Dinner With A Dragon
First draft of my short story Dinner with a Dragon
It was a warm summer morning in Seattle. The type of day that was perfect for hiking and having a picnic. Young Midsomer had just gotten off work and was preparing for a well deserved three day weekend. Since it was such a lovely day, Midsomer decided to take a medium distanced hike through Dash Point State Park. The forest was supposedly gorgeous this time of year, and it was right next to Puget Sound.
After having made preparations for her hike and possible overnight camping trip, Midsomer grabbed her camera and binoculars; and set out on the ten mile hike to the sound.
The forest was peaceful, almost serene. Birds sang from the drooping firs; and squirrels scurried around playfully across age old conifers. Bees flitted lazily across the path from flower to flower, while ants tended to their stock across vines of honeysuckle. The morning condensation on the leaves of shrubs caught the early light and warped it into a phantasmal array of colour. Moments like this were what Midsomer lived for. Little did she know her life was about to change forever.
As the day inched onwards past noon, the air grew warmer and thicker. This caused a state of dreaminess to fall upon Midsomer. Thankfully she only had one more mile to hike until she reached the sound.
Close to an hour later she reached the end of the trail and the beginning of the beach. Now she could relax and begin setting up her camp for the night. It took her two hours to fully set up her camp and gather enough firewood to last the rest of the day and through the night.
Hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the sounds' resident orca, she raised her binoculars to scan the unusually calm surface of the sound. The late afternoon sunlight glimmered off of something in the water. She focused her binoculars in for a closer look and could not believe what she saw. Midsomer lowered her binoculars so as to make sure they were functioning properly; before raising them to her eyes again.
The glimmering object that she had seen was still there and was moving closer. Upon further inspection she realized it was not an object at all but some sort of silver scaled lizard with wings; which appeared to have a large marlin in its jaws.
Midsomer was too shocked to run when realized what the creature was. The words dragon and monster came to mind. Great fire-breathing lizards that destroyed towns, hoarded gold, and ate people. Yet for some reason this dragon gave off an aura that made her feel happy and peaceful.
As the glimmering creature came ashore, she looked into it's hazel shaded eyes and realized it meant her no harm. After a few moments of staring into each others eyes, the silver-scaled dragon gently set down the large fish it had been carrying in its jaws. Much to her surprise it spoke in a cracked masculine voice, which showed signs of disuse. "Greetings fair one would you join me for dinner? It has been years since I last spoke to another human." She thought for a moment about what would happen if she refused. The dragon might take offense and eat her instead of the fish it had caught. After a few more moments of thought she agreed; besides what would it hurt to have dinner with a creature of myth. At the very least she would have a story to tell.
The dragon gave a sharp fanged smile and snapped its talons. In an instant it morphed from a great quadrupedal beast to that of an eight foot tall anthropomorphic dragon. He snapped his talons again and a fully set table for two appeared on the beach. He picked up the fish he had set down earlier and breathed a long blue jet of flame across it. After he had thoroughly cooked the fish; the silver drake set it down on a large platter set on the dinner table.
The silver drake then motioned for Midsomer to come sit at the table as he pulled out a chair for her. After having helped his dinner guest become situated, he whispered some words in an ancient language unknown to man. All of a sudden, two wine glasses of fine crystal, and a bottle of rich chardonnay appeared. Not to be out done three wheels of cheese appeared on their respective platters. The drake seeming to know which three flavors his guest liked the most: Brie, Sharp Cheddar, and Mozzarella.
After serving Midsomer her portion of the marlin, and a slice of each of the three cheeses; the silver drake sat down and began to enjoy his portion of the impromptu dinner. They ate in silence for the most part; partly due to the drake being shy around females, and Midsomer being too afraid of possibly saying something to upset her "distinguished" host.
The sun was setting on the horizon by the time they finished dinner; painting the sky with a dazzling array of color. The drake's scales were like unto thousands of prismatic mirrors that picked up the Sun's dying rays; bathing him in a shimmering rainbow. This was one of the most beautiful things Midsomer had ever seen.
The silver drake curled his tail on the beach and asked her if she would like to sit on it; so that her clothes would not become dampened by the moist sand. Midsomer obliged and together they gazed off into the sunset. She was surprised when the drake began to sing in what could only be the tongue of his kind. She was not able to understand any of it, yet the music was soft, soothing, and downright bewitching to her ears.
Midsomer awoke the next morning wondering if the previous night's events had been but a dream. She believed it had been until she saw the claw marks in the sand. Of her strange visitor there was no sign. However he had apparently left her a small treasure chest. When she opened the chest, she gasped when she found a necklace of the most perfect pearls you could possibly imagine and a note with an invitation for her to come to dinner again next week.