Page 15 of Ava's Legacy of the Dragons
"You explain it to her, Lilly, I'll take care of the dress. Can you comb her hair in the meantime? We can't leave it in this tousled knot." With these words, Ernesto left the room.
"Sure." Lilly let her backpack slide off her shoulder, took out a hairbrush, pulled Ava off the stool, and pushed her to a chair at the side. Ava sat down, as getting answers to her questions was more important to her than rebelling against the plan. At least for now.
Without much ado, Lilly removed Ava's hair tie andbrushed her hair. "We're in the Kingdom of Dragons. Many thousands of years ago, this land was part of the normal human world, but it was separated with the help of magic. You can imagine it as a part that's left out and that people outside the country know nothing about."
Except for the chimney sweep, but that wasn't relevant right now.
"They can't enter it, they walk over it as if it were a folded piece of their world. That's why they don't notice the existence of the dragons."
So far, Ava understood, even if it sounded incredible. But who was she to doubt something she had seen with her own eyes? Moreover, it explained why she hadn't noticed the dragons flying through the air not far from her home until now.
"What about the dragons? Are they good or evil?"
"Definitely good. The magic our world needs to exist comes from them. That's why they're so important to us, not to mention that they look really awesome. Can you imagine flying on one?"
Heavens, she would never do that!
"No, but go on."
"I would give my life just to ride one once." With a dreamy expression, Lilly dwelled on the thought for a moment before continuing to brush Ava's hair. "If the dragons die, our world dies and all remaining magic is lost as well. That's why everyone's so upset that no dragon has hatched in two hundred years."
"Why not? Are there..." She hesitated. How does one talk about reproduction with a ten-year-old girl? "Are there no males and females left?"
Lilly shook her head, her expression completely matter-of-fact. "That's not the issue. It's that theirhabitat has been threatened, and still is. For you to understand this, I need to explain how the hierarchy used to be structured."
"Fire away!" Finally, some facts. Ava listened intently as Lilly continued to comb her hair without pause.
"Over two hundred years ago, our world was structured differently. There were dragon guardians, who were people who took care of and protected the dragon eggs and young dragons. Even though they weren't very high up in the hierarchy, they were highly respected."
"Dragon guardians, understood." Although the adrenaline had subsided and her legs were burning from the escape, she listened attentively so as to be sure she didn't miss any information.
"Then there were the dragon fighters. They still exist. They are the warriors who are strong and noble enough for a dragon to allow them to ride on its back. Today they form the king's knightly class. Sort of the elite force."
"This Kilian is a dragon fighter, right?"
Lilly shook her head, her face glowing almost as intensely as the dragon egg. "He's not just any dragon fighter. He isthedragon fighter. He's the most skilled. The strongest. Just imagine: None other than the most powerful living dragon chose him."
Smiling, Ava listened to the girl sing his praises. "Why do you think so highly of him?"
The girl shrugged as if the question was completely unnecessary. "I trust him. He tossed me a silver coin once. Ernesto teases me about it, but for me, it was something special. You know, I'm a nobody, I'm dirty, I have to be careful not to fall into the arms of the law."
Ava turned on her chair so she could look at Lilly. "You're certainly not a nobody, if only because you savedme and the dragon egg from the soldiers. No one else dared to do that."
The little one lowered her head, as if refusing to accept the words. She pressed her lips together tightly. The sight made Ava's chest tighten.
"Tell me, Lilly, why are you alone? What happened to your parents? Were they sick?"
Her entire body stiffened, her hands clenched into fists until she took a deep breath and a detached expression settled on her child-like face. "They were killed. By the king's soldiers."
"What? For what reason? Is he a tyrant who randomly murders his subjects?" Ava wanted to embrace her, but the little one accepted no closeness—something she showed with every fiber of her body. She was visibly fighting back tears, yet not a single sob escaped her throat.
"Not in his eyes. You know, besides the dragon guardians and dragon fighters, there used to be two more ranks: the mages and the dragon mages. Dragon fighters and mages were equally respected, while the dragon mages were at the top."
To follow along, Ava imagined the hierarchy in this way: dragon guardians were at the bottom, yet still respected, dragon fighters and mages were on the same level, and dragon mages formed the top.
Lilly continued to tell the story, her voice flat.
"Two hundred years ago, there was an evil mage who was very ambitious. He desperately wanted to become one of the dragon mages, because that's the highest rank. Even the king respected them and heeded their advice. But the dragons can look into people's hearts. They recognized his true aspirations and not a singleone wanted to bond with him. Then he did something unforgivable."
