The Dragon King and His Human Mate

5. Meeting the Dragon

Anastasia

Unwillingly, I opened my eyes and realized I must've slept in the ground for the entire night, considering the sun was shining brightly from the entrance of the cave. It wasn't the most comfortable way of sleeping, not the warmest one either, but I was glad I was regaining my lost strength from the terrifying day I had just spent.

The Dragon King hadn't found me yet, which was a good sign too. Maybe I'd die from thirst and hunger before he'd be able to find me if I wouldn't find the courage to soon leave this cave.

And I hadn't made two full steps out of the cave when I saw a wooden basket full of food in front of my foots, on the ground. I blinked several times, trying to realize if my hungry imagination was playing tricks on.

It wasn't though.

The forest was dangerously silent, just like the other day so I took it in my hands and entered the cave again. I started taking them out one by one and I could find mostly potatoes, tomatoes, pears and apples, and also a big cup of water. This was simply crazy. Who could've sent these to me? Were there other people in this island that I didn't know about? If this was true, were they telling me that I wasn't alone?

Wouldn't they want to talk to me, though? And for a fact I knew no one was stupid enough to come here in free will, the Dragon would never let them live.

My head was a mess, I couldn't wrap my mind around all this anymore. There was a missing part in the equation and it was driving me simply insane. The only thing I was sure of was that I wasn't alone in the damned island and most importantly, someone knew I was here as well. Too much for staying hidden.

After eating only the fruits and drinking some water, I somehow found the courage inside me to step out of the cave for good and start to walk around. The forest was pretty, I had to admit. There were different kind of plants and flowers all around me that I had never seen before and I was a sucker for exploring new things, for being free. If only I'd be here on my free will though.

It didn't matter how much I'd walk around the forest, observe the sky and look at the mountains, there was no sign of the Dragon. The only thing interrupting the deadly silence was the sound of the birds, but even that looked a bit creepy to me.

Just like that, I ended up in front of the ocean, again. The sun was setting, which meant I had walked for hours. That explained the pain in my legs and the hunger appearing again out of nowhere. How would I be able to survive here, even if the Dragon wouldn't show himself in the next few days? Whoever had sent that basket of food, they didn't want to be found, I was sure of it now.

I sighed, sitting down on the sand, wrapping my arms around my legs as I decided for some couple of minutes to relax and enjoy the sunset instead. All these thoughts were driving me crazy and I needed an escape from them, whatever it was.

The way back to the cave seemed even longer and more exhausting, all I wanted was to light up a fire and fall asleep, forget everything. Forget the fact that tomorrow may be the last day of my life, or that I'd never be able to see my family again.

But first thing first, I needed to find some woods.

As I was finally over, and about to enter the cave my eyes got stuck at the top of the mountain. I tightened the woods in my chest, completely forgetting how to breathe.

He was here.

He was finally here.

For the first few seconds, it looked like he hadn't noticed me there, but then out of nowhere his scary serpent-like eyes got glued on me, looking down on me it made me feel like I was nothing but a prey.

He was the biggest, most scariest thing I had ever seen. His scale color was a beautiful shade of bronze, a large head with a long neck and a gigantic body, but most importantly, some really big wings that almost covered all the view of the sky in front of me, leaving me in utter and complete shock.

I wasn't able to move, to scream or do anything else a person in his right mind would do if a scary dragon would be in front of them. He wasn't exactly in front of me, but a second would be enough for him to fly at me and breathe some of his fire and get me out of this world for good. However, a stupid part of me I wanted to bury deep down at that moment, wasn't only fearing him, it was more... curious. Intrigued, I would say.

He wasn't moving either. He was only observing me from above the mountain and for a moment, I got the impression he was holding me tightly with his eyes, only to shake those thoughts out of my head and find the strength to breathe again and run towards the cave as fast as I could, never looking back.

My trembling hands couldn't hold the woods anymore as I let them fall down in the ground and leaned my back in a corner of the cave, hiding from the entrance. I tried to calm down by telling myself the entrance was too little for him, and if he'd breathe fire inside the cave, I'd probably be able to survive here where I was standing. It wasn't a permanent solution, but I needed something to keep my heart not jump from my chest.

However, the dragon never came. By the silence that had fallen everywhere, I realized he didn't even flew in the ground, he was probably still above the mountain. This was strange. Why wasn't he getting rid of me? By this time he must've realized I wasn't his mate, so why did he let me live another day?

I rested my face in my legs as I started to let go of the fear and tension in my body in the form of tears. I didn't know what I was crying about, but I couldn't stop from sobbing and shaking. All I wanted was to be with my family, for them to hold me close and tell me things would be alright.

I couldn't understand how much time went by until I calmed down and decided to light the fire so I could cook the potatoes and eat something, before falling in a deep sleep I didn't wanna wake up from. Never.

*******

The next morning, I woke up to be welcomed by another basket of food and water, only that this time I found not only fruits and vegetables in it, but meat too. I had heard that people stuck in the desert for many days started to hallucinate water in front of them, was the same thing happening with me?

I decided to spend the day at the ocean. There wasn't a point in hiding anymore, he knew exactly where I was staying so maybe if he'd find me easier at the ocean, I'd get over this torture.

However, I regretted my decision immediately when I saw him flying above the surface of the ocean. It was as if he could feel my presence, because as I step foot out of the forest, he immediately turned his big head at my direction. My heart dropped in the ground now that this gigantic scary thing was this near me. If yesterday, under the veil of the night, I thought he was terrifying, today I was completely sure of it.

As he opened his big wings and flew even closer to me, I closed my eyes, breathing heavily and preparing myself for the heat that would come out with his breath. Something inside me was telling me to move, run, probably the survival instinct, but I ignored it. It was simply pointless.

But none of that happened, which forced me to open my eyes slowly in fear, first one and then the other. He was still in front of me, his big teeth out in the open, however, he wasn't moving. All he was doing was observing me with his big blue icy serpent-like eyes that I'd find extremely beautiful if all my senses wouldn't be on high alert, reminding me that I had the most dangerous creature right in front of me.

Was he playing with me?

"W-what are you doing?" I heard myself say, my voice too little and trembling. I wanted to show that I wasn't scared of him, but it was practically impossible when he was like that, in front of me. "Why aren't you killing me?" Surprisingly, I shouted this time, anger filling my veins.

Strangely, he moved his head on one side, watching me with some big eyes that almost looked surprised at what I said.

"Kill me now so we can both get over this!" I shouted again, as I closed my eyes so he couldn't see the tears filling up my eyes. Even now I wanted to appear strong in front of him. "Just kill me, damn it!"

But he still wasn't moving, nor breathing fire like I was expecting him to. Now I was sure, as he tilted his head on one side and his eyes widened a little, he looked surprised at my outburst. 

Was it because no other girl had said these to him before? Because all had begged him to let them live?

"What? Why are thinking of the most entertaining way to kill me? Isn't your damn fire enough? Or do you want to eat me instead?"

I didn't care that I'd only make him angrier, I was mad too. I was mad at him, at the witches for making human girls like me go through this, at the world for making us humans this weak. But I wouldn't beg him to spare me, I wasn't that weak.

However, for my utter and complete surprise, he opened his big wings, scooped the air and forced himself upwards, the pressure of the air making me fall back.

He left. He really left, as I buried my face in my hands, a million other questions appearing in my head.