Page 28 of Dragons & Dumplings

"Same," he responds.

"And I'll be here when you get back."

"I hope so." He pulls back and looks as if he wants to say something else, but doesn't.

His father calls his name again, and he turns to leave, stopping to wave at me when he's halfway to the carriage.

The lump in my throat is painful, even as I try to swallow it down. I know I shouldn't feel this bad about him leaving, but it feels like there's a pain I've never experienced before lancing straight through my heart as the carriage with my best friend inside rolls away from me.

It's going to feel like an age until he returns, and even if I know it's good for him, it still hurts for me. I watch until the carriage is out of sight and turn around to head back into the kitchen.

I step back into the room we usually bake in, and the wave of emotions breaks over me. There's no stopping the tears and I sink to the ground, wrapping my arms around my legs and letting out all of my hurt.

A chirp comes from the direction of the oven, followed by some clumsy flapping of wings as Ember abandons her perch to land on my shoulder.

She nestles her head against my cheek, making me feel a little bit better.

"I guess we're going to have to get used to baking just the two of us," I tell my dragon, my voice scratchy from the tears.

She chirps in response.

I give her a weak smile. It's going to be fine. It'll be strange at first, but then it will be normal, and by the time Nate returns, I'll have all kinds of baking tricks and treats to share with him.

Epilogue

I enter the kitchen, a sense of disappointment passing through me at the realisation that Nate isn't waiting for me when I step inside. Even though he's been gone a few weeks, I still find myself hoping that he'll be here when I come to the kitchens.

Ember doesn't have the same kind of feelings and lets out a small screech, launching herself off my shoulder and gliding over to the oven. She stretches out her wings before turning around in a circle a couple of times and flopping down with an exhausted sigh on top of it. It brings a smile to my face. It seems like I'm not the only one who likes being in the kitchen.

Everything is exactly the same as it always has been, but it doesn't feel that way. I let out a sigh and flip through my journal, looking for the perfect recipe to make. There are notes in the margins of some of the recipes, most of them in my handwriting, but every now and again, there's a note written in Nate's. It just makes me miss him more.

Footsteps sound from the doorway, and I look up, half hoping that it's my best friend telling me that there's been a mistake and that he's not already back. I know that's a selfishthing for me to wish for, especially when this is an opportunity for him to further his career, and I'd never want to take that from him.

"Hey, Evie."

"Artie," I respond with a weak smile in my brother's general direction.

"Do you like my new hat?" he asks, touching the rim and smiling in a way that makes it seem like I should know what he's on about.

"It looks a bit impractical to me," I respond. "The feather is going to be ruined the moment it gets wet."

He shrugs. "Then maybe I'll get Veronica to replace it."

"Why would she have anything to do with your hat?"

"I won it from her," he says.

"Right. So, did you come to the kitchen just to show me your new hat?" I ask. I assume not, he has to know that I don't particularly care about hats.

"I didn't," he responds. "I came to give you this." He holds out a letter.

"What is it?"

"I don't make a habit of opening your letters."

"I never get letters."

"It has your name on it," he says.

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