The year is X363.
This is a time of fear and chaos. Abuse, pillaging, distrust, cruelty, selfishness, and many other terrible things from the people around you are considered normal, because that was how it had always been. Today is no different. Ten-year-old Kiseki Knight is rudely awoken from her peaceful sleep by one of the older women in her tribe. "Kiseki, today's the big day!"
Kiseki shoots up out of bed and gleefully strips for her bath. The women in the house, there to prepare her, all share pitying looks before they look away from each other and continue helping the young girl get ready. None of them can bear to look at another again.
Meanwhile, Kiseki happily plays with the bubbles in her bath. She tries to escape the bucket a few times, but there are too many women around for her to get away and out the back door to her garden. She loves gardening: the smell of plants, the feeling of dirt in her hands, the freshness of each breeze as it brushes through her hair. She would spend all day in the garden if she could.
Once done with her bath, she requests to go out to her garden. The women share a few looks. "I should say no, but since today is special... you may. Just for a moment though, and don't get yourself dirty!" one woman replies, amid many protests.
"We can't!"
"Please, we must get on with this!"
"Enough!" the kind woman exclaims. "The garden is her love. Allow them a chance to love again, before the love is gone." She pointed looks in the direction of the town square.
The other women bow their heads in submission as the little girl squeals and runs outside. She frolics through the foliage, grazing beautiful flowers as she sees them. Before she has a chance to get down and dirty, as she likes to, the kind woman comes to gather Kiseki. She is dressed in a beautiful white dress and has flowers braided into her hair.
"Come child, it is time."
The women lead the child out of her house. She is walked through the street like a procession of sorts, with everyone staring at her with odd looks on their faces. Ending up at the town square, the group sees a wood pole surrounded by wood and straw. With sorrow in her eyes, the kind one leads the child up to the wooden pole as the light starts to go out on the valley, another day setting.
"Come now, this will all be over soon," she consoles, her voice filled with regret as she gently wraps the girl in rope and ties it tight around the wooden pole.
The woman walks away as the villagers gather all around her and a man steps up in front of her with a lit torch. He approaches her and strokes her cheek. "You will be the savior of the village. With your sacrifice, we will live." Suddenly, he places the torch directly on her and she begins to scream.
"O great and honorable spirits," he announces, her screams in the background forcing him to yell even louder, "Please accept this offering as enough to end this terrible war infesting our land. O mighty dragons, if you must kill one of us, kill her. We are but simple peasants, and humbly wish for your pardon! Please pardon us!" he yells, his arms outstretched towards the sky as others chant similarly around the fire.
"Please help me, I don't know what's happening! Please!" Kiseki screams, surrounded by flames.
"Please pardon us," the villagers chant.
"Please help me!"
A low rumbling starts and then begins to grow. The villagers quiet to listen. In the distance, a red blob appears in the sky. As it moves closer, the rumbling increases until the ground is violently shaking with its screeches and the villagers realize what it is they have evoked.
"A dragon!"
"Everybody run!"
"Please save us, Great Dragon!"
"O mighty dragon, accept our offering-"
The dragon appears in full view, right above all the villagers. Suddenly, the fire is sucked away from the girl, who falls onto the ground, unconscious, surrounded by chars. The dragon roars. "Who dares ignite this child in the name of the dragons?" the dragon thunders, his voice almost too loud to hear.
The man who chanted earlier steps forward. "O mighty dragon, 'tis I- I mean, we! The villagers! We want the war to end, and-"
"-Thought that the murder of an innocent would please the dragons enough to leave your tiny village alone?"
The villagers warily nod.
"Fools! This is why dragons wage war against you! You care nothing for each other! None of you deserve to live… How about I end each and every one of you right now? But no. I, Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons, will pardon you all this one time if you swear on Magic never to do anything such as this again! Do you swear?"
"Whatever you want, O Mighty Dragon! We swear!"
He slams his claws on the ground and swipes at the ashes, roaring at the villagers until the feel as though they will never hear again. The dragon leaps into the sky, clutching the little girl in his claw.
"Remember your oath!" With that, he flies far away from the village. She awakens in his clutch and begins to look around, dazed.
"Go to sleep, young one. I will protect you."
The girl needs no further instructions, and quickly fell back out of consciousness. When they reach a clearing in the forest with a shack on the edge of the forest, the dragon lands, setting the girl down gently. Once he Magicks her into a deep sleep, he roars and flies off into the girl needs no further instructions, and quickly fell back out of consciousness. When they reach a clearing in the forest with a shack on the edge of the forest, the dragon lands, setting the girl down gently. Once he Magicks her into a deep sleep, he roars and flies off into the night.
A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to my new story! I am so excited to be back in the game, and wanted to share this with everyone. I have been working on this short story during my hiatus from publishing on my other stories, and I finished it, so I wanted to give it to y'all. I hope you enjoy the story!
Also, can anyone guess why I gave her that specific name? It's kinda obvious, but I thought it was a nice touch.
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