3. Blaze

I'd burned half a tree because I'd been so hungry, but I didn't want to take any more because trees were the sort of things that people realised were missing, if they vanished one by one.

I could probably take two or three before anyone noticed but I didn't want to risk it until I had to. If I was smart about this, I could stay inside these woods for ages. I needed somewhere to live and this protected field was perfect, and the woods would give me some shelter from the elements and the people who lived here.

The dragons who lived here, I reminded myself.

I could almost feel them nearby, the potential fire in their bellies. If there was one thing I knew, it was fire.

They were all at the castle, though, and I could barely see it from where I was, huddled between the trees.

I was still hungry. I hadn't eaten in so long and fire spirits were always hungry. We needed the fuel or we'd grow thin and weak. A hungry fire spirit was dangerous, too, because our instinct would take over and grab for the nearest fuel and burn. We really didn't mean to, it was just what fire did. Sometimes, if we were too hungry and couldn't stop ourselves, we caused fires that burned out of our control. At least it hadn't been me who'd started the Great Fire of London. That little incident served as a warning to us all.

I'd probably end up burning this wood down, though, if I got hungrier and hungrier.

I waited until evening. It was early spring and the nights were drawing in early, so it was dusk when I made my way across the grass to the castle. Dusk was the perfect time to move. Fires would be more visible in the dark but I wasn't trying to sneak around in broad daylight, either.

I crept right up to the wall and nobody came charging out and that dark silhouette didn't fly over me again. Slowly, I made my way around to the back door, hoping it was the kitchen. I pressed up against it, trying to hear anybody moving around inside.

It was silent.

When I was mostly sure that nobody would be inside, I stood back to study the door. I was weak and that meant I couldn't identify spells as easily as I wanted. The last thing I wanted to do was push open the door and trigger an alarm. I didn't want any dragons chasing me.

I stood there for ages, trying to see if there were spells there. I moved along and looked at another door, peeped in a window.

Walking around the corner of the building, I saw a table outside with a flask, a plate of sandwiches and some bananas on. Some wonderful soul had left dinner out here. Even though I knew it wasn't for me, my hunger gnawed inside me and I picked up the bananas. They wouldn't miss one, would they?

Just as I was about to break one off for myself, I heard the kitchen door open.

I froze, holding my breath.

A voice called, "Hello? Is anybody there?"

Flickering to my fire form, I shrank down and prayed that I'd be unnoticeable.

Footsteps sounded, emerging from the castle. For a moment, I thought that whoever-it-was would go about their business and miss me completely but they walked right round the side of the building. I jumped in fright and bolted.

Not the smartest thing to do, because that meant they definitely saw me.

I caught sight of a handsome young face, white-blonde hair and wide, startled eyes as I sprinted across the field to the woods.

Behind me, I heard him say, "Wait, you're not meant to be here. Wait."

I didn't wait.

I was heading for the woods because I thought I might be able to get lost in there and there were fewer dragons there, which I liked. It was nearer the border of their territory, too. If I had to leave, I'd stand a better chance of making it out if I started from there.

Of course, if I was on the outside again, I'd feel exposed and unsafe from being unprotected but that was a bridge I'd cross when I came to it.

I nearly sighed as I ran, but I couldn't spare the breath. I just wanted somewhere to stay where I wasn't constantly jumpy and alert. Was that too much to ask? I'd thought a dragon's territory would be perfect, as long as they didn't know I was there.

As soon as I hit the woods, I darted behind the nearest tree and shrank down to the smallest flame I could become.

That large dragon circling over my head earlier hadn't seen me, and I really, really hoped that this young dragon wouldn't see me, either. I was so small that I almost snuffed myself out completely, trying to become invisible.

I heard him crashing through the undergrowth and muttering to himself. Then he called, "Um, hello? Where did you go?"

I didn't answer.

Just as I thought that perhaps he might walk straight by me, he stopped and turned towards me. As though he was following a trail I'd left.

His eyes were bright silver, and the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. I really didn't mean to notice, considering he was hunting me, but I couldn't help it. They were absolutely stunning. Awkwardly, they also followed an invisible trail right to me and landed on my flickering form.

"There you are! What are you doing in our territory?"

I bolted again.

I grew big, which in my flame form was dangerous, especially surrounded by flammable wood. I was faster when I was bigger, though, and I ran between the trees, darting this way and that, trying to get away from the handsome young dragon.

He followed me, his footsteps heavy and crashing down, and muttering to himself the whole time.

Maybe I'd burned something as I went and he could smell it? To stop that happening again, I doubled back on myself and crouched down, shrinking and lowering my eyes so that he'd never be able to find me. I was practically under a tree root, desperately trying not to burn too hot so that I didn't set the tree alight.

It wasn't likely because the ground was damp, which I hated. I really hated the damp.

My pursuer didn't even follow my false trail. He stopped right in front of me and I saw his shoes, shiny black.

"You dropped these," he said.

Instinctively, I glanced up.

He was looking right at me. That should have been very nearly impossible, yet here he was, and he knew exactly where I was.

He was also holding out those bananas.

When I didn't move, he began to shuffle nervously and he fiddled with the Fairtrade sticker on one of the bananas.

"I guess I could just leave them here for you, if you don't want to come out. But I'd rather speak to you. You know, you're not meant to be in our territory without Lord Somerville's permission. You gave us a real fright, you know. What were you doing outside the castle? Other than stealing bananas, I mean."

Gradually, I grew bigger. He didn't seem like a threat. He was so angelic-looking that once I'd settled my eyes on him, I could hardly look away.

It also seemed he was a nervous talker because his eyes went big and he stared at me, gasping, "Oh, wow, you're beautiful. Is that a personal comment? I didn't mean to be rude. I was just saying. What are you, anyway? Am I allowed to ask that or is it vulgar? I wouldn't mind people asking me, I suppose, but I don't know how other people feel about it."

I hid a smile as he talked. His voice was soft and he looked… he looked so sincere and interested that I actually answered him, which I probably wouldn't have done for anyone else.

"I'm a fire spirit."

"I hope you don't mind me asking."

"No, I don't. Are you a dragon?"

I couldn't quite tell. There was something about him that was captivating but it wasn't intimidating the way that most dragons were, and I didn't feel the fire simmering in his belly the way I did with most dragons.

"Yes, I am. At least- yes, let's say I am."

"You don't sound sure."

"Well, I am a dragon. Probably. I've just never shifted before, that's all. But I will one day. Soon. Mother tells me that I'm not to rush it or I'll hurt myself and my dragon will come out when it's ready, but Morgan shifted when he was eighteen and I'm already older than that, so I probably should get a move on."

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

I stopped myself from snorting. Nineteen was nothing to a fire spirit. I wasn't sure how old I was. We didn't keep track of years in the same way that other people did. All I knew was that I'd been around a lot longer than that, since every home had a fire in its hearth and there were plenty of warm places for me to settle. I still felt young, though.

"You have plenty of time to learn to shift, if that's what you're meant to do."

"I suppose."

He didn't look happy. He was looking down, picking at that sticker.

Something in me stretched out towards him, yearning to make him smile. My body burned brighter and he looked up, his face lit by my flames in a rosy hue. He was stunning. My light danced across his pale skin and caught on his blonde hair so it lit up like a halo and I'd never seen anyone like him.

He stared back at me, seemingly as captivated by my form as I was by his. Then he blinked and jerked to one side, patting at the tree and stamping on the ground.

"Oh, watch out, you've set the leaves alight."

He stamped and patted some more until the flames were out. I shrank down, trying to pull my flames in so they didn't touch anything else.

"Do you have another form? I don't want to set the whole woods alight. People will notice. Glimmer might come to investigate. Are you the one who broke in this morning?"

I nodded.

"How did you manage it?"

"I became flame."

"Hmm, okay, that's interesting. I'll have to tell Glimmer that his protections aren't solid. They let flame in. Are you going to hurt any of us? I suppose I should have asked that at the beginning but you don't seem dangerous."

"I won't hurt any of you. I just wanted somewhere to stay for a while."

"Oh, okay. About your other form…"

I felt my body solidify and the dragon gaped at me. I glanced down, wondering for a second whether I'd lost my clothes or something. I hadn't. I was dressed. He stared at me with his mouth open for several seconds before he blurted out, "You can stay with me."

The way his eyes fixed on me with intense focus made me feel hot, even though I wasn't flame any longer. His gaze burned into my skin and branded me. In that instant, I felt like prey.

Even though he said he wasn't able to shift yet, I knew he was a dragon. He was dangerous.

Coming from where I had, with the fear of other people fresh in my mind, I should have turned and fled from this dragon.

I didn't, though.

I actually considered his question. Considered going with him. I cocked my head to the side. "You mean I can stay with you in the castle?"

"Yes."

I wanted to say yes. If nothing else, it wouldn't be damp in there and I longed to be dry and warm again.

I could end up trapped inside, though. And I didn't trust the dragons.

"I don't think that's a good idea. The dragons might find me in there. I just want somewhere safe to sleep; I don't want any trouble."

"Oh. In that case, I've got somewhere else you can stay."