25th December

Jen stared at the small package between her cloths. Somehow there was a little present in the middle of her stuff in her bag, when she unpacked it this morning.

She had been too tired to unpack it the evening before, but now she decided to not push the task forward. While pulling out her clothes and putting them into the drawers and wardrobe, a small box, packed in red paper and with a golden bow on top, fell on her bed.

She wondered if one of the other girls packed it there by mistake, but the layout of the box looked like a present.

Jen pondered who could have put it into her luggage and when.

After a few minutes being undecided if she should open it or who the giver of this was, she decided to advance and check out what was in it.

She unpacked the paper carefully and found a black box within, that had a lock at the side, that could be opened with a push.

Jen pushed the button and pulled the lid up. Her hands began to shiver and the box dropped on her bed, when something sparkling glanced out of the box.

She quickly picked it up again and looked inside to ensure herself that she had not just imagined that.

The inside of the black box was also black, but it was cushioned softly and in the middle of the box there was a small sparkling item. At first, it just looked like a blue gem, a sapphire, that sparkled in the light that fell through her window.

At a second glance, she saw a golden frame around it and golden rods on the left and right.

Only when she, with still shivering hands, took the item out of the box, the rest of the ring came into light. It was a golden ring with a wonderful blue gem, that had the same color as Jen's eyes, on top.

Jen looked at the ring and the gem with sparkling eyes, not knowing what to say or do. She just held it in her hand, staring at it for minutes.

Only when her gaze left the ring, she noticed a small note under the lid of the box and she recovered it to unfold and read it.

"Merry Christmas, my little lotus pedal!" was written on the paper and this message directly told Jen who must have placed it there. This must have been a present from Jake. Jen felt a bit bad because she did not have any present for him. She had not thought about it at all.

Her guilt only lasted for a few seconds, until her gaze fell upon the ring again and her chest made a jump in joy.

She pushed the ring over her left annulary and extended her arm to determine if the ring looked good on her. She even opened the wardrobe to step in front of the mirror on the inside of the door and hold the ring next to her eyes to verify that it matched.

Her heart wanted to jump out of her chest, and she smiled big, feeling so much affection and love for Jake, that a few tears rolled down her eyes from the overwhelming happiness. She just wished, Jake would be here, but the ring made it feel as if he was here with her.

Jen tossed herself on the bed and curled around her left hand, that she pushed in her chest, surrounded by her right hand, and she giggled while she closed her eyes and imagined the ring being Jake and that she hugged her.

After a few more minutes, she looked at her clock. It was just 8. She was not sure if she could call Jake already to thank him.

From downstairs, she heard the voice of her mother calling her for breakfast. The wonderful moment with thoughts about Jake deflated and Jen only kept a bit of the tingle deep inside her chest and stomach, when she hastily went to the bath, cleaned her face with a bit of cold water and washed the sweat from the night off her scales and then put on some fresh clothes.

The house was warm enough, so Jen only chose a white blouse and a blue skirt, that matched with her ne gem, only wearing her underwear beneath without socks.

She quickly rushed down the stairs and returned the morning greeting of her father and her mother, when she entered the dining room.

There was hot cocoa and some pancakes at her place already and Her mother kissed her, before Jen sat down.

Jen grinned away while she ate the pancake and when she grabbed the chocolate, she unconsciously also took her left hand to go around her right, proudly pushing her new won jewelry into the middle of her parents' attention.

Her father let his newspaper sink down, when he shot a glance over to Jen and her mother stopped the pancake she ate halfway to her muzzle and put it back on her plate.

"Sweetheart, where did you get this ring?" she asked surprised and Jen giggled and hid her big smile behind her cocoa cup.

"It... was a... Christmas present." She whispered, as if the dream that the ring cast upon her would be destroyed by loud words.

Her father leaned forward and took a closer look at the ring, pulling her hand away from the cup and holding it in his, while he observed the object.

"This looks like real gold and a real sapphire. This was not cheap. Who gave you this?" he asked Jen letting her pull back her hand again.

"That's a secret." She said shy and looked at her cocoa. From the corner of the eye she saw a grin of her mother, as if she already had someone in mind who would give this to Jen.

The adults changed a worried look and when her father wanted to say something, Jen saw her mother putting a hand on his and he closed he mouth again. Jen felt a knot inside her stomach from the weird atmosphere around the table.

"It fits perfectly to your eyes." Her mother tried to overplay the scene and the uncomfortable feeling in Jen's stomach turned into the tingling again. "Right?" she said, put the cocoa down and pushed her hand towards her mother, showcasing her new won treasure.

Her mother also took a closer look, just like her father before, and smiled to the girl. Jen was too happy to notice, that her smile frowned a bit and that her mother only forced herself to not make her daughter worry.

When Jen was back in her room and her door was closed, she directly picked up her phone from the night table and picked the profile of Jake to call him.

"Is that you Jen?" he asked, when picking up the phone. "Merry Christmas princess." She giggled. "Did you already find my present?" - "Yes." Her voice stumbled because Jen was so excited.

"It is perfect. Thank you, thank you, many many many many maaaaaaaany thanks." She pushed out with one breath and she could hear Jake laugh at the other side of the line.

"I am happy that you liked it. I saw it, when I was out shopping a few days ago and thought it would fit perfectly to your eyes." Jen felt tears running down her cheeks again from the happiness that overflew her chest again.

"I thank you sooooo much." She whispered. "I am feeling so bad that I forgot to get you something." She added worried but Jake laughed again.

"Your call and that you are healthy is the best present I could get." He explained. "Well, not as good as if you were here with me, naturally." Jen had to giggle under her tears.

"You have to send me a photo of you wearing the ring." He said. "I want to know if it really fits as good as I imagined. I was unable to test it before I purchased it."

Jen fumbled with the phone and shot a selfie with her holding the ring next to her face. Then she sent it to Jake.

"Hey, why are you crying?" he wanted to know, and Jen giggled and sobbed at the same time. "I am just so happy." She finally was able to stammer, and Jake sighed in relieve.

"I miss you." Jen admitted, while she looked at the ring. "But at least a part of you is here now with the ring." The voice of Jake sounded happy and warm. "I miss you too, my little lotus pedal. I am sure we will be able to meet again soon. But for today have a great Christmas and celebrate with your parents."

"I love you and I will always be there fore you, until I die." Jake told her. "Me too." Jen breathed into the phone.

They took over ten minutes to say goodbye again and again. Jen in the end kissed the phone a few times, to throw a few kisses to Jake, before she finally turned the phone off.

Only very slowly she calmed down and her tears stopped to flow. She put the phone next to her bed, missed the night table and it fell to the ground, but Jen did not care about it.

She lay on her bed for hours, just looking up at the ring, turning her finger and glanced at it from all angles. For her it was a great treasure that reminded her of Jake.

With each minute she stared at the ring, she felt more love and affection towards Jake build up inside her and she sighed a few times.

She did not know, that her mother had waited in front of her door and listened in to her conversation, confirming her suspicion. A mix of a smile and worried glance in her eyes decorated her face.

Other than their daughter, their parents had noticed that the worth of the ring and the making, in addition to the perfect coloration with her eyes, was more than a coincidence or a simple Christmas present.

The girl did not realize, that this ring was as good as an engagement ring and the choice of words of Jake were like a confession, together with the ring. An oath for life.

The maiden heart of Jen had just been in heaven and did not realize what her mother, listening in from the corridor, understood. It was more than a puppy love for both, Jen and Jake. The boy, or man, because he was 17 already, was serious and a look at her daughter at the breakfast had been enough to understand that her daughter also was with her head in the clouds and brimmed with love for him.

She was happy for the first love in the life of her little girl, but in addition she was worried, because she was only 11 while the boy was 17 already. She was not sure, if her girl understood, how this might change her future and if she was prepared for the steps that the black dragon set into motion already.

But she did not want to splash cold water over her daughter and rip her out of her romantic fantasies. There would be time to get her down to earth soon enough. A young maiden in love should have the right to be happy for a bit longer, her mother decided.

Little did her mother know, that there was even more to it than she realized. Jen's parents did not know, how far Jake went with Jen and even less, that he left a little present inside of Jen. One that the girl did not know about and that took root a few days ago, preparing to make itself noticeable a few weeks after to surprise Jen and her parents.

For now, the white little dragoness was floating on cloud nine, holding the ring dear as the biggest treasure in the world and for days only thought about Jake day in and day out.

Her parents had a talk this evening and decided to let Jen experience this rush of joy until it would cool down and a meeting between the two youngsters would near. Until then, there was no reason to talk sense into the girl and rob her of her of the happiness she found. And Jen was happy every day and was energetic and showed much less reservation than before the camp, which was perceived very positive from her parents.