The Dragon Hunter

Chapter One

I sit up in bed, my chest heaving and my body drenched in sweat. The dream again. The third time this week. It's been 5 years since my parents died, and I still dream of the day. Again the boom sounds again and I realize it's the door. I get up quickly and go into the kitchen to the front door. Opening it, I see Byron. His face is grim, and his grey eyes nervous.

"There's been a sighting." He replies in his thick sottish accent. I nod my head and close the door. I change into brown leather pants, a white cotton shirt, I throw on a red vest corset, then my black knee high boots. Next to the door, I grab my bow and arrows. Then I hop onto Starfire, a black horse with a reddish brown lighting bolt across its side. I gallop towards The Five. They are the Warriors. They wear shiny breathable movable armor. Red capes attached to the top of the armor flow across the horses back end. Their helmets come to a perfect triangle at the top of them, with a leather strap around their chin to hold it on. Swords glistened at their sides. The woods are calm, but there's a mysterious smell in the air. We come to a clearing, we leave the horses on the very edge of the clearing. We get off, our steps quiet, the warriors form a circle around me, their shields held high. Suddenly the ground begins to tremble

"Look smart, watch closely, anyone who gets the first look, shoot." I say, my accent not as thick as Byron's. Trees start to come crashing down, we move out of the way just as a fireball flies past us, hitting the tree lighting it up in flames.

"Stand your guard!" Byron shouts. And then begins to tell commands in Scottish Gaelic. They draw closer to me as a long head appears out of the woods, it's yellow beady eyes looking around trying to land on a target. It's body is brown, its scales are made up of reds and greens. Just like the one from my dream. It makes me shudder.

Suddenly it roars, Spit flies and it's teeth shine in the moonlight. Bryon shoots first, straight into the heart, he has lined it with a poison, made especially to kill a fire dragon. It stumbles forwards and then falls down, it's eyes rolling up into its head. Another roar makes us turn around. We see a black figure circling us, it's wings outstretched. It opens up it's mouth and a green substance emerges from its mouth, it falls onto one of the warriors face, he drops to the ground screaming as his face begins to burn.

"I know this dragon, it's a vergiften." I say watching it closely as it ducks in and out of the shadows

"A Vergiften?" Someone asks.

"In German it means poison. It is a Dragon that has poison as it's defense."

"How do we kill it?" Another asks

"The only way I have studied. An arrow laced with water mixed with an herb." I grab an arrow that is in a holder strapped to my back. I grab out a flask and dip the arrow inside, then I slide the arrow onto the string, I draw back, moving in time with the dragon, taking a deep breath, I release the arrow as I breath out, it leaves the bow with a twang. The dragon roars, but it's not enough to stop him, he opens his mouth again, and another warrior goes down, I climb a tree and soon I am face to face with the mighty beast. It's wings move the air very fast. The skinny tree that I am sways from the breeze. I draw another bow, dip it, this time I shoot it right in the heart. It goes down, raising a cloud of dust. I climb back down, the warriors are solemn as we have lost two. One of them blows a horn twice indicating two deaths. I am the youngest hunter in the village. I am only ten, but yet, I can kill with swiftness and agility as any adult could.

"I thank you for your service." I say dropping to one knee and bowing my head. Then I stand "Now it is time to bury the fallen who have given their life for the greater good." The sun is just coming out filling the sky with beautiful colors. Byron and Harris pick up the two warriors, we get on our horses and ride towards the village of Stagburn in a slow walk. Arriving, the other villagers have awoken. Our village's mourners start chanting a Scottish prayer for the souls of the warriors to have safe passage. We rode to a hill where we buried our dead. Two holes have been made already. We lay them down and cover them, laying flowers over the packed ground. Then we put the horses away and clean ourselves up and get ready for the day. I go into my wood hut which I share with my mother figure who took me in when I stumbled upon their village after fleeing from my home.

"It was successful, yes?" My mother's thick accent flows from the kitchen.

"Yes it was successful. But there were two deaths." I reply glumly. She comes out of the kitchen with a steaming cup of Drunkin. Drunkin is a thick broth, that can have different herbs put into it, to make it spicy or sweet. My mother has long black hair with bits of grey. Her eyes are a vibrant green. She wore a Coral ankle length linen under-dress, over it, she wore a shorter length woolen brown dress, that is attached by gold brooches. She sits me down at the wooden table and brushes out my hair with an oil to make it not greasy. I sip the broth which she has made minty, which is my favorite.

"You are late for school today, so you will do your studies here."

"Yes ma'am." She finished braiding my hair in three stands. Then I went to retrieve my slate

"Malvina" She called me as I started to walk into the room

"Yes Gavina?"

"Thank you for keeping my Village safe. When you are older, then it will also be your village. I know some people give you a hard time because you are not from here. But don't let them put you down. After all, you are the youngest Dragon Hunter I know." She winks at me, I return her wink with a smile. My room is small, my bed is against the corner by the only window in the room. There is a large oak dresser and a wardrobe against the left wall. A white wool circle rug lays in front of my bed. I open the dresser and get out my undergarments, then opening the wardrobe, I pull out leather leggings, a blue cotton shirt and a black corset vest. Grabbing my slate I bound out the door to do school outside, before the days started to get colder.