Zat was lost and the two little girls were consoling him.

"Why are you crying so hard? Are you looking for your mum?

Zat : "Zat didn't know mummy. Zat follow Grim, big sister shaman! Grim say what to do!"

They arrived at the house and they took Zat in their arms and he smelled the cave and the reptile.

Machinically, they went to the bathroom and when Zat saw the bathtub.

"Please... don't bleed Zat! "

But luckily the girls and mum spoke English, their dad being English and working in the parliament in Brussels.

"Zat.. it's a bathtub!!! don't you wash in a bathtub??"

"Mistress Valtrax throws spell to make Zat clean!!!"

Girls: "Mistress? Valtrax??? isn't that your dragon mum on the farm??"

"Zat slave Mistress Valtrax!!!"

"MAMAANNN MAMAANN come quickly... we have a problem!"

"Honey... I'm on the phone at the farm..."

but Sophie snatched her mum's mobile phone and switched it off.

Red with anger, she took it back...

"NOOOnnnn don't call the farm !!!! there is a serious problem!!!"

The mother got serious again...

"What!??"

"Zat... his mum is not at the farm... Valtrax is his mistress... he says he is a slave!!!"

"WHAT????"

The mother rushed to the bathroom where she saw little Zat without his clothes.

He was all red, covered in scales and Mary was with him in the bathtub. She had soaped him up and was rubbing his scales, which were getting shiny and bright again.

Zat was crying and squealing like a child. Zat was a child too and Grim was almost a teenager.

Florinne (the mother) took Zat in her arms and stroked his back.

"My poor darling..."

She comforted him.

"That's all... no one will hurt you anymore. You stay with us!"

Zat held Florinne in his little arms... Tenderness and warmth being foreign to his life in the caves.

To tell the truth, they did nothing for Valtrax who let them play in his den and kept them out of Exodus' politics and ambitions. They were the ones who had been self-appointed slaves for generations.

In fact, they lived in the shadow of the dragons to benefit from the mana and especially the protection they provided against the wild beasts and humans who hunted the kobolds for their skins and monster crystals. Few of them reached the age of reproduction after all.

The dragons were their gods..and anything that came close to "parent".

In exchange, they would wash the lair, repair supplies and clean the treasures, store them and sometimes make bags, clothes and items for their grandmasters.

It was a symbiotic relationship. And for the dragon, they were companions to converse with or even play with, but also a first-class alarm. They cleaned up the leftovers from the meals and enjoyed them greatly. Moreover, they were trusted companions for the dragons who never betrayed their masters.

Mum was mechanically looking for traces of blows or whips on Zat's back and on his small membranous wings.

After washing, he smelled good and Florinne looked for ponchos and breeches.

She took some clothes and put them on a table and Zat came and sat down.

"We'll take your measurements and I'll get you dressed... "

"Florinne is nice human... nasty humans... Humans kill zat family.."

She froze.., tears in her eyes..

"Zat.. You can tell me anything... I would never hurt you... And just because you are a reptile or a dragon doesn't mean you don't have the right to live like us..."

the little kobold was still very young and malleable..he didn't have the fear reflex of his species yet. Grimm took care of everything.

"Zat... tell me... Have we been bad to you? Did the dragons hurt you?"

Zat thought about it but unable to lie or make up a story, he told the truth.

"Zat play in the caves with Grim and brother and sisters... all the time playing.

We would climb on Dragon Valtrax and she would laugh... Valtrax nice mistress. But Valtrax talk a lot Beware humans... humans kill dragons... humans slaughter Goblins slaughter Kobolds..

Humans take horns, teeth heart and skin kobolds for magicians, make shoes. Necklaces"

Florinne gagged.

"Why do you say you are a slave?"

"Kobolds belong to dragons.. Kobolds small. fear... hide behind dragons... eat leftovers... in exchange, tidy, clean and learn to make bags and play with kobolds and small dragons. play a lot... play all the time.."

Florinne: "Don't the dragons ever punish the kobolds? Did they hit you?"

"Never... Mistress Valtrax... mother of all Kobolds... love Kobolds... never punish or scold... but punish bad humans..."

The mother relaxed her shoulders, reassured that the dragons were not bullies with the little kobolds.

But the notion of slavery didn't go down her throat. Even for dragons, having an entire race enslaved, even with a fair quid pro quo, would not fly in modern society.

The dragons would suffer, and indirectly the Kobolds.

As she sewed and made the trousers and put in a tail pass and buttons for the straps and velcro, she kept thinking.

That they're getting together is fine, but here they're going to be on the dragons' hooks and with their slave title and the dragons falling back into the same pattern, they're going to be in trouble.

The Kobolds need to be able to live on their own...'

"Say, Zat... do you know why you stay with the dragons and not with other races, a wizard or a kind wizard?"

"I don't know. Grim knows!!!"

"And where is Grim???"

"In the department stores'!!!"

Florinne : "!!!!!" My god... I separated them...

Then. No. I have to meet Valtrax. She's their guardian and the specialists at the centre will know what to do...

But she was attached to little Zat who was eating sweets with her two girls...

He was lying on the carpet, with just his scales as clothing. But it was natural for him.

"Come on... Zat, let's try on this shirt and he was happy to have real trousers and a real shirt.

They were black suede trousers with Tyrolean decorations and a front pocket that detached for easy access to the bathroom.

It suited him perfectly.

Then he ran to join the two girls. They were playing a game of goose.

Then he fell asleep on the rug, sucking his clawed thumb.

Asleep and exhausted, she put him in the guest room and covered him with a blanket, tucked in and covered with kisses by her daughters.

Florinne wanted to keep Zat for her daughters but... It was selfish and she had to come to her senses... Zat needed to be reunited with his brothers and sisters, his real family.

Their house was too small to accommodate 9 kobolds and she didn't know how big they would be as adults. She imagined their size as dragons. The house would have to be expanded like a palace or a big train station...

A tear fell and she gave the little creature a kiss. Especially as Zat was clutching a stuffed animal, a little rabbit that the girls gave her. A cuddly toy...

'Poor Kobolds...killing them for their skin...it's foul!"

Tomorrow, she would go and fight the dragons but Zat stays here! until she had the guarantees for her well being..."

The next day, Zat stayed with the girls and Florinne's sister, their guardian, while waiting for daddy to come home for the weekend.

She was on her way to Arlon and everything was turning over in her head. Was she doing the right thing?

What would become of Zat? A dragon could defend itself... from scientists... but a kobold???

What if he was taken to a secret military base? And the dragons didn't care???

No... she had to face the dragons and see what they thought.

Then she saw the sign for the Three Furnaces Park .... and finally, Dragon Farm. There were the opening hours and a big sign explaining that the dragons should never be disturbed.

But it was a case of force majeure...nothing and no one would stop him...For Zat's sake.

And, to his surprise...police vehicles everywhere and a dragon howling in the sky and spitting fire. It was the red dragon! The beautiful girl from Valtrax.

With all the broadcasts and reports, everyone knew a little about them. They were known, even more than the royalty.

The police signalled Florinne to stop.

She rolled down her window.

"Madam, you must turn back... The farm and the park are closed to the public... come back next week!"

"It's urgent... I must speak to the dragon!"