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Facing
a Dragon
"What is your name, child?"
Nearra didn't answer right away. Not because she was
afraid -- though she was, quite a bit -- but because she'd realized for
the first time since awakening on the forest trail that she didn't know
her own name. A new wave of terror washed over her.
"Well? Speak up! It's the least you can do to repay me
after I saved you from those goblins."
Nearra found her voice then. "Saved me for what?
Mealtime?"
The dragon let forth a laugh. "You're a bold one, girl. I
like that. But you still haven't told me your name. Who are you, girl?"
The dragon, eyes glittering, extended her head toward Nearra. "WHO...
ARE... YOU?"
There was something in the way the dragon repeated the
question, as if the words held a special significance she wasn't aware
of. As she tried to recall her name, she felt a sudden sensation of
dizziness and a building pressure inside her head.
"Nearra," she said. "My name is Nearra." The pressure in
her head disappeared as quickly as it had come.
The dragon frowned at Nearra's response, but all she said
was, "I am called Slean. What causes you to be in these woods alone,
with nothing more than a dead branch for protection?"
Nearra glanced at the piece of wood gripped tightly in
her hand. She'd forgotten that she was holding it. The branch seemed an
even more foolish defense against a dragon than it had against a trio of
goblins.
"I do not know," she answered, trying to keep the fear
out of her voice.
Slean arched a scaly eyebrow. "You'll forgive me if I say
that seems unlikely."
"It's true. I awoke on the forest path while those three
goblins debated what to do with me. I have no memories from before that
moment."
Slean considered this for a moment. "And yet, when
pressed, you remembered your name. If you have no memories, how do you
know that Nearra truly is your name? Perhaps it belongs to someone else
entirely."
Nearra shook her head. "I . . . I don't know how, but I
know it's mine."
Slean smiled. The sight of her lizardish lips drawing
back from her sharp teeth created a truly unsettling effect. "Well then,
Nearra, if you don't know how you got here and don't remember anything
about yourself, then you have no idea what to do next or where to go, do
you?"
With a hollow, sinking feeling, Nearra realized Slean was
right. Tears welled in her eyes, but she fought them back. She wasn't
going to let the dragon see her cry.
"It would be cruel of me to leave you here, all alone,
vulnerable to the many dangers the wood holds," Slean said. "So I'll
take you with me."
Nearra felt a flicker of hope. Slean was going to help
her!
"In
my belly." The dragon opened her mouth wide and lunged forward. Nearra
screamed and threw her hands over her head.
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