sasi

  Lou

  The next day, Louise was smuggled into the cave. Renan carried her on his back. Along with Remy, who held the girl. Narcisse flew after them. But Lou couldn't see that. All he could hear was the dragons approaching.

  Lou sat close to Harper and listened as the massive dragons nded in the cave. He heard the gentle rustling of feathers and the snorting of the huge reptiles. Harper's family was on their way. His siblings had promised to bring him a cow. When Lou asked where they were going to find the cow, the dragons just ughed.

  Lou had heard of cows, but he had never seen one up close. A few farmers held them. Did the dragons want to steal one?

  But now that Louise and Remy were there, Lou had already forgotten about the cow dilemma.

  "Louise?", he called to the colors. Golden brown, blue, white...

  "Lou!", his sister replied cheerfully. "I'm sitting on a dragon! I flew with a dragon! That was insane!"

  "And you almost fell off, because you had to wriggle around!", scolded Remy. "Come. I'll help you get off."

  "I didn't wriggle!", grumbled Louise.

  "So, throwing your arms up in the air and shouting ‘Wheeee’ isn't wriggling? Instead of holding on properly?"

  "You held me!"

  "Hello, Lou!", excimed Narcisse exuberantly. "You look cute again! Simply adorable! This should be banned... Can you believe it? They wanted to fly without me!", he announced, pushing himself in front of Renan. Unlike Renan, he had already taken human form. He held a rge light brown pouch in his arms. "I promised to fly Louise here! I!"

  "You fly like a safety hazard!", Renan growled in a loud dragon voice. Lou flinched.

  "Oh", Lou murmured, frowning. He looked uncertainly at Harper, who winked at him in amusement.

  "I don't!" Narcisse wrinkled his nose as the wizard and witch climbed off Renan's back, arguing. Renan kept his distance. His white scales blinded Lou in the sunlight. "Louise? Are you okay?", he excimed, confused. Louise had almost fallen off? That sounded terrible.

  "I'm fine. Remy is exaggerating!" Then Louise's colors came closer. She knelt next to Lou and Harper and hugged her brother gently. "I've missed you."

  Lou nodded in relief. "Me too. Our parents? Are they okay?"

  "Yes! Don't worry", Louise replied.

  "And me?" Remy now approached them. "Will I get a hug too?"

  Immediately, Harper growled. "No! Then Lou smells like your disgusting magic!"

  "And me?", cried Narcisse, but Harper ignored him. Growling, he stared at Remy while Louise pyed with Lou's long hair and kissed his cheek. Lou leaned slightly into her embrace.

  "Disgusting? And what about Louise?" Remy sighed. Lou looked past his sister's neck and looked at Remy's colors. His friend wore bck. Lou thought the color was too dark for Remy. Frowning, he leaned his head against Louise's.

  "Disgusting magic?", his sister asked. "Why disgusting?"

  "Magic stinks!" Harper snorted loudly. "You almost smell like Lou, that's fine, but he! He stinks!"

  Lou didn't understand why, but his sister found it so funny that she shook with ughter and clutched Lou as she did so. "Do you hear, Remy? Stinkers won’t get hugs!"

  "I'll show you and the dragon Stinker!", grumbled Remy.

  "I want to see that!", said Renan, thundering. "Please. Fight each other."

  "I want a hug too!", Narcisse tried again.

  "You won't get one!", growled Renan. "Louise won't let go of her brother. Why should she? When do they start fighting? Hello? I'm waiting!"

  But Lou didn't want anyone to get into a fight. He let go of his sister, gently pushed her away from him, and shook his head slightly in panic. "No. No. No."

  "We're just kidding", Louise quickly told him. "No one is going to fight."

  "Good." Lou nodded relieved. "Louise?" He sniffed at his sister thoughtfully.

  "Yes?"

  "You don't stink."

  "No, she does, but not as bad as THAT one!", growled Harper, pointing at Remy. Remy just sighed. "Am I going to get a hug or not?", the wizard asked.

  "Or!", excimed Renan, ughing. "You'll get the OR, old stinker!"

  "Fine... Louise? We will pick you up in about an hour. I must go to the wise men now. They called for me. After the meeting, I'll pick you up. I suspect it's about a visit from the wise men here in the mountains." Rolling his eyes, he looked at Narcisse. "Narcisse? The bag?"

  "Oh!" Narcisse nodded. "The goodies! Only the tastiest and finest for Lou!", he murmured.

  "What?" Harper growled immediately. Not because of the bag, but because of the wise men. Lou flinched and clung to his sister. Louise, confused at first, then hugged him quickly. Little did Lou know that she was happy that he was now (again) seeking protection with her after he had initially pushed her away. But Lou loved his sister and felt as safe with her as he did with Harper. He also felt safe with Remy. After all, he was his friend.

  "Sorry, Lou", Harper murmured quickly. "It wasn't because of you."

  "I know!", whispered Lou and let go of Louise.

  "Do you need anything else? For Lou?", Narcisse asked with a grin. "Before you go on with the arguing! More figs? We've brought some pastries, but if you have any other requests?"

  "Figs...", Lou repeated softly and nodded.

  "Yes! And more, please. Anything delicious!", Harper decred quickly. "Don't you have sweets?"

  "Too much sweet stuff isn’t good", Remy replied. But Harper, without Lou noticing, simply pointed to his frail wrists. Remy nodded. "We can bring different things, yes. Do the stocks need to be replenished? The pastry should st for two days... It's stuffed bread. Filled with dried fruits."

  "Yes. Some of everything, please!", said Harper. Lou, on the other hand, shook his head.

  "I don't need anything...", he whispered. However, no attention was paid to his words.

  When Remy, Narcisse, and Renan left the cave, Harper immediately pressed Louise for answers. He hadn't forgotten that the wise men might want to come, even if Remy had changed the subject. Harper's voice sounded harsh and agitated. Lou didn't like this. "What do the wise men want here? They can't just come here! Expin it to me!"

  "Expin? What exactly? The wise men don't let a simple priestess in on their pns", Louise scolded.

  "But they have no business here! Unless the elders invite them!" The elders, by which he meant a group of elder dragons who were responsible for the well-being of the group. Lou tugged at Harper's sleeves in confusion. He hadn't heard of 'elders' before. Harper stroked his back. "The wise men will certainly not be invited by them!"

  "That's what Remy and the other rider will tell the wise men", Louise tried to reassure the dragon. But Harper didn't like the term 'rider' either.

  "Rider? Are we horses?", he hissed. "Why do these wise men want to come here?"

  Lou listened intently and tugged at Harper's sleeves again. "Hm!" When the wise men came to the caves, was he still safe in the mountains?

  "My goodness!", excimed Louise. "You are way too sensitive! As for the wise men, I don't know exactly. A priest had a vision suggesting that more wizards and witches should ride dragons. He saw a terrible attack. The whole city was burning."

  "And?" Harper shrugged. Shaken up, Lou shook his head. "The city is my home!", he said hesitantly.

  "The people in town don't want you", Harper reminded him bitterly. "Except for a few", he added after a pause. Nevertheless. The words hurt. Where was his home if not in the city? Where did he belong? If not to his family? Not to the city? Not to the dragons. Lou was a human, not a dragon.

  I could be free... Just one step over the cliffs... Would Louise miss me? Harper? I don't want them to be sad. But what about me?

  Lou nodded. "I don't want the city to burn. Whether the people want me or not."

  sasi