CHAPTER 2

A couple hours later, Valira came back with a net full of items, a sheep and a branch off of a tree in her other claw. She was shocked and surprised watching Sarah stacking gold coins as high as she could without them falling. Sarah turned and looked at her smiling and said, "Hi Valira, I was bored and was trying to see how high I could get without toppling them over. I counted 143 so far. I'm not very good at it after several dozen tries. I always had trouble stacking cards into towers too. How did it go out there?"

Valira said, confused by her behavior, "I find you curious, Sarah. Most humans would be filling their pockets with gold but you are just counting and stacking it like a game. Why is that?"

Sarah said giggling, "Well, first of all, I have no pockets and second of all, it's very rude to steal from your host in their own home. Third, I am not a stupid greedy human fool to ever try to take anything away from a dragon. It's a very ignorant thing to do. Most of all, I'm not that kind of a person and have always been considered different."

Valira sat down her net, branch and the sheep and asked, "Tell me Sarah, where are you from because you don't act like any human I have ever known in the Underground? Most are afraid and terrified but you haven't acted like that from the second you woke up."

Sarah went over and looked at what she brought her net and said, "You did wonderfully, Valira. This looks marvelous. I came from the Aboveground but have been fascinated by magic and all of the myths and legends of the past up there." Sarah asked, "Do you have a knife?"

Valira looked around and found a short sword and tossed it by Sarah. Sarah said, "Thank you." Sarah took a bucket and the barrel outside so it could fill with snow. She started to skin the sheep and cut the legs off first to hang up outside. She talked as she worked to get her food organized. She had worked a part time job at a small butchers shop and paid attention.

Sarah said, "I am the Champion of the Labyrinth, I guess because I won my brother back after stupidly wishing him away in a temper tantrum as a child."

Valira said, astonished that she was the champion, "Really? I have never heard of another champion but you when you won. It was talked about all over the Underground if us dragons even found out about it."

Sarah told her, "It has already been thirteen years ago. I just found out that I had to come back to the Underground I guess last night." Sarah got the bucket of snow and sat it near the little lava pool to melt.

Valira asked, "Who came to get you from up there, the Goblin King?"

Sarah said thinking about her answer, "No, it was….. I don't really don't know who it was. The voice was feminine and told me the last champion was over four thousand years ago and I was the one chosen because they had only one hundred years to have a replacement when the last went to the fade. I was given thirteen years to mature from a child and had no choice but to return. I think something went wrong when I was falling into the abyss. I can't remember but it felt like I was not alone but something else was in there too."

Sarah started washing off her hands after she set her mutton shanks and chunks of meat outside to freeze in the snow that was cut up the best she could in meat chunks. She wrapped up the rest and asked Valira if she would like the rest. Valira had her set the carcass and all in her mouth and back away. Sarah did as she was told. Valira crunched it all down and swallowed. Sarah went over to the sacks of root vegetables and dried fruit with several loaves of bread. She made a bag of what to keep in the cave and outside of the cave in the net. The dragon was surprised because they were told that the Aboveground people were stupid and helpless. This one was practical thinking and methodical in the way she did things to organize her food preservation.

Sarah said after she came in to start cooking her food to eat, "Thank you so much for doing that for me. It is very appreciated and thoughtful of you, Valira." The dragon was flattered by this human female telling her and showing her respect through gratefulness and appreciation. Yes, this was a different kind of human.

Valira said in response, "Yes, you are a very unusual human female, Sarah. I like you. It was no problem and it feels good to be appreciated and trusted. Most humans would never have put the carcass in my mouth trusting me not to chomp them down with it."

Sarah smiled at her over her shoulder and said, "I guess mutual trust is a good foundation to build a lasting friendship." Valira chuckled.

Valira said, "Yes indeed. It will be refreshing and different to trust a human because they have either tried to kill us or have been a light snack."

Sarah looked at her and asked, "Why on earth did you save me, Valira? It just seems to be an unusual thing for you to do being humans are not reliable it seems from your experience."

Valira thought about her answer and said, "I'm not quite sure why I did it. I saw you fall out of a portal in the clouds. I went to see what it was and found you alive and uninjured. It seemed unusual that you would have survived the fall from the sky and to have not hit the ravine bottom or the cliffside. It was an act of fate so it seems. I decided to bring you back until someone comes to claim you or to see why fate saved you." Sarah nodded.

Sarah said while holding her meat and potato skewered near the lava as it cooked, "Well, I am for one glad you did. Besides, I am not very filling for a snack and I'm mostly just skin and bones. With my luck I would have a bad aftertaste anyway." Sarah giggled and Valira chuckled at her.

Valira said, "Silly, girl."

—--

The days went by and Sarah and Valira were becoming fast friends. When Sarah's food got low, Valira had Sarah wear the fur and make it into a heavy coat. She had Sarah ride on the back of her neck and hold on to take her to a village to break into the market and fill her burlap potato sacks with food for herself and clothing from the merchant in town. Sarah convinced Valira to let her leave a few gold coins at each shop for the goods taken. Valira agreed after some convincing.

Sarah had everything she needed now: warm clothes with bags to keep them in, a bow and arrow and food. Sarah was grateful to her new dragon friend. Sarah kept herself and her clothes clean with the bars of soap she collected.

One day, after a couple months had gone by, a large red dragon landed in the entrance to the cavern. It startled Sarah and Valira was on guard.

Valira said, "Why have you come to my lair, Ragnoth? I did not summon you."

Ragnoth said nastily, "I heard you were keeping a filthy little human, but I couldn't believe it was true. You of all dragons would not keep food around to age like that. Perhaps, I was wrong." He looked at Sarah.

Valira said defensively, "This is no regular human. She is special and Lady Sarah the Champion of the Labyrinth."

Ragnoth said distastefully, "What are you keeping such a tiny creature of that type around? Eat it and be done with it! It is an insult to our kind to meddle in the lives of humans, fae or elves for that matter. The council will have something to say about this. They will make you get rid of it or I will for them." The red dragon, Ragnoth grinned a sickly grin at Sarah while licking his lips. Sarah got goose pimples on her skin looking at him.

Valira spoke angrily, "It has nothing to do with the council or with you because lady Sarah is my friend." Valira came out of her hoard and stood up. "You are not welcome here and have overstayed your time. If you must go tattletale to the council about one little human female staying with me as a wyrmling would do, then be gone and done with it Ragnoth. I grow weary of you plugging up my entrance."

Ragnoth roared and said, "No wonder you have no mate, Valira. You are a vexing female with a lack of respect."

Valira said, "Respect is not just given, it is earned. As this human has mutually earned it from me. You know nothing of the circumstances of our friendship. You spit on that which you have no basis of comparison to understand. You believe all are good or bad but no shades of gray between in your narrow vision. That is why I hold no respect for you." The red dragon roared vibrating the cave to let go of some of the ceiling stalactites narrowly missing Sarah who ran to Valira to shield her.

Ragnoth laughed and said, "Look at it scamper to you like a wyrmling of your very own. How priceless."

Valira spat and said, "She is no fool to let rocks hit her out in the open that you have caused! Be gone from my lair and trespass no more!"

Ragnoth said nastily, "I will return with permission from the council to remove the human my way as a crunchy snack."

Sarah said, "I hope I make you sick and puke." Valira laughed. Ragnoth roared and took in a deep breath to exhale fire on Sarah. Valira inhaled to exhale ice to cancel it. The dragons both let go and canceled each other's breath out. Sarah was standing on Valira's foot holding on to one of her scales.

Ragnoth said, "Fine. Have it your way. I will return to eat your friend." He turned and flew off.

Sarah stepped down and walked out to turn and face Valira with a sad face. Sarah asked, "Is our moment in time over, Valira?"

Valira sighed and sadly said, "I believe so, little one. I would like it to have lasted a bit longer but it is time to send you out into the Underground on your own. I will miss you, my good friend. I will never forget you. I want you to gather all your belongings into the net and tie it closed so I can carry it. Then I want you to fill your pockets with gold coins. I will not turn my friend out into the Underground penniless in the cold. You must survive."

Sarah cried out sadly, "Oh Valira, my best friend! I love you!" Sarah ran up to Valira's snout and wrapped her arms wide to embrace her. Sarah said sniffling, "I will miss you too." Sarah cut off a piece of her hair and picked up a gold locket out of the gold things on the ground and put it inside of it. She took a long leather strip that she had braided into a rope and tied it around Valira's throat and attached the large locket to it.

Sarah said, "Now you will have a piece of me wherever you go."

Valira said, "Sarah, pull a small scale from outside of my eye. It won't hurt. I want you to use the tip of your dagger to make a hole in it and tie a leather cord through it. As long as you have my scale. I can never die."

Sarah smiled in a melancholy way and said, "I will protect it always. And wear it over my heart when I get a silver chain."

Valira said, "Let's hurry Sarah, I want you safe from my kind."

Sarah gathered all of her belongings into the net and tied it closed. She filled her pockets with gold coins like Valira asked her to do. She climbed on Valira's back one last time. Valira flew off into a wintery Underground. Valira landed next to a farm but a day's walk to a nearby village. Sarah climbed down off her back and stepped out in front of her with tears in her eyes.

Valira put her head down at Sarah's level and said, "You are the best human of both our worlds Sarah. I am honored to count you as my friend."

Sarah kissed Valira on the snout again and said, "Be safe, my dear. I count you as one of my best friends. I'll miss and never forget you either. I love you, Valira." The beautiful white dragon lifted off hovering for one last look as Sarah waved goodbye and she flew away.

Sarah picked up her bags of belongings and left the big net in the snow. Sarah left for the village to eat, find shelter for a couple nights and get resupplied for travel.

It took longer to get to the village than she thought and was going to have to figure out how to survive the night on her own. There was a large rock formation ahead and Sarah was looking around the perimeter for an entrance for shelter. She found a tunnel after a lengthy search that was overgrown with piles of dead limbs and vines blocking the entry. Sarah hacked away the debris and crawled inside with her bags to find a tunnel.

She stood up and followed the tunnel in the darkness by feeling the walls as it went around in a curve to the left. There were blue glowing worms in places on the ground. Sarah grabbed a handful of the radiant worms to see by. She went down a tunnel that veered to the left. There were strange rock sculptures by the walls on each side. She looked closer and it looked like statues worn down by time and water dripping down them. You could make out the shape as a humanoid, but no features anymore because they were washed out. The first statue looked like it was holding something like a spear or staff. Sarah touched it and said, "I am sorry your sculpture wore off the details, whoever you were. I bet it was a magnificent effigy to you in the past. I am glad to have met your statue and send my respect and regards to you." An electrical shock went through her body from the statue and knocked her backwards.