To have a Dragon's Heart

Chapter 1 - The Dragon Malia

Malia

I laid there staring at the entarance. The sun's rays barely touched the sky and it was frigid outside. I had gathered some dead trees from the forest for a fire in my cave and I was toasty warm. My stomach growled, but I was too afraid to hunt down a couple deer for breakfast. I had gotten wind that another man would try to kill me today. Sure enough just before the sun rose above the trees I heard a slight scratching sound. I sighed and a gust of hot breath left my mouth. I didn't want another fight resulting in me moving my few possessions to another cave.

"Dragon!" The man called, "Show yourself!" I shoke my head. Did he really make so much effort to climb as silently as possible to my cave only to announce himself and give up the element of surprise? "Leave! I do not wish to fight!" I called to him. " I will rid..." The man started a long speech and I zoned out. Rid the land of your pestilence... prove my manliness... bring honor to my family... yada yada yada. They all give the same speech, declaring me a monster and claiming to prove themselves. I didn't mean any harm! I had never eaten people, stolen livestock, or set villages aflame. I even tried to use trees that had already fallen in the middle of the woods as to not disturb life!

The man continued his speech and finally I couldn't take it anymore, "Alright! If I come outside will you shut up!?" Silence came from outside. They never expect me to say that stuff. I poked my head outside, "Are you happy or do I have to send you back to your village crying?" The man was flabbergasted, "I never expected you to use such words, considering you used to be a princess, but I guess being turned into a monster by a witch does that to you." By witch he meant the sorcereress Sovijaka, queen of the Seqans. She cast a curse on me changing me from a princess to a beast.

Before I could reply warning bells sounded in the distance. "Oh, come on! Not another attack!" I groaned. "Go back to your village," I ordered the man. I took off before seeing if he would listen and headed for the ocean.

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Still Malia

Of course they attacked from the ocean. It's the best way to take the castle. A small fleet of ships were viciously attacking our smaller fleet of ships. I can't eavesdrop on my father's war meetings anymore, but I still knew we couldn't afford to lose any ships. I looked down at the castle directly below me. Before being dragonfied I thought it was beautiful, warm, and had a very good view of the ocean. Now all it is to me is a pile of cold bricks inconveniently placed by an ocean from which our many enemies could attack.

I shifted my gaze to the enemy fleet, where men were busy killing, staying alive, and, since my arrival, running in circles screaming "Dragon!" Our men were doing the same except more were trying to stay alive. I dive boomed an enemy ship and broke it into pieces. I let out a tiny tongue of flame from my mouth and torched another boat. Now all the men were screaming "Dragon!" I flamed another and broke a fourth before they turned tail and ran. Now that I think of it people really need to make ships less breakable.

Our men were silent. They all were trying to hide, except for one. He looked young, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face. He was staring at me with a thoughtful look on his face as if he was realizing that I was trying to help them, not kill them. So there is one man in our army who might be reasonable. We're improving!

I looked to the shore where people had gathered. They were stunned as well. Then a young child cried, "Make the monster leave! Make it leave!" People starting screaming in fear and shouting cruses at me in anger. Some soldiers toughen up and aimed their crossbows at me. I took off. I passed the castle, villages, forest, and flew to my cave. It didn't matter that I won the battle. I could crush and burn all our enemies. I could fly into the night sky and capture all the stars to make a cloak for my father, the king. It wouldn't change anything. They would never see past my teeth, claws, and scales. Never.