Seductive Darkness

“There weren’t always dragons in the valley” breathed an elderly shell of man from the shadows, supporting his fragile frame with an intricate wooden staff that rose taller than him. I hadn’t noticed anyone observing me as I struggled to make words on the tattered poster peering it’s way through the towns notice board pile, attempting to still be seen through the endless wanted canvases, community announcements and upcoming events that the townsfolk have pinned. The small and barely legible banner reading “Here Ye! Here Ye! Dragon training: sunup, 2 days from the holy fare - not for the faint hearted”. I shuddered at the thought of being fierce and gruesome, riding into battle atop a fiery, scaly dragon. I turned on my heel to question the mystery stranger about the arrival of these beasts but was brought to a halt when there was not a soul to be seen. My eyes turned to the now empty and much colder alley in search of the weak and feeble man I laid eyes on just moments ago. The once small and cheerful chatter that surrounded my presence has now ceased into a bone chilling silence, so much that you could hear a pin drop. Sunshine and warmth that constantly radiated throughout the town was overcome by a sudden darkness in every nook and crevice, giving a deathly sense in the back of my mind. I somehow found myself automatically rummaging through my rucksack that crossed my body and hung just below my waist, in search of my mace. My mother always hounded me whenever I left the home to carry it with me, never actually believing I might need it one day. The stench of wet moss and decay filled the air in an instant. Tendrils of obsidian coloured shadows emerged ever so slowly from within the cracks of the pavers that lay underneath my now shaking stature. “Do not harm the girl, she is mine” a rich and almost seductive voice bellowed from the distance. Red glowing eyes and slim figures making their appearance from behind the cottages that lined the street, snickering almost as whisper scaring away the stray feline that wandered aimlessly around in search of an innocent mice or two. A headache threatens to tingle at my temples as I try to wrack the events happening around me. The hairs standing to attention on every inch of body caused me to quiver ever so slightly. I noticed the painful, icy shards start to consume my barely covered feet as the shadows made there way up my short frame, canvassing every curve and bump I had to show. My raven hair falling at the base of my back, blowing slightly from the motion of surveying silhouettes that continue to dance around me. A sickeningly sweet scent filled my nose as the physique that belonged to the deep and seductive voice stalked towards me. Within what felt like seconds, I was faced with a breathtakingly, tall man that appeared to be chiseled from the kings throne itself. My breath hitching in my throat as a golden eyed dragon followed behind, coming to a standstill behind this cryptic being. “Hello Annabelle, I’ve searched this kingdom high and low for you” a smirk forming on his full lips, his piercing blue eyes causing a haze in mine. A haze too much to bring back under control, I succumbed to the slithering coldness of the shadows. No longer having the strength to hold up my trembling body, I fell into the abyss of blackness that clouded my mind and into the arms of what I named, the seductive darkness.