Dragon of Storms

Chapter 5

Gasping, Reyna sat up. She could've sworn that what she saw was real, but it was just a dream. She took a few minutes to catch her breath and calm her heart. The princess examined her surroundings. She was still under the tree, but it looked like she'd been asleep for a few hours, as the sunlight was no longer a soft glow, but a glaring yellow. The egg was tucked into her side comfortably, and the goats had come closer to stare at her.

Standing up, Reyna tried to stretch her stiff muscles. She sipped her water, then stuffed her face with a bit of stale bread. After the food got soggy from its dip in the ocean, it became very salty and dry. But she didn't really mind, though it did leave her thirsty. "Okay," She breathed out, talking to the goats. "There's an opening in the ceiling, which I may be able to climb out of." Plans started going through her mind, as did possible fall outs. "The opening will definitely be big enough for me, and maybe, just maybe I could use the vines."

"Yep, that'll definitely work out perfectly." Reyna's sarcastic optimism was incredibly unhelpful, but it made her feel a bit better. "Alrighty," Picking up the egg and stuffing it in her bag, she directed her next words to it. "You and I are going to get out of here, without a scratch more or less." Looking at the long stretch of rock between her and the ceiling she added, "I hope." There was no answer, but Reyna could've sworn that there was a light tapping on the shell.

Assessing, the princess guessed she'd have to go at least five feet while dangling before she could reach the hole in the ceiling, or she could start near the tunnel she'd first come through and go only about a foot. The second option was the better one, as she'd only have to reach out to get to the edge of the gap, but the first one would lead her over the lake, so if she fell, there'd at least be a bit of a cushion. Plus the tunnels were unstable, more so than the cavern.

When it came down to it though, Reyna knew that she wouldn't be able to get to the gap with only her upper body strength, while her legs were dangling below. She may have been stronger than the average girl, but she wasn't that strong. Plus the fact she wasn't just carrying her own weight, but also the dragon egg. "Okie dokie, looks like we've got a plan."

After adjusting her bag and the egg to make sure it didn't fall out, Reyna began searching the wall over the tunnel for any type of hold. Once she found it, the princess began to climb. She didn't look down, just kept going up. The stone bit into her nails, and she was sure that her fingers would be bloody and cracked by the time this was over, not that it was Reyna's biggest concern. The egg bumped against her hip every time she moved, making her fear that it would crack. Stopping she took a couple of deep breaths and looked up, she still had about ten feet to go, which meant she was about fifteen feet off the ground. "Alright, don't look down, just keep going."

So she did. Biting back screams of pain from her leg, Reyna found herself at the top. Now all she had to do was reach out, take hold of the ledge, and somehow get her body over. "Easy enough," Her arm reached out, almost to the ledge, when the cave began to rumble. On reflex alone, Reyna's hand grabbed any hold on the wall she could. "No, no, no, no," She murmured.

Her protests did nothing to stop the rumbling earth. Dust shook free from its confines, as did rocks. Reyna's eyes accidentally landed on the ground below her. The distance was dizzying. If she fell, there would be no shortage of pains. The princess tried to hold on tighter, but the rocks that she clung to were starting to shake loose and break off. First, her left legs support, then her rights. Now with her legs dangling, searching for anything to hold on to, Reyna prayed to whatever Gods were listening. Dust fell in her eyes, and she had to resist the urge to wipe it out. After blinking rapidly, her right hand lost its grip. Hanging by only her left arm, Reyna attempted to find any other ledge she could grab, but came up empty. Painstakingly slow, her fingers slipped off the small ledge, one by one.

Reyna's grip fell, and she started descending toward the ground. The bag on her shoulder twisted around, giving her neck a burn, until it was behind her. She was able to register that she'd land on the egg and break it in time to twist her body and grab it. Now she was curling her body around the dragon, with her right arm facing the ground. Reyna landed on her shoulder and heard a snap. Not a millisecond later pain erupted from her hand to her neck.

She looked up, to thank the rutting gods that she was alive, but instead saw a huge rock come crashing down toward her. The princess held the egg tightly and rolled out of the way, using her right leg to push off against the ground with enough force to send her right into the tunnel, before the rock could crush her. She hit a wall hard, making the egg roll away from her.

Gray darkness enveloped her, all she could hear was her own heavy breathing, and the only thing she could feel was the cold ground beneath her as she rolled onto her back and her arm's blaring pain. The pain almost knocked out all her other senses as Reyna tried moving the limb. Bits of light leaked through the gaps, illuminating her injury, which she refused to look at, then again that could've been her vision turning splotchy from pain.

Taking deep breaths, Reyna felt her arm with her uninjured side. She yelled out in pain, disturbing the thick silence. It was definitely broken, possibly in multiple places. Her hand felt sticky with blood, meaning that a bone was definitely poking through her freckled skin. Attempting to sit up, she had to muffle more screams. She may not have seen anything living in the tunnels before, but that didn't mean that something wasn't down there.

When she finally sat against the wall, Reyna let herself take a break. She was panting from pain, and her tongue was bleeding from biting down on it. Aside from that, the tunnels were completely silent. She looked around for the egg, but couldn't spot it. Where was it?

A small cracking noise answered the princess's question. Her head whipped around to where the giant rock blocking the entrance was. The egg was a little off to the side, rocking back and forth. The cracking continued, and Reyna thought that it had finally broken. After a few more minutes, a leg pushed out, breaking part of it completely. It stuck out awkwardly, until another leg met it. The dragon stood on two legs and wobbled a bit before an arm broke out, then two. After two wings broke through, the eggshell burst into pieces, and in its place stood a tiny baby dragon.