Chapter 3 - The Dragon in the Woods

It was like a dream come true for Lillyan. She adjusted the straps on her pack as she headed down the path towards the Enigma forest. Her father had taken her on his horse to the town of Brendale, on the out skirts of the Enigma forest. The rest of the trip would be on the main path for a few more miles, then through the forest itself.

As Lillyan parted from her father, Sir Frederick handed her a compass and a stave. He then gave her some instructions. "Listen, Lilly. I want you to be careful out there. Remember to stay to the shadows and be as silent as an owl in flight. This compass is to help you find your way there and back." Looking her directly in the eyes, Sir Frederick continued, "Trust in the Light, Lilly, and never forget that I love you." With those last words, he hugged her fiercely then released her. Lillyan simply mouthed, "I love you, too," and left.

After about an hour of traveling away from Brendale, Lillyan left the path. Entering the forest sent an exuberant shock through her as she realized for the first time in her life she was utterly free to do what she wanted. Even the fear of what lay before her could do nothing to stifle the feelings of excitement.

"Wow, I am on a quest!" Lillyan marveled to herself. The waking sun was streaming through the green leaves overhead, creating pools of light. "I can’t believe it! I’m actually on a quest!" She dropped her pack and stave next to a large oak tree and began to dance in and out of the light in a whirling motion. Everything was alive to her at that moment. Leaves rustled as a gust of wind swirled through the trees was like a choir and the chirping birds, a cheering crowd.

Lillyan closed her eyes and imagined she was in the Great Hall of the castle after she had been knighted. In Lillyan’s day dream, everyone would be cheering for her then, even Sir Morris would be impressed.

"I will be the first lady knight in the history of Talleraunt!" Lillyan began to sing to herself. "Then I’ll be respected, which is something I want! And of the knights, I will be best! For, by the Divine, I’m surely blessed!" Her song continued, praising her own skill and abilities. Her dance started to become even more complex, picking up her stave as she went. Then, Lillyan was fighting imaginary foes with her stave and wording her future epic ballads together.

Suddenly, Lillyan’s stave struck something with a thwack. "Ouch!" a voice cried. Lillyan spun around, eyes open wide and heart pounding. Right in front of her stood a dragon. It was a foot or so taller than Lillyan with green and silver scales covering its body. The dragon lifted its head even higher so that his chin was even with the top of Lillyan’s head. A dragon! A real dragon! Lillyan thought frantically. She knew she would be blasted by flames at any moment and yet, her feet would not move.

"Watch where you’re going next time!" the dragon grumbled. Lillyan brought her stave to a defensive position, leveling it at the dragon in case it decided to attack. "You nearly poked out my eye with that stick!" it added with some contempt.

"Stand back, fell beast!" Lillyan roared. "You will not take any more lives!"

"Um... what are you talking about?" the dragon inquired. He looked completely befuddled, but Lillyan assumed it was some sort of trick.

"I have no time for your lies, dragon! I know what you have done! You have been destroying villages and killing everybody in sight! My only question is why?" Lillyan snapped. Her voice quivered as she spoke, but her eyes burned with a fire that had the dragon a bit uneasy.

"Wait, what?" the dragon asked. "What are you even talking about? I only know that I was minding my own business. The next thing I know, I’m getting smacked in the face with a staff by a girl!"

Lillyan’s face turned red with rage and all feeling of fear swept away. "Excuse me?" she said in a suppressed tone. "I will have you know that I am a knight of Talleraunt. And... Don’t you laugh at me! I’m being serious!" She added the last part when she noticed that the dragon was making a strange smiling expression and a noise that sounded like air being compressed.

"Sorry," it apologized as it tried to hide its mirth. "I’ve just never met a..." he paused, searching for the right words. "I have never met a knight of your... stature. Anyways, where are my manners? My name is Rygel. And, yours, m’lady?"

"What kind of creature are you?" Lillyan asked suspiciously. She examined the dragon and notice that something about it seemed strange. This was not what she expected after all the stories. Lillyan wondered. Rygel looked like the dragons she had heard about; although, he was smaller than some of the stories recounted. Yet, that was not what she noticed. The creature’s mannerism had caught her off guard. He was civilized. Everyone said that dragons were monsters, but this one was actually using manners!

"I am what you said I am," Rygel said, not quite understanding the question. "I’m a dragon and my name is Rygel. I suppose you have a name other than knight."

"My name is Lillyan."

"Lillyan, eh? Not Sir Lillyan?" Rygel joked.

"No." Lillyan retorted. "Anyways, you are sidetracking me from the main point! Why did you kill all those villages and their animals?" She asked, even though Lillyan doubted that this dragon was at all tied in with this business.

Rygel sighed, "I told you I do not even know..." He froze. Something had occurred to him. He did know what she was talking about. Like a flashback, Rygel remember flying over large, burnt scars in the forest where everything had been reduced to ashes. Then, it hit him that had seen something else in the distance. Something he had paid no attention to as he flew but was now of the utmost importance. It was a creature Rygel had barely even caught a glimpse of. The only thing he could remember was that it was big, dark, and fast.

"What is it?" Lillyan’s voice sounded unnerved. Rygel snapped back to the present, then in a hushed tone he whispered furiously, "You must go back! I fear this creature that you hunt is too great for you!"

"You know what it is?!" she asked excitedly.

"No, but I can guess from what I glimpsed. And I know there is no way a girl, much less a man, could take this thing on!"

Lillyan glared at him. "Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself!"

"That’s not quite what I..."

"Oh, yes it is! I see it all clearly now! You are trying to stop me from becoming a knight, so you scare me! Well it’s not going to work! I’ll show you!" With that, Lillyan stormed off into the woods, leaving a very confused dragon behind her.

"Becoming a knight?" Rygel pondered. "Didn’t she say that she was already one? Why would she lie about that?" In the back of his mind, he understood. Everyone had secrets they try to hide from others.

By now, the girl was out of sight and Rygel began to question himself as to whether he should stop her or flee. If the creature Lillyan was hunting was what he thought it might be, could he, in good conscience, let a girl walk to her own death? Would he?

Next Chapter: Chapter 4 - The Humdrums of the Highway