“Whose turn is it?” Emmeline asked, looking at the three of her dragons. The floor manager, Kareem, was in charge of the roasting schedule, and came forward then.
“It’s Midnight’s turn,” Kareem replied. He was from aDrakkon family and could handle dragons well; he brought Midnight to the next batch of coffee beans that needed roasting. As Kareem tended to Midnight, Torch and Char butted heads, fooling around on the side.
“Hey,” Emmeline said, voice stern. “Behave.”
They liked playing together, especially when Kareem’s attention was on Midnight’s roasting. Torch and Char bowed their heads, acquiescing, but once Emmeline shifted her focus to Midnight, she heard them wrestling with one another. They knew better than to wreak havoc, so she let them be.
As Midnight worked on the next batch, Emmeline washed her hands and went to check on the batches from earlier today, which had already cooled down. They were in steel drums, and she peered into the drum at the end.
The green beans were now a deep brown, so dark they were almost black, and had two cracks. The first crack appeared when the bean was beginning to develop during the roast, while the second appeared a few minutes later.
Emmeline always checked the batches of beans to ensure the quality was up to her standard. After inspecting the color and cracks, she closed her eyes and inhaled the smell—the roast had a very particular smell: charred and strong, with a hint of dragon smoke. She was well-practiced now and could immediately tell if a batch had been under- or over-roasted.
Once it had passed the smell-test, she touched her hand to the beans; they were meant to be slightly oily, which this batch was. Emmeline knew exactly how the coffee beans should look, smell, and feel.
While she was a coffee fanatic, and always had been, shedidn’t taste each batch—she had enough caffeine daily as it was, but she knew how the coffee would taste once brewed: sweet and rich, full of body and texture.
By the time Emmeline was done checking the cooled-down batches, Midnight was done with the next batch, and Kareem moved the drum to the side to cool down, after which it would be packaged and ready for delivery.
Emmeline returned to her office to check over invoices, return missed phone calls and oversee all the other aspects of the business. Very soon, it was time to break for lunch. After drinking some soup to stave off the winter cold, Emmeline went down to check on the dragons again.
While Kareem could manage the roasting schedule, the dragons were still Emmeline’s; she needed to be there to ensure things were running smoothly.
And she was responsible for taking them out for rides. She saddled Midnight up, then pressed the button for the roof to open. The panels slid aside, letting in frigid midday air. Inhaling a deep breath, Emmeline mounted Midnight.
“Come on, old girl,” Emmeline said, holding on. With a happy sound, Midnight kicked off.
They flew out of the building, soaring into the sky. Exhilaration bounded through her as they sailed through the clear sky. Their elevation increased quickly, and soon, a snow-covered Starshine Valley came into view.
It was freezing out, but the dragon was like a furnace beneath her. Emmeline loved winter as well as the contrast of the cold wind whipping against her face with the warm animal beneath her.
After a refreshing ride, Emmeline made her way back tothe roasting plant, where Torch was flying above the building, stretching her wings. Upon seeing Emmeline and Midnight, Torch flew inside with them, where Char was resting on the floor.
Emmeline settled the dragons, closing the retractable roof, then went to check on the coffee bean supply. Harvesting took place from March to September, so it was the off-season now, but she had enough stored to fulfill the orders until March. Her supplier, Liam, would have his hands full then.
After a long day of work, Emmeline sent Char and Midnight home to her family’s estate, where the dragon caretakers would look after them. Then, she went over to Tales & Tails Bookshop, flying on Torch, who dropped her off on Elderberry Lane in the Hills, the hamlet of Starshine Valley where the dragons and their riders resided. Elderberry Lane was off Main Street, the busier road in town with the larger establishments.
She needed to brainstorm ideas and get started on her proposal. While she had already started a bit yesterday, being on site would be instrumental to her plans.
“See you later,” Emmeline said, touching Torch’s face.
Torch flew overhead; there wasn’t exactly parking for dragons in their small town, and the dragons preferred to fly above. If Emmeline called or whistled, Torch would return; dragons had keen hearing and could hear their rider’s call from miles away.
The sun set early these days, and while the sky was dark, the town was well-lit with lights and festive decor for the winter. The storefronts were adorned with wreaths and thickred ribbons in bows. Snowflake lights twinkled over the lane, while small fir trees stood by every door, strung up with golden fairy lights and dusted over with snow.
Luckily, the street and sidewalk had been cleaned of the snow, but there was still six inches of snow on either side as Emmeline trudged up the slope; the Tales & Tails Bookshop was at the top of the lane, in a narrow crevice.
A strong gust of wind blew against Emmeline, and she reached up to hold her black fur hat in place. It matched her fur coat, which she wore above a satin mini dress, fleece-lined stockings, and knee-high heeled boots.
Rushing through the cold, she made it to the bookshop, pausing by the front to take in the warm lights and exterior, the window display full of books and the shop’s logo: an open book with a dragon tail. She could see the inside was busy as ever.
While the bookshop was officially named the Tales & Tails Bookshop, many locals called it the Baby Dragon Bookshop, because baby dragons had always been welcome inside—even if a store full of very flammable paper wasn’t exactly the optimal location for mischievous fire-breathing baby animals.
After many singed bookshelves and burned-up books, the baby dragons learned to behave. Saphira and the Baby Dragon Cafe had had a similar problem in the beginning, until—like in the bookshop—the baby dragons got accustomed to the place and learned to act accordingly.
Emmeline entered through the front door, relishing the warmth inside the shop and the regular buzz of the busy bookshop. She spotted two baby dragons immediately: a tinywhite-scaled opala who must have been a few months old, snuggled in a basket by the roaring fire, sound asleep; and a one-year-old red-scaled garneta, bouncing after its owners, a young couple with a toddler who was smaller than the baby dragon.
The bookshop spanned three stories, and she saw a steady stream of people going up and down the stairs. The event space was on the top floor, and a sign by the stairs told her there was a meeting of the Baby Dragon Book Club currently taking place. She quickly snapped a photograph and sent it to Ginny and Haris for them to attend with Fang and Motu.
