Cylindra walked the path through the fields and into the forest with determination. Everyone in the village knew the location of the dragon’s grove. One shepherdess foolishly entered the grove last month then stumbled into town with her clothes in shreds and terror in her eyes. She immediately entered the abbey, dedicating herself to God saying only divine intervention had allowed her to escape with her life. Cylindra thought life as a nun would be almost as stultifying as that of a princess. She knew the girl though, and the veil would suit her well. However, it was too bad she managed to get away from the dragon. If he had taken her, then at least her life would have served the village. As it was, Cylindra was the only one who was willing to face him. So she had made the choice. She had kissed her baby sister and left her mother in tears, sworn to silence. The last thing she needed was for her father to come after her.

She loved her village. The people were honest, good and hard working. They were also uninspired, provincial and boring. All her excellent education was lost in the day-to-day routines of her life. Her skills wasted, her mind becoming dull.

She reached the edge of the Labyrinth by mid afternoon. Black trees towered above her. She knew there was no turning back. If she did, the people of the village would be even more frightened and desperate. But Cylindra knew this was the right thing to do. Taking a deep breath, she entered the Labyrinth.

The path was a soft carpet of moss between impenetrable hedges of branches and bracken. It seemed like she was walking the path of her life, long straight stretches punctuated by sharp turns. This was no maze. There was no way she could get lost; no forks, no alternate paths. Nevertheless she quickly lost her bearings. She thought of her family, her childhood friends, the happy times of laughter in the sunlight and the sad times of sickness and death. Another sharp turn and she was reliving the fabulously stimulating time of her travels; the amazing debates, the long nights of wine, politics and song. The shadows deepened as evening approached and still she walked. She walked her life back to her village, her duty and her responsibility. She remembered the summons from her father that called her home when her studies had come to an end. She would take her place at his side, except he was young and strong and not ready to let her actually do anything. She loved her father deeply, and hated the fact that he would have to sicken and die before she could come into her birthright. Except today she decided to serve her village in the way only she could. Night settled quickly as she travelled the one path that took her further from her old life and closer to her doom, the dragon.

When she reached the end of the path, she saw a large clearing. The moon was high and her eyes were drawn to the middle of the clearing where a massive black marble slab stood on a platform. Four white pillars carved in the shapes of a lion, an eagle, an ox and a winged man surrounded it. That foolish shepherdess would have us believe she had come this far “by accident”? No, she was curious and got in over her head. Cylindra took another deep breath, wiped her palms on her skirt and stepped out of the Labyrinth, into the clearing.

As soon as she did, she was bathed in moonlight and the forest went completely quiet. Not an owl, not a cricket. She shivered with the power of the place. Cylindra made a conscious effort to breathe as she peered into the trees hoping to get a bit of a warning as to the Dragon’s approach. She heard a rustling of leaves off to the right and whipped around to see… nothing. She thought she saw a shadow pass between two trees, but perhaps it was only the wind moving the branches. Her fear was mounting. She thought of running, but realized there really was no life to go back to. There! She was sure that was a sound. She spun around and there he was, right in front of her. She froze. She could hardly breathe, her eyes locked to his.

He was magnificent; gleaming, red gold with huge shimmering wings and a broad powerful chest. His eyes, an intriguing mix of green and gold, reached into her and made her feel like a butterfly caught on a pin. She was enraptured by his beauty and his power.

He licked his lips, his voice deep and full, “Hmm, what have we here?”

Cylindra struggled to find her voice. Her palms were wet and hot, her knees weak. “I’ve come to ransom the village.”

His gaze never left her face as he stepped closer.

“Have you now? How very interesting. You came willingly?”

She tried very hard not to step back. “Yes,” her voice cracked. She could feel his breath on her face; hot, slightly sweet and smoky.

“Are you not afraid?”

She clutched her skirt and held her head a little higher. “No, I’m not afraid,” she lied.

The Dragon threw back his head and laughed out loud. “Good, for I believe I will accept your offer.”

He came forward again. She closed her eyes and held her breath. His claws came down like lightning, shredding her dress, scoring her flesh. She gasped in shock and pain. Claws in her hair brought her face close to his, and her eyes flew open in surprise as his mouth closed on hers. A kiss both gentle and passionate weakened her knees and poured heat into her belly. She had expected nothing but destruction, and most certainly not this! But her body responded to his power and her hands rose to rest lightly on his chest. The kiss continued. His skin felt so lovely; soft, smooth and warm.

Then his hands were on her body, claws dug into her ribs and into her ass as he pulled her close to him. She could feel his cock hard and straight against her belly. He let her mouth go and again held her with his gaze.

“Do you still give yourself freely to me?” He asked.

With his eyes on hers and his hands on her flesh, her body betrayed her and her resistance vanished. “Oh, yes,” she breathed.

“Good.” He quickly ripped off the shredded remains of her clothing and gestured to the marble slab. “Over there.” He directed.

She looked at the cold stone and felt a stab of panic. He gave her a slap on the ass.

“Now, Cylindra.”

She moved quickly to obey, only briefly wondering how he knew her name. When she reached the slab of marble, she realized that it was just a bit higher than her hips. She contemplated how best to crawl onto it as there didn’t seem to be any handholds. Suddenly, she felt his claws on her back and he pushed her face downward, leaving her naked bottom fully exposed with her toes barely touching the ground. She couldn’t move with his hand on her back. Her breath quickened as he ran his claws up the insides of her legs and slowly, deliberately, spread them. Claws dug into her ass as he continued to open her. Any shred of dignity evaporated as she felt one claw slowly circle her anus, then even more slowly trace around her labia. Her face burned with humiliation but her belly burned with excitement.

He lifted her by the hips and tossed her face down on the slab. She realized it wasn’t as flat as it had first seemed. There were slight irregularities in the surface. Her breasts rested in shallow hollows that were coarse in the center, causing her nipples to harden into aching points. There was a slight rise under her hips, and her legs fell naturally open on either side of a gentle swell. Just under her pubic bone there was a sharp, rough spot that irritated her pussy and made it itch. She tried to move away, but claws came down swiftly on her back and ass.

“Don’t move, Cylindra.”

She gasped aloud when she felt his mouth on her ass licking, kissing, and nibbling until he reached her sex. He licked her cunt slowly, leisurely, like he was enjoying ice cream. All the time his claws holding her nether bud open and pressing down on her hips, keeping her still. She groaned with pleasure. A low laugh came from the dragon as he added little bites to his licks. Small, sharp pains punctuated the waves of pleasure in an exquisite mixture that threatened to overwhelm her. His tongue and teeth played her clit like a fine instrument as his claws spread her ass and kept her still. Each lick sent a wave of heat into her, probing, demanding, bestowing. As her first orgasm took her, she pressed her hips up into his claws and she cried out. He took a few final licks then sat back and watched the spasms continue to wrack her body in the aftershocks of her climax.

Finally, she took a long, shuddering breath and lay still. The dragon laughed again.

“Very good, Cylindra. Very good.”

Then he flipped her over on her back and continued to caress her. She felt his hands and claws on her throat, her shoulders, her breasts. Delicious pain seared through her as his claws closed on her nipples. She arched her back and cried out. He lifted one of her legs and kissed the inside of her ankle. Little kisses and nibbles trailed slowly up the inside of her leg. She shuddered with pleasure, yet it also tickled and she giggled and tried to pull away. When he finally put her leg down, he was between her legs and he leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. His hard cock pushed firmly against her pussy and her eyes flew open. Resistance flared and her body automatically stiffened. He saw the fear in her eyes and stopped. He held her face gently and looked into her eyes.

“Don’t worry. You are mine now. I’ll take care of you, but I will have you, all of you.” He waited for her surrender. Cylindra looked into his eyes and saw her doom as well as her salvation. She nodded and slowly relaxed her legs.

“Good girl,” he whispered into her ear as his cock pressed against her pussy again. She was wet, very wet and very ready. Endless dreary days of stultifying routines had left her yearning to be awoken, and he was definitely waking her!

She gasped at the first penetration. Just the tip, but the sensation reached through her body. Inch by inch he worked his way in. She felt like she was being split apart. Surely her body couldn’t take anymore, yet more and more kept coming. He was taking his time and giving her hers. Finally, he reached her barrier. She lay under him impaled and open.

“You belong to me now,” he breathed and thrust the whole of his length into her. She arched her back with the exquisite agony of it. Waves of pleasure washed over her and through her. As it passed she realized he wasn’t moving. She opened her eyes and saw him watching her face. He laughed.

“Like that, did you?” He pulled back and thrust again. Again she cried out as the passion exploded within her. She rode the crest of the wave until it passed. She took a shuddering breath. As soon as she looked at him, he smiled and thrust again.

Over and over he fed her the length of his cock in single thrusts and then waited until she recovered herself. Each thrust sent her higher and each time she recovered less of herself. Gradually his thrusts became faster and harder. Her orgasm built higher and higher until she lost all grip on herself. Her world was reduced to the fire in her belly and the thrusts of the Dragon.

After what felt like an eternity, he relented and let her catch her breath. He rolled over onto his back and pulled her with him until she straddled him, still impaled on his cock. She looked at him carefully. The dragon features seemed less pronounced. His eyes were still a swirling mix of green and gold, but what had looked like scales was really luscious, thick hair. His lips looked so soft, she felt compelled to taste them. Gently, she took his face in her hands and kissed him. She felt him stiffen and freeze under her, but his hands still carefully supported her ribs. She kissed him again, tenderly, slowly, and, following the instincts of her body, started to squeeze his cock within her.

Finally, he lifted her slightly and looked her in the eye. She felt the passion flare again as he whispered, “I had no idea.” He looked at her intensely and it seemed to her as if he came to a decision. “Kiss me again.”

So she did. They shared another long kiss as she explored his mouth, his face, his throat, all the while punctuating her kisses with squeezes on his cock. She knew how big and powerful he was, so she squeezed as hard as she could, trying to give back some of what she had received.

Suddenly, he rose up until they were both upright, sitting astride each other. His wings, spread out behind him for balance, shimmered in the moonlight. His hands were strong on her hips as he lifted her off his cock and slammed her back down again. The fire in her belly grew once more, lifting her even higher. She felt like she was on a geyser. Her arms lifted, her hands were in her hair, gripping, as she rode him faster and harder. Her clit pounded hard against his pelvic bone with each downward thrust. Her passion climbed with his. His claws dug into her ribs painfully, but she didn’t care, and her climax reached its peak just as he arched his back and screamed his release. She met him at the height of their passion and as the two became one, his wings exploded. They collapsed together onto the stone, unconsciousness claiming them as the moon slowly set.

Cylindra woke first as the dawn was just lighting the sky. She took a good look at what used to be a dragon. He was obviously human, but what a fine figure of a man! The claws were gone and so were the wings, but his chest was still as broad and powerful, his arms still as strong. He stirred and opened his eyes. They were just the same, that intriguing swirl of green and gold. Then she noticed he was looking at her in wonder. She lifted her hands to her face and caught her hair. It had lengthened almost to her knees in great shimmering cascades of red brown. Strangely, it seemed not to weigh a thing. As she went to gather it up she noticed her hands. Her nails were long; long and red. Ah… so that’s where his claws went. She started to giggle, then to laugh. He watched for a second then joined her laughter. They made love again that morning, gently this time, looking forward to many such mornings to come.