Once Upon a Time - SuFin - Chapter 2

Tino made a mental note of how stupid it was to come unprepared. He didn’t know what he was doing. He was scared, too. But he took another step, making sure to be as quiet as possible. His eyes never strayed from the dragon, even as it continued to devour his poor horse. But as an expensive-looking vase toppled to the ground and shattered, and the dragon turned its head to meet his gaze with those piercing blue-green eyes, Tino began to feel faint. He wasn’t close enough to do anything. His plan wouldn’t work from that distance. Tino froze. The dragon blinked and slithered closer. Tino took a step back. For a moment they just stared at each other. Neither of them moved. With the dragon’s enormous head only feet away, Tino could see how milky those seemingly bright eyes were. This thing looked almost blind. But at that distance it must have seen him. So why wasn’t it attacking? He gripped his sword as tightly as he could. Maybe if the beast made a move, he could finally pull himself together and fight back.

Everything he read about dragons suddenly flashed through his head. Weaknesses: The soft leathery skin that lined the dragon’s belly and neck, the few moments between when a dragon could release its flame, and the eyes. Those beautiful eyes. Tino caught that thought and quickly expelled it from his mind. His job was to kill it, not admire it.

The dragon started to lift its head, and he snapped back to reality and swiftly raked his blade across its scaly cheek. Even though Tino had put all of his power behind the move, it barely left a scratch. He leaped backwards, putting distance between himself and the monster. The dragon made a soft sound and rubbed its cheek against the ground, as if it was actually in pain. But even after this, it did not attempt to attack him. Was it trying to lull him into a false sense of security? He held his sword out in front of him. That wasn’t going to happen. He would target the soft spot beneath the dragon’s jaw, which would be easy if he could only get close enough. The creature had to hold his head close to the ground to see the knight anyway. Tino let a faint smile turn up the corners of his mouth. It wasn’t as hopeless as it had seemed only moments ago. He leaped to the side, running as quickly as he could in the bulky armor. His goal was only a few meters away. The dragon was to slow to react at first, and Tino was preparing for the final blow when it finally whipped its head around and knocked him away. His sword skidded far out of reach. Tino sat up, his eyes wide with fear. The dragon whined quietly and lowered its head again. It didn’t make a move. It didn’t move at all.

“What are you doing?” Tino asked. The dragon still didn’t move. Tino slowly got to his feet. Still as ever. “Stop.” Tino commanded. It wasn’t normal. Was it just going to stand there the whole time?! What happened to those horrible stories about death and destruction? This thing acted harmless!

“N’.”

What was that? It sounded like ‘no’ and it came directly out of the dragon’s throat. Tino took a step back in his surprise. “What?”

“N’.” It repeated. “I d’ n’t w’nt t’ hurt y’.”

Tino cocked his head. “Why not? I was sent here to kill you…” He must have been going crazy. Surely this thing wasn’t actually speaking to him.

The dragon moved, as if he were shrugging. It was a ‘he’, definitely. The voice was to deep to be anything else.

“I don’t trust you.” Tino glanced over at his sword. It was to far to reach. He bit his lip. What could he do?