There weren't always dragons in the Valley. In fact, the Valley had been blissful, silent, free of flames and aggression for at least the past 275 years. Ever since, the world fell apart at the seams, and the mystical and fantastical exploded out of the centre of the Earth. Literally. Until right this second, screams of terror tore through the valley.
At first, people thought they were going insane. Those who lived in the Valley at the time thought the water was tainted or something, driving them all to the brink of their mental demise. But it turned out that the battle of good versus evil we all thought was only in our minds and the fiction stories we read were real. And that was a rude awakening, let me tell you.
So, those who remained went into hiding. Some said they were biding their time, waiting for the rulers of the new world to become complacent. Waiting for their time. There were rumours of dragons mating with witches for their powers, hoping to create a more powerful creature that could withstand the weapons that were developed and used against them. And there were rumours that dragons just wanted to enslave the human race or what was left of it.
I don't really know what I believed. Up until this very moment. Because as I rang my apron out in the farmyard trough, having just finished feeding the cows for my Master, I looked up into the sky and saw a dragon. A real dragon. In the sky.
A mind-numbing roar filled the sky as a brilliant black beast soared above the Valley, aiming for the homes of the nobles. I froze, the apron squeezing in my hand, water dripping into the trough. The massive creature was torn straight from my worst nightmares. Thick, black neck with giant ridges along its back. Its wing span was huge, easily covering the skyline above the hills of the rolling valley as it rocketed forward. It shot forward, wings tight to its body suddenly, barreling down toward the noble's home of Master Thomas. I knew the staff there, and my heart pounded with fear as I thought of handsome Theo who I had been hoping to be married to. My hand flew to my throat as I watched the creature unleash blue fire onto the home, demolishing it in seconds to nothing but ash and smoke before it banked left, heading further down the valley toward where I stood. I ran, legs pumping as hard as they could, discarding my wet apron as it clung to my thick dress, causing me to almost trip. I wasn't much of a runner on a good day, let alone with wet clothing and fear clogging my mind.
I pushed harder as an ear-shattering roar split the air. I just had to get to the barn, then I could hide. I threw a glance up and over my shoulder and almost fell over in fear. It was so close I could see it's red eye, shining with promises of violence, death.The creature roared, showing row upon row of rotting yellow teeth. It had giant raised sections that looked like scars from badly healed wounds, as it flew over me. I threw myself to forward into a trough near by, trying anything to get away from the flames. There was no way to make it to the barn. Landing in the trough, I pushed myself as lows as I could into the water, taking a lungful of air in before thrusting my head under. I felt the air shudder, and heat poured across my back just as I made it under the water. It singed the top of the water, my dress burning up, pain tearing through my skin as it burnt. No, no, no! This couldn't be happening.
Finally, the heat stopped, and the sound of fire and roars of the creature faded. I threw myself out of the water, coughing and spitting up the dirty water, praying that my lungs didn't get infected. But at least I was alive. That was something. I shoved my hair back out of my face, turning and looking toward my home further up the hill. The smoke was so thick that I couldn't see further than a few feet in front of me. But I could hear the screams as they tore through the air.
Shadows, what I assumed were people, ran through the smoke in every direction, panic written in the air even though I couldn't see their faces. The pain in my back was excruciating, and I knew that the scars were the least of my worries. The dirty water, and the air alone, could cause massive infections if I didn't get to a nurse soon.
I turned, running forward, ignoring the pain in my back as I thought of my baby sister, and the others, in the nursery. I looked up toward master's home. My Master was Lord Reynold, who owned most of the land and, as the region's lord, reported directly to the royal family.
I pushed forward, my legs burning along with my lungs as I tried to make it up the smoke filled path. I stopped briefly, ripping my cotton sleeve, thankful it was still wet. I pushed the material against my mouth, hoping to filter some of the smoke. Finally, the smoke began to clear. The creature had been joined by another, a red beast about half the size of the black one. And I finally saw with horror the riders on their backs, laying flat and close as possible to the neck of the beasts they rode. They were controlled. This was directed. This was not random.
Horror filled me as I watched them dive closer to the only home I'd ever known, their powerful jaws opening at what seemed like a glacial pace. Blue fire and red fire merged as one, as they met the turrets and the walls armed with soldiers from Master Reynolds military. No, no, no! My brother, Antony, was up there. They were meant to be peace keepers. There for show, not combat. They weren't trained for this. We didn't have war, we didn't have violence. Not here.
I stumbled, falling to my knees as the walls crumbled, the fire burning through them like they were butter with a hot knife. I found my way to my feet, pushing forward, trying desperately to get ahead, to find a way forward. People were passing me, running away from the fire, away from the danger, like one should do. But not me, I used my elbows to push through what was becoming a thick crowd of people trying to move down the hill toward the barns and the centreof the valley.
I froze, staring as the beasts soared higher, looping around as if to scout their next target. The banked right, turning and looking toward the house again, which still stood behind the walls. They moved down, and suddenly, my body was no longer frozen. A scream tore from my lips as I ran toward the house. I was so far away, only halfway up the hill. Pain wracked my body, my back on fire, and my legs burning from the effort. My elbows hurt from the people I was shoving out of the way. My lungs burned. There was no way I could make it. I ran as fast as possible, not stopping even as the dragons released their flames upon the home. Screams carried through the air as if the wind wanted me to hear my family and master's household in their final moments.
Agony tore through my body as I heard the screams and watched the flames engulf the only home I had ever known. A scream I didn't know I possessed tore from my body as the world exploded around me. And suddenly, everything went dark.