The Dragon Keeper

By, Joni

It was the end of Kayla’s sixteenth birthday and she was still too excited to sleep. The day couldn’t have been better—she got her driver’s license, her mom let her drive the family car for the first time by herself, and her parents took her out to her favorite restaurant for dinner.

Strangely though, the best part about her birthday had nothing to do with cars, nice dinners, or even truing sixteen, but with an unusual gift she received from a mysterious relative. Her mother presented it to her right before she had gone to bed.

“Kayla, I have one last gift for you,” her mother had said.

“Mom,” Kayla replied, “you’ve already made this a great day, you really don’t need to give me anything else.”

Her mother had smiled and patted her hair, “I’ve always liked that about you, Kayla, you’ve never been a selfish girl. However, this gift is not from me or your father, it’s from your grandfather Carson.”

Kayla’s mother handed over a small unwrapped jewelry box. Kayla took it but didn’t open it. “Grandpa Carson? How can this be from him? He died when I was just a baby…” Kayla’s voice trailed off seeing the sad look come over her mother’s face. “I’m sorry mother.”

“Kayla, don’t be sorry. I just wish you could have known him. He was a wonderful father to me…you remind me so much of him.” Her mother laughed, “He was so proud to have his first grandchild and I never saw him happier then the day you were born. The day I brought you home from the hospital he gave this to me,” she said as she pointed at the jewelry box. “He told me to give it to you on your sixteenth birthday.” She laughed again, “I have no idea why it had to be your sixteenth birthday exactly, but he was very specific. Your grandfather was a bit of an eccentric too, so I didn’t ask.”

Kayla smiled at her mom and wished to herself that she had known her grandfather. Over the years she had heard many stories about him and Kayla thought he sounded not only extremely kind, but also like a lot of fun.

“Well,” Kayla’s mother said, “Aren’t you going to open it?”

Kayla opened the velvet covered box and inside it was the most unusual necklace she had ever seen. A thin, sparkly gold chain held a beautiful pendant that contained a clear smooth stone that looked like a crystal of some sort. The stone was encircled by a small, golden, serpentine dragon with a tiny ruby red jewel for an eye. Kayla was immediately fascinated by it and had put it around her neck right away. In fact, she was still wearing it as she lay in her bed trying to sleep but the necklace was preoccupying her thoughts and keeping her awake.

Kayla sighed heavily as she realized she wasn’t going to get any sleep until she got up and examined her mysterious necklace more thoroughly. She sat up in bed and took the necklace off from around her neck and tried to look at it closely using the moonlight streaming in through her bedroom window. At once she noticed the stone was not clear as she had originally thought, but it had a hint of blue in it…or was it purple? Even more fascinated now, she jumped out of bed and flipped on her light so she could see it more closely and decide what color the stone really was.

She peered as deeply into the stone as she could, holding it right up to her eyes, but she still couldn’t exactly determined the stone’s color. It seemed to shift between blue, purple, pink, yellow, and even red.

“Wow,” Kayla whispered to herself, and she felt as if she were holding the dearest treasure she could ever hope to have.

She continued to study the stone and the colors seem to swirl quickly and change even faster than before. Suddenly, she looked up from the stone and noticed that she was no longer standing in her room but in a place surrounded by a strange foggy mist. A light that Kayla could only suppose was the moon was trying to shine its way through the fog. Even though it was fairly dark, there was a warm and comforting breeze blowing from somewhere within the shadows.

Naturally, Kayla became very frightened and with shaking fingers she put her precious necklace back around her neck and tucked it inside her nightgown to keep it safe. She looked quickly all around and gulped back the huge lump that had formed in her throat, but all she could see was that strange thick mist.

“He…Hello?” Kayla tried to say as loudly as she could, but the word came out in a strangled squeak. Her heart was thumping so hard that she thought it might just jump right out of her chest and run away, which is what she felt like doing herself. Glancing around again and trying to find something familiar she saw something moving slowly in the mist in front of her. Kayla gulped again as a horrible feeling of panic began to descend upon her, she shook herself hard, took a deep breath, and fought to be brave and not lose control of herself.

“Hello?” she said again, and this time the word came out strong and loud. Hearing herself sound more courageous made her feel a little bit better.

“Hello there!” a voice called out from the distance. “Don’t worry, my dear, I’m coming to help you. And don’t be frightened, you are perfectly safe I promise you!”

The words sounded like they came from a friendly source, but Kayla couldn’t help but continue to feel scared. After a minute or two a little old man emerged out of the mist near her. He was only about as tall as she was and he did indeed have a friendly smiling face. He was hunched over slightly in the back and was carrying a large staff for walking in one hand and a small, lit lantern in the other.

He stopped a few feet from her and held up his lantern so he could see her face clearly. “Ah,” he said, smiling even bigger now. “You must be Kayla, Joseph Carson’s granddaughter, aren’t you?”

Kayla nodded, still feeling too afraid to say much yet.

The little old man chuckled and said, “I knew you’d be coming soon and I’m so glad to see you. Now, please follow me and all your questions, that I know you have, will be answered in no time at all.”

He turned to walk back the way he came but Kayla didn’t follow. He turned to look at her and said, “Is there a problem, my dear?”

“Yes. Who are you and where am I?” she demanded with more force then she intended.

He chuckled again. “Inquisitive, aren’t you? You thirst for knowledge, too. I also suspect you don’t like to feel out of control, either. That’s very good…very good, indeed. It will help you be strong, and we do need some strong ones right now. My name is Winchester, but I’m afraid your other question will be more difficult to answer just yet. Please, I know you are scared and that’s only natural under these circumstances, but I will explain everything in time, I promise. Right now I can’t do anything just standing here! Come with me now, my dear, you are perfectly safe, but I can take you to a place where is it more comfortable and there will be others who can help explain things.

Kayla decided to just follow him and hold herself back from asking all the questions she had crammed inside her head like “where are you taking me?”, “how did I get here?”, and “does this have something to do with my necklace?” Although, she suspected she already knew the answer to her last question.

They walked, blindly it seemed to Kayla, through the mist for a few minutes until they came to a small cottage. Winchester let the way inside where it was modestly decorated with comfortable chairs surrounding a fireplace. A few people were seated in some of the chairs reading out of old and dusty looking books. They barely seemed to notice the entrance of Winchester with the strange girl by his side.

Winchester stopped after entering the doorway and banged his large staff on the wooden floor three times. The people looked up with interest now as Winchester cleared his throat and announced with authority, “A new Dragon Keeper has arrived!”

Kayla stood in silent shock at these words as the people in the room rose out of their chairs to shake her hands and say, “Welcome!” and “Congratulations!” What they were congratulating her for she had no idea.

Winchester patiently waited for the last of these people to sit back down with their books and then led Kayla to a more private corner of the room where two chairs were placed close to another lit fireplace. He shooed her into one chair and then sat himself down facing her in the other.

“Now, my dear, let me answer your questions. I can just see them trying to push their way out of your mouth so I’ll do my best to make this complete and brief. First of all, you have been summoned here to us because you have a very special gift, one your grandfather also possessed. You are a Dragon Keeper. A Dragon Keeper is a human being that can see and hear dragons. Not all humans have this ability so it is something very special to have. Most humans don’t even believe in the existence of dragons, but they are real. They have been passed off for thousands of years as mythical beings but they are not. Human myth has also made dragons out to be fearsome cruel beings that eat humans, but this is also not true. Dragons are kind, intelligent, and quite gentle if they are treated with the proper respect. Many thousands of years ago when humans and dragons did live together, dragons were often killed for no reason and only because foolish humans were frightened of them so it became necessary for the dragons that did exist to hide away from human eyes. However, it was easier for them to hide and remain in safety with the help of humans who trusted them, understood them, and were willing to put aside their fears. This is how the Dragon Keepers came into existence. As a Dragon Keeper, you are responsible for the protection of a dragon and sometimes their family too, if they have one and it is manageable for you. It takes some study, as you see a few of our Keepers doing here now, but in most cases it is not as difficult as it might sound. Dragons possess magic all their own and they willing share it with their trusted Keeper making the job very interesting and much easier. That necklace you were given harnesses the magic so you must wear it at all times. In fact, a little bit of the magic has already been given to you when you put it on, that’s how you were brought here. Sasha is impatient and I can see she wants you to get to work right away…not that I blame her. She has been without a Keeper since your grandfather’s death. Dragon Keepers are rare and not all dragons can have a Keeper at all times.”

“Sasha?” Kayla asked suddenly. “She’s a dragon and she brought me here?”

Winchester nodded. “You can’t meet her yet, you still need to be trained, but she is very eager to meet you. She was extremely fond of Joseph and so you can understand her enthusiasm toward you.”

Kayla just sat with her mouth open staring at Winchester. “This is all a very bizarre dream,” she said. “Any minute now, I’m going to wake up. I just know it.”

“Trust me, Kayla. I know this all sounds very strange but it is real. Your reaction is typical but over time you will get used to the idea.” He patted her soothingly on the arm. “Now, if I’m not mistaken, I believe Joseph left a message for you in that little pendant of yours. Would you like to see it?”

“He left me a message? How is that possible? He’s been dead for years.”

“Remember, the dragons have magic and they made this possible for him and you. It’s one of the many benefits that can come from being a Dragon Keeper. Joseph knew from the moment of your birth that you had the gift to be a Keeper, the dragons could sense it and they told him. He made this message the day you were born and contained it in your necklace just in case he wasn’t around when you were old enough to learn about these things. Looks to me like it’s a good thing he did too, considering he died not long afterwards.”

Kayla couldn’t believe what she was getting the chance to do and she didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Then she asked, “How can I see this message?”

“It’s not difficult at all. Just hold your pendant up and stare into that ruby dragon’s eye and concentrate on your grandfather and the rest will happen on its own. If you would like you can use this private room right here,” Winchester said, pointing to a door not far from the fireplace.

Kayla stood up and went into the room and shut the door. It was dimly lit with a small lantern and she could see a small bed in one corner. She just stood in the room thinking for a minute and then decided there was only one thing to do. She must at least try out the message and see what it said. It was the only way to prove to herself if any of these amazing claims Winchester was making were true. On the outside, everything the old man had told her sounded much to far fetched to be believable, but inside she had this strange feeling of trust for him that she couldn’t explain. So many conflicting emotions were pulsing through her that she didn’t know what to believe at all, but if she could see and hear her grandfather tell her what she should know, it would make the whole thing much easier.

Before she could change her mind she took the necklace into her hand and held it up close to her face, peering as deeply as she could into that red dragon eye. Thinking of her grandfather wasn’t hard at a time like this and it helped her to relax a little to do so. After a minute, a voice in front of her spoke her name softly. Kayla jumped and almost dropped her necklace. There stood a man with eyes like her own and a face full of love and life, yet his figure was in a ghost-like mist and not really all there.

“Kayla,” he said again, “It’s me, your Grandfather Joseph. I’m making this special message just for you on the day of your birth. There is so much I want to tell you, but I don’t have much time so I just want you to know that being a Dragon Keeper is a wonderful thing. It has been one of the best things I have done in my life, and I hope you find it just as exciting and rewarding. It will be difficult because you will not be able to share what you do as a Dragon Keeper with others who know nothing about it. Keeping the secret is hard, but worth it. Right now, I know you are just learning about all of this and I know you are feeling overwhelmed by all of this. If fact, you are probably doubting whether or not any of this is true. I felt the exact same way on the day I turned sixteen but all of this is true, I promise you. If you give it a chance I know you will enjoy this work as much as I.”

At this point, Kayla’s grandfather paused, looking on her with the most loving look she had ever seen. Her heart began to ache with wanting to know him more than just this simple message.

Her grandfather took a deep breath and then continued, “I can only begin to express to you Kayla how much I love you. I hope to have the chance to tell you many more things about all of this as you grow up, but it you are watching this message now, it means that I am no longer around. Nothing would make me prouder than to know that you become a Dragon Keeper like me and my mother and father before me. Try hard, Kayla. Trust your dragon and trust those who can help you learn. When times are hard then think of me and trust me. I will help you from wherever I may be now to give you the strength and love you need to see you through.”

At these words, the image of Kayla’s grandfather vanished and she only just then noticed the wetness of tears on her face. Somehow, she had always felt connected with her grandfather even though she had never known him, but at that moment she felt closer to him than she had to anyone at any other time. She also knew what she needed to do.

Kayla dried off her face and tucked her necklace back into her nightgown. She walked slowly to the door to leave, pausing only briefly to look back on the place where her grandfather had stood just a moment before. Feeling his strength within her, she then left the room and walked back over to Winchester and sat down again in the cozy chair by the fire.

Winchester smiled kindly at her and asked, “Well, what do you think?”

Kayla smiled back, “Just tell me what I need to do and I will. I’m ready.”