Adventures of Elsa Jade ~ Chapter 3 ~ Fáfnir

As I stood beside Fire and Ice, gazing out over the new land we had discovered, I saw something moving beneath the largest group of trees. I jumped on her back, and we glided silently down to the adjoining clearing. As I watched, a young horse stepped out from the shadows. It was black and sleek, and seemed more curious than afraid. He trotted a few steps forward, then snorted playfully and charged us. Fire and Ice was startled and snapped at the horse. “No, Fire – “ It would be too late to stop her. But as her jaws closed on where the horse should have been, a black Night Fury with glowing markings raced past us overhead, and Fire and Ice bit air.

My mind was racing. A Night Fury? No one had ever gotten this close to a Night Fury and lived, as far as I knew. But it couldn’t have been the Night Fury we’d seen attacking Berk, because that one hadn’t been glowing. And this dragon had shape shifted into a horse… and hadn’t seemed overly afraid or threatening. Clearly it wasn’t used to strangers, either hunting or being hunted. I told Fire and Ice to stay there. Grabbing my shield just in case, I followed the Night Fury on foot. This had to be investigated.

I followed the strange dragon into another stand of trees, where I found him playfully chasing squirrels. I stopped and watched, amazed. I had never seen a dragon playing before, except when I played with Fire and Ice. This was a wild predator, almost playing tag with squirrels. He was lithe and graceful, and his blue and green markings glowed whenever he ran through a dark shadow. Suddenly, he noticed me watching him and stopped, turning toward me. He looked me over, sniffing the air and clearly trying to decide if I was trustworthy or not. I wasn’t sure how to tell him I meant no harm, so I just stood there. The Night Fury cocked his head and gazed into my eyes. Suddenly he darted straight at me. My dragon-hunter reflexes took over and I dove to the side, rolling and coming up with a dagger in one hand and shield in the other. The dragon made another lunge at me, and I jumped straight up, twisting in the air and landing on his back. He froze for an instant, apparently startled, and gave a twisting jump of his own. I managed to push off him and land clear of his flailing wings and tail – right on top of a small rock that twisted my ankle. I went down on one knee and barely had time to grab my dagger before he was on me again. I jabbed at his leg. He shrieked and bit me, then suddenly retreated.

Why had he retreated instead of finishing me off? He stood off to the side; head drooped between his limp wings. He gave a soft, nonthreatening growl and looked at me with big, sad eyes. Then I understood. He hadn’t been attacking me; he’d been playing. And I had hurt him. I limped toward him, murmuring gently. “I’m sorry, buddy. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was afraid and didn’t know you were trying to play. It’s okay.” He pushed his head out toward me, and I stroked his nose. I worked my way down to his injured leg. Good; it wasn’t a very deep wound. I pulled a strip of fabric out of my pouch and wrapped it gently around the dragon’s leg. “You’ll be okay.”

He still seemed sad, and nudged my leg gently. “It’s all right; you didn’t bite me very hard. I should me fine too.” But even as I talked to him, I felt the pain growing worse. My vision blurred, and the ground seemed to be rolling like ocean waves. I swayed and fell against the dragon’s side. My last waking thought: the dragon’s bite must have been poison.

It was dark when I woke up. My leg felt cold and numb. I could vaguely see the two dragons near me. The Night Fury nudged my shoulder and I struggled to sit up. Fire and Ice held my leg gently in her jaws, using her chilling breath to keep my leg cold enough so the poison wouldn’t spread through my body. My thoughts were a little clearer now. Apparently the Night Fury’s teeth had ejected poison when he bit me. I had heard of dragons with poison, although never a Night Fury. But in my days as a dragon hunter, I had learned everything I could from the experts. Apparently most dragon poisons had a similar chemical base, which could be counteracted with a rare serum I always carried. I rummaged through my bag, found the bottle, and took a couple gulps. If I was still alive in a few hours, it would mean the antidote had worked.

The Night Fury spent those hours next to me, growling softly and nudging my shoulder apologetically. I petted him and assured him it was okay. I could feel the pain in my leg lessening, and I knew I would live. Sometime in the early dawn, he nuzzled me, got up, and shape shifted back into a horse; this time a dappled gray colt. He whinnied and galloped off to the hilly meadow.

I was reminded of a different gray horse, in a smaller, rockier meadow, long ago. Fáfnir, the horse that my brother and I had spent countless hours riding bareback, in a happier time before either of us was old enough to join the dragon war. Before my brother had been carried off by the dragons, and I had become a dragon hunter to avenge his death.

No matter what those dragons had done, I knew this Night Fury would never intentionally harm me. He was my friend, like Fire and Ice, like that gray horse from long ago. Fáfnir. It was a good name for a Night Fury.