Birthdate!

The young dragon seethed with anger.

At first, my anger brewed, slowly giving way to a fluttering fear. If the corn and vegetable fields were truly teeming with voles, would the sinister dragon Lance really capture them to cook and roast for me?

Would he expect me to savor them, crunching each one?

No, never would I partake in such a feast, not even if the field mice were crisped to perfection.

Determined, I decided to scour the corn and vegetable patches under the cloak of night, to verify the existence of these voles myself.

Should I indeed discover any, I'd rather have them roasted for Marly to enjoy. Given his voracious appetite for meat, he surely wouldn't balk at the prospect of nibbling on some crispy, skewered field mouse.

"Do you recall the day you were born?" Lance asked tentatively.

"You could say I do. It feels like it was October 16th."

It seemed fitting then, to assign Princess Lucia's birth date to the baby dragon Lucia. After all, they were one and the same in spirit.

"Why do you wish to know this?" Lucia queried, my curiosity piqued.

"It's a secret," came the cryptic reply.

A secret, indeed. Typically, when a nefarious dragon inquires about a princess's birth date, his intentions are dubious, perhaps choosing an auspicious day for a forced union. Conversely, a noble and gallant knight might seek this information to plan a delightful birthday surprise, a token of his affection.

Lucia thoughts drifted to such a knight, noble and fair, an image that simultaneously warmed and wrenched my heart.

In the grandeur of the Faloran Empire, a princess reaching the age of sixteen may select three valorous knights as her guardians. I was merely months away from this privilege. Yet, fate had twisted such that I, masquerading as a real baby dragon, was abducted by the malevolent dragon Lance.

Thankfully, I was never truly alone before coming here; Eva always stood by my side, my unwavering protector.

In my heart, Eva was more than a guardian knight. She was my hero. I had planned to formally bestow upon her the title at my sixteenth birthday celebration, allowing her to bask in the blessings of the God of Light and walk proudly in her new role.

The sudden arrival of the nefarious Evil dragon Lance had thrown all of Lucia's carefully laid plans into disarray. She had naively assumed that this dark figure, known for accepting perilous bounty missions from the netherworld, would venture into the human realm. Yet, to her dismay, Lance chose instead to manage his sinister contracts through a mere projection call, effectively outsourcing the dangerous tasks.

With her hopes of returning to the human world dashed, Lucia resigned herself to her fate on the secluded island. "If escape is unattainable," she mused, "I might as well immerse myself in knowledge."

As she picked up her pen to practice her dragon essays, a curious thought struck her. Lance, born from an egg without the warmth of parental guidance, did he even know his own birthdate?

"Lance, do you know when you were born?" she inquired, her voice echoing slightly in the vast cavern.

"Yes," he replied, his tone devoid of emotion. "April 25th, marking the commencement of the Black Dragon Calendar."

Determined not to forget this significant detail, Lucia carefully noted it down in her diary. She penned it on the very first page, ensuring it would always be the first piece of information she saw upon opening the worn pages.

April 25th had already passed, and today was June 20th. She decided then that come next April 25th, she would bake Lance a birthday cake, a small token of gratitude for the food, shelter, and education in dragon culture he had provided. Eva's cake-making lessons in the imperial capital would finally be put to good use.

But the thought of remaining with Lance for another year stirred a mix of emotions. By the time she could return to the imperial capital, would her loyal supporters among the nobles, ministers, and knights still be there to back her claim to the throne?

She couldn't afford to wait that long. "I must find a way to escape sooner," she resolved silently. "And if I do ascend to the throne, perhaps I will still honor him with a grand cake crafted by my own royal hands."

Curious about Lance's immediate plans, she asked, "Lance, when are you planning to delegate that bounty mission from hell?"

"At night," he answered, his eyes scanning over various documents. "The adventurer guild is teeming with potential subcontractors then."

Lucia simply nodded, the weight of her situation settling heavily on her shoulders. "Oh," was all she managed, her mind racing with plans of escape and dreams of sovereignty.

It seems that the evil dragon, Lance, has decidedly opted not to grace the human realm with her presence. Instead, the humans have issued a bounty mission to entice brave souls.

"Prepare some parchment and ink, it's quiz time," Lance announced with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Quiz? For what exactly?" the young dragon, Lucia, replied, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"We're diving into dragon script composition. Remember how last night you mastered writing the letters for 'dragon'? Just a moment ago, I walked you through several phrases tied to that very character. Now, I want you to craft words using the term 'dragon' from our ancient language," Lance instructed.

Lucia nodded, eager to show off her newfound knowledge. "I can do this! Evil dragon, black dragon, young dragon, amethyst dragon, golden dragon."

Lance chuckled softly, "Well, those are barely passable since you've put 'dragon' at the end of each. But tell me, can you also vocalize these in our native tongue?"

Lucia rattled off with enthusiasm, "Dragon cub, dragon baby, dragon blood, dragon tendon, dragon meat, dragon horn, dragon scale, dragon bone, dragon..."

As Lucia's list grew, Lance, unable to bear the butchered pronunciations any longer, interjected. "Focus on placing 'dragon' at the beginning of the words," she said, then playfully acted out the dissection of a mythical dragon to illustrate her point.

Lucia's excitement surged as she spoke, her accent thick and unusual. "It will take some time, but imagine when I can recite an entire passage in dragon language flawlessly, my pronunciation is bound to improve!"

"Hey, Lance, I'm doing quite well, aren't I?"

"Absolutely, splendidly, remarkably well!" Lance encouraged heartily. After all, nothing fuels a young dragon's desire to master dragon literature quite like abundant praise. "The smarter you praise them, the smarter they become."

Lucia was indeed picking up Dragon Wen at an impressive pace, mastering word formation in just two days. "This evening, I'll introduce more complex elements of Dragon Wen to you. Then, you can try constructing sentences with it."

"For now, rewrite the dragon essay I've taught you a few more times. Really feel each word in your heart. See if you can connect deeper with the essence of the dragon script," Lance suggested gently.

Lucia responded with an enthusiastic series of nods, "Oh, oh, oh."

Lance, content with her pupil's progress, sprawled lazily on a sun-warmed boulder and closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. Meanwhile, Lucia settled beside her, diligently practicing the dragon script, carefully annotating each character with its phonetic pronunciation.

Recently having mastered dragon script, Lucia had taken to writing in pinyin to ease her transition from the world of mere mortals to that of dragons, even though she sometimes felt like an impostor among true dragons.

"Lance, don't drift off just yet. I've got something else on my mind," Lucia implored, hoping to catch her mentor before she succumbed to slumber.

"What is it, Lucia?" Lance murmured, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

"Could I borrow a brush? I need to clean the turtle's shell later today," Lucia requested, planning her afternoon chores.

"You'll find one in the studio," Lance replied, barely opening her eyes. "There should be a brush there."

"Okay, thank you. You can go back to sleep now," Lucia said softly, not wanting to disturb her further.

As Lance drifted back to sleep, Lucia reflected on the serenity of their haven. If Lance could sleep so peacefully, surely no troubles lingered nearby. A worried dragon, she mused, would never find such comfort.

"What's for lunch?" she wondered aloud. The dragon was asleep, leaving Lucia to fend for herself.

"Let's go with grilled fish," she decided. Lucia planned to send Marly to the sea to catch fish for their meal, believing that grilling fish would be simpler than preparing meat. If the fish got a little charred, they would just make do.

With lunch sorted, Lucia returned to her morning's lesson, practicing the newly learned dragon text with a calm focus. She'd have boiled corn for lunch after all, as Marly returned empty-handed from his fishing attempt. Lucia had tried fishing herself and nearly drowned in the process. Turtle, who hadn't ventured into the sea, offered a peculiar suggestion: "Why not throw Marly high into the air, and let him plummet into the sea? The impact might just send the fish flying onto the beach."

Marly, skeptical, joked that Turtle was probably plotting to crush him. Amidst their banter, Lucia jokingly asked the Turtle if he could leap into the sea and scare the fish to shore himself. "Only if I take one of Lance's magical potions," Turtle replied with a grin. "Otherwise, I'm as good at fishing as Marly is at breathing fire without singeing his whiskers."

Resigned to their unsuccessful fishing, they settled for boiled corn and fruits from the orchard, planning to go for a heartier meal for the evening.

"How about tonight we suggest that Lance raises some livestock?" Lucia mused aloud during their meal. "Marly, you could shepherd the sheep. Turtle, you handle the cows, and I'll take care of the pigs. What do you think?"

Their bewildered expressions spoke volumes, yet the idea lingered, adding a touch of humor to their otherwise quiet meal.