Rex Draco Farm

As the weeks pass, the oranges, reds, and yellows of Fall surrender to the brown and green of evergreens and the white of freshly fallen snow. The fresh smells of mid-December fill the air. As the year fades, Draco and his tree grew with each day that passed by. Mia and Arthur had taken to the news that the appearance of a true dragon forever changed their lives.

Arthur had woken from a warm bed by a loud thud against the house and a laughing voice, “Whoops, I missed Mia.” The speaker was Draco, a young dragon who had reached six feet in height and so far only fifteen in length. “I will climb down, and we can try again.” As he descended from the roof, Arthur stepping out of the front of the house, catching his eyes, a look of worry crossed his face. “Sorry about that, Boss. I mean Arthur, but I almost made it over the house and into the pond.”

Arthur shook his head. “Draco, I thought we had agreed no more test flights over the house until you can fly.” With a sideways nod of the head, Arthur motions Draco to follow. Walking down the steps and around the house, Draco follows behind as they enter the backyard. He turns around and looks into Draco's face. Draco had grown into what Arthur could only guess was an excellent healthy dragon of his kind. Tiny whiskers protruded from just behind his nose. Although he did not have any scales, he instead was covered with silver hair that seemed to protect him from almost anything we could think to through at him. “So Draco, do you feel like going for a swim after that flight attempt?”

Draco instantly smiled. “Are you sure we should go swimming? Last I checked, the pond was frozen solid?” His hair shined as a pulse of blue light waved along with his fur. “I may not be able to breathe fire, but it is nice to be able to generate heat as I need it.” Crouching low to the ground, Draco springs high into the air, twisting his body around in the air as he falls back towards the pond. “Hey, Boss, should I do a cannonball?” He laughs as he hits the thick ice of the pond and melts through as if he was a hot knife sinking into a tub of butter.

Arthur walks out onto the thick ice of the pond and watches as the glow that Draco emits gleams through the nearly two feet worth of ice. Arthur smiles as Draco bursts forth from the ice. “So any good fishing to down below? Come on, Draco, you might have better luck at flying if you have your swimming skills to use instead of just jumping and flailing your arms and legs around you.”

Draco nodded his head, a puzzled look on his face. “You know you might have something there, Boss. Oh yeah, so have you figured out how you are going to ask Mia yet?” He dodged a swipe as Arthur batted his hand at him. “I am going to take that as a no.” Laughing, he rolled back over and into the icy depths. He sank once more for another swim.”

As Mia walked up to the pond, he saw the end of Draco's long-tail disappear into the water. “Brrr, I would hate to be the one diving in there.” Standing next to Arthur. “So Arthur, what are you going to ask me?” A sweet smile forms on her face as she looks into his eyes. She taps her foot on the ice, and Draco's burst forth higher than before, spraying water in every direction as he erupts from the pond and into the air. The higher droplets were turning to snow as it gently falls back to earth.

Arthur stands a little straighter. A worried look crosses his face for a second as Draco settles back down from the sky. “Oh, I was gonna ask if you were interested in learning more about the Dragon Breeders and the Hunters.” A quick look at Draco secured his agreement to the story.

As Draco nods his head, “Oh yes, Arthur was going to ask if you wanted to hear the story of the Breeders and hunters.” Moving towards the house, Draco opens the door. He was settling down in front of the fireplace. “Like you, both should have guessed; Dragon Breeders will not age or die under normal circumstances. As they receive life from being so close to the young dragons.” He looks at Arthur and Mia as they shake their heads in partial understanding. “Now Hunters, for reasons unknown, have hunted my kind from birth to adulthood. We never could figure out why they began to pursue us as they do not gain from killing my people in any way other than wealth and fame.”

At this Pause, Mia looked at Arthur with a surprised look on her face. “Now, if his grandparents were both Breeders and there had been no new Breeders in two thousand years, so I can only assume that means his grandparents had been very successful, but if that is the case, why did they pass away?”

Draco frowned. “Well, usually, a pair of Breeders will gain life only as long they keep the young dragons alive and allow them to mature. However, if the dragon dies or the tree dies, the link between the dragons and Breeders is broken. Granted, they can still raise the newborn dragons. They cannot claim the benefits of life everlasting. So my guess is a Hunter must have gotten one of their dragons and broke the cycle.” A tear rolls down from his eyes and drops from his whisker.

Almost as if waiting for that tear to drop, a knock from the door sounds throughout the house. Arthur stands up and crosses to the door, and waves Mia to take Draco outside. As he reaches for the knob, he calls out. “Hello, who is it?”

A voice gentle and warm echoes in from behind the door. “It is me, Pan, and I brought Little John.”

Checking to make sure Mia had already made it out the back with Draco, Arthur opens the door to welcome the new guests. “Oh, welcome, Panda and John. Good to see you.”

She was almost bouncing inside in her usual panda pajamas. “Oh, Arthur, I must say I like what you and Mia have done with the place, but it seems to be missing something. Where are Mia and your friend?”

Arthur swallowed hard. “Mia is outback. Let me go get her, and we can all sit down and have a nice cup of hot chocolate.” Walking to the Back door, Arthur looks outside and beckons Mia inside. Turning around, he sees Pan stand nearly right behind him.

A wide smile crosses her face. “Now, Arthur, it will not do to leave everyone out there. It looks like it is going to snow any minute now. Bring him inside as well. It will not do for a Breeder to let his very first dragon freeze.” Pan sticks her head out the door “come on, little dragon, come inside and play my husband and I need to speak to all of you.”

His head held high, Draco takes a step inside the house. “Are you two here to take my life?” looking from the smiling young woman dressed as a Panda to the large man sitting beside her?

Smiling, Pan holds up her hands in shock. “Most certainly not. Arthur and Mia should know better than to think I would allow any harm to fall to endangered animals. I come from a broken line of Breeders myself.” Looking over at Little John, a slight look of worry playing across her face. “John here comes from a line of Hunters. However, neither he nor his father ever wanted to be Hunters. Unfortunately, the damage was already done when his father was a very young boy.” Pan looked from Little John, whose face was down, looking down towards the floor. She then looked from Mia to Arthur and finally settling on Draco. “Kind dragon and good friends, we have come to ask the forgiveness of the sins of his Grandfather committed against your grandparents.”

Draco bent his head to the side in confusion. “I am not sure why you are here, Pan or you either, John, because you seek forgiveness of a crime neither of you committed, and from what you said when you entered the room, What was done in the past can stay there as far as I care.” Looking from Pan and John to Arthur. “Boss, I know it is your family that the wrong was done against, but I think we should move forward to a brighter future. What do you think.” A smile crossed his face showing his teeth that shined bright in the light of the fire.

Arthur leans forward, a smile on his face. “Draco is correct. In all honesty, we could not be angry with either of you after all the help you had given us.” Holding out his hand, they all shake.

Draco shakes his head, his ears perking up. “If I remember correctly, did I hear something about hot chocolate?” Draco licked his lips, and his front claws held out in front of him, expecting a mug.

Mia, Arthur, and Pan laughed at the way Draco was looking. Arthur gets up. “Okay, Draco, I will set the water for the choco if you promise not to drink it all before anyone else gets some. Better yet, come along, and you can help.”

Draco snakes his way through the house, dodging chairs, tables, lamps, and people. “Okay, Boss, I’m ready to help. What should I do first?” Moving towards the countertop where the mugs are kept. He turns around to find Arthur standing at the sink. ‘Umm, Boss, are you doing alright?”

Arthur snaps and turns to look at Draco. “Yes, I am fine, just a little shocked at everything. So any luck with that item I asked about?” Arthur smiled at his change of subject and leaned against the countertop.

With a large grin, Draco showed off all his teeth. “as you can see, they are all still here. Don’t worry; one will fall out before you know it.” Walking over to Arthur, Draco places a claw on his shoulder. “Do not worry, Boss. We will make sure that gift goes off without any issues dragons promise.” A grin plays across his face.

Rolling his eyes, he pats the claw at his shoulder. “You and that dragons promise again. I know what your looking for is hot chocolate. Well, come on, Draco, let us not keep them wait.”

They prepare the hot chocolate and entertain their guests for the night. The following day came with a bang as Arthurs window flew open, and Draco stuck his head inside. “Boss, wake up. You lazy bum, look, it happened I lost the tooth. You have wanted to finish your gift to Mia.”

Waking up has customarily been a chore, but today was a terrifying event with a nearly fully grown dragon. “Good morning to you as well, Draco,” Arthurs’s eyes open wide as he sees the almost six-inch fang waving in front of him. “Draco, what happened? How did you get this? Looking up, his eyes wide with excitement.

A smile plays across Draco's face. “Oh, you know, flying accident thanks to the idea of mixing my swimming technique I can stay up and it feels more natural. “So, do you think this will do? Will you finally be able to ask Mia finally.” Draco failed to hold back the excitement in his voice.

Arthur took hold of the fang offered him and looking at it. “Oh yes, this will be perfect. Thank you, Draco.”