And here it is, the moment that everything changes. I hope I did it justice ;)
Entry 61
I don't even know what to say. Where I should be writing about my victory over the beastly Night Fury, I'm sitting here trying to figure out just what I'm going to do now.
I've basically committed mutiny. And that's not even one of my usual exaggerations. I literally have betrayed my people.
Oh, gods, what am I going to do? What CAN I do? I can't even begin to imagine what my dad would do to me if he found out.
I need to slow down… let's start at the beginning.
I found the Night Fury. It took all day, but I was right to check around Raven Point. And just when I was about to give up, too. And when I did find it, I thought it was already dead.
It wasn't moving. My bola did exactly what it was meant to: it bound every limb and wing, keeping the dragon from being able to escape. As I got closer, I couldn't even see it breathing. Honestly, that was a relief; I didn't know if I could kill it myself. Taking its heart from its dead body seemed a lot easier.
So there I was, edging closer and closer to its lifeless form. It's smaller than I had expected. I always thought such a prolific dragon would be massive, but it was only about half the size of a Nightmare. And as I was there, celebrating my victory by placing a foot on the prize… it moved. I jumped back, slowly stepping back toward it, and… its eyes. It had opened its eyes, which I could only see one of, and was breathing heavily, labored and in pain. Still, I had to kill it. I just couldn't let myself disappoint my people any longer. I couldn't be a coward, I couldn't let my father down again.
And yet, as I stood there, hands raised with my dagger… it just kept staring at me. Its eyes… I can't even begin to explain what I saw.
Life.
In all my fourteen and a half years of being alive, I never once considered that as a possibility. I never thought of dragons as living things, just as the monsters who killed my mother, who destroyed my village, who mocked me with their very existence.
But when that dragon looked at me… I saw something I never thought I would. I saw its fear, its silent pleas for mercy. I couldn't even begin to fathom it… it was AFRAID. Afraid of death, just like any human. And, with a simple mournful moan and closing of its eyes… I couldn't do it.
It accepted its fate. It was waiting for my strike. It was so… so HUMAN of a gesture, so intelligent and understanding… I couldn't just kill it.
I should have left it. I STARTED to leave it. But, something in me broke. I went back, using the very blade I was going to end it with to cut it free. The moment its legs were released, it jumped onto me, pinning me against a rock. I knew this was it, and it was more than deserved. I was going to die, at the claws of the dragon I worked so hard to capture. But… it never came.
The dragon just stared at me once more, eyes so clearly torn between a want to kill and… and something else. Something I couldn't quite recognize. And, even with my life literally in this monster's grasp, I couldn't look away. Its eyes were green, not much different than my own. And, as I looked into them… I no longer saw a dragon. I… I saw myself. I saw my own fear, my own conflict, my own thoughts being reflected back at me. And, as the dragon reared back, and I prepared myself for its fury… all I got was a shrieking roar in my ears.
And it was gone.
What… what do I do now? It spared me. The very dragon I'd believed to be nothing less than a ruthless, mindless killer bent on destruction, the very unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. I shot it down, taunted it, drew out its death, and yet… it didn't kill me.
I just don't understand…
How… how can a dragon be more than just a monster? How is it possible that it has… feelings? Thoughts? Life?
I need to know more. I have to find it again. I've already ruined my chances of ever being a real Viking. I might as well just dig myself deeper.
Until next time…
-H
