Gwenevere is a child of infinite possibility, and she has five thousand competitors playing her game. For Eliza, Nox, Zola and Bleidd, this means facing down thirteen floors riddled with dragons, cat kingdoms and cabbages. Yet in a world where anyth...
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Never had Eliza felt more vulnerable.
She was standing out in the open, in complete view of a massive dragon, about to try and get the dragon's attention.
Suddenly singing to the dragon didn't sound as sane a plan anymore.
The cheerful woods called her back into their shadowed safety, promising protection against dragon fangs and razor claws. No, she told herself. No turning back.
Readying her shield just in case it all went wrong, not that it would do that much good should the dragon actually dive for her, she forced her legs to continue to carry her right up to the towering cliff. At this proximity she could see the chalky texture of the wall, and she could imagine how easily it might crumble on top of her.
She halted just at the base of the cliff, staring up at the muscled white tail that swished with predatorial boredom. The black claws of one talon gleamed in the sunlight as they gripped the cliff's edge in boredom. Those claws were easily half her height, and she was five-and-a-half feet tall.
Cold fear rose in her gut, temporarily washing her mind of her purpose there— the lyrics to the lullaby.
Forcing herself to take a few calming breaths, she recalled the prior night and the song that Gwenevere has taught her. Slowly the winds came back to her. "Once there was a dragon..." She began, singing soft and low, her voice deep. "So wise and kind and bright..." Having started, she found it easier to make her voice louder, to will the dragon to hear her, forsaking all risk. "And if you sang this song to him..." She made her way through all the verses, "he'd fly you up away..."
The dragon made no response, and so she tried again, even louder. Her voice became strained with her efforts, but she carried on anyway.
By the time that she had sung the song over a third time, there was still no evidence that the dragon had heard her. "Ugh!" She growled in annoyance. "C'mon dragon, hear me!" She became so agitated that she picked up a nearby stick and chucked it up at the cliff. It only made it a pitiful height compared to the scale of the wall before bouncing off the crumbly chalk and hitting her right on the head. "Ow!" She whirled around and stomped the ground in frustration, clutching the sore top of her head.
"Of course," she muttered. "The one time when I actually want to call a dragon down upon me, the dragon just isn't in the mood!" She glared up at the dragon's tail again. "Want to come eat me now? I'm a lot easier than the other competitors at the moment, but oh no, you just want to sit up there and sleep!"
She could have sworn she heard the dragon snore.
Eliza huffed. "That's it." Storming back towards the trees, she returned to the cover of the shade. She leaned against a tree and brought out her map as if it could help her. "Team roster."
