Welcome to my writing world. Sit back with a hot drink and enjoy a few minutes somewhere other than where you are now.
⏱️ Read time: ~2 mins
🏷️ Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Flash Fiction
💢 Content warning: None
This was originally written for the 8 Days of Ether challenge by Ether Books and it was available to read on their app. Sadly Ether is no more.
Red Dragon
She stared at it for a long time. There, on the path ahead of her was a dragon.
The dragon stared back at her. It had vibrant red scales covering its body and a devilishly forked tail. Its eyes were as black and glossy as oil.
She thought about running, but given that she’d covered at least two miles through the forest to get to this dark, inner point, it seemed futile.
The dragon swayed its head languidly from side to side and then lowered it down to her level. She could see the huge muscles in its neck moving under the scaly skin.
She stood rooted to the spot. Even her breath was still as she waited for the inevitable attack.
But it didn’t happen.
“I have strayed too far from home today, but it seems it may have been worth it,” said the dragon.
His voice was deep and eloquent; the words pronounced carefully and with a tone of voice that commanded attention.
She blinked, twice, and her breath returned in a rush.
“Uh…” was the only thing that came out of her mouth.
His lips twitched and he flashed a pointed tooth on one side of his mouth. Contempt. Or possibly a smile?
“You’re afraid,” he stated. “I understand. Take your time.”
His giant head swung around to her left side and she flinched.
“Just getting a better look at you.”
She opened her mouth and after another false start, managed to find her voice, stating the obvious because she simply couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“You’re a talking dragon.”
The dragon made a strange noise, and she felt a rush of air. He was laughing at her. He came closer. So close he was almost touching her nose with his snout. His breath smelled faintly of coal.
“And you are a princess,” he said in an even lower tone than before. His oily eyes flickered over her face and down her neck.
She almost laughed. She was no princess. Her boyfriend had just left her for a woman who owned a burger van. She’d been wandering through the forest in paint-stained shorts and trainers, pondering the meaning of life and thinking about getting a dog.
But his eyes were so dark and hypnotic that she couldn’t think of anything to say in response.
The dragon took her silence as confirmation.
“I thought so,” he whispered.
In one sudden movement, he picked her up with a massive, scaled claw. He held her close to his chest and opened out his huge red wings. Her stomach dropped as they lifted off the ground. When they reached the height of the treetops around the clearing, the shoulder bag she had been carrying slipped down her arm and spiralled to the forest floor.
It was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes.
