I awoke in a sun kissed meadow, lying peacefully on my back. But after a nanosecond, my mind began to reel in turmoil. Who was I? Where was I? And how the heck did I get here? I struggled to recall anything, and only three things came to mind. One, a silver dragon was after me. Two, my name was Miriam. And three, I got the sense that I was otherwise friendly with dragons. But why so much about dragons come to mind? I wasn’t sure I even knew what a dragon looked like.
I sat up to feel long blond hair flowing over my shoulders. I finally began to observe my surrounding. The field was quite large from what I could tell, with nothing but wild flowers coating its ground. The trees surrounding the area were behemoths, looming somewhat ominously over all they towered above.
I now ventured to stand, realizing as I did so that I was in a flowing dress of sky-graced blue. It was just short enough that I wouldn’t trip over it, but otherwise, very flowing. Lost in the beauty of the dress I was sure I’d never seen before, I failed to notice until the huge shadow was almost upon me. Glancing up, all I managed was a glimpse of silver-then I instinctively bolted for the trees on the closest side of the glen.
Running for what I presume was my life, I didn’t even see her until I almost collided with her. She loomed about me spreading her wings in welcome. “Come with, me,” purred the dragon, “before Silverscales returns.” She was such a deep violet that she was almost black. Peering into the darkness that surrounded her, I realized she was much bigger than I’d originally perceived. But she wasn’t silver, and apparently she was helping me to get away from the silver dragon, so I accepted her offer.
She flew me to her cave, or I guess lair is a more appropriate term. It was situated high up on the mountainside, with a large outcropping for her to land on. Staring into the scales on her back, the only word I could think of to describe a purple so dark, but a black that had a purple tinge, was the plant nightshade. Strange as it was, I remembered what nightshade was, but I didn’t know who I was!
Leading me into her cave, I was surprised that I stumbled a little. The flight had been longer than I thought it had. But the dragon seemed friendly enough, and had asked few questions. She led me to a small antechamber which was filled with quilts. “You may sleep here,” she rumbled, “I will return you to your kind in the morning.” I curtsied in appreciation, and the dragon almost smiled. But for some reason, I shivered a little. Maybe it was just her teeth, but the dragon who had been so friendly before now hinted at how deadly she could be, all in that one almost smile.
But in the next instant I wasn’t sure if I had imagined it or not, because she became friendly once more. She gave me a slight bow, and said, “I am Narissa. You are welcome to explore my cave, but I doubt you will find much to your interest. But I am curious- what has a human girl done to incite the wrath of Silverscales?” Human? The word didn’t sound right, but as I looked at myself, human I was. I shook my head, “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, but I know that the silver dragon scares me.” She cocked her head, and I felt a slight shiver run down my spine once more. She wasn’t contemplating what I had just said, but rather looked like she what trying to determine what I’d taste like.
“What is your name, small one?” she asked, her tone gentle again. I was confused by her attitude, but wary. I thought, what is my name? It came to me in an instant- Miriam. But something inside me warned that names were powerful things. Then it came to me- Gwen. For some reason that name seemed to fit me too, but I had no qualms about sharing this one. “My name is Gwen.”
She seemed a touch surprised, but then her eyes narrowed. “Well, Gwen, I am going to retire for the night. You are welcome to leave, but with Silverscales out there looking for you…” she menacingly left the sentence unfinished. She then turned from me, her dark wings sweeping over my head as she folded them next to her body. She then slid into the next cave, with a silence unnatural considering her size.
I sat there in the darkness, truly shivering, but not from cold. I didn’t trust Narissa as much as I initially had. She had a sinister air about her, and it permeated the cave blackness around me. Although I had a feeling that evil awaited outside the cave, I knew nothing of it and could possibly be wrong or hide from it. But in here, there was darkness. There was no doubt in my mind that if I stayed here, something bad would happen. It felt inevitable. I waited silently until Narissa’s snores shook the cave. Then, tiptoeing softly across the floor as best I could without tripping, I made my way to the entrance. Reaching the threshold, I hesitated, as the snoring had stopped. But it soon resumed, and as it did I continued my escape down the slope of the mountain.
I was so frightened and concerned about the terror behind me that I failed to realize the danger in front of me. I stumbled into the campsite before I could comprehend what it was. There were six men around the fire, but it only took two to restrain me. Struggling all the while, I took in the surroundings I had previously failed to see. Five of the men, including the two holding my arms behind my back, where dressed simply, farmers, perhaps. But the sixth man rose ominously from his place beside the fire. He was wearing a white robe with a sickly green hem.
He strode confidently towards me, with an air of superiority. “Who are you?!” I demanded. The man laughed, and it threw more terror into my heart than Narissa had. It was a cold cruel laugh with a sadistic pleasure to it. “Oh, you don’t remember me?” he playfully asked, his yellow-green eyes turning me inside out. I glared at him, still struggling to free myself, although I had already admitted to myself escape was impossible at this point in time. But I didn’t want to show weakness or be docile in this man’s presence.
He leered over me, searching my eyes for recognition. I wanted desperately to frighten this man, to make him run and cower in terror, but I honestly had no clue who he was. But he was evil. I could almost smell it. I could smell the fear of the men around me though, and that made me balk for a moment. Smell fear? Humans shouldn’t be able to do that. The word still felt strange to me, but I was obviously human. And I could smell the fear radiating off these men, in waves that weren’t all directed towards the evil one in the white robe. A large portion of that fear was in connection to me. Why would these men be afraid of me, a girl who was obviously weak and lost?
As I contemplated this, the man in the robe smiled and nodded to one of the men holding me. “You really don’t know who I am?” he asked in gleeful delight. A silent glare was my response. Then I felt a sharp pressure on my wrist. One of the men restraining me was pushing down hard with his thumb, and I didn’t understand until spots began to swim in front of me. Sinking down to my knees, the evil one loomed over me. “That’s good,” he muttered to himself, “that’s good.” As blackness closed over me, I saw him smile. And even in the state I was in, I shrank away from that smile with all my might. For it was the smile of a predator. A confident predator- moving in for the kill.
Imagine my surprise when I woke up. Not only did I wake up, but I had all my limbs. I considered that a high point at the time. I was tied to a post that had obviously been cut from the surrounding trees. Arms tied behind me, I felt vulnerable as I surveyed the scene before me. The men were hunkering down for the night, and one got ready to presumably stand watch. I thought of Narissa, and how I perhaps had made the wrong choice in leaving. But just as I thought of her, looking towards the mountainside from which I had fled, a terrible gut-wrenching shriek filled the air. All the men bolted awake, and the man stand watch whispered, “Cougar?” the wail of despair filled the air once more. The man in the white cloak smiled and shook his head. “No. Dragon.”
We were rushed up the hillside. I stumbled a lot with my hands tied behind my back, but surprisingly the men didn’t complain. They would prod me along if I started going to slow, but never really got angry. I thought back to my first impression, that they were afraid of me. But why? If I could find that reason I could exploit it. But before I had time to think it through, we arrived at a cave. No, not a cave. The cave. We had come to Narissa’s lair. The evil man strode confidently into the cave, questioning, “Narissa?” My blood turned cold. He knew her. I was roughly pushed into the cave.
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