Chapter 3: The Dragon's Den

"Does the dragon in the myth live here?" Sophia whispered to herself. She then frowned. "I sound so pathetic..."

Still, her curiosity slowly got the best of her. A dragon didn’t live in this cave, but it couldn't hurt to look... right? Sophia paused for a moment and weighed her options. The safest course of action involved remaining at the mouth of the cave until the storm passed. What if she missed a critical detail determining if the dragon survived?

"Why am I even contemplating this again?" she scolded herself, eyes still scanning her location wearily. "I need to find the others first."

Unfortunately, the woman was inquisitive. If anything, she wanted to check out the cave to prove a myth remained just that so she could rub it in Jennifer’s face. Nothing was more satisfying than proving her best friend wrong... since she always seemed to be right.

With a decision in mind, Sophia pulled a flashlight from the pack on her shoulders and made her way deeper into the cave. It was eerily quiet; her unsure footsteps reverberating off the rounded walls, the only noise that reached her ears. Taking a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, Sophia nervously hooked a strand of wet hair behind her ear and threw worried glances over her shoulder toward the opening of the cave shrank in size. Soon, only the yellow light of the flashlight gleamed.

Sophia wasn’t sure how long she walked, long enough to feel claustrophobic. Her footsteps sped up unconsciously and the worried female wondering why she decided to travel deeper into the cave. Her panic mounted until she was at a full run, trying not to trip over stray rocks while keeping a death grip on her flashlight.

Run… little girl…

Fright seared through her body at the voice that seemed to be surrounding her in the tight cavern. What the hell was going on?!

Are you afraid?

I'm losing my mind! Sophia screamed in her mind, her legs pumping faster than ever before. I have to get the hell out of here!

The brown-haired woman ran hard and breathed a sigh of relief when a sliver of light grew brighter the longer, she ran. Finally, she reached it and threw herself into its glow. Surprise washed over her when Sophia landed on sand soft white sand. Looking up, she gave the new area a once over, confusion written on her features. "What the hell is this?"

Sophia witnessed a clear lake with a large waterfall straight across the calm water. This beautiful place resided inside of a cave? This was like a scene from a movie, but she never witnessed it in real life. Shakily getting to her feet, Sophia brushed some sand off the front of her wet clothes. The woman grew frustrated as the sand turned to mud and quit trying. She took a few curious steps towards the water and looked into it.

"I look like crap," she muttered to herself, reaching up to smooth out her disheveled locks.

Surveilling the waterfall once more, Sophia squinted and noticed an opening behind it. No giant lizard was occupying the area she found herself in. The area surrounding it was closed in by jagged rocks and stretched a vast distance away from her, perhaps 150 to 200 feet, and ended with a small forest of trees. The young woman turned her attention to the dark cavern from which she had escaped. It appeared to be her only way out of this unusual place, but she didn't want to risk hearing those voices again. The grainy yet deep way of speaking terrified her and Sophia felt the shiver go up to her spine at the thought of it. Perhaps another exit existed behind the waterfall. She understood her completely brilliant plan to prove herself to Zain and the others was a stupid one.

Sophia realized the contrast in the brightness of the area compared to the darkness of the tunnel and the storm outside the cave. Pausing, Sophia discovered the loud crashes of thunder were no longer heard. What an odd turn of events. Sophia hung onto her flashlight and dropped her bag on the shore. Placing a foot inside the surprisingly warm water and thanking Jennifer for talking her out of her comfort zone, Sophia waded into the pond. After a few steps, she dropped under the water's surface. She came up sputtering and coughing. The water didn't seem deep at all, but she sank immediately and it took a moment before the urge to swim kicked in; was the pond's floor even existent?

Sophia continued to curse to herself as she swam, her limbs growing tired of the extra weight of her soaked clothes and trying to hold her flashlight above water. After a few moments that seemed like an eternity, the twenty-one-year-old pulled herself up onto the flat plateau next to the waterfall. The rushing current provided a soothing melody, but something was off; the air moved up in temperature drastically compared to the other side of the water.

What caused such a bizarre change? An unfamiliar scent filled her nostrils. It was faint but almost sickening. The smell brought back a piece of the folktale, but Sophia pushed it away before she lost her sanity. The young woman pulled her flashlight out of her pack and turned it on; nothing happened. She shook it a few times, but that didn't help either. Unscrewing the head, Sophia blew into the inside until it was dry and tried again. This time, it worked.

"All right," Sophia coached herself as she peered inside. "Here goes nothing."

She took her first few shaky steps into the cavern, not knowing what to expect. The warm air she felt on the outside tripled in intensity. Sweat poured from temples and it became harder to breathe the stifling oxygen. Why the hell did it get so hot suddenly? The next moment, a deep rumble echoed throughout the cave, causing Sophia to freeze. She pointed her flashlight straight ahead and her heart dropped to her feet when she saw the light glitter. Brown eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

"It's real," she breathed.

There stood an enormous dragon, black scales shining in the dim lighting. It turned its head in her direction, crimson eyes sparkling like rubies. Smoke billowed from its nostrils as its quiet growl vibrated in Sophia's chest. The dragon attempted to move towards her, but the rattle of thick chains sounded and stopped the large creature's movements. Sophia took a step back, still in awe at the sight of the majestic mythical creature. The dragon existed; Sophia was dumbfounded. The beast stared at her; sharp teeth bared in her direction. This monster’s ability to put her in danger loomed in the back of her mind, but Sophia was mesmerized.

Its claws clinked against the hard floor as it turned to face her. "Why are you here?" it boomed.

Sophia blinked. "Did you just-"

Her sentence ended when the dragon's massive tail wrapped around her body. The flashlight clattered to the ground and shut off, but the creature's piercing orbs still shone brightly in the dark.

"Why have you come?"

Sophia’s fear skyrocketed inside her when the creature brought her close to its face. Every breath that fanned her felt scalding hot, and she struggled to free herself to no avail. The surrounding grip only increased until she was sure her ribs would snap if it squeezed any tighter.

"I-I wanted to see if you were real," she wheezed. "I'll leave now and never come back. I promise!"

The dragon moved, so it was only inches away from her. "You'll never leave this place, little girl."

Sophia's heart sank at those words. Coming to the Voiceless Mountains, despite still being in the Forbidden Forest’s territory, was a mistake. Perhaps this answered why people disappeared after coming here. Terror crept into the frightened woman and her breath hitched as tears formed at the corner of her eyes.

"Please don't kill me," she begged. "I'll do anything!"

The dragon's grip tightened a fraction more. "You have not, nor will you be, the last to say that. What do you believe you can do for me?"

"I-I... "

What could she possibly do when she couldn’t even use magic? The answers had to be slim and out of her power to do so.

"I'll find a way to free you!"

The creature was silent for a moment. "How can you, a mere human, free me?"

It placed her down but kept its tail hovering behind her in case Sophia tried to bolt. She gazed up at the large dragon, beryl orbs wandering over its body with curiosity. The mythical creature was... beautiful. Ebony scales, piercing red eyes, talons sharp enough to tear through human flesh. No matter how much danger the mystical being radiated, Sophia could still see the majesty and grace as it gazed at her.

"I… I am a Knight," she breathed. The nostrils flared when it heard the word Knight. "At least, going there…” she added hastily. “I-I’m on the good side… you know? I-I h-heard about your story… About how you became a dragon… But…”

“Enough,” the dragon growled. “Knights are all on the same side. You fight for your king and queen. You will do as they wish. Do you think you can fool me?”

Sophia bit her lip. It was true. Every Knight was bound to the royal family’s commands. If they do not follow, they will be persecuted in the Aisle of Punishment. “Perhaps,” she breathed out. “You know a way… You know… I can help you without betraying my kingdom?”

A deep rumble echoed from the creature's throat. “You are a naïve girl. Helping me is just like betraying your kingdom to the Dragonae, did you know that?”

Sophia shook her head. “It’s not like you are a real dragon, anyway, were you?”

It remained silent for a few moments before it spoke once again. "Yes, but it will require time; a month to teach you."

Sophia's eyes widened. "An entire month?"

Burning crimson eyes gazed at her. "Would you rather I destroy you now?"

She had an easy answer to that menacing question. She didn't want to die; she had so many obligations as it was! Her promise to herself is to help Zain and Leon reach their dreams. Her reason why she joined the Knights Association. Her friends… no matter how idiotic they were and the reason why she was here, bargaining with a damn dragon for her life, she loved them as they were.

However, what about food?  This dragon would not allow her to leave. She would starve to death before she learned how to help the dragon escape. Sophia brought it up and cringed when the dragon's tail moved closer.

"There is plenty of fish in that pond," it responded. "The water is also drinkable."

Sophia frowned. She loved to eat fish as much as the next person but eating it nonstop for an entire month did not sound appetizing. What was she going to do without her chamomile tea morning routine? She would die, that's what would happen. How would she cook the fish, anyway? Well, perhaps her captor could assist with that...

The young woman gazed at the dragon once more and her inquisitive nature churned. "So... are you really the dragon that was once a man?"

"Yes," he answered simply.

This dragon claimed he was the character from that folklore. Sophia couldn’t believe what horrid luck she had. An impossible situation lay before her: help the dragon-like she promised or suffer burning alive or worse, ripped to shreds. She had really gotten herself into a mess. Maybe she could plan an escape, but as of now, thoughts of escape were void.

Sighing, Sophia hooked her knotting hair behind her ear and asked, "Well, what's your name?"

The dragon raised his head and said, "For now, you can call me Eli.”