*2 years later*

Elric curled into his bed in the loft, the now 16 year old propped himself up on a pillow with his drawing book and carefully scratched on it while he sat, tilting his head from side to side as he finished a drawing of Sottises, the now two year old baby tarragon.

As he focused on the drawing he watched the head of Sabina peer over the edge of his space and he looked at her, she crooned at him as her silvery eyes looked up innocently.

“No…” Elric sighed. But the beast protested in her vocalization and before he could shake his head again the face of Sottises appeared, climbing over Sabinas head, the young dragon, now the size of a dog climbed onto the platform and stretched like a cat. His hardened nails scratched into the wooden platform. “Can’t I sleep alone tonight?” The dragon ignored him and climbed over the foot of his bed. Elric sighed and watched Sabina lower her head, the tired mother of a toddler pawning her child off on a caretaker so she could sleep. “He is YOUR child! You know that Sabina! I am not his father!” He groaned and fell back on his bed.

Elric watched Sottises settle into the bed and sighed. He had gotten quite close to the infant tarragon and often nights Sabina would prop her head up to the loft and allow Sottises to climb over her into the loft and he would snuggle up to Elrics legs as he slept. Elric sighed softly as he watched the dragon, he didn’t often get a night of rest by himself, and tonight was no exception .

Elric switched to a new page of his book and began sketching in the low light, a detailed sketching of Sottises curled at his feet purring quietly in his sleep. Elric smiled at the tiny beast after a while and set his book down on the table beside him and blew the lantern out before pulling the blankets over his bare chest and pushing it over Sottises.

In the morning Elric was awoken by Sottises licking his toes with his cold tongue. Elric kicked uncomfortably and expressed his disgust as the slime of the lizard’s tongue squished between his toes.

“Sottises!” He cried, “Disgusting!”

The beast chirped happily as it jumped from the bed and pranced around the platform before jumping from the ledge and gliding down to the opening stable doors where the soon to be 13 year old Princess Maëlle called for him. She waved to Elric as she spotted him and motioned Sottises to follow her out. He trotted happily behind her as they left the stable.

This was a daily tradition now, each morning before her schooling Mae would spend as much time as she could with the dragon, she’d spend her time playing with toys, playing pranks on the staff, and then tucked back in the garden reading to Sottises from old books.

In that time Elric would clean the stables, talk with his father as he cared for Sabinas needs, and prepare breakfast and the days training plan for Sottises. Then he would fetch him from his friend in the garden and Sottises would protest with an upset noise as he was led away from his human.

Mae would then sadly go about her day with her lessons and plans. Return late in the night to steal Sottises away again while Elric prepared dinner for him. They had repeated that schedule each day for almost two years.

When Elric went to fetch Sottises, he found them tucked by a hedge, Princess Maëlle was laid on the grass with her head propped on Sottises stomach. She read peacefully to the dragon out loud and he snoozed with his head rested on a tuft of lush green grass.

“Your grace…” Elric said softly, she looked her golden eyes up to him and pouted.

“Only a little longer, please?” She begged. “I’ve almost finished this section.”

He sighed and nodded, “Quickly please…” he agreed. She smiled and continued reading, her soft voice floated over the words carefully and whimsically, she’d mispronounce some words however as she read but would correct herself. She finished after another few moments and then sat up, Sottises growled unhappily but rose to his feet, stretched, and reluctantly followed Elric to the training grounds where he began his morning exercises.

Maëlle watched sadly as her friend was led around by his keeper, it was amazing to watch them, they were truly in tune with one another as far as Sottises’ training went. The young keeper effortlessly controlled the stubborn animal. He listened to the keeper intently and quickly picked up on even the most difficult commands he was given. She smiled knowing Sottises’ playful and protective nature showed through to her, he acted completely different with her than he did with his keeper. Though he was obedient and careful with his trainer, he was friendly and loyal to his human.

Elric led the beast to the middle of the arena and held his hand to him and removed the lead. Elric walked 7 paces away from him and turned to him then folded his hand, pinching his fingers together toward the sky, Sottises sat on his haunches. Elric pointed his hand down and the animal laid on his stomach, then he pointed up and the animal moved back to sit. Elric rounded his hand in a circle and the animal obeyed by spinning, when he changed direction so too did Sottises.

“Heel.” He stated and the animal came to his left side and patiently sat. After that Elric moved about the arena with the animal, calling sit, heel, go, chase, and other commands as the animal obediently followed him and his commands. Sottises’ first exhibition among the royals was only days away, where the animal would first be presented to nobles from across the country and watched in an entertainment show before a royal ball to celebrate the princesses 13th birthday.

They had days now to prepare for a routine that would be shown just after the royal equestrians. Not only would it be Sottises first, but at 16 it would be a large step for Elrics career as a keeper. The first showing of a dragons training was such a monumental occasion and would show how talented not only the tarragon was but also how skillful the keeper himself was to train the animal.

Elric followed a routine that his father had shown when he was very young, and occasionally his father would stop in between his duties to coach him and Sottises in the routine to polish it for the exhibition.

Once Elric was done with Sottises’ morning training he led him back to the stable for his breakfast. Sottises scarfed down roasted fresh chicken bits and a mix of vegetables with Sabina while Elric leaned against a hay bale and drew in his drawing book. Once Sottises was done he lounged for a mid morning rest before they left the stable for another rounds of training, this time strength and force. Elric used this time to train his own body in lifting and endurance, taking long runs down the countryside with Sottises. They would stop during their runs and roll boulders across the ground and Elric would do pull ups on thick tree branches while Sottises practiced his climbing before he was too big to fit into the trees around the palace.

Once Elric was adequately beat and exhausted they would trot or race back to the palace grounds for lunch and then move into evening training that consisted of games like hide and seek, to sharpen his hiding and tracking abilities. This was by far his favorite game, occasionally the horsemen would join in the game and Elric would have him seek out certain individuals to see if he could tell one person's scent from another. The they would retire for dinner before the princess would steal her friend away again for some time with him before bed time.

Elric would use this time to relax before Sottises was returned to the stable and Sabina pawned off her offspring in Elrics bed. Elric prayed for the day Sottises would be too large to fit on the platform so that he could have his bed to himself once more. He feared even then the cuddly reptile would try.

Need help With easy pronunciation? Lost on who is who? Wondering what a word is meant to mean? (No New words or important characters have been introduced this Chapter. We've heard about the training, but what goes into being a keeper and training a tarragon?)

Training- Tarragon training for Tarragons kept as pets can be easily equated to the same type of training that dogs go through. Training for a tarragon is always a minimum of 10 years starting at birth and can last up to 15 or 20 depending on how quickly the animal catches on. For training to be considered complete a tarragon must go through at least 10 years of training, the animal must be presented to a council of judges and an audience of friends, family, or other royal or noble people, the animal must be presented by an Anointed Keeper, and the animal must be presented to its official owner by the keeper in an official ceremony once they are cleared by the council. This can take many tries as not all Tarragon are as obedient as some others.

Anointed Keepers- Anointed keepers are Keepers who have been recognized by the Council as having completed the strict regulations of tarragon keeping. With the diminishing need of keepers, the amount of young keepers who have completed the needs to be anointed has also dropped. Young Keepers are anyone who has not been recognized by the council or any young child just beginning their careers as keepers.