I froze in my sit and cast my eyes about. The voice was so close that I should have been able to workout which direction it come from. But I couldn’t. My brained was just freaked out and in a jumble. The voice knew my name. How? Where are you voice? Was Jena still around after all? These questions were cycling in my brain while I was trying to work out if there was a way to hide or defend myself. I was still mad but that was taking a back sit to the fear of the unknown. I knew there was no way I could match any one in a fight without even considering the fact that there was magic involved. That freaked me even more. I was here for two seconds and I was already thinking of fighting! What’s happening to me!

  “Ouch! Stop it! You might not be able to kill me but this is still very uncomfortable.” The voice spoke again way too close.

  Where was it? It sounded like it was right in my face. Color drained from my face. What if its a spirit or a ghost. Could it be Jena’s ghost? Before today I would have vehemently defeated by my non-belief in ghost. Before this I used to think Earth was the only world but what do I know. Ghost or spirit it didn’t matter because I couldn’t see them. There was no use in hiding because I would not see the attack coming. Why was my mind running to thinking of the worst case scenario. What if it’s a friendly. I snorted.

  “Oy! Anesu you are squeezing me!”

  At those words I looked at my balled right hand fist. There was a squirming lizard in my hand. It had been a smooth soapstone lizard without any details when I picked it up. Now it looked like a savanna monitor and my fingers were wrapped around its middle. It had grown longer and it wriggled. It was like holding a snake in my hand. I hate snakes. Eww! Disgusting. I quickly let go and it plopped on the desk. I didn’t expect the speed at which it righted it’s self because It was thick, solid and muscular.

  I rubbed my hand on my stomach to try and clear away the feel of its rough and pebbled skin. If it wasn’t a snake looking lizard I might have thought it beautiful with it small, bead-like dusty brown scales patterned with rows of cream spots. It was the forked, bluish tongue that made it so much eww for me.

  “That was not nice! And that is not nice?” It flicked it whip-like tail end towards me. I was being rude. I was staring. I was no longer scared but fascinated by the fact that I was sharing space with a snake looking lizard. There was a talking lizard in this liar! My mind was obsessed with the wrong thing!

  “Uh…uh…uh,” I stuttered lost for words. My mind got jumbled with excitement and I finally said, “You are talking!”

  “Really?! You noticed that?”

  “Y-y-yes! I mean, a moment ago you were a stone! You are sentient!” I could feel myself getting excited.

  “And I am stuck with a dim wit!” The lizard-snake whispered to itself.

  I knew what was happening but I couldn’t stop myself. John used to just reach out and give me a little tap and just quietly say, “We know.” It was our code to let me know my emotions were getting out of hand. If something exciting or interesting happens I get really excited and I want everyone to be as excited as me. I would get animated, stating the obvious and sometimes railroading conversations.

  The lizard-snake’s ‘dim wit’ comment did what John’s touch used to do - stop the emotional high but instead of calming me down, it brought the whole kaleidoscope of emotions to the surface and overwhelmed me. Tears formed in my eyes and that made me really mad! I had been on an emotional roller coaster since getting into this world and a melt down was not something I can afford right now.

  “Seriously! You are crying again! Are you not done with that?” The big, deep sarcastic voice didn’t fit the tiny dusty-brown lizard-snake.

  “No! I am upset!” I said through the tears.

  “Here we are again, stating the obvious.” It murmured.

  “I heard that!”

  “So?”

  “That’s mean.”

  “So?”

  “You can’t say that?”

  “Said who?” That stumped me and I smiled through the tears. Here I was speaking to a talking lizard and instead of finding answers I am urging manners with a animal.

  “You know what? You are right.” He harrumphed, clearly put out by my “dim wit”. I drew a deep breath to calm myself. “Clearly we started on the wrong foot. Let forget the past few moments.” I wiped my tears with my sleeves. “Hello, I’m Anesu!”

  “Anesu,” He enunciated each word as if speaking to a baby. His voice was deep but sonorous. “I know your name. And the last few moments happened. You squeezed the life out of me. Showed me you are a dim wit and then cried about it. It happened and no amount of wishful thinking will make either of us forget it happened.”

  “I know that.” I sighed. “I meant lets move on and not dwell on it. It was a figure of speech”

  “Why didn’t you say that?” The lizard-snake peered at me with it broad, snort-shaped head tilted to allow its dark eyes to see me clearly. I waited for him to say something. Then I realised he seriously wanted me to answer. I was taken aback.

  “That was a serious question?”

  “Yes, otherwise why would I ask.”

  “It’s called a rhetorical question.”

  “No, it’s not. A rhetorical question implies that the answer is either obvious or implied. Which doesn’t apply here. I don’t know you or how you think. You don’t know me or how I think. So tell me, why didn’t you say what you meant?”

  That gave me pause. Why didn’t I just say what I meant? I had somehow imposed earth communication manners and culture on a talking creature in the magical world. And then I got offended when he didn’t follow them.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I imposed my cultural norms on you. Please for give me.”

  “Apology accepted. Now, what took you so long?” My brain couldn’t switch so fast between topics. The lizard didn’t belabor the apology. He just took it at face value. Apparently here we say what we mean. I grinned! This snake-lizard wasn’t too bad after all.

  “Uh, I don’t follow. What are you talking about? I don’t understand?”

  “What’s there to understand? You got here a long time ago. Why didn’t you pick me up sooner?”

  “I was meant to pick you up?”

  “Pick, touch, it doesn’t matter. Skin to skin contact is the first requirement. Do you know how long I have been in the soapstone?”

  “You were in the soap stone?”

  “Didn’t I just say that?”

  “I know, I know!” I placated him. “Are you…” I hesitated, “ Are you Jena?”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Obviously, who else would I be?”

  “Are you a dragon? You look like a monitor!”

  “Take that back! I don’t look like a monitor! I am not a monitor!” The way he raised his forelegs waving them was so comical. I laughed out loud and startled myself. This was my first laugh since I got here. It was a fully belly laughter that rung though out the liar. Jena looked ready to jump at me.

  “According to someone wise,”I said, looking at him with a smile, “ you can’t unwind time. It had been said and its out there I can’t take it back! I promise not to repeat it though.” I laughed harder.

  “It’s not even funny!” He was right. It wasn’t even funny.

  “Okay, okay!” I waved my hands in front of me trying to dispel the laugher. It was hard.

  Jena stood on his two back legs, folded his front legs and then his wrap-like tail tip began to make a tap, tap, tap sound on the desk.

  “Any time you are ready, tell me so we deal with important issues like the fact that we are both stuck in here!” By the time he finished, talking he was shouting. What he said sobered me.

  “You are stuck here too?”

  “You think I like it here?” I didn’t know if I should answer or it was a rhetorical question. A few heartbeats later I answered.

  “No?Yes? I don’t know! Who are you? Did you write that journal?” I indicated the journal with my hand.

  “I am Jena the dragon and no, I didn’t write that journal. That was Jena, the Mage, who wrote that.”

  “You are both called Jena?”

  “Didn’t I just say that?”

  “Yes, but I needed a moment to digest the information.”

  “Why do you have to ask me questions if you are digesting information?” My goodness, this say what you mean business, was going to get old very fast. I thought I was literal but I have nothing on Jena.

  “I don’t know,” I said. Then quickly asked a question before we go down another rabbit hole of pointless argument. “Why do you share a name?”

  “Jena thought it would be funny.” I was beginning to doubt the Mage’s sanity at this point. Why would that be funny except confusing. Uh, maybe the confusion would be funny. I smiled. Maybe I would have enjoyed meeting this Jena Mage after all. But then I don’t know if I would have liked a person who needed to be reminded from childhood not to kill.

  “So why are you stuck here?” I asked.

  “Don’t you know anything? Why are you here then?” A lizard frowning is very weird. Somehow Jena managed to convey his confusion.

  “I know exactly zero. I don’t know where I am. I was on my way to the bathroom when I found myself in a forest. Then there was the mist. Then I fell into this lair. After a lot of pain, the Ding made me claim this lair.” I glossed over everything because I wanted Jena to tell me his part as soon as possible. I felt like, finally, here was someone who can tell me all I needed to know. But I should have known, Jena was a crazy snake-lizard! Nothing was straight forward. “That’s how I got stuck her. Why are you stuck here?”

  “What’s a Ding?” What’s a Ding?! Seriously. That’s what he gets out of my elevator pitch?

  “It’s the voice in my head commenting on everything I am doing. Is that normal?” I said and couldn’t help myself asking.

  “Short answered yes. Now answer me this, what did the Ding call the mist?”

  “The smoke that thunders.” I told him.

  Jena was silent for a few heartbeats the said, “That’s bad!”

  Jena looked at me wide-eyed and then face palmed. The action was so human-like I smiled. Instead of saying anything, Jena walked up and down the length of the desk. Every time I would open my mouth to speak he would raise one clawed finger to forestall me. Finally, he walk towards me and sat on his tail. His voice was calm but I could tell He was not happy.

  “We are in trouble. You, because you are clueless and me, for being stuck with a clueless mage. Do you even have your powers? I can’t read your status?”

  “I don’t think so. I couldn't read the spell to activate the library. Also, I don’t know what a status is.”

  “The information that your ‘ding’ has been telling you.”

  “That’s my status? What is it for?”

  “Yes, it’s you status and I will explain what everything means later but right now we need to figure out the important part. We need to activate your magic.” He said impatiently, walking up and down the desk. He clearly was agitated.

  “Why are you worked up about this?”

  “Because without your magic we are both powerless and you were summoned too late. We need to work fast. The Mist means the beginning of the end has started.” I wasn’t listening to the rest of it. I was stuck at “summoned too late”.

  “You summoned me?” I asked in a dangerous voice.

  “Yes and No.”

  “Speak plainly!” I snapped. Jena was choosing to be oblique intentionally. He could sense that I was really upset.

  “You were summoned because of me but I am not the one who summoned you.”

  “You put in a request?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “If I remind you again to speak plainly, Jena, you are not going to like what I will do!”

  “I am tempted to find out but we have a more pressing problem. You see I am a dragon bonded to a Mage but that Mage broke the dragon kin law. As a result he died and since I am immortal I choose to be stuck in limbo waiting for another worthy Mage to bond with.”

  “So you chose me? Why!? Why!? Why?! No-one asked me! This is slavery! Human trafficking! I was happy and you just pluck me from my home and say be my mage! I want to go home!” I knew I was bubbling. But this was my main problem with this all thing. No one asked me.

  “Cry me a river!” That did it!

  “What did you say?” I stood up and loomed over the lizard. I was the crazy eyed one this time.

  “You are not harmed. You are given an opportunity to experience magic. Your old world didn’t have magic. Isn’t this wonderful?”

  “Wonderful? I will tell you what is wonderful. Wonderful is having my family. Wonderful is being in my world, in my home. I didn’t choose to be here.”

  “Neither did you choose to be on earth. It was assigned to you. The same being that assigned you earth has assigned you here. You didn’t chose earth, what makes you think you have a right to chose your next world. Be grateful that in this life you were allowed to bring your old memories. That can help you”

  “Memories that would haunt me! I had a wonderful my family! A full life! I didn’t choose this! I don’t want to be here. I want to go back home.” I was full on whining. I knew what he said made sense but my heart rebelled against it.

  “Look, I understand. I really do. It would have been better if you were reincarnated without your memories. But because the is no time, the powers that be, summoned you here with all your memories intact. I think they gave you enough time to enjoy your other life before they brought you here where you are needed.” I was annoyed because what he was saying was making but my heart refused to accept the logic.

  “Can I go back?” I asked quietly.

  “No.”

  A single word sealed my fate. I think deep down I had know this. I sat down and wiped my face with the hem of my robe. I suddenly felt tired. There were no tears. For the second time today I have come to accept my situation. I had thought to learn magic and survive and then find my way home. Apparently, I can’t. Now I have to learn magic, survive and build a life. I can do this. I will have to work with the lizard. But I was not serving any world. I didn’t choose to be here but I will choose how I will live. I blocked the memories of my children and grand kids. I will never see them again and that was too painful to deal with right now.

  “Okay, tell me everything starting with what I need to do to get magic.”

  “First step is for us to bond.”

  “Hold on! Why would you want to bind yourself to me. I am really again slavery. Sentient being are free agents.”

  “This is not slavery,” He chuckled. “I am too powerful to be enslaved by humans. Think of it as a familiar bond”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “We will be linked magical beings. Because I have more magic that you I can help you.”

  “Slave”

  “You will be my human tether.” He continued like I didn’t interrupt him.

  “What does that mean?” He glared at me tell me to be patient with his eyes.

  “I have an immortal and at the height of my power, I am entirely too powerful. Bonding with you grants you access to my power but it gives me emotional intelligence of humans. Dragons without emotional intelligence wither and their souls get lost to the ether. I don’t want to wither, I want to help Jena’s city. When Jena died I lost my human and put myself in stasis to be activated when an eligible human touched me.”

  I thought about it for a while. The thing is, I knew I was going to do it despite my aversion to slavery. The rules of this world were different to mine. I needed the magic and I will be helping him. Mutual slavery. I decided to do it.

  “Okay, let do it! But on one condition,” I said. Jena just glared at me. “Helping Jena’s city is your business. I want a quiet life.” Jena didn’t say anything. “I serious, Jena.”

  “What do you think this is? This is not mind control. This is bonding for mutual benefit. It not slavery. You can do want you want. Just don’t break the dragon kin law.”

  “Okay.” Then I thought of his last request, “ are you allowed to kill sentient beings?” I asked him.

  “Anesu, can we discuss details after we are bonded?” That didn’t sound like a sound decision but I ignored the thought.

  “Let’s do it.” I said and leaned back on my chair.

  Ding!

  The Dragon Jena wants to Bond with you.

  Do you accept?

  Yes/No

  Somehow I had thought there was a ritual to follow not this. I thought “yes”.

  Ding!

  Congratulations

  You are now Dragon bonded.

  You gain power. The dragon gains a conscience. Good luck to you both.

  I didn’t feel any different. I leaned forward and flipped the journal to the spell page. Nothing. It was still beautiful mandalas which I still couldn’t read. Where is the magic? I looked up to ask Jena. He was levitating, enveloped in a shinning red, yellow and brown glow. He was obviously in the middle of a transformation. He had tricked me! He was getting his powers back. What about me? I was supposed to get the power! This will teach me not to be too trusting. Now I am slave to a dragon.