Tears of a dragon

4. THE TRAP

-Blueberry, 9 years later- (present time)
I was almost at the top now, just a few more steps. Small rocks tumbled down with each and every step I took. My claws dug into the ground. It was a steep angle, but I jumped over the last rock and placed my palm on the peak. Finally! I was on top of the mountain, gazing over the dense and full vegetation that made up the land. Thick patches of fog laid down below me and slithered like a snake between the mountain trees. "What a beautiful land"... I uttered to myself as I let the wonderful view consume me. While I could just haven chosen to fly up the mountain, climbing it had been an enjoyable challenge. I looked down at the far depths that I knew as ground, took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Then I jumped. The wind applied pressure against my scales and the feeling of falling was amazing. I opened my eyes and simultaneously with them, my wings. Instantly the air around me responded. It carried me upwards. I was now soaring above the peaks of my land. And what a humbling and amazing feeling that was.
When I finally became exhausted and my wings could carry me no more, I aimed to land at an unexplored area. New territory. I found myself in deep vegetation, trees growing far above me. I felt like a tiny hatchling again. As I wandered through these ancient parts, my eyes locked in a cave. An uncommon sight. What could possibly lay inside it? With my curiosity in charge as usual, I slowly peeked my head inside of it. But it was dark -I saw nothing. "Hello? Anyone there?" No answer. I took this as a sign to enter.
Indeed there wasn't a soul here, in fact, there was nothing here at all. It was a free cave to take. Why would a cave like this be empty? Any dragon I've met would have taken possession of it. I speculated about the gigantic size of the cave. The inside view baffled me, it was beautiful and..."oh".
And with that, I realised that I had returned to my old den. I had been unable to reach it after the incident due to my poor flying ability. And even after all those years, when I'd taught myself to fly properly, I couldn't find the courage to return. I still stood by the belief that if I hadn't left our cave that day, my father would still be alive. Without a proper home, I had found myself drifting, lost and without a goal.
Upon entering the cave, a bittersweet nostalgia hit. I realised how small I'd once been, and how big the cave had seemed in my eyes. I stood still as a wave of emotions ran through me. Scenes from my early childhood played before me. Some brought joy, but many did not. The memories of my father brought an overwhelming pain and shame. I did not know how to deal with this, but continued to move further into the cave anyway. I had grown, a lot. And although I was nowhere near fully grown, I had become a force of nature to be reckoned with. In my dreams my father would sometimes appear with a proud smile, and he would say things such as; "Look how strong you've become." But those dreams were dreadful to wake up from. In reality, I was nothing to be proud of. Sure, I could hunt whatever prey I wished. And because there were very few dragons around here, life had often been simple. But when conflict did arrive between me and other dragons, I would lose. And it all came down to my big secret; I cannot breathe fire. My father's once great territory had been reduced to a fraction. I always felt shameful when I woke up from those dreams. Despite this, I continued to walk.
Our cave looked like any other from the outside. Something simple a bear could live in. But when entering, one would instantly know it's a dragon's lair. The walls were covered with scrolls which I'd constantly read as a kid. The only light the cave had to offer except its opening were crystals growing on the walls. They turned the cold cave into something lovely and inhabitable. Their shine was like glittering gold, and I adored it. The myth that dragons would be attracted to jewelry is in fact not a myth, but a very common trait. I noticed the darkening atmosphere and realized how tired I was, physically and emotionally. I had a lot to process from today, and decided to lay down and sleep on it.
When I woke up, the birds were singing.
I squinted my eyes to spot the noise-making creatures. When the sound stopped I closed them again in hope of getting some sleep. But of course, the song wouldn't stop. The irritating clutter of noise still insisted that I wake up. "By the stars, be quiet..." I mumbled and forced myself back to sleep. The song made one final attempt to attack me with it's sharp melody. It was loud, clear and so unmerciful. I darted out of the cave and carved a massive roar into the ears of those who were unlucky to be standing nearby. Treetops shook as birds flew from their nesting spots. At least I was awake now. And apparently so was the melody, because I heard it again. But this time it sounded... different. It sounded smoother, less sharp. Sung like this, it sounded beautiful.
Entrancing.
I moved towards the music, but there were no birds to be seen. Not a single one. I scanned my surroundings and found nothing but nature. "Strange..." I muttered as if the little mystery would listen and unfold itself. And it did. A human, sitting on the lower branches of an oak with one of those instruments close to its mouth. I could not believe my eyes. It had been imitating the birds. We made eye contact, and it quickly put down the instrument. Instead, the ugly creature drew a familiar weapon... A bow. Quick as lightning my wings reacted; bringing me up against the human, crushing the bow between my clenched teeth. I let out a warning roar towards the human, exposing my fangs in all their might. Then I took off into the air. I wanted to make a big distance between me and that creature.
But as always, luck failed me when I needed it the most. Something took hold of my leg and pulled me back to the ground with an incredible force. I almost bounced back when hitting the ground. My left side was aching and my scales became marked with tiny wounds. More humans came to bind my legs together and I struggled to get free. It was of no use. I bit, roared and fought but there were too many. Where had they come from? How had they found me? And for what purpose did they need me? I was left with these questions as one of the humans placed metallic chains around my neck. The weight brought my neck to the ground. Words could not describe how mad I was. I wanted to rip all of them to pieces for what they had done to my father, and that they even dared to show their faces here again. But I was unable to move, and had to reluctantly surrender. I was dragged on top of something that was bound to two horses. A wagon..? I'd seen sketches of those in my father's books. To make sure that I didn't move, more weights were chained to me before the horses started moving. I was both furious and scared. I clawed and struggled to break loose but it was of no use. It was all too heavy, and I gave up.
Then the wagon started moving along a path which I had never traveled, but knew led out of the forest. It was all very bizarre. The concept of using other creatures as tools was very foreign to me, and I felt disgusted. As the wagon moved, a human and I made eye contact. "Where are you taking me?" I asked. It just stared and ignored my question. I assumed it didn't hear me, and attempted a second try; "Do you speak english?" This time, the human responded, but in a language I wasn't familiar with. I was a bit surprised. I knew humans were sentient beings but I'd never considered that they might speak their own language. "oh..." I muttered back.
After hours of worrying, fruitless escape attempts and furious glaring between me and the mammals, the forest atmosphere left our company.

It was replaced by fields of grass and flowers. Endless, untouched and so beautiful. I had never seen fields like that before. The sight was captivating and bittersweet. What I'd give to be there and not here. It tested my sanity, and it tested it hard. Cringing, I let go of the idea that I'd get to fly across these fields, or smell the flowers which grew here. Because the horses didn't stop here. They continued and went past this landscape just as they'd done with the previous one. Carelessly. Our real destination had yet to reveal itself. I assumed that they would take me to their tribe or human city. I imagined a colossal stone wall which casted long shadows and contrasted deeply against the nature surrounding it. I'd heard rumors about cities like that. And that in human cities, everything was backwards. That there were no traces of nature. That stone was the dominating material, which their homes were made of. And that they have enslaved wolves to become their companions... Dogs are what I think their given name is. "Strange creatures humans are..." I sighed.