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She shifts only slightly when the girl and the boy enter her domain. They creep through the cave, and then the boy pats the girl's back and sends her into the chamber, saying that if anything happens he would be right there to protect her. She gives a weary chuckle, lifting her aged head from the cold stone floor on which it rests, rising dramatically to tower above the girl as she enters, long head brushing the roof of the cave she calls home.
The girl stumbles in, barefoot and wearing the traditional armor, her armor, the sacred blade Yato hanging limply at her side. She can see a little bit of herself in the girl, a bit of her husband too, but generations have passed and it’s almost invisible now.
“Hello, little one.” She rumbles, shifting herself into a more comfortable position. She is a dragon, but she is not immortal, and her bones creak with age and she wonders if this will be the last of her line to hear the story first hand.
“ Omnamici, a pray to you and humbly pray to you for divine guidance, I am-” The girl started, and she sighed, the breath billowing out across the cave.
“Listen, young one. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn’t matter who I am. You wish to learn, then ask. I am old, and I am tired of such formalities.” She said, leaning down to eye level with the girl. The poor human was shaking in her boots, her amber red eyes wide with fright. “You wish to hear the story, like those who have come before you, and the other families which yours no longer remember. So ask, and I will answer. I have but one favor to ask of you, little one.” She said, and the girl quaked in the armor, nodding her head rapidly.
“Write down what I say. Write down the story of your ancestors. Write the story word for word as I speak it, and make sure that it stays that way. You will be the last of whom I will share this story.” The dragon grumbled, shifting into a sitting position.
“The last?” The girl questioned, already pulling out a quill and parchment, looking up at the dragon curiously. She rumbled, tilting her head to the side and giving a weary chuckle.
“I may be a dragon, little one, but I am not immortal. My time has long since passed, but I clung to life stubbornly. I am ready to rest, but I wish to make sure the world remembers it’s darkest times. History is doomed to repeat itself, yes?” She said, settling in for a long story. The girl sat as well, looking to the dragon to start. And so she did.
She told the story of a kidnapped princess, of one who belonged to both families, and yet to neither. The dragon princess, the peacemaker, the queen of Valla. She told the story, the story of birthright, of the blood and the pain and royal families torn apart by her choice, and of conquest, of the innocents slaughtered and the girls heart lost among the blood. She told of the revelation, of the final path, of which no side was chosen. She spoke of the feel of betrayal, of the princess's journey to reclaim her world from war, and how she discovered the secrets she had been chasing, of how she had defeated an ancient god and brought peace back, both to the world and to Anakos.
“Are you going to go crazy too?” The girl asked, looking up at the old dragon. She gave a weary sigh, leaning down to look at the girl.
“No, because I will not allow myself to live long enough for that to happen. It is difficult for someone to keep living once they have lost the will to do so.” She responded, folding her wings neatly into her side.
“Now, young one, spread the words I’ve spoken, and remember what I’ve said. Leave me in peace to die.” She spoke with a finality, raising her head to the top of the cave. The girl gathered her things, bowing and scurrying out. She stopped at the doorway, turning and dashing back across the floor, standing at the dragon's feet.
“I believe this is yours, Corrin.” The girl said, taking out the Yato and laying it at the dragon's feet. The dragon laughed, a real laugh, pulling at the strings of her humanity one last time.
“Thank you, young one. You are the first to know me in a long time.” The dragon said, taking the form of an old woman, back still strong despite her age and face fierce as the wind. The young girl offered up the sword, and the dragon princess took it, smiling as her hand curled around the familiar grip, the blade humming in her hand.
“In it together till the end, old friend. I’m glad that you are here to see me out.” She whispered to the blade, watching as the girl pulled off the armor as well, handing it to the woman. She took it gratefully, sliding on the old, worn pieces with ease, surprised that it still fit after all this time.
“Thank you, young one. Now, go back to your family, and tell them I say goodbye.” She said, and the girl nodded, moving out of the chamber quickly, her long loose tunic trailing behind her slightly.
The dragon woman sighed, moving to the back of the chamber. There was a dragon vein there, hidden though it was. It was unusual, but yet it felt like it had been purposefully put there, like it had been left specifically for her to find. It’s purpose was unknown, but she somehow knew it would cause her end. And she had lived far to long already.
Stepping onto the pulsating power, she felt it vibrate at her feet, ancient magic responding to ancient blood, and she turned, facing the front of the chamber, the tip of the Yato resting gently on the ground, hands gripping it as she held it out in front of her.
The woman smiled, and the power activated, rushing up and carving stone and rock, changing flesh to marble and gold as it went, irises to rubies and hair to silver. It carved the rock behind her, an elegant statue of a glorious dragon in her prime, blue lapis and silver and white marble an almost perfect remake of the real thing, only unable to replicate the life in which she had held.
When the girl and her brother returned with their news, people flocked to the cave, families strew across the nation made pilgrimages to see the dragon woman, to see if it was true. They found the statues, and they knelt and prayed, hoping the dragon had safe passage into the afterlife, each family remembering its own members who had fought at her side.
She watched from above, a small smile dancing on her face as she stared at those left behind, happy to finally be at peace, and be back with her own family. She turned away from the world, strolling quietly through the trees, shifting from a wise old dragon who lived past it’s years to a young princess with bare feet and a legendary sword at her side, smiling without a care in the world.