The Dragon King's Mistake

There are tales of an old kingdom, one that has been taken over by a cruel dragon king. A flood of rumors began passing around; he kidnaps those whose adult lives have barely begun and turns them into dragons for his army, which is one of the biggest. Most people, well, almost everyone started locking up their older children to keep them safe. But that was mostly in the big cities and places closer to the kingdom.

Unfortunately, our main character lived on a farm, far from any city and much farther from the kingdom. She often wondered what it would be like to wake up somewhere else, to see the city lights she had only heard about from her parents, who recalled their lives in the city before they got married and started the farm every other night. Most days, her world was so small, filled with chores and the sharp voices of her younger siblings and mother, that she almost forgot about the world outside. Still, in the quiet moments after sunset, she sometimes worried if the world out there would ever reach her family. That is probably why they chose her to be turned next. No stories, no rumors, no suspicion. They were wrong.

Our main character lives on a farm, a pretty good-sized farm, and a very large family. Their house is a maze due to all the rooms for all the children they've had, adopted, and rescued.

Mother worked hard around the house, making sure it stayed in order; she also did all the canning, pickling, and dehydrating. She kept the girls from killing each other during every fight, which happened often. This meant she was always frustrated and not always the nicest person to be around.

Father was always gone with the boys, out in the fields sometimes; other times, who knows,  but they were rarely seen during the day. Once they returned home, they always expected some kind of food to be prepared; Father claims the cushioned bench while the boys cause even more chaos than the girls. At least they bring home some money, though.

Then there's our girl; she's the oldest, the firstborn, and a whopping 21 years old. She used to be a sweet little girl, so nice and respectful, but with every kid that got added, a bit of her sanity and ability to smile through every situation left. Now, her face is dead neutral; she only smiles when something is funny, or she's talking about something she likes.

Another lovely ability she's gained from having so many siblings: paranoia. That many siblings means a higher risk of pranks, jump scares, and accidental heart attacks. Which also means a light sleeper.

And this is where the story really starts.

Two dark-robed men and one woman slip into her home one night; the house's only sound is heavy snoring from several rooms. They reach the eldest child's room, our girl's room. She has to share with three other girls. The robed figures were well trained and could traverse the dark room and the toy-littered floor with ease.

They hovered around the three accessible sides of her bed, the fourth side being against the wall. The middle one raised the blade, dipped in dragon's blood and a spell. They take a single step forward, and the floorboard lets out the smallest creak. They don't hear it... But she certainly does; she shoots up right as the blade comes down, slicing her side now instead of going through her chest like planned.

She immediately starts hootin and hollerin'. The entire house is awake now as the shouts spread; the figures panic, run out of the room, through the maze of the house, and out the front door, a couple of the older brothers chasing them off. Mother is instantly going through the rooms to check on everyone. Father comes out a little dazed. And our girl is just standing in the hallway, after checking on her sisters, staring at the large gash in her side. The adrenaline is slowly going down, which means the pain is slowly rising through her. Her mother spots her after she finishes checking the last room, and then she notices the blood seeping into her clothes and onto the floor. Then she falls hard. The last thing our girl hears before she blacks out is her mother shouting her name.