A P H I A
"What is that?" I asked Prince Kalmin, and he sighed before grabbing my hand to help me stand up. "A dragon? A baby dragon?"
He nods. "It was one of the magical creatures I mentioned to you earlier." He said as I looked intently at the dragon. It is small, has a pure white scale, wings, four legs, and electric blue eyes.
"Is it dangerous?" I asked.
"No," Clovis answered. "White dragons are the weakest in their kind." He added, and I nodded.
"Can I touch it?"
"No!" Prince Kalmin and Clovis both shouted, and I looked at them in shock.
"Why not? It's harmless, right?" I asked as I sat in front of the dragon. It smiled at me again, and I slowly patted its head. It smiled widely while closing its eyes. "It liked it!" I shouted in excitement.
Prince Kalmin sits beside me and looks intently at the dragon. "It's a baby dragon. I wonder where the parents are." He looked around the area but did not find any more dragons.
"What's your name?" I asked, and I was startled when it looked directly into my eyes and talked. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed.
"What happened?!" Prince Kalmin quickly grabbed my hand and checked it. "Are you hurt?" He worriedly asked. I slowly looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"
"It talked," I stated, and he looked at me in disbelief. "I asked its name, and it answered me!" I said in amusement.
"Are you drunk?!" Prince Kalmin shouted as he checked my face.
"I'm not!" I shouted at him before punching his arm.
"Did you say it talked?" Clovis asked as he sat beside me while looking at the dragon. "I heard there are unique and special dragons that can communicate to the human they want to serve as their familiar," Clovis explained, and I looked at him in confusion.
"I think I remember our grandmother telling us a story about a race of dragons that only purpose is to serve humans as familiar. So, one of them is this dragon?" Prince Kalmin stated.
"What is a familiar?" I asked them.
"It is a creature who will obey and follow you for the rest of its life. It is the most faithful creature you will ever have. It will sacrifice its own life just to protect you." Clovis explained, and Prince Kalmin nodded.
"So, how it chooses the human it wants to serve as familiar?"
"We have no information about that," Clovis answered.
"So, did it tell you its name?" Prince Kalmin asked, and I was startled when it jumped and landed on my lap. I chuckled as it smiled at me.
"It has no name. It wants me to give it a name." I said.
"So, you really can understand it?" He asked, and I nodded. "Woah! Our priestess has an incredible talent!" Prince Kalmin exclaimed, and I punched his arm again in annoyance.
"Do you want to stay here until sunset!? Will you hurry up?!" Serenity shouted, and it was our cue to continue what we were doing. I put down the dragon, and it looked at me sadly.
"I need to gather medicinal herbs for my potions," I explained before patting its head. I pick medicinal herbs while the dragon is following me wherever I go. It's like a kid following its mother. Its tail is wiggling, and it smiles every time I look at it.
"It likes you," Clovis said, and I nodded.
"Don't you think it's lost?" I asked, and he shook his head.
"There is a chance that it finds you." He said, and I looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that you can understand it means something. Try to ask Erskine once we get back." I nodded at Clovis while looking at the dragon.
I think it was already past noon when we finished gathering all the medicinal herbs. We were about to head back when Prince Kalmin and Clovis debated who should carry the basket.
"I am ordering you as the crown prince and as your chief commander, let go of this basket this instance!" Prince Kalmin shouted while looking in a straight face at Clovis.
"I beg your pardon, your highness, but as one of your commanders, I think I should serve the priestess." Clovis countered, and I groaned in frustration. The basket might break in their tag of war.
I'm hungry, sweaty, and tired, but they still have the energy to argue. The dragon is watching them and making a cute sound while its tail is wiggling. I don't know who it's cheering. To my annoyance, I snatched the basket from them and carried it by myself.
"Aphia!" They shouted at me in shock. I started to walk, leaving them behind.
I gasped when the dragon flew and tried to carry the basket. I chuckled at it. "I can carry this. It is heavier than you." I said to it, and it smiled. It flies higher, and it sits on my shoulder.
"It coming with us?" Prince Kalmin asked as he looked at the dragon. I heard Clovis and Serenity arguing again while following us.
I shrug my shoulders. "It's been following me since I saw it. Is it allowed inside the castle?" I asked.
He looks at the dragon intently first before speaking. "You are keeping it?" He asked, and I nodded.
"I cannot just leave it alone."
"Then, I am allowing you to take it inside the castle. Just make sure it won't cause any trouble." He said, and I smiled widely at him.
"Thank you so much!" I shouted, and he snatched the basket from me. "It's just a basket, Gin. What is the big deal?" We spent a few minutes waiting for them to finish arguing.
"You don't understand, Aphia. It is not just a basket." I looked at him in confusion.
"What is it then?"
"It's a secret." What the hell? "So, have you come up with a name for the dragon?" He obviously changed the topic.
I shake my head. "I will think about it once I talk to Erskine. Do you have one in mind?"
"I'll help you think of a unique name for it. Is it a male or a female dragon?"
I look at the dragon to ask Prince Kalmin's question, but it answers me immediately. "It is a male dragon."
When we reached the castle, Clovis and Serenity separated ways from us. Serenity pushed Clovis until they got in the carriage that would take them to the Capital City. I hurriedly find Erskine and find him in one of the magic school's rooms.
"Erskine!" I shouted his name while his students were leaving the room.
"Lady Aphia, did you—" His eyes widened in shock after noticing the dragon on my shoulder. "A baby dragon?!" He shouted, and I nodded. He looked at it intently, studying its physique.
"Aphia found it in the magical forest. Can you tell us more about the dragon, Erskine?" Prince Kalmin asked.
"Uhmmm….. Based on its appearance, it is a western dragon. It has four legs and two wings. These kinds of dragons have large heads, long necks, wide shoulders, thick legs, tough tails, and of course, distinct gigantic bat-like wings. Their jaws are big with razor-sharp teeth. Western dragons are reptilian lizard-like animals with scales covering their bodies and pointy horns on their heads." He explained, and I nodded.
"I can see that, Erskine. My question is, why am I the only one who can understand it, and it follows me wherever I go?"
His eyes widen in shock before smiling from ear to ear. "Really?! You can understand it!?" I nodded. "Did it ask you to name him!?"
"Yes, but I haven't thought of any yet," I answered.
"Amazing! It is amazing, Lady Aphia!" He gets a book from the drawer and flips its page. "According to our history, white dragons with blue eyes serves human as familiar. Only the chosen human can understand them. A dragon will mark you as their master once you give it a name." He explained, and I looked at Prince Kalmin in shock.
"How do they choose the human they want to serve? I mean, why me? What do I have to deserve it?" I asked in confusion.
"Yes, why her?" Prince Kalmin asked, and I looked at him in annoyance. "What?"
"I suddenly felt insulted when it came from you."
He shrugs his shoulders. "I think your brain has a problem." He said before smirking.
"I know it's your intention."
"Well, yeah." He said, and I punched him lightly on his arm. Erskine cleared his throat, and he caught our attention.
"According to our book, white dragons choose a human with enormous powers. They can detect or measure a human's power, and that's how they choose their master." Is my power really that enormous?!
"The most powerful weapon a western dragon can unleash upon its victims is the dreaded fire breath. The hellish flame that eats up flesh and burns through bones until nothing remains but ashes." Erskine added. So, it breathes fire, huh.
"It's a powerful flame," I stated, and he nodded.
"Dragons share the same five fundamental senses as humans; sight, hearing, smelling, touch, and taste. What's special though, is how super heightened and sensitive they are. They can pick up a smell or a sound from miles away!"
"An additional unique sixth sense of dragons is their ability to read emotions. If another creature is experiencing a strong feeling such as anger or fear, they can register it. This works best in close proximity."
"They also adore flying. When it grows bigger, I think you can ride on it, and it will fly you to the highest peak. So, be ready to fly with your dragon, Lady Aphia." He said while smiling.
"When it grows bigger? How big can it grow?" I asked curiously.
"They grow up to twenty meters long with up to a thirty-meter wingspan." He answered, and I groaned in frustration.
"I don't think it can stay here in the castle once it grows," I said.
"Oh, don't worry. Since it will be your familiar, it cannot leave your side, so I believe Prince Kalmin will help you, am I right?" He asked Prince Kalmin while smiling.
"Me? Why would I?" He asked before turning his back on us. "Let's go, Aphia. We still have something to do." He said as he left the room.
"Take care of it, Lady Aphia. It will serve you until its last breath. It is part of your family now." He said while smiling at the sleeping dragon on my shoulder. "Its power is yours now too. You can use it whenever you need it. You can trust your life with it." He said, and I nodded while smiling.
I should think of a unique name for my familiar.
[Credits to: https://dragon.university/legends/western-dragons/ for the details I gathered about western dragons.]