Hidden Destiny

Encounter

Tiamat

The past few weeks were horrid. I had lost track of how many lifeless dragon bodies I had seen. I couldn’t handle the stress of it all, however, I tried to for the younger dragons. Most of them didn’t know their mother or father had been killed and I myself wasn’t prepared to tell them.

I was on my way home from another encounter when I felt the life of another slip away. I wasn’t nearly close to home yet and it felt near so I decided to take a quick trip to it’s body. It was difficult to fly low because my wings tended to snag on the leafless branches. In the distance of the forest, I saw a light of a fire from the crack of darkness. Hunters? Just what I needed. Taking precautions, I allowed my wings to fold back and fade away. Easily as taking off I landed near where one of the nests was. I pressed myself against a tree as I tried listening and determining the distance of the voices. Taking a risk, I pressed forward and walked towards where the lingering energy of the lifeless dragon was.

After a dragon died, so did their energy. Although they died, their energy would become like a beacon so I may come find them and give them a proper burial. It became difficult sometimes when the pull faded. Usually I would feel hollow for a few days and it wasn’t a good feeling.

In the near distance, I saw the dark silhouette of the fallen dragon. My heart felt like it was lodged in my throat when I saw it. I need to remember to breathe when I see these things… I walked over to it, trying to make as little noise as I could when I walked, avoiding fallen twigs and leaves. I looked around once as I ran over to the shadowed side of the dragon.

I knelt by its gashed side and place a hand over it, lightly. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to mourn over it. Forgive me… I quickly became lost in the moment as I pressed my head against it. My hair fell over my face as I sent a prayer up to the lost dragon. Patting its side, I told myself it was time to get up before I was caught.

I sighed as I hugged its neck gently. I never knew how my father handled these losses. I certainly never took them well, even as a child.

The sound of footsteps approaching broke my train of thought. Quickly my head whipped up towards the noise. I tried getting up quickly and quietly but I managed to trip back against the dragon’s tail. Oh crap.

I could see it was one of the hunters from the nearby camp. In the moonlight, I could see she was blonde. She seemed to have been silently crying as she knelt by the dragon, completely oblivious of me. I watched as she stroked her hand along its neck whispering “I’m sorry.” over and over to herself.

Why would see mourn a dragon? I thought. I wasn’t sure if I should move. If this was some ploy, she didn’t want to be fooled. She looked truly upset though, so I was conflicted. Slowly, I got up and stepped over the tail to escape. I ended up stepping on a twig, breaking the safety of silence.

I saw her look up and around afraid, like she knew she wasn’t supposed to be there. “Who’s there?” She said quietly, pulling her dagger from it’s holster. “Eryx? Knight? C’mon guys...this isn’t funny…”

I looked over at her, screaming at myself internally to run away. I decided otherwise and stepped out of the shadows. “No . . . this definitely isn’t funny.” I whispered as I tried to keep myself from weeping over the loss.

I saw her lower the dagger as if she had recognized my voice. “Wait...Who...who are you…? You...sound familiar.” she said looking towards my general direction like her eyes haven’t adjusted to the darkness.

“I’m Tiamat...the dragon queen.” I said as I folded my arms over my stomach. I was getting cold and it wasn’t just from the chilling night air.

I saw her take a step back, almost afraid. “T-Tiamat? Why are you here? It’s dangerous…” She said with a hushed whisper. “My team is still out here.”

I looked over at her sadly. “I’m fine with the danger. I know what you are…and knowing you’re here with slayers breaks my heart even more” slowly, I looked back down at the dragon in front of us. I quickly became nauseated as I turned away to leave.

“Please...just listen.” Her voice sounded pleading and desperate. “I-I know I’m here with them...but please...I’m actually helping you. I relay information to your superiors. I know everything that goes on in the slayer system. Including these hunts.”

I looked over at her coolly. “I am the queen. Whatever you had told my council, nothing had reached me…” I felt betrayed, I should know this. I should know what’s happening. What else is being kept from me…?