Dalirina lay on the grass, her eyes fixed on the sky, tracing the slow, languid drift of the clouds. Despite its velvet greenery, the garden suddenly felt hollow. Boredom crept into her soul like a silent beast, gnawing at her restless spirit without mercy. She longed for something—anything—to break the stifling predictability of the palace walls.
Then, the heavy silence snapped.
A sharp, rhythmic rustle erupted from the nearby bushes. Her heart hammered, but she stood up and approached with hesitant steps. Curiosity—that reckless, untamable spark in her blood—pulled her forward. As she pushed the leaves aside, her eyes widened in pure amazement.
A small dragon... crimson-blue in color, shimmering as if it were carved from raw ice.
— "Wow..." she whispered, her voice a tremor of awe. "You look like a piece of the cold sky."
She extended a trembling hand. To her surprise, the creature approached without fear. She scooped it up, gazing at the beast with wonder. She played with it and whispered to it as if they had known each other for an eternity. The entire day slipped away—sometimes she chased after it, other times it clung to her fingers with its tiny wings.
But as the sun began to set, darkness crept over the garden. Dalirina stood up, preparing to leave. But the little dragon followed, hopping lightly behind her heels. She tried to hide, to ignore it, to run away. It was no use.
— "I can't take you into the palace..." she whispered sadly. "My nanny warned me never to get near any dragon."
She sat down in deep confusion, staring at the creature that had already grown so fond of her. Then... an idea struck her.
— "I'll hide you just for tonight, and tomorrow I'll tell Nazar. We'll find a solution together."
That night, Dalirina slept in her bed, the blue dragon—whom she had named Elinor—curled beside her. But sleep didn't come. She lay awake, smiling and planning what to tell Nazar.
The next morning, she woke early and ran straight to the princess's wing.
— "Come quickly! You have to see something!"
Without asking a single question, Nazar followed her. The moment she entered the room, she gasped: "Wow! Where did you get her? She's even more beautiful than my dragon!"
Dalirina laughed, recounting the whole story. Nazar responded with genuine excitement: "Then tell my father! He'll definitely agree. Fairo and I both have dragons—he won't mind if you have one too."
Dalirina hesitated for a moment, the weight of her common status pressing down on her. But she gathered her courage and went to see the King. With complete honesty and unwavering eyes, she told him everything.
The King smiled warmly: "If she chose you, then she's yours, Dalirina."
But elsewhere in the palace, not everyone shared their joy. The Queen—Nazar's mother—entered the chamber right after the two girls had left. She spoke sharply, her voice dripping with venom:
— "You gave her a dragon?! You do everything she asks, as if she were a princess! Have you forgotten she's a maid?"
The King replied calmly, but with a heavy resonance that left no room for debate:
— "If you do not see her as your daughter... I do."
The room fell silent.
Back in the garden, the three—Nazar, Fairo, and Dalirina—were playing with the new dragon. It fluttered right above their heads, shining brilliantly in the sunlight. Soft, mesmerizing puffs of cool smoke released from its tiny jaws.
Dalirina laughed, shouting with pure joy: "Her name is Elinor!"
Everyone laughed along with her... while in the distance, the skies of Nairon were growing colder.