Inspiration
Slowly waking up, I feel myself chewing on something nice and squishy. Opening my eyes I find myself cuddled up to mama, chewing on her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” I say as I quickly get away from her.
“Hmm? What are you sorry for?”
“F-for coming so close to you and biting you. I-It wasn’t on purpose I’m sorry.”
“My dear, there is no need to apologize. You can cuddle with me and bite me whenever you want.”
“R-really? I mean, I shouldn’t! We barely know each other.”
“And yet I don’t mind you getting close to me at all. You’re more than welcome to hug and bite me, Rose. You’re my daughter after all.”
“I…I shouldn’t get attached to a stranger! I just- I just want this in the first place because of the damn imprint!”
“Hmm…But the imprint isn’t going to go away. Is there really a need to torture yourself? You want to be near me and I want to be near you, so wouldn't it be better if you just do what you want to do?”
“I-I don’t know. I’m going to leave anyway.”
“In that case you won’t get attached, right? You can just use me however you want without any consequences. I’m your tool to be wielded.”
“Don’t call yourself a tool. You’re a nice person, don't undervalue yourself…”
“But every person needs to have a use, right? So let my use be to make you happy while you rest. If I’m going to be a tool to be used I at least want to choose my own purpose.”
“You’re such a weirdo…”
“Yep! So why not come here? Let me give you a hug.”
With her arms wide open, mama smiles at me. Her entire body language looks so kind and inviting…
“...”
“Are you- Are you really sure you’re okay with it?”
“Of course~ Come here my dear.”
Crawling towards her on the giant bed I get about half way there when I say, “I’m not going to get attached. I’m just using you until I feel better. Are you still okay with that?”
“Of course. Use me as you see fit my dear.”
“Okay…But no complaining later, okay?”
“My lips will be sealed.”
“Okay…”
Feeling kind of nervous I crawl over the rest of the way towards her and mama gives me a nice and warm hug. Her scent is really nice and she feels very warm and comfy. It makes me feel a little drowsy.
“How about I bathe you later as well?”
“No! Definitely not. We can’t. Hugging is okay but you can’t just lick me clean when I’m n-n-naked!”
“I guess it’s still a bit too soon, huh? Then how about a water bath?”
“Sure…I don’t mind a normal bath.”
“Great~ I’ll go call a maid to prepare the bath then.”
Twisting one of the rings on her hand a loud knock is suddenly heard on the giant door.
“Xxx xxx in, xxx xxx xxx in xxx xxx Rose xxx xxx xxx xxx.”
“As you wish, your Majesty,” a feminine yet monstrous voice answers with a light accent as a big orange dragon, at least three times the size of Scarlet, enters.
Probably sensing my anxiety, mama hugs me a little tighter than before as she says, “Please prepare the small bath and some breakfast for us.”
“Of course your Majesty, would you like to be attended to during your bath?”
“No, today we’re taking one without any attendants. My little Rose is still so very shy.”
Suddenly getting a little fidgety in a whispery yet still loud voice the Dragon asks, “So…It would not be appropriate for me to introduce myself yet?”
Brushing through my hair, mama asks, “Would it be alright for our maid to introduce herself to you?”
“Uhm…Sure.”
“You may introduce yourself. But be slow and careful. You don’t want to scare her.”
“Of course, your Majesty!”
With a huge toothy grin the orange Dragon slowly walks over to our bedside and crouches down to the ground with their head lowered, “Greetings Princess Rose, I am Melina, your humble servant. May I come closer to greet you?”
“Sure.”
Standing up again, she reaches her giant face towards us until it’s right in front of me and starts sniffing me.
“Oh my! Your Highness smells just like her majesty! Even more so than Princess Scarlet!”
Whispering into mama’s ear I ask, “Mama?”
“Yes my dear?”
“Am I supposed to sniff her too?”
“Only if you want to.”
Carefully, I get a little closer and touch her snout. Her scales feel smooth and warm and even though she smells nothing like Scarlet or mama she still smells nice. I then hear a whooshing sound. Looking around, it seems to come from her tail wagging wildly.
“You seem really excited Miss Melina.”
“Perhaps a little overexcited…” Mama adds as she hugs me from behind, “I believe it’s time to prepare the bath Melina.”
“Y-Yes! Of course! Right away your Majesty!”
Very quickly Melina goes back towards the door, bows her head and leaves.
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Outside the door, Melina starts wagging her tail even harder than before while doing a little dance before quickly running down the hallway to inform the chef and prepare a bath.
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“Can I ask something that might be rude?”
“Of course, you can ask me anything. No need to ask for permission.”
“Then…Why is she orange? I thought dragons were all red.”
“Pfft Aren’t you pink though?”
“Well…Yeah but isn’t that a type of red?”
“You could say that, yes. Generally speaking, we are shades of red but there are also orange, yellow and even violet fire dragons.”
“Does the color mean anything?”
“No, it’s just like haircolor for other races. It gives us some nice variety but it ultimately doesn’t mean anything.”
“This might be a weird question but…Do you…Do you think Dragons will accept me for being a hybrid?”
“Yes I do. Generally speaking, us Dragons celebrate differences. What people in other places would call deformities we usually find fascinating rather than disgusting. There is a saying in our country that goes like this:
‘You only laugh at the flat tail until you want to eat clams.’
It means that all deformities have their own uses even if we don’t know what they are. It is based on an old legend of a Dragon named Larnaz who had a very thin tail and was bullied for it right until the moment he found out that his tail was perfectly fit to open clams. He then opened his own clam restaurant by the sea and became very popular while his bullies stayed unknown and unremembered.”
“But in the end wasn’t Larnaz only accepted because his deformity became useful? What if mine are completely useless?”
“There is no such thing. Even the most crippled of Dragons will have abilities unique to their deformities. Even if it is just the ability to sympathize with the sick and injured.”
“But that isn’t really useful.”
“It’s very useful! A just ruler needs to have people in their midst that give insights you do not have. If you don’t have any poor people in your council you won’t know what plagues them and you won’t be able to help them. The same counts for any other group of people. We all have blind spots in our lives. The more diverse your council, the better your decisions for the country will be.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
“Right? And that’s exactly why you and your sister are so special. Both of you have completely different views and experiences on this world and that is wonderful! I’m also sure that every Dragon that has a parent from a different race or lives in poverty will be glad to have someone like you rule over them. Because you understand their problems the best.”
“Really? Won’t people dislike me for it?”
“Some might but so many more will appreciate you for it. Your weaknesses are all just undiscovered talents Rose. There is rarely a bad thing that is not accompanied by something good.”
“I…I never thought about it that way. I always just thought I was broken and useless.”
“You are not broken or useless, Rose. You are damaged but once those wounds heal you will have gained so much knowledge and wisdom from them. All you need to do now is let those wounds close.”
“Yeah…Yeah! You’re right! Once I’m done resting and healing I’ll be stronger than before.”
“Exactly! Just don’t get too overzealous, healing takes time.”
“Okay, thank you mama!”
“You’re welcome, dear.”
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