The few times Ping meets humans who are notcruel, self-serving or selfish. At least in the beginning of Dragon Keeper, she meets a few farmers and country folk who treat her and her "grandfather" (Danzi in disguise) with more kindness and generosity than she's ever known.
Ping reuniting with her mother.
Ping and Jun starting a relationship together, possibly even marrying.
Iron Woobie: Like Ping, Danzi goes through all sorts of hell. First his mate dies (making him the last of his kind that he's aware of), is heavily sick and injured throughout the journey, he gets kidnapped and held in chains a couple times, and he constantly almost loses his egg and worries nonstop about it. But nothing will stop him from getting to the ocean.
Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Hua was the most useless character in the first book, but by the second book he Took a Level in Badass and became the most useful character for Ping during her journey onwards.
We can all relate to Danzi for freaking out over a centipede crawling into his ear and needing Hua (a rat) to get it out.
Danzi and later Ping cutting themselves and feeding their blood to Kai.
The Un-Twist: The end reveals that the Dragon Stone is actually an egg. Any reader would have figured this out long ago.
What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Our main character is an orphan slave girl who has to take care of an old and crippled dragon while being pursued by a Psycho for HireProfessional Killer and a terrifying Necromancer. There is lots of blood and dark themes throughout the trilogy (take a look at the Nightmare Fuel page for starters).
Ping's mother. After sending her daughter away thinking that she will have a better life as a Dragonkeeper, her husband and son died and she was left to suffer in poverty before meeting her second husband. She later learns her daughter didn't have a good life at all, but was Made a Slave and treated horribly for much of her life.
Princess Yangxin was forced to never leave her kingdom after having had an affair with the Captain of the Guards while married to the Duke in a another kingdom, which ended with her lover being executed. She spends the rest of her days crying and regretting her past decision-making.
