Chapter 4 The knight and his pocket dragon.

Violet stood on her tiptoes, trying to reach a spellbook on the top shelf. Her fingers were a few inches away when the shelves tilted, forcing the book into her hands. She looked around the shop. Basil lifted his head from a bucket with a mouthful of something Violet couldn't identify. Her gaze shifted to the spell book in her hands; this was the second time the shelves had moved. She thought her aunt and the talking goat were exaggerating when they said the shop was alive.

"Thank you," She mouthed. The shelves rattled, and Violet smiled.

Just then, the bell chimed loudly, and the door swung open. Aunt Bell stumbled in, hand filled with boxes stacked against each other. Violet moved to help, but the boxes slowly began to float above her aunt's head.

Aunt Bell's eyes met Violet's, and a cheerful grin spread across her face.

"Vi darling," she chimed, pulling Violet into a tight hug. "Thank you for looking after the shop." The boxes above her head moved toward the counter and set themselves down with a swish.

Aunt Bell let go of her and searched for Basil. She pulled out biscuits from her coat and waved them around. "Basil, I brought biscuits," she yelled.

Basil's head popped out from behind a shelf; his hooves clicked across the floorboards as he moved towards Aunt Bell. His ears twitched in excitement.

She lowered them to his mouth, and he took them all in one go. Bell wiped the crumbs off her hands and turned back to Violet.

"What happened? The shop seems to be in a good mood." Bell's eyes travelled over the counter, the shelves, and the drawers.

Violet's brows pulled together. She followed the movement of Aunt Bell's eyes, trying to find what made the shop's mood obvious.

Basil pushed himself in between them, his golden eyes narrowing as he leaned closer to Aunt Bell. "Maybe it's because she witnessed the start of something beautiful," he whispered. Violet rolled her eyes, pushing him aside as she walked behind the counter.

Aunt Bell watched the both of them with a note of curiosity

"He's been stupid, Aunt." Violet picked up the book she had buried herself in the entire morning.

"I'm not," Basil hissed. He shook his head so hard his ears slapped against his face. "She has a_"

Violet set the book in her hands down with so much force it sent dust flying. Basil flinched, the words on his tongue suddenly pushed back down. He narrowed his eyes and stepped back.

Aunt let out a soft chuckle; she had never seen Basil back down from a gossip. She smiled, and she leaned on the counter, watching as Violet tried her best to look busy.

"Basil misunderstood a customer interaction," Violet muttered when she grew tired of Aunt Bell's piercing eyes.

Behind Bell, Basil snickered; he flicked his tail and nibbled on a dangling herb.

Aunt Bell opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of the bell chime. Basil rushed behind a shelf and watched as a man at least six feet tall stepped in. His shoulder-length hair moved in the wind. He wore a heavy coat with a thick shawl wrapped around his shoulders. He walked towards the counter, his brown boots leaving behind dirt with each step.

His gaze moved with deliberate care, taking note of everything in the shop

"I wish to buy a cure." His voice was loud; the shelves creaked, and the books on them were pushed back.

Aunt Bell gave him a polite smile.

"What do you need a cure for?" She asked.

The Man placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out a creature. The creature's tail wrapped around his fingers.

Violet watched, her eyes filled with fascination as the man placed the creature on the counter right in front of her.

He withdrew his hands to reveal the tiniest dragon Violet had ever seen

The dragon was about the size of the kitten, with dull red scales, a chipped right horn, and wings so small; Violet wondered how he would fly.

It curled into a ball, its eyes closed shut.

"Sir Ashby is plagued with a deadly curse; I fear he is dying." The man watched his dragon sleep with sadness.

"A curse?" Violet's pressed her lips together; it was the most adorable thing she had ever seen, and it was cursed.

Aunt Bell gently tapped the top of the dragon's head, and its eyes blinked open, revealing amber eyes a little too big for its face.

"How did it get cursed?" Aunt Bell asked.

" It all started the weeks after I retired"

The shop pushed a chair behind the tall man. His head turned when the chair hit the back of his legs.

The man exhaled as he lowered himself onto the seat.

"You see, I am a great knight; I fought side by side with the king during the great demon war." his eyes gleamed with memories of past glory as he spoke.

"After the war, I chose to retire, and that's when Sir Asbhy became cursed"

The dragon sighed, puffs of smoke rings pulling out of its nostrils.

"What changed?" Aunt Bell asked.

The man exhaled sharply; he leaned back on the seat.

"He is a dragon of great honor; we fought side by side, we vanquished our enemies, and brought glory to our kingdom." he looked at his dragon, sulking with his back turned away from him. "Now all he does is cry; he refuses to come out of my pockets and barely eats. It's a curse, I tell you," he cried.

Violet's eyes stayed fixed on the small dragon; it stretched its wings and let out a small yawn.

"He looks tired," she whispered.

Aunt Bell's lips curled into a small smile; she reached for a coin in her pocket and placed it in front of the dragon.

"Do you have a cure?" the man asked.

Aunt Bell turned to him with a warm smile.

"No"