Kaira was walking through the forest. The night was full of eerie sounds, but she wasn't scared. Living with the dragon had made her strong and fearless. His power passed on to her, his fire was burning in her eyes. She was determined to keep her way and fight anything that might threaten her. The real power comes from within, after all.
By the morning, Kaira had reached the end of the forest. She was standing on a high hill, admiring the village below her. The breaking dawn coloured the sky lilac, and life in the houses stirred. Kaira wondered what her dragon might be doing now. At this hour, he must have left the cave for the day journey. Where did he travel? What did he see?
The new place gave her a cold welcome. She was a stranger there. And yet, a lonely granny let her live in her small wooden cabin. Kaira found a home, and the granny had an eager listener to her endless stories. Once, she told Kaira tales about dragons, who flew over the houses, taking girls to their caves where they fed on them. Kaira laughed to herself, not to offend the granny. She knew too well that not all of them were that blood-thirsty.
One day she went to the blacksmith. The big beefy man laughed at her out loud when she asked him to make her his apprentice. No girl had ever worked in the forge. But Kaira was stubborn. She would come to the smithy every day, running errands, doing the chores, bringing the food. Soon the blacksmith got used to his new hard-working, kind, and always smiling helper. One evening, when all work was done, and the forge was about to close, Kaira didn't leave. The blacksmith didn't mind. He hurried home. The first thing he saw in the morning when he opened the door to the forge was a dark grey rose done in a rough but praiseworthy way.
It was then that Kaira was allowed to learn the craft. The blacksmith was a hard man, taciturn in praise and lavish in criticism. But she never gave up. She had her secret plan. Kaira worked hard day after day with no self-pity until one cold evening when the twilight fell on the village, she wiped the beads of sweat off her forehead and admired her work.