Dragon's First Cavernu

There was a light in the woods. I could see it flicker from my window. The hillside was rocky, and I had often played there, up to a week weeks before, actually. It felt a bit too childish for a middle-schooler-to-be. There shouldn't be any lights. No buildings, and it was too dark for any kids to playing around.

I couldn't sleep, anyway. I put some clothes on and went to take a look. There was something wrong - some of the rocks were out of place. Missing. I knew each and every one of them by heart. The light had come from a bit higher, so I kept climbing. Quietly, mind you - something was obviously up. Some of those boulders  were huge, and there wasn't any legit construction going on.

As I approached the top, I found the missing boulders. Someone had fashioned them into a roof of some sort - like a tent made out of stone. It wasn't pretty, and it sure wouldn't keep the rain out. I sneaked in closer to take a look. A fire flickered in the entrace, and I could see someone moving inside. I climbed to a gap in the rocks for a closer look.



The movement was a little girl. About my age...? Actually - it took me a while to realize - it was a classmate of mine. A proud girl. A dragon. She smashed a piggy bank on the rock. A few dozen coins fell to the sandy floor - gold? She seemed sadder than I'd ever seen her. Usually she just bossed everyone around with glee.

I watched her spread the coins on the floor. She sniffed quietly. She rummaged around her backpack for a while and produced a home-made plushie. It was a prince? At least it had a little plush cape and crown. She sat on her coins, held it tight to her chest, and stared into the fire at the mouth of the cavern.

Her sniffs slowly became sobs. Tears welled in her eyes. It sounded like hiccups - she was obviously holding herself back, even if she didn't know I was watching. The tears glistened on her face as she wrapped a blanket around herself. The reflections highlighter her amber eyes framed by her golden hair.



I couldn't forget her. I thought about her all night. I barely slept. I wondered if she had - did she sit there, crying, through the night? Did she finally fall asleep on that pitiful pile of coins? For all her boisterous elegance, she was obviously alone and fragile. I should have talked to her. Maybe it wasn't too late. I hoped she'd be in my class again. I'd find out soon enough.

There was a sad girl in the classroom. She sat at the back, all alone with her elegant ringlets, while the other girls found new friends. I knew I had to act. I sat next to her and gave her a smile. She puffed and turned away. I wrote her a note. "I noticed you moved in next door. Please join me for lunch."



She did. She stared at me from under her brows as she plopped her tray down across from me.
>If you think you can blackmail me, you lit-
>That's not it, Sara.
>-going to burn you to ash-
>I've actually sorta liked you for a while now.
>-until you're a little black pile of-
>Please come to the coin cabinet with me after school!
>-getting blown away by the wind- ...Wait? What did you say?

>Please go out with me, Sara!
She turned red and gold. Her beautiful, amber eyes darted all over the room. I could see the air rippling around her beautiful, delicate lips.
>A-are you messing with me?! Is this some sick revenge for bossing you a little back in grade school?
>No, Sara. I bought you the extra cocoa because I wanted to. Not because I was afraid of you.
She puffed a small plume of black smoke from between her sharp teeth with every breath.
>I'm going to burn you to a crisp if you're playing around with me!
She fidgeted under the table. Her golden, reflective ringlets swayed in the air as she turned her face to me. The smoke was coming out of her nose by now.
>B-but... You wanna walk together to the castle?