dragon, 2

i considered his laughter as a personal assault. my master had assured me that i was ready to face the dragon, and to be mocked by my own quest was insulting. i must admit i was not prepared to hear him speak, much less laugh. i was vaguely aware that the fact i had assumed i would be dealing with a dumb animal was evidence that i had missed something my master tried to teach me.

adding to the natural terror one feels when standing next to a monstrous, sentitent beast that is mocking you, i could see myself in his scales. that was disconcerting. for when his chameleon nature blended him into the horizon and the waters, i could only see a distorted version of myself.

it was beggining to be difficult to comprehend my surroundings. the dragon bent its long neck down until i could feel the warm stench of his breath on my face. he looked me right in the eyes, and at this moment he was not the ever changing reflective shape of before. he was standing there, in his awesome form, and i realized that if my master had slayed these beasts i did not know my master at all, for i had thought he was a simple man.

the dragon spoke again.

"you see, small one, i do not fear you. you call yourself a dragon-slayer. so how many dragons have you slayed?"

for a moment i considered embellishing my story.

"well, you were to be my first," i responded, trying to drum up more confidence that i actually felt.

his eyes squinted as he stared deep into me. he spread out his wings, making himself larger than before, and now i knew that escape was not an option. he would rise into the air and snatch me with his teeth at the end of that long neck and i would be gone before i had time to say a prayer.

"and therein lies proof to the humor of your claim. i was to be your first kill, and now even you put that purpose in the past tense. what did you do to anger your master enough that he would betray you to me?'

and then i realized that i, humble-dragon slayer that i was, had no chance of defeating the beast, and that my hands could no more pierce his scales than my "courage" could intimidate him. i stood there, and felt in that moment that this dragon knew me far better than my master, who had abandoned me to the beast.

i was no dragon-slayer. only a child who wanted to believe in a fantasy. so i took the name i was given and bravely set upon my quest and now, if there was a Maker, i had a decent chance at meeting him.

"you know," said the dragon, "i really almost pity you. do you know how many dragon-slayers i have eaten?"