Where's Your Fiery Temper?

“I just don’t get it, it’s only been 3 months! What could he possibly have done?” 

I look at him, sitting there next to me. His head hangs low and his big eyes look at me, pleading for forgiveness.

“Did he get into a fight?” I ask. 

“No.” The Governor says, shaking his head. His dark moustache trimmed into an impossibly straight line. 

“Show any signs of aggression? Lash out? Bite?”

“Not that we’re aware of.” The Governor checks his watch and clears his throat sharply. Clearly, Frederick’s case is pressing time for other issues today.  

“I mean, surely he wasn’t well behaved the entire time?”

“By all records, Frederick’s behaviour was immaculate.” The Governor lightly taps his fingers on the desk. “Mr Goodwin, in my 56 years at this institution, I have never actually seen a pupil with better behaviour.”

I try to laugh it off, but the falseness catches in my throat. I end up pivoting to a cough. The Governor is minutes from booting us both out of here, I can feel it. 

This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. Surely, there must have been something? One minor thing that we can spin. He looked wrongly at someone? Ate something he shouldn’t have? 

Frederick’s still looking at me, big eyes practically glistening. I never could resist it when he did that. I place my hand gently on his back, my thumb stroking and offering the reassurance I know he desperately needs. 

“What happens now? We give it another 3 months - “ I begin to plead when he interrupts, obviously. This guy is a jackass. 

“Look, sometimes it happens. We take in a pupil that was never truly going to fit in, never going to bloom in this setting. Some of them just don’t have it in them, to be honest.” Turning to Frederick, the Governor shakes his head. He folds his arms as he sits back further into his chair. “He leaves today. He does not fit in. He will never fit in.”

My heart breaks. How dare he speak to me this way? How dare he speak Frederick this way? My head is spinning, not about taking Frederick home - who am I kidding? I’ve been lost since he left. I never wanted him to come here in the first place. But it’s just what happens. They reach 3 and you send them here. No one questions it - who would want to? At the end of the day, most of them want to come. They need to come. There’s nothing else for them now. They graduate, they fight. You’re lucky if you see them again. 

The Governor continues, he leans forward, looking directly at me, the desk all that separates us as he speaks in barely a whisper. “Often it comes down to how they were raised before they came here, “gentle parenting” some call it, making precious snowflakes rather than what they want to be. Strong, resilient, fearless.”

Wait, why am I fighting for him to stay here? 

I put my hands on the desk and I stand up. The Governor is so tall that we’re basically eye level. But hell, equal is better than continuing to look up at him across that desk. 

Here goes nothing. 

“Frederick has always been too good for this place - I know, that’s exactly the point,” crap, not the powerful opening I hoped for this speech. I turn towards Frederick, his lips are pursed. He’s sweating and his nose is dripping and right now, he looks like he couldn’t hurt a fly, let alone one of his peers. All I want to do is scoop him up, wipe his nose because, well, it’s dripping. But then get him the fuck out of here.

“Frederick was never going to fit in here because he was meant to be something else. Something more. And so I’m glad he failed to “bloom” in the first 3 months, it saves us a lot of time and money -"

The Governor smiles at me, “No refunds. We pride ourselves on giving all pupils ample opportunities to prove themselves. With only one real profession left, we want to help them reach their potential. All that extra time and energy given to help those who need a little more pushing in the right direction, we’re sure you understand the toll all of that extra care and attention takes.” 

I smile right back at the Governor. He will not have the final word. “When Frederick hatched, I knew he was going to be something special. Everyone else had eggs that were like lumps of coal - matt, uniform and just so ordinary. Frederick’s was different. His egg was like onyx - I’ve never seen anything so shiny, so mesmerising.”

I pause, full realisation dawning on me. What I’m saying is true, I know it in my heart. And it’s time Frederick heard it. 

I turn to Freddie. 

“He’s meant for more because he is more. He will always be more, not just to me. The fact that he failed - and so quickly - at the “Institute for Fierce and Ferocious Dragons” is actually a blessing. Oh, and I will continue to “gentle parent” because I am his, well, not his Dad, but his person, his human-Dad. And he is mine.” 

Freddie and I stare at one another. His eyes sparkle. Not like before, when they looked so sad. No, this is different. I can’t quite place it. 

I turn to the Governor, glad to be getting out of this hellhole. 

“We are leaving. Right now. Come on, Frederick.”

I walk towards the door. Not my best speech but I meant everything I said. I hope Freddie knows that. He deserves more. 

Down the giant stone corridor, the sound of our six feet all that breaks the echoey silence. He’s fifteen foot and I’m barely six, but I’m so protective - overly protective, probably. I just want him to have a good life. To be what he was meant to be. 

We exit the building and stand facing the driveway. I didn’t even think about what this means for Freddie. What he might actually want to do now. The Governor was right, it’s been a long time since dragons have done anything more than fight for the country. 

“I’m made for something more? That sounds good to me, what was it, “human-Dad”?” He stifles a laugh. Gods, this is embarrassing. 

“I was just making a point. Letting him know that he can’t speak to you like that.” I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happens now.”

“We go home. We’ll sort all of the other stuff later. I just want to come home with you. If that’s ok?”

 Yes, we can do this. All in good time. First step, get out of here. 

I make to walk when I feel Freddie’s talons over my shoulders “What the fuck, Freddie?!” He tosses me into the air and dives below me, catching me on his back. I’m sat in between his shoulders, his wings. Gods, it’s high up here. 

“Dragons can’t carry a humans, Freddie.” I shout.

Freddie tilts his head so I can just about see a smile coming over his face. “You chose to believe in me. I’m choosing to carry you. We’re doing things differently, right?” 

My mouth mirrors his. Do I tell him I’m scared of heights? With that excitement in his eyes? Gods no! I grab on to Freddie with my sweaty palms and close my eyes as he spreads his wings and leaps into the sky.