Grace was confused, she spun around a few times then continued to walk on. When she got home Tom didn't greet her at the door. He hasn't done in the last couple of days but that didn't bother her. "Home!" She shouted.

"Alright be there in moment!" Tom yelled from his study.

Moments later Tom came out and saw Grace trying to work his old fashion radio. She started to bang on the side and mumbling, "work you stupid thing." Tom smiled.

"Need help?" He ask.

"Yeah, how do you work this stupid thing it won't turn on!" She said messing with the dials.

"First thing," Tom said. "You need to plug it in." He nodded to the plug near the outlet and sat down. He notice something was off with his niece as she plugged in the cord and messed with the radio stations. "What's with the long face, kiddo?" He ask. Once Grace found her favorite radio station, she said,

"uncle, I know you keep putting me off, but I need know something. Why, are you keeping things from me? No more 'no's' or 'maybe in the future', I really need to know or I'm going to explode sooner or later." She stared at him with pleading eyes. Tom sighed and bounced his leg in thought. He knew the day would come when Grace would find out, but Tom could never figure out the right words to tell her. He looked at his niece, who was a complete mirror image of his sister. And not only that, but she was stubborn and determined like her too. Smiling to himself, he nodded.

"Alright, alright." He said standing up. "Turn off that radio and follow me." Grace quickly turned off the radio excited that finally Tom was going to tell her what she has been trying to figure out since she has moved here. "Grace." He started as they walked up the winding metal stairs. "For centuries, there had been one job that had been carried down from generations to generations." When they made up the stairs, they turn the corner and to the forbidden door. Tom grab a key from his pocket and put it the lock and contained. "That one job is being a keeper." Click. The lock went and he slowly turned the knob.

"Keeper?" Grace repeated. "Keeper for what?" When the door swung open, she peek inside the room. And what she saw would change her life forever. In the room sat two cat-sized dragons. A dragon with a mixture of red and orange scales was laying on a chewed-up pillow staring out at them. It also had an arrowhead at the end of his tail. The other was blood red. It was laying on a window seat also looking at them. But it didn't have the arrowhead at the head of its tail.

"Dragon keepers." Tom told her. Grace was astonished. Dragons! She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to. Tom guided her in, and Grace sat on the floor staring up at her uncle to tell more. "Back when there were groups of people known as the dragon keepers. They protect and serve the dragons. And in return the dragons do the same. The dragon keepers divide themselves into six family groups: the sun, the leaf, the water, the lightning bolt, the moon, and us, the star. But time is changing now, and we as you say, a dying breed. Dragon are becoming myths and are slowly becoming extinct, sadly enough. Not only that, but we as Keepers are also going extinct. There are not enough of us anymore, our Mark are not passing down from generation to generation as it once did. We can only hope that when I time does come that we are no longer needed, that the world is better place." Tom finished and left Grace pondering. The dragon with red and orange scales approach her.

"Hello." It said in her head.

"They can talk?!" Grace ask.

"Yes, technically. They can talk mentally. They don't have the vocal cords to speak like humans so with their magic they speak within your mind." Tom told her. 'That's why I couldn't hear anything when Tom was in here. Grace thought. The blood red dragon came down next.

"Hello." It said in a motherly voice.

"That is Brimstone. Tom gestured to the red and orange dragon. "And that one is Firestone." He gestured to the other dragon. "She was your mother's."

"My mother had a dragon?" Grace asked in amazement.

"Yes, she did. When your mother had you though, she ask of me to take of Firestone for her until the time for you to know. So like a good brother I did." Tom said and fell silent lost in memory. After a moment he clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Well, then, now that you know, I do believe it is time."

"Time for what?" Grace asked watching as her uncle walked over a wardrobe at the corner of the room.

"Time for your dragon."

~~~~

"My own...dragon!" Grace said and Tom nodded opening the wardrobe. Inside was an egg. The egg was light blue with dark blue swirls. Tom carefully pick it up and brought it over to Grace. He gently placed it in front of her.

"In this egg, is of course a dragon, if it senses that you are its Keeper, it will hatch for you." Tom explained to her.

Grace look at the egg, curiously. "And if it doesn't?" She asked.

Tom shrugged. "Then this dragon was never meant for you watch over it." He told her and then nodded to the egg. Grace took in a deep breath and reach over to touch it. The moment Grace made contact the egg began to shake. Grace flinch but watched it as it rolled back and forth. Then a crack appeared, and another and another. A piece of an egg pop out and hazel eyes peered through the hole. It squeak and squawk as it tried to break free. The egg eventually burst, and the baby dragon fell flat on the floor. The dragon had a light blue body with dark blue belly, breast, horns, and arrowhead at the end of its tail. The little dragon shook himself and stood up. Its legs wobble and it fell again. Grace laughed and helped the little dragon up.

"Here you go." She said. "How can I tell if it's a boy or a girl?" She ask her uncle.

"Well, look at its tail if it as an arrowhead at the end of its tale then it's a boy, but if it doesn't have on then it's a girl. So yours is a boy." Tom told her.

Grace look at her new dragon and stroke his back. The little dragon leaned against her hand as she did. "So, Grace what are you going to name him?" Tom ask. Grace thought for moment, scratching him under the chin.

"Moonstone." She said finally smiling. The dragon now called Moonstone smiled back at her. "Can he talk? Or mind speak?" She ask.

"Sadly no." Tom said petting his dragon Brimstone. "Dragons are like human in a way they can't talk until a certain time or day. That's when they learn some of their magic." Grace nodded.

"So did, Brimestone and Firestone make the egg?" She ask. Tom laugh.

"Oh no, no! Brimestone and Firestone are siblings." He laughed again. "Moonstone's egg came from the Keepers Manor." Grace gave her uncle a curious look. "The Keepers Manor is the place where we, the Keepers, have kept dragon eggs for centuries. It is often the place where we Keepers meet and have a yearly convention. I don't' really go, for certain amounts of reasons." Tom explained watching as Firestone walked over to Moonstone and a curious sniff.

"Welcome to the family, little guy." Firestone said. Moonstone just stared at Firestone and sneezed. Grace and Tom both laughed.

"Well why don't we head downstairs to my study think there's some stuff in there I need to show you." As Tom walked out Brimstone and Firestone ran out of the room. Grace stood up and picked up her little dragon.

"Come along, Moonstone." She said. As they reached the bottom of the stairs Tiger came totting along across the floor. Brimstone jumped and started to chase Tiger. Tiger hissed and ran away. "Aww, poor Tiger." Grace laughed. Moonstone jumped out of her arms and went to join Brimstone, but then tripped on his own feet. Moonstone quickly got up and chased after them. Firestone rolled her eyes and continued to walk toward the study.

"You can probably see that Firestone is more mature then Brimstone, eh." Tom laughed.

"Yeah, I can see that." Grace agreed. When they entered the study, everything was the same except for the pile books on Tom's desk.

"Sorry for the mess." He apologize. A few seconds later Brimstone and Moonstone came to join them. Grace looked at the books with all the people names on that. Tom notice her looking and said, "those are the people of the past who were Dragon Keepers who died long ago. It's really weird actually, having all of a sudden, a book appear in your study."

"So why do they randomly appear?" Grace ask.

"Well, from how I understand it, when a Dragon Keeper has passed on, the magic that has been set by the first Keeper to have their story be told in book form." Tom told her.

"So that's why moms up there?" Grace ask sadly. Tom sighed.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Tom took the book with her mother's name and switch it to where pages stood out instead of the spine. "Now then let's get to work."