Louise

  Louise's body tingled with excitement as she followed Remy.

  She hadn't seen Lou in a long time. Her dear, sweet brother. Had he changed much? Did his voice sound different now? Would he recognize her?

  "Louise?" Remy looked at her with raised eyebrows.

  "Yes?"

  "Keep the dragon in mind."

  Louise nodded uneasily. "Harper, right? Is he good to Lou?"

  "I think so, yes. I asked Narcisse, or one of the other two, to come here. Don't be surprised..."

  "Oh?" She nodded nervously. Louise was a little afraid of the huge, powerful reptiles.

  "Just to be on the safe side. He'll keep watch."

  They had almost arrived at the magnificent estate of Remy's family. It was rge and beautifully painted. A beautiful building that they slowly approached. Too slow. Louise wanted to see Lou. The building briefly distracted her from her longing. It reminded her somewhat of the castle of the temple. "Keep watch?", asked Louise, looking at the lovely murals. Flourishes, flowers, palm trees, birds... There was hustle and bustle around them. People hurriedly carried wooden boxes into the house.

  "Yes. Just to be on the safe side", Remy answered, dodging a man who was rolling a wine barrel to the house. "My family is not very happy about Lou's presence. And a wedding is being prepared. My brother is getting married." Remy looked at the goings-on skeptically. "Tomorrow."

  "Ah. I heard about the wedding. How nice." When they arrived at the house, Louise felt all the more nervous. She followed Remy up the stairs to a closed door. Soft voices could be heard from the other side. Remy knocked on the door before opening it. Almost shyly, Louise peered into the room until Remy pushed her in.

  "Lou? I brought your sister with me. Louise."

  "Louise?" Two boys were sitting on an expensive bed. One of them was completely unknown to Louise. With his white wings, he covered the other boy, who had now spoken in a trembling voice. The dragon let his wings disappear and looked at Louise curiously. He tilted his head as his wings dissolved into twinkling lights until they were no longer visible. And at st, after so long, Louise saw her brother.

  The sight of him shook her. He was thin and pale. Much thinner than he used to be. "Lou!" She wiped tears from her eyes and walked slowly towards him. Her brother, on the other hand, shook his head. "What? No!", he protested in panic. "The c... Curse!" Seeking help, he clung to the dragon's colorful tunic.

  "Lou. You're not cursed! It's all good", Remy replied with a sigh. "Harper?"

  "Huh?" The dragon looked at Remy. He put one hand on Lou's right arm. Lou was startled but did not avoid the touch. The sight hurt Louise. Her brother looked sick. Too thin and weak. He trembled. His eyes looked restlessly around the room. They looked very rge on his delicate face.

  "Please call Narcisse. I had hoped he would be there already... I have to prepare for the move. I can leave you three alone, right?", Remy asked with a smile.

  Harper nodded, but Lou shook his head and covered his ears. "Send her away! The curse!", he screamed.

  "Lou!" More tears rolled down Louise's cheeks. She carefully sat down on the bed. She kept her distance from Lou. Her brother had his eyes closed now. The dragon, on the other hand, seemed a bit mentally absent. He was probably talking to the other dragon. Louise had heard of the dragons' abilities. They were able to talk to each other for miles. Scary.

  "I'll go now!" Remy nodded to Louise. He looked worried. "Lou? Okay?" Lou whimpered softly but didn't answer. Louise wanted to hug him, but she didn't dare. Harper blinked, then stared at her.

  "And the wedding?", she asked the wizard instead before he left the room.

  "Oh, that!" Remy shrugged. "I have more important things to do." Then he left.

  More important than your brother's wedding? How cruel are you? Remy?

  "You're his sister?", Harper snapped her out of her thoughts. His gaze resembles that of a hungry predator. He stared at her as if she were his prey.

  Louise shuddered. "Yes. I'm his twin sister."

  "Ah. You smell simir." Harper stroked Lou's arm gently. Lou shook his head. "No! No! No! The curse!", her brother murmured. The dragon shook his head sadly. Finally, he pulled Lou onto his p. Louise stared at them surprised.

  "No!", whined Lou, but Harper wouldn't let him go.

  "Shh, Lou. It's all good!", he whispered to him.

  Seeing her brother like that hurt. His arms, covered in expensive fabric, were as thin as twigs. Lou kicked and whined. But he couldn't free himself. He cked the strength to do so. The dragon was anything but rude to him. Not at all. Every movement, every touch, no matter how small, was gentle and careful. Louise shook her head. Should she stop him? "Don't you want to say hello to your sister?", he asked quietly.

  "Why don't you let him go?", said Louise breathlessly. Her brother was still trying to fight back. She tentatively reached out to her brother but finally dropped her hand again. Lou didn't want to be touched. Wouldn't she make it worse? If she tried to free him from the arms of a dragon? "Let him go, please."

  "Huh?" Harper raised his eyebrows. Lou whimpered.

  "You just pulled him onto your p! He doesn't want that!" Now Louise was furious. She forgot the fear she had of dragons and unrestrainedly shared her opinion with the other boy. "That’s wrong. You can't do that! He's scared! Shouldn't a dragon be wiser? In the temple, it’s always said that white dragons are wise and clever! What you're doing is neither one nor the other!"

  Harper snorted. "Do you want him to calm down?"

  "Of course! Let him go!", she scolded. "That doesn't work. You can't just pull others onto your p. You're making it worse."

  "I don't. I'm not human." Harper snorted. "Don't worry, I won't hurt him. He's absolutely safe with me!" The dragon sounded more confident than Louise had ever seen anyone. He looked at her slightly condescendingly. His orange eyes glowed. But when he looked at Lou, his gaze became soft. The next moment Louise saw the white wings again. He wrapped Lou in a feathery embrace. Lou said no more. Exhausted, he leaned against the dragon. "Vivi?"

  Vivi?

  "Vivi?", he repeated. "Come, your sister is here. Didn't you miss her?"

  Instinctively, Louise moved a little closer to the two of them. She could see Lou's face, as the dragon wasn't completely hiding him under his wing. She could also see one of his hands. Unconsciously, she reached out to Lou. She longed for her brother's warmth. Harper didn't stop her as she carefully took one of Lou's hands in hers. Lou flinched and pressed himself closer to Harper. Louise sighed. She was careful not to touch the dragon's feathers. "Hey, little brother!"

  Lou looked at her hands intently, then looked at her. "You have to go. You can't stay!" he whispered. His hand was ice-cold and thin. Bony. Harper grimaced as if she were too close to his wings. They immediately disappeared again. Lou blinked, pulling his hand out of Louise's hands. "Hm!", he protested quietly.

  Louise immediately missed his ice-cold hand. "Oh, Lou!" Then she threw her arms around her brother. She forgot that he was sitting on the p of a dragon in her misfortune. "Lou! I've missed you."

  Harper blinked in surprise. Lou froze in her arms. She stroked his hair, kissed his cheek, and hugged him. There was no movement from Lou. Then Harper pushed him towards her, stroked Lou's hair as well, and stood up. "I'm leaving now. You two need some time for yourselves. See you ter Vivi? I'll be back! It was nice to meet you, Louise. Narcisse is here. He nds on the roof and will stay there for the time being."

  "Good. Thank you."

  Harper looked wistfully at Lou once more, which did not escape Louise's notice, and then he left. She buried her face in Lou's soft hair. It was longer than hers. Someone had tied a pretty bow into it. He looked a bit like a girl. "Your friend is very nice."

  "Hm..." Lou trembled again. He felt bony in her arms, and she stroked his back gently. Through the soft fabric of the clothes, she could clearly feel his ribs and spine. Lou whimpered at the touch. "I#M sorry!", she murmured sadly.

  They stayed that way for a while. Louise hugged her brother. He remained rigid in her arms. Lou didn't return the hug. Instead, he seemed overwhelmed. And scared.

  "It's all good, Lou. It’s okay. Remy told me you're not cursed", Louise murmured cautiously. "His dragon Basil couldn't smell a curse. Nothing will happen if I hug you."

  Finally, Lou stirred. He shook his head hastily.

  "Lou. I promise. There’s no curse!" She had hoped to calm him down, but instead, he was shaking all the more.

  "No!"

  "Lou!", she kissed his hair. It smelled of flower petals, herbs, and sweet milk.

  "No." Then he finally hugged her. Crying, he clung to her. "Louise. You can... not... stay!", he whimpered.

  sasi