āYou promised me the egg was sterile! I was looking for a decorative piece and that was it! Do you know how much it costs to raise a baby dragon from hatching?ā
āAināt my problem,ā the man behind the counter drawled, gesturing in the signās direction.Ā āYou bought it. You assumed all the risks associated with it. Sā your problem now.ā
āYou advertisedĀ an unfertilized dragon egg, suitable for decorative use. I bought it from you because I believed you. You made a sale by lying to me.ā I had to pause and take a deep breath before I wound up accidentally breathing fire myself, while my new little friend nuzzled the underside of my jaw, the same way a cat might try to offer comfort. She really was a bit like a scaly cat with wings, at this size, and it wasnāt having her around all by itself that I objected to. I just felt - justifiably - that I was owed something.Ā āYou understand that there are laws against that, right?ā
āUh huh, and whatcha gonna do about it, buddy, call the Kingās Guard on me?ā The shopkeeper stuck a cigar in his mouth without even bothering to light it; he did it for no other reason than to make it clear how few fucks he gave about me.Ā āHave fun with that, buddy. We can see how long it takes the six or seven old women who aināt been dragged to the front lines already to get here. Iām bettinā on Fleet-Foot Belinda gettinā here first. They say her new apothecaristās done wonders for those bad knees of hers. If sheās well rested, she might get hereā¦day after tomorrow, maybe.ā
I knew this flimflammer was trying to irritate me into giving up and leaving. He was actually pretty close to succeeding, I had to admit. But I could almost feel my mother glaring at me, her eyes somehow boring into the back of my neck from a hundred miles away at the very idea I might let a cheating shopkeep get the better of me. Or maybe that was my little friendās hot breath.Ā āWhat refunā?ā she asked me, sticking her snout directly in my ear.Ā āWhat refunā, daddy?ā
Of course sheād ask that right now.Ā āA refund,ā I said, sighing heavily,Ā āis when a shopkeeper gives you back the money you paid to buy something from them. Usually it happens because the item is bad somehow. Some shopkeepers will let you give the item back in exchange for your money just because you decided you didnāt like it anymore, as long as they remember you buying it from them in the first place.ā
āā¦Am I bad, Daddy?ā
āNo, sweetheart, youāre not bad,ā I reassured her, scratching behind her crest.Ā āBut this man promised me your egg couldnāt possibly hatch, that it wasnāt the kind of egg that couldĀ hatch, and that turned out to be wrong. I want a refund because he lied to me about what I was buying in order to trick me into buying it, and thatās a very bad thing to do.ā
She still wasnāt able to fly properly just yet, but she was able to make some pretty considerable wing-assisted jumps. One leap took her from my shoulder all the way to the counter, where she stood in front of the shopkeeper like an indignant cat.Ā āYou give my daddy refund,ā she said.
The shopkeeper, true to his asinine behavior, just laughed at her and tried to sweep her off the counter with his arm. She dodged his arm, then turned and sank her small but very, veryĀ sharp teeth into it, making him wail in pain like a baby; as he yanked his bleeding arm away, she breathed a puff of flame into his face for emphasis, setting the end of his cigar on fire.Ā āYou give my daddy refund,ā she hissed, and the shopkeeper, now trembling just a little, started reaching for his cash box.
