As I fly along, staying in the clouds for privacy, I scan over my new territory that was my fathers. Fields full of wheat grasses and crops, pastures with cows, horses, and sheep. Small villages teeming with people busy going about their daily routines. For these people I feel a sense of wanting to protect them, but I am not sure exactly why at the moment. I brush it off as I fly on enjoying my newfound freedom. I revel in how vast my "space" is. I want to fly as far as I can above the clouds to see what is beyond them. Yet again, I want to fly just above the ground, and feel the tall grass brush against me. Better judgement stops me from both. I become weary all too soon. Turning around to head back to my home, my reason for wanting to protect these people hits me almost smack in the face.
Straight ahead of me is a monstrosity of a building. All I can see are turrets; towers, moats and ugly goblin statues are all around it. The King's castle! The reason my father is dead! I suddenly become angry at the world and want to fly low enough to kill everyone in it. The anger is so overwhelming that I turn away quickly before I lose control. In response my body cries out for revenge in the form of hunger. I was so wrapped up in taking my first flight that I didn't realize that I needed to eat. Heading slightly over my invisible borders I find a cow wandering alone away from prying eyes. Pouncing on it hungrily I almost devour it whole. Sated and slightly less aggravated, I take flight once again. Only this time the joy is not the same. This time I have an agenda, a need to remove a tyrant of a king from his throne to make this a peaceful place to reside.
Arriving back at the cave I am hit again by fathers death. I stop just outside the entrance, not sure that I can go in. Pacing back and forth I ponder what to do. I need to take care of fathers body but not quite sure how. There is the possibility that seeing him again will bring back the tears that I felt before. Still pacing I tell myself, "You are strong and intelligent, all you need to do is search fathers memories. Let him tell you what you need to do! "If you stay out here you are going to wear a moat of your own in front of the door and then you will have a real mess on your hands!" Listening to my conscience I find a warm rock to perch upon while I search my memories.
The rock must have been a bit too comfortable, because I awoke a few hours later as the sun was going down. I dreamt of flying, but I wasn't alone. Father was there, flying with me, wingtip to wingtip. I recall laughing with him as we flew along surveying our lands. In this dream father talked with me, telling me his stories like he used to before he gave me life. His face and skin glowed as he talked of all his experiences. He was golden in color and when the sun hit him just right he was blindingly bright. I could see the love in his eyes for me. They swirled with multi-facets of color, and more so when he looked directly at me. My love for him grew in those moments. It was wonderful. I was extremely sad that it ended when I awoke. I wanted to go back to the dream and listen to him as we flew, but I could not. It was then that I knew what I must do. Sighing as I stretched to get up to take care of father, I wondered if I would ever feel that first ecstasy of flight again.
As I headed back into the cave I discovered a new phenomenon as I transformed back into female form. Stepping back outside I transformed again into dragon form. "Ok, This creates a whole new set of problems" I thought to myself stepping back inside and transforming once again. "Now how am I supposed to take care of father? He is way to big for me to move in this form!" Walking the rest of the way inside I contemplate my new puzzle. "There has to be a way for me to move him, but I am so exhausted from the day to think!" Moving towards the lab I pass fathers forever sleeping form on his pile of gold coins. "He looks so peaceful, why did it have to be this way?" I think to myself plopping down on the bench by the table where he created me. Glancing towards the table I notice fathers pile of scrolls. "Hmmm, maybe the answer is there!"
Pouring over fathers scrolls until it gets too dark to read, and coming up with nothing depressed me. I was about to give in when a small golden parchment caught my eye. As I leaned over to pick it up my hand became warmer the closer I got to it. When I touched it my hand tingled. Glancing over at father I whispered to myself "Ok father, trying to tell me something?" Upon glancing at the parchment I noticed some symbols that for some reason I understood. I don't how I did, or even why I did but I could read it. "My reading skills must be one of father's memories" was what I told myself as I read it aloud. It read as follows:
Dragon Lord of the old code,
Your time on earth is past,
I lift you from this cold abode,
Though your size be great and vast,
I return you to the fiery Lake.
May you rest at peace at last,
Until the day your soul shall wake,
To fly again the skies so vast.
Your time on earth is past,
I lift you from this cold abode,
Though your size be great and vast,
I return you to the fiery Lake.
May you rest at peace at last,
Until the day your soul shall wake,
To fly again the skies so vast.
A swirl of tiny dancing lights surrounded father, like a swarm of small fairies. Father's body rose from its resting-place and moved slowly towards the lake. As it got closer it started to glow. He was never so beautiful than he was at that moment. His golden scales shone with a blinding brilliance. His body reached the center of the lake, and in a flash of golden light he was gone. Elation took over me as I watched him go. I hoped that someday I would see him again in all his glory. I knew in my heart that this could not be, but hope springs eternal for this new dragon-lass. I had only the future to look forward to, and I have some extensive planning to keep me quite busy for a long time to come. It had to be done right so no innocent lives would be lost. These people deserved better than their fate as of late and I planned on making that happen.
I looked around my home and thought about what needed to be done next. A definite cleaning couldn't hurt. The days events had exhausted me, but finding the spell and watching father go to his resting-place had me wide awake again. I also discovered that I would need a place to sleep, as the pile of coins is great for dragon kind but a bit cold and hard for me in woman form. I decided to explore the cave a bit deeper to see what I had to work with. I found that father had made plans for my comfort as well. I found stores of food, wine and a fresh water spring that looked recently dug. I found rooms for cleansing myself (dragons hate being dirty), and a stockpile of soft material. I didn't know what these were for but I took some to an indentation in the wall near the lake that I had found and made a soft bed. I straightened up fathers lab as best I could. By the time I finished with this I was literally worn out and decided to call it quits. With the new day coming I was sure there was more to be done and the rest could wait. As I lay down to sleep, I looked out over the lake and recounted the days events. As my eyes closed, again, my last thoughts were of father.
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