Unexpected Victim

I never understood what was on the mind of the sorcerer that invaded my cave that one day. All I wanted was to be alone, but I heard someone intrude in my cave in an attempt to steal my minerals. I would've been fine with it if they were polite about it from outside the cave, but the fact that they were too close for comfort made me less than happy. All I did was react...in such a way that the cave shook, but because I retaliated against the thief in my safe haven, they put me under a spell where I would become human every night.

I wasn't sure what to do the first time I found myself in possession of fingers, arms, legs, and other human parts. I thought about staying in the cave, but I figured someone would just find me and take me elsewhere leaving my home unguarded for more than a night. So, I went for another idea: step out of my cave without the risk of being hunted. I grabbed some minerals and walked to a shop to bargain them for clothes, for starters. The clothes were on the dark side, so they were enough to keep me from standing out amongst others.

It wasn't long before I heard the sound of a beautiful man's voice. My feet acted like they had a mind of their own and I found myself peeking through a hedge to look at a garden occupied by various flowers and a gorgeous man singing. I felt so tempted to enter the garden, but I didn't know who it belonged to and I'd be a hypocrite if I did the same thing I didn't want others to do to my cave. After thinking and coming up with many reasons various ideas could go wrong, I stomped my feet while hiding out of nervousness. I saw that it caught the man's attention, so I stomped a simple "Hello".

"Umm, hello?" he said after I stomped.

To see if it was a fluke, I stomped "I don't want to harm you. I just heard you singing".

I saw the man freeze and it was some time before he said, "I didn't know I was loud". I felt about the fact he could understand me.

"Will you be out here tomorrow? That might be the only time we can meet like this," I stomped.

"Well, what's your name? I'm Roman," he responded.

"Oh, I'm Virgil," I stomped.

From then on, whenever the nights came, I would hide in the hedge and communicate with Roman via stomps while he spoke to me. He told me about his interests in artwork and flowers and I told him about enjoying the night sky and spending time alone with the exception of people I trust. Even though I didn't tell him verbally, it actually felt good to tell someone. There was a connection between us I could feel and it ends up being confirmed by him saying that he wished we could spend more time together. I told him that the wish was mutual, but I later found out it was possible to stutter in morse code before he claimed that he understood me wanting to be loved by more than just looks.

One day, I was watching the sun as it was starting to slowly go down. I thought about Roman and curled into a ball at the thought of him finding out what I really was and hurting me in any way. I thought about how I would be able to tell him and how things could work out between us. As I was stuck in thought, I heard footsteps approach towards me. I peeked out from my ball form and took notice of a knight. I wasn't surprised until I heard a familiar voice say "You'll terrorize us no more, foul beast!" I didn't know if it was because I knew the voice was Roman's or because I had the curse placed upon me last time I defended my home, but I just stood my ground and placed my head down. I wasn't sure how Roman reacted, but I didn't really care; if it was a crime for me to protect my safe haven, I was going to allow the death penalty. After a long wait, I grew impatient.

"Just slay me already, Roman!" I heard myself say.

As soon as I heard myself, I looked down and noticed my human form before looking up to see the removal of the helmet to reveal Roman's shocked expression.

"V-Virgil? You're the dragon terrorizing everyone?" he asked.

"Terrorizing? I've never gotten out of my cave until I was first cursed. Besides, how do you keep people from breaking into your home?" I retorted.

"We have royal gu-wait, that's what this was about? People were invading your home?" he countered.

I nodded and teared up at the thought of Roman no longer wanting anything to do with me. Pretty soon, I felt warm, strong arms slowly wrap around me and felt a shoulder that I was able to cry on.

"I'm sorry I frightened everyone. I just don't trust easily," I sobbed.

"It's alright, Virgil. Would it be easier if I came here from now on? We can still use morse code when you're a dragon again," he suggested.

I nodded wordlessly and felt him kiss my lips. Not long after I kissed back, I heard a "No! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

We both turned to the source of the shout and I recognized the sorcerer who cursed me.

"You were supposed to be more outgoing in order to be human permanently, thus leaving the cave open for others to explore and the minerals free to be gathered!" they shouted.

"Wait, let me get this straight: you cursed Virgil in order to make it easier to steal from him?" Roman asked in disbelief.

"Well, he's a dragon! It's about time he grew a spine and let it happen!" the sorcerer claimed.

Pretty soon, Roman grabbed his sword and it was inserted within the sorcerer. As a result, I was stuck with the curse without a counter spell known, but I didn't care. Roman had to return to his home and I felt free to feel comfortable in my home. I ended up being able to call him my boyfriend and we used some of the rumors against me to our advantage. Maybe I might trust some more people, but until then, I was content to the many times we spent alone together day or night.