She lay sheltered in the dragon's claws as he flew, hoping that the dragons would not search her for weapons; she had a dagger hidden in her boot, but she could not get to it, since the dragon held her so tight. Her long hair streamed behind her, gleaming like gold in the light of the setting sun. Looking about her, she saw other girls in a similar predicament. Hundreds of dragons flew, each holding a young girl.
The dragons flew on for hours, and Thelwine became impatient to be walking on the earth once more. Eventually the dragon who carried her landed at a ridge of mountains, overlooking a great portion of the land. It was as cold as ice on the top of the mountain, and as they entered the cave of the dragon, she thought she would freeze in the chill air as she slept.
The dragon, however, did not allow her to sleep. She was set upon a high rock on the wall of the cave, and the dragon began to speak. He had a deep and caressing voice.
"So, daughter of man, I have brought you to my cave. You should be flattered, for few have seen its majesty. Few, also, have shared the fate that is to be yours. Do you wonder why you have been brought here?"
Thelwine nodded in silent assent, judging it wise to give some token of agreement.
"This evening, when the moon has reached its equivalent of noon, you will enter the Labyrinth of Dead Maidens."
Thelwine shuddered.
"If you find your way out again and see the sunshine once more, you will be kept as a slave. If you do not find your way out, one hour after sunrise the dragons will enter the maze and eat every maiden found still wandering. You have your choice: death, or a life of slavery."
The great dragon twitched his tail and slowly licked his lips, looking at Thelwine with mesmerizing eyes. Suddenly he slammed his tail against the wall, nearly knocking her off her perch.
"I will sleep now. You must not disturb me. I will take you to the entrance of the labyrinth in six hours." He turned over and went to sleep, leaving Thelwine sitting her rock and looking down at his bulk. There was no way for her to get off the rock, nor could she reach to stab the dragon. She tought it wise to rest before facing the challenge of the labyrinth; she also slept.
At midnight she woke with the jar of being set upon the cold ground. The dragon had dropped her face-down upon the dirt - she was no longer in his cave. Raising herself up, she looked around her. She saw girls, young women, all in varying states of dishevelment. Noting that she did not look much better, she began to dust off her gown.
Her toilette was interrupted by the voice of the dragon which she knew, as he began to state the instructions for the labyrinth, which she had already heard. He finished quickly, saying that the exit from the labyrinth was near his cave. Thelwine caught onto this with a slight hope, seeing that it gave her a direction to progress in, for she could see his cave from where she stood. Hope is certainly a strange thing, for even when all odds oppose us, hope continues, giving us strength to carry on. Thelwine stood alight with her new hope, and all about her disregarded the disarrangement of her garments in their awe of her expression.
The girls were sent into the labyrinth, and Thelwine set immediately to going east, toward her dragon's cave. Six hours later, she had found the exit, ahd she stepped out of the labyrinth at the break of dawn. As the sun rose, her hope rose with it; she felt the certainty that she had survived her ordeal. Her hope had served her well, and as she stood facing the rising sun, she saw a path down the mountain, outlined by the sun's rays. She turned and ran swiftly back into the cave, her heart full of purpose and her hand reaching for her dagger.
There lay the dragon, his claws fouled with the fur and blood of his most recent meal. She slid the dagger softly from its sheath in her boot and resheathed it in his heart. He died without a sound, without a sigh. Standing back from her gory deed, Thelwine gazed sadly upon the dead dragon, for altough he had lived an evil life and there was nothing left for him but decay, it was still a majestic sight.
Thelwine returned to her home in the forest and thanked God for her deliverance, but there were many that had a worse fate than she - girls who had died in the ghastly caves, girls who had never found their way from the labyrinth. Thelwine offered up a prayer for those children, who had met their death and would never walk again.
The End
Hope there aren't any typos! ~The Dryad
