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At some point, the natural cave ground turned from solid slabs of rock into long rectangular strips. Tafel didn’t even notice the change at first, but when she stepped past the archway, exiting the tunnel, she realized there was a whole palace constructed underground. It was hemispherical and deep enough below the surface that anyone could be living above and not notice there was such a giant space beneath them. In the center of the circular palace, there were two sleeping dragons lying side by side.
“Alright,” Emile said. “I’m confused now.” His head was poking out of Tafel’s collar, the rest of his body hidden from view by the demon’s robes. “How does their drool flow upwards?” He turned his head back, confirming the tunnel they had just exited from was slanted and the river of drool was flowing against gravity.
“If it didn’t flow upwards, those two dragons would drown,” Susan said. “Grimmy made a praying mantis that’s immune to magic. He can make a river of drool flow uphill.”
“That’s Grandma and Grandpa?” Ramon asked and stepped forward past Grimmy. “Can I wake them up?”
Grimmy grabbed Ramon’s tail and pulled the holy dragon back. “There’s a few traps around them,” he said. “Let me do it.” He walked forward and tapped on a few of the long rectangular bricks that made up the ground. They lit up, and after Grimmy made a whole circle around the two sleeping dragons, tapping on bricks along the way, there was a shattering sound. An invisible barrier shattered, only coming into view as it disintegrated. Thunderous snores echoed throughout the palace, the barrier no longer blocking the sound.
Grimmy cleared his throat. Then, he raised his tail and slammed it against the floor. “Wake up!”
The snoring sounds came to a halt, and a few sipping sounds replaced them instead. The two black dragons stirred, and their eyes creaked open. One of the black dragons raised its head and looked around. Its gaze landed on the group of four dragons in front of it, conveniently ignoring the two humanoid figures standing behind them. The black dragon nudged the sleeping dragon. “Honey, wake up. Tell me if I’m dreaming or not.”
The second dragon blinked and rubbed its eyes. After a bit, it got up as well. It turned its head towards the first dragon. “Dear, we must be dreaming.”
“I knew it,” the first dragon said. It nodded. “Shall we go back to sleep?”
The second dragon leaned over and nuzzled its cheek against the first dragon’s neck. “It’s not often we wake up in the same dream. Why don’t we make the most out of this opportunity?”
“It’s not a dream,” Grimmy said before the two could go any further. “Mom, Dad, it’s me, Grimmy.”
The first dragon blinked. “And who’s that lady beside you?”
“This is my mate, Leila,” Grimmy said and wrapped one wing around Leila.
“And those two are?” the second dragon asked, gesturing at Ramon and Gloria.
“Your grandchildren,” Grimmy said and placed his paw on Ramon’s shoulder. “This one’s Ramon.” Grimmy glanced around before locating Gloria hiding behind him. He waved his claw at her. “That one’s Gloria.”
The first dragon chuckled. “And my mind is trying to convince me this isn’t a dream,” he said and shook his head. He got up and sat on his haunches before scratching his belly with his front paw. “I suppose those two humans over there are your friends, and those phoenixes that are with them are your pets.”
“Something like that,” Grimmy said. His eyes narrowed, and he stepped towards his parents. Then, he smacked both their heads with a single swipe of his paw.
“Ow!” the second dragon said and clutched her forehead. She frowned. “This isn’t a dream?” Her eyes narrowed. “Grimmy! Did you just raise a paw against your parents?”
Grimmy shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe this wasn’t a dream, and I wasn’t about to let you go beyond making doe eyes at each other with your grandkids around.”
The first dragon’s eyes widened so far that they seemed like they’d fall out of his head. “You got a mate!?” He patted his chest and exhaled. “I thought you were going to be single forever.” He cleared his throat and glanced at Leila before smiling at her. “Excuse my earlier reaction. I’m Grimmy’s father. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Leila blinked. “Hello,” she said and bobbed her head. “I’m Leila, Kondra’s daughter.”
“Kondra’s daughter?” the second dragon asked, her eyes lighting up. “How wonderful! How is your mother doing these days? Is she alright?”
Leila blinked again. Wasn’t her mother supposed to be enemies with Grimmy’s parents? “Oh, she’s doing swell.”
“That’s great!” Grimmy’s mother said. Her gaze swept over the palace, and she raised an eyebrow. “A lot seems to have happened whilst we were asleep.” She climbed to her feet and lumbered to the side. She tapped on the wall, and a stone slid backwards, revealing a cabinet. “Oh dear, everything’s spoilt.” Her brow furrowed, and she shot an apologetic glance at Leila. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you any refreshments or snacks.”
“It’s alright,” Grimmy’s dad said and dropped down to all fours. “I’ll go outside and catch us a bear. It’ll be good to stretch my wings after sleeping for so long.”
“Leila’s a holy dragon, dear,” Grimmy’s mom said. “She doesn’t eat meat. Why don’t you fly by the orchard and bring back a few cherry trees for her?”
“Right, I forgot, my apologies,” Grimmy’s dad said and nodded at Leila. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”
Before Leila could refuse, the black dragon had already turned around and marched away. Leila fidgeted, shifting her weight from one set of feet to the other. She watched as the black dragon sauntered out of the palace from a different entrance than the one the group had entered from. Her head turned towards Grimmy, and she whispered, “Your parents are so … different from you.”