The Human Dragon Mother, Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Arithog


         I was living in an old, rickety house surrounded by misty mountains. My house wasn’t all that big, with only two large rooms, a small kitchen and living room. I slept in one room, while the other held many of my paintings of the nature around me. I did not have much, though; only a small bed made for one, a creaky wooden couch made for only two, a small table and an old, beat up looking chair was what I could use, while a few small, dusty cabinets held my food. Outside the house was a deep, stone well that contained the water I used for drinking, and at times, I would wish on the well for something to happen, for something to come into my life, and brighten my day up.
         As I was sitting by my favorite oak tree, I began wishing the same wish I have been wishing for ever since I got the small house. I was drawing again, drawing the tree opposite of me, with small bright red apples beginning to bloom, when I heard a loud thud on the opposite side of the house.
         I got up, and ran toward the other side of the house. What was that? I wondered, as I reached the other end.
         Laying there was a bright red dragon, covered in dark blood. In her mouth was a sack, filled with only a single egg.
         When the dragon saw me, she smiled, and said, “Little human, please approach me; I would like for you to do me a favor.”
         I slowly walked up to the dragon, as she handed me the sack. “I wish for you to take care of my little one who will hatch very soon. Take care of him as if he were your own child.”
         “I would love to, but you see, I do not have enough food to supply us both when he hatches,” I replied, being as kind as I could.
         “Do not worry about that; good fortune will fall upon you if you take care of my little one.”
         I smiled, and accepted her request. “What will happen to you?”
         “I will be among my ancestors in heaven.” After her last word, she vanished.
         I looked at the sack, and brought it inside, placing it on the table gently. I sat on the chair, and watched, waiting for it to hatch.
         I promise that I will take good care of him, I thought. I will protect him from any harm that tries to come into his way. I then heard a voice in my head, the red dragon’s voice, saying:
         I know you will, small human, and for that promise, I will give you immortal life. If you choose to break your promise, however, then you will lose your immortal life, and you will end up dying at the end of the year.
         I understand, I said in thought. And I never break my promises. I would rather die trying to keep my promise than breaking a promise in order to live.
         Then, the egg began to hatch; chips of the egg broke off, as I saw the baby dragon emerge from the shell. A smile lit up on my face, as a green dragon came out, looking at me.
         “Oh my,” I said, looking at the small dragon in awe. He was extremely cute, with beady brown eyes that lit up on his face. “You are a cute one.”
         He smiled, as he walked up to me from the table. I slowly brought my hand out toward the little one, and when I touched him, he smiled even more pleasantly. I stroke his back gently, feeling tiny bumps, which I knew were his spines just starting to grow.
         “What would be a good name for you, little one?” I asked aloud, as the dragon began rubbing up against me like a cat.
         Then, I heard the distant voice, saying, Arithog, name him Arithog.
         I looked at the baby dragon’s dark green scales, his small, arrowhead tail, his tiny claws, and his tiny head. “Arithog, it seems to suite you perfectly. . . .  Little Arithog.”
         For quite a few years, Arithog became a great addition to my home. He never got into trouble, and he would help me out in any way possible. At times, he’ll carry one part of a piece of furniture that I would
find somehow just outside the old house, and at other times, he’ll just be sitting on the couch, watching me with much curiosity.
         Soon, he was learning how to speak, and he had a great vocabulary. He never arrogated me when he found out new words, but showed his joy with a large smile and a sparkle in his deep brown eyes.
         But then, as the years flew by, Arithog began to grow rapidly, and he was soon to be too big for the house. I sadly had to bring him outside, though he understood that the house was soon to be too small. Feeling extremely guilty, I decided to use my creativity to make a large barn-like house, made to be around twenty feet high, and about fifty feet long. Since it soon got too high for me to finish building, Arithog helped out a lot, by allowing me to get onto his back, and at times his head, in order to make the building higher.
         It took me almost a year, since I started right after the rainy season, for Arithog’s house to finish completely. My dragon was extremely happy to see that he was going to be protected from the rain, and I was glad that at least he had something to stay underneath.
         Soon, things got better for the both of us; as I began to worry about food, somehow, food would appear that was good for both Arithog and myself. Arithog continued to grow, and soon, he was old enough to breathe fire. At night, I would sit by him, and he would light a small fire, keeping us both warm.
         One day, while I was outside, beginning to paint a picture of my dragon, he came up to me, seeming lost in thought.
         “What is it, Arithog?” I asked.
         “I have noticed earlier that we are different, Mother,” he replied sadly. “You are human, and I am a dragon; why is that so?”
         I sighed, as I put my paints and brush on my easel, and walked toward our favorite spot, by a pine tree I would use for Christmas, with my dragon by my side.
         “Arithog, I, I have been meaning to tell you this for a while, but, I was afraid, that after I told you this, you would not like me anymore.”
         “Why would I not like you, Mother?” Arithog asked.
         “Your mother, your actual mother, had landed on one side of the house years ago, when you hatched from your egg. She was dying, and she asked me to take care of you. I have promised to take care of you, and protect you from harm that may arise toward you. I have not broken that promise, and I refuse to break it.
         “I thought that you would not like me because, at times, when human children realizes that they were adopted, they would hold a grudge on the person, or the couple, that decided to keep them.”
         “I would never hold a grudge against you, Mother,” Arithog said, smiling as he laid his head by my side. “You have taken care of me when others would have destroyed me.”
         I smiled, feeling tears trickling down my face with happiness, as I laid my head on his. “Oh, Arithog, you seem to understand me better than any human I have ever met. When I tell them that I prefer to paint, and use my creativity to build, they would turn me down. When I say that I want to do something different in life, they would discourage it. You, on the other hand, encourage me to do whatever I wish.”
         Arithog’s smile became brighter, as I just laid there with him, human mother and dragon child, together in the valley surrounded by mountains.

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         A few years later, while I was outside with Arithog, I heard the sound of men coming toward the valley. When Arithog heard them, he ran up to me, glaring north, the direction they were coming from.
         “Arithog, you cannot be here when they come; they’ll kill you,” I said worriedly. “You have to run.”
         “No, Mother, I will not run,” he replied, still glaring north. “You have protected me for many years, so now it is my turn to protect you. If they see you with me, then they will try to take you away, for you still look like a human child, thanks to my real mother. They believe that dragons take maidens, and will percept that you are a taken maiden.”
         As the men came into view, Arithog curled up around me, trying to keep me safe from anything that would come into our way.
         Arrows were shot toward us, and my dragon used his flame to burn them before they even reached his hide. The men continued to get closer, and they began surrounding him.
         “We got you now, dragon,” said one man.
         Then, another man noticed me, he gasped. “There is a girl here with the dragon!”
         Arithog turned toward him as he got closer toward me. “Stay away from my mother!” he hissed, as the man backed away.
         Then, every single one of them held a bow, and aimed an arrow at my dragon.
         “You are not thinking of hurting my dragon, are you?” I asked curtly.
         The man closest to me looked at me funny. “Did you just say, ‘your dragon’?” he asked.
         “That’s right. He is my dragon; I have been taking care of him since he hatched. I have promised to protect him for any and all danger. And besides, you’re on my property, so I suggest you leave, now!”
         Then, Arithog used his flame again, but that time to burn one of the men. They all got scared, and ran off.          Once they were out of sight, my dragon looked at me, as I continued to shake from both fear and anger.
         “Are you all right, Mother?” he asked, as he brought his head up to my chest.
         “I am all right, Arithog,” I replied, trying to smile. “I am just a little shaken up.”
         He smiled, and kept me close by him, noticing that night was gaining its power over daylight.
         One day, about a month after the incident with the men, I saw my dragon looking up at the sky. I walked up to him, and said, “What seems to be the matter, Arithog?”
         He looked at me with a sad gleam in his eye. “Oh, Mother, how I wish to be up there with every-one else.” He turned back to the sky, watching other dragons soaring overhead.
         I smiled sadly, as I heard the same distant voice I heard the day he hatched, saying, it is time for him to go.
         “Arithog, you should go, and be up there with them,” I said, having tears trickle down my face.
         “But, Mother, what about your immortality? You will not have it if I choose to live up there.”
         Again, I heard the distant voice, the red dragon’s voice, telling me, he deserves to live up there. You will not lose your immortality, tell him not to worry.
         “Do not worry, Arithog; something is telling me that you deserve to live up in the mountains. I will not lose my immortality, though I suggest you keep that a secret between us.”
         Arithog smiled sadly, and gently rubbed his head against me. “I love you, Mother, and I am grateful that you are allowing me to go. I promise that I will come by as often as I can.”
         My smile widened, as I embraced his head. “I know you will, Arithog.”
         He backed away from me, then took off, into the sky, to be with the other dragons. I waved to him,
as he was soon too high for me to see him completely.
         He kept his promise, and came by at least three times a week. I would always be outside, painting a picture of him flying in the air, or, at times, laying by the large pine tree with me, and a small fire lit in front of us. Every time I thought of him, I would have tears in my eyes, and sorrow in my voice. However, I knew that he was having a happy life, and that was all I needed to know.