NEXTBEGINNINGS
by DRAGON GAL
A great red dragon stood sentinel over a young human girl. He watched in the moonlight as she tore into the carcass he had cooked for her with his fiery breath. The dragon looked across the starry sky and saw a comet crossing the sparkling heavens.
"Look, Safire," he instructed the young girl, who was barely more than an infant. He used the tip of his tail to direct her attention to the sky. "Do you see the comet, little one? It is a sign. A sign that tells the world that the life of a person, or lives of a group, who will have an important role in the shaping of our world are about to have their own life, or lives, shaped this night, or soon after. Perhaps one of this group will be born this night and roam the world for centuries before the rest of a fated group are even born. Or perhaps some event is about to occur to forever change someone's life. See the comet, little Dragon Girl of mine? See and remember, daughter. The heavens are telling us of important events to come."
The young human child gazed at the starry sky, the comet reflected in her eyes, silently.
* * *
In the heart of the Deep Forest, within a kingdom forgotten in most lore, the inhabitants waited for news. Earlier that night, at their Spring Celebration, the queen had gone into labor. Those out of their homes cast glances at the Emerald Cave, home of their royal family.
Within the cave made of emerald, soft pants echoed through the halls. The king stood, watching over his queen as she gave birth. A cub, with his father's emerald eyes and a tuff of fur, which partly concealed one eye, was presented to the king. The king roared his approval of his heir, who blinked his magical eyes, unimpressed with his welcome.
Two elven clans clashed in the heat of early summer, each determined to kill the other. Caught between them, much to the regret of one side, was a small human farm, set a blaze by stray magic attacks. The bloody battle came to a close, one side victorious. The war was not over, it had been on since almost the dawn of time. The enemy had to be sought out, up rooted from where they lurked and plotted evil. From the burning farm, one of the victors pulled two forms. A little girl and the infant brother she clutched protectively. The parents were dead, and the burned girl was too far-gone for the elves to prevent her from following as the dark eyes of her brother watched.
The elves were left with a young human boy, who was barely weaned. Honor bound, they took the boy as one of their own.
Under the late summer moon, a unicorn moved into a meadow, drawn by a call he had not expected to hear. The unicorn crossed through the meadow's long grasses to the far side. In the midnight moon shadows of the forest's trees, the unicorn found the source of the sounds that called him.
In a nest of flattened grass, a human infant wailed in hunger and fear. Tears ran freely from puffy cobalt blue eyes. The unicorn lowered his head and sniffed the young boy. He watched as the child calmed in his presence. Tiny hands reached forward to touch the unicorn. The unicorn straightened and looked about. The pair was alone, in a meadow not far from human civilization, but not frequented by that people. The child had been abandoned.
From behind rocks and long grass, and from under the leaves of bushes changing colour in the fall's crisp air, fearie dragons watched the human caravan, which had stopped for the night in their territory. Though the sun had yet to set, it was almost as if night had fallen early. Large storm clouds hung low in the sky above, promising a fierce storm.
The tiny dragons watched as a young human boy crawled away from his
mother, who was cooking dinner. The errant child was quickly scooped up and put in
one of the wagons by his mother. The child pouted then grinned and climbed out of
the wagon, something his mother had yet to learn he could do. The child crawled away
from
camp, towards the hidden, buttery-winged, dragons.
Upon discovering the dragons, the boy crawled over to them, unafraid. Singling one out, the happy child came closer still. He laughed as the dragon flew though the air around him, dancing just beyond the child's reach.
The storm erupted savagely. The rain came down, stinging needles, which attacked the child's soft flesh. The boy's laughter died and he cried out in fear and pain. The scattering dragons heard his cries and the one that had danced through the air for the boy began calling to the others. The dragons surrounded the child, grabbing and releasing him, pulling on his clothes and hair, leading him further away from camp. Lead by the dragons, the child soon found shelter in the lee of some boulders.
The child cringed with each bolt of lightning that ripped the sky and roar of thunder that followed. The dragons crowded around the child, cooing reassuringly. The thunder and lightning increased. The violence of the storm grew with each bolt. The boy wailed as the ground began to rumble.
The dragons sprang into the air and looked over the boulders. The rumbling increased as the child scrambled after the dragons and pulled himself into a position that allowed him to see his caravan. The rumbling grew until it drowned out the thunder. The child looked up, above the camp, to see an avalanche of rock, shook loose by the violence of the storm, just before it came down on his caravan.
The dragon, which had entertained the child shortly before, landed on his shoulder in silent consolation. Amethyst eyes silently took in the boulders, which had replaced the caravan, by the light of the storm.
Curtains were drawn closed by servants, against the frigid winter draft, blocking out the starlight that was spilling in the windows. The master of the house paid the servants no attention. His attention was focused on the figure on the bed before him. Something was wrong, the master knew. He knew he was about to lose his beloved.
The midwives moved about her, unable to ease the pain. She was too far-gone with unforeseen complications to be helped. The only hope was the child might survive.
The master watched, helplessly, as his wife died. He watched as the midwives approached him and handed him his crying son. He watched as the infant opened tearful blue eyes.
* * *
Sapphire green eyes turned away from the comet. The visions of five boys to be born in days to come were put aside as the young child returned to her dinner.
* * *