A Collection of Fantasy and Science Fiction Short Stories - Special ...

Azro took no offence to the tone. Tiloft had been selling weapons at the festival to
travelers, and he quickly lost his temper with those outsiders who tried to haggle him
down to insultingly low prices, which caused him to be in a foul mood for the remainder
of the day. “I just thought I would include him in the surprise, but if he isn’t here, than
that’s alright.”
The young man took a deep breath and dived in. “I’m sure you’re going to panic
when I introduce my guest, but please don’t… I found a dragon and he’s very friendly
and even saved me when I first entered the forest.”
Tiloft jumped from his seat and shouted at his son. “You brought a dragon into
the village? Have you lost your mind?”
Azro cringed. “I told you, it’s perfectly fine. He won’t hurt anyone. He just wants
to see the human world.”
“Are you sure you can trust him?” Batan asked as she rung her hands and glanced
out the windows and into the night, wondering how close Azro’s dragon guest was.
“Yes.” The confidence in Azro’s voice did not go unnoticed by his parents, but
they still weren’t sure. Their son spotted this and put a hand on each of their shoulders.
“He looks strange, but Helisho won’t hurt you, I swear. He’s curious about our life style
and we can learn a lot about the dragon’s from him.” For now, Azro left out Helisho’s
promise to make him a hero, deciding to face one issue at a time.
Banta and Tiloft gave worried looks to one another and then nodded to their son.
“Alright, we’ll meet your friend,” Tiloft said, “but if he destroys the village it will be on
your conscious.”
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