Faithful Pebble

Part One Hundred and One

Pebble stumbled to the seating area. She teetered backwards sailing away, inching away from the hearth and its cluttered table. She plopped, Pebble. She fell ungracefully into the cushioned arm chair her father once occupied. Unaware, unheedful, she nearly sank through choked completely by musty brown seems, pinching silver springs and the scratchiest ivory cotton her world had ever produced. But of this, she didn't care. She watched him, the wanderer. Wearily, cautiously, eagerly, she simply watched him.

She imagined laughter, Pebble. It seemed to tilt the wanderer's lips as he followed her, but then the smile faded. But then, he knelt before her, his countenance serious. "You've seen the dragon?" he asked quietly, steadily, cautiously. "I did not mean to startle you," he said. "I'm sorry."

Behind her veil Pebble bit her lip. Her fingers fidgeted with the diamond necklace, while its bejeweled dragon glittered dangerously. In the light of the fireplace, its eyes seemed to smolder. Was it angry? She thought. Was it afraid? Of this, she did not know. She couldn't tell. Pebble shrugged. "I found it," she said. "One day, not long after I awoke, I noticed the well's floor was rather soft and so I dug through the dirt. I did it, because I was weary of staying where I was. I did it, because I wanted to avoid my visitors and the rubbish they threw at me. And so, I dug it up. I dug down. I dug deep. It didn't take too long," she said.

"Down was easy. There was no bottom, but the well's walls were made of stone. So, I couldn't dig through them, of course." Pebble smiled a little. She wondered if he could see it, the wanderer. She wondered what his reaction would be if she showed him. The thought was bitter tasting. It smeared her smile into a settled frown. "Eventually, I dug so low that I accidentally connected into a mine shaft. I didn't realize how far the Baron dug in his search for treasure. I was impressed," Pebble admitted. "And curious. I explored them.

"Father never showed me where the entrance was in the forest, but when he left, I'd quickly found them, the mines. I never had the courage to go in fearful of what slept inside, but when I suddenly found myself in the midst of them, my fear left me. What did I have to lose?

"The tunnels, they were vast and wild, running the length of the entire forest. I soon found food and shelter, water where the forest streams broke through the walls. After sometime, I made a home there, like I did my forest. I exchanged the dirt for trees and the sun for stone and darkness, but I was happy, though lonely. It was sometime before I found his den.

"I saw a light one day. It looked like moonlight, silver and glittery and wrong. I followed it. The tunnel had half closed in on itself, but I could still slip through its tiny opening. It wasn't that small, but when it opened, it was a lot bigger. It led into a vast dome chamber that glowed. It glowed nothing but silver and glitter and menace.

"My father was right about that room. The walls, the ceiling, the floor: they were all lined in diamonds, though you could smell the danger, see it coat the gems in a violet hue. The poison seeps from the ceiling. It drips down the walls and pools on the floor. Still, I wasn't scared. I wanted a closer look." Here, Pebble looked at her hands, her black and clawed and dirt-crusted creations. Here, her head sank until her chin cloaked her chest. "I edged to the entrance and picked up a jewel. I didn't mean any harm," she said. "I just wanted to see why it glowed. I was turning it in my hands when I heard a growl. I paused a moment, remembering father's story, his many dire warnings. I took a breath, then looked up. I took a breath and then found myself staring straight into HIS eyes. They were the color of stone, not blood, or ice, or..." she took a breath and changed the subject.

"HIS eyes narrowed as his head, as big as a wolf, erupted from the center of a diamond pile. HE had made a bed of them right in the middle of the room. It was so gigantic you could swim in them if you wanted to."

"Though it wouldn't be recommended," the wanderer reminded.

Pebble blushed. She nodded and continued. "He easily tossed the jewels off his neck. His back and tail emerged making room for his wings to spread. He was a fearsome sight."

"I'm sure," the wanderer hummed. "What did you do?" The man smiled a little watching as the girl leaned forward to tell her story, a story she probably hadn't spoken to anyone else. Even with her veil, her excitement was vastly palpable.

Pebble smiled. "Do?" she exclaimed. "I backed up until my back hit the mine wall and… And it followed me!"

Yeah, life - Calla