Page 199 of Castings & Curses

The dragon swooped down with its teeth bared, and Jaiyana smacked him on the snout with her staff. Retracting backwards, the monster blew another blast of flames that melted the portion of the floor.

Bellatrix threw out a spell to stop the dragon’s flames, but her words bounced off its scales and were absorbed into the cavern’s wall.

Jaiyana shot a fireball at the dragon’s backside, but the scaly tail smacked the flame away with ease.

“What are we going to do?” cried Bellatrix as she evaded a shower of fiery sparks. It seemed no matter how many enchantments they called forth, nothing stopped the dragon from trying to harm them.

The dragon’s tail lunged and collided with Jaiyana. The twin was hurled forward and landed heavily on her bad leg. The beautiful maiden let out a yell.

Reaching outward, the dragon bared its sharp claws to slash Jaiyana to pieces. Bellatrix waved her hands, and an invisible rope pulled Jaiyana away from the clutches of the beast.

“Are you alright?” asked Bellatrix.

Jaiyana clutched her bad leg. “Ugh! It hurts! I must have twisted it when I fell.”

A glint of bright light caught Bellatrix’s eye, and she saw it was her sister’s gold staff reflecting the light of the flames. “Jinx, stay with her,” commanded the princess as she snatched up the staff and ran in the direction of the monster.

Bellowing and spraying flares of fire everywhere, the dragon rocked the cave with its wrath.

Bellatrix stopped in front of the monster and yelled as loud as she could. As the dragon turned in her direction, the princess began to wave the gold staff. She remembered her mother telling her stories of dragons when she was a young babe. Dragons were known to love sparkly treasures and were protective of the hoards of trinkets in their lair. The staff caught the light and began to glimmer with a gold brilliance. The dragon paused and eyed the walking stick with admiration.

Using all of her strength, the princess hurled the staff in the opposite direction, and the reptilian creature lumbered after it like a dog fetching a stick.Dragons are extremely intelligent,her mother’s voice whispered in her brain.Their ancient knowledge could be an asset to a young witch.

As the dragon’s attention was deterred for the moment, Bellatrix began to weave a powerful spell in her web of charms. Not a conjuration of destruction, but an incantation of friendship and compassion. For the witch princess could feel in the core of her being that the dragon lashed out in anger out of loneliness. His days were spent in solitude guardianship of protection to shelter the influential crystals. Always alone, he had no companions by his side and only treasures for comfort. Deep within her heart, Bellatrix did not have the will to kill such a magnificent creature.

She continued to fill the enchantment with all things good. The dragon picked up the staff in its mouth, triumphing in its victory and turned to face Bellatrix. It was at the exact moment that the witch launched a powerful spell that smacked the dragon in the face. The golden walking stick fell with a clunk to the cave floor, and the dragon shook its head, dazed. The expression in its eyes had softened, and it looked around confused as kindness ran through its veins and overtook its heart.

“Who are you?” asked the dragon looking down at Bellatrix. “What are you doing here? Do you not realize I am an evil dragon meant to destroy anyone who takes the Crystals of Time?”

“Do you still feel malicious?” asked Bellatrix as Jaiyana and Jinx looked on in awe.

Pausing and cocking his head, the reptile looked at her with a new kindness in his eyes. “Now that you mention it, I feel nothing but warmth and good thoughts in my soul. I do not wish to harm anyone. But that still does not tell me who you are.”

“A friend,” replied the princess. “I am Bellatrix. This is Jaiyana, and this magnificent fellow is our cat Jinx. We are here because we need the Crystals of Time. But we also wish to be your friend.”

“Friend?” replied the dragon, “It has been a long time since I had friends. My name is Fengari, and I am the Keeper of this grotto. Do tell me, why do you wish to possess the Crystals of Time?”

Bellatrix launched into the story of the curse, the moon, and true love. The beast listened. When she finished, he spoke. “Ay, a terrible misfortune to bestow upon the princesses of our realm. I feel within the walls of the cave, the past opens itself. I know who you are, Bellatrix, I know your past. I appreciate the secrets you have confided to me. You have approached me with an action of friendship. Most people come to this cavern to kill me and take the Crystals of Time so that they might right their wrongs and possess a future that they once believed would have been unattainable. In return, I kill them because to sacrifice the life of one in greed is wrong. Even though I tried to kill you, Bellatrix, you did not have the heart to kill me. You respected me, and in return I respect you. You have broken the evilness and sadness that lurks in my heart. I no longer wish harm on others, and therefore, I intend to reward you with what you desire. But I ask for two things in return.”

“What are they?” asked Bellatrix.

“The first is my wish to have your golden staff. It will be the perfect object to add to my collection.”

The princess hesitated and looked towards her sister, for that request was not her decision to make. Jaiyana clenched her ankle and winced. Jinx rubbed against Jaiyana’s arm. “While I would love to be rid of my walking stick for good, I am afraid I cannot make my way in the world without it.”

“What ails you, Princess?” asked Fengari.

“A deformity since the time of my birth. I have never been able to walk properly.. This injury makes me unworthy of love or authority over my kingdom,” sighed Jaiyana as tears pricked her eyes.

Fengari lowered his head in front of the princess. “I may be ancient, but my wisdom is strong. For a person to suffer such a misplaced idea of worth and love is a fool. Beauty has many different forms apart from face and figure. Outside features can conceal a black heart. For every angry person who does not express the same high ideal of love as you, there are a thousand more who do. Never let your perceived deficiencies become your reason for unhappiness, for you are worthy of sunshine and true love.”

Jaiyana reached forward and stroked Fengari’s nose.

The dragon continued. “Since you have been inflicted with agony for too long, I intended to change that. For my powers lay not only in wisdom, strength, and magic, but in healing, as well.”

Fengari leaned forward and nuzzled his snout against Jaiyana’s leg. Steam brushed up against her skin. “This will not hurt,” he continued. With a soft breath he blew tiny flames onto her ankle. The flames crackled against the flesh, but from the look on Jaiyana’s face, it was apparent she felt no pain. The fire began to travel up her leg all the way to her hip, and the glow flickered for a few seconds and then disappeared into her body’s core.

“Now, stand,” commanded Fengari. Jaiyana clutched the wall of the cave for support and stood.

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