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First Lady of Emerald

first contact

By Suzsi MandevillePublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 7 min read
3

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. Perhaps it was more accurate to say, there weren’t usually dragons in the valley. Usually, they stayed in the mountains; flew screaming across the valleys and staged aerial battles with each other. They taught their pups to fly between the high ranges that allowed plenty of landing spaces on the surrounding crags. They were creatures of sky, mountain and distance, but today, there was actually a dragon in the valley.

Tabby expected instant death! She had pelted around the bend and nearly run into it. A dragon was lying across the path in front of her.

"Oooooh, shiiiiit…!" As she stood perfectly still, hoping that she resembled a part of the landscape, Tabby racked her brain for information about dragons. Did they have good vision? Well, they must have! The darn things fly. What do they eat? Well, I bet they aren’t vegetarians. But it suddenly occurred to Tabby that they didn’t seem to eat anything. Cows did not go missing. Virgins were always in short supply – but that wasn’t the dragons’ fault. As she wondered about dragons’ diets, she very slowly stepped backwards. A stick cracked. "Noooooo!" Tabby expected that to be her last thought on earth. But it wasn’t. The dragon hadn’t moved. Tabby took a chance and darted behind a large tree, and then her heart started beating again. She hadn’t realized that it had stopped – but now her heart was making up for lost beats, threatening to break a rib with its insistent pounding. "Assuming I live through this, this is going to be the story of a lifetime," she mused. Fearfully, she peeped around the tree. The dragon still hadn’t moved. Something crazy in Tabby’s brain wanted to throw a stone at it, get it to move. After all, “I saw a dragon in the valley…” “Wow! What happened?” “Nothing, it was just lying there, not moving,” wasn’t going to win votes in the Tabby Fan Club. Not that there was ever going to be a Tabby Fan Club. "I reckon I'd only get about ten people at my funeral," she moped. "And that’s probably just to make sure…"

Tabby began ticking off the things that had already gone wrong today. Hamish had started dating Juliana. She’d forgotten to finish her maths homework and got a really low mark. Lunch was soggy lettuce sandwiches. Hamish hadn’t even looked at her and she’d been standing really close. Her shoelace had broken and now her shoe flopped with every step. Juliana’s hair was blonde and Tabby’s was, well, tabbyish. Mum liked tabby cats. "Yes, but, you didn’t have to call me after one – did you?" Hamish and Juliana were snogging outside the school gates and Tabby had run away to enjoy a good cry. It was all so unfair! Tabby looked at her fingernails; every single one was bitten down as far as she could gnaw. She looked at the dragon. "I bet you’ve got long fingernails. Talons. You’d rip me into shreds without…" Tabby never came to the end of her thought. The dragon moved. Its long neck rose gracefully, and its head turned at an impossible angle until its right eye fixed on her with an encompassing stare. They stared at each other for long moments, Tabby expected any second to be devoured, mercilessly killed, carried off to its lair. Anything. Nothing. The dragon turned away, dropped its head across the soft grass and closed its eyes.

"Huh! I’m not even good dragon bait." Suddenly, she noticed that the dragon wasn’t breathing. It was so still, could it have died? The more she looked, the more convinced she became. The colour appeared to have faded from the scales. Dragons are vibrant green, as green as the hills and valleys themselves. But this one was a muddy brown. Its scales were flaking. Oh, Wow! She would surely be the first person ever to find a dead dragon! It would make her famous. Everybody would want to be her friend. Tabby sneaked towards it, careful not to tread on anything that might make a noise just in case it wasn’t quite dead.

And there it was. Lying with its back presented to her. She inspected the fine scales, etched like shells, overlapping like tiles, each one individual and perfect. One finger reached out to touch. "I’m going to touch a dragon." And before the thought ended – she had.

It was cool. And smooth. And magical. Her whole hand stretched out across the body of the dragon. The dragon didn’t move, it was definitely dead. She touched it with both hands. Amazing! "I’m touching a dragon."

Excited now, she wanted to run home and tell everyone! But then, they’d all come and they'd spoil it and she’d never again have this perfect moment. Tabby crept around from behind the dragon. Lying huddled across the path, she hadn’t realized that the thing was as big as a tree. Stretched out, the dragon’s limbs draped fully in front of it. Talons as large as daggers pinned the ground. "It’s dead. It’s dead. It’s dead," she reminded herself as she edged closer to the beast’s face. She crouched and looked carefully. Faded colors merged across the features, edged its eyes and ran down the length of the nose. An eye, the size of a dinnerplate regarded her. It was still alive.

"Oh."

"Got you." There were words in her mind. Tabby wasn’t sure if they were from the dragon, but they were apt. There was no getting away. There was no time for fear. Instead, she reached out and put her hand on its face. This was the day she died. This was the day she touched a dragon. This was the last thing she would ever do, so it might as well be big. She touched the dragon. And it changed. A golden hue spread across its face, along its back, down the legs and tail. No longer muddy brown, or green, the dragon became golden! And it was very, very alive. Now, its eyes were emerald. Its teeth, huge and yellow, tongue bronzed and breath like a tornado, knocking Tabby flat. Tabby scrambled backwards into the longer grass and bushes. Branches grabbed at her hair, she heard a rip of cloth and still she dragged herself back until she was at the center of the bush and could go no further.

The dragon writhed as colours rampaged across its body. It lifted and gyrated in madness and pain. Golden wings, etched crimson, beat the air and lifted the giant beast into the sky. Newly strong, it soared. As it became a speck across the valley, Tabby crawled out from the bush and watched.

"I touched a dragon. And now it’s gone. And I’m alive. And now I have to go home. It’s all over and I’m filthy and I have a rip in my blouse and twigs in my hair and the dragon didn’t eat me. Good outcome."

Tabby just heard the gush of air under its wings as the dragon returned, landing almost where it had lain before. The dragon walked towards her, gracelessly as a goose and stopped.

"Thorral." The word penetrated her brain.

"Ummm, Tabby?"

The dragon stepped forward. It appeared to sniff her. "I will know you. We shall meet."

The dragon leapt into the air and this time it did not return. Tabby retraced her steps back to her home, anticipating the trouble she would get for the dirt and ripped shirt. Suddenly, “I saw a dragon,” didn’t seem like a good story to tell anyone. She spent her journey concocting plausible tales and settled on one where she tripped and fell into a gully. All the time, the words "We shall meet. I will know you. We shall meet…" played in her mind.

But it was another nine years before she met Thorral again, and by then, she had completely forgotten.

Fantasy
3

About the Creator

Suzsi Mandeville

I love to write - it's my escape from the hum-drum into pure fantasy. Where else can you get into a stranger's brain, have a love affair or do a murder? I write poems, short stories, plays, 3 novels and a cookbook. www.suzsimandeville.com

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

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  1. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  3. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  1. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  2. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

  3. Masterful proofreading

    Zero grammar & spelling mistakes

  4. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  5. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

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Comments (1)

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  • Donna Fox (HKB)about a year ago

    This was a great read! I like the concept and direction you when with the prompt! Very creative!

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