Page 35 of The Dragon Maiden

The other Maidens began to thaw in their iciness towards me, following their Lord’s attitude, except for Vimery. There was still tension in the cavern, but it had lessened considerably in the months following my escape. Finally, they spoke to me again and I knew we had reached a tenuous peace. Continuing to do my job well would put me further into their good graces, any misstep would destroy the friendliness we built. Once more a flicker of hope began to grow. I wanted us to be friends, especially if I continued to stay here. And the longer I stayed, the desire to stay by Lord Dracul’s side grew.

* * *

One morning while I ate breakfast in the Dragon Maiden cavern with the other Maidens, they all suddenly gasped and fell to the ground, bowing. My back was to the door, and I turned, somehow knowing who was there. Lord Dracul stood in the doorway in his dragon form, his silver eyes trained on me. For a few moments, we stared at each other before I sank into a bow. When I stood, I noticed an eager brightness in his eyes.

“How may I help you, my Lord?” I asked.

“Come with me,” he said, motioning me to follow.

I looked back at the other Maidens, and they shrugged, equally as confused as me.

He kept up a fast pace as we navigated the corridors, so I had to walk briskly to keep up with him. Servants and dragons alike jumped out of his way, bowing in respect as he passed by. I could feel their eyes staring at me as I followed closely behind, nodding in acknowledgment.

“Where are we going?” I asked. I could sense an excited energy about him and was curious as to what he was enthused about. Rarely did he have this type of attitude, especially lately, with all the paperwork and meetings.

We reached the entrance of the cave where I had first arrived, a place I had not been in ages. Lord Dracul knelt down, settling his bulk on the ground and moving his wings to the side. He glanced at me with bright eyes, which seemed to sparkle in the crisp morning air.

“Get on,” he said.

“Excuse me?” I could not believe what I was hearing. Did he want me to ride him?

“Get on my back,” he said. “We’re going flying.”

“Flying?” The incredulous words left me.

By his smug grin, I could tell that he was serious. “Climb on. There should be a spot you can sit between my shoulder blades,” he directed me. “You’ve been very busy the past few months. I figured we could both use a break.”

I scrambled onto his back and settled in the spot he had mentioned. Surprisingly, it was a comfortable seat, as if nature had intended for people to ride dragons. The few spikes protruding from his back in front of me looked perfect for steadying myself, and I held on to one tightly. He shifted slightly, and I gasped at the feeling of him underneath me, how my body moved with him.

“Ready?” Lord Dracul asked, turning his head to look at me.

“I suppose.” Anxiety settled in my stomach, forming a hard knot. I knew this would be quite different from the first time I flew with a dragon and was nervous as to what this would feel like.

With a powerful launch, we were in the air. My heart dropped to my stomach as the ground quickly grew further and further away. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the spikes in front of me tightly, trying to remember to breathe. The wind flew past me, pulling at my hair and my clothes. It took everything within myself to keep from screaming in fear. As I looked at the swiftly distancing ground, it suddenly hit me how easily it would be to fall off and plummet to my death.

Lord Dracul chuckled and I felt the rumble underneath me, sending a heat to my abdomen. “You can relax. I won’t let you fall,” he promised. I could barely hear him over the wind. Quickly, he settled into sailing at a steady altitude.

After several minutes, I began to calm down, my heart rate slowing as I got used to flying. With much effort, I loosened my grip on his spikes, now holding them firmly rather than with a deathly tight hold. Surprisingly, I even began to enjoy myself, looking at the landscape below and the fluffy clouds in the distance. Never before had I seen the land from this vantage point, up this high. It was amazing how beautiful and serene everything seemed.

We flew around for a couple hours, Lord Dracul taking time for a few dips and dives, seeming to enjoy my squeals of surprise every time. I could sense the way his body moved to prime his tricks, and could prepare myself in response. Together, it truly felt as if we moved as one.

The fluffy group of clouds that had been closer to the horizon at the beginning of our flight had darkened quickly and the wind had picked up before we realized. Not to mention we had traveled quite a distance from the mountain in that amount of time.

“Lord Dracul?” I shouted into the wind. “I think we should start heading back now. It looks like there’s going to be storm.”

“We should be fine for a little while,” he said. “But we can head back now if you want.”

“Yes, please,” I said, tightening my grip once more as the sudden blustering wind threatened to blow me off his back. “I don’t feel like it’s a good idea to stay out here much longer, my Lord.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, ice-cold rain began to come down. Lord Dracul spun around in the air and began to head back to the mountain. On our way back, the rain intensified and the wind blew harder. Instinctively, I drew closer to Lord Dracul to lessen the force of the wind hitting me, closing my eyes as the rain pelted my face.

“How much farther?” I shouted into the wind to be heard, beginning to shiver from the cold. My clothes were drenched and offered no protection from the wind.

“We’re still quite a distance away,” he shouted back, turning his head to talk. “I hadn’t realized how far we had flown.”

A huge gust of wind suddenly surprised me, ripping me from his back. My eyes flew open as I felt myself suddenly falling, plummeting towards the ground. A rushing sound filled my ears and I was acutely aware of pain in my hands from getting pulled from Lord Dracul’s spikes. But that pain paled in comparison to the paralyzing terror I felt from falling.

“Dracul!” I screamed as my heart pounded in fear, reaching up towards him as if that would save me. “Dracul!”

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