On the day of the Princesses birthday Elric was dressed in formal keeper attire. A white suit with blue and silver decorations. He had a long black crop and a fancy hat placed on his head. Sottises regular rope leader was switched with a formal silk rope and ribbons were draped on his neck and tassels tied to his horns, each matching Elrics outfit. The day was spent cleaning Sottises, polishing the silver scales of the dirt and dust that caked to him from the night previous.

Elric took in a deep breath as he waited in the stable, nervously shaking his leg as he sat. Sottises sat in front of him with a curious look on his face and his head tilted to one side.

“Almost time buddy…” Elric breathed carefully. The tarragon purred reassuringly and pressed his head between Elrics worrying hands until he scratched his scales. “Two years of training buddy, this is your first showing. You can’t let me down in front of all those people…” Elric begged quietly as he rubbed Sottises’ head. The animal huffed in response. Then the small door of the stable opened and Augustin poked his head in looking at the pair.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Ready as I'll ever be…” Elric responded as he stood and brushed hay from himself. Augustin led Sabina from the stable first to the show arena. It was customary for the parent dragon to perform if able with their keeper before the offspring and young keepers were shown. While he waited for his father he was dusted off by handlers inside the entryway of the giant arena. He could hear the cheering of nobles sitting around the arena as they watched Sabina.

Sottises sat beside him, showing more composure than he typically did. The rambunctious tarragon was patient and calm, breathing evenly as he waited.

When loud and excited cheers erupted from the stands Elric was alerted to prepare. He steeled his nerves and once the announcer stepped into the middle of the ring he took a step forward, leading the dragon a step as he waited.

“And now.” The announcers' loud voice boomed, “The debut of 2 year old Amaryllis Dragon, Sottises named by Princess Maëlle. Led by 16 year old Young Keeper Elric Heilran, son of Anointed Keeper Augustin Heilran, the Keeper of The Queens Rose Dragon Sabina.”

Cheers erupted as the announcer finished and he and Sottises walked from the entryway. They took calculated steps to the center of the arena and he looked around as best he could without moving his head from side to side. As he reached the center marked with a blue splatter he turned like he was told to. Facing the tall pillar where the royal family and special guests sat watching, the princess leaned over the fencing watching intently with her large brown eyes. Below the stand Sabina and Augustin sat watching.

Elric took a deep breath as he watched the equipment holder approach him. He removed the lead from Sottises and handed the rope to the holder and then the holder scurried back out of the arena.

Then Elric swallowed from the dry feeling in his throat before facing the dragon. He balled his sweating, cold hands into fists, trying to pinch out the tingling feeling that radiated through him. Elric took 7 steps away from Sottises then begun his long rehearsed routine of leading the dragon around the arena with carefully taught signals and calls. The routine was similar to his father's famed routine with only a few changes to showcase his and Sottises’ unique relationship of trust.

Once Elric finished the routine the stands erupted in excited applause and everyone stood to cheer. Elric looked up to the royal observatory and watched the princess smile and clap at him, excited to see her tarragon perform his first show. He caught her eyes and smiled warmly. A sense of pride finally washed over him, the nervous feeling suddenly vanished and he closed his show with a bow and led the dragon away to the stables once more.

Elric removed the tassels and decorations from Sottises and then changed himself into more plain clothing to get a late lunch ready for him while he lounged in the hay piles purring happily at Elric as he watched him.

He turned as the small stable door opened and the princess peek in. She was alone, how she escaped from her own birthday celebration, he didn’t know.

“Happy birthday your Grace.” Elric said as he saw her. She smiled shyly at him as she creeped in. Her fancy dress was over sized and looked uncomfortable.

“Thank you.” She said as she walked to them. Sottises nuzzled his head into her hands and she praised him warmly as she scratched his head. “You were so good.” She said to him, “I only came to tell you how good you were. But I have to go back to the party now.” The princess looked up to Elric and smiled, “You’ll give him a special treat for me tonight for being so good, won’t you?”

“Of course your grace.” Elric said with a smile and the princess thanked him before slipping back out of the doors. Because of the show, Elric decided he and Sottises both deserved a break and he followed Sottises through the garden as he wandered and played with the bugs that flitted around. He allowed Sottises to go where he wished in the yard so long as it didn’t interfere with the party goers around the palace.

As night fell Elric prepared dinner with a bowl of special fruits that he didn’t typically get with his regular meals. Sottises was overjoyed and dug hungrily into the bowl.

“You pig.” Elric scolded as he threw the fruits around messily. The creature purred happily and basked in the special meal he had been given. Before long, night fell and they both lounged lazily on bales of hay until Sabina was returned to the stable by Augustin.

Augustin praised his son quickly before heading back to the party. Elric sighed softly and retired to his bed on the upper platform. Elric looked out of the window placed above his bed and murmured to himself as he fell back into his bed, he folded his hands behind his head and stared up to the tall ceiling. He didn’t want to admit that he had felt extremely lonely that night, and with the palace buzzing with royals, nobles, and rich persons from all over the country, he felt even lonelier.

It was unfortunately his duty to remain with Sottises almost constantly, the first 10 years as a keeper he was expected to give up a great amount of his life before he could be anointed as a true Keeper. Augustin pushed him into the world of keepers, wanting him to follow in his own footsteps so that he had an honorable life style when his father passed.

Even though Elric was constantly told how honorable the life of a keeper was he felt no better than a common stable boy, he did not have an identity outside of that of the Keeper of the princesses Amaryllis dragon, he hardly saw or talked with anyone during his days of training besides for the quick passing conversations of the princess when she came to fetch and drop off Sottises every morning and night.

Soon Sabina brought her baby up to the platform, snapping Elric from his daze of thought only long enough for him to turn his head and watch the tarragon climb from his mother’s head and climb onto the foot of his bed where he curled his growing tail around himself and quickly fell into a deep, snoring sleep.

Need help With easy pronunciation? Lost on who is who? Wondering what a word is meant to mean? (No New words or Characters have been introduced this chapter... Here's some knowledge on what a show involves for a Keeper)

Exhibition/Performance/Showing- Keepers who care for tarragons of royal and rich families are often asked to show or preform for large groups of royals, nobles, and rich people for entertainment this may happen rarely or often depending on the family and how often they want to show their tarragon. Young Keepers will be critiqued on their training, skills, and command as well as the general over all appearance and behavior of the tarragon. Sometimes members of the Council will be invited for young keepers to be judged on their growth as a keeper over the years.