Lila of the Reptilydes Part 6
Lila went to her room and changed into cotton, short-sleeved nightgown that ended below her fourth large scale. She was about to crawl into bed when there was a knock on her door. She went over and opened it just a crack, seeing her father on the other side.
"Come on, everyone into the library. Time to tell all, if you will," he said, smiling gently.
She followed a few minutes later after collecting the egg, not letting it out of her sight for more than a minute. Everyone was already settled down into their favorite chairs by the time she got there. Her father and Emma, or she guessed mother, now, were sharing the loveseat. Lila felt good about that, calling Emma mom. She glided over to her and hugged her tightly.
"I guess I really can't say welcome to the family; you've always been here. Can we...can I call you mother?" Lila asked.
Emma stared up at her, tears gathering in her eyes. "Of course you can baby," she said finally, her voice breaking.
Lila smiled and sat down in her chair, curling up, her egg in her lap. Dyremus waited till she was settled before beginning.
"Alright, tonight I believe was successful. Half of you found someone tonight that you are least mildly interested in. For the rest of you," he paused, giving the twins, Troy and Trey, and Dmitri a meaningful stare, "I expect you to find someone at the next party.
"Now, Ian, I want to know about that little albino one you escorted around the dance floor the whole night."
Ian got a pained look on his face before saying, "Her name is Crystal..." Dyremus laughed slightly.
"What," Ian asked, "is so funny?"
"Nothing," Dyremus said, still laughing under his breath, "Her name just suits her coloring."
Ian's face took on a strained quality. He breathed in and out for a few seconds before continuing, "She is a naga from the kingdom, obviously. I'd see her sometimes when I went out to go to the market. Saw her at the party and decided to take a chance. That's about it."
Dyremus rolled his eyes but looked over at Kory. Apparently it was his time to fork up information.
"Her name is Karina; she's a servant, daughter to your personal butler. We were good friends last summer, but things changed when each of us discovered feelings other than friendship, we broke the friendship. We didn't know if you would accept it so we didn't see more of each other than was needed." Kory said.
Dyremus nodded, totally understanding. Now his son knew that the relationship would be accepted and everything would hopefully go smoothly. He turned to his baby girl, not liking that she was already seeing someone but knowing he had to let her go sometime. He just wasn't quite ready to even though this had been his idea.
Lila looked up at her family, knowing they were waiting for her. "His name is Zekeriah. He's a lot like Dmitri yet he loves horticulture. We didn't have time to discuss much more," she said.
Dyremus nodded once more, seeing Ian's anxious face and knowing that the boy had something to tell him in private, he dismissed his family.
When everybody had left for bed, Ian glided over to stare out the window, silent, waiting for his father to readjust his body.
"Alright, out with it boy. I know you know something you're not telling," his father said.
Ian sighed and looked up at the ceiling before saying, "Zekeriah is the prince from the neighboring naga kingdom."
Dyremus laughed, blurting out, "I knew that. I intentionally invited him. A local oracle predicted that they would be lifemates, would one day rule his kingdom together."
Ian sighed with relief, said goodnight to his father, and went to bed.
It was early in the morning when Lila woke up to a persistent cracking noise. She rolled over, blinking her eyes sleepily. It took her a minute to realize it was the egg; it was finally hatching!
She rushed out of bed and knelt down close to the pillow it was laying on. The cracking persisted, the little creature inside trying feverishly to get out. One piece of the egg finally flaked off, allowing one purple eye to look out at her.
She smiled down, waiting almost impatiently for the little creature to finally emerge. The little eye disappeared and a little hand poked through, trying to fit itself through the little hole it created. Instead all it ended up doing was cutting open its arm on a piece of jagged shell.
It started crying, not liking the sensation of pain. Lila crooned and quickly grabbed some gauze, wrapping the cut up nice and tight to stop the bleeding. The cries tapered off and she heard little sniffles. The little arm disappeared back inside the shell and the eye reappeared, looking up at her, pleading with her to help.
"I'm sorry little one, but it's tradition that we don't help, you need to build your strength by hatching out on your own," she told it gently.
The little eye disappeared again and the egg started rocking from side to side. Apparently the little creature wanted to try to roll himself out; the thought made Lila giggle.
Suddenly the egg rolled off the pillow and smashed into the ground, causing tiny cracks to spread all over the egg. The little creature inside shrieked with happiness, wobbling around everywhere trying to break free.
Lila stifled a giggle, watching it roll around frantically, struggling with its first and most difficult task.
Finally, the little creature pushed on all the sides of the egg at once by stretching, until finally the egg shattered around it. The little purple eyes looked up at her in triumph and she knew this little one was going to be very imaginative.
Lila checked its gender quickly, and then scooped him up in her arms to cuddle him close. Big purple eyes and greenish-grayish hair with a long opalescent tail, all of 36 inches, small for a naga. He was adorable and Lila fell in love instantly.
"How about... Sormay?" she asked quietly, "Yes, Sormay will do nicely."
She smiled down at him and then kissed his nose slightly. He cooed softly, gurgling happily. Then he yawned, tuckered out after his tiresome journey into the world. Lila smiled again and tugged a little shirt over his head, tucking his arms through the sleeves. She kissed his head and laid him down in his crib.
She yawned, wheeled the crib over to the side of her bed and then crawled in. Snuggling down under the covers, she went to sleep, hoping that the servants would see Sormay and let them sleep.