by A. W. Cross
"Bella, I know your life has great purpose." He got up on all fours, and walked closer to her, "Just breathe, we can figure this out together."
The human side of him, empathetic, calming.
"It's like you're two different beings, Fletcher. One side of you, the angry beast with no self-control. The other side of you, human, kind and empathetic. Will you ever be able to walk the Earth as human again? I mean, why does Griselda and Charlie have the opportunity to do so, and you are stuck as a dragon?"
He gave her a pained look, and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"Oh," she said, "Certain magical laws forbid you from talking about it, am I right?"
He nodded, "How did you know?"
"Griselda, told me some things, but she was limited too."
"Well," he said, "try to think about what she told you, because I assure you it was true."
Bella recalled something about an offspring, but her mind was so overwhelmed with the newly acquired knowledge, she couldn’t remember why having offspring would be important in a moment like this.
"I'm afraid I don't remember everything," she confessed.
"It's okay." They stood silently for a time being, lost in their thoughts, before the dragon man spoke again. "Can I ask you something, Bella?"
She nodded her head.
"Do you still plan on leaving, because I'd very much like you to stay," he said urgently. His words came out rushed, all jumbled together.
She furrowed her brow slightly, watching the flaring of his nostrils and the way his sides heaved in and out slightly with each of his breaths.
"You want me to stay here?" she asked, confused.
"I do, I find your presence, refreshing. Even the forest fairies shy away from me, but you never have. To be honest, I've felt more human in the past few days with you, than I ever did, in all my time on Earth."
His admission made her smile, but the truth was, she didn't know if she could stay.
"Fletcher, I..." she started to say, but the words disappeared.
"Are you afraid to stay?"
She shook her head, "Not at all, but I wanted so much more for my life, and now..." she walked to the edge of the barn, looking down the path that led up to the castle, "I don't even know who I am."
"Then stay here and let me help you. We can help each other. You can help me maintain my humanity, and I can help you figure out who you are and where you're from." His voice was kind, devoid of the grainy undertones that his dragon speech often contained.
"I need time," she said honestly. The day had been too much, too full of things she didn't understand.
"I understand," he nodded his head, and bowed slightly. "It's time for my meal, so I'll take my leave, and give you space. I hope you'll accept my invitation, though." With a flash of his fangs given in friendly demeanor, and a gently whip of his tale, he exited the barn and took to the skies again.
Bella watched his wing expanse spread across the moon, as night had fallen, and he was the largest beast in the sky. The mixture of emotions she felt was confusing, and even a bit unwelcome. A good night’s sleep would help her put her thoughts at ease.
"Good night, Fletcher," she said under her breath, before she made her way back to the castle doors.
The truth was, a life in a castle with a dragon and his fairy servants was beginning to look more appealing.
More appealing than facing who you truly are as a daughter of Odin, you mean? Her subconscious asked, and she ignored it. making her way to her room where she set the delicate carousel down and tucked in for the night. The promise of a new day, looming over the horizon.
15
The sound of men’s voices yelling jolted Bella out of a deep sleep. She sat up in bed looking around, the soft cotton gown on her body not familiar to her.
"Where am I?" she asked, looking around her, the sounds that had awoken her growing louder and more prevalent. "What is that?" Suddenly, it all started coming back to her. The castle, the dragon man, her father.
The voices became more insistent, and louder.
"What in the world is going on!?"
"Bella! Get up, there are men outside! They mean to storm the castle! Hurry, get dressed!"
Her eyes went wide, as the terrified Griselda clutched a crying Charlie to her waist.
"What do you mean, there are men outside that are going to storm the castle?" but Griselda was gone in a flash, and Bella was left sitting on the bed in nightclothes, wondering what she should do. The voices outside grew louder, and she realized that Griselda had been right.
But what were the men doing? Why were they storming the castle? Was this just a horrible nightmare that she couldn't wake up from? She yanked off her clothes, searching the wardrobe in the room for something to wear. Where in Hades is Fletcher?
She yelled down the hall, calling for him, but there was no one around. After sliding on her boots, she hurried down the stairs and peeked out the front door.
Men and women both were marching towards the castle with torches and pitchforks, and as they got closer, she could hear their chants of "Kill the dragon!" "Destroy the castle!" "He'll kill our children," with every word she made out, her heart sank.
"Fletcher, where are you!?" she pleaded, wishing with all her might that he could hear her. A sudden roar filled the entirety of the castle, causing her to jump several feet in the air.
"Fletcher! Please! Your castle needs you!" she yelled out, wondering if he could hear her.
"He is in the tower and refuses to come out. We will protect the castle together," a group of servants had joined Bella in the main hallway.
"Griselda called for us. We will use what magic we are allowed to keep him safe."
"Why won't he fight?" Bella asked.
"He has vowed to never take a human life, and he fears that if he fights it will happen because he cannot control his anger." A woman that Bella recalled from dinner the night before recanted what Fletcher had told them earlier.
"That makes sense, but have you seen how many people are coming? How will we fight against them?" Her heart sped up, and she could feel her blood coursing quicker. There was something in her that made her want to fight, to protect the dragon beast, or at least the man he hid inside. There was something that propelled her on, knowing that she couldn’t allow whoever awaited outside to destroy this place.
That is my spirit in you, Odin's voice sounded in her head.
"What!? What are you doing here?"
You must fight, Fletcher is the last of his kind, and he cannot die. Pleased daughter, do it for me.
"Fight?" she said aloud, "How am I going to fight? I don't even know how!"
You are my daughter, you know how. I am with you.
She heard him loud and clear, and then his presence was gone.
"Fine! Then I want some answers. Real answers!"
The small rally of people around her, looked on, their faces paled slightly from her outburst.
"What's the matter? You're father doesn't talk to you in your head?" she said sarcastically as breaking wood sounded from the front of the castle.
"Hurry! They are breaching the doors!" A servant called and ran to the front, waving her hands in front of her. A blast of wind blowing her hair wildly about her face as an array of sparks splayed from her fingertips.
The blowback caused Bella to stumble backwards and she watched in amazement as a large shield of light blue covered the doors.
"I put up a shield, but I can't hold it long!" The woman yelled, staring directly at Bella. Not wanting to waste another moment, she hurried to the wall, and yanked down a large sword that had been put up on display.
It was heavy and awkward in her hands, and she found holding it made her off balance.
"You can do this, Bella girl! Just steady yourself!"
"I'm trying to!" she yelled back, holding the sword in front of her. With the tip pointed outward, a sudden surge of strength soared through her and she felt stronger than she had ev
er felt.
She let out a war cry, thrusting the blade forward, and plowing straight through the magic shield the servant had set up to protect the inside of the castle from the outsiders. Her sudden arrival frightened off a few of the women who had been marching, and they immediately took off.
"Cowards!" Lucien yelled after them, and next to his side, Gustavo. Bella dropped the sword to her side, shocked to see the familiar faces that stood before her.
"Lucien!" she spat, remembering what he had tried to do to her. Knowing he would have gotten away with it, if Fletcher hadn't showed up in all his dragon glory.
"Well, hello princess. I see you've been living it up in the castle with Gustavo's money, you thief!" he said, his dark eyes dripping menace, his red hair like flames atop his head in the cover of morning.
Gustavo stayed silent, and it killed her that he clearly agreed with his friend’s stance.
"Gustavo, surely you don't believe that?"
The man that stood before her was not the handsome friend who had stood by her side from the time, she was a small child.
"You've nothing to say? What are you doing here? Have you come to destroy my new home?" she asked, searching his eyes for any form of compassion.
"I've not come to destroy your home. As the new mayor, I've come to kill the dragon that threatens our very well being." His voice was steady, but uncertain.
"You've come to kill a dragon? Well, there are no dragons here. There is a man who lives here, and he saved me from a certain beast who meant to harm me a few nights ago. Maybe that is the beast you should seek out," she said meaningfully, staring hard at Lucien.
"Kill the beast!" The people shouted behind her.
"There is no beast here!" she yelled back, "and if you know what is good for you, you'll leave now," she held the sword higher, and the power surged through her again.
"Griselda, or someone... please... retrieve my carousel from my room," she asked. "Before you come in here, ready to destroy this place, Gustavo, maybe you should be more wary of the company you keep. There are many wolves in sheep’s clothing, sometimes under our very noses."
"The only wolf I see is you, Bella. You lured Gustavo in with your beauty. Pretended to like him, made him fall for you, then you took his money at the first chance you were given, stole his horse, and rode off into the arms of the nearest man you could find!" Lucien's voice had taken on a sinister quality, and there was an air of something untraceable in it, that set her hairs on end and chilled her to the core.
"Hmm, because as I recall, you were the only beast I encountered in those woods. Have you told Gustavo what you tried to do to me?" she asked, as the townspeople lowered their weapons and looked on in confusion.
"What did you do to her?" Gustavo turned his dark, kind eyes towards Lucien, and Bella could tell he was struggling internally. His eyebrows raised slightly, his forehead scrunched tightly as he struggled to understand.
"I told you! I went after her, Gustavo. For you! When I found her, she was nearly attacked by a dragon, who I tried to fight off. She would have died if not for me." Everything Lucien said was a lie, and Bella could feel her stomach turn with worry.
"Gustavo! He's lying to you! He tried to take my virtue! If that beast had not come to my rescue, Lucien would have taken my innocence!" she screamed, to the horrified gasps of the villagers in attendance. The clatter of weapons could be heard, as swords, and pitchforks were dropped to the ground.
"You tried to..." Gustavo looked Lucien straight in the eyes, but he was unable to complete the sentence. So horrifying was its connotations.
"It's okay, Gus, he didn't get a chance to touch me. The dragon saved me," she said in low tones.
16
"The dragon saved you?" Gustavo said, with a change of tone. "I thought you just said there was no beast here? There was only a man? Which is it, Bella? I've never known you to lie, and now... I can't help but wonder if you're trying to protect some animal!" Something dark flashed in his eyes, and at that moment, a servant emerged from the castle thrusting the carousel at her.
"Bella! Here!"
She caught the delicate object in her hand, and dropping her sword, she quickly wound up the device and lifted it in front of her, in the direction where Lucien stood.
"Gustavo, I have never lied to you. I need you to see something." She wasn't entirely sure it would work, but she had a belief that Lucien was not completely human. She could see it in his eyes, and if she was right, thanks to her father's magic skill and foreknowledge to give her a tool that would help her, she would know in a moment just who Lucien was.
"What are you doing?" Gustavo asked. The gentle melody played around them, and the villagers that had come to kill the dragon with them, ooh'd and ahh'd. Some had already started to leave, not wanting to harm Bella.
"Just look," she said, pleading with her eyes that he would just trust her. He watched the spinning of the carousel, and the turning of the mirrors as he had a hundred times before. "I know what it does," he said, gripping his sword tighter in his hand.
"No, you don't, just watch," she said, and as the music slowed, and the mirrors stopped spinning, Lucien's reflection became very clear to the both of them. Only Bella almost laughed from fright, before she caught herself and realized what she was seeing was very real. There in broad daylight, the brilliant red hair that belonged to Lucien was revealed to be a balding head, with large curving horns atop of the head of the man. His body, like that of a man’s, and legs like a goat, it was clear to the two of them that the person that had ushered Gustavo into becoming mayor, was a beast of the pit.
A demon, tried and true.
Gustavo blinked his eye several times, rubbing them vigorously, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He looked at Bella several times, then back to the mirrors. He jerked the carousel from her hands and held it up to the sun. He turned the music box on the bottom, and watched it turn several times, listened to the music again.
"What is this, Bella?" he finally said.
"Gustavo, in all the years you've known me. I've never lied to you, and I won't start now. The truth is, I don't know exactly what it is, only that it is spelled with old magic. Magic that cannot be performed by anyone, but yet, it was performed by my father. A man who has been around longer than you can possibly imagine. This carousel has the power to reveal the truth about any magical beings that exist, beings that have been hidden in human form for a very long time.
It is revealing Lucien's true nature."
Gustavo looked at the device again and blinked several times before he held it up to Lucien again.
"Really, Bella? That's all you have? Come on Gustavo. Clearly she's gone mad." Lucien tried diligently to take the carousel from Gustav's hands, but he yanked it away quickly.
"Get away from her!" Fletcher appeared, his large, dark form filling the entirety of the castle doorway, his wings fluttering quietly. Screams filled the air, and Lucien gasped loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Well, we meet again, demon beast," Lucien said mockingly, a hateful grin spread across his face.
Gustavo could not process the scene fast enough, his eyes jerking from Bella to Lucien, then to the dragon and back around.
"Bella?" he asked, voice wavering.
"I assure you, he is a friend. He saved me from him," she pointed to Lucien. "if he hadn't, the man you call friend would have taken my innocence and then..." she shivered, giving him a meaningful glance. She knew Gustavo had nothing to do with the man's attacks, but she couldn't understand how neither of them had seen or felt the darkness that clearly existed in Lucien's being.
“Do you see! She protects the beast! The very same one that threatened to eat her alive!” It was as if Lucien could feel that he was losing his grip on Gustavo, as he turned to face the remaining villagers. Their gasps, and mutterings told Bella that they believed him, and she worried for Fletcher’s life.
“Don’t listen to him! Everything from his mouth is a lie! It is
Lucien, who is the beast. He is the one who attacked me in the woods. He is the one who threatened to take my virtue, and Fletcher, this very dragon is the one who saved me just in time. Otherwise, I would have been at his mercy! And now you, you march on this castle? You come here to kill at his desire? Why? What good has Lucien ever done?” Her voice was angry and desperate. She backed up against the dragon man, arms wide in an effort to protect him from attack.
“It’s okay, Bella, they can have me, if this is what they truly want,” with his head down, he nuzzled her out of the way, and walked towards the villagers, who screamed at his approach, and began retreating. Lucien, watching the whole display, began laughing maniacally, as if everything that was occurring was his plan all along.
“Stop Lucien!” Bella screamed. Then, as if her very words inspired his rebelliousness, Lucien cast off his human disguise, his body growing several feet tall in its reveal. Swirls of smoke, and fire encircled his body in the change, and as his horns sprouted from the top of his head, and his short rotund body grew lithe and almost wiry, all who were left to fight the dragon, took off running for their lives.
All except Gustavo, who seemed paralyzed to the spot.
“Leave here, spawn of hell!” Fletcher yelled, jumping forward on all fours, large opalescent teeth bared, nostrils flaring loudly, yellowed eyes pierced.
Lucien laughed again, his long, pointed tale flicking back and forth like a whip. “Just what makes you think, I will?”
Guarding Bella and Gustavo with his body, the dragon man sucked in deep breaths, gaze focused on the demon who danced back and forth like some crazed lunatic. “You can either return to the depths of Hades from which you came, or you can face me.
“Oh, come now, Fletcher! Do you really think you are a match for me? All these years I was right under your nose, and you didn’t even know. You truthfully think you could do me any harm? Much less catch me?” Lucien’s black eyes watched the dragon with quiet glee, a sinister grin dancing on his silvery lips.
“Why, Lucien? Why return after all these years? Odin banned you! Who’s to say he will not return from Asgard and kill you himself?”
