Dragon's Sacrifice

It was a grand proceeding. The mood was joyous and celebratory, in part because of the free food the nobles always gave out during this festival, but also in relief because their family was not chosen. The chosen family would always receive benefits as the "in-laws" of the dragon; however, the cost for such a position was far too high. A girl from the family had to be sacrificed to the dragon as a "bride." The girl was never to be seen again. Most people suspect the dragon to have simply eaten the sacrifice.

She was seventeen, within the prime years for marriage. Her features were delicate, and she looked beautiful and noble. But she was not. Many sneered at her. Although she was treated fairly, she had understood from a young age that she had been bought from her parents at birth to be their contribution at the centenary celebration.

From the moment she found out, she decided that she would not be disturbed by it. Although she had felt many things about this event throughout her life, she had a clear understanding that there was nothing she could do to change it. The violent ends to the other girls were only rumors. She decided that she would be optimistic and research dragons to be better prepared to serve her future husband. All the others thought she was quite mad to look forward to such a fate.

Now, dressed in all the fineries money could buy - courtesy of the royal family, she was being paraded through the capital before being brought to the temple. Her heart was as calm as still waters. There was no one and nothing that she was attached to, so she accepted her fate. She'd had far too many years contemplating it to panic now. Whether she lived or died, it no longer mattered to her.

The crowd cheered and jeered at her as she passed. Some treated it as they would a big wedding, while others treated her as they would a criminal being paraded before their execution.

She ignored them all, keeping the smile she was forced to practice on her face. She had, after all, received the training of a noblewoman despite her low birth.

By the end of the parade, she was starving and exhausted. In a normal wedding, the parade would only be from the bride's house to her husband's, but she was to "marry" a dragon.

The parade would have to begin at the royal palace and wind through the capital until they exited the walls and arrived at the dragon's temple.

When they finally arrived at the entrance of the temple, it was evening. The sun was just beginning to set when they entered the mouth of the cave. If the records were correct, the cave used to be a volcano many centuries ago.

As the reward for one of the sacrifices, the dragon sealed off the volcano by guiding an underground water vein to it and opening up other ways to release the heat. As such, all that remained was a large natural hot spring. To thank the dragon, the people designated this cave to the dragon, and only a very small number of people would have access to the hot spring aside from the chosen sacrifice.

The spring was as wide as a lake, and in the center was a small island of land that was not connected to the ground underneath. That island was thus called the altar, and the women would be brought there every century to be sacrificed.

Thus, the entire parade marched through the cave to the hot spring and watched as this century's sacrifice slowly waded towards the altar. They could only watch and guard the entrance to ensure that she would not escape. None of these soldiers had access to the water.

The water was warm and gentle; it was how she imagined a mother's embrace would feel like. She found that she was neither scared nor sad. Although she had made the decision to be optimistic, she was not stupid.

She thought that, when the time came, she would not be able to keep her resolve, but, even as she hoisted herself onto the altar, she still felt nothing. Her lack of emotions surprised even herself.

When she got on, the altar glowed white, indicating that she fulfilled the requirements. The soldiers all breathed a sigh of relief and began to exit the cave. No one understood how the altar worked, but it demanded that the sacrifice be a virgin female of marriageable age. The altar would always know.

In the records, one year, they had brought a girl who was twelve year of age but had yet to get her monthly bleeding. The altar glowed orange and refused to accept her, dropping her back into the water below. While she was safe under the water, everyone who was involved in choosing her were swiftly impaled by falling stalactites, including her family and the royal official that approved of this choice.

When she emerged from the water, the soldiers quickly covered her eyes and left to inform the royal family. Another sacrifice was prepared.

The same happened another time when the girl was not a virgin. She'd kept the fact so well hidden that even her own family didn't know. The surprised look on their faces were the last expressions they would make. The girl did not survive. The altar glowed red and, after allowing her to witness her parents' death, floated to the top of the old volcano and threw her off from the top. The records told of her ear-piercing screams that would haunt the soldiers for the rest of their lives. Another sacrifice was prepared.

After the soldiers all left, the cavern was silent. No one knew what would happen to the sacrifices that met the qualifications. Nothing would happen so long as the girl was not alone, and no records could be kept of what happened after, since the girl was never to be seen again and no one can record events they did not witness.

Completely exhausted from the day's proceedings, she laid down on the altar, intending to watch the beautiful colors of the sunset from the volcano's opening, but before she knew it, she'd fallen asleep. When she awoke, the sky was already dark, with stars filling the sky. The altar was gently illuminated by the moon overhead. She blinked a few times, slightly disoriented after waking from an unplanned nap. Then she heard the sound that she realized must have woken her up. It was a scratching sound, like claws against the rock walls.

She tried to look around her, but the cavern was dark. Only the altar was illuminated by the moon. The sounds were slow and even, as though the creature was walking at a leisurely pace. Her heartbeat sped up, she was not sure whether from fear or excitement. Although this could be her last moments, this was also the moment she'd been preparing for her whole life.

When the creature finally came into the light, she thought her heart would stop. She was surprised to find that it wasn't fear that caused her heart to race. It was the dragon himself. She had never seen anything as beautiful and majestic as the dragon before. All the paintings she'd seen and descriptions she read couldn't do him justice. The fluttering feelings she felt were similar to what was described in the romance novels. It felt foreign to her, but she understood that she liked this dragon very much. If it did indeed eat her in one bite, she would happily die.

"You're furry," she heard herself say, then wanted to slap herself for choosing something so stupid as the first thing she said to him. "I-I mean… I thought you would have scales."

After those words left her mouth, she decided to just shut up. Her face reddened with embarrassment, and she lowered her head with shame, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of the dragon. He had a long, body covered in fluffy, soft-looking white fur. Four claws extended from him, but upon seeing her shocked face, the claws retracted to leave four fluffy paws. This shocked her even more. To be able to retract his claws like that, was he a cat? His tail swung slowly and beautifully as he flew, his body slowly wrapping around the altar.

Cautiously, the dragon approached this small, fragile-looking human, and gently nudged her onto his back before flying off into the night sky. He was slightly surprised by this human. Most of the girls he picked up reacted in one of two ways. They were either terrified, bursting into tears or even making a mess of themselves, or they were unrealistic, trying to seduce a dragon as they would a man to gain more honor and prestige for themselves and their families. This one did neither. The most normal part of her reaction was her increased heartbeat. It made no difference to him. Regardless of what the humans think or do, he was only there to pick up their part of the agreement, the little female sacrifice.