Lena and the Dragon

There was a small, two-bedroom house built at the edge of a forest of a village called Smew. The house wasn’t much, but it was perfect for the small family of three. A mother, a father, and a young daughter. The mother, Lena Whitlock, loved this house. Mostly, because she could not bear to move away from this forest, but she did not want to think about that now.

“Mommy, can you tell me the story of how you met a dragon?” A young girl with white-blonde hair asks as she lays her head against the pillows.

“Yes, Amara. As long as you promise to try to sleep,” Lena said with a stern look as she tucks a quilt around the girl tightly.

“Okie Mommy,” Amara says with an eager nod. Lena sits on the edge of the small bed, and it creaks as it adjusts to the added weight. She smiles lovingly at her daughter and gently brushes a stray strand of hair from her eyes.

“It was a warm summer day many years ago. I was three years old then. Only one year younger than you, and we lived in a small house, similar to ours, near the edge of the forest. My mother was hanging the washing out to dry,” Lena begins.

***

“Dear, why don’t you go pick some flowers?” A woman with light blonde hair suggests firmly to a small girl as the girl tugs on a sheet. The sheet comes loose from a clothes line that stretches across the yard, and the woman snatches it before it can reach the ground.

“Okie Mommy,” Lena says as she eagerly ran to the large patch of wild flowers just a few feet away.

“Just don’t go too far,” the mother called after Lena before returning to her chores. The girl was too excited about her new task to pay any mind to her mother's words; not that she fully understood what too far was. She was only three years old, after all.

“So pretty,” Lena says as she picks up a fluffy white flower. She brings it close to her face and blows on it. The feathery petals launch into the air, and she watches in awe as the breeze carries them away. Once they have disappeared, she begins to pick more flowers of many types and colors. As Lena picks flowers, she notices a small, cinnamon brown ball of fur with long ears nibbling on some grass.

“Bunny!” Lena squeals. At the loud sound of her voice, the rabbit scurries away. She follows after the rabbit, clutching the flowers tightly in her fists. She follows the rabbit deep into the woods until it disappears.

“Mr. Bunny,” she calls out as she looks around, but there is no sight of the rabbit. With a sigh of defeat, Lena turns around, and she begins to head home. What she didn’t know was she was not going in the direction of home. Instead, she was going deeper into the forest.

After about half an hour, Lena’s legs begin to feel like rubber, and she is filled with worry that she will never get home. She throws her now wilted and crumpled flowers, and she does the only thing she can think of. She throws herself to the ground and whales.

***

Meanwhile, back at home, Lena’s mother paces around her living room with worry. How could she let this happen? She asks herself. She had only taken her eyes off Lena for a few minutes to hang the washing. At least that is what it felt like. Minutes. Now, it seemed as if time had stopped completely.

“We will find her,” Lena’s father reassures his wife as he ties his boots and grabs his hunting rifle. He kisses her on her forehead and pulls her in a tight embrace before heading outside. His reassurance did little to ease her nerves. She wanted to go with her husband to find their daughter. She would turn over every rock until her sweet Lena was found, but in truth she was more useful at home waiting for their safe return.

“Alright boys. Let’s go,” her husband said, and she watched through the curtains. Ten miners from the coal mine her husband worked at came to aid in the search. She was incredibly grateful for their help, but she couldn’t face them. Not until her little girl was found, at least.

***

What a beautiful day. The rocky gray colored dragon thought as she flew over the treetops of the forest. She didn’t leave her cave often except to hunt these days, but today she felt restless.

She swooped down, closing her eyes, and enjoying the rush of wind against her scales. Before she would crash into the trees, she angled her body up towards the sky, ready to complete the loop. However, a small sob coming from below caused her to pause. It almost sounded like a human child.

Logic told the dragon that it could be a trap set by hunters, but her gut told her to investigate, and in her many years of living, she learned to always go with her gut. She followed the sound, but she was careful to keep a good distance in case it really was a trap. Once she was close enough, she saw it was a small girl all alone.

The poor dear must be lost. The dragon thought to herself. She lands on the ground with a soft thud next to the girl. The girl looks up, and a hint of fear then awe flashes across the young girl’s tear stained eyes.

“Hello, Little One,” the dragon says, taking in the girl’s appearance. She had light blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She wore a faded pink dress and her feet were bare. Clearly this girl didn’t plan for a hike through the woods today. Now that she had a good look at the girl, she realized she had seen this girl before, and she knew where the girl lived.

“Hi, I’m Lena,” the girl says.

“I am Nadia,” the dragon introduces herself. “Would you like me to help you get home?” Lena nods, and Nadia gently takes her in her claw, and she takes flight height above the trees. Lena screamed in excitement as they flew. Once they reached the house at the edge of the forest, Nadia landed and gently put Lena down on the patch of flowers

***

“The end,” Lena says to Amara with a yawn.

“Wait! No. What happened after that?” Amara questions. Lena explains that her father and his friends surrounded Nadia thinking she had harmed her, but quickly realized that Nadia had brought his daughter home safely. Lena became friends with Nadia for several years after that.

“But that was before the war. Now dragons and humans are enemies,” Lena adds.

“Why?” Amara asks.

“That is a story for another day. Now go to sleep child,” Lena says and gives Amara a kiss on the forehead before blowing out the candles, and leaving the room.