A dragon. A massive, hulking beast, towering over her with fire leaking from its mouth and nose. The beast roared a deafening roar, and a much smaller creature lanced straight through the heart of the enormous dragon. It fell to one side and dissolved into mist. Another dragon stepped out of the mist, shrouded in shadow, but this time a woman walked alongside the beast. She was also shrouded in shadow, her hand resting against the dragon's side, and when she spoke, her words echoed in the air.

"In three days time, you will return to where you belong. Protect the dragons from all those who wish to harm them. It is your destiny. I will see you soon, my beloved daughter."

Amaya awoke with a startled gasp, clutching her chest. She felt as though her lungs had been filled with sand, and she gasped for air as the slight rocking of the ship brought her back to reality.

"I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm on a cruise with my family. I'm fine."

The clock beside her bed showed the time as 2:38 AM, and Amaya sighed. She rolled over, tucking her blanket close around her shoulders, and hoped she could get back to sleep. She had a long day ahead of her.

Amaya wasn't quite sure what happened. The ship was fine one moment, and the next everyone was screaming. Amaya had gotten separated from her family in the chaos, and she was pushed closer and closer to the edge of the ship as she tried to reach the lifeboats. A screaming woman shoved past her and Amaya felt the railing of the ship dig into her side. She lost her balance, a scream escaping her as she fell over the edge of the boat.

The water was icy cold, and Amaya's body spasmed with the shock. The ship was spiralling, and the vortex it whipped up dragged her down under the surface. She couldn't fight, and she lost all sense of direction as it spun her around and around, flipping her upside down and sideways. Amaya resigned herself to drown, until something thick and heavy slammed into her midriff. Amaya felt the water moving around her as she was whisked through it until her lungs finally gave out and her vision went dark.

Amaya awoke to find a dragon sitting in front of her. It was huge, with two heads on the ends of a pair of long necks, both of which were focused squarely on her. She gasped, scrambling to escape, only to collide against something thick and unmoving behind her. A low growl greeted her ears, and Amaya froze. A huge head, with a small skull and large jaws, came into view. It must have belonged to the dragon at her back. Its brownish-red scales reminded Amaya chillingly of dried blood, and she couldn't help but whimper in fear.

"Please don't hurt me," she whispered.

The dragon snorted, slit pupils wide, and leaned closer. Amaya's heart slammed against her ribs, and the stark realization that she could very well die rang true in her heart.

She wished it was a dream. She wished that she could just close her eyes and wake up back in her bed on the ship, and see her mom again, and play with her little brother. She wished she'd gotten the chance to tell them she loved them.

Amaya squeaked in fear as she felt a scaly nose touch her arm, but the pain she expected didn't come. Instead, the rough texture of scales against her skin simply remained, static and unmoving against her upper arm.

Amaya risked opening one eye, to find that the dragon had pressed its nose against her forearm and closed its eyes. Confusion budded in Amaya's chest, eating at the fear. After a few moments, she was bold enough to move, reaching out with her other hand tentatively. When her fingertips made contact with the dragon's nose, a growl met her ears, and she yanked her hand back. The dragon opened one eye, parting its jaws to let out a confused and slightly disappointed hurr? as it watched her. She slowly brought her hand back, resting it against the dragon's snout, and the growling resumed.

No, not growling. Purring. The massive thing was purring like a kitten.

Confusion consumed all the fear in Amaya's chest, and she slowly began to stroke the massive head. The dragon, seemingly satisfied that she wouldn't panic, rested its head against the floor with its nose resting against Amaya's side. The warmth of its breath reached her side through her tattered t-shirt.

"What's going on?" Amaya muttered to herself. As if on cue, another dragon crept forward. It was a tiny thing, no bigger than a dog, and it chirped in her direction to get her attention. Amaya turned her attention to the little dragon, which took the opportunity to nudge her bare foot. Amaya shivered, since the cavern the dragons had taken her to was chilly and she'd been wearing a t-shirt and shorts when the ship went down.

The little dragon jumped into Amaya's lap, and she froze again with fear, but it meant no harm. The little dragon simply curled up on her thighs, and Amaya slowly began stroking its leathery wings.

"I must be dreaming. That or dead," she whispered. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't.

The dream she'd had the night before resurfaced in her brain, and the voice echoed in her ears.

"Protect the dragons," she said softly. "Are you the dragons I'm supposed to protect?"

The little dragon in her lap purred on, and the dragon at her side snored. She glanced up to see the two-headed dragon crawl closer and rest both its heads on her knees. Amaya settled back against the warm scales she was resting against, her eyes drifting closed, and chose not to think about where exactly these dragons had come from. They'd saved her life, and she was grateful for that.