A Fated Duel

Chains rattled loudly against the cold and splintered wooden floors of the holding cells, causing blood to drip slowly from the wounds that formed on those unlucky enough to have cut themselves. Of course, some prisoners had been wrongfully beaten for answers, opening wounds they hadn't even asked for.

An example of such cruelty was seen clearly in one of the largest cells that sat under the rocking deck of the ship. Inside that cell - lay a Dragon of massive proportions. With golden scales and a sleek and slender body, the Dragon had been captured at a young and adolescent age, doomed to become nothing more than a trophy to the ones who had taken her from her home.

Natural sunlight was barely able to seep into the cracks of her cell, since the cage she had been bound to was many floors below the water line. Due to this, her only source of light came from the magically fuelled lanterns that lined the hallway just out of reach. So there she lay, surrounded by darkness and pain, chained to the floor and burned every time she attempted an escape.

What a cruel life she had found herself living... If only there was a place where Dragons like herself could live without the fear of torment or capture. If only it were real.

Hours, weeks, maybe even months had passed out on the open ocean, but the prisoners that sat below deck had no sense of time at all. After far too long of awaiting help though, the ship suddenly rattled from the profound impact of a cannon ball. This shock alone sent the entire pirate crew into a frenzy of panic and rage, as they scaled up the floors and ran out onto the sunlit deck. Of course, while they battled, the prisoners below were wary and terrified, unsure if this battle would lead to their salvation, or simply just the promise of a new cell atop the winner's ship.

Screams of horror and pain erupted from the floors above, as the Dragon in the cell below began curling up into a ball of fear and sorrow; she was unsure how to react to anything at all. Moments after hearing another cannon strike though, her eyes peeked up to see a figure stepping around in the dimly lit hallway just past her cell door.

With plated black leather armour and a sleek assassin patterned design, many prisoners could only assume that they were there to clean up the hostages kept below, but to everyone's surprise, the figure began unlocking the cells and helping the sick and injured reach the safety of the deck above. Soon enough, they reached the Dragon's cell, glancing inside with cold crimson eyes and focusing on the shimmering blue irises that stared back at them.

Without any hesitation at all, the figure clicked open the door and carefully stepped inside, snapping the chains off of the Dragon's body and gently placing their hand atop her snout. "It's ok now," they said, gently stepping away while they signalled for her to follow. "Come with me, you can fly away from here." They explained, their voice soft and filled with some sense of safety and sincerity.

Naturally, the Dragon stood as best she could, shakily following the figures calm and gentle voice as they led her slowly towards a shattered hole in the hull of the poacher's ship. A smoking cannonball still rolled about inside, allowing many to assume that they had blown hundreds of similar holes into the side of the hunter's ship. That was never the most shocking factor about the battle though, it was instead the opponent of which the hunters had come to face.

Just past the shattered wooden hole in the side of her captor's ship, the Dragon looked out onto the sunlit horizon, staring longingly at the glistening golden battleship which had come to her rescue. In that moment, she had no will to ask who it belonged to, or why the figure had even saved her, instead her wings snapped open on instinct, and she flew off before any trouble cast over her. Little did she ever come to realise though, her saviour was none other than the Demon King himself, riding atop a golden battleship known widely as the Golden Skull.

Cheers of victory and happiness echoed behind her, as the wind whipped against her scales and finally filled her mind with the euphoric sense of freedom. After far too long of sitting alone solitude, underfed and undernourished, she finally saw a glimmer of hope appearing in her once dreadful life.

It was that moment in which she decided to become a pirate, a lawless being who would save others like herself and pillage those who injured or harmed the beauty of the world. Many people would only ever see her as a Dragon, but thankfully she had a gift that many Demons had never even heard of. She had the natural ability to take on a human form.

You may ask why she had never used it to escape her captivity before, but the answer to that question is fairly simple. She was not allowed to reveal her powers; it was forbidden to allow others to understand it. But, now that she was far away from anyone's eyesight, she was perfectly capable of transforming back into a smaller human form in order to conserve her draining energy. Without anywhere to land though, it would be useless to stop flying, so she continued to glide effortlessly above the water, searching endlessly for a place to rest.

Hours passed by and nothing came into view, the sun had already set and she was beginning to feel the strain of her injuries. Slowly, her wings could no longer support her body, and she crashed down into the waves below, floating atop the salted water and hissing at the pain of the sea as it struck her injuries.

Exhaustion consumed her body, as her eyes rolled closed and her head tilted lifelessly to the side. The only thing she could do was hope for a better start in the morning...