The Dragon

Your ears ring for a moment, before a feminine voice pierces your mind. You drop your torch as you clasp your hands over your ears, overwhelmed by the volume of the voice.

You dare to enter my home, human? You dare to attempt to slay me, after I've so graciously left these lands untouched?

"I-"

The dragon begins to stir, rising to its full height, an imposing sight to behold. In the dim light of the dropped torch, you can see that its scales are pitch black - so black that one might mistake it for the darkness of the cave, a stark contrast to the golden gleam of its eyes.

Silence! You will perish here, fool. And all that conspired with you to attempt to slay me shall also perish!

"Wai-wait! I'm not here to slay you!"

The dragon's movements seem to pause, and its massive head lowers, its eyes staring directly into yours. Once again, if you weren't so scared, you may very well lose yourself in the beauty.

Then what are you here for, human?

You gulp, taking a step back from the intimidating creature. "I...I'm here to...to ask for help," you manage to **** out. "Y...your help."

Somehow, in the near-inscrutable reptilian face of the dragon, you see what almost seems to be...relief? You're not sure how you can tell - the slight change of the angle of the brow, the loss of tension in the upper lip...

Why would I ever offer a human my help?

It steps back, its body dropping to the ground with a thud so massive you can feel it in your teeth. After taking a beat to **** yourself to calm down, you begin the speech you've rehearsed several times. You want it to sound cool, but all the halting and stammering definitely diminishes any coolness.

"O, great and m-mighty dragon, I, uh...I come before you, to...to, uh..." You clear your throat, your cheeks blushing a brilliant red. "I come before you, to...today, to ask...uh, beseech, uh..."

The dragon slams one of its paws into the ground, sending you down to your butt with a sharp pain. Just spit it out already!

"I-it's my mother," you **** out. "She...she's dying, and...nobody knows what it is. Not even the Elves can treat her. She's just...wasting away."

The dragon stares at you for a moment, as if expecting something more. And why should I help you? Why should I expose myself to people, just to help one hapless boy's mother?

"I would be in your debt," you inform the mighty beast. "I would do anything for you if you did this for me. If you save her, I'll...I'll do anything you ask of me." You clasp your hands together, almost as if in prayer. "Please, I'm begging you - I'll do anything you say, just name it and I'll do it, I just can't let her die - not like this."

The dragon stares down at you. Unlike the relief you could see earlier, there's no sign of any kind of emotion on its face - and if there is, you certainly don't recognize it.

As time passes, your hope begins to fade. The silence is not reassuring, in the least. You're about to mumble an apology and run away, when the dragon speaks.

There is one thing you could do for me.

"Wha-really?? What is it!?" You jump at the opportunity, a stupid grin spreading across your face.

You are to do this for me, regardless of whether or not I am successful.

"Of course, I'm only asking you to try," you immediately reply.

The dragon huffs some smoke through its nose, and begins to answer.

Even though I have not disturbed these lands, I live every day waiting for the humans to decide I need to be killed. I have a handful of options - I could flee, defend myself which with the new weaponry I've seen being developed would likely result in my ****. My last option is to... The dragon groans, shaking the entirety of the cave with its exasperation. Join them. Join human society, to ensure that they understand that I am not a threat to them, and assimilate before I am removed as an obstacle.

You're stunned. Aren't dragons supposed to be incredibly proud? Wouldn't joining human society be something akin to defeat?

In order to do this, I would need a human's assistance. To assist in showing humans that, despite the legacy of dragons before me, I am not a proud fool.

"And by a human's assistance, you mean me, correct?"

Yes. Do you accept these terms, human? Your assistance in my assimilation, in return for my attempt to save your mother?