The Dragon

  He had fallen out of favor, and had lost a fight. It was almost the same fate as his sister's. She had been chased away. She regnant when it happened and he was too young to prevent it or to go with her. Too young to leave the safe caves alone.

  But now, after challenging and losing the elder, he had to leave the desert. It was not inve for him. He had wao look for his sister, but he had been forbidden to do so. No one seeks out the outcasts. Therefore, he had challehe elder, over and ain. Now that he was no longer a cub, the eldest had accepted the challenge...

  He would find his sister. Wherever she was.

  Julia

  "It better if not all of us go", Hanno suggested at the breakfast table. "In case the elder wants to lock you in a ste room..."

  "In that case. he would pick up everyone else here!" Leopold crossed his arms. "But a rge group might not seem trustworthy. Especially with an angry wolf..." His gaze was on Marko, who growled softly at him from time to time.

  "I'm going", Julia said. "Marko, Finn aer should stay here. In safety."

  "I take care of myself!", protested Marko. "And of Finn... And of you, Juli", he added quietly.

  "I know." Julia gave him an encing smile. "But Leo is right. A rge group could seem threatening. Therefore, I go alone... With Leo."

  "And with me!" Hanno looked at his son. "I won't let you go alone."

  "I'm going to bake a cake!" Flora put a few buns oable.

  "Cake? What for?" Her husband looked at her fused. "That's of no use! Do you want to throw the cake at the elder, should he try to lock us all away? That wouldn’t help us..."

  "To distract me!", hissed his wife.

  Finn's eyes lit up. "I like baking. I help?"

  "We all bake together!" agreed Flora.

  "Baking?" Peter raised his eyebrows? "Julia? I'd rather apany you!"

  But Julia shook her head. "I do it, Peter. And: Happy birthday!"

  Peter then received plenty of gratutions, a spontaneous birthday song and Flora annouhat the cake would bee a birthday cake.

  An hour ter she set off with Leo and Hanno. The air smelled of damp leaves. The houses were all made of wood with small, fl gardens. She even saw a few tree houses. It retty vilge. Peaceful.

  A few elves crossed their path. Some looked at Julia skeptically. She saw some children pying and an elf flew over the rooftops of the vilge. She had never seen an elf fly. His wings moved quickly, shimmering all the more in the sunshine.

  Hanno followed her gaze. "Here in the vilge is the only pce where we fly. In human cities, elves are forbidden to do so. We only fly in our vilges and towns. Outside it is forbidden everywhere, eveween our own cities. Mahat it will soon be banned altogether."

  "This is terrible." Julia felt sorry for them.

  "Our wings atrophy when we don't fly. At some point, they are too weak to carry us", Leopold told her. "If it were pletely forbidden to us..."

  "That would be abuse", she cluded. "You couldn't fly for several months. Are you okay?" She was still disappointed in him, but she uood why he thought he had to betray her. Her mother was a cruel ruler.

  Leopold nodded. "Yes. I still fly. My wings are just a little stiff." As if to prove it, he lifted a few inches from the ground. "If I use my wings regurly, they will soon be as strong as they used to be."

  "We're here." Hanno poio a brightly painted house. "Our elder's house."

  They went to the front door where Hanno knocked loudly. A little ter, an elf with long hair appeared at the door. She was wearing a gray nightgown. Surprised, she fluttered her e wings.

  "Leopold? Hanno?" Her gaze a lot on Julia. "What does that mean?"

  "Is your father here?", asked Hanno. "We o talk to him."

  "He's i. What is she doing here? Shouldn't she be locked up?" The elf's dark eyes were filled with hatred. With folded arms, she blocked their way. "Why is she freely strolling around?"

  "Because I have to talk to the elder!", Julia replied. "That's why I`m ‘strolling around’."

  The elf snorted.

  "Inga, please." Leopold looked at her pleadingly. "Let us in."

  "Good. You'll find your way into the kit!" She snorted. "Father will not be pleased!" The elf disappeared down the hallway into a room.

  "Well, let's go!" Hanhem into the kit, where an elf with brown love wings was sitting. He looked young, but Julia khat elves were just as durable as witches and wizards. He robably older than he looked.

  "Leopold! Hanno!" He smiled at them. "What gives me the honor?"

  "There is something to discuss." Leopold seemed restless. "The princess had a vision."

  "Princess?" Only then did the eldest notice Julia. "What is she doing here?"

  "Warning you", Julia replied calmly. The eldest looked at her indignantly, but that did not worry her. She had expected that. "May we sit down?"

  "You certainly won't! You should be locked up!", the elf hissed. "I should have locked you ie room! Did she force you to release her? Leopold? I should have known... A bound person naturally does what his mistress asks of him. She maniputes you! She forces you! She is dangerous! You'd better avoid her. Get away from the witch. Or 't you? She trols you!"

  Julia looked at him with an annoyed look and sat down at the kit table. Leopold and his father followed her.

  "I had a vision. Their pn fails. My mother will send soldiers to burn dowire vilge. You all have to get out of here!" Julia saw no reason to carefully prepare him for the truth. The elf seemed too angry to listen to her for much longer, and he clearly was about to throw her out of his house. His face was already red with anger and his wings were shaking. He seemed like a madman. Could she bring him to his senses? Julia let her gaze wahrough his kit. It was just as simple as the kit of Leopold's parents. "You will lose your home. Maybe your lives too, if you all don't flee."

  "We have to get out of here", said Hanno. "Before the soldiers e."

  "Hello, dad!" An elf came into the kit. She looked exactly like the elf who had opehe door for them. She was followed by a small child with wild, unbed curls and green wings.

  "Grandpaaaa!", she excimed.

  None of them had heard them ehe eldest looked at the two of them in shock. "Ilse! Cudia! What are you doing here?"

  Ilses looked fused at Julia. "I wao ask you to take care of Cudia, because I have something pnned... Why is the princess here?"

  "I want to build a tree house!", the little girl shouted with a surprising volume. "In the garden!"

  "Cudia!", reprimanded her mother, then turned back to her father. "So? Why is the prisoner sitting here?"

  The eldest muttered annoyed. "She cims our pn will fail."

  "Is that what she cims?" Ilse ughed in amusement. "Is that a trick? So that we let you go?"

  Julia shook her head. "It's probably too te for that."

  "Too te?" Cudia looked at her curiously as she climbed ontrandfather's p. "Who are you? You look pretty!"

  Julia grinned. "My name is Julia."

  "I'm Cudia!", the child introduced himself. "Will you build the tree house with us?"

  "Cudia?" Her mave her a stern look. "Please go py in the garden. But don't break anything!"

  "But that's b! I want to build a tree house, now!", protested the girl, jumping from her grandfather's p and trudging furiously out of the kit. "You're mean!", she shouted, stomping her foot before disappearing into the garden.

  Her mhed and sat down at the table. "So? Why will the pn fail?"

  "My mother will not respond to the demand. She will burn down the vilge." Julia crossed her legs aed her head on her hands. "But your father doesn't believe me. I just want to help."

  "After we kidnapped you? Certainly not!" The eldest ughed.

  "She doesn't lie", Leopold came to her aid. "She told me about the vision weeks ago. But she didn't know it was about our vilge. We have to get out of here!"

  "We'll stay here!" The eldest snorted. "When soldiers e, we defend ourselves! If all this is not a lie! And now take the girl back to her prison, or I'll lock you all ie room! I should not have listeo this nonsense! Out! Leopold? You and your parents! You don't want to betray our people, right? Think about it carefully."

  "That's very stupid of you Franz!" Hanno stood up. "e o's go."

  Torsten

  He had fallen asleep at some point during the carriage ride. Annemarie woke him up as they crossed the border to the marshnd. It was foggy everywhere. The path led over barren meadows, past small streams, through gloomy forests and past several ss and moors. Sometimes he could hardly see anything because of the fog. They passed vilges, some of which were in the forest.

  "Don't worry, the an knows the way. We often have fog here!" His fiancée wi him in amusement. "Soon we will be in the castle. You'll like it there."

  A loud cry was heard. He had never heard such a cry.

  "That was a dragon." Annamarie looked out the window. "Too bad. We ’t see him. It's too foggy. But it also be very far away. The cries ons be heard over several kilometers. Maybe we'll be lucky ter."

  "That would be wonderful."

  "Isn't it? Dragons are fasating creatures. They ge their shape. The rabbit hopping through the forest could actually be a dragon. They are only reizable by smell. Ashes and fire."

  "You sniff them out?" He ughed at his joke.

  Annemarie thought about it for a moment. "Well... Humans probably don't. Your noses are not fine enough tnize a dragon by its smell. Wheake the form of another being, the smell is barely perceptible."

  "Another being? Like in humans?"

  "In other animals, yes. Even in smaller ones, like a mouse. I've never heard of a dragon turning into a human... But they are supposed to be very smart. Maybe it's possible?"

  "That's iing." Torsten tio look out the window. Again, the strange cry could be heard. The dragon sounded sad.