Chapter Three- If I Had to Pick a Way to Die, this Wouldn't be it

"I'm serious Anna. It was so bad I broke out in hives," I lamented to my friend on Monday over lunch. Work had been slow that day, and I'd deliberately avoided Paul the entire morning. I didn't think he was very keen on seeing me either- especially since he probably knew that after I told Anna about the horror of my date, his chances of going out with her had become obsolete.

"God Leigh, I am so sorry. If I would have known he was going to be such a tool I would never have set you up on that date," she moaned, running a hand through her flaming hair.

"It's not your fault," I sighed. "I can't blame you for being gorgeous and mysterious without even trying- though I can definitely envy you for it," I laughed, trying to brush away the anger I felt when I had been recalling the events of the evening. I had tried to resolve to let it go after all. If Paul and I were meant to have worked out, we would have. So, the fact that we hadn't even remotely clicked could only mean that the great love I'd envisioned for us definitely wasn't meant to be. Not because something was working against me, like the man from the pub had so rudely told me, but because we simply weren't compatible. I had made the executive decision to not tell Anna about that whole mess at the Drake and Firkin. I was still wrapping my head around what that jerk had said to me, and besides, I was way too embarrassed to confess my behavior to her.

"Whatever. I know this is cliched best friend advice, but if can't see how awesome you are then he doesn't deserve you," she said, taking a large spoonful of her spicy, red-pepper soup. We'd decided on a kitschy sandwich cafe for lunch, and while it was a little pricey the food was amazing, though I still hadn't touched my BLT since I'd been so busy recounting the date.

"Cliched or not, I still appreciate it. Who needs a boyfriend anyway? I've decided that I'm going about this whole dating thing all wrong. I need to stop sitting around and waiting for Prince Charming to come to me- I'm not sad and indentured like Cinderella after all, so I've got to buck up and head to the ball all on my own," I announced, so pleased with my new found determination that I felt entitled to take a satisfying bite of my sandwich.

"That's the spirit Leigh. You don't realize just how much of a treasure you really are," she said, patting me on the head like I was a child. I rolled my eyes at her, while wiping crumbs from the corners of my mouth.

Checking the time on my cellphone, I sighed when I realized it was time to head back to work. Gathering our coats and purses we walked the short distance back to the law firm and didn't have a chance again.

The rest of the day was uneventful, despite a few near-Paul encounters that I struggled to avoid as best I could, and by the time four o'clock rolled around, I couldn't leave fast enough. Saying a quick goodbye to Sharkbait as he swam around in his little bowl, I was excited for an evening where I could just take it easy- maybe do some reading, watch a movie. Frankie had the night shift, so thankfully he wouldn't be around to pester me about my failure of a romantic evening. And although my dad was around, the hockey game was on, and he wasn't much a conversationalist when watching a sporting event. He got annoyed it when he was interrupted- mostly because every time I did so, he ended up missing what he deemed to be a critical moment in the game. He'd usually fall asleep on the couch afterwards, blissfully oblivious to what went on around him.

Since he was preoccupied, I made us a nice dinner- though I was hardly a cook I had a handful of recipes I was pretty proud of, and after eating I went to my bedroom for some well-deserved relaxation. I could trust my dad to take care of the dishes later.

My room didn't look much different than it had when my mom was still alive. The walls were still a warm shade of gold that I'd chosen to compliment my favorite painting- The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. I remember when I'd come home to see that she'd found it as an enormous wall canvas to hang over top of my bed. Made with gold foil, I still loved how it shone every time I turned on the lights and how they were reflected in the image.

When she'd first passed away, I'd taken the picture down right away. I couldn't stand to look at the last thing she'd given me before she got sick. After a while though, the emptiness of the wall began to eat away at my heart until I had to put it up again. I would have never predicted how the memory of such a simple gift from her could brighten my spirits. Now, while I'd outgrown the room long ago, I couldn't bear to change a thing about it. Even the glow in the dark stars on the roof remained right where they were.

Collapsing on my bed, I grabbed the book I was reading from the side table without looking- my hand fishing around the variety of objects I'd left there until I felt its hard cover. It was a Beauty and the Beast story, with romance through and through set in wartime era England. I was so engrossed in the tale that I didn't realize how late it had become by the time I'd finished- tears in my eyes from reading the happy ending.

With a yawn, I quickly put on my pajama's and snuck to the bathroom where I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I never realized how tired I actually was when I was reading a good book, so when I got under the covers and turned off the light, it didn't take me very long before I fell into a deep sleep.

In my dreams I was running as fast as I could from something I couldn't see. I had no idea what it was, as it cast no shadow and made no sound, but I knew I needed to be afraid of it. It was a nightmare I'd had before, reoccurring several times a year, and while it was often set in a different place the premise was always the same- I was always alone, and always struggling to find somewhere to hide. This time, I was in the forest behind my house, searching hopelessly to find a tree or cave large enough for me to conceal myself with. There was no noise save for the sound of my feet in the leaves and my heavy breathing.

I ran until my legs could no longer carry my weight and I fell into the ground with a resounding thud. Coughing, I fought to crawl into some bushes that were nearby. Even though I knew it wasn't real, I could feel the twigs and rocks beneath my body, cutting into my arms and legs and through the thin material of my pajamas. What surprised me the most however, was the fact that I could smell smoke, which had never happened in the nightmare before.

"Leigh!" my name was called out through the blackness- something else that was new.

"Leigh get up!" It was a voice that was vaguely familiar, though I couldn't place it.

"Leigh you have to wake up now!" It was true that I wanted to wake up, since I was exhausted from the nightmare, but my body didn't feel like cooperating and it seemed like the voice was fading away, back into the fear and blackness.

It felt was shaken awake, my eyes jolting open as I began to cough violently. My room was bright with light far more intense than what came from the glow stars on the ceiling and I could see the shadow of smoke rising in the distance. The sound of an alarm was beeping so loudly I thought I might go deaf at the sound of it.

My house was on fire.

Sitting upright as quickly as I could manage I made to leave the room to find my father and make sure he was awake, but as soon as I opened the door, flames from the fire leaped into the air, barring my passage. I shouted out his name, again and again, hoping he would hear me, before shutting the door and grabbing my cellphone from my dresser to call the fire department. I knew that they'd never get here in time to do any real good, since we lived so far away from the city, but I had to do something.

I tried to recall everything I'd learned about what to do in a house fire, though it was hard to think with all of the noise from the alarms. Still, I remembered that I needed to keep the smoke from coming in my room, so I rushed to jam the underside of the door with the blankets from my bed to keep the smoke coming inside. Yet, just as I was finishing I felt an enormous rumble as part of the roof began to collapse on the other side of the home- right where my father's room was. I screamed, the feeling of being completely helpless overwhelming a split second before I realized I wouldn't do my father any good if I died in here, too. All I could do was pray he was safe, and that the alarms had woken him up soon enough that he was able to get out.

The whole house rumbled again, and I just knew the fire was erupting all around me. I had no idea what it was, or why the fire was spreading so fast, but I was certain that there was nothing I could do to save anything inside any longer. I ran to my bedroom window and opened it as fast as I could manage. I had to tear off the mosquito screen before I could peek my head out to see the damage around the rest of the house, and as soon as I did I knew that the only way I'd be getting out alive was to find some way to escape from the window. The only problem was that I was on the second floor, and it was a straight drop down into the driveway. I had a feeling if I tried I'd suffer more than a few injuries.

"Think Leigh, think," I said to myself, scrambling around my room to find something that might help me get down. I thought about making a rope blanket like you see on TV when a miscreant teenager is sneaking out at night, but I didn't have the material or the time necessary to make something like that. Instead, I stood at the window trying hopelessly to figure a way out that didn't involve me plummeting to the ground.

I was just about to leap down when I heard a voice call my name again, just like I had in my dream.

"Leigh! Where are you?" Somehow, miraculously, it was Anna, though how she'd known about the fire I'd no idea.

"I'm in here! Anna, I'm in my room!" And it only took a second for her to come bursting through my door. As soon as she opened it, both flames and smoke shot through, making me shield my eyes as they began to tear up- but my friend looked completely unfazed by what was happening around her. Flames licked at her hair and skin, but they didn't seem to have any power over her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, coming towards me to give me a big hug.

"How did you get in here? There- there was fire everywhere!" I wondered, returning her embrace as tightly as I could manage. I was so grateful to see her.

"No time for explanations, keep a hold of me, we're jumping down from the window. You mustn't make a sound- do you understand?" I didn't, but I nodded anyway.

As graceful as a bird she leaped through the opening, and we landed on the driveway with only the slightest sensation of an impact.

"Anna, I think my dad is still in there. We have to help him!" I pleaded, but she cast me a look that said to be silent, and for the first time I noticed that her eyes were glowing in a way I'd never seen them do before- as if she was filled with fire herself. Maybe she was, for it was very clear to me that there was something about my friend that I didn't know- something really big.

Suddenly, she pushed me onto the ground and knelt over me while I felt a rush of air from above streak past.

"What was that?" I whispered, causing her to glare at me again. With the understanding that she wasn't willing to tell me anything I decided that I'd have to figure things out for myself. So, as soon as she'd loosened her grip on me I resolved to head for the house. There must be some way to help my father- I only hoped that he'd noticed the fire in time to find somewhere safe, because since he wasn't outside anywhere I knew he must still be in the house.

I made a dash for it, and I could hear Anna curse under her breath- but I wasn't going to stop, not until I knew that my dad was safe. It was up to me to help him, since there was still no sign of a firetruck, and as crazy and as foolish as it seemed I knew if our roles were reversed he'd do the same. My father would never have left without me, and I couldn't leave without him either. He was the only parent I had left.

As soon as the front door to the house was in sight, I breathed a sign of relief. It wasn't on fire yet, which meant I might be able to get in if Anna didn't catch me first.

"Hang on dad. I'm coming," I whispered to myself, almost rejoicing at my success at reaching the threshold.

But then I felt that rush of air again, and a deep rumbling that resonated in my bones and made me tremble without knowing why. Anna had stopped chasing me, too- her eyes fixated on something that I knew must have been behind me.

Whatever it was, it laughed, the sound more menacing than anything I'd ever heard before.

Slowly, I turned around to face the source of the noise, though at first I didn't see anything against the backdrop of the night. Then it moved, and huge, red eyes opened- they glowed bright enough to give me a perspective of its shape. It was enormous, and as the air seemed to shift around me I realized two things:

First, that I must still have been dreaming. Because second,what I was looking at was most definitely a dragon- exactly as one would usually depict a fire-breathing menace.

What I didn't expect was his voice, almost gentlemanly in quality despite the growling rumble that gave an undercurrent to his tone.

"A pleasure to meet you tiny human. It is a great pity I must destroy you upon our first meeting- but alas, such is fate," he drawled. There was a number of witty remarks I could have replied with then, and in retrospect I knew I'd kick myself in the butt for not using any of them. Still, I was looking at a dragon after all, and to be fair I didn't think anyone else would have been able to keep cool under all of that stress either.

Instead, what came out of my mouth was a serious of inscrutable gurgling noises.

"It is a shame you aren't more articulate lass, for I so dearly love to hear humans plead for their lives. It makes your deaths so much more satisfying after all," he continued, his gentle voice so out of place with his cruel words that I felt goosebumps rise all over me.

I thought that it must be a dream- dragons were no more real than unicorns or fairies. I'd been reading far too much fantasy before bed and my mind was overreacting. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time. But the more I took in what was going on around me, the more I knew that it was real, that I wasn't dreaming- life was just a lot more interesting than I'd ever given it credit for. Too bad I doubted I'd be alive long enough to appreciate it.

"If you harm a hair on her head I promise you will regret it," I heard Anna say an instant before she was in front of me, her whole body shielding me from the dragon like a knight in shining armor.

She was acting differently though, her words were as cold as ice, and I'd never heard her speak that way before. I thought she might be as afraid as I was, not that I could blame her, for this creature looked like the devil himself, with horns stretching as far as my eyes could see up into the sky. Great, bat-like wings were spread outwards, blocking out the flames from the house and the stars in the sky. It was like I was a child again, watching that scene in Fantasia that always made me look for my mother- A night on Bald Mountain, with the terrifying devil blacking out all of the goodness around him.

"And what can you possibly do to me Rowanna?"

"It's not me you should fear Donovan," she spat back.

"You forget that once I destroy this little morsel, I'll no longer need to fear him either. Otherwise, I would hardly be bothered with the affairs of one merely fit to be my dinner."

"If you think I'll stand aside and let you hurt her you're wrong. It's my job to keep her safe!"

Smoke streamed from the dragon's nostrils, and it was as black and deadly as he was. All of a sudden it became very clear why it was my home was ablaze. A dragon had set it on fire.

"Yet you fear to show her what you really are. You are ashamed of it- but why should you be? We were here long before the humans were, and if I have my way, we will exist long after them as well. They are a plague on this earth, and not worthy of your protection."

"Leigh," Anna said as calmly as she could given the circumstances we now found ourselves in.

"I need you to run now," she said, and the dragon only laughed.

"Running will do her no good Rowanna. For one meant to offer her safety, you certainly provide lousy advice," the dragon laughed again, and I decided there was no sound I hated more.

"Go now. I'll be right behind you," she continued, ignoring its comment.

"I'm not going until you help my father like you helped me," I asserted, unclear as to what magic she'd used to help me but pretty sure she could do the same to help my dad. The dragon laughed again.

"See how she deigns to command you? This is what you would save?"

"This is not the time to be stubborn Leigh," she said, her voice full of warning while she ignored the black dragon's taunting.

"My father could be dying. It's the perfect time to be stubborn since I have nothing left to lose," I asserted, and she turned to face me, her eyes still glowing.

"There is more to lose than you can possibly imagine sweetie, but I'll do what you ask as long as you give me your oath that you will run first."

I wasn't sure what compelled me to listen to her. Perhaps it was how serious she sounded- how afraid. Or maybe it was because I really didn't have anything to lose by trying to get away. It was certainly a better idea than allowing myself to get toasted without putting up a fight. There was one problem with that plan however, since I was quite certain that my legs were currently made of Jello, and that if I tried to run then it would be all over. I'd be without Anna's protection any longer, and left wide open for the dragon to eat me- a thought I could never have predicted I'd have in a million years.

But when I turned and looked at my home- the only one I'd known since I was born, being burned down because of that monster, I found some sort of strength within me. I was fairly certain it was stemmed in the rage I felt at the knowledge that my poor father, as well as everything my mom had built inside was on fire.

And I so I ran. If the dragon wanted me for dinner I refused to cooperate and digest willingly. I would fight for my life with all I possessed- tooth and nail against fang and claw if need be. There was no way I was going to allow myself to be killed by a fantastical creature. That sort of thing just didn't happen to people. Granted if it happened to anyone I wasn't that surprised that it would be me.

I don't think I'd ever run so fast in my life- not that I ran much in my life to use as a comparison, but now that I needed to be in shape I regretted all those times I could have gone to the gym and opted to eat Doritos instead.

I had almost reached the entrance to the forest when I collapsed, and I blamed all of the smoke for my lack of stamina despite the fact I was well aware it was my poor shape and lack of shoes. The wind bit at my pajamas and made me shiver with both fear and cold, and at the same time I looked behind me only to see nothing there. No Anna and no dragon.

A, by now, familiar rush of air swooped over me again and I ducked, covering my head with my arms as best as I could- like it would actually help if that thing wanted to pick me up and eat me.

"There you are little one. How foolish of you to bargain away the only one who might save you."

"I'd prefer to be called courageous," I said in between pants. At least I managed to get one quip in before I was roasted.

"Ah, but what is courage but foolishness cleverly disguised? Still, call it what you'd like. Your time is up," he smirked, and I could see a flash of the teeth that would undoubtedly make quick work of me. He was quite smug actually, and since I refused to let him win that easily I began crawling away as best as I was able until my hand passed over a rather jagged rock. It cut into my skin painfully, but at least it gave me an idea. Throwing it at the dragon's nose and praying to whoever would listen that I'd be able to beat my poor baseball track record just once and hit my target, I watched as it merely bounced off of the creature's nose and back on the ground.

With nothing else to do or try, I could only hope that I'd give the beast brutal indigestion on my way down- as a last stand of sorts it was pretty depressing, but it was all I had left in my arsenal.

I watched as smoke once again emerged from the dragon's nostrils, and I could tell that it was preparing to breathe fire- probably on me. I thought of my dad, and hoped Anna could help him at least. I thought of Frankie, who'd come home from his night shift to find the horror that was left here, and I thought of my mom who'd be waiting for me. I thought of how I'd never been in love, and would die without knowing what it was like. I thought of all the things I wanted to accomplish and would never get the chance.

Yet before the monster managed to follow through with his threat he was suddenly unhinged from his feet, as if something I couldn't see had knocked him over so quickly I hadn't even noticed. Anger flared in his red eyes as he looked around.

"I was wondering when you'd see fit to arrive," he growled, spinning around quickly while his onyx colored scales allowed him to fade into blackness once again. I followed the glint of his eyes to see yet another dragon, this one so completely different from him that I wondered if they were even the same species. Perhaps they weren't, but I admit I wasn't up on my dragonology.

Still, the newcomer didn't fill me with dread, and something from deep within me felt an incredible sense of peace at its arrival- as if all of a sudden I was safe. In the light of the fire from the distance I could tell its scales were gold, and while it wasn't as large as the black one I had a feeling that its size didn't represent how strong it was. It had graceful, curved horns that shone like opals and its eyes that glowed the same color as the molten gold I'd seen once in a documentary.

With a great thwack of its tail, the new dragon knocked the black one to its side. Then, I watched as it lunged towards it with claws eager to slash at its exposed chest. It hit the mark, and the black dragon roared in agony. I saw it curl up as it writhed in pain before I was grabbed by the gold dragon- my body fitting quite snugly between his enormous talons.

"Hey! Let go of me!" I shouted, squirming this way and that until I was given a firm shake.

"Enough of that. You're already far more trouble than you're worth," it said to me in what was obviously a male voice, as it took to the skies with me in his grasp.

"Put me down!" I shouted again, using my fists to slam against his arm despite the fact I was pretty sure it was futile.

"If you'd prefer I leave you with your friend there then be my guest," he growled back as we approached the house. I saw Anna, who I'd noticed had somehow managed to pull my father from the flames of the house before it collapsed in on itself. He was coughing furiously, but he was alive, and I could see the lights of the firetrucks in the distance. Help would arrive soon- too late for our home, but at least my father would get the medical attention he needed.

"About time you showed up," Anna yelled- at me? At the gold dragon? I didn't know, but an instant later he had her grasped in his other hand and we'd taken off once more, the great, furious roar of the black dragon left in our wake.

In that moment I realized that there was only one thing left for me to do that would allow me to appropriately convey the virginal princess sacrifice that you'd so often read about or watch in movies.

I fainted.

A/N: And thus, Leigh's problems morph from mundane to magical. Thanks again for the amazing reviews. I've been having a tough time of things lately, and every time I get a review message in my inbox I feel rejuvenated. I know many of you mentioned you weren't sure where this was going, and you probably have a better idea now, be it for better or for worse. I'm going to be honest. I love dragons. I've always wanted to write about them and thought it would be fun to bring some of their mythology into modern day, though I admit I will be taking huge liberties with them as I usually do with just about everything. I've definitely left some clues in this chapter to make some predictions, so keep them coming!

C.V.