Lou

  Louise tugged at the red bow that Lou had been wearing in his hair since yesterday. It had come loose during the night, which is why Remy had redone it in the morning. Laughing softly. "Do you really like the bow?", he had asked.

  Lou didn't know the answer. But the bow had been a gift. And gifts were special to him. Lou didn't like the touch, but he let his friend have his way. The ribbon was soft. It felt expensive. For Lou, it was priceless. Precious.

  "Who tied a bow in your hair? Or did you do that yourself?", his sister asked.

  Lou shook his head.

  "Remy?"

  At first, Lou nodded, but then he shook his head again. He buried his face on her neck. Her clothes were soft. Louise smelled of flowers. She smelled good. Tears rolled down his cheeks. He wanted to let go of her, but his hands didn't obey. Instead of fleeing from the touch, his hands clung to the soft fabric.

  "Was it Remy? Or not?", she asked, stroking Lou's hair.

  The touch felt strange. Wrong. But he didn't want her to stop either. Lou didn't know how to react. And he was tired. Exhausted from all the crying. "This morning it was Remy. But I didn't get the ribbon from him", he whispered as if it were a secret.

  "By whom, then?"

  "Narcisse", Lou murmured. With a queasy feeling, he remembered how he had received the gift:

  "He's very cute!", the dragon announced. Narcisse sounded very confident. And affected. The dragon seemed to be beaming with conviction. "But something is missing!" Lou could barely look at him.

  "And what?" Remy asked skeptically. He sat next to Lou, who was tremblingly clinging to the bnket Remy had draped around his shoulders before carefully combing Lou's hair. Remy stroked Lou's hair, carefully untying the worst knots. Only then did he reach for the brush. Carefully, he combed the fine hair. Lou trembled. "What's missing?", Remy continued, hesitantly touching Lou's shoulder to calm him down. "Hm!", he protested, dodging the touch.

  "Wait a minute!" Narcisse hurried out of the room, only to show something long, red in front of Lou's eyes some moments ter. "Well? Do you like the color?"

  Startled, Lou leaned back. Directly into Remy. His friend was warm, but not soft. Unfamiliar. "Hm!" Lou closed his eyes.

  "A ribbon?", his friend asked. "Where did you get that?"

  "Secret! Make room!" Remy was violently pulled off the bed, then the dragon sat next to Lou. Startled, he opened his eyes again. Lou stared at him, confused.

  "Do you like bows?" Narcisse asked, leaning close to him so Lou could see his face. The dragon grinned broadly.

  Lou shook his head. "I don't know."

  "I'll put it in your hair, yes? Turn around!" Narcisse didn't wait for Lou to turn around, though. Lou was too stiff for that. Instead, he gently grabbed Lou and turned him over himself. He only touched the fabric. Lou squealed, startled, but the dragon already had his hands in Lou's hair. "It's all right, sweet sparrow! It's just me. The best and nicest dragon! And the prettiest one!"

  "Narcisse!", warnd Remy.

  "I'm not going to do anything!" It sounded like the dragon was sulking. "Such a nice boy must look pretty!" Lou couldn't agree with that. He wasn't pretty.

  Remy sighed. "Just because you're conceited, Miss Narcisse, doesn't mean others are! Lou? Narcisse won't hurt you!", he added, as Lou trembled again.

  Lou knew he wasn't in danger, and the inhuman warmth of the dragon's hands was more pleasant than the touch of other people, that warmth reminded him of Veit, no, Harper, but he was still afraid.

  "So! That's it!" Narcisse's hands disappeared from Lou's hair. "Delightful! Lovely! Cuddly!"

  "Please don't cuddle him!", growled Remy. "Narcisse? If you don't happen to be carrying ribbons around with you all the time, then this one probably belongs to my sister."

  "Pah!" The dragon snorted. "Do you call me, ME!, a thief? Hmpf! The bow is for Lou. Do you want to look at yourself in the mirror? Remy has a very big one!"

  Lou shook his head, overwhelmed, as he blushed slightly.

  "Does Narcisse carry ribbons with him?", Louise repeated the words Remy had uttered the day before.

  "I don't know." Lou narrowed his eyes. The world was turning.

  "But dragons are so scary. But you? They're infatuated with you!"

  Lou couldn't agree with that. The bck dragon wanted to eat him. A shiver ran down his spine. And as if the memory of the dragon wasn't scary enough, they suddenly heard wings. A dragon nded on the roof. Lou flinched. Suddenly, he couldn't stand the hug anymore and pushed Louise aside. Surprised she fell from the bed.

  "Ouch!", she moaned. "Are you all right?"

  Lou shook his head. "I didn’t... I..." He covered his ears.

  "It's alright, Lou. I'm not angry with you." Louise sat down next to him again. But she didn't touch him anymore. Shortly thereafter, there was a knock on the wall next to the window and someone came in. He climbed through the open window directly onto the bed. Don't be a monster!, Lou pleaded in his panic.

  "Hello, little children!" Almost relieved, he recognized Narcisse's voice. "I can't stand weddings! On the way here, three people screamed when they saw me. Silly! What's so horrible about me?"

  "Oh", Louise answered.

  "Oh is not enough!" Narcisse wrinkled his nose. Cautiously, Lou looked at him. He saw the colors of the dragon come closer until he could make out his face. "Hello, Sweetie! You're wearing the bow! Very pretty! I hope you're up for an adventure. Because you will now experience one! Hop, hop! Up with you!"

  Lou blinked in surprise. He could already feel the pleasant warmth of the dragon. Close to his face. Like Harper. He hardly recognized Narcisse's words.

  "What?", asked Louise.

  "There's trouble!" Narcisse snorted again. And this time, Lou could see Narcisse pouting, pulling a very dramatic face as he did so. "Big trouble. Quick."

  "Trouble?", asked Louise, unimpressed, while Lou was amazed by the sight of the dragon. What did he feel? It was a comically cheerful feeling. And it scared him all the more. Immediately he trembled again.

  "Remy's family wants to hand Lou over to the Wise. That's what I just heard. Louise? Return to the temple. Now. I'm taking Lou with me! We run away." The dragon's voice suddenly sounded somber. Lou was startled. "If the wise men ask you, you tell them that a dragon stole Lou before you could deliver him! You are a seer! What are you going to do against a dragon? Off with you! I'm taking Lou to my family. For now. Fast. The wise men are already in front of the house! I can smell them! And I've seen them! These stu... Whatever. Let's go!"

  "Good!" Louise jumped up, kissed Lou's cheek, and ran out. She screamed for help. Lou didn't know what was happening to him. The next moment, Narcisse picked him up and jumped out of the window with him. Lou screamed. But instead of falling, Narcisse soared high into the air. Lou screamed even more.

  "It’s all right! I have wings!" Narcisse told him. "Sorry for carrying you. I'll drop you off as soon as we're at my pce! Poor sweet sparrow! But the ribbon looks incredibly good on you. I made an excellent choice!"

  Lou couldn't answer. Wide-eyed, he stared at Narcisse, who flew through the air in human form, with broad wings. Lou recognized the dazzling white of the beautiful wings. It reminded him of Veit... No... Harper.

  He still couldn't believe it was the same person. Even though Harper had shown him his soft wings. Strong, hot wind blew in Lou's face. He closed his eyes and clung helplessly to Narcisse. Then the dragon nded, carried Lou into a shady cave and deposited him against one of the cave walls. "Don't roam around!", he mumbled.

  Frightened, Lou groped for the cool cave wall and pressed himself against it. His back was burning. The sudden movement was not good for Lou's healing wounds.

  "Narcisse?", that was the voice of the dragon girl again. Nour. Lou recognized her voice. Narcisse’s younger sister. "Why do you have the human with you again?"

  "He's staying for a while. I'll bring Remy here", Narcisse answered. He remained in human form. Lou could vaguely see his contours. Just like his sister's whiteness. "Isn't he cute?"

  "Mom is going to compin! You're not supposed to bring pets!", replied Nour. She sounded amused. Lou listened to the two of them as his heart raced. The world spun around him. "And this time it's a human. And not a little lizard, a worm..."

  "That's what I did when I was five! You weren't there yet! Where are our parents?", asked Narcisse. "Pet! Cheeky."

  "Hunting. Does that mean Harper shows up here?"

  "Sure."

  “You might as well bring Lou to him. If he comes anyway", Nour objected. "He'll want to take him with him."

  "I'll get Remy! Remy ter takes Lou with him. If Harper shows up here, you can tell him that. An almost blind person so close to cliffs? Surrounded by hungry dragons? It's not safe here."

  "I'm not hungry!", Nour grumbled.

  "That's good! I'm going to get Remy!" He knelt in front of Lou and sighed. "Stay here, yes? Everything is fine." Lou couldn't answer. He felt sick.

  "You brought him here!", hissed Nour, sitting down next to Lou. The stone floor shook. Lou closed his eyes. What had happened? Why was he in a cave again? Why would he leave again? Where? "And with those humans it's safe? Then why is he here?" Nour had clearly listened to Harper too much. Weren't these his arguments? Lou covered his ears, but he could still hear the voices of the two dragons.

  "Just take care of him for a moment, will you? Be nice. Don't touch him. Lou doesn't like that very much." Narcisse left the cave, leaving Lou alone with the other dragon.

  "I'm always nice!", growled Nour.

  sasi