Damsel

I'm not too sure about the title but... it will do for now.

Azulon
Thunder rumbled and lightning lit up the sky. It gave the trees an eerie negative look. I crouched in the bushes. I hadn’t wanted this to happen. I knew I was dangerous. I knew I shouldn’t be there. But something drew me there like a fly to a dead horse. It scared me. The wind whipped my hair into my eyes. All of the sudden, the rain relented and I heard singing. Not the singing that I had heard growing up. It was far less savage and more lyrical. I got up and followed my ears to the sound. I walked through the trees until I ended up by a small spring. A pretty girl was filling a jar of water and singing. “In garden close where shone the rose I heard a fiddle played, then a handsome knight that charmed my sight, was dancing with a maiden.” Her voice was soothing and her fair hair swayed in the wind. I watched her for a moment longer. Then, I felt my skin turning scaly and tried to fight off my transformation. I gritted my teeth and succeeded in keeping the monster in me from coming out. The girl turned around and I was stunned by her beautiful amethyst colored eyes. She looked afraid. I walked towards her and she stiffened. I purred, “Why are you so far from the kingdom?” She shivered and said nothing. I knew that the nearest kingdom, probably the one where she was from, was about half a day from where we were. Now I couldn’t stop myself. My skin turned scaly, my teeth sharpened, wings forced themselves out of my back, and my fingers turned to claws. Her eyes were filled with horror as I scooped her up and beat the air with my wings. She screamed and I let out a mighty roar.

Liliana

The look on your face had frightened me. You had looked scared, determined, and sad all at the same time. You had asked me why I was so far from home. I didn’t want to answer you. Maybe if I had, this wouldn’t have happened to me. I remember thinking how pretty your eyes were, sky blue.

When it grew harder for me to breathe as we ascended higher and higher, that’s what I held on to. Seeing slightly your humanoid eyes made me feel better and helped me not to look down. You roared every once in a while. I had stopped screaming long ago. The sun was beginning to set but you didn’t show any signs of being tired. Your silvery blue scales sparkled in the faint sunlight and your wings shone like pearls. The air grew cold and I looked down. We were flying towards the mountains. A sob escaped my lips and you looked down at me. I thought I saw a flash of sadness in your eyes. It might’ve just been hunger though. This thought made me cry harder. Why did you want me? What were you going to do with me? If I had known about the adventure that would befall me, I may have stopped crying. I might have even enjoyed the ride. Or, I may have not gone to the woods at all that day. But I didn’t know.

Azulon
I felt terrible for making her cry. I didn’t know why I took her. It must’ve been a dragon reflex. I hated the whole idea of the damsel in distress and yet, I had just started another one of those stories. As we came closer to the mountains her desperate crying stopped and I spotted my lair. It was at the boundary between where the humans land ended and the dragons began. I liked where my cave was as I could see what was going on fairly well in both places. I swooped down and flew into my large lair in the side of the mountain. She gasped and I released her from my claws.

Liliana
The cave was littered with jewels and books and finery of every kind. It was magnificent. There were a few pools of water and a small rushing water fall in the very back. Ledges were cut into the walls and looked to be shelves. You roared and I jumped. I turned around and you were the handsome boy who I had seen in the woods before you turned into a monster. You smiled at me and walked towards me. Everything in my body was telling me to run but I didn’t move. You approached cautiously, as if you were afraid that any sudden movement would frighten me. It was too late to start that. I narrowed my eyes at you. It seemed to stun you for a moment but then you said, “I’m sorry about all of this. Why don’t I show you around my lair?” Without waiting for my answer you took my hand and led me all the way to the back. The walls glittered with mica and little veins of gold. The waterfall was quietly falling into a large pool. You gestured to the waterfall and murmured, “There is a small room behind the water fall. You have to slip behind the water fall and you will find ledges carved into the rock like a ladder. You may sleep in there if you’d like to. Actually, I highly recommend it.” I glared at you and you cleared your throat and mumbled, “The rest is pretty self explanatory I suppose. You can look through the old wardrobes and books and jewelry and pick a few things.” I attempted to smile but I’m sure it looked more like a grimace. You stalked away and I immediately spotted a prettily carved wardrobe. I rushed over to it and found lots of pretty dresses. There was a lovely black and white sleeveless dress, an emerald green dress with white lace dripping off the ends of the sleeves, a blue lace up slip dress, a form fitting purple dress with a bottom that drifted out like a new flower, a white and red dress with a round neck and flowing bluebell shaped sleeves, and a few corsets. There were no shoes to be found. In the wardrobe, I also found an ornate jewelry box carved with images of mythical creatures. I set this aside to look at later. You watched me at the mouth of the cave the whole time. I made my way closer to you and picked a few books. There was A Complete Guide to Dragons and Their Habitats, The Canterbury Tales, A Book of Dragon Etiquette, Dragon History, A Book of Modern Maps, and, Inferno. I thought that most of these books would be helpful if I was going to live with a dragon. I picked up my load of books and my jewelry box and took them to the waterfall. I made myself as skinny as I could be and went behind the waterfall. Once behind it, I realized I hadn’t needed to squeeze. I looked up and saw the opening of a little cave. It was very high up. I took a deep breath and took my cloak off. I put my books and jewelry box in it and tied the strings. Then, I crammed my fingers into the first handhold and began to climb. Eventually, I made it. I pulled myself onto the floor of the cave and gasped with surprise. There was a hole in the ceiling that let the moon and the stars shine through. The light reflected off the sparkling walls and the whole room was lit with a creamy glow. I heard you laughing at me and then it turned into a roar. I heard the air being buffeted, and then the cave was silent. I set my cloak on the floor and climbed down. You were gone but in your place was a note written on very fancy parchment. I picked it up and read it. It said,
“Dear Liliana,
I had to go hunting. You are welcome to bathe in one of the pools. You will find fragrant soaps and shampoos nearest the walls. Also, feel free to explore the cave. What’s mine is yours. I may be gone longer yet as I am inquiring about what to do with you to the Elders. I am sure you will try to escape. Go ahead and try it. Just keep in mind that between here and the forest are the foothills, a desert, various swamps, and the Dead Land. I will try to bring you some human food. If I don’t, I will save some of my kill so I can roast it for you. I will see you soon if not tomorrow morning.
Sincerely,
Azulon”

For a second, I wondered how you knew my name. But I dismissed it as part of your kidnapping scheme. I sighed at your good point about escaping. You were smart. But I suppose most dragons were. Then, I stomped off to the nearest pool. I took off my dress and slipped into the water.
Azulon
I flew surrounded by stars. I was headed towards the center of the mountain range, to Celestinia, the epicenter of the dragon realm. Bursts of fire randomly lit the mountains as younger dragons practiced their technique and dragon songs filled the air. Already, I could see the Elder’s cave. It was the highest mountain and the top was surrounded by wispy clouds as was their lair. I beat at the air harder and faster and found myself hovering by the clouds. Truth be told, I was scared to go in. But, the piercing screeches and deafening roars of a nearby fight pushed me into the mist. I flew through the clouds as quickly as I could and landed in the mouth of the grand cave. A deep voice called my name. “Ahhh, its Azulon. Come in, come in.” I walked in and saw three huge dragons staring down at me. I had seen them before and knew their names. Gildamoor was the one who had first spoken to me. He was dark green with eyes of the same color. He had two long wicked looking horns on the top of his head. The dragon opposite him was Ziildrith and was blood red with electric blue, sightless eyes. And, the dragon in the middle was the one I knew best. He appeared in my dreams every night. It was Draco, an all black dragon with neon green tipped wings and dark eyes. He was also my father.

I stepped forward and said, “I have a maiden in my cave. What should I do?” All of the dragons gasped and for a moment, Draco looked proud. “How did you end up taking a lady?” Ziildrith asked. Gildamoor rumbled playfully and said, “Let me guess. Did you terrorize a kingdom and they gave her up as a sacrifice? Or hmm, did you steal her away out of revenge?” I shook my head. All three dragons made sounds of disappointment. “How then, Azulon, did you take her?” My father’s voice shook the room. I shrank back and replied, “I saw her in the woods after a storm the other day and I don’t know why, I just took her.” My father growled wickedly but Gildamoor, probably wanting to keep the mood light chuckled and said, “Well you may as well keep her then. If you take her back she will likely tell the humans about us and we will have another St. George incident on our hands. Besides, it doesn’t matter as long as she’s beautiful. We dragons do greatly appreciate beautiful things.” Ziildrith nodded thoughtfully and Draco simmered. Then they turned away from me and resumed their first conversation. I took that as my cue to leave and slinked out of the depths cave and into the open air. I stretched my wings and leapt off the mouth of the cave. The air seemed to part before me and I arrived at my abode just before dawn. I was grateful to be away from the eerie howls and roars of Celestinia, the great dragon kingdom. I could hear Liliana murmuring quietly in her sleep and I settled down among my gold and other priceless gems and slept as well as a dragon could, with one eye open.
A few hours later, I woke up to the sound of weeping. I changed into my human form as quietly as I could and saw her sitting by one of the pools. I could tell she was trying to hold her racking sobs in but every once in a while, a whimper would echo through the cave. My stomach hurt and my hands shook. I knew that I was causing her this misery. But could I dare disobey the Elders? I almost laughed out loud at this. No one disobeyed the Elders. They were the eyes and ears for the Empress. And to invoke the wrath of the Empress….. I didn’t even want to know. I strode towards Liliana cautiously, so as not to scare her off. I gently touched her shoulder and she whirled around to face me, her violet eyes swimming with tears.