The Dragon's Bride

    The light from the cracks in the ceiling begins to pick through my room. I blink a few times before I gain consciousness, and I stretch my arms out to either side to prep my body for movement. As I roll off my mattress lying on the ground I feel the cool morning air brush against my calves. I immediately shutter and run as quickly as a can to stand on top of my bed. After my chill fades, I step off of my bed and over to my brother who is peacefully sleeping on the other side of the mattress. I tap his nose in an attempt to wake him up but he just grumbles and flips over. I then proceed to walk over to the pail of water we keep near the bed and push my finger along the rim. It had gotten chilled from the night's air but luckily wasn't frozen. I lift the bucket and fumble slightly while picking it up. I lift it higher and take a long swig before setting it back down. I lean over my younger brother once again to see if his condition has changed to no avail. I walk past the bed to the snuffed out fire in the fireplace adjacent to where we slept. I promptly light it with a match and sit by it attempting to warm up. After a while, I stand up from my position and walk out of our hut with my day clothes in hand and a half woke Sibian, my 7 year old brother. We walk to the creek and the cool brisk air breezes across our skin and wakes us up even further. Once we reach the creek we unload our supplies. We strip and walk into the semi-frozen creek, attempting not to freeze to death. Once in the water for a few minutes, our bodies begin to adjust to the water. I scrub Sibian's back with some of the cream-colored rocks around the creek and we splash around until we get bored. I send Sibian back home in his oversized coat and torn jeans. His left shoe almost falls into the creek but I catch it and lift it back up to sit on top of the stones. Sibian waves and blow me a kiss running back towards the hut. I sit down into the creek so it reaches up to my collarbone as I wash myself the same as I did Sibian and dipped my curly locks into the shallow creek water, reclining to the sounds of the frost chilling the air around me. Humming to the sounds of the creek I bathed in the water until I felt fresh. Slowly rising I reached for my clothes when I heard a voice behind me. "Well, what do we have here? A Northern w***e no doubt!" The voice said in jest, laughing uncontrollably. Thoroughly embarrassed I embrace myself and sink back into the water blushing shamelessly. I slowly turn my head to see 15-20 men adorned in weapons, flags, and an unmistakable crest. My eyes widened as I saw the red flame resting behind a dragon swirling around a sword. The symbol of Derivna, the kingdom of dragons. I gasp and look up to the man who insulted me earlier to see an overly muscular man with an eyepatch on his left eye. My startled expression doesn't seem to be lost on him as he makes another vulgar comment.  "What's the problem girl? You act like you've never seen men before." "That's enough General." My eyes dart to the person who said that and almost slip when I see him.  He seems to be the one in charge, I think to myself. I rake my eyes over the kinder of the soldiers. He seems to be well dressed and also particularly groomed. His stoic expression is calm and endearing. I advert my eyes to hide my flushed face and turn my back to them again. "Let the Northern woman bathe in peace." The stranger said before turning his soldiers back to their routes. After they had left I once again rose out of the bath, this time being more aware of my surroundings. I began to get dressed placing on my undergarments and a traditional outfit. It had a simplistic outline and fur around the edges of my neck, sleeves, and skirt. I then slipped on a pair of laced up brown boots. After I'm dressed I gather my things and head back home. I walk inside to see Sibian combing his wet hair on our bed. I walk behind him attempting to spook him, but he turned around and caught me in the act. We both laugh and I lift him from his seat onto the ground by our bed and begin his daily lessons. Halfway through the day, he's already tired of learning and I let him have a little nap. I read for a while before waking Sibian and resuming his schooling. After we're done he runs outside to play with his friends, as snow begins to fall. I watch from our single window as the frost begins around its edges. I bolt up when I see a flame in the distance and run out to check on Sibian. "Sibian!" I yell as the snow falls. "Mira!...Mira!" I hear Sibians voice in the distance. I run towards it as a giggling Sibian almost runs me down. He points over to where the flame is emitting from eyes sparkling with excitement. "They're holding a celebration, Mira!" Sibian screeched. "For what though?" I said sitting up. "The Dragon Prince has arrived in town!" said a woman running towards the flame. I grabbed Sibian's hand and ran behind the woman and many others. Through the crowd, I attempted to see past the shoulders of the other villagers. I made my way to the front to see the same man from the creek. His helmet by his side as he waved to the villagers, his expression still neutral. As he passes by me and Sibian his glare moves to my eyeline. His cold yellow eyes look at me, then to Sibian, and away. He passed our people without a second glance. "He acts all high and mighty. Tch." A bystander stated in disgust. "How many people has he killed? A hundred, a thousand?" Said an elderly woman. "Mommy, who are these people?" a little girl asked, as she stood in a large pink winter coat. I voluntarily answered her without thinking... "They're Gods." _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hello, author here! I hope you enjoyed the first episode of my first story. I really came up with this story from the imaginative part of my brain. Any similarities my characters have to others or to real people are completely coincidental. This episode is kind of short, but I'll work hard on making them longer. If you have requests or questions leave a comment. I'll most likely answer. If you leave a critique make it constructive please: no hate. I'll, of course, look at your requests and opinions but it doesn't mean the character's choices will always line up with your own. Again, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!