All in Told by The Red Dragon
The adventures Dragon Father summons up may always have different villains, take place on different planets, and their tasks in the adventures are always different as well - but the adventures are more or less the same.
But sometimes - very rarely - Dragon Father’s adventures are completely different.
One of those times was when Dragon Little was still less than four years old.
The morning began as usual.
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On this day, Dragon Little woke up early and with a gasp.
She immediately jumped out of bed and ran out of her cabin. She looked around, clearly searching for her father.
She looked up. Most of the stars were gone from the sky.
She relaxed, no doubt certain now that her father had not yet appeared.
A mischievous smile appeared on her Dragon Little’s face. “Heh heh heh!” she cackled like a few of the villains in their adventures.
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Thank You the turtle brought Dragon Little and the small, wooden lifeboat to rest beside Bonny’s Revenge.
Dragon Little began to cry.
She jumped from the lifeboat to Thank You’s shell, then hugged him.
“It was so much fun that you came back, Thank You. So much fun!”
Thank You didn’t answer.
“But you can’t come back again. You can’t ever come back. Do you understand?”
Thank You looked at her.
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“Oh, so cool!” I heard what only sharp dragon’s ears could hear: a soft, muted gurgle that climbs through the water to its surface and then up, kilometers into the air and into my hiding place.
“Look at that!” I heard her say.
“Not so deep! Not so deep!” and then her voice was full of water.
The lifeboat floated upwards and she couldn’t contain it. Her voice was underwater for a second, then breathing air again. Her hands were tied to the ship, so she no doubt floated up with it, her legs not strong enough to cling to Thank You.
Within seconds, the boat buoyed up to the surface, still upside-down.
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When Dragon Little asked Thank You the turtle if he wanted to go on adventure with her, I was skeptical. ‘Adventure’ only happens when Dragon Father dreams it. When he ist gone, as he was now, villains, planets, locations do not just appear out of nowhere. When her father ist gone, Dragon Little can only ‘play’ in the emptiness he leaves behind.
But Dragon Little seemed confident.
“You wait for me right here, okay, Thank You?” she patted his back.
He nodded.
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The adventure was over. Dragon Father had vanished early in the adventure and never returned to finish it. Dragon Little was able to finish the adventure by herself and imprisoned the villain in the infinite prison in the belly of Bonny’s Revenge.
Dragon Little had parked Bonny’s Revenge back in Earth’s ocean and spent her time walking back and forth on the railing, keeping her balance.
Something bobbed up underneath her and she stopped to look.
It was a big sea turtle. He bobbed his head above water.
“Thank You!” Joy exclaimed. “Thank You! You’re back!”
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When Dragon Father appeared on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge, he found Dragon Little above him,standing in the crow’s nest.
He put his head on his forehead as if driving anxiety away.
“Uh, Joy, what are you doing?”
“I’m learning to do backflips!”
He exhaled. Then said calmly. “Say what, now?”
“I’m going to learn to do flips in the air like you!”
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I have heard a fellow dragons fly far away. I have heard the monsters.
And now… I listened farther.
I listened to those the missing voices.
Ah. There it was: The silence. There was no dust in the winds!
I smiled to myself happily. Oh, my my, how disappointed the monsters must be!
I listened more.
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I stood on the edge of the path out of the dream. Another small dragons step, and I would be out and flying among the dreams - something I haven’t done in four years.
But I didn’t dare move closer. They might be out there.
I realized now that with my supremely good hearing I have concentrated over the last four years on the inside of the dream rather than on the outside. Fear, perhaps, of learning that they are waiting for me just outside.
But now…
Now I was ready to at least listen.
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My wings needed stretching and, for a change, I decided to stretch them.
My hiding place felt my need and expanded.
I looked behind me. He outside of the dream was there. Just there. With all its dangers. With all its possibilities. With all its dreams.
Do I dare? Just take a few more steps and then… And then use my sharp dragon’s ears and listen?
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After Dragon Little and Dragon Father fought the gorillas, as I have relayed to you yesterday, they had by the skin of their teeth.
But that was a feint.
Dragon Father and Dragon Little hid atop the closest trees and observed the killer gorillas.
As the killer gorillas left for their base, Dragon Father and Dragon Little swung from tree to tree on tree vines above the gorillas’ heads and followed them.
Once within the palace of the Gorilla King, they confronted the giant gorilla.
“Let’s do thiiiiiiis!” 3-year-old Dragon Little shouted at him excitedly, her small sword in one hand, her laser pistol in the other.
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Dragon Little was only a three years old girl when she and Dragon Father were surrounded by killer gorillas in the middle of the jungle.
The gorillas had proven themselves stronger than any human or robot they had met so far. They were smart and could talk, and now they had cornered Dragon Father and Dragon Little in a small clearing.
Gorillas that were not there just a second ago, climbed down from the trees and surrounded them.
Dragon Little took out her small sword in one hand and the small laser pistol in the other.
Dragon Father held a long sword, one in each hand.
The two stood with their backs to each other, so they could see all the gorillas that surrounded them.
“Ready!” Dragon Father whispered to her.
Dragon Little nodded. “Attaaaaaack!” she shouted.
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—Told by The Red Dragon
“Go away!” she yelled at him from inside.
He stepped in. “Don’t yell at me,” he was immediately angry again. “I’m your father. That’s disrespectful.”
“You’re disrespectful!”
“Joy. Stop. Yelling. At me. I’m trying to talk.”
“You’re disrespectful! Disrespectful! DISRESPECTFULLLLLLL!” the last one she yelled as loud as she could.
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Suddenly, he turned around and shouted at Dragon Little: “You do NOT appreciate WHAT you HAVE!”
Dragon Little, lying down on the plank, sat up, already hurt at the tone.
“You have adventures!” Dragon Father yelled. “Every! Single! Day! Every single day you have adventures! Do you understand how much fun that is?”
Dragon Little stood up on the plank. “It’s boring!” She shouted back at him. “You’re boring!”
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Dragon Little woke up in a strange mood one day, nearing her sixth birthday.
Dragon Father appeared on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge and Dragon Little was already awake, lying on the plank, staring at the moon hanging high in the sky.
“Oh, you’re up!” Justin had arrived in a good morning. “Whatcher doing?”
“Noooooooothing,” she said very slowly.
Justin looked at her for a second, considered something, then said. “Okay. Shall we eat breakfast and get started?”
“Noooooooooo,” she said slowly again.
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Dragon Little’s fourth birthday was over, and when it ended, thoughts entered my mind.
These were thoughts I did not care about, but they came.
I thought of my own birthdays… of my fourth birthday, so many centuries ago. I thought of how I had been a slave, how, at this stage, while I was still… pliable… the evil ones had me do their bidding by hurting me and hurting me and hurting me.
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Captain Badass’ ship headed towards the unprotected Bonny’s Revenge.
Captain Badass clearly knew that Dragon Little was asleep and that Dragon Father, his hated foe, had disappeared and would not return for hours.
Just as his ship approached Bonny’s Revenge I descended in front of it, blocking its path.
Captain Badass stopped his ship.
“God damn dragon,” he yelled at me, taking a few steps forward, his wooden peg leg moving awkwardly. “Your master isn’t here! Go away!”
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I will tell you what happened one day, when Dragon Little slept.
It had been a full day’s adventure for Dragon Little and Dragon Father. The villains were defeated and put in the infinite prison in the belly of Bonny’s Revenge. Dragon Father disappeared after tucking Dragon Little in, and Dragon Little slept soundly.
I watched, as always, from my hiding place high above, listening with my sharp dragons ears, watching Dragon Father’s dream, and licking my emotional wounds from centuries of torture and slavery.
Then something moved.
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“Let’s see, let’s see, let’s see…” Dragon Father drawled slowly.
They were still sitting on the plank as Bonny’s Revenge rested calmly on the waveless ocean. Bother of them were looking out. Dragon Little was sitting between Dragon Father’s legs, on the edge of the plank.
Both seemed happy to sit there and let Dragon Father find nicknames for Dragon Little. He had just realized he had never given her one, and for a reason that seemed to come from his waking world, he thought it was important to give her one.
“Let’s see… I can’t find a shorter version of ‘Joy’, so… What do people call Joys?”
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For the third time since I had arrived to Dragon Little’s dream, it was Dragon Little’s birthday.
She was five years old now. She was growing. Inside of me an unease grew.
One day, I knew, she would find the way out of her father’s dreams. And who knows what waits for her right outside his dream? Those who are searching for her, those who would destroy her life, might just be outside, searching, always searching.
Dragon Father, however, did not at all seem to be worried. He was happy this day, happy to not go on adventure, happy to sit on the plank and watch the ocean waves, happy and smiling.
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