A young man in fine armor and a richly colored cloak steps through the cave, towards a woman and an injured dragon, one hand rested jauntily on the pommel of his sword. His features are dashing, but his expression isn't one of stern determination or worried concern - it is an expression of smug victory.
He holds his other hand out, armored in a gauntlet. "My beloved, I am here to rescue you from that beast."
The woman rests her hand on the dragon's flank. She listens to her labored breathing. An arrow laced with poison... not enough to kill a dragon, but enough to weaken one immensely. She shoots a harsh glare at the man. "I don't need to be rescued. Ikarâ is no threat to me, or to anyone. She's the sweetest soul I've ever known."
Ikarâ stirs from her poisoned stupor. The dragon speaks, in an weak voice between ragged breaths. "Jelena... forget about me. You have so much to live for. A kingdom to return to."
Jelena shakes her head as she comforts the dragon - her beloved Ika, the light and flame of her life. "No. Not with that princely bastard Aleksandr. Not without you."
The man cuts in, drawing closer with slow steps. "So the monster speaks. Jelena, honey, it's filled your head with lies. Put you under it's spell. Come home with me, to where you belong."
"No. Where I belong is with Ika. If I'm to return, it will be with her - not you."
Aleksandr scowls, and steps forward. His smug expression turns to one of rage. "I've been searching for you for months, Princess. Months! And when I finally find you, you would tell me you would rather be with some lizard than your fiancé?"
His hand moves from the pommel of his sword to gripping the hilt.
"Perhaps if I kill the beast, the spell will break."
He slowly begins to draw the sword; it glimmers faintly with magic enchantment. Ikarâ would be helpless in her weakened state.
The world tightens. Jelena's heart seems to stop.
No, no, not like this.
Not after everything Ika's done for her. Not after saving her life and nursing her back to health. Not after the wonders she's shown her, letting her ride on her back freely through the sky.
Don't hurt her. Please.
Ika showed her the world beyond castle walls. Ika - in her human disguise, raven-haired and sharp-eyed - showed her a bustling market town; they walked through it together as simple travelers.
Ika let her see the world up close, rather than through a tower window.
No, please don't, don't.
They had laughed under starlight, eating mutton chops and cracking bad jokes. She had taught Jelena how to track and hunt, and the basics of poltuice-making.
The dragon had healed more than just her wounds - she had healed her heart. She had taught her how to love, and how to be loved.
Torchlight glints off the sword as it leaves the scabbard.
No, no no no no no NO!
The fear dissolves, buried by a rising heat within Jelena's heart. She is impelled forward, by an urge to protect - an instinct. The world seems to slow.
Her teeth grit. She tenses up to strike.
And she screams, with a strength and fury she had never before shown -
"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!"
The sword goes flying. Aleksandr clutches his shoulder. Blood?
He glances at the wound. The metal of his armored pauldron was ripped clean through. The hell?
He glances up at Jelena -
Into furious silver eyes, burning with anger. Inhuman eyes, with slitted pupils and a metallic sheen. He takes a step backwards. He's afraid, not of the beast... but of the princess?
Jelena stands firm. Her chest is burning with heat - but it doesn't hurt. It feels... right.
Aleksandr glances down at her hand - and sees wicked-sharp claws, covered in his blood.
Patches of forest-green scales cover her skin. Her ears have turned large and goatlike. A long, slender tail waves behind her. From her head sprouts graceful, branching horns, almost but not quite antler-like.
Aleksandr stammers, his smug satisfaction gone. "You're- you're a monster!"
Jelena glares back at him, through the tears rolling down her face.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
She steps forward. From her back, ripping through her simple dress, a pair of wings unfurl, growing by the second. Her face lengthens into a sharp toothed snout.
"But I'd rather be a monster than a god damn trade good to be pawned away in an arranged marriage to some asshole prince. Get out. Never come back."
Her words are full of fury and venom. It's too much for Aleksandr to bear. He flees from the dragoness, scrambling out of the cave.
Jelena walks back to Ika and sits down beside her. A smile crosses her face as the adrenaline and anger subside.
"I told you that you were the scarier one" Ikarâ says, her voice still weak.
Jelena doesn't say a word. She just gives Ika a hug.
She feels the warmth within the larger dragon's chest.
The same warmth that now burns within her own.
