The Day the Dragons Arrived

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. It used to be so peaceful. The day the dragons arrived, the Valley never felt the same. Jamie could still remember the day it happened. It was a normal morning, like any other. She woke up early that day, like she did every day to get her chores done. She walked out of the small two-bedroom cabin that she lived with her parents, older brother and younger sisters. The family of six made it work the best they could. Jamie was the first one up that morning, even before her parents. She liked to take her time with her morning chores, it gave her time to daydream, wondering what life would be like if she lived in a different time.

Closing the door gingerly behind her as to not wake the rest of her family, she breathed in the sweet smell of the morning breeze. The horizon glowed a mix of pink, orange and purple in the distance. The air was a little chilly, it nipped at her skin ever so slightly. She walked carefully over the creaky wooden patio and down the three stairs. She jumped over the bottom step because she knew that it would make a loud creak if she stepped onto it. Her waist length light brown hair braided down her back and blew ever so slightly in the breeze. Jamie’s boots made a light crunch on the rock path as she walked down the driveway before turning to the barn and made her way across the grass.

She spread food around the ground for the chickens before she entered the barn. That was the first time she noticed something was off about this day. The horse that she had raised from a foal, seemed agitated as he didn’t greet her with the usual happy snort. Jamie walked up to his pin, her voice was fully of worry, “Spartan? Everything okay boy?” She asked as the horse kicked his hoofs at the hay bed. Jamie backed up a little and shook it off, thinking a snake got into his pin last night. She grabbed a cup fully of oats and carefully moved back to the stall. She reached her arm over the door and dumped it into Spartan’s bucket. She didn’t see anything off or anything moving. What has gotten into him? She thought as she made a note to tell her father to check on him later when he woke up.

Jamie fed the rest of the horses, who were all just as on edge as Spartan was. She made her way across the field next to the barn, seeing a hill in front of her, she started to climb. She would normally take Spartan to check on the cows and the rest of the property, but she didn’t want to risk it with the way he was acting that morning. After she made it to the top of the hill, a foul scent hit her nose. It was mere seconds before she saw what happened. The field was no longer the beautiful green with pink and purple flowers. There was no grass at all. In fact, what fell before Jamie’s eyes was nothing. The ground was ash, the cows that once stood in that field were not there.

Jamie let out a scream and ran back to the cabin, busting through the door. She ran into her parent’s room, to her father, who was a burly man, nearly taking up half of the queen-sized bed that he shared with his wife. Jamie shook him sharply, “Father, something happened. All our cattle are gone.”

* * *

It has been two years since that fateful day when the dragons arrived. The men in the town over the age of fifteen, including Jamie’s father and her sixteen-year-old brother, went to fight them. A fair few made it back alive. Since that day, Jamie had not seen nor heard from her father and brother. It was now just her mother and her two younger sisters. It was very uncommon for an entire family to be just females. Who would take care of them? Who would provide support?

Ever since the war started between the dragons and the humans, dragons destroyed the land around them; only one acre of the twenty-acre lot was untouched by the dragon fire. The land past the acre was empty and nothing but ash. Now the land consists of just their cabin and the barn with the horses and everything in between. Jamie woke up the same she had for the past two years, unsure of what the day was going to bring. She got up, her mother was already out on the property. She woke up her younger sisters and started on breakfast for them.

After breakfast, Jamie made her way out to the barn as the twins ate. She smiled brightly, seeing a tall and lengthy figure brushing down a horse. “Hello mother.” She walked into the barn and opened the door to Spartan’s stall and running her hand through his silky black mane gingerly. Jamie lightly ran her hand over the horses’ back, her mind racing. The stall was different this year, there was a bow and arrow in the corner that use to belong to her father, but it was now hers. She taught herself how to use it and had been practicing every day in every situation. Jamie hoped that she would never come face to face with a dragon, but she wanted to be prepared in case it happened.

“Hello daring girl. Are you going to take him out today? He’s been restless all morning.” Her mother responded, she was a tall figure, towering over Jamie, her brown hair hanging loose down her back, blowing in the afternoon breeze.

“I think I will. I miss riding Spartan. Ever since the dragons, he hasn’t been wanting to go out.” She frowned before turning fully to her mother. “He does seem a little better today than he has been in the past two years. Calm even.” A smile grew on Jamie’s lips and her eyes sparkled, “I think I will take him riding.” She made her way out of the stall to the saddles, grabbing one. Jamie cautiously walked into back into the stall, stopping just inside the open door, judging how Spartan was going to react to seeing the saddle. To Jamie’s surprise, Spartan neighed happily, his jaw slightly hanging and his tail swinging gently.

Jamie smile brightly as she made her way to his side and placed the saddle on his back. She buckled it into place and scratched his neck, ruffling his mane as she attached the reigns to Spartan before grabbing her bow and quiver, slinging it over her shoulder, letting it lay across her back. After she was ready, Jamie took the reins, leading the horse out of the barn. Jamie smiled brightly as she climbed onto his back, leaning forward, rubbing his neck before sitting back up and gingerly pressed her heels into his side, clicking her tongue. He started to trot down the small path, leading away from the barn and the house. Jamie had forgotten the feeling she had when she rode Spartan. She always felt free and relaxed when on the back of her horse.

“Do be careful!” Jamie heard her mother shout in the distance.

It was not long before Jamie had made her way to the edge of their property, the soft green grass turned into ash which stretched out as far as she could see. Spartan had stopped, hesitant to go any further. There was uncertainty in the air. Jamie cautiously pressed her heels into her to edge him forward slowly. She clenched her bow in hand, keeping her eyes peeled on the dead land as they slowly moved forward. The crunching of dead land under Spartan’s hooves were deafening the quietness.

After taking two steps, Jamie heard a roar echoed in the distance. Jamie pulled on the reins, “Woah boy.” She said softly to stop Spartan from moving. Her ears kept listening for where it came from. She heard another roar, this time, closer. She kept her eyes focused forward and saw, towering over her, casting a ninety-foot shadow over the ash, a dragon. It’s scales brown in color, with a red tint to them in the sunlight. The dragon didn’t move an inch, it’s eyes on the young girl. Jamie swallowed hard, feeling her voice caught in her throat. She grabbed an arrow, nocking it against her bow, dragging the string back. She aimed at the dragon, her hand was quivering as she tried to steady her breathing, releasing the arrow, letting it fly across the dead land.

Watching the arrow soar, Jamie’s eyes met the dragon’s and it looked…sad? A dragon can’t look sad, can it? Weren’t they supposed to be mean and vicious creatures? Jamie questioned everything she had learned in the last two years. Why is it looking at me like that? Jamie thought just as the dragon spread it’s fifty-foot wings, taking to the air. She kept her eyes focused on the dragon, unable to move in the moments. She didn’t even realize that she was holding her breath. The dragon rose up quickly, higher than the tallest mountain Jamie had ever seen. The arrow flew across the empty field, barely missing the dragon’s tail, connecting with a tree. Jamie kept watch as the dragon rose higher and higher, disappearing behind low hanging clouds.

Why didn’t it attack us? Jamie thought to herself as she pulled on Spartan’s reins, turning him around, galloping back to the barn. Her thoughts heavy with what just happened.