There weren't always dragons in the valley. Sulphur, May nails the smell assaulting her nostrils. With an air of trepidation she treads soft as a kitten round the corner of the cave.
A crunch beneath her foot draws her attention to the bones. Fear exudes from every pore, before her lies the dragon. It’s eye opens. Gently does it, her right foot stretches to retrace it's step. Next is her left foot, only to repeat the movement of the right foot straight after.
She treads with softness, yet attempts to hurry. The eye is open but how has this monster before her not reacted to her intrusion? It ignores her, it must have seen her. Unless Sanya told her the truth, dragons are blind.
Okay potentially Sanya isn't a lying evil scumbag intent on killing her off. No...he really is.
What am I doing? this isn't the time for an inner debate about Sanya's qualities as a human...or lack of them as the case may be.
Crunch
Failing to stop herself taking a sharp intake of breath she stops dead in her tracks as the dragon's head whips around with the speed of a creature much more agile than this one.
"Ask me," is not what I expect the dragon to say. In all honesty I was not expecting much in the way of conversation. More so roaring, scorching and screaming. The screaming being on my part, not the dragon's.
"Excuse me," my voice hitches up several octaines and has some strange kind of warble which I don't recognise.
"There is always a question whenever one of you ground crawlers enters my lair," he sighs leaning his head on his propped wing in what would be a comical fashion in other circumstances.
"N, no question," I stammer shuffling back a tad further whilst maintaining steady eye contact with the monster. A monster with suprisingly beautiful viloet eyes and a polite nature. "Sanya dared me to come here, he claims dragons are blind. I think he's hoping you kill me." I kick myself inwardly for my honesty, why am I admittingmy weakness? Another backward shuffle remains undetected.
"Are you going somewhere so soon?"
I am having a civilised conversation with a dragon, no one is going to believe this. I am struck with a realisation, like a bolt out of the blue. Perhaps this is why no one knows the truth about dragons. No one gets out alive. "Please, I won't tell anyone," I promise, with another backward shufffle.
A scowl crosses the dragon's eyes, and he snorts a laugh. Green tendrils of smoke emit from his nostrils to accompany the plume of dark grey smoke tinged with a faint orange flame. I stiffen, remembering that I have no wish to be burnt to a crisp by a dragon, or anything else.
"Tell me child, you fear this Sanya, why is that, when it is clear you have the bravery to be here. Where is he?"
I nod, he has a point, as I lower myself to the ground. to sit crossed legged before this magnificent creature.
"Don't you wish you could get away from it all?" When he blinks the sulpher intensifies, assaulting her nostrils. Batted toward her with eyelashes the width of her fingers and as long as her forearm.
"I would never be able to save enough coin for that, even if I live for another 100 years," she confesses sadness fillling the tone of her voice as the words catch in her throat.
"Fine," the dragon agrees with a sigh and a visible slump to his shoulders.
"Sorry?" May begins to say, her words cut short by the sensation running along her spine and stretching out to her shoulder blades. "What the..." Wriggling her shoulders causes a ripple of the obsidian feathers covering the wings.
Wings!
That now stretch out from her back.
"—Why, how?" directing her question to the amused look on the dragon's face.
"You are now a magical creature now like me, I have given you a gift. This isn't something I do for everyone, you should be very pleased." A scowl is forming between his eyes at May's apparent ungratefulness.
"No, this is incredible. I can go and do anything now. Thank you, thank you so much. But—" she pauses afraid to upset her banifactor again.
"Yes," he prompts for her to continue.
"Why me? I'm nobody."
"Everybody is someone, and I sense that you are someone very special even if no one else does."
###
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SJ Covey
FamiLIES, SJ's debut NA book was released 20th Sept 2023.
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Excellent storytelling
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Comments (4)
The story brings about a beautiful wish. One that I think we all, as writers, long to experience for ourselves. To rise above our circumstances and find that the winds carry us, that we can do what we love for the sheer joy of it. To explore the world freely, knowing that we are nobodies just waiting to find our wings. We need be but brave enough to enter the dragon's cave. The rest of the story, that's up to us. Beautifully written.
Already read and enjoyed once more
Loved this story and the message it brings.
This is an excellent story