Hidden Wings

Chapter 2

   Where am I? Maria wondered. Blackness pressed up against her eyes, but this didn't feel like her bed at home. She fought off the lethargy and lifted her eyelids. Everything came rushing back.
She shook her head violently and tried to stand up. The snakebite... shouldn't I be dead? She finally pulled herself onto her hands and knees, yet somehow her head was level with the beginning of the hill she had fallen down. Maria looked down at her hands and nearly screamed. Her arms had become long front legs, and they were plated with deep purple teardrop-shaped scales that faded to a silvery blue at tips. Her hands were covered with smaller, disk-like scales that didn't overlap, and a tapered silver claw curved from the tip of each finger. Looking back at the rest of her, Maria saw a sharp line of spines along her backbone, two long back legs, and a pair of wings that extended from her shoulders. Also, there was a long, graceful tail that faded to blue at the tip.
Ok, so I'm a dragon? Maria thought in panic. What? How?
  She turned in a circle and then started to climb up the hill, stepping easily over the rocks. It was late afternoon by her guess, so she had been lying there for over an hour. Halfway up the hill, Maria stopped climbing and stood very still. A gentle breeze from directly above her had fanned her back. There came a sound like a large paper rustling, and then the soft click of claws on stone.
  Maria looked up at one of the boulder at the top of the hill. Perched on the stone and looking at her curiously, was another dragon.
  The dragon blinked his grass green eyes. He truly was a beautiful creature. The sun's rays gleaned on his emerald toned scales and shone through the thin folds of webbing in his wings. His diamond-shaped scales were criss-crossed with a darker green pattern that reminded Maria of ink blots, spider webs, and the pattern of lichen on a rock. Sharp, white horns and a webbed crest adorned his head. He looked about her age, in dragon years. He blinked again and, to Maria's great surprise, spoke.
  "Greetings. I don't believe I've met you before. Are you knew to this part of the kingdom?" he asked, flicking his tail.
  Maria stared. His voice wasn't what you'd expect from a dragon; deep and growling. His was neither of these. It just sounded kind of... normal. "N-no, I'm not really new. I, um, I was just... um... I was..," Maria stuttered, uncertain if this dragon would believe her if she told the truth.
  The dragon smiled, revealing sharp, ivory teeth. "Yes?"
  Maria took a deep breath. So what if he thinks I'm crazy? "I'm not a dragon. Well, now I am, but earlier I was a human, but a snake bit me, and now I'm a dragon," she said in a rush.
  The other dragon's smile disappeared. His eye-ridges crept together and Maria could almost hear his doubtful thoughts.
  "I'm telling the truth, honest!" she turned around and extended her ankle, showing him the large bite mark the snake had left.
  The dragon's eyes widened. He mumbled something inaudible. "We have to tell this to Queen Angelica. She won't be happy, though... We might not even get an audience with her..."
  "Who's Queen Angelica? Can she change me back?" Maria asked, confused.
  "Oh, there's that, too," he mused. "I guess we can't have you stay a dragon." He shook his head and looked up at her. "I don't know if she can change you back, but we can at least try. I'm Spryvern, by the way."
  "I'm Maria," she replied.
  Spryvern smiled. "Good. Follow me." Flexing his bat-like wings, the emerald green dragon gracefully leaped into the air.
  Maria stared up at him. "Um..."
  "Oh, sorry!" he called, spiraling downward. "I forgot."
  Maria snorted. Spryvern landed beside her and flexed his wings. "Alright, so mirror my posture as well as you can."
Maria studied his form and then mimicked it. He cocked his head and nodded in approval. "Ok, so once you have your wings spread, use your back legs to propel yourself forward and your tail to balance. Then, beat your wings evenly until you're high enough to start gliding."
"Ok," said Maria, gaining confidence with the challenge. She lifted her extended wings and glanced at Spryvern. Focus, she reminded herself. Just because you don't make it the first try doesn't mean you should give up. Taking a deep breath, Maria tensed her back legs and launched herself into the air, flapping wings as evenly as she could. She brought her legs up and tried keep her tail steady. She turned her head and jumped slightly to see Spryvern flying a few feet from her right wing.  "You're doing great!" he called above the rushing of the wind. "But you may not want to look down!"
  Maria smiled and beat her wings a tad harder. "Heights don't really bother me!" And just to prove her point, she glanced downward. The ground had fallen away quickly. Already she could almost see all of Ute Valley spread out below them.
  Spryvern gradually leveled out, and watching him, Maria did the same. The wind whistled a little less, and she didn't have to flap her wings as much. "Wow," she breathed, looking up at Pike's Peak. The snow-capped mountain stood at the edge of the city like a giant, stony guardian. "This is amazing. Thanks so much, Spryvern."
  The green dragon smiled at her. "Call me Spry."
  Maria smiled back, then looked down at the far off ground. A few dragons of different colors, crimson red, sprout green, and ocean blue, were hunting or gliding beneath them, and they looked up as the pair passed overhead. "Why couldn't I see all these dragons before?" Maria wondered aloud.
  Spry sighed. "Dragons are meant to be invisible to humans, because even touching them could make us sick or kill us. Their blood is toxic to us, and if they knew we were here, they would hunt us, probably to extinction."
  "Oh." Maria stared at the ground, and spotted her shadow, racing along below her. Her eyes wandered, and suddenly something moved on the ground. Something bigger than Spry, but not much. Maria stared harder, blinked, and lost sight of it. "Wait... do I still have human blood now?"
  Spry thought. "Maybe. To be honest, I've never even heard of anything like this, so I don't really have any idea. Why do you ask?"
  "Just a thought..." Maria replied absently. But it was really more of a theory. Because what if a really, really evil dragon decided to make a human into one of his kind, keeping her blood the same, so he could then use her as some kind if weapon, all meant to hurt the others and defend himself? Maria's guess was closer to truth than she realized.