Treasure

Elizabeth looked fleetingly around before slipping into the cave in the mountainside. She wanted to make sure that no one was following her. The treasures contained within the cave were very precious to her, and the thought of anyone else taking them from her was not only terrifying, but emotionally painful. She didn't want to think of the dangers that could result from someone else finding and taking her treasures. It could spell disaster for her, her treasure, and any town within the vicinity if it fell into the wrong hands. She was determined to prevent that from happening. But she also couldn't leave her treasure alone.

Moving through the rough formation of the cave, she could hear deep within the familiar sounds of sleeping animals. She was not the only one who frequented the caves, though she was the only human. Often times she saw a deer or two lost amongst the rocks, and once she even saw a bear. She was not afraid of these animals, however. She was much more nimble and familiar with the maze like structures than they were. Even if the animals were able to find her treasure, they could hardly do anything to it. They had just as much reason to fear it as any person did.

In these caves, Elizabeth had little reason to fear anything, really. She so frequently traversed it that she could draw a map of the caves from memory, and she could move among the rocks with her eyes closed. She had even done so once or twice, just to prove to herself that she could.

As she drew close to her treasures, she could feel the cold air of the cave begin to grow warm. She smiled to herself as she felt the change in temperature. That meant that no one had come and taken her treasure while she was away. Elizabeth slowed as she drew closer, listening to the sounds of the cave. Deeper within, she could hear the soft snoring of animals. She had gotten there before they awoke. She loved to watch them sleep.

She dropped softly to the floor of an open cavern, the forms of two sleeping dragons curled around each other in front of her. They had hatched from their eggs a little more than a month prior, which was nearly a year after Elizabeth had found them. She had often worried that they would not hatch, but the day they had had been joyous for her. They had stumbled around in the dark for a short while before they found her, and with nothing else nearby, they had adopted her as their mother. She had done her best to provide, bringing them meat until they were strong enough to hunt.

They had long to go before they would reach their full size, but they were already nearly as long as Elizabeth was tall. Their scales emanated warmth, which she loved to cuddle up next to. Ever since they had hatched, Elizabeth had begun to feel for the first time in her life that she had a purpose. She would raise these creatures to be kind and benevolent, and they would be able to help the villages nearby. She would not let them grow to be the cruel creatures of legends old.

She would love them, and they would love her, and someday, she would share their love with the world.