...
And it was the most beautiful creature Steven had ever seen. Its forearms were covered in scales that glittered and shone in bright colors as stray sunbeams broke through the branches of the trees and set them aflame with fiery brilliance. Spikes of gold ran down its back, and its wickedly crafted claws shone bright and clear and sharp as diamonds.
But its teeth--the yellow and green of decay had set on all their edges, and they snapped in a mouth curled into a misshapen grimace.
Stephen was mesmerized. "Who are you?" he whispered in reverence.
The beast's lips stretched over the yellow teeth in a mockery of a smile. "I am but the first of many creatures you may yet meet this day. If you can survive them all."
Laura gasped behind him and whispered furiously in his ear. "Stephen, I told you we needed to get out of here! This place--it isn't--"
"--It's exactly what we needed Laura!" he whispered furiously to his companion. He pulled her behind a nearby tree as the beast continued to look on with something between interest and anticipation.
Laura glared at her companion. "If the boy were here, he would tell you--"
"--he would tell me to do what I needed to do to save the village. To save our son." He stared into Laura's eyes as if willing her to understand. "One scale from the monster's back," he whispered. "Just one, and we would have the means to revive everything. Imagine, children and old men alike full, for the first time in a generation. Or more! Living in houses of stone, of gold and rubies rather than wood and refuse!"
Laura shook her head. "You don't know what you are saying, this creature, it is a test, I am sure."
Steven scowled. "A test of what, Laura?"
Laura smoothly stepped from behind the tree to face the dragon once more. The dragon had not so much as moved since the two had left. She curtsied to the beast, who snorted in what she hoped was amusement.
"My lord," she called to him--
"--I am a lady," it called back in a grumbling growl.
Laura's face flushed, but she did not drop his--her--eyes. "My lady then, you have said you are of a lower caste. What precisely do you mean?"
The beast shook her head, and a mane as strands red as copper flowed over her shoulders. "I am the ugliest of all my cousins," she growled. "My scales do not shine, so bright, my nails not cut so deeply. I am a failure amongst my own kind." She shook her head and scratched at her forearm, from whence a few glittering scales fell from her skin.
Laura and Steven both stared as the scales fell. The beast noticed the couple's interest. She bent to retrieve the scales that had fallen and dropped them into Laura's hands.
Laura gasped in exhilaration. The scales--they were hard as diamond, but brightly colored as the rarest of gemstones. "You would give us such valuable gems?" she asked quietly.
The beast nodded. "To have you leave my forest? Yes. Turn back on your foolish quest now, and your village may never know hunger again." The beast chuckled, a hideous smell of brimstone and sulfur pouring from its mouth. "Still, they are worthless compared to those of my brothers, of course," she growled. "If you could find them and slay them, I am sure you could gain riches beyond your wildest dreams."
Laura shook her head. "And the cure for our son's curse?"
The beast bowed its head toward a ravine behind him. "You must begin by scaling the ravine. The stones in your hand would dissolve, destroyed by the magic of the water in its bottoms. You would never see the likes of them again." She cooed in what might have been sympathy. "But what is the life of one who would be forever hungry, when you might fight the hunger of hundreds of others?"
Laura turned to Stephen, a wicked but conflicted gleam in her eyes, "Steven," she whispered, "What can we do?"
Stephen kissed Laura's hand and...
693 words. 
  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2024 Amalie Cantor - We Got This! (UN: fallenmercury at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Creeper Of The Realm has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author