Dragon - Chapter Two

A Chapter by Michelle_H

At some point during the flight she had fallen asleep, too exhausted from her earlier struggle. The emotional toll of her captivity had pulled into slumber's awaiting arms. But she woke abruptly when the Dragon tilted his body sharply forward and began to descend.

She looked around her, beneath her. There was nothing.

Desolate didn't even begin to describe the destruction of the ground beneath her. Had it originally been a forest, a plain, a town? There was nothing save red dirt and pockets of fire that broke through the mountainous surface of the desert floor to release it's molten fury.

Dragon, that's what she had begun to inwardly call it, spread its wings wide and began to glide in its descent. The wind pushed her blonde, waist-length hair to her front as she remained facing backward in the claws of her Dragon.

It lifted slightly, beat down on its wings rapidly a few times, and landed. On the broad edge of a blood-red cliff.

It released her and began walking down the increasingly narrow decline of rocky terrain. She looked to the left, right, and behind her. A 10,000 ft drop awaited her on either side of the narrow strip of land. The only way out was through the direction Dragon had gone. She reached for her dagger.

Nothing. She thumbed the outter straps on her thighs, her shoulders. And then she remembered.

She had only taken one with her because she wouldn't be gone long. Was simply meaning to take a breath of fresh air in the hilly terrain of Azure Forest.

And when she had fallen asleep in the claws of her Dragon, she had dropped it.

Her only means of defense, survival, escape. And she dropped it.

Cursing her carelessness, she crouched down and began following the Dragon on soundless feet. If there was a way down from this mountain, he would lead her to it. But it was a matter of sneaking past the colossal beast in order to escape.

She followed him that way for another hundred yards before he turned his horned snout in her direction, locking his gaze on the tiny frame of his captive. Snorting, he turned away from her and continued walking through the narrow rocky decline.

Had he just checked on her? She shook her head, clearly losing her sanity to the carbonic gases.

They continued that way for another three miles, her walking silently behind him in the hope that a means of escape presented itself, and he turning his head to.. check on her?... every few hundred yards.

As they tread on, rusty walls of stone began to rise up on either side of the decline until she strode the thin passage between two mountains.

When the sun began to set, turning the reddish hue of day into the milky violet of twilight, she wondered if they were coming close to the end of this seemingly endless, narrow decline.

When he stopped. And turned into the face of mountain.

Or so it seemed.

She stepped closer, creeping along the rocky face until she saw the opening that Dragon had ventured into. Nothing but darkness awaited her inside the cave's entrace.

Now was her chance.

She began to run, willing her legs to carry her past the cave's entrance unnoticed. Willing the Dragon to remain hidden.

No such luck.

Shards of bone bit into the thin flesh of her green frock and pulled her backwards, the bare heels of her feet digging into the rough terrain in a vain struggle against her captor.

Darkness engulfed her as she entered through the cave's entrance while Dragon continued to drag her.

She screamed and beat at the snout that held her against her will. The seering heat of his breath falling over her back and shoulders in waves as he continued the venture into the depths of the cave.

She eventually pulled herself upright and walked grudgingly beside Dragon as he maintained his toothy grip upon her gown. They walked slowly through the inky blackness that belonged solely to the underground.

She had begun to give up on ever stopping or bathing in the ambience of sunlight again, when flickers of light danced on the curving wall of the cave's passage. Her heart thundered in her chest.

Was he going to kill her? Sacrifice her? Was he the pet of a crazed Mage that sought the gifts bestowed upon her?

As they turned the corner, she saw that nothing of which she had imagined. It was a room.

Fur blankets lined the stone floor as a fire danced alight in the center. Pillows made of silk lined the walls for sitting. But there was no one here.

He continued past the empty chamber and came upon a branch of three large openings within the cave. He took the one furthest to the left and led her through the dark corridor and into another room.

But this room belonged to someone. Broadswords, shields of iron, and various weapons lined the wall furthest to her right. A fire was enclosed in stones to her left as she entered. A bed frame made of wild Oak topped with the finest furs and silk pillows lied in the center.

She hadn't realized Dragon had released his grip on her until she no longer felt the searing heat of his breath on her skin. She stepped forward.

And frowned.

Something wasn't right. Had he simply taken her into the lair of his master? Was the threat of a crazed Mage still a possibility?

Fear choked her. The thought of being tortured as the Mage siphoned her energy had anxiety racing through her. Blood pounded in her ears and she turned to run. Only to be barred by the steel gaze and barbed scales of a Dragon's snout.

He nudged at her ribs with the tip of one long horn urging her backwards. She stumbled over her feet as blood continued to pound in her ears until her back pressed into the wooden frame of a bed.

Black eyes bore into blue. She stared at him, unease settling over her at the way he stared at her. The way he held her gaze unwaveringly, his body still as marble.

The last time he had done this, he'd lifted himself into the air with his monstrous wings and had carted her off into a mountainous wasteland. She lifted herself onto the bed, the only direction she could go to put distance between herself and the black creature that stood before her.

Seemingly satisfied with her position, he backed up, folded his wings tightly to his body and began to tremble.

The bones of his body breaking even as his body contorted impossibly. The black scales melting into the color of cream-filled coffee. Wings molded into the bones of its back as the creature shrank and resized.

And what appeared before her, was a man.

prev chapter