Dragon Killer

Chapter 1

The small cottage smelled of bread and the stale smoke from the fire her mother had made last night. Familiar scents that greeted her when she awoke from a deep, much-needed sleep.
Leona stretched as she sat up in bed, yawning as she relieved the tension in her muscles from the night in her hard straw bed. Her curly lions mane of Auburn hair fell around her shoulders, and she opened her deep brown eyes to the bright morning sun. And then immediately regretted it and gave a "hmph" and laid back down and attempted to sleep more. But her village was already awake and bursting with life. Children were running around in the cobblestone streets and horse-drawn carriages clomped on by.
She stood up and stretched again, raising her arms above her head and yawning one last time before dressing quickly and walking out into the street, and right up to the door of her family's bakery.Leo pushed the heavy wooden door open and walked inside, instantly greeted by the smells of bread and pastries that her mother and sister Fawn had baked.

"It's about time you've awoken, Leona." Her mother snapped, "you missed one of the kingsmen from Oceania. We're getting more and more kingsmen in every day, soon it might even be a king!"

Leo rolled her eyes. Her mother wanted to meet a king, and hope he fell in love with her and swept her out of their small bakery. Ever since her father was killed in a dragon fire, it was all she talked about. She wore enough makeup for 3 people, and constantly spent their meager earnings on new dresses. She didn't really care if Leo or Fawn ate. Or that they both slept on straw beds instead of down or fur. Or that Fawn was tiny and ill, and unable to do much of anything that required physical labor.

Leo was much taller and stronger than her sister. 8 inches and at least 40 pounds separated the two. Not to mention Fawn's straight, straw colored hair and blue eyes. Leo stood taller and was broader across her shoulders and hips. Running errands and carrying bags of flour her whole life had given her strength and power unlike most of the girls in her village. They were dainty and feminine, too wrapped up in their own looks to worry about work. Most of the time the men did the work. But in Leo's case, her father was dead and her mother refused to marry anyone that wasn't royalty, so any hope of a brother was out the window.

In reality, while Fawn was cute and small, with a slight frame and ocean blue eyes, straight blonde hair, Leo was very different. Her eyes were very deep, and just a glance from them was enough to make anyone feel weak. Her lions mane of auburn hair and her dark eyes and tan skin gave her a sense of depth and mystery that intrigued most. The men stared when she walked down the street, and several kingsmen had offered to take her before a king to be wed. But she turned them all down.

Before her mother could snap at her anymore, Leo grabbed the two bags of flour and lifted them onto the wooden table, rocking it a little, making Fawn giggle. Her mother scowled at her, but told Leo she could go to the town square if she wanted, as she wasn't really needed to bake.

Now today was special, as most people were gathered in town square to watch a man kill a baby dragon some men had found. As barbaric as it may be, these dragons had plagued villages for many years. Most families had someone that had been killed by one. Leo had never seen one, and despite the fact that they killed her father, she didn't hate them. In fact the idea of murdering the baby dragon made her feel sick.

But she left the bakery anyways, after swiping a roll, and headed to the square. Two men were already kicking the baby dragon around and it was bumping into people and mewling for help, but often they just looked at it in disgust or kicked it back. She made her way to the front of the crowd and immediately regretted coming. The baby was battered and its wing was torn up badly. One of the men kicked it so hard it flew right into Leo's legs, knocking her over. The dragon gave a whimper and she yelled at them, and attempted to pet the dragon to soothe it, standing up. One man came over and tried to take the dragon from her, but she quickly kicked him in the knee, knocking him down. The crowd booed her, and a man walked over with a knife, and stabbed the dragon. Leo screamed for him to stop, and a sudden heat on the back of her neck made her turn around.
Half the villagers that had been behind her were either dead, or burning. A wave of fear washed over Leo, and the smell of burning bodies made her almost vomit all over the ground. People screamed in agony as they burned, or their loved ones burned. People ran into buildings and carriages, setting more fires. Suddenly a massive head bit into the man in front of her, killing him instantly. It made quick work of eating the man, before looking up. The dragon just looked at Leo, and seemed to almost thank her, sparing her life, before it scooped up the body of the baby dragon, and flew off, but not before breathing dark red fire onto nearby huts. She stood in a burning square, people running screaming, some on fire, before attempting to run away from the scene.
But she was quickly grabbed by two men. One smacked her across the face hard enough that she spit blood.
"You did this." The other one spat
"Your energy and anger summoned the dragon to kill us all."
"Just wait till we take you before the king. He'll have you killed on the spot for this"

Leo was shocked beyond belief. These men were blaming her for the fact that this happened, despite her doing absolutely nothing. She didn't know what to do, but she had to escape. One of the men stopped to kick a burning child that was trying to cling to him, and used that distraction to knee the other one in the groin and run.
Hopping over bodies and small flames, she ran to the bakery, but no one was inside.
Her mother and sister were standing with several people nearby. Leo ran to them in tears but the looks on their faces quickly made her retreat. Her own mother was looking at her in disgust, and the other people were whispering amongst themselves.
Her heart sunk as her mother walked up to her and raised her hand to slap her. The feeling hardly made her flinch, but the fact that her own mother was turning on her right now was enough to make Leo's heart break. She couldn't understand why it was happening, but it was. Another man walked over and reached out to grab Leo, but she ran.
She could hear Fawn crying and her mother screaming, but she kept running towards the forest, where she knew none would follow. As she raced into the trees, she slowed before stopping to catch her breath. Trees surrounded her and she was afraid. This forest was home to dragons who nested in clearings you wouldn't see until you walked into one. But it was either a quick death by the dragon, or go back to her home to be tortured and killed.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling. She noticed an opening in the trees and slowly crept towards it, hiding behind a tree to peep in.
There lay a dragon, it's chest rising and falling, irregularly, but regardless it was still there. Her heart stopped for a moment and she was terrified. Her only hope was that the dragon was a deep sleeper, and wouldn't hear her. Suddenly, the movement stopped, and the dragon was totally still.
A figure stood up drenched in dragon blood, licking his lips. But it was no ordinary man.
He stood about 7 feet tall, and was broad shouldered and extremely muscular and big.
Leo heard a scream, and panicked, when the man looked towards her. Then she realized she was the one screaming. Her heart sank and she fainted, falling over.