working title "The Rider"

Working title “The Rider”
Seca clung to the dragon while it soared through the star filled sky. The darkness below them was dotted infrequently by campfires and the husks of sleeping villages, oblivious to the dragon or her rider. Here and there a light shone through an open window. Its sash thrown up and shutters open wide in hopes of catching a stray breeze in the midsummer heat. Seca’s eyes, nearly as good as the dragon’s now, caught the white tails of deer bounding out of a meadow below, their browsing on withered greens disturbed by the soundless rush of the dragon’s wings. She saw the river, low in the summer’s unnatural heat, trickling toward the sea.  She giggled as the dragon dove to drive a bunch of rabbits from its hiding place under a scraggly bush.  The dragon spread her leathery wings and soared higher on an updraft and then dove once again to land lightly on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley.  Seca slipped off, down the dragons shoulder to slide between her front legs. She threw her arms around the dragon’s foreleg and hugged her. 

“I never get tired of that.” Seca couldn’t stand still though and soon she pulled away to run to the edge of the outcrop. “Look at that,” she swept her arm to encompass the valley. “The whole valley is just sleeping. The night is wasted on sleep. There is so much to see and so much to do. How can people sleep all the time?” She turned just in time to see the dragon resting her chin on her folded forelegs.

“Not you, too?”  Seca laughed, “I want to fly some more.  I want to see more things.” She took hold of the dragon’s ear  and shook it gently.

“How am I going to get home if you don’t wake up? You know what they will do if I am not there to start the fire in the morning. Come on,” she pulled the dragon’s foreleg. “I’ll give you my breakfast?”

The dragon looked at her through one opened eye and then closed it again, dismissing her offer.

“OK, I’ll go to the training grounds and learn.” She traced an x over her left breast with her finger. “I cross my heart, I won’t quit again.” She stomped her foot on the rock.
“I swear, Tell her I swear on a dragon’s egg, I won’t quit this time.”

The dragon opened both eyes this time. She tilted her head to look the girl directly, large jeweled eye to little brown eye. She stayed that way for a moment, just gazing into Seca’s eyes. Then she nodded and tipped her head to one side, gesturing for the girl to climb back on. Seca put her foot on the dragon’s leg and let her boost her up to the massive shoulder. Clambering up to the joint of the wings, she tucked her legs under the joints to hold on. She wrapped her hands around the jeweled collar encircling the thick neck of the dragon.

“Home Riona!” The girl pronounced with a flourish and giggled as the enormous bronze colored dragon lifted her wings and launched herself into the darkness once more.

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