Snowfall

It wasn’t always bitterly cold. Just most of the time. Few villages remained within the boundaries of Wyveria. Over time most of the subjects of Wyveria had left long ago. They didn’t go far. Just beyond the reach of the eternal winter cast curse-like upon the kingdom. At its center was a castle. In that castle lived the Dragon King.

The Dragon King used to be able to shift from his dragon form into a human. That was until his dragon fire went out. He was still immortal, but trapped in a form he didn’t favor. When his fire was extinguished the kingdom fell into and accursed eternal winter. Each year that passed the place of his fire grew colder and became as hard as ice. He often turned his anger and anguish on the villages of the kingdom. Once every ten years he required that the villages gathered and selected a young woman to present to him.

Most years the girls were such a disappointment that he just ate them. Sometimes he would just fly them beyond the borders of the kingdom and release them in the warmer lands. Either way the young women never returned to their villages. Over time fewer and fewer young women were available to send. The villages became desperate. They decided to resort to stealing a young woman from the neighboring lands.

The raiding party armed themselves carefully and planned on stealing food and supplies as well. Times were tough when so little would grow in the eternal winter, and they couldn’t just survive on fish and sea creatures. Stealthily they chose a village near enough to the border to suffer just the tiniest bit from the curse. Sometimes freak snowstorms would hit them even in mid summer.

At the time of the raid the village was enjoying the first blush of spring. They located a lovely girl attending to a lush garden full of fresh spring greens. Two of the raiders rushed the girl and grabbed her. She started to scream but they used a sleeping powder on her to make her fall into a deep sleep. Several of the raiders refused to return to Wyveria. The ones that did returned with a stolen horse drawn wagon full of food and supplies with their special cargo, a dragon sacrifice.

The raiders distributed the supplies and drove the wagon carrying the sleeping girl to the castle.

Eloa awoke with a start. She couldn’t remember where she was supposed to be but she was certain it was not laying on a king sized bed in a room large enough for a dragon to move around freely. She pushed back the covers and crawled from the bed. Someone had changed her from her peasant work clothes into a night gown embroidered with flowers and adorned with lace.

“Hello?” Her voice echoed through the room. She went to the far wall and pushed aside the curtains on a window, easily twenty feet tall. Outside a winter blizzard blew and she could only see far enough to know their was a covered patio outside the window.

Eloa turned slowly to fully take in the room. On an end wall there was a massive wooden door. It easily took four mature trees to provide the wood to build it, and the iron hinges each could have made the suspension system for a cargo wagon. Eloa went to the door. The handle was five feet above her head. Effectively she was trapped. She pounded on the door to make as much noise as she could.

After some time, Eloa slid down the door to sit on the floor leaning into it. In the quiet she heard a slithering sound. Then she heard the handle of the door turning above her. The door opened outward and revealed a massive iridescent black dragon. Eloa held back a scream.

“Hello, I was worried you would never wake. That would have made me very mad,” The dragon said in a light tenor voice.

“Hello. How did I come to be here?”

“So, I was right. You didn’t volunteer,” The dragon said.

“I was working in my garden pulling weeds. There were men… and I woke up here.”

“Weeds? Garden? They went beyond the boundaries of the kingdom to steal an offering?” The dragon’s pupils narrowed to slits.

Eloa swallowed hard, “Offering?”

“Yes, I demanded of my subjects an offering of a young woman.”

“For what? Am I some kind of sacrifice? Are you going to eat me?”

The dragon lowered his face to her level. “I only eat the ones that scream at me. I can’t handle high pitched squealing,” The dragon replied.

Eloa hoped he was joking, but didn’t think he was. “I won’t scream. Why do you demand an offering?”

“I am lonely. I can no longer walk among my people as a man.”

“A man? You weren’t always a dragon?”

“No, I have always been a dragon, but my dragon fire would allow me to transform into a human so I could relate with my subjects. That fire died a while ago.” Eloa wasn’t accustomed to reading draconic facial expressions but he seemed to be sad. That pulled at her heartstrings. She gently reached a hand out to stroke his muzzle.

The dragon jerked away. “Why ever did you do that?”

“Your dragon fire sounds important, I am sorry it died.”

The dragon lowered its head to her level again. “No one has expressed sympathy in all this time…”

“Really?”

“They all have been too afraid. Why are you different?”

“My coming here was unexpected, I haven’t had time to be terrified by this, and you seem kind for a dragon. Although I was bothered that I was trapped in this room.”

“Trapped?”

“The door is too large for me to open…”

The dragon chuckled and moved aside a short curtain next to the main door with one claw. Behind the curtain was a very human sized door. “I had them covered when I could no longer use them, I am sorry.”

Eloa relaxed realizing she could probably leave the castle at any time she chose, except… She thought about the blizzard raging outside of the window. She was dressed for a mild spring day not midwinter.
“How long was I asleep. It was spring… and here it is not.”

“It is always winter. An accursed winter settled on my kingdom when my dragon fire went out.”

“How sad. For you and your people. I know where I am now. There are stories of a kingdom nearby my village that had frozen over. I didn’t know anyone lived there now though.”

“In truth, few still do live here. It is hard on them but they are for the most part quite loyal despite my moods.”

“You must have been a wonderful king when you could walk among them.”

Sadness filled the dragon’s eyes and a small crystal fell from the corner of one of them and tinkled as it hit the floor. “I miss walking among them…”

Pity, sympathy and love swelled in Eloa’s heart she wished she could do something to help him. On impulse she stepped forward and kissed him on his lips. They were softer than she expected them to be. When she took a step back the dragon stood as a pale blue flame began to flicker all over his body. Then the flame seemed to fade and Eloa realized she couldn’t see it because she too was engulfed in flame that didn’t burn her. “What is happening?”

“You are my one true mate! You are receiving the blessing of immortality.” The dragon stated. Then it clutched its chest as though in pain.

“Are you alright?”

The dragon laughed, and laughed. It was as though he couldn’t form words to express what was going on.

“Are you alright?” Eloa pleaded for an answer.

“My fire, has returned. I have found my true mate!”

Unsure of what that meant for her, Eloa, stood stiffly.

“What is your name my love, my rescuer?” The dragon asked.

“Eloa.”

“Eloa you will be my queen and we will reign together over our land.”

It wasn’t the answer she had expected, “What is your name?”

“Relvan, Dragon King of Wyveria. And you are my Dragon Queen.”

“I’m no dragon.”

“You can become one now love.”

Eloa blinked and wondered if it was true. She imagined what it would be to be a massive dragon like Relvan. She opened her eyes, her perspective on the room had changed she was much taller. She looked down at herself. She was a dragon with pearlescent white dragon scales. She looked at Relvan. Their eyes met and she felt all his years of terrible sadness flow into her. She let her memories of loving parents and bright and vibrant springs flow into him.

Together they decided to return to their human forms. Relvan was a tall raven haired man. His well trimmed beard was evocative of his draconic chin. He crossed the room to her and wrapped his very human arms around her and they kissed. The flames surrounding them merged and flared towards the ceiling before dying back and settling in their hearts.

That was how spring returned to Wyveria.


1545 words

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A Romance Contest - winners announced  (13+) A short story contest for the Seasons of Romance: August = Winter #1892844 by Osirantinsel

Round 31: Winter
1 August 2024 to 31 August 2024
Aside from the season and (of course) romance, I also want to see castles make an appearance.