The Chameleon Shop

Kaylee sat breathing rapidly with her brain still spinning, in a rotten-smelling pile of what appeared to be animal (at least she hoped only animal) skeletons, at the bottom of the tunnel opening. A huge cavern now lay before her in all of its sparkling glory.

She was scared to death the dragon would appear and incinerate her any second. Her hands and fingers were stinging from the slide down the tunnel. She had grazes from pointlessly trying to hold on to the walls to slow down. She began to tremble, a cold sweat breaking out all over. Her ears were ringing in the silence, her own breath sounding too loud. The rock walls beside her were damp, but glittery. Dragon’s loved gold and riches didn’t they? This had to be the place then.

Kaylee clumsily crawled out of the pile of bones and cautiously took a few steps. A large mirror hung on the wall near her, edged with an ornate silver frame. She froze, heart lodged in her throat, because the mirror was no ordinary mirror. It was magic, for right at this moment it showed The Chameleon Shop, where she had found the key. Kaylee’s mother was there, talking to the shop assistant. She looked tired, dishevelled and so very worried. She must have been frantically searching for Kaylee.

Kaylee could hear the tiny snap of her own heart, as it broke in two.

‘Mum! ... Mum!’ she cried out, surrendering to her fear and so desperate for her mother to hear her, but it was no use. She could not hold back the loud sob of frustration, which escaped.

Kaylee pulled the iron key from her pack, to hold as a bit of Dutch courage. She began descending the steep winding steps.

Someone in the dark had seen Kaylee’s not-so-graceful entrance.

On a narrow rocky peak, jutting up from the depths of the cavern, sat the dragon. The dragon who had waited for this moment for months. She flew towards the terrified girl, swooping in to land in front of Kaylee, wings spread wide and growling ferociously.

Kaylee almost filled her pants and she shut her eyes, terrified, expecting to be fried on the spot. After trembling for several very long moments, curiosity got the better of her and she opened one eye a crack.

Face to face, Kaylee thought the dragon resembled a sea-horse, with aquamarine scales, pointed horns similar to a goat’s and wings that stretched out like a Pterodactyl from the Stone Age.

From the view Kaylee had, the whole room appeared to be filled with the dragon’s head. It opened its jaws letting out a roar that rattled Kaylee’s bones and blew her hair back; though luckily, no fiery breath ... this time. She was acting fierce but Kaylee did not know that it was just for show.

When Kaylee thought she was in for a painful death she rattled off quickly, ‘Please, don’t eat me. This damn key brought me here and they all tell me it must be dragon magic. Did you bring me here?’

‘Ah, you must be Kaylee?’ The dragon finally spoke. She had a kind of stern older schoolteacher’s voice.

‘Excuse me?’ Kaylee was so surprised by the mention of her own name she almost forgot to be scared. ‘How do you know my name?’ The dragon folded her wings neatly to her sides and sat like a statue, content to let Kaylee rant for a while.

‘Would you tell me what’s going on? I’ve been swatted, attacked, almost eaten, half-drowned and my mother will be going insane wondering if I’m dead or alive, especially since Dad ─’

‘Your father is alive,’ the dragon interrupted calmly.

‘Wait, What?’ Kaylee was astounded and way too scared of being disappointed to believe her.

‘Your father is alive and well. Well, he whines a lot, but well enough.’

Kaylee looked all around the huge cavern. When she peeked nervously over the edge she could see a deep gully of darkness, where absolutely anything could be hiding. She searched the rest of the cavern, as far as her eyes could see, but the outer corners were dark and filled with shadows. She could not see where her father might be. ‘Where is he? Can ...,’ she gulped back a sob, ‘can I see him please?’

‘First I have a request of you,’ the dragon replied, ominously.

‘I miss my dad. I love him ... I just ... I need him,’ she sobbed absolutely beside herself with emotion. ‘If you haven’t eaten him, can I have him back please? There’s loads of annoying gnomes out there if you’re hungry, after all?’

That last bit actually made the dragon laugh. She lowered her immense face and loomed right in front of Kaylee whose eyes were squeezed shut tight, waiting to be turned to ash. The dragon blew a harmless smoke ring in her face. ‘Gnomes talk too much and taste like dung. Sit girl, I’ll make you a deal.’

The dragon explained she did not like to eat humans either, ‘You have to be careful what you eat, I have found. I try to avoid humans. For your information, they give me terrible gas. However, I discovered I had a better use for him.’

Kaylee more fell to her bottom than sat. Shock does that to you. She stared at this magnificent mythical creature that loomed metres above her, blowing smoke rings in her face and giving her grief and then pinched her own arm because she was certain she had to be dreaming. Stuff like this just did not happen. Not to her.

The pinch hurt and Kaylee sighed again. ’Look, what do I call you? Do you have a name? They all seem to just call you DRAGON and that seems a bit ... well a bit rude really?

‘No one has ever asked me that before. To tell you the truth my name would be unpronounceable to you. What do they call strong females deserving high respect, in your land?’

Kaylee thought for a minute, and then smiled, eyes glistening. ‘Mum or Mama,’ she said.

‘You may call me Mama then.’

In a very odd sort of way, Kaylee quite liked this. She was not so sure Trish would find it as amusing, given that Kaylee had called her a dragon from time to time. Irony was a funny old thing.

‘That might get a little confusing though,’ Kaylee said, ‘how about another word, for freedom – Saorsa is a word my mother taught me. Seems to fit?’

‘Seer-sha,’ the dragon rolled her r’s mimicking the sound of the word perfectly. ‘I like that,’ she said softly.