The Bloom
Long ago, there was a majestic Dragon.
A beautiful one at that.
Instead of scales, she had the most whitest of feathers that covered her slender, snake-like body. Unlike the rest, she had no wings, yet she can still fly up to the sky.
Her beautiful, smooth feathers brought shame to any silk or cotton.
Her tail ended with a purple, eel-like fin.
The gentlest of pink, the most calming shade of a translucent blue, and a beautiful shade of the purple of an early evening, actually.
These three colors blended perfectly as they reached the end of her tail.
Small, yet beautiful blue horns that resembled corals lay right atop her brows.
Laan-Mei, was the Dragon’s name. Her name had been recorded in the stars and whispered by the Spirits of the Trees, when she passes by them below.
“Ah, beautiful Laan-Mei.”
“Loveliest of all beasts.”
“The grace of the Skies be with you, beautiful Daughter.”
The Spirits of the Trees would sigh and murmur amongst one another. Their whispers carrying on to the wind, as other beasts hear about her beauty.
As she lay her eyes down to the growing city of Ka’Ng Ruan her heart skipped a beat, as she leaned further in her cloud to admire him.
A Prince that was hard at his work and studies to be the best.
She sighed, content. Content to just see her Prince even if she was hidden among the clouds.
Laan-Mei had seen him before when he had ran from the Imperial Palace and into the woods.
There, she followed him to the Forest. The Prince cried, and the Spirits whisper words of comfort to him.
The wind carried the Spirits’ whispers up to Laan-Mei’s cloud.
“Hush now, Everything will be alright.”
“There, there. We are here for you.”
“Hush now, our Lovely. Shh...”
Laan-Mei wondered why the human Prince must be crying.
It was an odd sight for Laan-Mei to see. Throughout the times, she had seen Princes stand tall and proud, making them very "inhuman", as Laan-Mei would word it.
This was her first time to see a genuine human reaction from a human Prince.
Curious, Laan-Mei follows the boy home as he walks back into the Imperial Palace.
Hidden on her clouds, she began to watch over the Prince.
As time passed, the Dragon found herself of making the choice to love the Prince.
As years passed, the Prince grew up to be a handsome man.
His soft, petal-pink hair had flown down to his waist. The royal robes he wore were made out of the finest silk, and the most expensive of threads.
Today was the day that the Dragon’s Prince will be crowned as Emperor.
Would he fall to tyranny? Or would he be a good leader to the citizens of Ka’Ng Ruan?
As she watched him go through the process of being an Emperor, The Dragon whispered beneath her breath. Praying to the Creator Above to bless the human man she loved.
To guide him through all his decisions and paths he take.
To keep safe away from harm and danger. To find someone that would....that would love him like she loved him.
She was too far to hear any of the humans to speak, but she could see the Prince—well, Emperor stand proudly in front of his subjects.
The audience clapped and cheered for the their new Emperor and for the future of Ka’Ng Ruan.
With a sigh, the She-Dragon flew away.
The new Emperor, Nei-Yon Ju, looked out the window from where he stood.
He saw a wave of pinks, blues, and purples swim among the clouds, before disappearing back into the white clouds.
“Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!” The Fox cheers on, as the Dragon swallowed the the entire bowl of Heay ’Uea Wine. A rich wine only meant to be drunk by the sacred beasts of the earth, and only brewed by the Tricksters by the Waterfalls.
Laan-Mei slams down her drink, as she slumped down to the stone table.
“Have you been looking at him again?” Jai-Poe, a fat, jolly dwarf, or rather, a Worker of the Forest asked, as he took a swig of Heay ’Uea.
“Was it not his coronation today?” The same Fox, or a Trickster by the Waterfalls, that cheered Laan-Mei earlier wondered out loud. “Did you curse him to never fall in love with anyone but you?” The mischievous Fox’s name was Nang-Soh. “Nasty, old Nang-Soh.” Laan-Mei would sometimes say.
“No. I prayed for everything to be well in his time as he reigns over Ka’Ng Ruan.” The Dragon admitted.
“You did the right choice, Laan-Mei.” A Villager of the Flowers, Jou-Rah, says in a small voice, the little fairy strokes Laan-Mei’s feathery face.
The She-Dragon leans in to the tiny, yet cool touch of the little fairy.
“Oh!” Sang Se-Wei, a Maiden of the Waters. She sat atop a rock, as her long, slender tail gently flipped in the water of the Fox’s Waterfall. “Nang-Soh, why don’t you cast a spell on the Emperor to fall in love with our Laan-Mei! That way Laan-Mei won’t be so—”
“Absolutely not!” Laan-Mei roars. Blue and purple fires danced on top of her horns, as her nose flared steam.
“Calm down, You are blowing steam on my Heay ’Uea! It takes two hundred years to brew this!” Jai-Poe scolded. His little, pointy, red hat fell down the forest floor as he shook his hand angrily.
The Dragon slams her serpentine head back down to the stone table, as she lets out a tired huff.
The beasts look at one another, as they gave each other knowing smiles. They had known for a long time that Laan-Mei had loved the Prince with all her heart.
But it now pains her knowing the the reality that she would never have the chance to get as closer to him as she had silently wished.
Smoke puffed from Nang-Soh’s tail, and instead of their place, a beautiful human woman sat in their stead.
The human woman poured the dwarf another drink, which Jai-Poe happily muttered a thanks to.
“That reminds me!” The jolly dwarf booms.
The beasts look at the Worker, as he gently slammed down a beautiful instrument.
“I call this the Kou-Toh!” He proudly announces. “Laan-Mei, with this instrument, you can make a song of a thousand rain drops!”
“Astounding!” Jou-Rah claps his hands together as he fluttered over to the instrument.
“I asked for the finest strings a Weaver of the Mist could give.” Jai-Poe bragged,
Se-Wei ran her webbed hands through the strings, creating a beautiful strum. “Marvelous...” She whispers in awe.
“I used the most oldest and beautiful of wood—Narra!” The dwarf boasts.
Nang-Soh, on their human woman form, raised their blue brows.
“I hope you know that the Narra is sacred to the Magicians of the earth.”
“I asked those elves for permission! Do not worry about such trivial things!” Jai-Poe waves his little hand to swat away Nang-Soh’s words.
Laan-Mei’s beautiful purple irises glance at the gemstones carved and shaped like tent pegs to keep the strings attached to the Kou-Toh.
The gems sparkled in the sun and changed colors, which took Laan-Mei by surprise.
“That is the most finest Alexandrite I could find in the mines. Quite lovely are they not?” Jai-Poe voiced, as he saw the mesmerizing stare the Dragon gave to the instrument.
“And....it is all just for me?” The Dragon asks.
“If you do not wish to have it, I shall be honoured to possess an instrument as such!” Se-Wei squeals, as she began to extend her scaly hands towards the instrument.
“I forbid you to do so, Nasty fish!” Jai-Poe yells.
“Please, let us not fight-” Jou-Rah says with a tiny voice.
“Silence, fairy!” Jai-Poe and Se-Wei say together in unison, as before going back to argue.
Laan-Mei looked at the two beasts fighting and throwing insults to one another, when she felt a human hand go through her feathery head.
“If you love him so, why do you not shed your skin and pretend to be a mortal woman?” Nang-Soh suggested.
“It is of too much danger and risk, and I do not wish to bring danger to the Emperor.” Laan-Mei explains.
Nang-Soh picks up the Kou-Toh from the stone table and set it down the ground, right next to their lap.
Laan-Mei looked at the Fox, as they began to pluck the strings gently. A gentle lull of music that blended beautifully by the Waterfalls made the Dragon forget her troubles for a moment.
“I have heard stories....” Nang-Soh started, without looking up from the instrument, “That Emperors get tired each and every day. But musicians...calm them down and ease their fatigue.”
“What are you trying to say, Nang-Soh? Is this another of your cruel tricks?” The She-Dragon huffed.
“Do you care for the human Emperor?” Nang-Soh asked.
“...Yes.” Laan-Mei admitted.
“Do you not want him to be tired and die of fatigue?”
Laan-Mei’s head shot up from the table. Her ears perking up. “Humans die from fatigue itself?”
“Humans are very fragile and almost die from everything that is created in this world.” The Fox informed.
“Then I must protect him! I shall pose as a musician to ease his troubles!” Laan-Mei declares.
“Be careful, Snake.” Nang-Soh warns, as they took a sip from a stone bowl. “Humans have hunted and killed beasts that had walked before they had even existed. If those mortals find your true identity, they are sure to use you for their own selfish desires.”
“I shall be careful.” Laan-Mei promises, as the Dragon wrapped its tail around the instrument, as she flew off immediately to the Skies. Father Sun had long set, and the stars have now appeared, along with Mother Moon.
