Rosette checked her watch and realized just how late it was. She wondered who could be knocking at her door at this time of night and turned the TV off to answer it. She peered through the peephole and gasped when she saw her father standing outside the door.
After unlocking the deadbolt she opened the door and put on the most fabricated smile she ever had.
“What a surprise!” she gasped, “What are you doing here?” she tried to smile, but his serious face made the smile fade.
“We have to talk.” He said.
Rosette invited him inside and he paced in the living room, unsure of just how to begin. She had a good idea about what he wanted to say, since she was on the news and she was in the security video. She was surprised, however, when she saw hurt on his face and he sat on the couch.
“It’s your mother, Rosette.” He said, “She’s not doing good.”
“W-What?” she gasped, not what she was expecting, nor what she wanted to hear.
“She’s been transferred to the hospital here in Toronto.” He said, “I called you a while ago but you didn’t answer. You really need a cell phone, Rosette.”
“I-I was out.” She said. It was an odd coincidence that she was also at the hospital, totally unaware of what was happening.
“Do you think, maybe, I could stay here for a few days?” he asked, “I can take the spare bedroom and I won’t be any trouble.”
“You can stay here, Dad.” She said, “But I already have someone staying in that room.”
“You already have a roommate?” he asked, “That’s great, honey! So can I meet her?”
“Actually, he’s not feeling well and he’s gone to bed.” She said.
“You’re roommate is a guy?” he asked, becoming concerned, “First I see you on the news in a story about a wild animal, and now you’re living with a boy?”
“It’s not what you think.” She said, “Nowhere close…..”
“Then you want to explain it?” he asked. As soon as he finished his sentence, there was a loud thump on the other side of the wall above his head that made him jump.
“I should go check on him.” She nervously said, “You stay here.”
As she walked down the hallway, she realized how bad of a situation this was. Not only did she have a dragon in her apartment, but it was her father who had shot him in the first place and put him in this situation. She debated with herself on whether or not to tell him, but he would find out eventually, and when she opened the door, he was already awake and listening to every word they were saying.
“Is that your father?” he asked as she came inside.
“Yes.” She said, “He wants to stay here for a few days.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rosette.” He said, “Why is he here anyway? I couldn’t hear.”
“It’s my mother.” She said. Ryu’s eyes softened.
“She’s sick?”
“Yes, they transferred her to Toronto
“I’m sorry.” He said.
“Would it be better if you went to stay with your sisters?”
“Don’t think so.” He said.
“Why not?” she asked. He gazed away and sighed.
“I haven’t told you what effects the bond has on me.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” she asked.
“I didn’t want to worry you.” He said, “I started feeling this way ever since you guessed my name.”
“So all those times you followed me to school was because you got sick?”
“I didn’t understand it either at the time, but as the day’s passed, I figured it out.” He said, “You’re not mad are you?”
“Why would I be mad? None of this is your fault.” She said, “But I have to say that you do have rotten luck.”
“So what do we do now?” he asked. His sigh sounded like a dinosaur purring. The sound echoed through his thick neck and sounded savage.
“You have to stay in that form?” she asked.
“I can barely stay awake as it is, Rosette.” He said with a yawn, “I can’t transform.”
“Then I’ll just have to keep him out of this room, right?” she said with a smile.
“T-that’s not the worst of it.” He quietly said, “I can’t leave here, and you h-have to go see your m-mother.”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m very s-sleepy. Can’t stay a-awake.” He muttered. His head drooped until it hit the floor and Rosette left after patting him on the head and she closed the door behind her.
“How’s your friend?” Dave asked as she came into the living room.
“Tired.” She said, “He’s had a rough time of it.”
“What’s wrong with him?” he asked, Rosette made up a lie.
“He has a cold.” She said.
“Is that why he sounds like a beast?” he asked, “I heard his rasp through the wall.”
“Um, yea.”
“So what’s his name?” he asked, sitting back on the couch.
“What?”
“Your sick friend in there. What’s his name?”
“Ryu.” She said.
“You two seem to be good friends.” He said.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well you seem very concerned for him, Rosette.” He said, “I haven’t seen you this way since prom night.”
She knew what he was getting at. It was the senior prom and she had a date with the boy she was ogling since grade ten. Henry Thompson from the high school volleyball team. Probably the most popular guy in school at the time, and was even crowned the prom’s king, if only she was the Queen.
The night played over in her mind. She waited for him to pick her up, and she was all smiles and rosy cheeks as he escorted her out to his brand new sports car. They had been dating for about three weeks at this point. They had made out once before and he even bought her a necklace for her birthday. Things were going great, until the night of the prom, when she lost him in the crowd. They had announced the king and queen of the prom, and the spotlight shone on the two of them kissing in the middle of the dance floor. Rosette ended up throwing the necklace in the punch bowl and stormed out of the place. She caught a cab home and tried to explain the situation to her parents through her tears. After that, the ‘queen’ was all over him and it was as if she had never existed to him.
“He’s a friend, dad. That’s it.” She said.
“And no chance of anything happening?” he asked.
“Well……” She trailed off.
“I knew it!”
“You wouldn’t like him anyway.” She said, “I know you have standards.”
“He might not be that bad.” He said, “If you care for him this much then he has to be worth looking at.” He stood up and headed for the hallway, “I think I’ll go say hi.”
“No!” Rosette exclaimed, jumping up to block his path, “He’s sleeping!”
“Nonsense! I just heard him calling you.” He said, “I should make him my special soup for his cold.”
“Dad, let’s just leave him alone for now.” She said.
“You seem to be hiding something, Rosette.” He said suspiciously, “Are you ashamed of how he looks?”
“No, Dad. Stop teasing me!” she said, “He’s just sick. That’s all.”
“You know, it doesn’t matter what he looks like, if you love him then its fine with me.” He said, “I’m sure your mother feels the same way.”
“I don’t think so, Dad.” She said, “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I don’t care if he’s as big as a house, Rosette. If you’ve finally found someone, I’m sure I’ll like him.”
“You don’t understand….” She said, but was interrupted by a roar in the bedroom.
“For God sakes, Rosette! Just let him through!” Ryu yelled.
“Are you still, well, you know…” she asked.
“Yes, but he’s going to find out anyway.” He said through the door, “Just lock the door or something so he doesn’t run away. And hide anything that can be used as a weapon.”
“Oh come on, he’s not that bad.” Rosette said. Her father was becoming rather confused.
“He can’t be that bad, can he?” he muttered. But when the door swung open, the light from the hallway struck his red scales, and Dave’s eyes went wide with shock.
“Rosette, w-what the hell is that?” he stammered.
“Dad, meet Ryu. My roommate.” She nervously said, “Ryu, this is my father, David Pegasus.”
“Oh we’ve met before.” He said, “But not on the best of terms.”
“Rosette, w-what the hell is that?” he repeated as he backed away from the door, “Is that what I think it is?”
“Now don’t freak out, Dad.” She said, “He’s a friend, and he can change into a human form to blend in. This is only temporary because he’s lost a lot of blood and has to rest.”
“Rosette, you have a dragon in your bedroom!” he exclaimed, “One that has killed two laborers up north!”
“Now that was an accident!” she exclaimed, “He wouldn’t hurt a fly!”
“It’s a DRAGON, Rosette! That’s what they do! They kill things!” he yelled. There was a puff of smoke in the room and the door slammed shut in their faces, leaving them both speechless.
“I think you made him mad.” Rosette quietly said.
“Great, you have a pissed off dragon in your room now!” he said, storming into the living room, “Where’s the phone? We have to call the cops!”
“That’s not a good idea.” She said.
“Of course it is? Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because his sisters live just across the street.” She said. Dave placed the phone back in the receiver and gave her a blank stare.
“What?” he stammered, “There are more of them?”
“Yea, and his sisters are fully grown.” She said.
“What are you doing living around savage beasts like them?” he asked. He watched as the rage began to rise in her eyes.
“For your information, dad, they just happen to be my best friends!” she yelled, “I don’t care what you think about them! They’re nice people!”
“They’re not people, Rosette! They’re dragons!” he yelled back, a little too loudly. Suddenly there was a rap on the wall.
“Hey, keep it down!” someone yelled. The tears began to fill her eyes.
“I thought you would understand. I thought you said it didn’t matter what he looked like?” she sniffed, “He did turn out to be as big as a house and even then you said you would accept him. So now you’re telling me that was all a lie?”
“No, Rosette. I did mean it, but…”
“But what? You were expecting him to be human, and just because of a jaded view we have of his kind, you won’t show the courage to form your own opinion of him!” Dave sighed and Rosette sank to the couch.
“Maybe I did fly off the handle a bit.” He said, “I mean, come on! It’s a frigging dragon! That’s enough to surprise anyone!”
“He’s not what you think, dad.” She sniffed, “He’s kind and gentle.”
“Alright, putting aside the fact that he’s a dragon, he has still killed before.” He said, “I’m just worried for your safety.”
“He saved my life more than once, dad.” She said, “I think I’m pretty safe. Plus he chose to make the bond with me.”
“A bond?”
“It’s some curse Merlin put on his kind a long time ago. The first person to learn his real name becomes bound to him. He has to protect that person for the rest of his life or mine, whatever comes first.”
“So he has to protect you no matter what?” he asked.
“Yes, but it’s not how you make it sound.” She said, “He doesn’t protect me because he has to, he does it because he wants to. He’s my best friend, Dad.”
“Do you love him?” he asked. She hesitated.
“What if I said yes?” she asked. Dave looked concerned.
“If that’s your choice, then I’ll support it.” He said, “If not, I suggest you don’t pursue a romantic relationship with him. But in the end, it is your choice. ”
“It’s not really a choice.” She said, “It’s just that I have to tell the truth. I can’t help how I feel.”
“And what is the truth?”
“I do.” She quietly said. Dave took a seat next to her on the couch.
“But does he love you?” he asked, “I don’t want another repeat of prom night.”
“I’m sure he does.” She said, “It’s just that he’s very confused right now and he won’t admit his feelings because of that. He feels as if he doesn’t know what he feels.”
“Well he was frozen for a long time.” He said, “And I don’t think I made it any better when he woke up.”
“He’s been plagued by that wound ever since I found him.” She said, “That’s why he’s so weak now. He was in a fight and lost a lot of blood.”
“You think I’ll ever get back on his good side, or will he be mad at me forever?”
The evening news didn’t show anything interesting to Rosette as she sat on the couch with her father. She almost drifted off to sleep when the sudden sound of a door opening down the hall made her snap out of it.
“Who’s that?” Dave asked, turning around. He watched as a hooded figure drifted into the kitchen, and heard the cupboard open as the water ran. Rosette jumped up to check on him.
“That’s Ryu, Dad.” She said, “Calm down.”
“He’s different.” He muttered.
“Of course he is!” she said, “This is his human form.” Ryu came out of the kitchen and stopped when he saw the two of them staring.
“What?” He asked.
“How are you feeling?” Rosette asked.
“Better I guess.” He muttered.
“Maybe I should change your bandages.” She said.
“Alright.” He said. Dave watched as she led him down the hall, but thought it best to stay where he was, even though he was wary about letting the two of them be alone. He tried to see the situation her way, but still he had a bad mental image of Rosette being hurt by the dragon. He figured it was just a paternal instinct, as all parents have towards protecting their children. She told him there was no danger, and he wanted to believe her, but his view of a dragon was deeply rooted, and as she changed his bandages in the bathroom, he thought to himself if the real problem here was him. Maybe, just maybe, his views were unjustified, and he was being over protective. He thought that with his wife in the hospital, his nerves were strung, and he wasn’t thinking straight. When he came out of the bathroom, his hood was down, exposing his red hair and mature face, making him feel more at ease, but still he found himself staring at the small patches of scales on his face and neck.
“Look, I want to get something off my chest.” Dave said as Ryu took a seat on the couch, “I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me?” he said, somewhat surprised.
“For everything.” He said, “For flying off like that, and for shooting you.”
“Why?” Ryu asked, catching him off guard.
“What do you mean why? I mean it!”
“Why do you find it necessary to apologize to a dragon?” Ryu coldly asked, “We’re only monsters. We kill things. That’s what we do.” Ryu spoke in a quiet monotone that was void of even sarcasm.
“Okay. I see you’re upset.” He said, “I’m trying here. Why can’t we get along?”
“Do you just want to get on my good side because you’re afraid?” he asked. He directed his gaze out the window and Dave noticed two small horns still sticking out of his hair.
“I’m not afraid.” He said, “I mean it. If Rosette says you’re alright, then I’ll trust her judgment.”
“Why not make your own judgments?” Ryu asked, looking back at him.
“Will you even give me a chance?” Dave asked.
“If you give me a chance to prove myself, then yes.” He said.
“Is this how all guys talk when they express their feelings?” Rosette snickered from the armchair.
“Hey, cut me some slack here!” Dave exclaimed, “It takes a real man to admit when he’s wrong.”
“Fine.” She laughed, “Just don’t end up on Oprah.”
The steady pulse of the heart monitor seemed to hypnotize her as she sat across from her mother’s bed and she stared down into her fragile face. She fought to hold back tears and pulled a tissue from the nightstand. Ryu stood next to the window, still unsure as to what was going on. He knew that her mother was sick, but had no idea what cancer was, nor what all this equipment was for. Frankly, the beeping and flashing lights made him feel uncomfortable even scared. He didn’t know why, but even in the hospital room he felt confined, but tried to stay quiet about it for Rosette’s sake.
“The doctors have finished another examination of her.” Dave quietly said, “They said it’s a new type of thyroid cancer. The treatments might not work.”
“Isn’t there anything they can do?” Rosette sniffed. Ryu stepped beside her and tried to be helpful.
“Rosette, is there anything I can do?” he quietly asked from under his hood. A passing nurse had to stop and take a second look when she saw the dark hooded figure standing over the bed, but shook her head as she continued on.
“I don’t know, Ryu.” She sniffed, “There’s nothing you can do unless you can cure cancer.”
“I’m sorry, Rosette. I don’t even know what it is, let alone cure it.” He said, “I wish I knew what to do.” He turned to stare out the window at the snow filled sky, “Why is it always snowing….”
Rosette pulled another tissue from the box on the nightstand and took her mother’s hand. Then as she stared at the floor, she felt her mother’s grip slightly tighten. She gasped as she looked up to see her eyes half open and she was wearing a smile.
“Oh, Rosette…” she muttered, “Who’s your friend?” Ryu turned around.
“This is my roommate, Ryu.” She sniffed, “How are you feeling?”
“Oh well. You know how I hate to lie.” She said, “I could be better.” Rosette felt the lump in her throat swell larger.
“Mom, I’m scared!” she cried. Ryu put an awkward hand on her shoulder as she began to cry.
“Now, now.” She whispered, placing a shaky hand on her cheek, “There’s nothing to be scared of.”
“I’m scared that I might lose you!” she cried. Her shoulders began to shake.
“You’ll never lose me, honey” her mother said, “I’m always in your heart.”
“It’s just not the same.” She sniffed, “I need you!”
“There’s a time in everyone’s life when they must learn to let go, Rosette.” She said, “It’s not something anyone can tell you to do, it’s something you have to learn by yourself. It doesn’t mean you can’t get help.” Her eyes drifted over to Ryu, who was standing silently beside the bed, “I’m glad you’ve found a friend.”
“It sounds like you’re giving up!” Rosette exclaimed.
“I’m not giving up.” She muttered, “I just want you to know that it is a possibility. I wanted to let you prepare a bit, but I guess one can never prepare for this.”
“Rosette, we’re together.” Dave said, “We can get through this together.”
“Thanks Dad.” She sniffed, wiping the tears from her face.
“Dave, you think I could have a word with Ryu for a moment?” her mother asked, she faintly smiled as he took Rosette’s hand and walked her outside, closing the door behind him.
“May I have a word?” she asked.
“Certainly.” He said.
“Actually I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes?”
“Can you watch over Rosette for me?” she asked, “Can you protect her?”
“I will with my life.” He said. She peered into the darkness under his hood to see two soft eyes staring back.
“Can I see your face, Ryu?” she softly asked. He took a step back.
“I don’t want to scare you in this condition.” He said.
“It’s alright.” She said, “Please, take off your hood.” Ryu hesitated for a moment, then lowered his hood, revealing two horns still on his head and fangs protruding over his lip. He still had rather large patches of scales on his face, but to his surprise, she simply smiled.
“Rosette has good taste.” She said, “Such a handsome boy.”
“T-Thank you.” He said, turning red.
“I would be honored if you would stay with Rosette.” She said, “She needs a friend right now.”
“It’s what I want too.” He said, “She is my best friend.”
“Do you love her?” she asked. Ryu gasped.
“I-I’m not sure.” He stammered.
“Love is always like that.” She smiled, “You don’t know you have it until it smacks you in the face.” Ryu laughed.
“I think I do.” He said, “I’m still unsure as to what love is, exactly, but I think it is.”
“I’m glad.” She whispered, “She has always loved Dragons. I’m happy she found you.” Ryu smiled.
“Me too.”
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