"No," he corrected. "Not a phoenix, Ayla. The Phoenix. To take this as your sign will let it define you. Are you willing to rise again and again if you have to? To never give up. To burn when it is necessary and fly when that is better?"
My shoulders relaxed at his words, because that was exactly what I wanted to do. Slowly, I lifted my gaze, and my head along with it. My hands let go of each other and fell to my sides. The Phoenix. Not a phoenix. Not one of many. He was saying this could be me!
"That's exactly what I want to be, sir."
Boris simply leaned back for a very ancient-looking book. Dropping it on the table before him, he eased open the cover and then flipped through the pages. All I could see were lines of writing. Not like paragraphs, but more like a list.
Then he reached the last page, where the words stopped a quarter of the way down. "On this day," he said as he took a pen and began writing, "I, Boris the Scribe, name you, Ayla, as the Phoenix. The mark will be that of a flaming bird rising." Then he turned the book and offered me his pen. "All you have to do is sign here. You can sign your name, right?"
"Yes, sir. It's the same in English or Vestrian."
"Just your first name," Kanik said quickly.
"She has another?" Boris asked.
"A last name. It was her father's, like they used to do in the old days."
Boris made a disgusted noise at that. "To make her the possession of her parents."
"Worse, her father," Jeera said. "Wives take their husband's name when they change ownership."
"Then just your first name," Boris told me. "And from now on, you will be known as Ayla the Phoenix."
Bending over, I wrote my name proudly in the space he indicated. When that was done, I passed the pen back to him and stood up.
"And now," Boris said, closing the book so I could see the cover. "You are officially a Dragon."
There, carved into the leather and painted with gold, were the words:
Registry of Lorsa Citizenship
Dragons
"I'm..." My eyes jumped over to the old man. "That's it? I'm really a Dragon now?"
"Yes, you are," he promised. "Now, it'll take me a day or so to make the sign die for you, but putting your name in here makes it real. You are a Dragon. The Phoenix is your sign. No one can change that now."
"Oh..." I was smiling. I was smiling so wide my cheeks were going to hurt!
"What do I owe you?" Jeera asked.
Boris just waved her off. "No, I think this is going to be Ayla's debt to pay."
"She doesn't exactly have a job yet," Kanik told him.
"But she does," Boris said. "She's going to rise from the ashes. That's my payment for this sign." Then he chuckled. "And maybe you can mark it on some Moles like Zasen did."
"I will," I promised. "I swear! Oh, thank you, Mr. Boris!"
"Just Boris," he assured me.
But none of this felt like enough. I needed to show him how much this meant to me, so I leaned in, wrapped my arms around his neck, and hugged him hard. That had worked with Zasen. It showed how I felt. It was also the biggest thing I could think of doing for someone.
And the man gently patted my back, but he softened against me. "And now, I think that debt might be paid in full."
SeventyRymar
When Ayla got back from the market, she hadn't bought a single thing. Instead, she burst through the door like a golden whirlwind with the biggest smile on her face. Zasen almost choked on his beer at the sudden entrance. I just froze, my eyes locked on Ayla.
"I'm a Dragon!" she squealed, all of her proper and demure attitude gone.
"What?" Zasen asked, looking back at Kanik who followed her in and closed the door.
"How?" I asked next.
"Boris," Kanik explained. "I told Jeera what had happened, she talked to Ayla, and somehow that ended up with us visiting Boris."
"And he agreed?" I asked, unable to believe this.
Kanik just nodded slowly. "Yeah, he also wouldn't let Jeera pay. He said the debt is Ayla's, and to pay it off she must rise from her ashes."
So Zasen jerked his chin at Ayla. "What's your sign then?"
"The Phoenix!" she squealed, almost bouncing in place. "And it's perfect. I mean, I thought I should've been gold, because that's what people say about me, but Boris didn't like it. He asked me questions and made me answer, then he drew up a flaming bird!"
"Do you know what a phoenix is?" I asked her.
"Rymar, I read books," she told me, but her smile was stuck on her face. "And the phoenix heals too! It is immortal and strong. It's everything I want to be, so I love it. This means I can't be sent back, right?"
