Curse of the Phoenix

Ch.1 -Discovery

Grimm, i'm going to explore. I'll be back in a while. ~I said with my thoughts.

Alright. Be careful and don't get eaten by anything. Remember last time you explored?

That was different. I didn't know there were those giant snails living here!

Just be careful. If you need me you know I'll be here. Or wherever you manage to get yourself into.

Your lack of confidence in me being able to handle myself is astonishing.

And your ability to get in trouble in so many ways is astonishing.

I know. Grimm's mood turned smug as he realized that I had given up arguing with him. But that was okay. Most people in all of Alagaesia would never understand. Grimm was a dragon, and I was his rider. We were linked by an unbreakable mental bond, we knew every thought, every emotion that the other experienced. He was a partner of my heart and mind. The other half of my soul.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and turned my attention to the maze of trees before me. I began to run. The trees passed by, their green leaves and needles shaking in a slight breeze that also ruffled my hair. I smiled and gazed up at the sun. Not directly of course. It was too bright to do that. I wasnt that stupid.

I mindlessly wandered, not paying attention to where I was going. I started to focus on the world again once I stepped in a puddle, dampening the bottom edge of my dress. My dress, sandals, a small amulet, a single knapsack and Grimm were all I had left of my old life. The life I had left behind when Grimm flew to this island, Vroengard. Grimm had called it a haven, an escape from the evils of the past. I halted my thoughts and shook my head. No. I couldn't do that. Grimm said it was better to focus on the future instead of dwelling in the past.

I looked up at where I was. I was standing in a small meadow, wildflowers sprouted up everywhere among the grasses. Most of the trees were pine, the others leafy ones that I didn't know the names of. I heard a loud crunch, like something stepping on the underbrush, mainly leaves and twigs. I heard several more snaps, but more frequent, as if whatever the second creature was had to take more steps to keep pace with the first creature. And whatever the first creature was, it must have been quite large. The ground shook with each step it took. I could feel the shaking through the soles of my sandals.

l panicked, and dove behind a bush, leaves crinkling as I landed. My pulse was going faster than that of a rabbit. Grimm said not to get in trouble. Too late now. I slowed my breathing and tried to be as quiet as I could. I heard several more snaps in the underbrush. Then, the branches of a large bush were pushed aside by an arm. And a person stepped into the meadow.

I was hidden maybe a hundred feet away on the opposite side of the clearing. The person walked forward as I had done earlier, without thinking. Then branches again moved, but high up above the ground, the topmost branches of an oak. Much too tall and thick for anything of human origins to move. I sucked in my breath, and gasped. A sapphire blue dragon strode into the clearing.