The Legend of Draconia: The Dragon, The Beach, And The Stronghold

Cold

In this moonless night, dark clouds huddled over each other. The wind blew behind me as cold as Cyrille’s blue glaring eyes. Moments later, fine needles of water spattered on my skin. I have nothing else with me aside from my paper thin clothes.

Maybe Darleen has not gone that far. I mean, the beach could not be that far from here, right? The rain slowly poured until the visual became cloudy. Still, I should be able to reach her. Which way was the beach again? Ugh, the rain is pissing me off!

Should I just give up finding the beach? I do not even know where I am right now. I flopped to my knees and dropped to the cold, stony ground. The leaves accumulated drops of rain like a bucket, only to pour over my drenched scalp.

My hands crossed on my biceps. I sniffled and sneezed as I looked for the path through this luscious greenery. Come on! I know I went this way before, or did I? Wait, where am I going again? Ah, Darleen! Right, where does she live again? Am I walking the right path?

The place got darker and colder as I continued on foot. I must have been walking in circles. I do not think I could walk anymore. I wonder how many hours have passed. Could gramps be looking for me now? What could have happened if I insisted on staying home?

I knew I should not have come here, but I could not resist gramp’s request. I wish I could go back home to the city now. I can’t promise anything, but it is better than being stuck here. I stopped and flopped under the raging thunder. I stared at the looming dark clouds, hoping that they would stop crying on me.

I tasted the clear water. It was like rust mixed with some soil. I immediately spat it out. What am I doing? Maybe Cyrille is right, Darleen must have just used me and lured me into this unknown place. Maybe this is my punishment for what I have done to my parents.

I curled up into a ball and the rain roared louder. To me, it sounded like background music. The rain was not that bad, I always wanted to play in the rain when I was a kid. What could Cyrille be doing right now? What does she think of me? Ah, what am I thinking? She left me to fend for myself.

She is the same as Darleen—they are both cruel creatures. How could she drag me out, then leave me alone? If that doesn not spell heartless, I do not know what does. Her cold eyes sure fit her personality. Such wicked women, I would rather die here in the rain than see them again.

I closed my eyes and listened to the drops of water striking the leaves. It helped lessened the nagging of my pessimistic mind as I closed my eyes. I sure hope someone could save me. Where are you gramps? Can’t you see I’m suffering out here? I thought I was your favorite. How could you leave me here alone?

I dreamed of clear skies, and the sun smiled from the east. I felt the cool water pushing against my body. I scrubbed my skin lightly with gramp’s favorite pumice. Suddenly, the stone slipped out of my hands. I dived below the reflecting water to look for it.

My hands touched something soft and slimy. I think I got it. I proceeded with scrubbing myself. As it touched my skin, it felt like cat claws stabbing my skin. I looked over my shoulder and saw a cold blue paw about the size of my palm causing my arm to bleed.

I hurriedly got out of the water and left my clothes and gramp’s pumice. I have been running for quite a while now. Where is the house? Could I have made a wrong turn? But how could that be? I looked at my surroundings, where am I exactly?

Suddenly, I felt something warm touch my feet. Drab colored my path. My running slowed into a walk. I walked towards the splashing waves. The salty sea breeze greeted me, beckoning me to the water. I dunked my skin into the warm water.

The water reflected the clear skies perfectly. It was like swimming with the clouds. I washed away the coldness that wrapped around my body. The bleeding in my arm suddenly stopped. Then the water boiled beneath me. The heat was so intense that my arm swelled.

When I reached the sands again, the splashing waves touched my feet. The swelling ceased, but my body still burned. The sand humanoid creatures took form in front of me. They pushed me back. I tried to push back at them, but it was like pushing a marble statue.

Two men wearing tight clothing gladly received me when my feet reached the boundary. The two men dragged my feet towards the stronghold. My heart pounded against my chest repeatedly. My lungs tried to catch up, but my heart was beating too fast.

I was met by the king again in his throne room. He immediately sentenced me to prison. This time, my eyes opened. The knight’s armor that stood along the hallway nodded at me. Soon, I have reached the dimly lit cell.

They threw my body like an inanimate thing and stabbed my back. I groaned and turned. At the corner of my eye, I saw an old woman weeping in the corner. When he heard my body squirming, he smiled and crept towards me like a spider.

My eyes grew wide as she approached my wounded back. From her mouth, she took out a salmon-colored thread and began stitching my back without painkillers. My body retaliated for every stab of the needle. Large beads of tears filled my eyes. I could not scream for help.

She gently carried my body on her velvety violet bed when she had finished. She placed a finger on my lips and her smile reached her ears. She squeezed my chest as hard as she could. Red marks covered the affected area. The heat on my body surged like crazy volts of electricity.

She continued on doing this until I leaked. Surprisingly, the bed got totally soaked in an instant. She repeated the action again until I pleaded with her to let me go. She then pointed me to the slightly discolored bricks on the wall. Upon returning the bricks, the captain stepped in front of me.

He had a look of disgust on his face that bored through my soul. She dragged the old woman from her cell and started kissing her like a hungry wolf. The old woman pulled me in with them and they sandwiched me in between. The king pulled me out and told me I was burning and he banished me out of the stronghold.

He was not lying, though. I really was burning when I my eyes opened to the setting sun. My head felt like it was struck by something hard and heavy. My chest felt like there was an elephant sitting on it. The blockage on my nose refused regular entry of air.

I could not feel my stomach, but I feel the need to eat something. Moisture evaded my mouth for a long time. How long was I out? I could not tell. I still had so many questions in my mind right now. Like that night, they were still left unanswered.

Beyond the greenery, I saw a lake with red fishes hopping above the water. I scooped my hands in the lake and filled my mouth with crisp water. It tasted like freshly cooked seafood. I eyed the flying fishes and my hands caught one of them. It almost slipped out of my hands.

I ran away with the squirming creature in my hands. Luckily, I saw a small stone cave. I grabbed some twigs and set my food on fire. The rich flavors of the sea filled my mouth. I have never tasted fish this good! I should save some for later.

My sinus allowed air to flow normally again. The burning heat subsided from my body. I think I could stay here for the night. No one would bother, right? But I must continue my search for home tomorrow. The wind blew through the opening. The stench from my pants itched my nose.

If only Darleen was here, she could have brought me the clothes that we bought at the mall with her. Why Darleen all of a sudden? She tricked me into going here, and I almost died in the process. I do not wish to see her or that cold-blooded creature ever again.

As I was about to close my eyes, an enormous shadow blocked the incoming air. I stood up and suddenly remembered that time again. Then a long nose poked inside. It bared its teeth at me and snarled like an angry dog. I covered my mouth and prayed silently over and over again.

“Oh merciful sky, please protect this lonely soul. I was only passing by when I happened upon this safe place. I thank the blessed waters for the nourishment they gave me. I apologize for my trespassing,” I muffled.

“Human, your solemn prayers are heard, but your sins are dire. This is a sacred place for the dragons as we are to offer knowledge and wisdom to our ancestors. You have violated our sacred animal. This is where we are to go when the time to reincarnate comes,” a deepened female voice responded.

“Oh merciful majestic dragon, I could not have known! How may I appease your ancestors? I did not wish to offend anyone. Please forgive my atrocities,” I bowed to the shadow creature.

“Nah, it’s probably fine. I sometimes gobble up the fish here when I can’t find food or when I am too lazy to find one.”

“Isn’t that cannibalism, Your Grace?”

“I don’t think so? Do you honestly believe that dragons reincarnate and become fish?”

“It could be possible. You may never know.”

“Ugh, you are so hopeless, human. If you ever end up here again, do not cook the fish or you will be in big trouble, human. Also, you went here on a bad time. It’s meditation season and the dragon’s senses are very sensitive during this time of the year. Luckily, I was the one to find the source.”

“I am sorry, Cyrille. I will do better next time. Thanks for the tip. I must take my leave now.”

“Wait! I did not tell you to leave right away. Besides, it’s dangerous to send you off this time of night.”

“But I thought you do not want me anymore.”

“Who told you that?”

“You left me alone in the human land. I almost died trying to escape there.”

“I regret hearing that from you, Luke. I thought you would be safe in the hands of humans.”

“But I was not treated as humanly as you would think, but lower than them. I could not take what they did to me back there when you left. I waited for you to come, but you didn’t. How could you leave me alone in this unknown land?”

“I’m so sorry, Luke. I did try to look for you, but I could not bring myself to cross the human boundary.”

“Well, you did not look hard enough! I was a sitting duck under the thundering rain. I wished that I could die so I would not suffer in this forsaken place anymore, but I could not even have that!”

She shifted into her human form and covered the cooked fish with stone. “I really am sorry, Luke. If I could have known that you would suffer such fate in the hands of your kind, I could have stopped Darleen from dragging you here.”

“Why are you bringing her into this?”

“Because it is true! She was the one who brought you here to suffer. She was the one who manipulated you to come here.”

“But she treated me better than any human I encountered upon arriving here, unlike you. You did not seem to care how I felt, how scared I was. You did not even bother to give me directions on this strange land.”

“Luke, please give me another chance. I did not mean to hurt you. That was the best that I could think of. You are better off with them than with me.”

“You think I did not want that? I wanted to be with you that day, but you did not let me explain myself.”

“I’m sorry, I cannot seem to control myself when I see you with her. When you are with that vile little girl, it makes me think bad things that I could to her. You would not understand how this feels.”

“It’s a human emotion called jealousy.”

“Oh, I think that’s not it. It can’t be it. Why would I be jealous of that little sand freak?”

“If it’s not jealousy, it could be envy.”

“No, no, it’s much more complex than that.”

“That is all my vocabulary could reach me.”

“It will come to me sooner or later.”

“Well, what now?”

“You could stay here for the night. I will make sure no one finds out about you.”

“Uhm, Cyrille?”

“What?”

“Can you stay with me just for tonight? Ah, what am I saying? Maybe I’m asking too much of you.”

“Are humans really this selfish? Fine, I will stay with you, but don’t try anything with me.”

“Am I allowed to touch you?”

“I will think about it.”

She laid down next to me. I could not stop my lips from stretching towards my ear. I must have looked like an i***t. Slowly, she cuddled herself inside my arms. She pulled my hand over her waist. Her cool skin soothed my earlier worries. My lips stretched further until it reached my heart.

“Do I smell weird?” I asked.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“You said that humans in this continent have sensitive noses. I wonder if dragons have too.”

“It’s true, but it’s a thousand times stronger than humans.”

“Is that a fact?”

“I can only guess.”

“So, how do I smell?”

“Do you want an honest answer or a blunt one?”

“Do I have a choice? They both sound the same to me.”

“Okay then. To be honest, you smell like a human baby wearing full diaper that is a week old. To put it bluntly, you badly need to take a shower, but I still like you however you smell.”

“Ouch, but what can I do? I’m stuck here with you.”

“Sadly, it’s only for tonight. Where do you plan to go tomorrow?”

“I don’t know. Can’t I stay with you forever?”

“I already told you, humans can’t stay here. If they discover that you here, I might not be able to see you again.”

“I would rather be with you than stay with my kind.”

“We could only wish, Luke, we could only wish.”

“When I open my eyes, will you still be by my side?”

“I can promise you that, my little human baby,” she kissed my forehead like a mother doting on her child.

“Thanks, grandma. I knew I could count on you.”

“Close your eyes, Luke. Good night,” she giggled softly behind my ear.

“Good night, Cyrille,” I smiled at her and pushed my skin towards her cool skin.

A bright ray of sunlight hit my eyes. When I looked down into my arms, she was gone. I got up and searched around the cave. Then a long shadow stretched in front of me. My body sunk to the edge of the cave and I held my breath. My heart pumped more blood than necessary as I closed my eyes.