CHAPTER 59: THE DRAGON WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH A TREE

The village square buzzes with confused joy and optimism.

Vuvi stands at the center, hand on her hip, chin held high, her voice ringing out loud and proud:

"We’ll take care of your dragon problem. We’ll find it, fight it, and slay it."

The gathered crowd gasps as one.

"No!" dozens of villagers shout simultaneously.

Vuvi blinks. "Uh... what?"

"You mustn’t hurt her!" an old man cries, clutching his walking stick.

"She’s precious!" wails a young woman with flowers in her hair.

"She’s ours!" says a third, hugging her satchel of turnips tightly.

Vuvi’s confident stance falters. She exchanges looks with Veena, Penelo, and Pip.

Penelo tilts her head. "Wait... her?"

A short, silver-haired woman shuffles forward, raising both her hands like a conductor about to lead a choir.

"You see," she begins, "the dragon isn’t a monster. She’s one of us. Or at least... she was."

The woman turns to the crowd. "All together now."

The villagers nod, inhale, and in perfect chorus, say:

"She’s dragon-kin!"

Silence.

Veena raises an eyebrow. "Come again?"

The old woman clasps her hands. "She showed up years ago, young and scared. We took her in. Fed her. Housed her. She was lovely. So polite. Extremely strong. She’d carry hay bales for the old farmers, help pluck berries for the children, even read bedtime stories at the inn."

"She used to help us rebuild during storm season," another villager chimes in. "Even cooked a mean stew."

"And she sparkled," a young man sighed dreamily. "And she could carry a cow!"

"But... a few months ago," the silver-haired woman continues, "she changed."

"She disappeared for days at a time."

"Returns with her clothes torn and soot on her cheeks."

"Sometimes she just growls at rocks."

Vuvi frowns. "So she’s... moody?"

The woman nods solemnly. "That was only the beginning."

Penelo leans forward. "And then she... turned into an actual dragon?"

The crowd nods again.

Vuvi’s eyes widened. "A full dragon?"

"Fifty feet at least," one man says proudly.

"Wings like shadows," a woman adds.

"Breathes fire that smells like lavender," another said dreamily.

"She’s rare." Veena mutters. "Very rare. I’ve only ever read about dragon-kin like her. That can take on the full form of their ancestors. Her bloodline must be ancient... and very powerful."

Vuvi slaps her forehead.

"And let me guess," she groans, "she’s been dropping by in full dragon form, torching half the village and then flying off again?"

"She tries to communicate," the old woman corrects. "She lands, paces around a lot, growls at the well, sniffs the bakery, rubs against trees."

"She rolled around in the hay field for six hours last week," another adds.

"She took a nap on the mayor’s roof!"

"And left gold!"

"And a note!" someone waved a slightly singed parchment.

Vuvi takes the note. It was written in curvy, embarrassed handwriting:

"Sorry about the well. And the bakery. And the Auntie Jemla house. I didn’t mean to set it on fire. Promise! Please accept this crate of gold. Love, K💔"

Sera crosses her arms, visibly disappointed. "So... no slaying then?"

"No slaying," the silver-haired woman says firmly. "We love her. She’s confused. We think... she’s going through something."

"She’s in heat," Veena says plainly, skimming the note as she passes it to Sera.

Penelo gasps. "Is that what this is?! Oh poor thing!"

Vuvi groans. "Of course it is. A first heat episode and she’s a dragon? That’s a disaster. Her instincts must be kicking in but she has no idea how to handle it."

"She’s lonely," Penelo whispers. "That’s so sad."

"She’s dangerous," Sera points out.

"She’s confused," the old woman corrects again. "But she’s never hurt anyone. She only burns buildings. And she always leaves gold afterward."

"The town’s made a profit, actually," someone in the back adds.

Vuvi stares at them. "You’re telling me a gold-dropping, lovesick dragon woman has been burning your houses down weekly and you’re just... fine with it?"

"She leaves gems too," the mayor adds. "We fixed up the schoolhouse last month."

"And got new bath tubs."

"And finally paid off the library’s overdue fines."

Vuvi rubs her temples. "What exactly do you want us to do, then?"

The crowd falls quiet. Then the silver-haired woman steps forward once again.

"We want you to help her."

"Help her what, exactly?" Veena asks.

"To not be afraid," another villager says.

"To understand her feelings."

"To find peace."

"To stop setting the inn on fire!"

"To find love," someone whispers.

Vuvi looks around at the hopeful, nervous faces.

She exhales, slowly.

"Fine. We’ll help her."

Penelo claps excitedly. Sera sighs dramatically and sheathes her sword. Veena raises a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You know what I miss?" Veena mutters. "Simple goblin raids. No fire. No dragon pheromones. Just ugly green pests and stabbing."

"Saving sex-starved dragons isn’t exciting for you?" Sera chuckles. "I’d love to add that to my resumé."

"She might be pretty," Penelo says cheerfully. "Most dragon-kin are!"

"I bet she is," Veena grumbles. "Which will make everything worse."

--------------

The villagers lead them to a sturdy inn on a hill that had only partially been melted in the last dragon incident. The smell of singed wood lingers faintly in the rafters, but otherwise the rooms are cozy.

As they settle into the inn’s common room, Vuvi flops into a chair and pulls out a sheaf of parchment.

"Alright," she says. "We wait here. The villagers say she’ll probably show up in a day or two. When she does, we make contact. Figure out what she needs. Try to help her regain control."

The team all nod in agreement.

"And we resume business," she adds. "We’re losing time and gold just waiting around."

Veena raises a brow. "You’re setting up shop again? Here?"

"Until a dragon crashes through the roof?" Vuvi says flatly, "Yes."

She stands and turns to the small group of gathered villagers nearby. "Until the dragon-kin woman returns, our services will be available to all willing clients. Bookings begin tomorrow morning. Standard rates apply."

One woman gasps. Another clutches her pearls.

A third grins widely. "Oh thank The Mother! I’ve been waiting for this day!"

A slow ripple of excitement spreads through the crowd.

Penelo winks at a farmer’s daughter and whispers, "Tell your friends."

As the sun dips over the burnt edges of the village, and stars begin to dot the darkening sky, the team sits quietly by the fire in the inn’s main hall. A soft breeze drifts in through a cracked window.

Veena finishes her last note of the day.

Penelo hums and braids Sera’s hair as she sharpens her greatsword.

Pip sits by the hearth, oiling his joints with gentle, methodical care.

Vuvi leans back in her chair and smiles faintly at them all.

"A dragon in heat. An emotional village. A calendar full of bookings." she mutters to herself.

"Just another normal week."