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The dragon wanted breakfast. As always the local farmers were a good target. They knew better than to complain or try to stop him. For he was the master of this domain. He never took too much as far as he was concerned. Besides, it was a small price to pay for his protection of their little town.

So the green dragon swept in from the mountains. Passing over untouched forests and rolling fields towards the town and its many farms. As he grew near his shadow was noticed by those who fished and hunted in the lands below. They scattered or watched his passing in awe. Humans really were a panicky bunch. Finally he spotted a herd of cows quietly grazing in a great field. Perfect! The dumb beasts didn't even notice him sweep towards them.

"Hey!" A voice bellowed from below. "You big gas bag of a lizard! Don't touch those cows!"

Startled, the dragon passed over the herd. As he did he spotted a single man wearing black and gold robes standing by a fence. He carried a long staff and wore a ridiculously large hat. With a snarl the dragon wheeled about and came to land in the field. The wind from his wings buffeted the trees and forced the man to hold onto his hat. Lest it go flying from his head.

"You make a messy and unimpressive entrance beast." The man snapped.

The dragon stepped closer. Wings folded upon his back and teeth bared. His eyes narrowed upon the man who had interrupted his breakfast. Now closer he could see the man was old and wrinkled. An unkempt gray beard was half tucked into his robes.

"Who are you to address me in such a way!" The dragon bellowed. "I am Belandril Terdolix! Lord of these lands. I don't know who you are or where you have come from but it is not nice to be so-" The dragon snorted. "Rude!"

"And how do you know I am not from here, lizard?" The man demanded.

The dragon fumed. "Because if you lived here you would most certainly know who I am, you silly man. Now why are you here pestering me or did you wake this morning with the sudden urge to be burned to a crisp?"

Behind Belandril the herd had run off to the far sides of the field. While it would still be easy to catch them it would have been easier to snap one up as he passed overhead. He hated having to do anything resembling work before bedtime.

The man, meanwhile, slammed his staff to the ground and spoke words of magic. This surprised the dragon who had not heard a magic spell in a long time. With swiftness the spell was cast. Only to fizzle.

"Blast." The man spat and began to search for something under his robes.

"Were-" The dragon drew back. Insulted. "Were you trying to attack me with a spell?"

"Nope. Don't pay attention to that." The man answered and his search turned frantic.

"What are you? Some sort of Mage of the Budget School of magic?" The dragon began to advance. A low snarl rose in his throat.

"Aha!" The man bellowed and pulled something shiny from under his robes. "Hold beast! You dare not come closer!"

The dragon stopped. Unsure. Mages could be powerful. Even ridiculous ones. "And what exactly is that?" He asked at last.

"The means by which I will rid this town of your evil, dragon!" The man responded with confidence.

The shiny trinket was lifted. The man spoke magic once more and the air hummed with energy. With wide eyes the dragon pulled back as the object was thrown at him. Only to see it fall lifeless to the ground halfway between them.

"My back! Fuck!" The wizard clutched his side with one hand. The other kept a tight grip on his staff.

The dragon looked from the mage to the small glittering trinket on the ground, then back again. Ear frills lifted as he laughed. "Really? That's it."

The man slowly straightened from his hunched over position. "Just give me a moment. This happens sometimes."

The dragon snorted. Eyes narrowed. "No. I have breakfast to eat and naps to take."

"Shit." The man muttered as he tried to hobble away.

Balandril advanced on the robed man. It had been a while since he had unleashed his fire but this mage was giving him the perfect excuse to do just that. It was then that his forepaw fell upon the object the mage had thrown. A shock of energy washed through his body and he quickly yanked his paw back. From under it streaked the trinket. A leather strap opened to buckle around his neck. At its front hung a single small silver bell.

"What is this!?" The dragon bellowed as he reached up with a forepaw to try and pull at the thing now latched to his neck.

The man turned back towards the dragon. A grin formed on his wrinkled face. "Look at that. It worked! You're in for it now dragon!"

The soft sound of the bell tickled Belandril's ears. A beautiful jingle that formed its own oddly alluring song. He gave his head a shake as he tried to ignore the sound.

"Blasted mage! Take this off!" Belandril advanced on the man but managed only a few steps. For the bell's lovely song softened his heart. Making it hard to hold onto his anger. A low groan rose into his throat and he gave his head another shake.

The mage watched the dragon with the smuggest of smiles. "What's wrong dragon? Having trouble?"

"Be quiet!" The dragon replied. The words meant more for the song than the man.

The mage walked closer. Belandril tried to lift a paw to strike the man but his will wavered. His attention pulled fully to the beautiful song woven by the silver bell. Its melodies crept deep into his heart. Invading every corner to spark emotions within him that had long been unfelt. The dragon groaned once more as tears formed. A few trickled down his scaled cheeks. The need for violence faded and in its place peace began to fill him. Contentment. A more wonderful feeling he had never experienced. He sat with a thump. Tail curled off to one side.

The mage gestured for him to lower his head and Belandril obeyed. The mage patted him on the nose gently. "Feeling better now?"

"What exactly has happened to me?" The dragon asked. Confused at his own change of disposition. He felt so open. So vulnerable. As if something deeply hidden had been pulled forth for all to see. Never to be hidden again.

The mage reached out to the dragons collar and gave the bell a flick. Its song strengthened for the briefest of moments. A pulse of pleasure wound through his body nose to tail tip. He couldn't help but shiver.

"It's a kind of Dragon taming collar." The mage informed him. "An ancient and rare artifact that draws from you both your ability to perform violence as well as your ability to refuse my commands. I've waited decades for the chance to use it!"

The dragon considered what that meant for him. "So I'm what to you now? A pet? A slave?"

"Absolutely!" The mage stated.

Belandril wanted to shout at the man. To demand his release! Nothing came. Not an ounce of anger or aggression could be summoned. Nor could he find the will to stand. To fly away. To do much of anything. The very idea of leaving was hard to grasp. As if here, at the mages side, was where he had always been. So he remained seated with a confused expression fixed upon his face.

"Oh. I see." The dragon stated. "I think."

The mage patted the dragon's nose again. "Now, now. In time that might change. You should feel lucky! I was originally going to use a cursed artifact to turn you into a cow and give you to the townsfolk."

"That does seem like it would have been unpleasant." The dragon admitted.

"Most certainly. I spent some time as one after a miscast spell. Damn farmers couldn't keep their cold hands off my teats." The mage waved his hand. "But enough of that. There is more for us to do with you."

"More? Isn't this enough?" The dragon frowned.

"Of course not! You won't do any good for me as you are now."

The dragon muttered. "Dragons are perfectly useful!"

"Nonsense!" The mage retorted. "Unless you're meaning stealing livestock and burning things down."

"Is there a reason those would not count?" The dragon snorted.

"Hush!" Replied the mage.

A large sack was pulled from the man's belt, set upon the ground and opened. He reached within far deeper than the sack should have allowed.

"Lets see." He muttered.

The dragon watched with a detached interest as the man pulled out random objects. Gems, artifacts and weapons that were all tossed aside without care. As the man continued his search the dragon's attention shifted to the belled collar around his neck. The leather band snug against his scales. Silver markings etched on its surface. The single bell which dangled at the front looked so fragile. Yet he still had the presence of mind to understand it had snared him. Trapped him. So he lifted a paw to try and take hold of it. As he reached towards it the soft tones of the bell flowed into his mind again. The need to worry swept from him as the beautiful song played. His eyes slipped closed and a sigh left his jaws. What was he doing again? He couldn't remember. So his paw returned to the ground. He found himself shifting slightly. Back and forth. The bell danced merrily with the movement. He could see it, even with his eyes closed. So beautiful. So perfect. Shining brightly against the light that struck it. Was he even worthy to wear it?

"Behold!" The mage stated.

The dragon's eyes snapped open as the mage's voice startled him from his daydream. He looked down to see the man holding a translucent globe within his palm. He craned his head down to squint at the thing.

"So what's this then?" The dragon asked.

The mage explained. "A storage orb. It keeps items that are large contained and at the ready. This one I had sitting on my desk. Keeping it for a day I might get lucky enough to use it."

The mage lifted the orb and with his other hand tapped the top of the glass. "And today is that day. Please, stand up."

"This is going to be embarrassing for me isn't it." The dragon stated while he pushed back to his feet.

The mage cast a spell and the ball lifted from his palm. It rose up towards the dragon who stood patiently waiting for whatever was to befall him. The ball burst with the sound of a finger snap and out from it expanded streams of items that took shape as they swarmed him.

Bands of leather swept across his body as snakes. They interlocked across his chest. Looped about his midsection. Circled the base of his tail. All of which interconnected to form a harness. A harness that thickened and grew strong. Atop the harness, along his back, a framework began to rise upwards. Bits and pieces formed together with great speed. Seats rose and took shape. Plush and comfortable. Around them began to form walls and doors until the seats were completely enclosed. Vast glass windows giving whomever flew upon his back a great view. Decorative gold trim and pieces of harness formed next. Adding a colorful flair to the ensemble.

Over Belandrils face swept something soft. He closed his eyes as for a moment it brushed against them. Around his head he felt material stretch. Till it looped around the base of his horns, jaw and throat. He opened his eyes to look through the holes of a golden colored mask. From which hung a few threads with colorful beads. Similar bands circled his neck and decorated his tail.

The dragon took a deep breath. Feeling the grip of leather flex with the expanse of his lungs. Then let it out. He turned his head to look back at himself. Heat rising to his cheeks. "Yep. Embarrassing."

"Nonsense! Looks good on you. Gold always compliments green." The man looked over the dragon then made a twirling motion with one hand.

The dragon felt a compulsion to follow the command. So he began to turn in place. The harness shifted back and forth. It's various straps and pads unfamiliar against his body. Despite how odd it felt it was strangely comfortable.

"Excellent." Commented the mage. "It looks better than I remember."

The dragon snorted. "You just have this stuff waiting around to use?"

"I try to be ready for everything. Besides, I have dreamed about having a dragon mount for a long time." The mage began to gather the various things he had thrown out of the bag and place them back inside.

Belandril replied. His voice flat. "So happy to oblige."

"Don't pout! You're the one who kept raiding and bothering this town." The mage poked the dragon with his staff.

"The humans have all the food. I was just taking what I needed to survive." The dragon replied with a huff.

"Nonsense! There is a perfectly good massive forest filled with food just beyond the very place you call home" The wizard poked the dragon again.

Belandril whined. "Hunting? But that takes so long!"

The wizard scoffed. "Lazy!" Another poke. "And you're fat! Your work with me will do you good."

The dragon gasped. "I am not fat!"

The wizard continued. "I went through the trouble of capturing you unlike what some dragon hunters would have done. Now you're just going to work for me for a while. A fair punishment for some uppity dragon." The mage gestured again. "Now lay down and extend a wing so I can climb up."

A grumble from the dragon before he flopped onto his belly. One wing stretched outwards and he lowered it till the end lay against the earth. A nice ramp formed for the mage to ascend. The bell's song tickled the back of his mind. A lovely tune that drew from him the spark of irritation that had started to form. In its place he felt a tingle of regret. Had he really been giving these humans such a hard time? He hadn't believed so but clearly that was wrong. Perhaps he deserved this. If he had really been that bad. The bells tune made him sway his head ever so slightly. The regret turned to a thread of guilt that wove into his heart. The mage was right. He could have been better.

Eyes that he hadn't realized he had closed opened when he felt the man begin to walk up his wing. A shake of his head to try and clear away the fresh wave of new thoughts and feelings. The man's slight weight hardly felt as he walked up that wing. Then opened the door to the carriage and the plush seats that waited within. Once settled the man pulled the door closed.

Belandril lifted his head, looking in at the man sat upon his back. "Now what? How am I to hear you within that contraption?"

The mage placed his hand on something before him and the dragon suddenly felt his thoughts. "Worry not dragon. We will be able to communicate just fine."

"You're in my head?" The dragon was quite surprised.

"Essentially." The mage replied. His voice clear and strong. "A control crystal allows me to command you without a word. To the sky, dragon!"

With the mages command Belandril felt a sudden need to fly. His wings flexed as they itched to feel the wind once more. So he leapt skywards. Wings pumped hard to carry them above the trees. With each moment the ground dropped farther away from them. The weight of his new gear and passenger did not slow him.

The mage laughed in delight and let out a whoop! "Hells yeah!"

The mage's excitement was a surprise. "You're a mage! You telling me you haven't flown before with some spell?"

"Not like this!" Came the reply. "I hope to never get used to this."

The dragon continued to rise higher into the sky. The world below now distant as they neared the clouds. Despite Belandrils fate having drastically changed he felt oddly free. The harness that clung to him felt familiar. Not uncomfortable as he had assumed such things would feel. The man he carried didn't seem all that bad. Maybe this wasn't going to be so terrible?

"So what's your name?" The dragon asked.

"What?" The mage seemed to have been lost to the view.

"You know my name. What do I call you?" Now at a proper altitude the dragons wings stiffened to glide on the currents.

"Kiron. Master Kiron for now." The mage answered.

"Well then, Master Kiron. Where too?" Belandril asked.

The mage adjusted in his seat and smiled. "Head east, Belandril. We make for my home. There I will introduce you to a proper meal and a keg of ale. I am sure you will enjoy it."

That just reminded the dragon that he was hungry. "Very well. East it is then."

With a smooth bank the dragon aligned himself to the east and carried his master away. The sleepy town left behind. Maybe later the mage might remember he was hired to deal with not just one dragon, but two. Or perhaps not. Only time will tell.

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