both looked around for it, "Maybe it rolled down the hill....over there!" Moni pointed down the side of the hill that led to tall unkempt weeds. I slowly started down the hill, "here I'll help you look."

"Found it!" I yelled as I reached down to pluck the shoe from some mud, "ewww I'm going to dip it in the lake...AAAAHHHHH!" I yelled and dropped it.

"What, what is it?" Moni raced to me.

"I think a snake, or....or a lizard."

The shoe lay at our feet. As we stood there looking at the opening of the sneaker, a small emerald green wing unfolded from inside the shoe. Moni and I froze.

"What is that?" Moni whispered, "Is it a bat?"

I kneeled down next to it and shook the shoe a bit, the wing did not move, "Whatever it is I think its dead." I tipped the shoe so that the winged thing rolled out. Even though it was not seeming alive, it still rolled in a controlled slow motion, as if it were sleeping. It was so tiny.

"What do you think it is?" Moni kneeled next to me.

I looked closer. It was covered in tiny scales, they weren't actually green they appeared to be clear but reflected the green grass and the blue sky. I reached out my hand...

"Wait, don't touch it with your hand, what if it's not dead?" Moni grabbed my wrist.

"Its ok, Its mouth is not even big enough to grab my finger. I'm just gonna give it a little po..." I was knocked onto my butt and drug across the grass as if something invisible had violently pushed me as my finger barely made contact with the creatures snout.

"Lacy! Oh my god, are you ok? What happened what was that!" Moni raced to where I was and tried to help me up.

“I don’t know!” I waved away her hand, “I’m ok, it didn’t hurt. It kind of felt like…like a bolt of energy.”

I got up and walked back over to the little creature. I wasn’t afraid or feeling any hesitation, I bent down and with Moni protesting the whole way, I gently picked it up. Cradling it in my shirt I turned to Moni

“I think… it’s a dragon. And I think….it’s alive”

With her eyes bulging Moni slightly moved the part of my shirt that was covering its belly. We could make out ever so slight a quick up and then down.

"A dragon? Are you sure? I...I thought they were extinct...right? Aren't they extinct? That's what Ms Blane says."

Moni referred to one of our teachers. Our science teacher as a matter of fact. We had not to long ago talked about the dragons of old and how they no longer exsisted. Ms Bane seemed to be an expert on the topic of dragons. And now there seemed to be one, right here in the Valley.

“Yeah. Well maybe I’ll take him to her. She may be able to help. He may be hurt or dying”

“He?? How do you know it’s a ‘he’ ?” Moni wrinkled her nose up, “it’s really pretty when the sun hits its scales. It may be a girl….look see there that little mark on its lower belly looks like a little pinkish flame. Maybe that means its a girl."

We headed back towards Moni's house. The little dragon seemed to be breathing a little deeper by the time we reached her front door.

"I'm going to take it home with me. And tomorrow..."

Moni cut me off, "You cant take it to school! If it is a dragon then that means it may the last of its kind and we have to protect it. And school is the last place it needs to be."

"I'll figure something out. Bye see you tomorrow." I spoke to Moni but my eyes never left the little dragon that seemed to be even more comfortable laying in my shirt. I made it home and no one was there.

"Great everyone is still out. Lets get you something to lay in." The dragon surprised me and opened its eyes slightly, it closed them as quickly. I stood very still. The doorbell rang out, startling me.

I called out, "Be right there!", as I scanned my bedroom for something to lay the dragon in. My eyes feel upon my old fish tank. "This is perfect!" I grabbed my towel from my shower that morning and lay it in the tank. I carefully placed the dragon in the little nook I created in the towel, "Now don't go anywhere, be right back." I lay another towel over the top of the tank and ran to answer the door.

"Hi Lacy." a smiling Ms Blane stood on the other side of the door.

My heart sank.

"H...hi Ms Blane. Um my mom and dad aren't here right now....if ....if this is about me missing your class today I can explain!" I stuttered.

Ms Blane continued to smile, "Oh no no dear I'm not here about that."

"N...no? Then what....?"

"I believe you....Found... something today, yes?"

I shook my head yes without even thinking about it.

"Well that is just grand! Grand indeed! Care to show me where she is?"

I stood back so that she could come into the house. I led her back to my room, and pulled the towel off the tank. She gasped as did I at the site of the dragon now standing on its hind legs balancing itself with its long curved tail.

Ms Blane reached her hand into the tank the dragon climbed into it straight away, "Well hello there little one. You are a tiny thing aren't you? No matter, you shall now have the chance to grow and become mighty, you have chosen well."

"Ex...excuse me, chosen?" I sat on the bed confused even more now.

Ms Blane, carrying the dragon came and sat down beside me.

"Oh yes, chosen. She has chosen you as her guardian, and soon enough the guardian will become the guarded. You see dragons are not extinct as so much as hidden. And when someone needs them they come to you. But not everyone can be so blessed, so they have to choose wisely, as there are so few of them. But once you have bonded that bond is never broken and you are hers and she is yours until your life ends and hers begins again."

I smiled a little crooked smile. "But I don't even know how to keep gold fish alive let alone a whole dragon." I whispered

"She will let you know what she needs. The bond was formed when you first touched her. She was newly reborn and waiting for you."

I shook my head in disbelief but somehow knowing this was the truth. "Does she have a name?"

Ms Blane turned the little dragon over and pointed to the little pink flame under her belly, "Flamme Rose it means The Pink Flame. We call her Rose"

"Pink Flame, Rose. I like it Rose it is!" I reached for Rose, and held her close to my face so that her snout touched my nose, "Sweet little Rose I vow to be here for you and to guard you with my life."

Ms Blane smiled, "And in return, you shall want for nothing, and no one shall do you any harm......anymore." She looked me deep in the eyes, "You are surrounded by the protection of the Dragon Circle. Others cannot see it but they can feel it. And because of it you will be stronger and more certain of yourself. Do you understand?"

I shook my head yes.

"Good, now I shall leave you two. We can speak more tomorrow.....when you come to class." she leaned her head sideways and raised her eyebrows at me.

As I lay in bed that night watching little Rose blow small pink colored flames from her snout, I thought about Moni and her family leaving. I thought about when we found Rose and how I was drawn to touch her and pick her up.

"Real live dragons here in the valley, who would have ever thought." I muttered as my eyes begin to close.