Dragon Lake

I raced through the forest, my feet bleeding inside my boots. My breath came in short, painful gasps. My heart beat loudly in my ears. Branches and thorns scratched at every exposed inch of my skin and caught on the thin fabric of my outfit. Yet I could not stop.

They were right behind me, the men from the caravan. Their yelling echoed all around me. I could not let them catch me.

I could almost feel the crack of their whips on my back and legs. The closer their voices got, the tighter the skin around my scars grew.

My legs pumped as hard as they could. I jumped over logs and ran through spiderwebs—anything to escape my captors. I would not go back.

Then I smelled it: water and grass together. A splash soon followed. A source of water must be nearby. If I could just get to the water, I could dive inside and evade the men. Even if my clothes weighed me down, any death would be better than getting captured by them again.

Tears streamed down my eyes as I saw the tree line. I was almost there.

“There she is!” I heard one of the men scream.

I gave one last burst of speed and flew through the trees.

I came to a sudden halt where the grass met the lake. My mouth gaped at the sight that stretched before me.

Dragons. Dragons everywhere—some flying through the air, some strolling on the opposite shoreline, some sitting on rocks in the middle of the water and sunning themselves. Some were blue, some were green, but the one that caught my eye was the golden dragon fanning her wings just feet from the shore.

She stared directly at me, as though she could see into my very soul. My heart raced as she lowered herself from her perch and approached me, splashing lake water along the way. My instinct was to run, but I froze in place, my eyes locked on hers.

She stopped a few feet from me and lowered her head toward me. She stared at me for what felt like an eternity. Then she nudged me to the side, pushing me behind her wing.

She hissed as half a dozen men ran up, ropes and swords in hand.

Stay away from her, screamed through our minds, causing the men and me to hold our heads and groan, or else.

She swiped her tail at the men, knocking the weapons out of their hands. She took one small step forward, and the men ran.

She watched until they disappeared behind the trees. Once they were gone, she turned her enormous head toward me.

Come, youngling, she said in my mind, more gently this time. You need to bathe.

*

Author's Note: This story was inspired by the piece of art "Dragon Lake" by Michael Whelan, which can be found at the link below.