Day Three - The Writing Challenge

Note: Meh.. I'm just too lazy to actually type out everything I write. Yes, I write them all. 

Prompt: Close fast, the iron door and turn out the lights.

Hot, damp air howled in her ears as she ran down the stone steps, her white gown flying behind her. She looked pale, the chiffon leaving behind a trail of perfume. The dragon at the base of the staircase, she could get past, if asleep; but if he found out that she was escaping once again, he'd lock her up - and no amount of pleading this time, she knew, could make him change her mind. If she failed to escape this time - five plus one attempts - she decided that she'd just learn to enjoy her time in the minaret she was kept in.It was not like it wasn't beautiful. Everything there was perfect - except for that man, of course..though he kept her well..Her footsteps echoed down the empty stairs as she ran, hoping that he hadn't noticed her absence yet. He was deep into writing something on a scroll of parchment, sitting at his desk, three large buildings away from her. Searing hot air now rose up the middle of the winding staircase. Suddenly, a loud growl shook the minaret. The dragon was awake. Slipping past a sleeping dragon was one thing and running past an awake, hungry, irritable one was another. She felt her earlier bravery slipping away from her with every step she went down. The pungent dragon's breath wasn't helping either. She slipped, missed a step and tumbled down the stairs. Clawing at the edge of a step, she steadied herself, made sure she wouldn't tumble down and shakily, stood up again. She paused, thinking about all the other times she had tried to get out of this tower, back to the library she owned... She missed it terribly. This man had the largest library in the world, dedicated to her, right beside her minaret, but she wanted her own one back. She took a shuddering breath, crumpled down on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and started sobbing uncontrollably. She had lost, once again. With every passing second, she felt her will draining away, overcome with a feeling so strong - she wanted nothing more than to run back to her stone room and collapse on the bed once again. She knew she failed.After some time, she heard soft footfalls approaching her down the stairs. She could tell, he was here. It was weird, how he always knew where she was.. In fact, it was wonderful, she thought. At last.. She could go up to her room back again. He'd help her up..He came to her and held out his hand for her to take, but realizing that she was too weak, he bent down and scooped her up in his arms and started up the stairs. No dialogue passed between them. He'd usually shout.. or at least tell her off for trying to escape. But this time, he hadn't said a word. Maybe it had something to do with her tears. She never cried.He looked pale and pained - not his usual self. He carried her up to her room and laid her gently down on her bed and went back and leaned again the door frame, watching her."Dragon breath does that. A few more minutes.. and you'd have lost all your will." He shuddered.He walked to the candles, looked at her through the mirror, blew out all the lights, walked back and slammed the iron door shut on her, without a look back at her.

Day One - The Writing Challenge

Prompt: Don't hope that it was just a dream.

Warm sunlight shone on small parts of my face through the foliage of the tree. I lean against the rough bark and rest my head against it, scraping my elbow, taking in the scent of the flowers, the grass and the clean, fresh air. 
I had been reading my favorite book for the last four hours. Last night, I had fought with him again. Even the fights were getting routine, now. That was when I decided that I wanted to spend some time alone. This place was where I used to sit, as a kid. The tree I am now sitting under, was the one I had planted. It was the only one that grew, out of the six I had planted. It is beautiful, yet painful, how time flies by...
This little haven of mine smelled as beautiful as it looked. It filled me with pride and happiness. It evoked fond memories of little dolls that I made, the hundreds of books that I read, the times I just sat and thought through things, all whilst sitting under this very tree. And now, I was back, book in hand.
White and pink daisies and blood red roses, some white flowers with a strong perfume and velvety grass. This lone tree stood in between this garden of sorts. Butterflies flitted from flower to flower and the gentle breeze ruffled the leaves of the tree, whispering secrets of the world. I close my eyes and take in the warmth, reveling in this peace. It is hard to come by, these days, with my marriage and the job hunting and all the meaningless quarrels.


The hot sunlight was burning my back. Quickly, I sat up, my eyes still closed, wishing for a little more time before returning to my chores. I could hear the butterflies flying around. Wait, did I just HEAR them flying? And the smell of mud and leaves wafted into my nose. That was intense.

I opened my eyes only to find that my vision was tinged with blue. What had gone wrong with the world?! Four hours into a book, and I haven't noticed something happening?  I was alarmed and I tried to get up but somehow, I ended up on all fours. I was a little confused. Okay, a lot confused. So then, I decided that I'd just go home and look into the mirror to see if something had happened to my contacts. I stood and stretched. I felt my muscles bunching, and a weird sound of hard material scraping against another. When I glanced at myself, I had sprouted scales. What is going on!? Would I have wings as well, then? Scales and wings go together, somehow...
I 'willed' my wings to open, and shockingly, yes, I did have wings. Light green, leathery wings, ribbed with bone.
What was that book I was reading anyway? I flapped my wings experimentally, causing a great gust of wind to flatten the grass around me. Oh wow. I could fly if I wanted to! That was a nice thing...I think. In any case, I still had to get home.

I took off from the ground carefully. See, I still hadn't figured out what I had become. And I was something with wings. Powerful wings.. and scales..and I have no clue as to how flying with wings is.
I fluttered my wings and rose a few inches into the air immediately, landing back on the grass with a thud, when I stopped. This would need some getting-used-to.
Slowly, though, I did manage to soar into the clear blue sky. It was beautiful, being able to see the world from up above here. It was no wonder, man wanted to fly so bad. Poor Icarus and his wings! I was a million times better than him! I didn't melt my wings away - yet.
I analyzed my emotions and my thoughts. I was never a proud person, and still, after i got these scales and wings, I... There's something terribly wrong. Something has changed. Since when did people start sprouting wings and scales after a short nap, huh?

As I flew across the sky, over a forest, Wait, forest? Where'd that come from? I felt something stabbing me in my belly. It hurt so bad, that I descended quickly. I came back down to the ground and lay on my side, one wing folded against the ground, the other, protectively around my body. That was when I heard people shouting near me.
" FALLEN DRAGON! COME. QUICK!!"
And there were footsteps near me. I was surrounded.
" Great aim. The creature looks hurt.", a man said, with a grin.
" We'd better pull out the arrows. We have to train it... We are short of dragons as it is.", said another.
" I've never seen a dragon give up so easily..."

Three things made their way to my mind, over the fog of pain. One - They called me a dragon. Was that what I was? Two - These people hurt me. With arrows. What IS this place?! And Three - They'll TRAIN me? What FOR?!

There was a faint tugging sensation at my belly, and then searing pain that subsided after a few minutes.
"Shouldn't have used so many arrows, Ka, Young dragon.. I feel bad already..."

If I really was a dragon, that'd mean I could breathe fire, right? That's cool. Hot, actually. I don't want to get trained. I want to fly away. Fly back home! They can't keep me captive like this! 
I heard the men discussing something about how they ought to move me, since they'd wounded me so bad. At least SOMEONE'S feeling guilty. Cool metal rings were fastened to all my limbs. They were a little too big for me, and so it felt really uncomfortable. It was like lifting a great weight every time I moved. The rings had long metal chains, ending in bigger rings. What they were for, I knew not.
Two men from the group turned and walked back into the forest and took out some kind of flute and started playing it. He couldn't play at all! It was the most horrible music ever. But by the looks of it, only I was able to listen to it. The people around me, three tending to my wounds, and five standing guard, were either unable to hear it, or were expertly capable of hiding their disgust. 
The people who were attempting to heal me were chattering away. Evidently, they were as new to this world, as I was, myself. So, in order to know a little more, I listened in. No, I don't usually eavesdrop.

"Yeah, I lived in the city. I went drinking at a pub with my girlfriend last night, and when I next woke up, I was here. It was weird. And now, they're making us hunt dragons!"
"I've heard tales. I've been here two days before you came here, Ka. The elders talk only at the campfire at night! In the mornings, they're more like shriveled up mummies, with dead looks. They were saying, the other day, that dragons were extremely hard to find. They said that, in this  world, people are brought in from the other worlds and turned into different people or animals, depending on what they did before coming here. They mentioned that dragons are the most precious, and if we trained them, they'd be with us. I still don't understand why anyone would want to be near giant, smelly, fire-breathing reptiles. I'm not saying they ain't majestic..or..or..beautiful, in a way...but..." Yayy.. someone thinks that I look good! 

I looked at the guy named Ka. He was about my age, I think... and looked as terrified as I first felt. He looked good. Pity he already had a girlfriend.. Where am I going with these thoughts? I am now a dragon, and I need to get out of here! Right NOW. 
When all the arrows were removed, the pain lessened. But before I could feel too happy about it, a shadow passed overhead, blocking the sun for a few seconds. Two massive dragons landed on either side of me. They were brown, and they looked alike.What? The men said something to them and they grabbed two each of the big metal rings to the chain and started to ascend.
I opened my wings instinctively and found that there was an arrowhead lodged between my shoulder and wing. Painful. They HAVE to remove it...and soon, or I'll eat them up for dinner tonight. I 'flew' with the two other dragons to some place where the ground was bare and there were straw huts. I saw what the other guy had explained to Ka. Old men and no women. A bit weird, you'd think. Oh well...

When I landed, Ka came over to my side. Looks like he's noticed that arrow. Good. I snarled at him and he quivered a little. Satisfying. He attempted to dislodge the arrow in my wing, but he was just not that skilled. Not many were.. So this Ka guy brings a few more people to me and explains to them about the arrow. 
"Ka, if you're that gentle with the dragon, she'll die of the pain of the wound when she flies. It is much better that you pull it out with force and let it heal.. It will hurt for about a minute, but there'll be no permanent damage!" Poor Ka was trying to be gentle...And then, after he had pulled out the arrow, I was made to sit in the middle of the tiny village, facing the old men, till nightfall. Then, some lads lighted up a fire and that was when the old men stirred. They talked among themselves and called out to the hunters who had wounded me. They had stony looks, when they went forward - almost loathing, if I may. After long discussions, they decided that I was too 'young' to cause trouble and so, one man would be able to manage me. They wanted to give the newcomer a chance. And so, just like that, Ka was appointed my caretaker...like I needed one, really... but it does please me that its Ka and not any of those other men.

I was pretty happy. My wounds healed miraculously fast and Ka was good company. He kept rambling on about his life before this...this.. change. It made me homesick. I wanted to tell him to let me go...but I had no voice, except maybe the fire. I could melt rock. Oh yayyy. It is nice to watch, believe me.
I went hunting and I flew in the skies. I had a nice life. I don't remember how long I was there.. maybe a fortnight, or longer. I needed to get back, but I didn't know how.
I fought in tiny battles, and I flew with Ka to the mountains for some days. I liked it here. I don't want to leave anymore. This place was good.. beyond my wildest imaginations! Is is weird for a dragon to fall in love with a human? Well, just wondering.. not that I like Ka..

One afternoon, I was resting with Ka leaning against my folded wing, when I drifted into a slumber. He always held me like one would, a little girl, while we slept. The hot afternoon sun burnt my face as I woke up. 
We were resting, remember? What's with the sun.. always burning me up like this..?!

When I opened my eyes, my vision was too bright and I felt light. I felt a little dizzy as well. It was back to normal again, was it? Was I the dragon, or was I human? Oh goodness. My identity. And... Ka? What about him? He seemed so real. What now? 
What now? What do I mean, "what now?".. like a kid lost in a dream..

Slightly disoriented, I walked back home, taking a shortcut through a tiny forest. I saw a man standing at the end of the forest, looking here and there, searching for something. When I went closer, I recognized him at once. I threw myself at him, delighted, shouting "Ka!!!" 
When I pulled back, he looked puzzled. Like, obviously. It was me who was the dragon. I would have been some random mute beast to him, for all the good it did me...

" Hey. Sorry. You looked like someone I knew.."
" Yeah, no problem at all." 
Awkward pause.. great.
And I went on my way again.