The Damsel and the Dragon

Chapter six: The Dragon take over

As the night went on, as Bastien was slumbering in his grotto as he lay in his makeshift bed of leaves and moss, he had a strange dream as the night went on, Bastien drifted into a dream, a dream that felt more like a haunting memory.

In this dreamland, the land was barren, the people were devoid of happiness. Instead of eyes, they had tears, a constant flow of sorrow and despair. Instead of hearts, they carried fear, a weight that dragged them down and made them cower in the shadows.

And instead of a sky, there was death, a looming presence that hung over them like a dark cloud.

In this land, the people had a custom: they would offer their most precious possession, their daughters, to the sky in hopes of appeasing its wrath.

And so, every decade, four young women who had reached puberty were chosen as offerings. The maidens were dressed in white to signify their purity. The Vedmak, dressed in black, cried as they prepared for the ritual. They fed the maidens a bloodberry nectar and embellished them with red necklaces as a symbol of their sacrifice. They smeared ashes on the maidens faces and patted them with snow to mark them. For the dragons.

As the Vedmak chants a song. "Time is a fast-flowing river. It spares no one. The bride awaits her bridegroom as she awaits her destiny."

As mothers weeping and fathers cursing their fate. The whimpering maidens walked barefoot on ice with carefully laid bloodberries showing them the way to the dugout canoes, and they laid on it as the townsfolk showered them with treasures... for the dragon. Then they released the canoes on the water and waited for the dragon to come and choose which maiden will be taken away and which ones will be spared. The townsfolk joined them in the ritual song.

"She is clad in white, as if dressed in a shroud. Eternal peace will come for her...The wedding bell tolls."

A young knight watched as his love was sent to the water. He was held by four men so he couldn't interfere with the rite. He tried to rescue her, he wanted to save her from this barbaric ritual, but all he could do now was watch and pray for another maiden to be taken instead.

"Take her away! Take her away! Come! Come for her! The young maiden is yours for eternity."

When they finished the song, the town fell silent and only the wind could be heard. Flapping sounds came from afar and felt stronger and nearer with every second it passed. A roar came from above and the dragons appeared. Its huge wings brought forth a snowstorm pushing down everything and everyone in its wake. The black dragons encircled the maidens as if deciding which one to choose, then, planned down toward the water below and not even the roaring wind could dampen the maidens' screams.

Bastien awoke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew that this dream was more than just a figment of his imagination. But as the night went on and the moon shone brightly above, Bastien couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom, a feeling that clung to him like the saltwater on his skin.

He wondered if this was a warning, a sign of what was to come.

But however, when he realized that he was kidnapped by a Dragon, who brought him to the Hidden World, He couldn't stay in the room or here forever. He waited until everything was silent and then peeked his head out of the grotto.

There was no one in sight in the underground forest, so he carefully threaded through the passages in the forest as he looked for the way out, hoping he didn't come across the dragon. As he walked, his mind kept going back to the dream he had just woken up from. The image of the dragons taking away the maidens haunted him. He wondered if it was a vision or just a nightmare.

But now, being in this strange world with no one around, Bastien couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. What if there really were dragons here? And what if they did take maidens as sacrifices?

He shook his head, trying to push these thoughts aside. He needed to focus on finding a way out of here.

As he continued walking, Bastien started to notice small clues that may be his only chance to escape. He slowly climbed the stones and when he reached the end of the forest, Bastien saw a faint light ahead. With renewed hope, he quickened his pace towards it.

As he emerged from the forest into an open area, he saw claw marks on the stone wall

and large footprints on the ground. his heart rate increased. He knew he wasn't supposed to be here, but he had to know what was such a big secret.

The room was full of all kinds of junk and seriously needed a huge sweeping and a wipe-down. But before he could fully take in, Bastien heard a loud sound.

"What are you doing here?" Enola growled. She sounded like she was in pain.

"It's not what you think." Bastien said.

"Do you realize what might've happened if you had come here?" Enola screeched in pain as her eyes became cat-like, her nails mutating into sharp talons as her body alternated with scales all over her.

Before he could fully take in on what is going on here, Enola snarls. "Run, RUN."

Panicked and unsure of what else to do, Bastien ran towards the chamber's entrance as he heard a loud roar behind him. He turned and saw a dragon run towards him with fire in its mouth.

Breathless and scared, Bastien himself running for his life, the sound of the dragon's roar echoing in his ears. He could feel the heat of its fire breath on his back and knew he had to act fast if he wanted to survive.

He looked around frantically, trying to find somewhere to hide or escape.

Just when he thought all hope was lost, he saw a small crevice on the wall that seemed big enough for him to squeeze through. Without hesitation, Bastien ran towards it and dove in, barely fitting through the tight space.

Panting heavily, Bastien looked back and saw that the dragon had stopped at the entrance of the chamber, unable to fit through the small crevice like he did. But it didn't stop there.

The dragon started blowing fire into the crevice, trying to smoke him out.

Bastien could feel the intense heat and knew he had to keep moving. He crawled further into the narrow space, ignoring bruises and scrapes from sharp rocks as he desperately tried to find another way out.

But as luck would have it, there was no other way out. The crevice led him right back to where he started - inside the Dragon's Den.

Feeling defeated, Bastien turned around just in time to see Enola transform back into her human form. She stumbled towards him with exhaustion written all over her face.

"I-I'm sorry," she gasped between breaths. "I couldn't hold my form anymore."

Bastien didn't know what to do or say. He just stood there frozen as Enola collapsed onto her knees in front of him and soon she collapsed onto the ground.

Bastien turned to the Dragon's Den, his thoughts were on the exit of the Dragon's Den, but he found that he couldn't.

He couldn't leave Enola here, despite the fact that Enola was the Dragon.

Making his decision, he knelt down beside him, pulling off his sleeve from his shirt and laying it over her. "You have to help me," he whispered gently. "You have to stand...."

Putting his body under her shoulder, he pushed up, letting Enola lean on him like a crutch. She roared in pain and grew heavier as the sensation overtook her as they made their way through the Dragon's Den.

Her transformation had taken a toll on her body, and she could barely walk, relying heavily on Bastien for support.

He didn't know where he was going, but he knew they needed to get out of the den before the dragon returned.