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THE D O O R M A T -- a dragon story && please read!
By: swifty Date: July 31, 2013, 4:54 pm
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[center][font=georgia]THE DOORMAT[/font][/center]
[center][img width=510
height=382]
HTML http://i42.tinypic.com/2uei93t.png[/img][/center]
[sub]I'm writing a story, obviously. The second story I ever
wrote was about dragons. This isn't it, but I wanted to write
another story about dragons. So I did. I appreciate constructive
criticism, as long as it's not full on mean. It tells me where
I've gone wrong. Just to let you know, this hasn't been edited
at all. There will be mistakes. Sorry about the picture being
black.
characters (though it might give some stuff away):
[spoiler][sub]Bad Side:
Jürvseyt;; black dragon with black eyes and black wings, male
Márting;; jürvseyt's maid. wine-coloured scales, no wings.
black-brown eyes, female {nice, but on evil side}
Aaltêra;; Jürvseyt's head deputy, brown scales, black eyes male
Good Side:
King Pangho;; king of the Palen--golden scales and blue eyes,
male
Nymph;; main character. purple scales, emerald eyes, girl
Felbîed;; head knight, organiser, deputy, scarlet scales green
eyes, female
Daer;; nymph's foster mother, white scales, yellow eyes
Medfrá;; a mother, maid of Daer, grey scales, yellow eyes,
female
Suanki;; healer, brown scales, sapphire eyes, male
Thrôtch;; mate of Daer, green eyes, brown scales, male
Fåressa;; best friend of Nymph, brick red scales, green eyes,
female
Octäul;; mother of Faressa, orange scales, amber eyes, female
Ulen;; son of Medfrá, dark yellow scales, green eyes
Morphod;; friend of nymph & fåressa, navy blue scales, blue
eyes, male
Destaal;; father of Morphaed, grey eyes, dark green scales, male
Other:
Luñtria;; the kind of 'god', female,[/sub][/spoiler]
[sub]PROLOGUE&&[/sub]
[spoiler][sub]A STRANGE, SMOOTH stone glided through the fast
flowing river. It glowed a pearly black in the afternoon sun.
Surrounding the river was dense forest, with tall trees and many
forest critters. Then suddenly, a looming shadow appeared. From
the dense undergrowth a huge dragon with thick muscles adorned
with scars and dark eyes like black slate appeared. His claws
curled over the edge of the bank.
"Ah," he sighed happily, a terrible grin curling onto his
scarred maw. "There it is. There's the egg." He chuckled loudly.
"Márting, come out. I was wrong to doubt you. The egg is here
and it is totally unguarded." He sunk his thick claws into the
earth to steady himself and reached out, snatching it up
greedily.
"T-thank you master," said a frail female dragon, skittering out
of the bushes to stand behind him. Her scales were a dark
red--the colour of wine. "But it was Aaltêra's patrol who
notified me." Her head was lower than it should have naturally
been; she seemed to have bent it down so low that she looked
like a turtle. Her wings were stumps; they looked like they had
been cut off, but once been there.
Then, a long shadow passed across them. The black dragon looked
up, furious. "Márting! I thought you said no one was here!" he
hissed, furious. Márting looked horrified; poor thing, she was
probably scared to her bones about what the black dragon would
do to her.
"That was what Aaltêra told me! Please, I didn't know!" she
shrieked. He hissed at her to shut up, and she clamped her jaw
shut, though all the blood seemed to be drained from her body
with fright. She stepped back, eyes wide.
The shadow from above passed. "Maybe it passed..." the black
dragon hissed. He turned to Márting. "You'd better hope that it
passed." He bared his teeth at her, and she whimpered slightly.
Anyone could tell that she was terrified. The black dragon
seemed to like making her frightened, and ran his tongue over
his two huge, ivory fangs.
But, a dragon did land. He had golden scales and blue eyes, with
wings that were like spider webs. "Leave her alone. She didn't
do anything to you, Jürvseyt." He hissed. Then his eyes
flickered from Jürvseyt, who appeared to be the black dragon, to
the smooth stone he had attempted to conceal from the new
dragon, to no avail.
The black dragon snarled at the new dragon. "That's none of your
business, Pangho!" He growled as Pangho, the golden dragon, as
he circled Jürvseyt and Márting just watched, shivering and
terrified in the background.
"I see you have a nice new egg there. Mind letting me see?"
"Of course not! Just go away; I have things to do, and you're
getting in my way."
Then suddenly, Pangho leaped at Jürvseyt, catching him by
surprise and causing him to loose balance and topple over.
Márting stepped back to let them have space as they both tackled
in a whir of paws and claws, until they were both standing in
front of each other, panting heavily. Jürvseyt held the egg.
"Hah! You'll never get it. Even trying to pry it from my dead
claws would be useless." Jürvseyt spat, his wings slightly
raised in aggression as they both circled each other.
"That's because your grip is too tight! You need to let go of
the past." Then once again, Pangho leaped at Jürvseyt, slashing
his shoulder. With a roar of fury Jürvseyt boxed Pangho's ear,
and again they were a frenzy of fighting. Blood splashed the
ground, and Márting, too afraid to do anything, only stood
there, emotionless and seeming paralysed; unsure whether to help
her master or watch.
But then it all ended. It was blunt; Pangho smacked the egg from
Jürvseyt's claws, and it rolled to the river where it continued
down the current. Both dragons attempted to get it but Pangho
was the one to succeed. He fastened his claws around the pearly
black egg and without another moment's hesitation, took to the
sky.
Jürvseyt flew after him but Pangho had been taught in speed and
got away. There he flew to his kingdom, where he ruled. Palen.
"Look!" Daer shrieked, her eyes wide and excited. "It's
hatching! My darling egg is hatching--finally!" Medfrá--Daer's
maid--hurried over, who looked extremely happy on that evening.
"Congratulations!" Medfrá babbled. "Do you know if it's a girl
or a boy? Ooh, I wonder!" The two mothers continued to chatted
on excitedly while the egg cracked. Twas was a long, long
process, but finally, after countless hours, the egg had
hatched. A small, purple dragon crawled from the cracked shells
towards Daer, and began to suckle.
"Oh, isn't my adorable?" Daer whispered, beaming down onto the
young dragon. A happy smile was on her maw as she curled up
around her baby; her hatchling.
"What's happening? Is everything okay?" King Pangho burst into
the dimly lit cave. Once he rested his eyes on the hatchling, he
smiled, and knowing shone in his eyes of what had happened. All
urgency seemed to disappear.
"Ah, I see." He murmured. "Felbîed told me that something was
going in on here and that I should probably be there soon, but
she was in a hurry to go find one of her knights for something,
so had no further time to explain. I came as quickly as I could
thinking it was bad."
Daer frowned. "When do you think she should know the truth--that
she isn't like the rest, that I'm not her real mother?" she
looked at Pangho with mixed feelings; worry and happiness that
her first child had hatched, even if she had not laid the egg.
"I think that she will know when the time comes. We can't rush
her--she should be prepared and should hopefully take the truth
well when it comes." Pangho responded carefully. "But no one
else can know, other than us three, Felbîed, Suanki and Thrôtch.
Agreed?" The two female dragons nodded in response. "Good, I
will leave you be. Shall I send Thrôtch over?"
"That would be nice of you. Thank you you're Majesty Pangho."
Daer responded, dipped her head in respect, eyes brimmed with
pleasure. She obviously couldn't wait to see Thrôtch.
"How many times I've told you not to call me your majesty, I do
not know. But that does not matter. You are a trusted dragon of
Palen therefore calling me your majesty is not required." Pangho
said with a smile.
"But every other high ranking of the Palen calls you your
majesty!" Medfrá put in, looking at Pangho with curious eyes.
"Yes, but I tell them not to. They disagree with what I say; it
must be because of the old ruler--he seemed to want everyone to
call him his majesty." Pangho said with a distant smile. "It is
an order for both of you, Daer and Medfrá, to stop calling me
that. You are a friend and friends do not call each other
formerly."
"It is an honour for you to say such a thing, yo-- I mean,
Pangho. Yet I am afraid I will not be able to keep calling you
that for long; it doesn't seem right to not call you formerly."
Daer said with a smile up at the huge golden dragon. He grinned
at her and then turned away towards the exit. Looking back, he
spoke again.
"I will send for Thôtch immediately. Expect him soon." Then two
massive wings spread out and Pangho leaped off the rock where
Medfrá and Daer, and now another small dragon's home was. That
was one cave in thousands in the three huge mountains that
stretched over Palen.
Once the king had left, Daer let out a sigh of relief. "I'm
always scared that I'm going to say something wrong around
royals," she murmured to Medfrá, who nodded in agreement.
"However, King Pangho is better than the old one. He was old,
rude and bossy. Pangho is a much better adjustment."
"Yes, well, I suppose father and son are much different in their
case." Medfrá snorted. "How is the little one doing? Is she
okay?" She peered under the wing which Daer had rest upon her
daughter to her her warm.
"She's sound asleep, and I plan to keep it that way." Daer told
her maid. The grey-scaled dragoness snorted. Well, it was a true
fact that awaken dragon hatchlings could cause quite a havoc.
"Do you think Thrôtch'll like her?" Daer asked Medfrá worriedly.
"I think that he was hoping for a male." She frowned and lifted
her wing slightly to look at the dark purple blob sound asleep
next to Daer. Her eye colour was unknown for the moment. Daer
sure hoped it would be green, or even blue would be okay. Just
not yellow or brown...and please, please don't be black!
"I'm sure he'll love her. If he's worried about whether or not
she'll become a knight because of her gender, just think of
Felbîed. She managed pretty well to a good position--what being
deputy of Palen, head of knights and stuff--and she's a girl."
Medfrá said kindly.
"I suppose you're right." Daer admitted, and a little of the
weight from her worry seemed to disappear. Thrôtch'll love her,
I just know it. He'll absolutely love her. Feeling satisfied
that she was confident, she turned to Medfrá.
"I think he'll lo--"
"Daer! Medfrá!" Thrôtch burst into the cave, hardly managing to
fold his wings in time before they hit the sides of the
entrance. Both of the dragoness's hissed at him to be quiet, and
he--quietly--apologised. "I was just so worried--see, King
Pangho said that something important was awaiting me at your
cave. I wasn't sure whether it were good or bad."
"Don't you think if it were bad Pangho would have given you
backup, or at least told you what you were facing?" Daer
questioned him, wondering why the king hadn't told her mate what
was happening. Maybe he wanted Thrôtch to find out when I told
him. She decided.
"I don't know. Pangho's strange, he is. Besides, bad might not
always mean 'you being attacked' bad." Daer let out a snort of
laughter at this. "But anyway," Thrôtch puffed, "What did I come
all this way for? I was leading a patrol around the north west
border to Baershu."
"Well," Medfrá huffed, "It was most certainly more important
than that!" the grey dragon clucked, and Daer chuckled with
amusement, but all the same dipped her head in agreement to her
friend.
"It was." she said with a smile. "Because while you were gone,
something very good happened." Thrôtch leaned forward. "You see,
our egg hatched!" she couldn't help get louder at the end of the
sentence, which caused their little daughter to roll over and
yawn. Luckily, she didn't wake.
Thrôtch, having heard this, let out a bellow of excitement.
"Really? Let me see her!" Gently Daer pulled back her wing and
revealed the small purple dragon lain before them, who was still
asleep, full from suckling her mother.
"It's so good, isn't it?" Medfá giggled, not being able to help
herself and peak over Daer to look at the young one. Her heart
seemed to melt and she stared at the little dragon for a while
before swinging back to her haunches.
"We need to think of a name." Daer said quietly, putting her
wing back over her hatchling and looking at her mate, then at
Medfrá, then back at her mate. Everyone silenced with thought.
Many names came to mind; names of ancient dragons that no one
didn't knew the name of. But all the names seemed to common.
Daer was looking for something simple, but uncommon.
Medfrá paused, and then said, "Would you like me to leave while
decide?" the old dragoness was very kind and helpful, and Daer
nodded, grateful that she had said it first.
"That would be nice, thank you, Medfrá." Then the maid nodded,
smiled, and set off toward the cave exit, where she spread her
wings and took flight away from the cave. Daer turned to
Thrôtch. "Have you thought of any, yet?" she asked, but Thrôtch
shook his head.
"No. Remember, though, we still have a fortnight to decide." The
dragon told Daer, and she dipped her head.
"Yes, I know, but I want her named now. I don't want to just
call her little one, or my darling or my hatchling. I want to
give her a name to be called, so we can tell everyone who our
little hatchling is." Daer looked at Thrôtch. "Do you get what I
mean?" she asked him.
He smiled. "Of course I get what you mean. Everyone deserves a
name; to be known as something more than dragon." Grateful for
his understanding, Daer looked at her child and thought for a
long while. "If you can't think of anything," Thrôtch said,
"Just think of what she is. What is she, Daer?"
"She is beautiful," the mother whispered. "beautiful and young."
She smiled hazily. "I know the perfect name for her, Thrôtch.
The most perfect name for her of all."
Thrôtch looked up. "What is it, my dear?"
"Nymph."[/spoiler]
[sub]CHAPTER 1&&[/sub]
[spoiler][sub]"WHEN IS SHE going to open her eyes?" Medfrá
demanded, looking down at poor Nymph--who was me. I groaned and
wriggled closer to my mother. At least she didn't complain about
when I would open my eyes, or move. In fact, I would rather stay
there all day.
"Patience, Medfrá. She'll open them in all good time." I grunted
my agreement, making the two female dragon double over with
laughter. "See, Medfrá, she has a mind of her own now! She's old
enough to think and respond." Daer said in a rather proud tone.
Medfrá chuckled. "I suppose your right. Nymph, I'm sorry for
being bossy and impatient. Please forgive me, m'dear." I could
fell the edge of her wing tap my back as if to back up her
words.
I rolled over and tucked my head under my wing. I just knew they
were both laughing silently at me. In indignation, I turned over
again and swished my tail and back and forwards with annoyance.
I could feel the back of my mother's paw running over my head.
"Shh, I think now she needs sleep. Let's leave her be and be
quiet ourselves." Medfrá whispered her agreement and I heard her
leave the cave. I could hear the huge beats of her wings, and
the air swoosh around her. She was out.
But then, almost a split second afterwards, I heard another
dragon land. "Ah, Thrôtch! Good to see you. Nymph is growing up
fine. She's quiet some dragon." I heard Thrôtch chuckle and
nuzzle Medfrá.
"Of course she is. She carried on from you, Daer. I think when
she's older she'll be just the same." My father said. They're
too loud! I complained silently, and grumbled in complaint to my
mother who seemed to know exactly what I was thinking and repeat
this to Thrôtch.
"Well I'd best be off then. Felbîed want's me on a patrol by
midday, and I might be late if I put it off any longer. I
thought I'd just pop in and say hi--see how everyone is going.
It seems that everything is good." The large dragon walked to
the entrance. "Goodbye Daer, Nymph."
"Goodbye, Thrôtch!" Daer called. Once he had left, she curled up
around me. "I'm going to have a nap. Medfrá, you do what you
like--I'm not budging until Nymph has opened her eyes. I want to
be the first to see it."
"Yes, Daer--I might go over to Octäul. I heard her egg hatched,
and I want to go see. Maybe one day her hatchling--it's a
girl--and Nymph could be friends." I heard Medfrá walk to the
edge of the cave and stretch out her wings.
"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Daer said, sounding a bit
happier. "Tell Octäul that she has my blessing for her child. I
hope both our daughters grow up strong and tall."
Even though I couldn't see, I knew that Medfrá was smiling.
"Yes, Daer. I'll see you soon." Then she left, and it was just
me and my mother. I yawned, and then fell asleep, feeling quite
tired from all this listening.
I woke up to hear the birds squawk their shrill calls. I
wriggled around a bit, and I heard Daer stirring. I realised she
must have been asleep. Hungry, I wriggled over to suckle,
stretching my wings out to stretch them and then folding them
back at my sides.
"Oh, Nymph. When'll you open your eyes? Everyone else's
hatchling's opened theirs within their first week, and you just
stepped into the second week." Daer whispered, and then nuzzled
me. I yawned and heard her laugh.
And then, as if magic, I opened my eyes.
At first, the light was dazzling. It blinded me. I blinked,
trying to scare the light away, but it stayed there. Daer had
her head turned and was unaware of what I had done. I looked at
her and smiled. She was very pretty, with sleek white scales and
a slender, skinny body frame.
I looked around our cave. Daer, Medrá and mine. It was rather
small, and the entrance was extremely tiny. I would be able to
get through it easy, but larger dragons would have a harder
time. Our cave was littered with lots of things. I was lying in
a bed woven from reeds, grass and some other extremely soft
material. Vines hung from the walls, and in a small crack in the
wall there was a little fire, to light the cave.
"Nymph--oh, you've opened your eyes!" Daer sounded very excited.
"Why, when Medfrá gets back she'll get such a shock!" I giggled
at my mother. She had vibrant yellow eyes, that looked kind. She
looked closer at my eyes. "But, Nymph...your eyes...they're
emerald." She seemed to pale.
I looked at my mother. My eyes are emerald? Is that a bad thing?
I didn't know the colour emerald, but the word sounded nice. I
hoped it was a good colour. If it was a bad colour that wouldn't
be too good--maybe that was why my mother was getting
scared--because I had badly coloured eyes. Well, that's a bit
stupid. I thought to myself.
At that moment, Medfrá landed. She looked at me, her eyes wide,
astonished and happy. I studied Medfrá; she was rather plump
with grey scales and a rosy, kind face. "She's opened her eyes!"
she gasped at Daer. From such a far distance, she couldn't tell
the colour of my eyes. She frowned at Daer and then asked,
"Well, aren't you glad? Your daughter finally opened her eyes
after so long of waiting! You haven't left the cave once!"
"Come over here, Medfrá, look at her eyes." Medfrá frowned. She
walked over, her talons clicking on the stone floor. She seemed
slightly worried as well at my mother's lack of enthusiasm.
"They're not black, are they?" Medfrá suddenly fretted, half way
across the cave. Daer shook her head, and motioned for Medfrá to
continue. Wanting to see, the grey dragon--with yellow eyes,
like my mother's--came over as quickly as possible. She looked
at my eyes for a long moment, and I could see that she looked
worried as well. "I'll get King Pangho." She said in a hoarse
voice. Daer nodded her agreement.
"Oh, and Medfrá," she called. Medfrá looked back questioningly.
"Please, don't get Thrôtch quite yet. I was King Pangho to see
them first." Medfrá then dipped her head and stared off at a
run, leaping off the little ledge of the mountain and spreading
her wings. I watched it awe as she sailed through the air, but
then she was out of my sight and I looked back at Daer.
Why are they all so worried? Seeing them so worried made me feel
weird. Was something wrong with my eyes? Were they the wrong
colour? Were they meant to be yellow, like Daer and Medfrá's. I
felt my heart sink at both of their worrying. Weren't they glad
that I had opened my eyes finally?
Daer looked at me, and she looked so scared it made my heart
ache. I stared into her eyes meaningfully as she spoke. "So,
Nymph. You're either destined to become a great, great dragon,
or a terrible, terrible one."[/spoiler]
[sub]CHAPTER 2&&[/sub]
[spoiler][sub]KING PANGHO ARRIVED later that evening. "I'm sorry
I couldn't get here quicker, Daer. One of the dragons on a
patrol had hurt his wing and I needed to send a rescue patrol,
plus Suankl said he desperately needed my assistance in some
prophecy, and--"
"Calm down, sir. It's fine." Daer told him gently. He grunted at
the fact that she had called him sir, but he didn't chide her.
They'd already discussed it enough. "My hatchling opened her
eyes." She added with a weak smile.
"Medfrá told me something was wrong due to her eye colour." The
king said to Daer, looking down at me. I turned around so he
couldn't see me. I felt quite ashamed. What had I done to
deserve the wrong eye colour? What did it matter anyway?
"Yes, sir. She has...well, have a look." Daer gently nosed my
head that I would turn. I glared up at the king, who chuckled.
Daer looked at him with astonishment at his lightheartedness. I
felt a bit better.
"She obviously doesn't like us talking about her like this.
Look, I know she has emerald eyes--but do you really think
she'll go evil? I, truthfully, think she is destined to be a
great dragon, not evil. It was I, not Jürvseyt, who got my claws
around her egg. That must mean something." King Pangho told
Daer. She smiled at him.
"Well, thank you. You certainly have put my moods up--besides, I
should be grateful that she opened her eyes." Daer said in a
lighter tone. I felt slightly better--the kind had said that I
was destined to be great, not be the evil. And he was the king.
Well, unless Daer called him king for a different reason.
"That's the spirit!" The king chuckled. "Anyway, I must be off.
There is much to do and simply not enough time." Daer nodded.
"Thank you, sir, for being so generous. Your words shall be
cherished. May I ask, where if Medfrá?" Daer asked the king,
looking at him with kind eyes. I knew that Daer was extremely
relieved that the king had accepted me and thought that I was
going to be great. Emerald eyes must mean something about
greatness or evilness.
"Medfrá? Oh, that dragoness went to see Octäul, I do believe. I
think it'd be good for you to get some fresh air, since you
haven't been out of the cave for a week." Pangho told Daer, who
looked a hesitant to leave.
"But I can't just leave Nymph here by herself! Something might
happen. She only just opened her eyes today, and I think I
should stay with her." Daer said stubbornly. "Anyway, I don't
feel like flying. Sitting here is fine."
King Pangho sighed. "How about I send over Medfrá to look after
Nymph? I really think you should get out--at least visit Octäul,
see how her daughter is going. Those two might become friends.
After all, they are the same age."
Daer still looked hesitant, but finally she sighed and said,
"alright. But only for a little while, I'll be back soon." The
king, looking satisfied, dipped his head and padded over to the
exit.
"Alright. Good. Stay here, and I'll send her over immediately.
She'll understand." The king smiled, and then left as he spread
his wings and soared away. I wished I could do that...that would
be great.
Daer looked down at me. "Now we only have to wait. Soon enough
Medfrá will be here to look after you." I smiled up at Daer, and
then said a word.
"Emerald." Daer stiffened. I knew she didn't like me saying that
word, but I had heard it so many times--or at least about
that--that I couldn't get it out of my head. It was the word I
had heard, digested, and finally spoken.
"I think getting out will do me some good," Daer murmured to
herself, and I smiled at her. She smiled back and brushed her
wing over my back. "It's been too much. I can't wait until
Medfrá arrives." Relief crossed her face, and I knew that she
really, really needed to get outside. She had hardly moved since
I had hatched, because, of course, she wanted to stay next to
me.
Why couldn't I have had a different coloured eyes? Then maybe
everyone would have accepted me. This would have a good day,
everyone would have been happy, and the assistance of King
Pangho wouldn't have been needed.
Stupid eyes.
FOUR MONTH'S LATER;;
I stretched out my wings. They had grown a lot, and now fit the
size of my body. Finally! I'm almost ready to start flying
practise. I had been unable to leave the cave because, being
dragons and all, we were meant to fly to and fro the cave. Our
cave was on the side of a sheer mountain--there were three in
Palen, and one was for the royals. King Pongho lived at the very
peak, while the other royal members lived below. My mother was
now part of the council, but she didn't live there. She stayed
on this mountain, and I was glad. Being surrounded by royals
everyday would make me practically die.
"Mother! Mother! Can I start to practise flying?" I squeaked,
racing over to her and flaring out my wings to show off how
large they had grown. I just hoped she said yes. But, she looked
at me wearily up and down and a wry smile grew on her maw. I
folded them and looked hopefully into her eyes.
"I think she should," Medfrá announced loudly. "Every dragon
around her age should start flying practise. She'll ruin the
cave if she stays in here any longer, and she needs to make new
friends--socialise. You know how boring being stuck in a cave is
all day, Daer. Don't you remember when you were young?" She
looked at my mother, eyeing her pearly white scales.
Daer sighed. "I suppose so. It's been so long since I was a
child--almost half a century." She lifted her wings slightly and
shook her body, as if ridding herself of the dirt and grime.
Then she folded her wings back up and walked to the entrance of
the wave, where dawn light was spilling through the entrance.
"Hah! You're young compared to some of the dragons in Palen; I
know the King Pangho is at least two centuries old--more, in
fact!" Medfrá said to Daer rather snidely. "Of course, he hasn't
been a king for that long, but he was born a prince."
"And he has better things to worry about than his childhood."
Daer finished, looking at Medfrá as she stood up from her
snooze. Her grey scales shone in the light, and her yellow eyes
sparkled.
"I suppose your right," Medfrá said. "But--"
"Can we just get on with the flying practise?" I asked,
impatiently pawing the ground. I spread out my wings again, my
heart thumping in my chest. Finally I was learning how to fly!
In no time I would be out of the cave and off to find some new
friends.
"Yes, yes." Daer responded, and flicked her tail for me to
follow. She led me onto the ledge of the cave. I looked down,
and saw a long, sheer drop. Heights didn't scare me, but I was
always scared that I would fall. Sometimes I just sat on the
ledge and watched the view, wishing I could go there or have a
better look. Flying would be wonderful--I knew it would.
I looked at her expectantly. "So, what do I do?" I asked
excitedly, flapping my brilliant purple wings. The membrane had
grown thick and tough, which would allow me to get in good
glides, and hold my body aloft.
Daer smirked at me, and I knew something was up. I looked at her
skeptically. "Well, do you want to know how my mother taught
me?" I paused for a moment and thought. Sometimes I dragged my
mother outside to show me flips and turns she could do, because
I personally thought she was a brilliant flyer. If I want to be
as good as her, then I suppose that's a yes.
Slowly, I nodded. "Okay. How did you're mother teach y--?"
Then she pushed me off the ledge.
My jaws were agape in a silent scream as I plummeted down. "Come
on!" I heard her call. "Catch the air, make a glide!" I could
see the ground getting nearer and desperately, I tried to flap
my wings. "You need to be in the right position. Straighten up.
You can do it!" Then, at the last moment, I flipped over,
straightened my wings and was flying upwards.
It felt so great. The air rushed passed me as I pumped my wings
to fly faster, harder. It was so exhilarating...I loved it. I
hurtled up through the air like a rocket to the cave. I
recognised it easily. I could see many other caves littered
around the mountain. I could see dragons flying, talking. It
made my heart leap. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I
landed.
"Good job!" both Daer and Medfrá cheered, and I saw that Medfrá
had come out to watch. I swelled with pride. I had just flown!
Finally. For my whole four months of life, I had wanted to fly.
And finally I had done it! Gosh, I was so, so happy.
"But hang on," I added, looking at my mother slightly angrily.
"I could have been killed! If I hadn't flown at that moment then
I would have snapped my neck and died." I looked at her with
annoyance.
Daer chuckled. "But it didn't happen, did it? Besides, I would
have been there to break your fall." She grinned at me, her eyes
sparkling. "If I hadn't, I would have gone through days of
talking about what to do, and you would have practised gently
gliding from one spot to another. Which would rather have done?"
"I suppose I would have rather done what you did," I admitted
grudgingly. "But can I go again? Can I go meet dragons and make
friends?" Truthfully, the only dragons I had ever seen were
Daer, Medfrá, Thrôtch, Pangho and once or twice Ulen, who was
Medfrá's daughter. However, he was old now and had a cave of his
own with a mate.
Daer frowned. "I think that's enough for toda--"
"We could take her to meet Octäul to feet Fåressa!" Medfrá piped
in, breaking Daer's speech. I was glad that Medfrá were there,
for otherwise Daer would have never taught me to fly or taken me
anywhere. I looked at my mother hopefully.
"But wait--who are Octäul and Fåressa?" I suddenly asked, making
my mother smile. Medfrá chuckled loudly. "What?" I demanded.
"What's so funny? Who are they?"
"Oh, nothing's funny." Medfrá chuckled. "Just the look of utter
adorability--or at least trying--and hope that you're giving
your mother." She grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes. "As for
Octäul and Fåressa--well, Octäul is the mother of Fåressa who
was born only a day after you. I think you two could become good
friends."
"Yes! Please, mother!" I looked at my mother hopefully, really
over exaggerating the trying-to-look cuteness. "I do need to
make some friends."
"Oh, come on. You can't fly all the way to Octäul's after one
short flight." Daer sighed. "Why don't we practise a bit more,
and then tomorrow you can visit?" she stared at me, and I
realised this was as good as it was going to to get. With a
grumble of annoying, I grudgingly agreed.
We walked to the edge. "So do I just jump off?" I questioned my
mother, looking at the deep drop and how I had almost hit the
ground. If my mother was not there to tell me what to do, I
would have been rotten flesh by now. I thought to myself, and
swallowed. My skin tingled from how close that had been.
"Jump, fall, soar--do whatever you want, dear." Daer told me
with a graceful smile. I nodded and stepped back, and then
leaped off the cliff with a running start. At first there was
that terrifying feeling of falling, but then I caught myself and
soared through the empty airs, the exhilarating feeling flooding
through me.
Me and Daer, and at one point Medfrá, spent the rest of the day
practising flying, trying out flips and turns and other tricks
she taught me. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and also
famished. While Daer went off the hunt Medfrá took me off the
cave. We sat alone in our separate nests, thinking.
"Medfrá," I asked the maid carefully, "why are eye colours so
important to us?" I looked at her, and she frowned at me as if
unsure whether to answer. But I really wanted to answer, and so
kept staring expectantly at her.
"Well, m'dear," she finally sighed, "I'm not sure your mother
wants me to tell you this." I opened my mouth to say something
back at this, but she stopped me with a hard glare. "However,"
she continued, making my heart skip, "I think you should know.
You'll learn one day." I smiled at her, and she smiled back
kindly. "See, each dragon's eye colour defines their
personality. They're all in a pretty straight line--it's hard
not to get what they are."
"What are the eye colours?" I prompted her. I had only seen
yellow, blue and green. "I mean, what are the eye colours and
what do they mean? Are there more than three colours?" I looked
at her questioningly.
"Yes, there are more than three colours." Medfrá responded
carefully. "There is blue, yellow, green, black, brown, amber,
grey and...well, there are two that both mean the same
thing--sapphire and emerald." Emerald. That's my eye colour. I
had never forgotten that discussion between Medfrá, Daer and
Pangho.
"And what do they mean?"
"Blue means that the dragon's heart is good, that they are
leader-like and kind." Medfrá paused for a moment before saying,
"King Pangho has blue eyes, and for a good reason, at that." I
dipped my head in agreement.
"King Pangho is a good dragon, yes?" I asked her, and she smiled
at me. "Well, of course he is--but is he a good king? Shouldn't
you be more than kind to be a king?"
"Of course kindness isn't the only virtue to being a king, but
it's a big part." The maid told me. "Anyway, yellow--which is
your mother and I's eye colour--means kind, mothering,
nurturing." When I looked up at her, I immediately recognised
why her eye colour meant this. They're both very kind and
generous.
"And green is..."
"Green is ferocious--feisty and strong. Many knights have green
eyes." I understood this. "Black means the evilest of evil. It
means that the dragon has a purely dark heart, with no room for
softness, kindness, love..."
I right then immediately understood Medfrá's worry that I had
had black eyes back when I had opened them and my mother was
fretting over my colour. I sure am glad that I didn't have black
eyes. I don't want to be evil!
"Brown means timid and quiet, and upon some cases, true hearted.
However--it does not always apply. Love is not something that
can be shared out evenly." Medfrá sighed slightly at this.
"Amber is sly and clever. As some say, sly as a fox. These
dragons usually have very good minds. They can either be used
for good or evil. Octäul has amber eyes, yet she is a mother and
a very kind dragon."
"I've never seen brown or amber--or black, for that matter." I
piped in, and suddenly noticed how she had listed all the other
eye colours before mine. I desperately wanted to know what
emerald or sapphire meant, but I stayed patient, not wanting to
rush her in fear she would stop telling me about this.
"You should be glad you haven't," Medfrá snorted. I knew that
she hated black eyed dragons--from the way she'd reacted before
and the way she spoke so ferociously about it, I knew something
was up.
I paused, wondering if I should say anything, then asked her
rather quietly, "Why, have you?" this made Medfrá look rather
pained. I wished I had just kept my loud mouth shut. Something
had happened between her and a black eyed dragon.
"Yes," she sighed. "His name was Aaltêra, in the kingdom of
Sthäen. Me and my sister were flying when he intercepted her
path. He blamed us for stealing from his kingdom--we denied, of
course, because it was not true. In the end he slew my sister
and left, saying that was a warning for next time." Medfrá
swallowed.
"Oh..." I trailed off, scared I was going to say something
wrong. "Oh, Medfrá, I'm sorry." I looked at her, worried I had
upset her too greatly for her to continue.
"Don't be," she said bitterly. "I'll avenge her one day." A
shadow crossed her eyes, and a shudder ran down my spine.
"Anyhow, let's get on with the eyes." She said, shaking her head
as if to clear it. "Grey eyes mean loud and stubborn. I must
say, these dragons are the bitter and annoying dragons. Trust
me, you wouldn't want to meet one."
Would I want to meet one more than I would rather meet a black
eyed dragon? I thought, but didn't say anything. I didn't want
to upset her more than I already had. I shuffled to make myself
more comfortable. There's only one--well, two to be precise--eye
colour left.
"And finally, emerald and sapphire." Medfrá's brow was knitted
in a frown. I knew she was scared at Daer would get furious at
her for telling me this, and I really hoped she didn't, for the
maid was nice and I didn't want to get her in trouble.
"Go on," I persuaded, trying to get her to reveal the bottom of
the truth I had been yearning to know for months. Will she tell
me, or just give up? She must tell me! She must! I leaned
forward a bit.
"Dragon's with either of these colours are very rare. You are a
very rare dragon, my little Nymph." Go on, go on! "A shaman of
the kingdom has this coloured eyes. His name is Suanki." I felt
impatience creep up my spine, but I forced myself from
screeching at her to tell me the answer. I knew she was putting
it off. I knew she didn't want me to know. "It means, dear
Nymph," Medfrá whispered, "that you are either destined to be a
great or terrible dragon."[/spoiler]
[sub]CHAPTER 3&&[/sub]
[spoiler][sub]I REMEMBER, THAT'S what my mother had told me. She
had told me I was destined to either be a great, great dragon,
or a terrible, terrible one. I had never really thought those
words meant anything; that they were just things she had thrown
into the world without thinking about it.
Right then, there was the sound of a landing dragon. I turned
and saw my mother hauling a heavy deer into the cave. Medfrá
hurried over to help her, and together they dragged the huge
creature to the centre of the cave.
"Tonight, we have a feast!" Daer declared loudly. "Today, Nymph
flew for her first time and she left the cave. I think it's time
for a celebration, don't you, Medfrá?" My mother glanced at the
maid, a huge grin on her face.
"Oh, oh, yes! Of course!" Medfrá responded hastily. "Our
mother's both celebrated our first time's out of the cave, did
they not? Therefore it should be no different for young Nymph
here--she is the same as we are!"
This made Daer hesitant. Because I'm not like them, I thought to
myself bitterly. I'm destined to either follow the path of a
great dragon, or a terrible one. Medfrá glanced at her mistress,
then at me, and then at the ground, seeming annoyed at her for
making this awkward silence.
"This should last us two meals," Medfrá commented, breaking the
silence. Both Daer and I dipped out heads in agreement. "Unless
Nymph is as greedy eater as her mother, then I'll think we'll
have another meal for tomorrow."
This caused Daer to chuckle, which lifted the heavy weight.
"Yes, yes. I hope so. But let's not eat it raw and cold--warm,
cooked and tender is more my kind of style." She said with a
grin, and took in a deep breath. Then she breathed blue flame
onto the deer. After a few moments, she stopped. "Done."
Satisfied, she stepped forward to take the first bite at the
belly, which was her favourite bit.
"I've never eaten deer before!" I squeaked, stepping forward to
inspect the creature, wondering where to start. "It's so big.
And it smells so good!" I could see Medfrá greedily nibbling at
it's haunches, and I settled for a shoulder, tearing off the
rich, fatty meat and gulping it down. "It's delicious." I
whispered.
"Of course it is! It's deer!" Daer laughed, and then went back
to gulping down it's belly. I watched her and Medfrá with a
smirk. They were both as greedy as dogs, gulping down the meat
with lavish.
After our bellies were thick with meat and we could eat no more,
we settled down in our nests to sleep. I was exhausted with all
the meat I had eaten, but also very satisfied. That was the best
meal I'd ever had. The only thing I'd ever eaten were bugs like
beetles and grasshoppers, or when I got a bit older, lizards and
squirrels, and upon rare occasions, rabbits. Meat tasted
delicious. I loved it more than any of the yucky bugs I had
tasted, or even plants and fruit my mother gave me.
With a happy sigh I closed my eyes. I was warm against my mother
who had placed her wing over me, and I felt happy. All my
troubles eased away, leaving me to feel perfectly warm,
perfectly happy. Everything was good.
The next morning, I woke bright and early, much before my mother
and Medfrá. Usually I would have gone and looked for some bugs
in the cave to nibble in, or sat on the ledge and watches as
dragons woke and zoomed across the clear blue sky. But this
morning was different. This morning I felt freer than I ever
had; I could actually leave the cave when I pleased.
I planned to have a quick fly around, and get back in the cave
before my mother or Medfrá even woke. But it seemed not, for I
was so indulged with my flight I didn't realise how much time
has passed, and that my mother and the maid were already up.
"Nymph! Come down!" I heard Medfrá call. I looked down and saw
the plump grey dragon standing on the ledge, watching me. It
seemed I had lost track of the time and that hours had passed
without my knowing.
Quickly, I flew down the ledge where a worried Medfrá was
waiting, with my mother inside. "Don't ever do that again! We
thought you were lost, or that you'd fallen off the ledge or
something." My mother snapped at me. I shied away, afraid she
would loose it on me.
"You knew I could fly," I said bravely to my mother. "Why didn't
you just look outside? It would have been easy to spot me. I
mean, what else does a dragon do after they've learned to fly?"
"Well, usually they'd notify their worried-sick mother before
leaving the cave. We looked outside alright, Nymph. But there
are more dragons than you could imagine out there and it's hard
to see if you were there, especially since you were so far
away!"
I realised what she was saying was true and bows my head between
my shoulders. "I'm sorry," I said sadly, "I didn't realise that
I could cause you so much trouble. I just wanted to fly
again--it felt so great, and I didn't want to wake you that
morning because it was so early and I thought you'd snap at me."
My mother looked down at me, and her eyes softened.. "I know,
Nymph. And now you know for next time. Now, like I promised,
we'll go see Octäul and Fåressa today. Alright? Let's just
forget this ever happened."
"Okay!" I squeaked, excited to go see another dragon my age. We
can be friends. I thought to myself. I had never made any
friends because I wasn't allowed to leave the cave, and other
dragons my age wouldn't be able to leave the cave either, which
meant that I could never meet anyone my age.
"Come on," Daer called, and she walked to the entrance. "Oh,
Medfrá--do you want to come, or would you rather stay here?" She
looked at the maid, her eyes questioning.
"I think I'll stay here, but I'll be there soon," she said to
Daer, and then turned towards her nest. "I'm just going to tidy
up a bit and you know, do some other strange Medfrá stuff." She
chuckled, turned away, and then me and my mother left.
We leaped into the air. It took me a moment to start flying, and
for a sickening moment I thought I would fall again. I lifted my
head and closed my eyes, feeling the wind rush passed me. I let
out a happy sigh.
"It's great, isn't it?" My mother whispered to me. "The feeling
of flying, feeling like you have nothing to loose, like there's
nothing that can go wrong. Cherish these few moments in flying,
because one day it will seem like something ordinary. Something
that isn't special."
I couldn't imagine it feeling like that, but dipped my head
anyway. I guess you'd do it so often it wouldn't seem special
any longer, just normal--boring, in some ways, possibly. Though
I don't see how that's possible. Flying was great, and the
prospect of it being boring seemed foreign--strange and unreal.
"We're almost there. Octäul doesn't live far. She lives on the
other side of our mountain." My mother told me. She then pulled
in her wing slightly to do a smooth, tight turn. I tried to
mimic her move, but failed--it was sloppy and I turned to far.
Seeing my mother looking at me, I blushed. "Don't worry," she
said. "You'll get the hang of it one day."
I nodded. One day.
We continued flying for who knows how long, until finally my
mother called out that we were there. I looked down at her--she
was now flying downwards, towards a small, hardly noticeable
cave. I wonder how everyone remembers each cave--it would be
hard, since they all look so alike.
I followed her, hoping that I wouldn't crash land since I was
going down so quickly. At the last moment I saw my mother
straighten her flight path and land smoothly on the ledge. I
attempted to copy her, but only managed to hurt my wing.
"Ow..." I grumbled, and she smiled at me. "Yes, I know, I'll get
the hang of it one day." I sighed to myself. When was this 'one
day' going to happen? If only it happened quicker. Then maybe I
would be an expert flier.
Then, a dragon cave out of the entrance of the cave. She had
dark orange scales and bright amber eyes.
Amber...amber...doesn't that mean sly and clever? But Medfrá
said that the dragon's could be good as well. I looked at her
and frowned, wondering if she was a nice dragon.
"Hello, Ocäul." Daer said pleasantly. I looked at the orange
dragon and realised that she was the mother of Fåressa, the
dragon who was my age. My heartbeat began to race. Finally I was
meeting Fåressa! "Sorry for coming without telling. Nymph was
getting impatient and so we decided to come here."
Octäul dipped her head. "Ah, I see. You've brought along young
Nymph. I'm sure my Fåressa will be very pleased to finally meet
someone her own age. She's been beginning to go and meet someone
her own age. She's quite restless now, really." Octäul studied
me up and down. I saw a flicker of worry in her eyes when she
saw my eye colour, but it was replaced by the same calm
atmosphere she seemed to always hold. "Fåressa!" Octäul called.
There was silence, and then shuffling, and then a smallish red
dragon came out of the cave. She had light red scales--brick
red--and green eyes. I clearly remembered that green eyes meant
feisty and strong, and most knights had green eyes.
"Ooh, hello!" she squeaked, looking very excited. She hardly
noticed my mother--her eyes were fixed on me, excited and
bright. "I'm Fåressa. Come into the cave! What's your name?"
"Fåressa, meet Nymph and Daer." Octåul motioned to both me and
my mother as she spoke. Fåressa nodded at this. "Be nice. I
don't mind where you go--" she turned to Daer, "--Fåressa was
taught how to fly a couple of days ago."
Before I was, I thought grudgingly. And I'm a day older than
her! I mean, a day doesn't matter very much, but still!
Sometimes my mother could be too protective of me. I could have
learned to fly ages ago.
"So, Fåressa, what do you want to do?" I asked her once we were
inside her cave. I looked around their cave--it was much plainer
than ours. It had a nest made out of twigs and sticks and leaves
right at the back, and a small pool of water with moss
surrounding it close the entrance. I could hear the drip, drip,
drip of water as a droplets fell from a tiny cranny in the roof.
Fåressa shrugged. "I'm not sure. We can either stay in this
boring cave or we can go exploring, but mother told me that I
have to be back by sundown otherwise she'll get worried."
Thinking back to when my mother had snapped at me for leaving
the cave earlier that morning, I certainly didn't want to get in
trouble with another mother.
"Let's leave!" I squeaked. Leaving would probably be the best
idea for fun. Both Fåressa and I had been stuck in a cave for
four months and she probably didn't want to stay in there
anymore than I did.
"Good idea," Fåressa agreed. "So, where do you want to go?
Mother told me of some dragons around the same age as us. We
could go visit them." She suggested.
I liked this idea. "Let's do that," I decided. "But first, I'll
show you where my cave is so you can visit later, whenever you
want." I certainly hoped that Fåressa would come and visit.
Mother wouldn't let me out of the cave every day.
"Okay!" Fåressa squeaked excitedly, and flapped her wings as if
showing how much she wanted to do it. We both walked to the
ledge and leaped off. She went first. I noticed how she spread
her wings before she leaped and then glided down, and then came
back up. It looked smooth and precise, and wanting to show off
my flying skills, I attempted to do the same thing. This
resulted with me loosing my balance, and I blushed once I had
made it up close to her. "Don't worry; you'll get the hang of
it." She giggled. That's what everyone says. I thought to myself
sadly.
Now I led the way; I had only my memory to rely on, and I hoped
that I had payed enough attention when we had gone to Fåressa's
cave that I would remember the way back. My mother had told me
that we had both lived on the same mountain, so it shouldn't
have been too hard to find. Trying to act as if I knew where I
was going, I sprang off towards the side of the mountain. It has
to be somewhere here.
I recognised a few things that my brain had noted on--the huge
swaying oak perched precariously on a crumbling cliff, or the
pattern in the mountain that I thought looked a lot like a bunch
of cherries. Soon I began to recognise more and more, and to my
relief, then saw my cave.
"This way!" I told my new friend, and tilted my way downwards so
that I was hurtling straight for the ledge. To make up for the
sloppy start, I wanted to prove to Fåressa that I could land
perfectly. My mother had told me that getting landing right was
extremely hard to perfect, yet I really wanted to do. I tried to
mimic exactly what my mother had done. After I zoomed down, I
slowed a bit by tilting my wings back so the underwing was
facing outwards. The wind was pushing against me, which slowed
me up a bit. Then I tilted down to land smoothy on the ledge. I
lost my footing, but other than that, I thought I did it pretty
well.
I stepped back so Fåressa could land next to me. She wasn't too
great at landings either, and did it sloppily. Feeling proud of
myself, I slightly puffed out my chest. Fåressa grinned at me.
"Well, I suppose I'm good at taking off and your good at
landing." I smiled and nodded my agreement.
"This is the cave. Nothing much," I motioned with my front paw
to the cave, with the two nests--Medfrá and mine and my
mother's--and the ivy climbs and the walls and vines that
adorned them for decoration. There was even a deer skull above
the entrance which Fåressa fussed over a lot, sowing how much
she liked it. I was glad that she liked the cave.
"Your cave is so much better than mine! Mine's so boring!"
Fåressa grumbled, over-exaggurating the 'boring' part. She
sighed as she glanced wistfully around my cave. "I wish this my
my cave."
"I could say the same about yours." I said to her, making her
eyes practically pop out of her head. "I mean, I've spent my
whole life in this dingy old cave and a change would be nice.
Although, I suppose that I've kind of gotten used to it."
She snorted. "Whatever. My cave is bland and boring and plain
and anyone that likes it is crazy! No offence, but I'm just
saying. I mean like...the view is terrible. There are a few
trees, gravel, grass and mountain. You've got a view of the
forest--you've go a view of Baershu! I would do anything for a
good view."
"Baershu?" I questioned her, not knowing what this was.
"You know, the territory next to Palen. The territories that
border us are Baershu and Cóschla." Fåressa said as if it were
obvious. She eyes my stumped expression and then asked, "You
don't know any of the territories? My mother would tell me all
of them. She would make me listen to them day after endless day
until I had them memorised. Those were long, painful days." She
sighed, which made me laugh.
"So, you know all of the territories?" I asked. She nodded. I
wished I knew the territories--or I wished that I knew of
something that she didn't. "What territories are there?"
"Well, there's the ones I just said," she said with a frown,
"and many more. The largest is Xynárli, which borders Cóschla,
Baershu, Eklarp and Draenth. Basershu borders Eklarp, Delzar and
Anteê, and Delzar borders Líttaroar, Eklarp and Anteê. Lîtaroar
borders Delzar, Eklarp, Draenth and the Morbid Lake which is
across from Sthaën. So, all the territories are Palen, Baershu,
Cóschla, Xynárli, Eklarp, Antêe, Delzar, Líttaroar, Draenth, and
Sthäen."
"Wow." Was all I could say. I was speechless at her knowledge
and how much there was the learn about this. She grinned at me,
pleased that she had impressed someone. "Your mother must be
smart. My mother never teaches me anything--it's always Medfrá,
who is our maid."
"You have a maid?" Fåressa gasped, her mouth agape. "Aw, I want
a maid! She'd keep me company, probably. My mother is good and
all, but she can sometimes get a bit boring. When I get home I'm
going to ask for a maid."
I giggled at this. "I'm sure you will." I then added, "Yes,
Medfrá is good company. She tells me lots of stories about her
past and cleans up and does all the work. I really like her." I
looked around the cave and realised that she wasn't there. She
must have gone to Octäul's cave with mother. She said she would
be there soon. I decided.
"Anyway, shall we get going to this other dragon our age?"
"Yes," I agreed, and we both took off, this time with Fåressa in
the lead. This is life as it should be. I thought to myself with
a happy smile. Friends, flying places, doing things. Doing
things without a mother, or even a maid, to tell you what to do.
"Mother said that they were on the second mountain. She showed
me the cave, but didn't let me go in." Fåressa explained. The
second mountain? But that's the royal's mountain... I thought
with a frown, but didn't say anything as we flew further.
We flew in silence for the rest of the trip. It was longer than
I had expected and I was surprised that Fåressa had remembered
the whole way. However, the prospect of meeting new friends was
the only thing that kept me going.
However, finally I voiced my only worry. "But do you think that
your mother didn't let you go inside because it's in the royal's
mountain? I mean, usually they're quite busy." Yes, friends
sounded appealing, meeting new dragons sounded awesome...but
getting in trouble with a royal? Not so great.
Fåressa frowned. "That's the royal's mountain? I didn't know
that." Her flight had slowed down slightly. But then she sped up
to her previous speed. "But I'm sure it'll be fine. After all, a
dragon our age can't be that busy. Four month's isn't old enough
to do royal stuff."
I supposed she was right, and so I didn't say another word for
the rest of the trip.
"We're here!" Fåressa squeaked five minutes later. I saw that
she was right; the mountain loomed in front of us. Out of all of
the mountains, it was the least fat one, yet the highest and the
centre mountain. From what I had heard many tunnels went through
the mountain where dragons met to discuss things, have meetings,
etc. As well as that there were the normal caves were the
royal's lived. I heard that King Pangho lived at the tip, where
he could watch Palen easily.
"Now all you have to do is identify the right cave." I told her.
Fåressa nodded, circling around and looking for the right cave.
I just hope no knights found us and took us to our mothers. Mine
would be furious--she wouldn't let me out of her sight again.
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