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urviving in a home filled with hate is hard. Breaking free of it is virtually impossible. Getting out unscathed is impossible. In the two-story, Victorian house in which I live, the only love that exists is the love of torture. My housemates, in fact, thrive on it. Yes, I did say housemates. I have no family, no mother, no father, no siblings, no relatives. This arrogant mistake of a clan consisted of what I used to call dad, Kohan, and what were once my younger brothers, Laroh and Samce.
Laroh was a boy of eleven years, Samce was four, and I was a girl of sixteen. Being the elder by five and twelve years, you would think I would have some seniority over the males of innocence, but no. I was a female adolescent but still had no authority over a male of any age. However, I had an advantage over all who resided here: intelligence and wit.
I could undoubtedly fool their ignorant selves by simply twisting my words into such a manner that only scholars could comprehend. I used this trick rarely though, for if Kohan believed what I had spoken to be an insult to his masculinity, punishment would be swift and harsh.
These creatures loved me not for my brain or heart but for my presence in their domain and ability to work. Cooking, cleaning, washing, if it required any physical labour, I was usually the one doing it. All the while pondering on whether I was a daughter or servant.
“Namaya!” Kohan called, interrupting my thoughts. It must almost be time for dinner.
“Sir,” I said, standing with my hands at my sides and an emotionless expression planted firmly on my face.
“Where is our dinner?” he accused, knowing fully that I hadn’t gotten started yet but still wanting me to say it anyway.
“Well, I do believe that it’s in the refrigerator,” I stated, twisting my words as not to give him the satisfaction of this delay.
“And what is it doing in the refrigerator?” he inquired, his eyes all but tiny slits on his long, scowled face.
“I don’t think it’s doing anything, sir.” I tried hard not to smile at the look of desperation he was giving me because I wouldn’t say that I hadn’t started cooking. With nothing else to say and Kohan speechless and defeated, I simply strode past him and into the kitchen. That was a little too easy, I thought, wondering why he had given up so easily.
“Namaya!” Laroh shouted. Great, yet another male questioning me about dinner.
“Laroh. Samce.” The eleven-year-old walked proudly into the kitchen and up to me, Samce trailing behind him, holding his favourite sea green blanket, which was covered in patches where I had sewn it up. “Father tells me that you’ve not finished supper.”
“The chicken is just about finished, the vegetables are done and on the table along with the rolls and salad. So yes, dinner isn’t finished but I can assure that you will be fed on time.” I had to look down for I was at least a foot taller than him.
Laroh huffed, annoyed at his defeat, turned on his heel, and stalked off. “Come on, Samce. Let’s leave Namaya to her chores,” he said, grabbing the four-year-old by the arm and yanking him in the direction of the door, “and drop that stupid rag for Pete’s sake! You’re four now, so don’t need a silly little blanket.”
Laroh snatched the cloth from Samce’s hands and threw it to the floor, proceeding to trample it. Samce’s face scrunched up and tears filled his eyes at the sight of his beloved blanket on the floor and covered in shoeprints. Sobs wracked his frail body as he tried to hold them in.
“You, you, you hurt Tree!” he cried. (Tree was what he called the thing, just because it was green.)
“Oh, get over it,” Laroh scoffed and stomped out of the room. My eyes burned with disgust.
“It’s alright, Samce,” I said, my maternal instincts kicking in. I swiped the battered rag off the floor, searching for any tares. When I found none, I returned it to my brother. (Samce was the only one I would call ‘brother’ or ‘family’ for he was the only one to treat me with some respect.)
“Thanks, Namaya,” he sniffed, wiping the tears from his face. I rolled my eyes and smiled at his obsession with that grungy cover as he shuffled out, blanket held tightly to his chest.
He was so cute with his shaggy, black hair, giant hazel eyes, and dark tan skin. Now that I think about it, he did look a lot like me. The only difference was that I had deep green eyes. We got our looks from our mother. Laroh looked much like Kohan with crimson hair, slightly tanned skin, and navy blue eyes. Mama, I thought, conjuring up some bitter, old memories I dared not speak of.
Just then Kohan stalked in with an pleased expression on his face. This can’t be good, I thought uneasily.
“Where is my dinner girl?” he barked, shoving me into the counter.
“The chicken is still cooking, sir,” I responded sternly, trying not to show any sign of weakness.
“It should be on a plate in front of me!”
I stole a quick glance at the clock above the window. 5:52. Only eight minutes before supper was scheduled to begin. He’s stalling, I realized, he wants me to be late getting dinner on the table, just so he can torture me for not having it done on time. But I was not going to let him get the better of me.
I looked past him at the timer on the stove. Only ten seconds left before it went off. All I needed to do was stall long enough for him to hear it and then I’d be home free.
“Sir, dinner is just about done,” I said quickly, my eyes darting between him and the timer, “If you would be so kind as to let me go I could-“
3…2…1. At the sound of the buzzer going off, he turned, and I took this distraction to my advantage. I swept past him, heading for the oven. Unfortunately, I was a split second too slow.
“Not so fast,” Kohan grumbled, grabbing me by the base of my ponytail, and bringing me back towards him.
“Sir, if you want to eat on time, then I suggest you let me go,” I winced, holding my head in place so it wouldn’t pull.
“If dinner is ever this late again, I will make you’ll wish you were never born,” he hissed, releasing my hair and walking into the dining room.
I waited for the sound of his chair scraping across the wood floor before muttering, “Too late for that.” I sighed, then remembered that the chicken was still in the oven and rushed towards it, pulling it out just before it started to burn.
With the men eating and not having any more chores for that day, I decided to try and sneak out of the house. I’d never done this before, for fear of being caught or being late to clear the table, but today I was feeling bold and rebellious. Although I was tired and my head was fuzzy from all the extra work I’d been doing lately, I could easily slip out the side door unnoticed.
Once out, I sprinted across the freshly cut lawn in an attempt to free myself from the glare of the house. Even though this was my first time being outside the house since I was ten, I knew exactly where I could go.
The family had a ranch. And not just some silly old horse and cow ranch, a dragon ranch! I had been here several times when I was still part of the family, but that was over six years ago so my memories of the place were blurred.
Quietly, I made my way to the barn. Once there, I tried to seem as casual as possible. Inside there was only the sound of hatchlings chirping. They were cute little things with their tiny wings perpetually flapping and uncoordinated struts. One in particular caught my eye.
Her scales were lavender in colour and her eyes were sparkling sapphires. She spotted me and her chirping became louder. I smiled and walked over to her. Curious, I reached down and offered her my hand. She sniffed it warily. Apparently deciding that I wasn’t a threat, she rubbed her head on my arm and hummed softly. Her scales felt cool and smooth to my skin. It was like running my hand across marble.
“She really seems to have taken to you,” came a voice from behind me. I spun around to find a boy of about sixteen or seventeen staring at me.
He was tall, probably around about six foot, and his finely toned muscles ripped under his sun tanned skin. He wore a black t-shirt, cut off at the shoulders, and dirt stained blue jeans. His shaggy, jet black hair tumbled from the roots down a little ways past his ears and his sky blue eyes twinkled in the dim light.
Basically, he was gorgeous and when he smiled, it gave me the feeling of a hummingbird on six cups of coffee. This feeling, it was foreign to both my heart and mind. I realized that I was staring and quickly lowered my gaze, not wanting him to know that I was interested.
“Um, yeah, I g-guess she has,” I stammered, smiling because I couldn’t help it.
The guy just laughed and said, “M’ name’s River. And you are?”
I was hesitant to give him my name for fear that he’d recognize it and tell Kohan. It took just one more look into those eyes for me to decide otherwise.
“Namaya,” I said sweetly.
“Kohan’s daughter?” he asked, looking a bit astonished.
“You could say that,” I responded, resentment coating my voice.
“But that can’t be possible!” River exclaimed, “Kohan… he said you were dead!”
I gasped. Dead? I knew that Kohan hated me but… Dead? Wow!
“Are you sure he said I was-“ The pounding of footsteps heading for the barn interrupted me.
“River!” a bald man shouted from the entrance.
“Rodbi, what is it?” River inquired, running over to the guy. Curious, I followed.
“Three of the eggs are hatching!”
“Alright, I’ll meet you there,” the bald man disappeared from the doorway and hurried off around the corner, “Would you like to witness the hatching of a dragon?” asked River.
“Sure,” I half shouted, not even bothering to hide my excitement.
“Okay then, follow me.” With that we took off across the ranch. I could hear the lavender dragon screeching for me to come back to her but still kept to River.
We approached a small red hut. Quiet cheeping sounded from inside. Pushing the oak door open, River and I entered silently. Rows of white basins crowded the room. Fifteen or so people gathered around three of them, only one of which was female. She stood leaning over the basin in the farthest right corner. A raven braid fell over her shoulder and down to her waist. Ice blue eyes shimmered under the glaring lights.
“Her name is Liluye,” River whispered, catching me looking at her with a puzzled expression, “She’s the only girl that works here.” With that we walked over to where she was standing.
“Hey River,” Liluye said in a hushed tone, “You’re just in time. It’s almost out.”
A tiny dragon with dark gray scales was desperately trying to push its way out of a silver, black-speckled egg. It was about the size of a housecat but ten times cuter. Its breathing was laboured as it struggled to break free of its container.
“How long has he been at it?” River questioned, his eyes never leaving the baby.
“About ten minutes,” Liluye responded blankly.
With a sudden burst of adrenaline powered energy, the egg became a dragon hatchling. The small crowd cheered. I smiled and gazed lovingly at the gray miracle that lay in the straw that covered the bottom of the tub, exhausted from the massive amount of work it had done. One of the men gently lifted it, examining it for a second then cried, “It’s a boy!” making the crowd cheer again.
“Good job, little one,” I smiled.
A roar erupted from the other side of the room as another dragon came out of its shell. Seconds later ‘It’s a boy!’ rang out again as the sex was identified. Everyone grew silent, waiting for the third to hatch. The last was a girl. After the congratulations were exchanged and people started to file out, River, Liluye, and I stumbled out of the room.
“Damn! Three hatchlings in one day!” Liluye exclaimed in a thick country accent as we walked toward the first barn.
“I know! It’s a new record!” River yelled in response. I walked beside him in silence, letting the day’s events sink in. It wasn’t until we had reached the open doors to the barn, that Liluye noticed me.
“Oh, you’re a girl!” her eyebrows disappeared amongst her unevenly cut black bangs.
“Um, yeah. At least I’m pretty sure I am.”
“Sorry. It’s just that we don’t get very many women out here. The name’s Liluye, in case River hasn’t already told you.”
“He has. I’m Namaya.”
“Shoot! I thought you looked familiar!” Liluye shouted, “You’re Kohan’s daughter, right?”
“Sort of,” I answered.
“River, didn’t he say she died in that fire with Mareily?”
“Sure did,” River responded.
Mareily, that’s Mama’s name, I thought, surprised that they would mention her.
“Wait, my mother isn’t dead!” I interrupted, “How long ago was this fire?”
“I don’t know. About six years ago.” River shrugged.
“Then she isn’t dead,” I replied, “My mother came back four years ago with Samce.”
“Hold on! Are you trying to tell me that Mareily is Samce’s mother?” Liluye questioned with a doubtful yet surprised look.
“Duh! Who’d you think was his mother?”
“Kohan said-“ River started.
“Oh, this ought to be good,” I butted in.
“He said Mrs. Jaylees in Corvankoh was his mother,” he finished.
“Her? She’s never had a child in her life!” I exclaimed, remembering the thirty-seven-year-old blonde who we often visited when I was younger.
“Well we know that now,” Liluye stated. It was then that we realized that one of the hatchlings was screaming its head off inside the barn.
“What the hell is going on in there?” River hollered, the three of us flashing inside. It was the lavender dragon again. She must have heard us outside.
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s alright,” I cooed, lifting her out of her stall. She hummed softly, burying her small head in my baggy shirt.
“Wow! She’s hasn’t taken to anyone yet,” Liluye laughed.
“I know. Well, some dragons do only take to one person,” River reminded her.
“It’s alright now. Everything’s gonna be fine,” I smiled, rubbing her scaled head.
“Why don’t you give her a name?” River asked softly.
“Kayles,” I said, after thinking for a second. Kayles meant ‘Sky’ in the ancient language of Raklui. The dragon looked up in response.
“That was quick,” Liluye retorted, “She’s already learned her name.”
After spending some quality time with Kayles and chatting with River and Liluye for a bit, I realized how long I’d been out there.
“Oh God!” I jumped up, kissed Kayles goodbye, and hightailed it out of the barn.
“What’s wrong?” Liluye yelped.
“Kohan’s gonna kill me!” I said, more to myself than to anyone else.
“Excuse me?” River and Liluye said in unison.
“Kohan doesn’t exactly consider me his daughter anymore,” I explained.
“What do you mean?” Liluye questioned.
“I’m more of a servant, really.”
“What?” River stopped in his tracks, grabbing my arm to bring me to a halt as well.
“I’ll explain later. Right now I really have to go. So if you would be so kind as to let go of my arm,” I pleaded.
“Alright but be back here tomorrow. Same time, same place so we can start your lessons.” What River had said caught me by surprise. I looked at him puzzled. He just nodded.
“Oh, thank you!” I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around him, gratefully,” I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”
“See ya!” they shouted together. With that I went flying off towards the house.