Secrets of a Peerless Paramour

There weren’t always dragons in the valley, or at least it didn’t appear that way. The valley, situated between the land of forbidden fantasies and the Kingdom of Casablanca was not frequently traveled since the pandemic began and it was certainly not a place to travel through at night for fear of creatures from the forbidden land straggling nearby in hopes of finding human remains to feed on—or at least that was the story told by the elders. They never tired of telling stories of the things they had seen, felt and recovered from. Children often gathered around them during social events hoping to find a semblance of understanding. They wondered where the dragons were during day light hours. Rumor was that they were afraid of humans even though it was the humans that left food for them each night as a token of appreciation for their protection.

During daylight hours the kings cabinet would sometimes host gala events for those less fortunate. It was during those times that, unbeknownst to the kingdoms people, the dragons who had become known as protectors of the Kingdom whilst everyone was sleeping became peasants free to mingle with the crowd.

The trumpets sounded signaling the start of a gala. Throughout the land children could be heard shouting and giggling at the site of the magnificent feast and array of cookies and cakes piled up as high as their imaginations could fathom as if in competition with the tall fences standing upright in front of the Kings castle. Families were seen walking hand in hand smiling at the thought of what the festivities would encompass. Guards dressed in armor from head to toe stood stone faced at the foot of the bridge leading towards the valley. Swords with edges as sharp as freshly maintenanced knives rested horizontally in front of shiny yet slightly rusted breast plates. Children waived excitedly but no glimpse of a smile could be seen on the faces of any of the well trained guards.

Augustus ran excitedly over to his playmate. He extended his arms to give Thomas a warm hug. Thomas responded with a grim "hail fellow" seemingly trying to force a smile. Thomas's mother had disappeared several months ago. Despite the constable and his men searching the lands nearby for her along with the other gentry that had disappeared over time, not a trace could be found. Tabius who was standing nearby understood the fake smile-- he missed his own dad who went missing a few weeks before Thomas's mom disappeared. He wedged his way in between the boys playfully wrapping each arm around their necks yelling let's go. Tabius led them through the crowd dodging adults that tirelessly tried to keep their children in sight as they ran up to the front of the line where the kings servants stood, ladels in hand, prepared to dump spoonfuls of food and treats onto each plate extended before them. Plates empty awaiting endless gratification.

Thomas lifted the hand of tabius who had unintentionally covered his right eye while trying to divert the sadness he knew Thomas was feeling. Thomas gazed into the valley daydreaming of the days when his mom accompanied him to these festivities always making sure they were the first in line. A brisk movement beyond the valley within the frail yet overflowing leaves drooping from tree tops caught his eye. He could see a dragons head peering out from behind a rotting branch. His eyes became mesmerized by the teal green skin color similar to that of a tree frog.

Thomas slithered away from his friends partially running in between tip toeing knowing that his friends’ curious excitement and famished appetites would surely allow him time to steal away. Slinking along courageously with a hint of fear he reached the end of the courtyard and began to cross the second bridge leading to the early parts of the forbidden valley. The dragon watched intently as he crept closer and closer. Thomas began to walk slowly so as not to prompt the dragon to flurry away. The dragon, unable to break its gaze stood frozen unsure of what to do. Thomas reached his hand up slowly to pet the dragons head providing reassurance that he meant no harm. He stroked the dragons head feeling what could only be described as slime mixed with dry sand basking in the suns’ heat . The dragon lowered its head suggesting a level of trust and encouraging him to continue.

Suddenly a loud shriek filled the air sending chills throughout the crowd. Some stopped eating and glared into the distance while others, overtaken by the generous array of food choices, ignored the chilling sound.

Thomas took off running. The dragon began to run in the other direction towards the location of the shrilling screams. He heard the words “it’s him, finally.” He could hear the sound of pounding against the dirt filled ground. He knew he was being chased. Thomas began to run faster. Upon reaching the end of the bridge the pounding noise stopped. He knew he was safe.

Returning to the festivities Tabius and Augustus ran over to ask where he had disappeared to. He shrugged his shoulders and said he had just taken a walk. They knew something was wrong but decided not to press him for the truth. Augustus handed him the plate he had collected for him and the boys walked over to sit on a nearby hill underneath the shade of a histoic tree.

As the crowd finished every morsel their stomachs could possibly tolerate they began to mingle. The children began to dance and jump around to the beat of the music being playing by the troubadour’s and Minstrels. Thomas sparked up a conversation with a young lad he remembered from the last gala. The boy seemed confused and asked if they had met before. Thomas distinctly remembered talking to the peasant once before and tried to refresh his memory. The young boy laughed aloud nodding his head exclaiming that he did in fact remember. I never see you in the fields or the schoolhouse Thomas said. He asked the boy where he lived. The boy stared blankly. He began to open his mouth when they were interrupted by Tabius who grabbed the two by hand explaining they needed two more players for their game of cricket.

The sun was beginning to set. The servants began to tidy up throwing leftover food in various bags for anyone that wanted to grab as many as they could fit in their hands to take home. Children were summoned by their parents and groups of families began departing the grounds. Thomas looked around to find the boy whom he had been conversing with but he was nowhere in sight. Tabius ran over to invite Thomas to his cottage to stay the night. They were given permission with the nod of a head and off they went to find Augustus.

The boys settled into Tabius’s chambers. Despite how full they were they could not resist snacking on the cakes and cookies they had managed to snatch. Laughing uncontrollably with mouths full of sugar filled treats – sprinkles similar to the color of the pixie flowers surrounding the bridge leading to the courtyard- bursts of orange, yellow and red – the boys began talking about how much fun they had had. The more they spoke about different conversations the more Thomas decided to tell the truth about his walk. He told the boys about the dragon that peered beyond the walls. Eyes the color of a campfire burning brightly- yellow orange hues dancing with the sway of the wind void the fierceness of a wildfire spreading amongst a forest of trees. He went on to tell his friends that the dragons eyes held tenderness like that of a newborn puppy craving a cuddle, a hug- the love felt by human touch. The boys eyes, now the size of tea saucers decided to sneak out to see if they could find the dragon now that it was dark.

As they approached the end of the bridge leading to the courtyard they could see a shadow moving against the wall. Long hair flowing, it appeared to be a woman. The wall depicted the shadow stretching out a walking stick in alignment with one leg. The other leg dragging as if trying to catch up with the rest of the body. The shadow appeared hunchback with long frail arms. The way the walking stick hit the ground forcefully it was clear that despite the suspected frail arms whatever this shadow was held a great deal of strength.

Upon reaching the end of the bridge, Tabius and Augustus decided that they had gotten close enough. Fear filled their minds and they were not quite as brave as Thomas who was determined to get closer. He'd had enough of the secrets about the forbidden areas and the unfamiliar faces that appeared in the courtyard during gala events. He had had enough of the stories that, as far as he was concerned, were composed of lies about the dragons. His encounter with the dragon had proven that they were not in fear of humans. Something was not right. Too many things did not make sense.

He instructed his friends to hide on the side of the bridge that was overflowing with glowing stems extending from an array of orange, purple and white flowers. By the time he got his friends settled safely amongst the flowers the shadow had reached the end of the courtyard walls. Thomas tip toed quietly past the entry way of the courtyard. He could now only see the dark form walking slowly towards the second bridge. Thomas was breathing heavier and heavier. It was dark and the light of the moon cast highlights of hovering clouds passing by.

Thomas had almost reached the end of the courtyard. As he stretched out his leg to take another step his foot landed on a branch sending the noise of a breaking twig through the calm stillness of the silent air. Even in the darkness he could see the once shadow formed figure quickly turn its head. Thomas turned and began to run. He ran fast. Heart pounding, chance of survival unknown he periodically turned his head to glance over his shoulder frightened by the distance that separated him from this now very lifelike shadow. The large figure continued to chase him dragging one leg behind the other, fingernails grabbing the trunks of trees to push off of for speed. Thomas felt the knife like nails of the beast touch the hairs already standing at attention on his neck. As he reached the bridge connecting the valley to the kingdom he felt a surge of relief. Glancing over his shoulder he realized the lifelike shadow had begun to retreat back towards the courtyard.

Thomas fell to the ground trying to catch his breath. Augustus and Tabius crawled cowardly towards him from behind the kingdoms mystical garden. Pixie fairies and wish sticks began to chatter about the danger the two boys hiding within their habitat had created. They had to know this was a place of solitude and serenity for the king and his people. They must have been warned that their presence in this sacred garden was forbidden. And surely they knew they were forbidden to enter - let alone interact with anyone or thing from the forbidden valley.