I pulled on my boots and ran out of the Mansion and into the courtyard. I ran for the stables and found Phoenix, munching on some hay. The sun hadn't even risen yet and the groggy stablehand limped over to me. 

     "Morning Miss. Up early today?" he said, wiping his eyes.

     "Good morning. I'm going for a walk with Phoenix. Tell Grey or whoever who asks about me that I'll be back in the evening," I yell before mounting Phoenix (bareback of course) and we canter off towards the village gates. 

The pass is narrow and much darker. Shadows are everywhere. This is not the same place I was yesterday, I said to myself. I finally found a large looming shape in front of me. The big boulder. I scaled it carefully and looked into the clearing. It was dark and and there were no stars. The moon was hiding behind some clouds and it wasn't very bright either. Phoenix had stayed at the entrance of the pass as if she wanted to guard it. I hopped onto the grass and walked towards the lake. Maybe the Dragon was in the water? I peered at the water. It was dark and I couldn't see anything in it. I looked back down in the lake. Nothing. A rumble started suddenly and I fell to the ground. Then, out of nowhere, the Dragon appeared from the far end of the rock wall. I smiled warily. He approached me, tail sweeping the ground cautiously. Then he snorted. Dust sprayed in my face. 

     "Urgh," I mumbled, wiping my face. "That's disgusting." The Dragon made a gurgling sound as if mocking me then looked around. It then proceeded to sit down and spread its wings on the ground. Wow. I stared at the wide, magnificent wings. The Dragon turned its head towards me and watched me. 

     "So, are you the last Dragon?" I asked. "In the world?" The Dragon stared at me blankly. 

     "I'm not talking to myself, am I? You understand me right?" I continued, watching the Dragon closely. He lifted his head and something flashed in his eyes. 

     "You understand me," I murmured. The Dragon opened his mouth. His teeth were long, sharp and brilliant white. A long, brown forked tongue slithered out of his open mouth. He liked his lips and then yawned. I slowly sat down, facing the Dragon. We sat in silence. Near the peaceful lake. In our own worlds. The Dragon's big wings stretched out to his sides. My legs crossed, watching the Dragon with appreciation. Silence. No sound was uttered. I don't know how long we sat in silence, watching each other but soon, the sun was high in the sky and it was afternoon. I slowly stood up and walked back towards the pass. I didn't look back. I felt the Dragon's steady gaze on my back but I didn't turn around. I found Phoenix, grazing peacefully near the pass entrance. 

     "Hey girl," I whispered. Phoenix lifted her head and walked carefully towards me. She shook her head and neighed softly. I mounted her back and we walked together towards the sound of trickling water. I let her drink some water before we started walking back towards the village. 

I crept through the dark pass once again. I didn't know why I was going back to see the Dragon or why I hadn't told anybody but I felt as if it should be kept secret as my father seemed to hate Dragons. I jumped from the boulder into the clearing. Stars were still twinkling brightly in the sky and the moon shone reassuringly above. In the clearing, lying down was the Dragon. I approached him, walking slowly and predictably. I kept mumbling reassuring words under my breath. I was soon an arm's length away from the great beast. I held my breath and slowly, brought me hand up. I lifted my arm and brought it in the air. I closed my eyes. I felt the Dragon's snout, pressed against my palm. His scales were surprisingly warm. They warmed my hand as I held the touch. The scales were hard and smooth. I brought my hand around his snout and towards one of his big horns. I let my fingers run on the long pointed horns. My eyes were still held tightly shut. I took a small breath. The horn was rough and almost as long as my arm. Then I felt him jerk his head away. I opened my eyes and stared back into the Dragon's eye. 

     "So Papa," I said casually over dinner. Dinner was laid on a big table on the terrace outside. My mother was working so was not there but Grey was seated next to me. "Tell me about Dragons." Grey shot me a "What? No!" look but I gave him a raised eyebrow which said "It's not about you". He just shook his head and continued eating. 

    "Well, they were big creatures," chuckled Papa. "Magnificent. But dangerous, oh so dangerous. I lost my great great great great grandfather, Albert, to the Dragon. My grandmother's father thought highly of Albert. He vowed to take revenge. Of course, Dragons were long gone. But, sometimes, I think, maybe Dragons are still alive. Maybe there are still Dragons. It is not dumb to think that because our Warriors still practice the ancient art of Dragon fighting. To become a Warrior they need to know basic Dragon fighting moves and a bit about Dragon structure and its body."

     "I never knew you knew so much about Dragons," I remarked. 

     "Of course I know a lot about Dragons. They are practically who we are. Dragon fighters. Dragon vanquishers. And, if the need arose, we are still trained to take on Dragons. We all know they are real and you can never be sure they are gone," my father declared. 

     "If you saw one, would you kill it?" I asked. 

     "Of course. But maybe I'd capture it first. We could still learn a whole deal about Dragons," my father said with a shrug. "But, why are we talking about Dragons? How was your day?" I looked to Grey for him to answer the question and he answered willingly. 

I shuffled through the pages of the giant encyclopedia. The library was vast and filled with the oldest and newest collection of books. I sat on one of the satin armchair. 

     "You shouldn't skip that page," said a voice suddenly. I looked up and there, perched upon a ladder in a dark corner was River. He had tools hanging loosely on his belt and he tipped alarmingly over the ladder. 

     "Oh," I said, looking up, I hadn't seen him there. "You've read it?"

     "Yes," replied River. 

     "You have the book?" I asked. 

     "I may be poor but I am educated... but yeah, I do have the book and the real version at that. It was my great great great something's aunt. We still have it. All the information is in there. It's awesome." 

     "But there's so much."

     "That's what makes it great."

     "What are you doing her anyways?" 

     "Fixing this shelf."

     "I know but I mean, it's a coincidence."

     "Yeah, my tutor gave me a few small jobs here and there and it so happened this shelf was broken. But that's not the point. Do you like Dragons?"

     "Merely fascinated."

     "Really? I love Dragons."

     "You do?"

     "I think they still exist. I mean, I know they exist. It's a wide world. We're a small village. Somewhere, where nobody lives, there are Dragons. Maybe in another countries, people are friends with Dragons or in another far away, they eat Dragons. We'll never know. We've never really been anywhere but Evebridge and the forest around." He has no idea, I said to myself. What would he think if he knew there was a real Dragon living in the heart of the forest in a special place surrounded by a rock wall and a secret pass which lead to it?

     "Maybe you're right," I said vaguely. 

     "Maybe," whispered River, giving me a weird look. He continued working on the shelf while I read the page he had told me not to skip. It talked about understanding Dragons. There wasn't much about it as people had not researched Dragons much as they were busy having wars with them. It talked about how to see if a Dragon was going to strike, angry or confused. 

     "If you found a Dragon, would you tell anybody?" I asked bravely. River looked down at me and thought for a while. 

     "No. Depends," He shrugged. "If I told people from the village, they'd want to see the Dragon, probably kill it or use it for studies or as a weapon or something."

     "You're sure people'd do that?" I questioned. 

     "Of course," River said. I nodded and returned to the book without actually reading it. I would not tell anybody, it was my secret. River was right, people would definitely take the Dragon away. Many people would want to take revenge as their relatives were killed by Dragons. River jumped off the ladder and stood next to me. He wiped his hands on a cloth. 

     "What is it?" interrogated River, studying me closely. 

      "Nothing," I said too quickly. 

     "Dragons?" whispered River with a smile and raised eyebrows. "Since when were you so interested in Dragons?"

     "Since always," I blurted out too quickly and rather angrily. 

     "Really?" he pushed. 

     "Yes really. You literally saw me reading once. How would you know if I was interested about Dragons a long time ago?" I bristled. 

     "I don't know. It seems....odd? No,.... sudden, yeah something like that," shrugged River eyeing me. 

     "What?" I growled. 

     "Nothing....," River trailed off. "You know something. What is it?"

     "Dragon..., you've seen a Dragon," River's voice was barely a whisper. I looked up suddenly and frowned. I looked directly in his eyes. His dark eyes got lost into mine. I gave a slight nod but he saw it and turned sharply around. He packed his tools and got ready to leave. 

     "Tonight. Entrance, ten thirty," he barely whispered.