William awoke to the absence of warmth. Aimuzjon was quietly slithering away from him.

First task of the day was the usual collection of baked breads. After setting them to bake, the next step was to bake a sign. Flour and water was cheap. It was easier for William to shape the letters with his hands and bake it then it was to paint a sign.

“How’s it look?” William showed Aimuzjon. She could read. Though anything longer then a sign was hard as the letters wouldn’t hold still for her eyes.

“Good,” He placed it in the oven. She flopped her belly onto it. Baking it quickly with her draconic heat. William took the baked letters and placed them on a table beside his door. They wouldn’t taste good, but they served their purpose.

She slithered between the various loafs baking.“What is the plan with the Dragon Pastries?” Aimuzjon yelled from the oven.

“Oh shoot.” William ran to the back and checked the butter, “it’s good, you got the base?”

Aimuzjon dashed out of the oven, then lifted a bucket. She could mix the flour and water, but her claws weren’t good a kneading bread. She could make biscuits and that was about it.

William frantically prepared the dough and began the delicate laminating process. Carefully folding and rolling the butter in. Mercifully it was a cool overcast day so he was able to complete the next step. If the butter melted the pastries wouldn’t turn out quite right. He admittedly didn’t know how to make them properly, but was experimenting as he went.

“Done.” he stuffed the dough back into the large clay pots, burying it to keep cool.

The rest of the day was uneventful. It took until the evening for Aimuzjon to have her first suitor.

***

It was cold, and William was prepping the cart for the night and closing the bakery. Most people brought their dough after dinner but before dark. “

“Greetings, I am here for my woman!” William froze in the streets before looking down. At his feet was a tiny muddy brown dragon. It looked like it was covered in filth, and the stench confirmed it.

It was a curious shape. Unlike Aimu it had a stocky body, short tails and it's horns pointed forwards.  The brown colouration was extremely unfortunate and it looked as foul as it smelled.  It reared on it's stout hind legs.  Unlike Aimu who needed to lean on something this dragon could stand on it's hind feet.  It's forelimbs looked more dexterious

“Where is she? Bring her post haste!”

William nudged his rock under the cart to stop it from rolling away. The smell from the dragon was foul enough that William wasn’t going to let him in the bakery, “Certainly. um. What is your name?”

“I am Fetid, the sewer king, I will claim this woman and she will be my queen, she will serve at my feet and bear me many children!”

“I see…” William paused, “let me go get her…” he shook his head and yelled into the bakery hatch. A small shutter window used to pass food and receive deliveries.

It also doubled as a dragon door. Aimuzjon poked her head out, “Sorry Will? Oh Hello? You are?”

“I am Fetid! Female! You will serve as my queen!”

William resisted the urge to dropkick the small dragon into a wall. He was blinking from the smell and trying not to vomit.

Aimuzjon slowly, silently, stalked out of the hatch. She seemed to grow and swell before the tiny, foul smelling dragon. The smaller dragon didn’t seem to understand the danger it was in. “Wow you are fat! No worries. as long as you serve-”

William breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure what Aimuzjon was going to do, but he was reasonably confident that she was going to refuse this suitor. He knew her long enough to read that pose. The arched neck. Her scales flaring as the redness seemed to climb from her body outwards.

There was a crack like a whip. Her tail snapped and she sent the dragon flying to the curb.

The curb on the other side of the street. Several onlookers stopped and stared at the tiny dirty dragon soared through the air, land with a crunch, then frantically squirmed down a sewer grate. William winced at the impact. Aimuzjon could shatter firewood with that tail.

“William, I need to wash my tail.” William silently ran to grab soap and water.