Reyna's jaw hung wide open as she studied the vast cavern before her. Sunlight entered freely through the large opening in the center, shining upon stalactites, a small lake, a few patches of grass, and a couple of bushes. There was a tree in the center as well. A couple of animals loitered around, mostly birds, but also two goats. In the air, vines hung while butterflies fluttered without a care in the world. Reyna couldn't make out what was beyond the opening, but at the moment that was inconsequential compared to the ecosystem, she'd just discovered.
"I think I may have finally lost it," She muttered talking to nobody in particular. "First a dragon egg, and now this." The princess gestured to the surrounding area. She may have been slightly crazed from over three days of complete isolation, but she had definitely not lost it, not yet at least.
Reyna started walking towards the tree and not even the goats or birds paid any attention to her. Normally animals run away from humans because they lived out in the real world, where they were used to being afraid of humans, of being hunted. It was clear that these animals had never seen a human before, as they stared curiously at her, but didn't approach.
After setting the bag down, Reyna went towards the lake. Its water was perfectly clear, and she saw no fish in it. She felt that it was warm, probably from the sunlight flooding in, and after tasting a bit, found that it was indeed freshwater. The princess washed her face, cupping her hands then splashing herself. She rubbed in on her neck and up her arms. When that was done, Reyna took a few sips, trying to quench her growing thirst.
There would be no eating here, as she didn't want to kill the poor animals. She felt like that would ruin the tranquility of the cavern. Plus, to get as much food as Reyna wanted to eat, she'd have to kill a goat, leaving the other one alone, and she was no monster. Though, she had killed many animals on royal hunts and by herself. Reyna was one of the best shots in the whole kingdom, definitely the best female shot, and had learned early on how to skin, gut, clean, and cook an animal.
Reyna took her water skin and filled it with the lake's water. The clear liquid went in silently, with only a couple bubbles of protest. She went back to the dragon egg and sat down next to it while leaning against the tree. She put her hands on it, feeling the strange material. The edges were jagged, as if the egg itself had scales. In the light, the princess could make out the tiny white details crossing on the blueish-gray surface. They reminded her of a lightning storm.
The egg itself seemed to pulse with life. It radiated heat, making Reyna's hands begin to sweat. Holding it up to the light, she could make out the dragon within. It seemed to stretch its wing in greeting. After a few seconds of staring in wonder, Reyna noticed that the dragon had put its hand, claw, or whatever, against the shell, as if it was trying to touch her hand. She didn't know a bunch about dragons, especially baby dragons, so she was unsure of what this meant.
After a few more minutes of staring at the egg, Reyna's head began to hurt from all the squinting. She put it down next to her, and closed her tired eyes for a minute, and breathed deeply. The sun warmed her face, making stars form beneath her eyelids. Reyna could never fall asleep with light out, but down in the cavern, she drifted off easily.
Again, dreams came. Visions of sand dunes, mountains, and a glittering cyan sea repeated over and over. She saw the capital, on one side of the streets, stood the citizens, looking angry and holding pitchforks, they stood in messy clumps, unorganized and weak. On the other side stood rows and rows of soldiers, neat and organized, like an unbreakable wall, with weapons forged in the best blacksmiths. Between them stood a cloaked figure with a bow and sword. The figure had already taken aim at the soldiers and seemed to dare them to take a step closer.
The scene faded into the golden-brown eyes. They stared into Reyna's soul. In them was the reflection of a great keep. From what she could tell, it was big, as big as the castle, maybe bigger. Dragons swarmed it like bees. They weren't attacking, just hovering, almost circling. The image receded, as if the eyes were getting farther away, until it was completely gone. The eyes stayed, and Reyna could see a whole life reflected in them, before it stopped. The flood of images settled, and all that was left was the golden-brown eyes with eyes like fractured stone reflecting in them.
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.