THE FOURTH REALM: GREEN — Without a complaint

That morning, she found several dragons gathered in an assembly. They spoke with such conviction that Skyblue thought they must be settling some matter of enormous importance. She went closer to listen.

“You there, the newcomer!” called a dragon who seemed to be leading the meeting. “If you want to take part, you have to sign up.”

She pointed out an official. He wore the sort of grave expression that, in Skyblue’s village, was used to prove one had reached adulthood and become indispensable besides.

“Name and complaint,” he said.

“Skyblue,” she answered quietly. “I don’t have a complaint.”

“What did you say?”

The dragon repeated her name.

The official made her repeat it once more, and when he was certain he had heard correctly, he shouted:

“She says her name is Skyblue, and she doesn’t have a complaint!”

At last, the assembly had found something that interested everyone.

The dragons gathered around her. Some laughed at her name; others wanted to know who had given it to her. They bent over her scales, exchanged glances, and spoke louder and louder. Skyblue could no longer make out the words. In their place, she heard the voices from school.

She was the little dragon in the middle of a circle again, hoping they would tire of it before they made her cry.

A fierce cold spread from her chest. She recognized the feeling from her dream and grew frightened. How could she be back here after everything she had been through?

“Remember what you’ve learned,” she heard Helio say. “This feels like your childhood, but you’re no longer the same.”

Skyblue closed her eyes. The wounds were still so close she could touch them. How many times would she have to climb only to fall again?

“You haven’t gone back to the beginning,” her guide said. “Now you can see what used to carry you away without your knowing it.”

The dragon felt the air coming in and going out. As she did, she found a little space between the shouting and her need to answer. She stayed there, breathing, until she could hear herself.

When she opened her eyes, the dragons had moved away. Without a response to keep the mockery going, they had lost interest. Some were already returning to their complaints.

Skyblue walked away, still hurt, but able to leave without carrying the entire assembly with her.