Chapter Eight: The Nursery

Saber rubbed his eyes, clearing the sand out of them.  Yawning widely he stretched, scratched, and started to pee in the moat.  As he opened his eyes he looked down to the valley, and again got a shock.  It was empty.  The army was gone, and the valley swept clean.  No damages or reminders.  Huh, he thought, at least they were tidy.

            The army made Saber think of Lea, was she gone too?  Come to think of it, Lea and Torch had not made an appearance in almost a week.  No food or water?  Maybe when the rest of the clan slept.  Jeez, he should have checked on Torch sooner, he hoped he was o.k. Saber thought as he moved to the back lair, where Torch kept his rooms.  As he passed the nursery quick glance inside, and he found Torch.  Darna was still sleeping, so Torch was alone in the nursery.  Saber put on the brakes, and moved thru the doorway.  Torch turned and grinned at Saber.  (Still creepy.....dragons really shouldn’t grin.)  Torch motioned Saber over, and pointed at the two eggs in front of him.  One was bright red with earth toned stripes.  The other egg was a deep blood red.  Saber gaped at Torch, looking from him to the eggs and back again.

            “Uh, eggs, wow.  You don’t waste any time do you?”  Saber asked with a smirk on his face.  Torch just stood there grinning, (yuck,) and finally said, “Why wait, she was in a hurry to get back to the war, and I figured, why not?”

            “She’s gone too?”  Saber asked

            “Lea will be back for the hatching, and who knows, maybe we will get a couple more.”  Torch was way too happy, it was kind of sappy, looking at him.

            “We are getting pretty full in this nursery, don’t you think?”  Saber asked.

            “Well it wouldn’t be so crowded if that giant egg weren’t in the middle of the room.  Can you say ‘over achiever’ Saber?”  Torch teased.  That brought a grin (please no more…yuck) to Sabers face, and with arms slung across shoulders the two happy Dragons went in search of food.

           

            “I cannot believe it, two eggs from Torch, three eggs from Ryoch and Glenna, and ours.  Do you think we should have another, I mean everyone else is.....you know?”  Cherna asked concerned.

                        “It’s not a contest, Cherna, besides there is not enough room for another of your huge eggs.”  Smiled Saber.  “I think Darna is about to explode, she is so happy, to be tending a full nursery again.  We’re gonna have to get her some help once they all hatch.”              “ I’ll get right on that, I have a couple servants in mind, for that very thing.”  Cherna replied.  “Oh speaking of new help, Max is meeting with you next week, to go over your plans for the new lair.” 

           “Thank you, Cherna, that’s great!”  Saber left excited about the renovations.

            Hatchlings rarely are born in such a large group.  It takes careful parenting, for six long weeks, to bring a hatchling to life.  Eggs are easily broken too early, and the hatchling dies.  There are no premature dragons.  Darna has been a nursery dragon her entire life, five hundred years of experience, has given her good eggs, bad eggs, large eggs and small eggs.  Eggs not only show their parents colors, they also provide a size prediction of the hatchlings inside.  Eggs grow with their occupant, small eggs usually about the size of a watermelon can show a miniature dragon.  Rare, but it does happen.  A large egg predicts a large dragon, usually a male, and the egg can reach the size of a dog or wolf.  Darna, in her five hundred years of experience, has never seen an egg as big as Cherna’s and Saber’s.  It is the size of a horse, and still growing. 

            Queen Dana has been a frequent visitor to the nursery, as this group of hatchlings is the first ones in a century.  Laying good eggs, that produce dragons, is not easy.  The fact that all six of these eggs were laid, and fertilized within a few weeks of each other, is the biggest coincidence in history.  Usually a new dragon is born every decade or so, if the female is lucky.  This is a very special occurrence due to such a long dry spell, and everyone is waiting with a celebration planned.  The hatchlings will remain in the nursery for two years, growing and becoming adults.  Then they go out on their own.

            Darna sings softly to the eggs every day.  Sometimes the pretty pink one will sway.  She is almost ready.  Today?  Tomorrow?  It’s been six weeks to the day, since she was fertilized.  Today, yes, it will be today.  Darna catches a servant in the hallway, and asks her to fetch Ryoch and Glenna.  Darna sings some more, and the pink egg started to vibrate.

            Glenna enters the nursery, and runs to Darna’s side.  The singing continues, and a soft “pop” is heard.  Ryoch arrives just in time, to see the first crack in the shell.  He and Glenna hold each other, as little pieces of shell fall away, and a foot pokes out.  It’s a hind leg, then the tail, and the hatchling backs out of the rest of the shell.  She looks up at Ryoch and Glenna, with a toothless smile, then hiccups.  She is the exact same color as her egg, a soft petal pink, with her mother’s forest green on her wings, and a stripe of her father’s aqua blue running down her body.  She is average size now, but will grow much bigger in the next two years because she is obviously a Warrior Class Dragon.  She will be an amazing Dragon, all pink with the bulging muscles of a Warrior.

             “Is she one?”  Ryoch asks Glenna. 

            “We will have to wait and see.  Forest Dragons are not usually pink, but she is only half-Forest Dragon.  About her first year mark we should know, that's when puberty kicks in.  Her second year will be when she develops and becomes a Warrior.” Glenna replied.

            “Glenna, can we name her?  I know it’s not done till their adults, but I want to name her now.”  Ryoch explained. 

            “Yes, what do you like?”  Glenna asked.

            “Bella, for beautiful.  Yes, Bella.”  Ryoch answered.

            “Bella it is.” Smiled Glenna.