Spike is rolling on the floor in a daze of pure adoring joy. Daisy is also in a daze, a very different daze, a daze of pure terrified confusion. She sits there feeling the dress fold in on itself as the room is shaken and filled with the sound of a massive creature rolling around happily all while Daisy is utterly defeated, unable to run, in a room with a dragon shaking and rolling around. A creature that could crush her if it rolls in the wrong direction or even if it breathes in the wrong direction.
This beast of: ultimate power, supreme terror, and unending greed is thinking to itself.
-Spike-
I wish camera's existed or maybe I can hire a painter. This is so cute I can't even think.
-Daisy-
Unholy laughter is exiting the beast's throat. The ground shakes in turn as the beast is that powerful.
But I have lived here a sufficient length of time to realize that I am not his dinner. I am his pet plain and simple. But that is not so bad. I only have to sit and look cute and all of my needs will be met.
The castle is not so bad either, the toiletry still works; the waste simply falls into a river. The castle is warmer than the homes of the village and it smells better. The smell of old stone is better than the smell of fertilized dirt.
The dragon, who I don't know the name of, cooks for me with his fire breath. He's also a great cook. How is that possible though? He knows how to use various plants from the forest to create better tasting foods.
It's inconceivable I cannot even cook that well.
He says "all you need is salt and pepper and once I found that we are both good." whatever that means.
But there is one problem: boredom. There is simply nothing to do. I would normally spend my time reading but all of the books are useless for getting into college, so old that simply reading them can destroy precious history, and old enough that the language is hard to parse without a guide.
Other than carefully reading useless old impossible to parse books there is simply nothing to do. And talking to that dragon is simply too terrifying; I don't know how he will react to any word. He could kill me by stepping on me. But is that worse than my boredom? That is the question.
Maybe I would be happier with her old books from the town. But how can I get them? I cannot leave this place that might anger the dragon so the only way to get out of this scenario is to ask the dragon to grab her books. But is that possible, what would the dragon say? Would it attack me for my insolence? Dragons are prideful beings and hate being ordered to do anything. So she must ask and not order and be ready to apologize at a moment's notice.
"Umm… sir… sir dragon" I say, my voice wavering and high-pitched. Normally my voice stays low and I use that to sound annoyed so I won't need to talk to anyone. But here my life is on the line. What should I do? What is he thinking.
-Spike-
Oh my god her voice is so cute i've never heard a voice that cute. She speaks! I didn't know she could do that over the last few days. I've never heard her voice. She just sits and never speaks, that is what is normal. What do I do with this information? Should I force her to say words from now on or should I let her speak on her own, leaving it as a welcome surprise. Her voice is so cute though, what do I do?
-Daisy-
"Please, call me Spike," he says coldly.
"sorry, spike" I say "c-can I impose on you? Can you do something for me?"
"Shoot,"
Shoot? What does that mean? Is it some kind of dragon slang?
Seeing my confusion he continues "it means go ahead and speak." his voice booms
Nervously I say "back in t-the town."
He stares at me with a sharp scaly smile while I hesitate.
"There are some books that belonged to me." I say "I would like them back."
"They were taken from you?" he says.
"yes."
"If they belong to you why didn't you fight to take them with you?" losing something that belongs to you and not fighting back must be madness to a dragon.
"I was taken from the village before I could grab the books"
"Taken?" he says with a low gravelly voice.
My heart sinks, have I chosen the wrong word. I open my mouth but I cannot speak. I'm too afraid. What will it do now that I have offended it? he's going to kill me I'm sure of it. What should I do?
-Spike-
I'm so stupid. She is a human, something I used to be. She wouldn't willingly become the pet of a ferocious dragon. Why did I think that? Is it even moral to keep her as a pet? I look at her in her frilly dress. It doesn't matter, she is too cute for me to think about the morals of it.
I should grab her books, they belong to her. And now that she belongs to me it goes to reason that the books are mine so I'll grab them for my hoard.
She looks at me terrified. Why is she afraid? Whatever.
"I'll get your books."
"Really?" The fear is gone from her face and replaced with hope.
"But the books belong to me. Understand?" I say "I'm letting you read them"
I turn around to face the village and begin to flap my wings before realizing something. I turn around again.
I point down and say, "stay."
-Daisy-
After Spike points down he turns around again and flaps his wings to fly away. I am offended by the gesture but what can I do? There is no escape. The village rejected me. I cannot return there and I'm far away from any other civilization. So I'm just a pet now, nothing complicated for me to comprehend I had a dog once he's treating me like I treated my dog.
He's so human but so dragon-like. He speaks casually like a human. I have read on how dragons speak and they are not so casual. He speaks like I am a long time friend he has spent his life with. But at the same time he looks down on her not like a noble looking down on a peasant but like a person viewing a pet. Though the treatment seems nonsexual; she's like an actual pet.
I just sit there hoping for his return with everything I hold dear. These books were all I had of my parents. So I want to keep them. They were expensive but the reason they bought me them was to send me to college. Is that still feasible? I don't know if the dragon would like his pet being out of his sight for too long. When I lost my dog while walking it I was so afraid. He seems to care about me like that. Not as a separate human being but as a pet, something without dreams beyond him. What does this mean for me?
I get a pit in my stomach, is that dream over? Am I stuck here forever?
-Spike-
It's a bit of a flight to the village. strange how natural it feels to have a third set of limbs and to use them to fly. I used to be human but I am aware of my wings and can feel them in space. Now that I think about it I have never wondered why I'm here. But I am here. Who or what decided I would live here made me live the way I died, from fire.
Was I chosen or am I here by accident? It feels so right but I know I am doing wrong. I know morality. I was taught it by my parents but I don't feel a need to follow it. I demand things from people, I ignore clear signs of distress, and I enjoy the killing of animals. Eating animals is not abnormal but enjoying their death is something new to me.
Thoughts enter and exit my mind as I arrive at the village.
"Villagers! Come and meet your lord!" I roar
Through the night candles are lit and I can see through the flickering the shaking of hands. What is natural for me, being nocturnal, is abnormal to them. So they arrive slowly and with great fear.
A small number of villagers appear. They appear slowly one by one, running, and bow down to me. The mayor also arrives and bows with the rest. All while the other villagers board their houses while others still are already boarded.
"Mayor Illdi of the village of Halfsoil is here." says the mayor
"Yes," I say, so his name is Illdi. Good to know. "I've come to collect offerings once again."
"What else do you want from us!" says an ambiguously gendered silver haired villager.
"Blake no," says mayor Illdi.
"Daisy said she had books; I want them." I say.
"Who is Daisy?" the pair ask at once.
"She's the human you gave me." I say.
"What do you mean Etheda?" Illdi says. "Does she go by Daisy now? What does that word mean?"
"I named her that a-and don't change the topic. Where are my books?" I say.
"We can deliver the books." Illdi says.
"Have them delivered to my castle by the end of the night."
"I'm very sorry sir Spike, but it will take a while to deliver the books."
"Well when can they be delivered?"
"Midday tomorrow," says the mayor
"I'll be asleep."
"We can have it delivered tomorrow evening"
"Do that" I respond "you will deliver it by tomorrow evening."
"Yes sir Spike"
satisfied I flew up into the air and back to the castle.
-voice-
Daisy strangely found herself happy when Spike returned. As scary it was to be doted on by the beast it was lonely to be without him. So she ran to the door to greet him. He looked happy as she was acting very dog-like.
She spoke more casually than she had before to the dragon when she said "do I get to have my books back?"
"Yes, yes you do, they will be back by tomorrow evening." Spike says.
She looked very happy as Spike made dinner. He prepared a razel by butchering it so he could remove the ribeye and filet mignon. He then lit a fire with his breath under a steel plate as a sort of primitive stove setup. He mixed the steak with some garlic like plant and some forest leaves he thought gave some good flavor all while Daisy waited patiently.
He gave Daisy the razel ribeye and filet mignon and ate the rest of it whole.
Daisy has adapted to Spike's nocturnal schedule but still rises before him. Not too long before though she doesn't have much to do before her books come so she mostly just sits and stares at Spike before he rises to dote on her.
But that would no longer be necessary as her books would be returned today. So Spike wanted to make sure her books were actually being gathered. So he looks across the city
"Daisy, where was your house?" he says.
Daisy responded "towards the east of the city."
The east that would be over there but they are gathered on the other side. Why are they there? Spike looks more closely to see the mayor talking to a well dressed man in front of a cage filled with long eared humans.
"Elves in a cage." I say to myself
"Oh yea." Daisy says solemnly "They are elf slaves"
"Slaves?" inferiors taking each other as workers. There was no distaste in his mouth; he didn't think much of it.
"What do they think they are doing in my territory?" while he didn't feel any distaste from the actions he felt distaste from his previous life. He remembered what it was called by himself after watching a documentary. A disgrace, a scar on human history. But those thoughts were gone now he was superior to them and didn't need to think of them.
"Our town sits between two massive mountain ranges" says Daisy
"Hmm" Spike responds
"So a lot of traders use this town as a halfway point." Daisy is speaking in a low voice. "There's a war right now between our kingdom the Freigt kingdom and the forest of elves to the west. They fight over territory and take war prisoners and send them east to the kingdom as slaves. Through our town. The kingdom of Freight sees our town as nothing more than a trade route."
"Where is the elf forest?" Spike asks.
"That way?" Daisy says "why"
"I'm going to save them."