If you had known my life story, if you had been with dragons, if you had known the history of the dragons, you would understand how shocked I was that Dragon Father had summoned a dragon in his dream simply by willing it. 

I was not only shocked by the deed itself, but… seeing another dragon. I had not seen another of my enslaved species in years. 

And then, the shock was gone as soon as I realized that it wasn’t a dream I was seeing. Dragon Father cannot summon a dragon! This must have been a real dragon! This must have been a slave, come at the command of his masters! 

I straightened. “Beware, Joy!” I shouted. I would not call her ‘Dragon Little’ in front of a dragon. “This dragon has come to kill us!” 

I leapt at the older red dragon that was supposed to be my father. 

The other dragon rose into the air and jumped back even as Dragon Father jumped forward to block the way. 

“Whoa whoa whoa!” he said, standing right in front of me, his arm forward and his hand signaling ‘stop’. 

I stopped. He was seemingly smaller and weaker than me. But in the Dream, he was more powerful than I. I heeded his stop. 

“You can’t kill him!” Dragon Father said. “It’s not a trap! This is really your father!” 

“I have missed you for eternity,” the other dragon said warmly. “I am glad you’re back!” 

“My father is dead,” I growled at Dragon Father. “This is a trap!” 

I leapt at the dragon again, faster than Dragon Father could summon a dream to stop me. As I reached him, my mouth open, I tried to grab his throat by my teeth. 

The dragon vanished and I landed awkwardly. 

“Where’d he go?” Dragon Little said. “Oh, there he is!” 

The other dragon reappeared behind Dragon Father as if nothing had happened. 

I stared at him now. He was not a real dragon, after all!  He was not a slave! He was a dream created by Dragon Father! How was that possible?!

Dragon Little put her hand on my foot, trying to calm me down. “Red. He’s not dangerous. Can I show you?” 

I looked down at her, my thoughts chaotic. 

I will gather my thoughts now as well before I tell you what Dragon Little did. 

—Told by The Red Dragon