Discovery

Taylor ran blindly into the trees. Her new white dress was splotched with mud from when she fell. Her waist-long blonde hair had branches and leaves entangled it, and she was being chased by a fox.  Taylor Gaunt was the only person to live freely in the woods. Her only problems were wild carnivores, but she made sure to stay clear of them, most of the time. 

Taylor steered herself through the trees, running barefoot. She could hear the fox thudding behind her, and could feel it’s hot breath on her heels. Making a fast right, she whipped around and confronted the fox. The fox’s fur was matted and clumped together and Taylor could count the ribs that poked out from under the creature’s pelt. Sighing in defeat, Taylor threw down the small chunk of meat that she had taken from the fox. The dog gulped it down, threw one last disgruntled look at her, then ran back the way it had come. 

Now without food, the girl ran on. The leaf canopy above almost blocked the sun from view, but it let in a few rays for light. The ground underneath Taylor’s feet was tough, but she was used to it. She had been living rough for about seven months, and she knew where all of the berries grew, which to eat and which not to eat, and where wild basil and parsley grew. Although Taylor longed for meat, she reluctantly went in search of some wild raspberries. 

Carefully walking over a slumbering snake, Taylor approached the bush. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there were some ready to be eaten, and that the birds hadn’t taken them yet. Taylor picked as many as she pleased, and put them into the pockets of her dress. 

The girl went back to her favorite spot; sitting on a branch of an extremely large Redwood tree. She skillfully climbed up, not dropping a single berry. Looking happily around, she could see most of the forest from the tree. Taylor carefully surveyed the area, used to the occasional splashes of color in the brown and green world. But then, something caught her eye. 

It was round, very, very, large, and was extremely gray and white. At first, Taylor thought of it as a rock, but when she squinted to get a better look from her position in the tree, she noticed that it was too round. In mid-chew, Taylor hopped off the branch and went to investigate. 

The rock-thing stayed where it was, waiting for her. She approached cautiously, because it could be an animal’s home, like a snake. Once she had completed a full circle around it, she reached out to touch it. 

It was strangely warm, and smooth. She picked it up, and it seemed a little bit lighter than what she expected, but heavy nonetheless. When she had held it against her for a moment, there was a cracking noise. The stone that she was holding wasn’t a stone, but an egg! Taylor watched in fascination as the egg opened, and revealed a sort of lizard with spiny wings. 

It was a dragon egg.