Dragon's Curse

I have been lost for another 4 months; it is summer now. I have been traveling north and am now on the outskirts of a different town. I regretfully steal food from a manor near my shelter. It belongs to a rich family that has a little girl. I have been watching her from a hiding spot. She is my only entertainment. I only watch her when the maid is not. She plays outside in the 3 acre fenced in yard. The maid take little care to watch her so I do. She has a small dog she plays with and it makes happy to watch them play. I have sat and watched her for hours while she plays and it makes me forget my troubles. I try not to leave any track but I think I have been seen. As I head to my hide out to grab the food that I have taken, I sit on a fallen tree. I caused that too... I had become angry at myself and had gotten too far. I sit on it and cry. I cry for making my sister worry, and hurting my brother and father. I cry for taking a life and how I have blood on my hands.
"Prostite , pochemu ty grustnyy?"
I turn; it is the little Russian girl. I haven't heard my mother's native language in years. I tilt my head, now paying attention.
"Why are you crying?" she asks.
I respond in our language. "Because I am sad"
"I asked you why you’re sad" the girl says. She is no more than 5 years old. Beside her was the small dog.
I take a deep breath. "You are not afraid?"
She shook her head. "Scotch and I are brave knights and are not afraid of dragons" she says.
I smile at her sentence she is shaking very slightly so I can tell she is afraid but I am glad she does not run away. It hurts when people run. I have made many run away and scream with fear. This little girl makes me happy. I want to hug her but I would probably hurt her if I did. I still was unaware of my full strength.
"I will not hurt you" I say. "I am not a bad dragon."
She laughs. "Good. You talk. Bad dragons cannot talk"
I let a tear fall as she sits next to me. She has lost all fear by now. "What’s your name?" she asks.
"Bernard" I say. Bernard Drachen"
"you're last name means dragon" she says. "That's cliché"
I laugh. "Yes. My father's name is Dragon. So he would be 2 dragons" I say, recalling my father's nickname in MMA.
She giggles. "I'm Sasha. I like you” her little dog barks at me. His hackles are raised so I know he thinks I am a threat. I probably smell toxic to a dog's sensitive nose.
"You still haven't told me why you are so sad" she says.
"I have lost everything" I say. "I have traded my way of life for my pride"
"You still have your life" she says. "If you lost everything that you'd be dead."
She has a point. I still have my life. She looks over and a frown crosses her face. "You've been stealing"
My heart sinks as she says this. I have been caught... not be the maid, or her parents, but by her. She must have spotted me sneaking out of their store house.
"Good dragons don't steal from little girls" she says.
"You are right" I say. I get up and pick up the food. "Here, you can take it back. I am sorry"
"Why?" she asks. "How come you're stealing from us?"
I can't believe it. I am being stared down by a 5 year old and her little white puppy. I could eat them if I wanted to. So why do I feel so bad that she was the one that caught me stealing?
"I... I have no other food" I say.
She folds her arms. I look up and see my little sister Anastasia. I was 7 and she was 5. She scolded me for taking a piece of candy from a store and this little girl looks just like her. "Even good dragons can hunt" she says. "It's not bad"
"I know" I said. "But here," I hand her the food. "I have to go home"
"Where's home?" she asks.
I stop... I can't go home, if I did, I'd probably get my family killed. I'd scare my sister and my father would hate me. I sit back down and shake my head. "I don't know anymore" I cry. "I don't know if I should even go back... would it matter if I returned?"
"I think it would" Sasha says. "Do you have a family?"
"I have a sister, a brother and father" I say. "But they are different from me."
"They're dragons too?" she asks. "Are they bad dragons?"
"No..." I say. "They are good but they are not dragons. They are man"
"How?" the little girl asks. She sits down and I tell her my story. I say that I used to be a knight. A young and foolish knight that wanted to defeat the king's enemy. I wanted to fight him alone because he threatened my king and our kingdom. I had to fight my king so I could go. It was a trap and the enemy used a spell to turn me into a dragon. I have been hiding for a while and cannot find my home. "It was because I wanted to prove myself to my king and protect my family that I became a monster" I say. "It was because I had foolish pride"
"then say that you're sorry" Sasha says. "Go to your king and say you're sorry"
"It's not that easy" I said.
"Sure it is" she replies. "Put down your pride and apologize. He'll forgive you. He'll probably be happy that you're alive"
I give a sad smile. "Thank you Sasha. I will go home... thank you"
"you're welcome" she says. She whimpers as she realizes that it has grown dark.
"I will take you home" I say and pick her up. I grab her dog and walk towards her home. I hear a howl in the distance and pick up the pace. "Wow" I say. "You came this far on your own"
Sasha nods. "I'm not afraid of the woods in the daytime. There's werewolves at night though. A whole pack of them"
I smile at her active imagination. I see the lights of the manor in the distance and am a few feet away when something jumps on my back. Sasha flies out of my hands and hits her fence hard. I pray that she is not dead.
I stare at the attacker. It really is a werewolf... well kind of. It is a wolf but it is a big as a bear. Branded on its shoulder is the mark of Shadow. The same organization that made me a monster. These poor creatures were tested on. It went for Sasha and I let out a roar and tackle it biting down on something soft and breakable. 6 or 7 others surround me and the little girl. Her parents come out from the back of the house and start yelling. The wolves run for them and I let my fire go. Scorching a wall of fire along the fence. I hear a squeak and see a wolf attack the little white dog. I look away as it's torn into shreds. I go into fight mode and start attacking. Using all of my inventory including my claws, teeth and every MMA move I can think of. I jump off of the fence and tackle another, putting it into a head lock and twisting until I hear the crack. 5 left. I set one on fire and bite into another shredding its pelt. 3 down and I’m covered in our blood. One bites into my leg and I roar and roll, crushing it under my weight. The last 2 do a team attack and I turn and thrust my fist down hitting one in the face breaking his jaw and putting him into shock. I take the other in my jaws and throw him into the fire ending my fight with another roar. By now, the military has me surrounded the only way out was up. I take Sasha in my arm and fly off. I hear her parents scream her name as I leave. I go to the frozen sea and find a lone cave and hide there until morning.
I watch Sasha with a worried face. My fear is dulled when she takes a breath. I know she'll live and sit on the edge of the cliff that forms the mouth of my new shelter. I look down at my reflection in the ice of the frozen sea. I was a monster, I was covered in the blood of the wolves and the blood from the bite they gave me. After a few hours I hear Sasha call my name. I don't even acknowledge the fact that she asks where we are. She comes and taps my shoulder. "Bernard?"
"I'm sorry Sasha" I say. "I'm sorry I hurt you"
She lifts her hand. She's probably feeling the lump she has from hitting the fence. "You didn't mean to. The werewolves pushed you" She sits next to me and looks over the edge. "That's a long ways down" Her hand slip and she screams. I catch her before she can fall and she wraps her arms around my neck. I embrace her in a hug.
"Thank you Dragon" she says. "You really are a knight"
I give into the tears that are hiding behind my eyes and hold Sasha for a long time. I feel her go limp and let go. She is only sleeping... thank god. I thought I might have crushed her but no... She’s just tired.
I fly her home and am able to sneak into the house while the excitement from last night is still going on. It takes a minute for me to find her room and I set her in her bed. "No" I say. "Thank You, Sasha. You have given me hope."
I wait outside her window for her parents to come into the room. They hug and kiss each other, glad to have their daughter back.