Dragon?

Secret

Tonight. Entrance. Ten thirty. 

Well, there I was. Waiting for him. The entrance was closed, guarded by Warriors. I knelt before a bush. I heard a rustle and turned around. River came over. 

      "You came," he noted softly. I dipped my head. We watched the marching guard. 

     "Climb or talk?" he whispered. I never understood people whom I didn't know well, and I mean very well, like my family. But I understood his simple words and they seemed much deeper. They seemed to be asking me what kind of person I was. 

     "Climb," I whispered firmly and he nodded briefly. As the moonlight caught his eye, I saw something gleam in them. Approval. We snuck towards the wall and when the guard wasn't looking, we jumped up and climbed over. It would have been almost impossible for someone who didn't know the walls properly or how to climb but we managed easily. We then jogged along the field and into the forest. The walk towards the pass was quiet and eerie. Owls hooted, hunting for food. Crickets chirped. We reached the pass. It was dark. 

     "Wow. I never knew this place existed," whispered River. I nodded. I didn't want to go into the dark pass. Shadows jumped around everywhere. River looked at me. 

     "Ladies first," he whispered. I sighed and took a step into the darkness. We walked in silent fear. I didn't even know what I was scared of. It was dark, eerie, quiet and I didn't know this place very well. We finally reached the big boulder and River hesitated. 

     "Climb this and we're there," I breathed. He nodded and we climbed the rock together. The clearing was lit brightly by the moonlight. We slowly jumped onto the grass and River looked around, gaping. 

     "Wow," breathed River. I know, I thought, I know. He looked around, turning in circles. We walked to the shimmering lake and I looked over to the opposite rock wall. 

     "There's no snow here," remarked River. 

     "Hey boy....," I said softly, "You there? Don't need to be scared. This is River. My friend." The ground trembled slightly. River looked at me in panic but I shrugged. He looked back at the rock wall. Then in front of us, a big mound of grass slowly lifted. The Dragon's scales turned from grass into hard scales and facing us was the Dragon. River's eyes went wide. He gaped at the Dragon and fell to his knees. We watched the Dragon move forward nervously. 

     "It's ok. River's a friend," I said reassuringly. The Dragon held my gaze and then shook his head and moved forward. 

     "He can understand you," stammered River. 

     "Yes," I replied. 

     "But, but..., the stories. They say that Dragons love blood, war...., it was all a lie," sputtered River. 

     "Yeah," I said then added, "But maybe not. Maybe he's different. Maybe other Dragons were evil. Maybe he's evil."

     "It's a he?" asked River. 

     "Yeah."

     "How do you know?" questioned River. 

     "His eyes." The Dragon was now very close and I knew River was holding his breath. 

     "What's his name?" he asked. 

     "He's a Secret," I answered, not really listening to River's question. River raised his eyebrow. 

     "I mean, what's his name?" repeated River. 

     "Oh, I hadn't thought about that...," I admitted.