"Dad, tell me everything about dragons,'' Trinity said to her father as they sped off in the SUV Crossover her dad was driving, towards their future.
She had hugged her mother goodbye after eating the sandwiches made by her. This was the 1st time Trinity had eaten something made by her mom. Derek, being only nine years old, was excited as well as sad for his sister. He understood that she has to go, but was oblivious to the fact that he may be seeing her for the last time. Patrick was also very upset since he had seen the girl grow up and loved her is his own child.
"There are so many types of different Dragons. Some are fire dragons, like us, while others are water, earth and wind dragons. But the best of all is the Oracle dragons," Her father said, his eyes on the road the whole time.
"I always thought that dragons only breathed out fire. I mean there are also other types of dragons?" Trinity asked in confusion.
"Of course there is." Triyast took a quick glance at his daughter before his eyes went back to the road. He would occasionally look at the rear view mirror, but mostly, he'd look in front. "You will meet all kinds of dragons once we reach our destination."
"Wait- dragons live together? I mean like in groups or something?" Trinity asked, looking at her father in total confusion, a frown on her forehead. She'd read that dragons lived by themselves, in deep caves or high mountains, and made no attempt at making friends, or socializing with others of their kind.
Her father laughed, "We are not really social creatures, but once a year, we hold a dragon meeting. It's like a ball where we meet new dragons and dance and find mates and so on. We're headed for the meeting."
"ohhh."
Silence followed for a while as Trinity decided that she should enjoy the view outside as well. The pine trees spread across the entire hill as they drove past it, the ground littered with spiky leaves and pine cones. Then it hit her like a coconut in the head, "Wait, you told mom we're going to the volcanic crator. Then..."
"Honey, I'll explain everything once we get there."
There was again silence as Trinity looked a little disappointed, but being almost an adult, didn't want to keep asking her father for explanation. She will just have to trust him.
Triyast, on the other hand was even more disheartened about lying to Dorin, who trusted him with her daughter. He couldn't just tell her the truth, as he knew that they will go there looking for him, since he has again come under their radar. Trinity will also be in danger, since she's with him.
The road snaked it's way up and down hill, as the scene changed from pine trees to plain open fields, to small houses littering across the plain. Trinity was deep in thought. She'd read stories about her kind when she was little, and in all the books, one thing was common, dragons layed eggs and loved shiny things like jewels and all. The latter didn't concern her, but the former... "Dad..., is it true dragons lay eggs?" She asked, as she no longer could keep it inside.
Her father looked at her again, a little longer this time before looking back straight ahead. "Yes, females lay one or sometimes two eggs, but don't worry, they only have babies three times in their lifetime. And mind you, dragons can live for thousands of years," He said with a small smile on his face, that his daughter didn't notice, since she was deep in thought again, imagining a woman laying an egg. Her face changed into a disgusted look. Her father, seeing the look on her face, just burst out laughing. Trinity looked at him in shock, as she realized her father had joked about it, and she got a little angry.
"What?" She asked him, trying to sound angry. Her father just laughed. "You were joking, weren't you?"
"You should have seen your face," He said between laughter. "It was priceless."
At that, Trinity also started laughing. "You nearly got me for a sec, dad."
"Nearly?"
"Fine, you had me for a sec."
The laughter continued.
"Dad, I'm hungry," Trinity admitted, and as if on queu, Her stomach grumbled. It was way past midday, and since she had her breakfast at 7am, she was now so hungry she could eat a horse.
"Ok, just wait for a while. I think there's a restaurant up ahead," Her father said, looking for any signs on the road.
Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, they came to a stop in front of a food house, called A4D PIZZA AND BURGER. Her father stopped in the parking lot near the entrance and they both hopped out and went inside.
"Hello, welcome to A4D. What can I get you?" A girl, clearly a staff asked them both.
"I'll have a chicken burger with fries and a small coke. Can I also get a bottle of mineral water," Trinity told the girl standing behind the counter.
"Would you like ketchup, mayo, or hot sauce with your fries ma'am?" The girl, Mandy asked her.
"Hot sauce."
"Thank you, and what can I get for you sir?," Mandy asked turning towards Triyast, as she entered Trinitys order in her computer.
"I'll have the same, and also including the chicken nuggets and two caramel and banana milkshakes," Triyast replied, as the girl entered that in her computer.
"And would you like ketchup, mayo, or hot sauce with your fries sir," Mandy asked him.
"Ketchup."
"Thank you sir, both orders will total to $43.95. Will you eat here or prefer takeaway?"
Trinity looked towards her father and saw him staring at her, obviously wanting it to be her decision.
"Takeaway?" Trinity more asked than said.
"Ok, and would you pay cash or use card?"
"That'd be cash," Triyast said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
After paying to the honey eyed, blonde, who was wearing a blue polo shirt, He took the receipt and they waited for their order to be ready, and within 10 minutes, they hit the road, with their food.
"You haven't told me anything about your life, sweetheart," Triyast said, drinking some milkshake.
"There's nothing really exciting to tell... been a normal teenage life, my bestie, Britannia, Brit for short, and I hung out in school. After my 17th birthday, I began feeling uneasy, you know... like a loneliness, even when I had everything. I felt distant from everyone. Yeah, that's about it," Trinity concluded her story with a shrug, biting off of her burger.
"Dad, is it legal to eat while driving?" She asked, as she saw her father biting away at his burger, while still driving.
"Well it is when your stomach is demanding food," Her father replied with food still in his mouth.
"Dad! You shouldn't speak with your mouth full," Trinity said in a disgusted voice.
Her father hummed a 'sorry' and continued eating.
"I think we'll have to stop at a friend's house and continue our trip tomorrow," Triyast said, as he saw the fuel meter going towards E. He turned left and drove on a gravel road toward a small house that could be seen from the road. They reached there just in time as the car came to a halt itself, near the gate of the house. "Thank goodness we reached Sabrinas house before it completely stopped," Her father remarked happily.
The door of the little wooden house opened, revealing a middle aged, thin, tall woman with dark red hair and grey eyes. Both Triyast and Trinity got out of the car and walked towards her as she smiled at them. "Triyast? What a surprise. I thought you'd forgotten about me!" She said shock evident in her voice.
"Sab. How are you?" Triyast said, as he went for a hug.
"This must be your daughter," she said, turning towards Trinity. "Hi, I'm Sabrina." She reached her hand out.
"Trinity," she said shaking the older woman's hand.
"Well, let's go inside. I've baked some cookies. I hope you aren't allergic to nuts, Trinity?" She said, as she lead them both into the house.
"No, I'm not," Trinity replied, as Sabrina closed the door behind them.
"Thank dragons, I made almond and hazelnut cookies, since I ran out of peanuts," She sounded relieved.
Sure enough, the smell of freshly baked pastry floated into their noses. Since the sun was beginning to set in the far horizon, Trinity decided that she would 1st clean herself up, before enjoying a hot cup of tea with the fresh biscuits. Just as Sabrina was taking Trinity to show her the room, they heard Triyast saying, "What the hell happened here, Sabrina?"