Louise

  "This is for me?" Nina stared at Louise with wide eyes. "But! It's PRETTY!"

  She was still sitting on her bnket trying to sell ceramics. So far, no one bought anything. Nina pressed the tunic to herself, her ware seemed like a silent, desote observer, and shook her head. "Louise. The fabric is too fine!"

  "It's not!" Louise smiled and sat down next to her sister, then put her arm around her shoulders. "The blue suits your eyes perfectly." Louise, just as Nina wished, had not bought an expensive tunic. Nevertheless, she did not buy one made of cheap fabric. This fabric was soft, even if it wasn't the finest. A good material. Robust, but not too warm. The tunic was simple. Only on the colr were delicate embroideries. A simple pattern.

  "They won't let me wear that..." Nina was already looking around restlessly as if someone would come in the next moment to take the garment away from her.

  "What you wear is not the decision of some envious b*tches!"

  "You're wrong. They don't even get in trouble for it!"

  "Didn't they? Didn't you tell anyone?"

  "Yes. Of course!" Nina snorted angrily. "Mom wanted to talk to the parents. She said they ignored her. But when they are hurt, they suddenly want Mom's help! At least that was the case. Since the dragons' attack when they rescued Lou, everything has gotten worse. This is neither Lou's fault nor that of the dragons. I know that. But it's frustrating."

  "I know! Come! Let's sell ceramics first!" Louise jumped up and began to cheerfully advertise her family's goods. It worked. In fact, a few people bought a handful of cups and ptes. But this did not help Nina's mood. She watched Louise with envy.

  "They buy from you..." she grumbled softly.

  "Don't think anything of it!" Louise told her, even though she knew well that people trusted a priestess rather than the little sister of a cursed person. Even if Louise was also his sister. It was incredibly silly. It was ridiculous.

  However, after about three hours, they returned home. After Louise was able to sell a few cups and ptes, no more customers came. Therefore, they left earlier.

  People flocked to the better goods. The money the girls earned that day was just enough for some flour and oil, which Louise had already bought. Her parents would probably put this money aside.

  They had a lot to carry. Louise's purchases, the rest of the goods... The girls had to go home slowly. Nina's new tunic y in the basket she carried. Above the cups and ptes. They were silent. The sun burned down hot on her. Louise was a little thirsty. She ignored it.

  On the way, she told Nina of her encounter with Dinah.

  "Lou's neckce? Remy had given him one?" Nina frowned. "But... Lou is not a girl. Why does he give him a neckce? Even if Lou looks a bit like a girl, with the red ribbon and everything. Don't you think so?"

  "Harper gave him one too!" Louise raised her eyebrows. "And..." Then she grinned. "Lou definitely looks a bit like a girl. He has always been the prettier of the two of us. Much too pretty for a boy. It should be forbidden! And his hair! I was always jealous of his hair. It's softer than mine. But why shouldn't Remy be allowed to give him a neckce? Huh?"

  "That Harper gave him one is less strange. But that's something else. The two... They are clearly in love!" Nina grinned. "I don't understand that either. Harper is not human. Well, maybe that's why it was easy for Lou to fall in love with him? What do you think?"

  Louise nodded. "Possibly."

  "But Remy?"

  "Remy was a teenager back then. And Lou a child." Louise sighed. "It's been a long time."

  They left the more chic neighborhoods of the city, walked past the fountain, and finally entered the slum. Here the buildings were broken. It smelled of disease and hunger. The paths were dirty, just like some of the residents. A dog, thin and covered in wounds, growled.

  Nina became restless. She had discovered a group of teenagers who were already watching her. One of the girls was standing beside the snarling dog that had smelled the meat in Louise's basket. At least that's how it seemed. The animal stared at the basket. The girl held the dog by a rope and smiled.

  "Let's go on", Louise murmured. "Ignore them."

  But unfortunately, the group of teenagers did not ignore the two. They were already watching Nina and Louise. Then one of the girls stood up and casually strolled over to them. She was pretty. A rare beauty in the neighborhood. In the background, the dog barked and growled. "Nina! And..." She looked briefly at Louise. "The priestess of the family. How nice. Nina? Do you get alms from your sister? Oh!" Her gaze fell on the blue fabric in the basket. "A new tunic? Blue? That doesn't do you any good either. A flour sack dresses you better!"

  Her friends ughed loudly. The dog barked louder and tore at the rope. He made the girl who was holding him stumble. Angrily, she kicked the dog, which immediately whimpered.

  "Flour sack?" Louise stared at the insolent girl a bit shocked. She was maybe a year older than Nina. Skinny, but with a lush bust and full lips. The girl's clothes were tattered, but pretty. She wore simple jewelry. Beads that had been formed from cy. Her perfect hair was braided into pretty braids. And she was incredibly brazen! She stroked the basket Nina held with a finger. Nina pulled the basket aside. Louise squinted her eyes angrily, took a deep breath, and then fixed the beast with angry eyes.

  "You'd better go now", she hissed.

  "Huh?" The girl smiled at Louise. "Why? Am I not allowed to talk to my dear friend Nina? And give her good advice? Priestess? I heard that your visions are no good. Nevertheless, you are allowed to live in luxury. So lucky. Why are you still interested in these people? You're much better than them! It's a shame I didn't have your luck."

  "Am I? Lucky?" Louise snorted. "Good. Then I'm better than YOU too. I'm warning you! Leave my sister alone!"

  "And if not?" The girl rolled her eyes.

  "Hm..." Louise grinned. "Otherwise I could slip out to the dragons, where there is a delicacy that no one will miss. Come, Nina. We're going."

  Nina snorted and looked at Louise in amazement. "Good!" she said and walked ahead. Louise followed her contentedly, while the beast looked after them with her mouth open and a pale face.

  The two sisters brought everything home. Their parents were happy about the purchases and also about the money they earned. Louise was hugged by her father when he discovered the meat. Meanwhile, Nina quickly changed.

  "Nina is suddenly in such a good mood. Did something happen?" her mother asked.

  "Oh. I was just teaching a little pgue a lesson", Louise replied, shrugging her shoulders.

  "A lesson?" Her father stroked her hair with a grin. "Have you shown this pgue what a sp is?"

  "No. I told her about hungry dragons." Louise was still snorting angrily. "That should keep the pgue in check for the time being."

  "What do I look like?" Nina ran into the main room. The blue tunic went down to her ankles. She looked pretty.

  "Beautiful!" her mother said immediately. "Adorable! My little one! You look like a princess!"

  Her father nodded in agreement. "I have two wonderful daughters! Why don't you take out the dress? Go and have some fun! Your mother is cooking in the meantime."

  "You'll help!" hissed Yante. But she couldn't reprimand him any further, because Yorik coughed again.

  "Go, girls!" he managed between the harsh cough. "I'm fine. I help with the cooking, otherwise, my days are numbered. Find something funny and do what teenagers do..."

  And that's exactly what the girls did. But not without concern. Louise looked back at her parents' house several times.

  They went to the river. Nina wanted to weave flower wreaths. But when they arrived, they heard angry voices and the rumble of a dragon. Remy's cousins, Logan and Ross, tried to drive away a dragon that picked figs and dates from their trees and then put them in an old flour sack. Its sharp cws picked the fruit in a matter of seconds. The dragon fpped its wings and knocked down one of the palm trees.

  Logan held a stick in his hands and waved it around. "Away with you! You thief!"

  "Is he stupid?" Nina shook her head and sat down in the tall grass to watch the spectacle.

  "Yes!" Louise nodded and sat down next to her. Apparently, he is very stupid. Just like the other one. So it's no wonder that Dinah takes care of the important things.

  "Stick against dragon! Who wins?" Nina ughed. And she ughed even louder when Ross also grabbed a stick and waved it around. "Two sticks! How the dragon will react!"

  The dragon snorted, lowered its head, and roared so loudly that the two fools nded on their noble buttocks and finally fled. "The dragon wins!" cried Louise.

  Louise smiled. Just a year ago, they would have run away if they had seen a dragon by the river. But now? Both girls saw no reason to do so, even if the dragon was quite frightening. But they knew that it would not eat them.

  Nevertheless, the sight of dragons still made both of them nervous. Nervous and anxious.

  But when the huge reptile looked at them and came to them through the river, Nina moved closer to Louise. "Oh. Oh, oh, oh..." she whispered.

  "Nina and Louise!" The thundering voice of the dragon set the water in motion. Louise knew the voice.

  "Connie?" she asked.

  "Yes." The dragon winked. She mumbled a bit, as she now carried the sack in her mouth to protect it from the water. When she arrived at the girls, she put the bag in the grass. "Who were these two idiots?"

  “Remy's family," Louise replied immediately. "Why are you stealing from them? Are the fruits for Lou?"

  "Yes. Lou likes figs. And the dates looked ripe and sweet. That's why I picked some of them. The trees have been growing there for a long time. They don't belong to anyone!" With one cw she pushed the sack to the girls. "Take something. There is enough. Lou won't starve."

  "Thank you!" Nina reached restlessly into the bag and took a fig. She handed another to Louise. She thanked Connie again and then hurried to the flowers. Away from the reptile.

  "I'm very scary!" Amused, Connie watched her. "Well, I should go. I'm not here to intimidate two girls."

  "You don't", Louise lied.

  Connie saw through the lie immediately. "I can smell your fear, child! Well, I'm flying now. Lou is doing well. He is a little frightened that the Wise Men want to keep him away from you. But we take good care of him."

  "Thank you." Louise nodded. Then she reached for the chain which she had hung around her neck. Lou's neckce. She pulled it over her head and held it out to Connie. "This is Lou’s. The chain had been stolen from him. Will you give it to him?"

  "Stolen?" Connie snorted.

  "Yes. It's been a long time. An acquaintance gave it to me after the neckce reappeared. For Lou", she roughly summed up the reappearance of the piece of jewelry.

  "I'll give it to him." Connie stretched out one of her paws and gently removed the chain from Louise's trembling hands. The pendant dangled between the dragon's cws. The cws were rger than Louise's head. With the other paw, Connie took the sack. "Take good care of yourself. And your family. We'll take care of Lou."

  "Good." Louise smiled. "And. Thank you."

  Connie took a few steps back, spread her wings, and flew away. Louise looked behind her, smiling. Nina also paused for a moment and looked after the dragon. She already held a rge bouquet of flowers in her hands.

  sasi