The smell of cooked sausage and eggs wafted through the air as I waited for my 25-year-old daughter to come downstairs for breakfast. Today was going to be a long day. With the choosing ceremony, it could take several days before all the available dragons tested the new potential warriors.
"You ready for today of all days to begin?" My partner for the last 30 years asked silently in my head. "I have reports from some of the partnered dragons flying with the unpartnered ones saying there will be at least 30 dragons to contend with this year."
"Thirty dragons?" I asked. "That is more than double from last year. What gives with so many being unpartnered this year?"
"Well, as you know, we dragons tend to mature faster than you humans. A dragon is considered mature at ten years old and can start looking for a partner anytime after that. Though most prefer to wait a few more years to see how other pairs fair and get along before starting to make the rounds of the villages. Ten years ago, we had a surge of dragon offspring. Myself included. Also, with the battles along our borders getting more and more aggressive, a few warriors have been lost in battle. A couple of the dragons coming today are on the older side after having lost their previous partner in the last couple of years."
I know for a fact that when a dragon loses a partner either in battle or old age, the dragon tends to go into mourning for a couple of years before coming back to the villages to look for another partner to share part of their long lives with. Bellisama has told me before that I am not her first partner but won't give me an exact number of how many partners she has had before me. I respect her silence for not wanting to open potentially sad wounds. For us humans tend to forget the past while the dragons tend to remember everything.
"Lilasia is a beautiful soul. Is she going to be with today's group?" I asked, thinking about the beautiful lilac-colored dragon. Lilasia was hatched fifteen years ago right inside our own barn when Missy was just ten years old. Lilasia had been away from our house for a couple of years to learn the lay of the land. I was secretly hoping that she might be coming back to hopefully choose Missy as her warrior. They have been ever so close since she hatched. Lilasia tended to follow Missy around the village like a lost puppy when she was young.
"As a matter of fact, she will be here," Bellisama said. "It is my hope as well that she will choose young Missy as well. We have known for a long time that Missy has been able to hear Lilasia's song. But it doesn't mean that Missy will be the only one."
"We can only hope!" I said. Lilasia was always a curious one, following Missy around the farm while asking multiple questions.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see my daughter step outside to empty her chamber pot before coming back in. I look at her and still see my baby girl with mud brown hair like my own, strong chin, and striking blue eyes just like her father.
I glanced out the window to see my husband standing near Bellisama and rubbing her eye ridges just the way she liked while she purred in contentment, judging by the way her tail was swaying back and forth.
Turning back to the stove, I think about our long marriage and beautiful daughter. Though my husband is one of the rare ones that cannot hear a dragon's silent speech, he has had as much of a hand as Missy with helping take care of the village's dragons and their partners. Being a leather worker gives him as much respect as any dragon warrior for him to work so closely with both. We met two months after I was chosen by Bellisama and fell in love. As I have moved around the country from time to time and moved up in the ranks, his love has never wavered. Being a leather worker also means that he can do his work from anywhere and his work would be in high demand no matter where we stayed.
It is not unheard of for a dragon warrior to marry one that is not. Even rarer for the spouse to not be able to hear a dragon's silent speech. But he and Bellisama have an understanding of each other and over time that bond has only grown.
I heard the door slam again and looked up to see my husband walk in as well. The last couple of months he has been working on a secret project that he won't tell me about nor let me come into his workshop. I let him keep his secrets, knowing that he would never hurt anyone.
"Hello dear. Breakfast smells great!" He said after giving me a peck on my cheek.
Turning to Missy, he said, "You ready for today? Remember, no matter what happens, we will always be so proud of you!"
"I am as ready as I will ever be," she replied as she grabbed a plate and started grabbing eggs and sausage.
"Bellisama says that there are thirty dragons coming to look for partners. So be prepared for the ceremony to take several days," I said, keeping the knowledge that Lilasia will be there to myself for the time being. They would be finding out soon enough.