Convicted Hearts: The Dragons Stone

by SaphireHoyt

Hopeful Beginnings

My thoughts collided beyond my own comprehension. My head ached, and my body felt hot despite a high altitude. It felt like the high tropic temperature, like in the high 70's. I was missing my jacket, and my shirt was sliced open, revealing to me my chest, and on it there was a massive scar. A six pointed star? I vaguely remember a blue and gold necklace. I groaned and struggled to move, my limbs aching and my body strangely shifting. I slowly rose to my hands and knees, my ribs aching from sleeping on my stomach. Had I fallen asleep in the cave again? This is precisely why... Someone... Said... Something about... Packing? My mind grasped through the fog, but the were brought forwards and then dragged back, and I had forgotten what was brought forwards. I puled myself back onto my knees and looked around with groggy eyes. Things were fogged in my mind, and I could barely see. I squinted a bit and felt around. My eyes slowly adjusted to the dark red landscape, dark red. It reminded me of... Something from back home. What were dinosaurs? I saw giant lizards walking about and fighting to get to the top of a glorious pile of gemstones. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some were eating these so called gemstones, and others were just sitting by and watching, as if it were a sport they were to old for. They were much larger than the dragons in the center, and far to large to climb the pile. They watched the gladiator like battling and I could hear a loud and dangerous shrieking. It was from a small red dragon at the top of the pile of jewels. My head tilted in pure curiosity.

I blinked at my keen eyesight and looked at the world around me. There was a massive lake, and then an even more massive expanse of land on the other side. A huge desert, and on the other side of the massive landmass island I was on, was a green luscious land of greenery. I looked so confused, and slightly stupid. I wanted to find my pack. I spun around and found I was in some sort of bowl made of sticks. A nest! It was relatively small. I could see the imprint of giant claws on the ground of it. I gave a small groan, rubbing my still aching head. I was literally laying in one of those claw marks. I climbed out and stumbled slightly again, but now I could see much better. I was taller than I thought. I looked around and found my bag, along with my stick staff and blanket. I couldn't bare to think about how hot it would be with that blanket over top of me. I took a shaky step towards the staff. I fell, stumbling over my own steps again. I took more steps like this, but I didn't fall. Not unless I tripped over a claw mark.

Fumbling, I opened my bag and grabbed a water bottle. I also found my missing jacket. I pulled it out and opened a granola bar. It looked edible, but... I don't know. Where did they come from? I stood up and looked out over the landscape and at first no one saw me. Then the dragons- I hope that's right -started looking up and chattering and murmuring amongst themselves. The stadium was soon filled with pointing, and curious looks. I backed away and pulled on my jacket. Something burned though, and I had to pull it off after barely a few seconds. The scar was making me genuinely hurt.

There was a quiet crash from behind me. I turned, slowly, and pulled the blanket over my shoulders to sit on and hide me from the prying eyes. This did not burn me, but my jacket did. The star gave no protest to me wearing the blanket. Before me stood a tall black dragon, slender and feminine in build, and eyeing me with a predatory curiosity. The kind that said that they weren't going to eat me unless I make the wrong move.

"You. What are you?" Her voice slithered out in a feminine octave. I blinked and dozens of questions popped into my mind and I responded with a mumbled answer.

"What am I??" I could feel the look of shock from her heavy gaze. This was shocking to me. "All I remember... All I know is endless mirrors... billions of me, tiny but large... Then... Nothing. Savra... M-maybe I'm a Savra? No no... That's what you're supposed to call me." I was grunting, working through the amnesia with a slightly confused look. Confusion turned to frustration.

"You mean to tell me... You don't even know WHAT you ARE?!" She was loud and angry, frustrated as she lunged her head towards me on her long neck, stretching to its full length as she revealed her teeth, and horrid rancid breath. Her eyes appeared to be stained red with the blood of the innocent. I flinched back and pulled the blanket over my head, curling up into the fetal position and falling over onto my side on the blanket. The sheltering fabric enveloped my entire form, and I whimpered at the frightening lingering image behind my eyelids. I hadn't even realized my hands were shaking, and much less noticed that now I was cold. There was shocked silence from outside the blanket and I felt a nudge at the side. I flinched away.

"I don't know! I don't know even who I am! I don't know who you are! I don't even know why I exist! All I remember are loud sounds and mirrors! So... So many mirrors." I began to go into a trance, and let the images dance just within the reach my finger tips in the veil of the fog. I gained one image of them all. Looking down, and seeing my body splitting into the mirrors. The mirrors were surrounding me again.

The dragon outside took a deep breath and looked at the blanket, squinting her blood red eyes and thinking hard. She laid on one side of the nest, away from me. I peeked out, welcoming the slow transition of heat. It felt fantastic. I slowly pulled the rest of my body out of the blanket, sitting on one end like before, and holding the other over my shoulders. There was a sound of urging. I looked at her now supportive look.

"You have claws. Like a hatchling. Like a dragons." Her expression was soft, and confused, but analytical nonetheless. I looked at her and held up my hands. They were small. Very, very small. They seemed to fragile to be claws. "And you're small. Young. Do you remember your age?" I shook my head, gaining a sense of sadness. I felt useless and small. "Well... You're small, even for a hatchling... So... You must be young." She licked her lips with a reptilian tounge and looked around. She sniffed the air, and then looked toward my bag. "You eat oats? Nuts and berries and drink water." She smiled, and looked at me.

"I... I think I can eat more than just vegetarian foods. I have sharp teeth, like yours. But... They feel weird. They don't hurt... I have a vague memory... The animal, it swims and... And they live in the water." I was genuinely raking my brain for the word. The thought was typed out in my head just inches from my grasp in the mental fog.

"Fish? You can eat meat?" She looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.

"If... If it's been... Touched by heat or fire." I shook my head to rid myself of the greyness in my head. It remained thickly in my head, and in fact may have gotten worse just in spite of me. There was a single thought that echoed for a second, and I clung to it as hard as I could before it could be ripped from me.

"Nine years!" I panted confusedly, feeling a strange sense of tiredness. I had defeated the fog for a moment, but I would regret it later I knew.

"Nine... Nine years? Nine years old? Nine years until you remember?" She flicked her tounge and I shook my head confused. There was a second thought that came in, but it was yanked back before I could grab it.

"My age? Maybe? I don't know. I think that's what it could be. I... My name is Savra... And I'm 9 years old?" She has a bright look of happiness on her face. I flexed my hands. Claws? I flexed my claws? I flexed my claws and looked at my feet. They were bare except for socks.

"I'm guessing... I'm guessing these are paws?" I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at them.

"I would assume so..." She looked equally confused. My mind drifted for a moment.

"If my name is Savra... What's YOUR name?" She blinked and I looked at her, and she blinked as if I had just bopped her snout.

"O... Oh! My name I-is... My name is Midnight." She was smiling, looking at me like I was meeting her for the first time. She held out one of her claws- which was twice as large as my arm -and I grabbed it with my own full claw. It was soft on her hard, razor sharp paw.

I began to get more and more tired by the second, and I curled the blanket around my small frail body. It was warming, but cooling at the same time. It was overall much more comfortable than being out there. I used my pack as a pillow, and my blanket as both a mat, and blanket, and slept quietly.. My body disappeared, and I was left to wonder through a grey fog to search for a memory.