She was still too frightened to stay in hers and the new guard dragon needed to be kilned. Kilning was the process which made the clay firm and brought out the greeny-blue colour of the glaze. It took, on average, two or three days. On the third morning, Lucy was settled at the kitchen table, colouring in pictures of woodland creatures when the listening dragon twizzled its snout, looked down from the top of the fridge and went, Hrrr. Lucy sat up like a meerkat. She abandoned her pencils and went running down the hall. “Mum,” she shouted. “He’s done!” Liz came out of the front room and together they hurried upstairs to the Den. There, on the turntable, was a lovely young dragon, beautifully glazed. Guinevere’s eyes were now closed again. She had gone back to her resting stance, with her paws pressed together as though in prayer. The new dragon’s eyes were green and wide open, but as still and solid as the rest of his body. Liz smiled and put her mouth up close to his ear.
