𝕭𝖚𝖗𝖓 (18+)

4 - 𝕬 𝕽𝖚𝖉𝖊 𝕬𝖜𝖆𝖐𝖊𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌

ᨒ

Muriel shifted as short puffs of wind kept blowing all over her. It tickled and she became annoyed in her half asleep state. She lazily swatted at the wind as if that would make it stop and she paused as her hand came in contact with something textured and warm. Well at least the wind stopped.

She sighed softly and snuggled back into the rocky ground. Wait.

Not wanting to awaken fully quite yet, she kept her eyes closed and patted the ground. What should have been grass was cool stone beneath her palm. She frowned, irritated that she'd have to open her eyes.

Muriel's bleary eyes slowly fluttered open and she rubbed them with a small yawn. Her vision was met with a rocky wall, and a few gold coins scattered here and there on the floor next to her. She gulped. She was still on her side, facing the wall, and she didn't want to know what she'd see if she turned around.

"Good afternoon, little one," a deep, draconic voice rumbled above her.

Trying to be brave, she rolled onto her back and her eyes widened at the large, grinning face of a red scaled fire dragon hovering too close for comfort. Her whole body could fit in his mouth if he wanted to gobble her up. A glint of his long, sharp fangs peeked out and her heartbeat sped up. She scrambled backwards and the beast chuckled.

"Careful not to go too far. It's a long way down and you don't have any wings."

Confused, Muriel chanced a glance behind her and squeaked when she saw the mouth of the massive cavern a foot away, looking down on the valley from a dizzying height. She changed directions and crawled away from it before standing to her feet.

She spotted her bag of food a few feet away from where she'd woken up. Muriel gave the dragon a confused look.

"Why did you bring me up here?" she asked warily.

"Why were you sleeping at the foot of my mountain?"

He had been laying down but now he surged up to his massive clawed feet and she gulped at his enormity. She was surprised to find she was attracted to the graceful slope of his horns, the span of his wings, the broadness of his chest, and the luster of his scales, some a dark muddy color and some a blood red. Before she could judge herself too harshly, she remembered that she was supposed to be a dragon as well. This was the first male of her kind she'd ever seen. This was normal.

Realizing she had been staring, she blushed and looked away. "I, um..." How was she supposed to say it? I need your spit, please. No way!

A deep, draconic sound emitted from his chest as he waited expectantly for her reply.

Here goes nothing. "I'm a witch and—"

"Do not think that just because I've allowed you to live means that you can lie to me," he growled, prowling closer.

Muriel swallowed down her nerves. Alright. Complete honesty, then. She sighed, "I've just discovered I'm cursed. I want to break it."

"A transformation curse?" he inquired, though something told her he already knew the answer to that.

She nodded. "Yes. My friend, a witch... She thinks I am a—"

"Icildrakendür?" he finished and she gaped.

"Well I, uh," she stuttered. "Maybe not that specifically, but she is convinced I am some sort of dragon, cursed as a baby."

"I've met this witch before," he assumed with a rough chuckle. "Does she happen to have a fear of heights?"