Snow White Claw

You may look at some things as impossible, or fictitious. Take me for example; I’m a claw. I’m a snow-white claw that belongs to a vicious, malevolent beast. This beast happens to be a griffin. The griffin, to be exact. This griffin is the king of all! His name is Balthazar. The worst part? He doesn’t clean himself! His fur is as white as I am and he goes around eating things and getting me all covered in blood and dirt, and I’m sick of it!

Unfortunately for me, I’m just a claw. I can’t really talk to him; I mean, I am just his claw. Sometimes I just wish that I could scream at him and give him a piece of my mind, you know? I’d tell him exactly how I feel about his less than adequate personal hygiene. I want to be clean! If I could drag him away the same way he does to me, I would drag him to the river for a well needed bath!

Anyway, a few days ago we were just flying around minding our own business when we saw a dragon flying over-head. That may seem like it would be a normal occurrence, but it’s actually very rare, and it scared the bajeebies out of me! He was spitting out flames and his scales were sparkling in the golden sunlight. I didn’t get a good look at him, though, because an airplane flew in the way as he caught my attention.

I tried to scream at the griffin and tell him to follow the dragon, but of course, he couldn’t hear me. I really hate being so illiterate sometimes, but Mother Nature apparently doesn’t like me very much and made me a stupid claw. So, instead of chasing the dragon, we flew down through the trees. Which is always an excruciatingly painful experience due to all of the branches reaching out and scratching me as I try to latch on to them. Seriously, couldn’t they take pity on a poor claw like me?

I was looking down from our high branch trying to figure out what made Balthazar swoop down so quickly. Then I saw her, a beautiful female griffin. Her fur was glinting silver, her eyes the color of the ocean, and her claws were gold! I’m sure Balthazar was falling head over heels for her because I was in love with those claws. I wanted to meet them; I wanted to see if they could communicate with me.

Lucky for me, Balthazar swooped down to the clearing beside her. “Your majesty,” The lady bowed.

“Hello there,” Balthazar replied smoothly. “You seem lonely.”

“I can’t say that’s not true.” She replied, looking away. “I used to come here with my brother and sister.”

“What happened to them?”

“Have you not seen the red dragon that lives in the grove?”

“No, I have not.” He crept forward to put his wing around her. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Your majesty, I would never ask you to do anything, I’m sure you have more important, royal matters to attend to.” She looked at him with adoration. She did want his help, but she was afraid to admit it.

“I insist m’lady.” He soothed her, “If there’s anything I can do, please tell me.”

She sighed, “Alright, I want that dragon dead. He swallowed my dear brother and sister whole a week ago, right in front of my eyes, in this very spot. I’ve come here every day since, hoping that somehow my family would be here, but they never are.”

“I will slay this dragon for you,” Balthazar concluded. “After he is finished I will bring you one of his radiant teeth to wear around your neck in remembrance of your siblings.”

“Thank you, my king.” The woman added before flying away and leaving Balthazar gawking at her uncanny beauty.

After staring after her for quite a long time, we flew off to his castle in the clouds. You may think, once again, that this must be fictitious, but I assure you: this is very real. His castle had taken over a hundred years to build, and it was glorious. It was made of sapphire and had colossal towers that Balthazar’s subjects took over when in dire need of a safe haven.

When we walked in, I took in the grandeur of his battle room. The walls were mostly covered in pictures of his past generals and colonels. In every corner there was armor that the griffin knights wore in battle. Balthazar sat down at the ivory, round table that sat in the middle of the room and was reminded of when his father fell down on his side, dead, right in front of his eyes.

That memory haunted Balthazar forever, and who could blame him? He was only two and saw his father die!

He sat down and tried to strategize. It wasn’t very often that a griffin battled a dragon without any back up. Actually, it was rare for griffins to fight dragons at all, but he knew he had to in order to prove himself to his new crush. Not that I was complaining, I wanted to be with those claws as much as Balthazar wanted to be with that lady.

Eventually he decided that he’d wait in the marshy grove, hiding in the trees until he saw the dragon and then attack maliciously, using me of course, in hopes that he was stronger than that wretched dragon. I, on the other hand, thought that this was the worst strategy ever thought of! I was finally clean again! I didn’t want to get bloody and covered in dirt all over again already.

He suited up in his sapphire battle armor, once worn by his father. His father had wanted sapphire armor because his wife was the color of sapphire, and he felt that by wearing sapphire armor he was carrying her with him in battle. After suiting up, Balthazar looked at himself in the only mirror that hadn’t been broken and thought, “Wow, I look just like my father.”

Not long after that he swooped down into the marshy, verdant grove and found the highest, stable branch to take perch on. He waited for hours before the dragon finally appeared. The sunset made the sky a wonderful combination of purple and pink. The setting sun glinted off the dragon’s scarlet scales and shined off his sparkling white teeth.

I tried to stay latched onto the branch as he lifted off in attack mode. He soared as fast as he could toward the horrid creature that had taken his future queen’s family from her. Instead of just attacking as he had planned, he landed on the dragon’s back and sliced at his neck. When he pulled his paw away I was dripping a sickly, yellow fluid that I assumed to be the dragon’s blood.

As the dragon screamed in agony, he twisted his giant head to see what had pierced his leather skin and metallic scales. At the sight of Balthazar, he screamed, “Get off me, you puny joke of a beast!” and then lashed out trying to swipe the king off his back.

Balthazar started to tumble in free fall towards the marshy ground of the grove. When he re-gained his center of balance, he flew like a bullet straight at the dragon. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” He growled threateningly. “You messed with my kind, you ate my subjects whole, and now I will defeat you!”

At this, the brave griffin dug me and his other seven claws deep into the dragon’s chest, creating a gaping hole; from which, the dragon’s heart and other guts spilled from. At the sight of the blood and guts on the ground I was barely able to hold my own guts down. And, yes, I do have guts; they’re just not the typical gummy, gory guts.

My creature then swooped down by the dragon corpse and opened his jaws wide to reveal the razor sharp, six inch long teeth. His canines were twice that long, and he then used me, being his favorite claw, to dig at the purpled gums and dig out one of the canines. Although the dragon was dead, you could still smell his revolting, hot breath. I held my own breath as Balthazar gently pulled out the colossal tooth to take with him back to the clearing where he saw his silver, griffin beauty.

After circling above the forest for a while, he spotted the glorious specimen of griffin once again, and this time, swooped down next to her. “Hello again,” He greeted her with the most charming smile he could muster, which, frankly, looked like he was about to eat her. “I bring good news.”

At this the lady griffin perked up, “Oh you do now?” She asked before quickly adding, “Your majesty.”

“Just call me Balthazar, please.” He insisted, still smiling. “I have slain the dragon that killed your family as promised, and I have brought his canine tooth.” He dropped the ginormous tooth down by her feet.

“Oh, Lord!” She cried, “You’re my hero, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

“There’s only one thing I want,” Balthazar answered, walking up and nudging her nose. “Actually, two. The first one is your name?”

“My name is Chrysanthe.” She answered shyly. “It means ‘golden flower.’”

“It fits you well, Chrysanthe. Now, would you like to be my queen?”

“I would love to, Balthazar.”

Then Balthazar leaned in and kissed his queen gently on the lips before leading her to his sapphire castle in the sky. Without getting clean, might I add. What a perfect ending? I have my silver claws to dance with forever.