6.2: Trust me
Are you looking for my Na-na? The boy found himself getting up to stand, unable to contain his excitement.
A deep purring tremor shook the cavern that was her mouth. I have found her. A simple matter. Her pride spilled over to him, and he basked in it as though it were his own. We should have no trouble locating her later, my lost little Hatchling.
We… He found himself beaming, losing himself in the warmth of their connection. As he slowly came back to himself, he found himself craving that oneness again, that absoluteness of belonging. Dragon, he asked the Circus Dragon, a little uncertain, a little shy. Will you ever leave the Circus? I mean… You don’t sound like you like it here…
He could feel the dragon regarding him, her full attention coming to rest upon his shoulders. He drew a deep breath.
Maybe you want to come along with us? Na-na and I are going to Kingsland.
He regretted asking her almost immediately. At the mention of Kingsland, a jolt seemed to pass through the dragon. Her presence snapped away from him.
Kingsland…It was an odd sensation, but the boy felt as though the dragon was standing somewhere far off. At the same time, he could still feel her emotions, roiling within her as a dark and twisted ache. He knew that feeling, he realised. It felt a lot like guilt.
The Wind… He tells me that I’m meant to go there. Her mind sharpened its focus upon him again, but this time, it was cold. Unfortunately I am bound to the circus by these. The muffled sound of rattling chains drifted in from the outside. The panicked screams and threats of the Keepers who were painting her followed suit. The Circus Dragon sniggered. And… a personal quest, she finished darkly. I must see it through, before I leave this place.
The boy’s little heart fell. In a week his mother would have earned sufficient funds to allow them to pass through the gates, and he would have to leave the dragon behind.
He did not want to.
I can help you escape, he offered.
The dragon snarled. Some daylight filtered in as her lip lifted. I can escape—no, I can leave whenever I please.
Then let me help you with your quest—
FOOL! That single word was like a crack of thunder through his mind, the pain so immense his vision flashed a blinding white as though he had been kicked in the head. Somehow this felt worse, though she did not touch him. He might have cried out. He did not know. All he knew was that when his fried senses began to clear again, the dragon’s consciousness was crouched down low beside him, as though with great apprehension.
Noah did not notice that the dragon’s attention was pinned on something else. In that moment he just wanted to… he wanted to… he was confused. The poor boy had thought, quite mistakenly, that he was in a safe place with the dragon. That because she had not hurt him when she could have meant that she would never hurt him at all. Why did you hurt me, he wanted to ask her. But then he remembered his Na-na when she hurt him, and told him that it was for his own good. That must be it, then. It’s for my own good—
—Be still. We may have been discovered.
Noah froze.
Indeed the voices of the dragon’s Keepers had gone serious. “...vorace’s new bitch… …her pup that we were searching… …hers. Find him before she… …or the deal is off…” Words wafted in. While they were largely incomprehensible to the boy, they awakened a very animal fear within him. The Bad Men were looking for him. He just knew it.
They are searching me now, said the Circus Dragon grimly. They believe that I might be hiding you. Her mind was tense. The boy could feel it seeping into his veins, flooding his heart. He could barely stand straight for all the blood that was rushing through him, adrenaline spiking beyond what was helpful right now.
“What do we do,” he whispered, both in his head and aloud.
He felt her presence stand up over him, shielding him with herself, and took comfort in that. Just for a moment, he calmed a little.
Then the dragon said, They want to look into my mouth. Someone said they heard a sound coming from there.
Him. They had heard him, because he was not strong enough to bear speaking to a dragon. At that, the boy could not help but cry, for he was just a boy of five. What do we do? He was begging. Outside, the voices were getting angrier and angrier, their barks more and more blood thirsty.
The Circus Dragon yelped, as they had started to stab her with their spears. Noah winced as her pain connected to his own arms and legs. These were the unpoisoned spears. For now. He knew this, and so did she. The dragon began to lower her head. His eyes widened with terror.
No… No, no, no… No, Dragon, don’t give me away. “Don’t give me away, dragon, please.”
Hush. Hush, boy, and trust me. Lie down flat, that’s a good Hatchling. He lay down on his tummy, stretched out like she told him to. He felt the heavy wetness of her tongue as she lay it upon him, pressed down over him like a blanket.
Now trust me. And brace yourself. And he gasped when she wrenched her mind’s connection from his.
© July 2026, Leira Loong AKA the Circus Dragon. All rights reserved.
A hatchling would make a nice snack… 😉🖤