Day 34 Writing Short Stories

Green

Destinies were cruel. They rob away the ability to choose, to be true to yourself. She and her green eyes had always been for the village, a sacrifice for its future. Other children kept away from her. They feared her. Her mother told her to ignore them. But in her loneliness, she was willing to take in even their unkind words so that she felt like she belonged somewhere. She grew up to be a woman, a virgin under the pitying eyes of the villagers, under the unkind eyes of her sister, who had their own paths unlike her. She had always known what would come. But there was no point in running, in fleeing.

She dutifully waited for her twenty-first birthday, and when it came, she let them robe her in a white dress and take her into the woods, tie her to the altar as they retreated to watch.

She waited calmly. She had read that the others like her had screamed and begged for their lives. But not her. She had accepted that to be born with green eyes meant you died for the village and its prosperous future.

The forest changed. She could feel it there. It was in the silence. The birds had stopped singing, and it was as if every living being held in their breath. She did, too, her hands and legs going limp against the robes keeping her tied to the altar.

Past the trees and under their shadows, something big moved. Its green scales shone in the little light the sun let through the overcast clouds. Then the deep yellow eyes were upon her. Its tongue whipped the air, tasting the silence. The dragon pushed past the trees and took over the entire clearing in the forest.

It was bigger than she had thought it would be. Instead of feeling fear, she felt awe. Its yellow eyes locked onto her greens. There was more there than the beast the villagers spoke of. There was intelligence in the reptile’s eyes.

The dragon approached her. She expected it to slither in majestically, but it crawled to her, keeping its head low while its yellow eyes were locked in hers. It was giving her respect. The realization made her gasp. The sound made the dragon’s tail whip, lashing against the trees that stood the test of strength.

It stopped just at her feet. She could feel its hot breath caress her, making the white dress cling to her body. She wanted to reach for its head, smooth her hands over its green scales, but she was tied to the altar. She let out a groan, and the yellow eyes narrowed. It looked away from her, and she hated not having its eyes on her. There had been recognition of someone so alike that it had made her heart freeze.

“Please,” she let out, but the dragon didn’t return its eyes. It kept looking into the woods.

“Just eat the damn thing.” She heard her sister shout, and, like a cue, the dragon moved. It was so fast that she had thought it impossible. It made its tail spin and its claws lash into the space where the villagers stood. Now they all lay dead on the clearing in front of her, and the dragon had turned its yellow eyes on her. It pushed its tongue out and made it slither over her, stopping at her face. It was coarse and warm. And as it returned down, it ripped her ties away, and she collapsed on the ground from the altar.

It did nothing. It waited to see what she would do. She stood up and walked to the dragon, tying her hands around its muzzle, pressing her head against its warm scales. She could hear its rhythmic breathing pulsing against her. And she knew they would always be together.

—

Ha, romance! Here you go. I had been wondering when the random number generator would raffle romance, and finally, it came. I was prepared. Of course, the other parameters would alter the story, but I knew I wanted to tell my kind of romance. The remaining conditions were period style, overcoming monsters, and third-person perspective. As always, I struggle with implementing the required writing style, but otherwise I’m pleased. I went with the classical fantasy narrative and focused solely on the moment when the bride-to-be was to be sacrificed. Of course, there was to be revenge, the old kind of revenge, where the wicked die.

Thank you for reading! Have a wicked day ❤