Five years before Alex met the German Shepherd...

The dragon approached the sprawling, four story mansion on crouched legs. Its emerald scales reflected the dying light of the setting sun that bathed the flat and trimmed yard, but it did not slow its pace. The family that lay inside would not hear it coming. Not until it was too late.

With a thunderous roar and a spout of flame, the dragon charged the modern day fortress. It slammed its head right through the front doors, catching a very handsome—and very mortified—man in a business suit by surprise. Before the man could even cry out, the dragon snapped its jaws across his body and battered him from one wall of the entrance hall to the other.

"Halt what you are doing, foul beast!" cried out a portly knight on a very unhappy pony. He had his lance pointed right for the dragon's behind, but refused to charge until the dragon faced him. He was a man of honor, after all. "Your reign of terror ends here!"

The dragon spit the business man out of his mouth almost as an afterthought before pulling its head out of the door. When it turned, the green dragon practically towered over the knight and his pony. It regarded the pair with its crimson eyes for but a second before letting out a puff of smoke akin to a sigh.

"Why do you vex me at every turn, knight?" the dragon asked.

"What you are doing is wrong," the knight answered.

"I am exacting justice!" the dragon fumed, gesturing with one clawed hand to the mansion and its broken front doors. "I am righting that which has been wronged!"

"That is not for you to decide," the knight countered, pointing his lance in the direction of the dragon's chest. "Only righteous knights such as myself decide what is right and what is wrong. Cruel, cold-blooded creatures such as yourself can never know the difference."

The emerald dragon let out a low rumble from its throat. It crouched low, white hot magma dripping from its teeth. "This is the last time you interfere, knight."

"Finally, something we can agree on!" the knight shouted. He lowered his lance and pulled on the reigns of his pony. He knew he would have to be fast in order to pierce the dragon's heart before its fire consumed him and his steed.

Wasting no time, the knight charged the dragon. The dragon reined back its head and opened its mouth lined with razor sharp teeth. The knight was nearly upon the scaled beast when it—

A soft knock on the door nearly made Rosetta throw her figures into the air. Instead, she gripped the dragon and the knight close to her chest as she turned her head slightly towards her bedroom door. "Yes?"

"I hope I am not interrupting," her mother said, pushing open the door slightly. Balanced carefully in her hands was a tray of what smelled like shortbread cookies. "I brought you two some..."

Rosetta turned her head away so she wouldn't see the look on her mother's face. But it did little against the painful silence that hung in the room. Rosetta could still feel her mother's eyes on her back. She could still imagine the pitiful expression on her face. The little girl closed her eyes as her grip on her figures tightened.

"Did she leave already?" her mother asked.

"She never came."

Again, the silence. It took more effort than Rosetta wanted to say those words. She thought she was over it. It wasn't the first time she was here, alone, in her room. And it wouldn't be the last.

But Arietta had promised...

There was a soft clink of metal before Rosetta felt her mother's presence right at her back. It hovered there, warm but uncertain. Rosetta wanted to be upset with her mother for never knowing what the right thing to do was. But, in fact, she wasn't sure what she wanted right now either. She just wished her mother could reveal it for her.

"I want you to know that, no matter what, this is not your fault," her mother said. Her words sounded so close, but Rosetta never felt further away from them.

"Then whose is it?" she asked, trying hard not to choke on her own words. Pathetic. That's how she felt. Spending hours telling herself it was fine, only to end up like this. "I tried hard this time, I really did. She said she would come. Arietta promised me..."

Rosetta had to release her hold of her knight to swat away the tears starting to leak from her eyes. Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic.

"Sometimes, people cannot keep their promises no matter how much they wish to," her mother offered. "Perhaps—"

"No," the little girl interrupted, her voice suddenly gaining clarity. "She never liked me, not really. I heard her talking with Daphne and the others. They dared her to talk to me. They said they would give her candy if she could pretend to be my friend for a week."

"Rosetta, darling, that is awful."

Rosetta wasn't sure why, but hearing those words made her lose the last bit of control she was holding on to. The tears streamed freely down her face as she struggled to control her breathing. Her throat soon began to hurt her and her sobbing quieted slightly, but her whole body continued to shake with tremendous force as she clutched her dragon close to her chest.

After about a minute of this, the young girl calmed down enough to realize her mother had placed her hands squarely against her slim shoulders. Rosetta sat still, hovering on the edge of wanting to shove the hands away or turning to embrace their owner.

"Do you want me to talk to their parents?" her mother asked.

"No," Rosetta said without hesitation. She knew, from that same group of girls, that the parents didn't treat her mother much better than their daughters treated her. "Please don't do that."

Her mother let out a dry hum. Her hands moved down to Rosetta's back and gently rubbed up and down. "Sweetie, if you knew they were trying to trick you, why did you let them do it?"

Rosetta bit the bottom of her lip to hold in another weak whimper. She felt on the brink of tears again when she forced out her answer. "Even if it was just a trick, I wanted to play with someone. Even it was just pretend, I..."

The little girl could not force any more words out. Her throat closed up and all that came out was a strangled cry.

Suddenly, arms wrapped around her and pulled her in with surprising strength. Rosetta forgot to cry when she realized it was her mother who was holding her. Hugging her in the fiercest embrace she had ever been in.

"You will not be going back to that school," her mother whispered. Her voice trembled, yet rang with such conviction Rosetta knew there was no arguing. She had heard her mother speak in that voice only once before. "I am done with playing these games."

The two women sat there in silence for a while longer. The young girl remained wrapped in her mother's embrace. No words were spoken between the two until Rosetta dared to say out-loud. "M...Mother?"

"Would you like to know a secret, my darling Rose?" her mother asked, her voice now no more than a hushed whisper.

Rosetta paused, unsure whether she wanted to know the nature of this 'secret'. But soon she decided that anything was better than the heavy quiet she had been enduring up until then. She nodded against her mother's chest.

"Your caretaker, Hornroot, my dearest friend, was tailor made for me."

Another pause from her daughter, and then, "Like a dress?"

Lady Louise could not resist a soft chuckle from escaping between her lips. "In a way. Your mother knows people who can do the same for you, if you wish."

Rosetta did not respond right away. She fiddled with the dragon still clutched between her hands.

"Think about it for a second, my sweet one," the Lady pressed, pulling her daughter closer against her. "You could ask for any friend you want. They could look and act however you wish. And, best of all, they would play with you. No tricks, no lies. They would play with you because you want them to."

Her daughter sniffed once before placing the dragon toy on the ground.

"Can my friend be a girl?" she asked.

"Of course. Whatever you like."

"You promise?"

It was Lady Louise's turn to pause, but she soon broke into a soft smile and buried her face into her daughter's smooth, black hair. Before Rosetta could protest, she placed a single kiss on the top of her head.

"I promise."

...

"Mother, I think I left Agnes in the doll house," Rosetta called from her bed. She was all but a head poking from the sheets. After Hornroot's skilled tuck in job, nothing but a natural disaster would get her out from beneath them.

Lady Louise stopped halfway out the door. She turned back and gave her daughter a tired smile before walking towards the four stories tall 'doll house'. "I saw what you were doing with your toys earlier. Was Agnes meant to be another victim of Ignastus the Misunderstood?"

"No!" Rosetta cried, almost as though she was personally insulted her mother would even suggest such a thing. "Agnes was held prisoner by the demon Bellub. Ignastus was going to save her!"

"I see," her mother commented with an airy laugh. She cracked open the doll house by its hinges, quickly finding the little fox doll sprawled out over the master bed. "I suppose the dragon's title exists for a reason. I apologize for misunderstanding."

"Ignastus had been searching all over the city for her," Rosetta went on as her mother approached her bed. "But Bellub had tricked him into attacking homes he wasn't in, and Sir Caulderberry thought Ignastus was the bad guy!"

When Lady Louise reached Rosetta's bed, she slipped little Agnes in between the sheets, so the fox's head was pressed snugly against her daughter's. While her daughter was in the middle of her description of Ignastus' argument with the knight, she snuck in a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Mother! You did that already," Rosetta said with a huff.

"Yes, apologies again," Lady Louise said, not sounding sorry at all. She planted herself on the edge of the bed, her eyes then drifting to Agnes. "You know, you've had Agnes since the day you were born. Would you like me to pick you out a new doll to sleep with? Perhaps your favorite animal..."

"Never!" Rosetta returned, pressing her face indignantly against Agnes. "Agnes will always be my favorite."

"Ah. It seems I have a lot to be apologizing for tonight," her mother said with a sigh. She smiled and winked at her daughter before smoothing over a few stray hairs splayed out on her pillow. "I should be getting to bed before I embarrass myself any further."

"That may be a wise decision."

Lady Louise chuckled as she stood up. "Have I been saying that a lot lately? I'll need to start changing it up before those stuffy men catch on to me."

With a few strides, the Lady made it back to her daughter's bedroom door. Just as she was reopening it, a shy voice called out to her from across the room.

"Thank you, mother."

Lady Louise's smile returned. "Goodnight, my sweet Rose. I promise you, I will make this a life worth living."

With that, she slipped out and closed the door behind her. Already, a million things whirled around in her mind. People to track down. Arrangements to be made. There were whispers that she had lost her touch since losing her home and her husband. It was time to show them all how wrong they were.

"It may take a few years, but I will make this right," Lady Louise whispered to herself as she strode through the dark and quiet halls of her new home. "In just a few years, they will regret what they have done to my family. I swear it."

...

*Author's Note*

And there it is, the official first "Bonus Chapter" for the Unfamiliar series. Thank you again, @_thAnathOs_for your entry. Without it, this little slice of the Louise family might have never come to life. This chapter dedication goes out to you!

For those of you who are confused, I hosted a little "Unfamiliar Contest" where people could submit ideas for a chapter long story featuring a character or event within the universe of these stories. Don't worry if you feel like you missed out, I shall be running another one soon!