When Women Were Dragons

Alex stews over the advice given to her by Dr. Gantz about Beatrice. One day, as she and Sonja pick Beatrice up from school, Beatrice is frustrated. She is bored with her current existence and is ready to be something else. Alex registers this shift, noticing Beatrice’s behavior as she refuses to play with her friends and walks home alone ahead of Alex. Once they arrive, Alex tells her “Auntie dragons” that Beatrice should be allowed to transform. She asks if any of them would have chosen not to change and receives confirmation that none of them would have chosen to deny their true nature. The dragons worry, though, that because Beatrice is a child, no one will understand the consequences. Despite this fear, they decide that Beatrice should be allowed to transform, and so she does—under the observation of her family, Sonja, and Dr. Gantz on Christmas Eve.

Although Beatrice is kicked out of school because of her transformation, her aunties—and other parents with dragoned children in the neighborhood—begin homeschooling. Beatrice therefore has friends, schoolmates, and a much happier disposition. Alex, without a child to care for on her own anymore, is free to be herself as well.