Screams tore through the silence in the village.
“Ahhh!!! A dragon!!!” screamed the few who saw the dragon shaped blue on the horizon. Chloe rushed outside and looked up. An enormous, sky-blue dragon was flying over the town! Archers rushed out of the local inn, The Spinning World, and all in unison notched and shot arrows at the dragon. The arrows merely bounced off the scales and the dragon (Did it just shrug? Thought Chloe) flew a bit higher. It changed direction slightly so that one vast, gold-green eyed faced toward Chloe. A second rally of arrows flew, one hitting that marvelous eye. The pain was obviously too much for the beast and it dropped on to the last couple houses in the village. Men with swords leaped up and started hacking away. Chloe could almost feel the life force draining away from the dragon. Soon, it was dead.
Flamewing watched for Skylights landing. She couldn’t wait for her to arrive. Skylight wasn’t far off, a little beyond the human village. And then flew right over it. What are you doing?!! Flamewing mentally screeched. They’ll kill you!! Tiny dots of movement stirred in the village. Skylight turned a bit to completely face Flamedra. A volley of arrows were shot, one hit Skylight in the eye and she went down. Pain from her rolled across Flamewing.
“Naur tinchor osturra!” she cried. A fiery bubble went over her and she moved her wings over her eyes so she couldn’t see her best friend being hacked to pieces. Even then she could faintly sense the pain of death.
Chloe stared at the gory mess that used to be the dragon. Silvery blood spilled over the plain and the ruin of the houses. It didn’t look like it got what it deserved. It just looked sad, like it had been a sentient creature. What?! Her mind screamed. You’re feeling sorry for it?! It would have killed you!! Then all remorse faded from her mind.
“It would have killed me,” she thought aloud. “Why should I feel sorry for it?” But it still didn’t make it feel right.
Flamewing lay on the floor of her cave, trembling with sorrow. Completely flat on the ground, her mind repeated over and over the pain and the image of Skylight being shot at, and then falling to her death. It was infinitely worse for her than it would be for anyone else, not only because Skylight was Flamewing’s best friend but because Flamewing was an empath. There had been dragon empaths before. And the majority of them had gone insane. The emotions flashing through their minds: love, fear, pain, friendship, hate… it was maddening. She knew how it felt. But if anyone knew, they would treat her differently, like she was retarded. But Flamewing wasn’t retarded, or crazy, and certainly didn’t want to be treated that way. She almost envied the tiny faeries and elves, and even the humans. They could express their sadness through, what was it called?, tears. But dragons can’t cry.
Chloe just stared at the wall of her tiny room, thinking about that dragon. She couldn’t get it out off her mind. She had chores to do, sweep the floors, draw the water for the soup, so much to do. But she didn’t quite have the heart to do it.
“Chloe!” her mother yelled from outside. “Chloe! What’re ya doing? There’re chores t’ do!” Quietly, Chloe slipped off her bed and tiptoed down through the house, flinching with every squeaky floorboard she hit. She grabbed a bucket and ran outside to fill it up, to pretend that was what she had been doing all along.
“Chloe!” her mother shouted again. “Where are you? Ya’d better be doing yer chores!!”
