Elsewin

The Story

      "So let me get this straight," spoke Hazel "You want; unicorn blood, griffon meat, and cyclops eye." She looked quizzically down at the list her dragon, Elsewin, had created.
      "Yes that's correct." He answered as he sipped his tiny cup of tea. Hazel looked back up in disbelief.
      "But aren't griffons like your cousin? Wouldn't eating them be cannibalistic?" Hazel queried. Eleswin, setting his empty teacup on a wooden stool, answered with a smirk on his face.
      "What can I say Hazel, the ol' chaps taste good" Hazel still ponders over how a dragon could be so strange, especially being reared up by herself. It just made no sense. First the British accent, and now his appetite has proven to be quite exotic.
      "Okay" said Hazel, still not understanding. "I'll be back soon. Bye."
She grabbed a black Cape and walked out the cottage door into the morning light, then paced over to the twine stable to unlock it.
      "Hey Eclipse."She said scratching her horse between his eyes. "Hey boy how are you?"
      "Fine m'lady, where to?" Eclipse answered.
      "Just to the market—no, make that the Black Market, our friend mister dragon wishes to practice a form of cannibalism." While conversing with her horse, Hazel mounted atop him.
       "That's unfortunate m'lady" Eclipse formally replied as he paced out the stable doors, the light filtering through the trees making the stallions black coat shine.          
      "Let's not forget to mention that cyclops aren't as common as they used to be, not with those Europeans trying to stuff them and put them in museums and zoos—oh, my apologies Eclipse," Hazel commented, patting him on the neck as the scenery changed from a humble cottage to a peaceful dirt trail through the wooded undergrowth. "I know I've ranted on about this multiple times."
      "No need to apologize, m'lady" replied Eclipse when a small sparrow swooped down from the golden treetops and landed on Hazel's shoulder.
      "Why hello there, little fellow. Would you like a sunflower seed?" With that the sparrow chirped happily in reply. Hazel reached into the little deer skin pouch she had tethered to her side and pulled out a single sunflower seed, hand feeding it to the little bird. Then, smiling, Hazel looked up at the golden rays of light penetrating the canopy, the steady feel of Eclipse's pace set her at ease. It felt as if all was right with the world, no problems at all, no worries, no more stress. Only it was not so, the exact opposite in fact. But Hazel didn't want to think about that now, not when she felt so freely giddy. Closing her eyes she embraced the morning light, feeling the energy of the moment. Snapping her head straight, Hazel felt a wild twinge in her eyes, an exhilarated, fierce, very wild twinge. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to run, to feel the wind in her hair, hear the pound of hooves on the ground, to see the trees rush past in a hurry, to simply feel free, and with a click of her heels she did just that.

Thanks to Hazels wild mood swing, they reached the village market in minuets. Sliding her hood on, Hazel allowed herself and Eclipse to come into view, then dismounted and led her horse to a post in front of the store she planned to buy from. Hazel knew she didn't need to tie up Eclipse, but someone would question her if she didn't and draw public attention. The last thing she needed right now was to be bombarded with questions about what was really happening on the magical continent, and with all lies they were fed, they had all the right in the world to know. Eclipse knew this too so he didn't say anything, and to make sure he didn't speak at all, Hazel looked him in the eye and pressed a finger to her lips. It was abnormal for a horse to speak, almost considered impossible, but a spell Hazel conjured up gave her beloved steed the ability to talk, a little secret of hers to keep. Turning around Hazel pressed a hand a upon the wooden store door, opening it with a delightful chime. Inside, the room had a very warm atmosphere, making her feel at ease the moment she entered. To Hazel, this was not uncharted territory, but a trusted ally's manor.

      Back at the cottage in the woods, Elsewin was leaping from beam to beam across the ceiling. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but why should he listen to Hazel? "What's the worst thing that could happen?" He mumbled rhetorically to himself. Pausing after he scrambled onto the next beam, he decided out of pure boredom to answer his question. For a moment, Elsewin pondered over exactly what she could do to him. Then, eyes wide with fear, he swooped down from the rafters frantically, leaving deep scratch marks over the elegant engravings that decorated the beams, the exact reason Hazel told him not to climb in the rafters. Those engravings were special to her, there was no telling what she would do to punish him for this. "Maybe I can cover them up." Elsewin mumbled to himself, then looked to where he was perched earlier. "Holy crap on a cracker those are deep! I can see them from way down here! No way I'll be able to cover those up! Nope! Not a single way possible!" Elsewin shrieked in dismay. He was doomed. Plopping down on his hindquarters, the green dragon hung his head in defeat. "I've got to find her." Elsewin said with sudden urgently. "I don't know what I'll do when I find Hazel, but sure as a griffon I'll do something." With that he ran for the fire place and dashed up the chimney.