Our second world- book one: Past beginnings

Chapter 10

I screamed...or, I wanted to. My mouth hung open, but no sound managed to escape my throat.

There I was, staring straight at a tangled heap of...well...something, and all I could do was...well...stare.

The pile moved and I took a step back. From under the blanket, a pale hand reached out and pulled on the twisted covers, fumbling with the heavy fabric. I sidestepped the pile and tentatively reached out to pull off the blanket, curious as to what this thing was.

I don't know what I was expecting, but a face wasn't very high on my list, let alone a human one. I dropped the blanket in surprise and jumped backward, slamming my elbow into the wall.

The same pale hands pulled the rest of the cover off the equally pale face of a girl. Long curls of flaming hair hovered around her shoulders and tumbled down her back to the floor and even a bit longer. Using the bed behind her for support, the...girl pushed herself up on unsteady legs. As she stood, a flowing two-piece robe of crimson tumbled down her porcelain white legs. Standing under the dancing flame of the lantern hanging above, the figure looked exquisitely beautiful. The golden accents and decorations on her robe caught every change in the light and reflected it, causing the whole robe to sparkle.

It...erm...the girl looked around the room, her deep, red-brown eyes eventually landing on me. She smiled and greeted me...I think. Her mouth moved but whatever words were supposed to come out sounded like a gargled whisper to me.

Again, I found myself staring. When I didn't say anything, the girl looked down at her feet and politely cleared her throat; The tips of her long ears going slightly pink.

"My apologies. It has been some time since I have had need of communicating in the mortal tongue."

"Who are you?" I asked, standing a little straighter. The way this woman spoke let off an air of importance. She held herself with a grace and elegance I could only dream of achieving.

"You are the shrine maiden, correct?" She continued as if she hadn't heard me. I nodded, confused, and her smile widened." I thought as much. I must say, you are very devoted to keeping this shrine clean and well-kept. Even I must admit I am impressed by your efforts."

"Thank you, I guess, but who are you?" I asked again, rubbing the goosebumps on my arms. My elbow was sore from my collision with the wall earlier, and I could see that a small bruise was starting to form. I hit it harder than I thought.

"Forgive my late introduction. I am known as Elennoarylrth, a frost dragon," she said with a small curtsy, the many golden bracelets on her arms clinking together as she did.

"You don't look like a dragon," I remarked, forgetting the fear, confusion, and surprise that had frozen me.

"Ah, but if I did the two of us would not be quite this dry, now would we," the woman laughed." We dragons are not quite so dainty as you mortals, so I have taken the liberty of a humanoid form. I figured a feminine form would be best suited for meeting you, and I did my best to mimic your elven race. That said, if this form does not please you, I can change."

I nodded. Most of what she had said made a bit of sense, but it was still pretty hard to believe. For most people anyway. Me? I've seen and heard about enough crazy weird stuff in the time I've been here, so this seems pretty plausible. I mean, there was magic, so why wouldn't there be dragons?

"Elennoarylrth..." I paused, not sure what to say." Um..."

"If Elennoarylrth is too difficult to pronounce, please feel free to refer to me by another name, Elen, or anything else you may wish to call me, my Lady."