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[lunabai]

RUBY RED

blurb:

Luna Amery is a poor girl from the town of Iram-furorem, who lives in a small shack-like house with her abusive father. One day she goes hunting only to find a magnificently horrifying snowy white dragon who's in need of help, who is she to not assist and help the poor thing? 2 years later, will her brave heroic acts help her? She is caught and captured for stealing prestigious jewels and is taken to the king's castle to live for eternity in his dungeons, but what happens when the king's white-as-snow dragon recognises her, and what happens when the king needs a queen and an heir and his dragon only approves of one lady?

Prologue

I woke with a jolt to the annoying sounds of banging and clashing coming from the kitchen. For a beat I was worried someone had broken in because surly dad wouldn’t be awake at this hour, until I hear him yelling my name.

“LUNA! LUNA! GET UP!”

With a grown I got out of, what can barely even be considered a bed – more like one long couch cushion on the ground with a thin paper blanket – and went to go find what that dragon above noise is about.

            “Finally! What took you so long.” Dad exclaims. As I go to answer he quickly butts in.

            “I woke up with a dragon forsaken headache, in need of something to eat, only to find out we are out of food AND WOOD!” We’ll maybe if you stopped drinking and got a job we could afforded to buy food and wood. Is what I would have said if I wasn’t so afraid of my morning starting out with a slap to the face.

            “So I need you to go out and chop some trees and while you’re at it kill a deer, or better yet a bear,” he says in irritation. I have a look out the window. Winter has not been kind to us this year.

            “Dad it’s been snowing all night! I’ll freeze to death out there.”

            “Oh my Dragons. It is constant complaining with you, honestly.” He shakes his head in disappointment, “I have given you everything for the last 16 years of your life! A roof over your head, a place to sleep at night, I make sure you have the right hunting equipment, and you still complain. I could have left you to the wilderness when you were a baby, but I didn’t out of the goodness of my heart. So, you will repay me by going out and making sure I can eat for the week and some wood, so I don’t freeze.” It was the same speech I got given every time I spoke my mind. Although the Dragons must have blessed upon me today cause at least it didn’t end with a slap to the cheek.  

Without responding I head back to my room to gear up for, what will most likely be an entire day of tracking around the forest in thick snow. I aim to put on as many layers as possible but not too much that it will diminish any movement. I grab my dagger from under my pillow and place it into one of my handmade sheaths. It’s a beautifully crafted blade with a black handle and red detailing. My father gave it to me on my 10th birthday, said it was my mother’s and that she carried it with her everywhere she went, so I now do the same, learning new skills with it every day. The dagger is all I have of my mother’s belongings and from the explanation Dad gave me of how she looked, I’d say that the dagger matched her perfectly.

            See the thing is, my late mother’s appearance was not considered conventionally normal and lucky for me she decided to pass on her genes to yours truly. Where I come from, Drakonland, it is standard for citizens to have light brown or dark blonde hair, with brown, blue or even green eyes. Not however black hair as dark as the midnight sky with red eyes that tend to glow when my emotions are amplified. I was born this way, just as my mother had been. Growing up was difficult, no one my age wanted to be my friend, they feared me, called me nasty names and said I was a witch just like my mother. I limit the number of visits I take to the village and when I must go, I wear a cloak to hide my appearance. I’ve spent my whole life outcasted from society because of how I look, and my father was too, for choosing to fall in love with my mother. Love, something I didn’t think my father knew how to do. Her death changed him.

            I gathered all my gear and packed a few bear traps that I acquired once at the Sunday markets and made my way out. The second I stepped out the door I was met with the iciest breeze of wind that I have ever endured. I raised my neck warmer to cover the bottom part of my face and set out for a day in the freezing snow.

-

I have been walking for miles upon miles that the sun is starting to set and I haven’t even encountered one animal all day! I turned around and started the trek back home. Dragon above! I should’ve turned back sooner; at this rate I won’t get back until sunrise the next day.

            As I’m making my way back, I suddenly hear a loud thunderous roar that sounds like it came from miles away in the direction I’m now heading. My first instinct is to hide or run the other way, like any sane person would do, and as I’m deciding which to do the roar comes again but this time it sounds like it is whimpering in pain.  

            I know I shouldn’t, but my judgment gets the better of me and I sprint as fast as I can to the noise – to hunt the animal? save it? I didn’t know, all I knew was that I needed to keep running, so I did. Faster and faster.

            After 15 minutes of straight sprinting, the roars got closer, yet quieter, like the animal was losing energy. The more I ran I started to realise I was running towards one of the bear traps I had place earlier. With the excitement that I was going to eat tonight, it boosted my energy right back up until I came to a clearing where I had previously placed the trap. Yet, nothing on earth could have prepared me for what I saw next.

-

A dragon? A dragon! No, it couldn’t be, surely. I am losing my mind; I am just dehydrated and imagining things. There is no other explanation. Ready to sprint home, I take a step backwards, snap. Oh shit, why must sticks exist in a forest!?!

            It’s a dragon! It’s an actual dragon. It is a full-on dragon, looking me right in the eye, almost challenging me—this magnificent, beautiful, as white as snow, dragon is staring deep into my soul.

            It’s then I realise that a small portion of the dragon’s foot is stuck in my trap. The dragon eyes are telling me it’s brave and fierce but also in pain and fear. What do I do? I can’t just leave it here, it’ll die.

            You see the thing is, in Drakonland, Dragons are our Gods and saviours. For millions of years, they have protected this land from the enemies that lie within Ignisavis, but they are still hungry creatures, so don’t be fooled by their protection, they are still monstrous beasts, at least that’s what my dad tells me. But looking into the eyes of this beautiful creation, I can’t help but feel this dragon’s pain.

            I know deep down my mother wouldn’t leave anyone when in pain, so I won’t do the same. I slowly and steadily inch forward towards the trap, this is probably a terrible idea. I can tell the dragons on edge, its eyes narrow in on me, watching my every move. I inch closer and closer towards the trap and once I'm in arms reach, I slowly kneel to the ground – keeping my eyes on this snowy, beautiful creature – trying to reach the spring on the trap.

As a grab a hold of broth springs, this dragon flinches. I quickly jump back, ready to run or hide or fight, honesty I don’t know what I was going to do. But once it settled down, I reached for the springs again and slowly pushed them both down. As I did so, this poor creature emitted the loudest groan I have ever heard.

I could see its blood started to protrude out of its foot where the spikes had planted themselves. It all happened so fast, once this poor dragon’s foot was free, it catapulted up as a knee jerk reaction and its claws sliced across my face.

“AHHHHH, FUCKING, FUCK, SHIT, OWWWWWW!!!” I gripped my face in my hands, I could feel my blood running down my face. Out of instinct, to asses if I was safe, I looked through my good eye to see where the dragon was, it was gone, all I could see was a trace of blood leading the opposite way into the forest.

I felt nothing but pure stinging excruciating pain, “HELP, ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE!” I knew there was no point in yelling, there was no one around for miles.

I ripped off the bottom half of my shirt and wrapped it around my head and over my eye to use as a makeshift band-aid. I felt delirious and tired, this can’t be how I die. With all my willpower and a heavy groan, I stood up and slowly but surely tracked my way home.