Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chapter 13: Dragon Hope

Svend reminded Gregory of himself, before all the betrayal and banishment and whatnot. Svend was always curious about humans and how they think and explore, always appreciative of their creative solutions. Gregory just hoped Svend’s interactions with the humans turned out better than his own. But here he was, 350 years into his 400 year banishment rooting for Svend. Gregory honestly hoped it worked out better for his young dragon friend.

Svend was already off to a better start, the blacksmith and his wife, Fiora, were good people. Svend was learning about human ingenuity with the blacksmith, Leoric. They would sequester themselves in the shop for hours on end, experimenting with new metals and new creations. Leoric was always trying to make things easier for his wife, like a new washing bin that had its own scrubbing board attached, or a kitchen-aid to mix large batches of bread. Svend found that any invention that encouraged more baking was worth his time and energy. He was, after all one of the main beneficiaries of Fiora’s delicious baking.

One fall day after Leoric had finished his work in the smithy, he got out a little piece of extra wood and began whittling. Wood was a new medium for the blacksmith and Svend took notice.

“What’s with the wood, friend?” Svend inquired cheerfully. To his surprise, Leoric blushed deeply.

“It’s not much yet, but I’m hoping if I start now, I’ll have a chance to improve before…. Well, before the baby comes.” Leoric’s blush grew deeper than Svend would have thought possible for the burly man.

“Is Fiora with child?” Svend had seen the woman’s sorrow throughout her continued struggle to have a child and could not contain his enthusiasm for the idea that her prayers had been answered. Fiora was like a sister to him after all his hours spent in her kitchen.

“That’s what they tell me,” Leoric answered with a shrug and a chuckle. “But metal doesn’t make the best toys for a baby and Fiora informed me that I needed something to keep my hands busy until the baby comes. We’ve just been waiting so long and I’m so excited but there are so many things that could go wrong still. I find myself hovering all evening and Fiora said if I keep on like this for the next 8 months she’ll make me sleep in the loft. So here I am, learning to whittle. Would you like to help me make a crib?”

“Of course! I haven’t worked with wood much either but I’m sure we can figure it out between the two of us.” Svend would do anything for his human friends. They gave him hope that life could be full of laughter even when times were tough. “Fiora won’t mind if we spend the evenings out in the barn? She won’t miss our evening games and chats?”

“Meh, her cousin is coming into town to help with the baby, they’ll be doing plenty of chatting without us getting in the way.” Leoric didn’t seem the least bit bothered that his company was so easily exchangeable.

“Her cousin? Which one? Mirabel?” Svend’s heart raced with the possibility of Mirabel’s return.

“Who? No, Mirabel is helping her sister. It’s another one of the brood, uh, Sabina, that’s her name.” Leoric rattled off nonchalantly. Svend’s whole body responded to this disappointment. His shoulders dropped about three inches and his face, once turned up eagerly, dropped to the ground. “Ha! I knew you fancied Mirabel! Of course it's her coming! I just wanted to see what you would say.” Leoric was completely unrepentant for his little deception and much too pleased with himself for his minimal role in bringing Mirabel back into town. Fiora was actually the one who thought Svend might be pleased at her return but Leoric was happy to verify.

Svend mumbled excuses for his reaction but he wasn’t fooling anyone. He was ecstatic she was returning. Hopefully Gregory didn’t ask about her again. He really needed to work on controlling his reactions in his human form. No more telling blushes for him, no dragon. Mirabel would be here in three short months and he would be the picture of human stoicism. Unless of course she made pizza, or cookies, or roasted potatoes, or banana bread. No one should receive a stoic response for such delicacies. Maybe he could get Fiora to make some cookies for him to take home tonight. Mm-mm his mouth was drooling thinking about her warm chocolate chip cookies. Of course Fiora was pleased as punch to make such a treat for her enamored friend. These are the cookies she made.