She had been warned about the tide pool. After all, her people had the crystalline lakes and the shining river. The tide pool with its tiny tickling fish and the deep dark cave nearby was not their land. It wasn’t meant for their people to touch. “Just a peek...?” the young nymph asked her mother but her pleading eyes were met with a reprimanding gaze.

“There is more for us here,” said her mother. “See, my darling girl? Here is the sweet fruit of the generous trees above, the whistling wind who sings you to sleep, the river of our people and the lake. All this is ours. All this you may have, you may see and touch but never the tide pool or its cave.”

The nymph girl looked up at her mother for never had she heard such a tone of dread come from her. The tide pool was welcoming indeed; the water seemed warm and sweet, clear to the bottom where one would see the smooth stones and tiny fish swim. The cave wasn’t dark and dank like any other cave one would see, the sort that peppered the rocky mountainside and jagged cliff edges. This cave gave off a balmy wind that seemed to calm anyone who would sit before it. At night, she was certain to have seen the warm glow of a cookfire and heard gentle music from within. It would be a flute one night, then a fiddle the next but always a sad lonely melody played. Surely such a thing could not be all that bad. Her mother saw the look in her daughter’s eyes, that familiar look of mixed doubt and curiosity. “Never the tide pool nor the cave, my love.” She warned again.

“But why, mama?” the young girl pressed on and began to describe the cave and its nighttime wonders.

Her mother sighed and drew her daughter onto her lap, lovingly brushing back her hair. “You see my dear, in that cave lives a dangerous creature,” she began. “One of fangs and fire, one of scale and horn.”

“A dragon…” whispered the young girl, as if saying the word was enough to summon the foul beast.

“Yes, a dragon,” her mother replied. “Large and red with sharp tearing claws and wings so strong and so stealthy that it can very well snatch you up off the ground and no one will be the wiser.”

The nymph girl looked up at her mother, terrified. Surely indeed she hadn’t meant to scare the poor child for she was in fact merely telling her the god honest truth. Those days were dark days for the nymphs of that land. News had traveled from clan to clan, from the coast to the mainland to the secret inner forests they called home. Their numbers had begun to lessen when hoards of dragons struck them down. Many had already been eaten. Others had begun disappearing into thin air. Even with the aid of the elves, they were no match against a flight of hunting dragons. The girl’s clan had once flourished by the sea but this news had made them choose a life of solitude, hidden away from the rest.

“But we’re safe here… Aren’t we?” she asked. It certainly seemed so. The trees around them were tall and thick. Any hunting dragon would be far too big to infiltrate the forests. Leaves and branches would get in the way of outstretched wings and snag horns and claws. A large dragon needed much room to fly and hunt. Their numbers hadn’t dwindled. Those who died were either old or sick.

No one had gone missing.

No bodies with unknown causes of death had been found.

She had indeed felt they were safe in this grove they called their home. As her mother took her hand and led her away, she couldn’t help but wonder if the dragon of the nighttime cookfire and mysterious music was indeed as dangerous as the stories described it as.

From that day on, the young nymph never strayed far from her family. Along the edge of the grove she played, taking care not to stray too close to the cave and tide pool. She had taken her mother’s words to heart and never once more wished to investigate the cave or seek out its dragon.

One day however, an ill wind blew. Grey clouds had covered the sun and spoke on an oncoming rain. It didn’t seem at all like the ordinary rainstorm that her people reveled in. This would be a storm. The nymph had been called by her mother to seek shelter from the rain but when the wind blew, her shawl was blown from her shoulders and began to dance merrily away. She paused, glancing back at where her mother would be waiting. It would only be a minute, she decided. She would chase after her scarf and hurry back. It was her favourite scarf, given to her by her mother on her birthday and she would do anything to get it back.

“No, no, no… Please come back.” Begged the nymph but the wind wouldn’t listen. On and on it blew, the scarf swaying without a care and with no mind to where it went. She chased it through the grove, running as fast as she could go but it was always out of reach. Her eyes widened as she saw the scarf fly deep into the mouth of the forbidden cave. The nymph bit her lower lip and steeled herself. It was near enough to be reached for. With a soft whimper, she got to her knees and clutched onto the rocks of the tide pool for support.

Little by little, she inched closer and quite unaware that she had begun to enter the cave. Her hand reached out, fingertips curling around what she could reach of the scarf. With a soft cry of joy, she hugged the precious cloth to her chest but her feeling of triumph was cut short when she found herself surrounded by the cold stone of the cave she had long been warned of.

It was too late to turn back. Outside, the lush forest had been turned into a haunted grove. The fog was thick and trees stood like shadowed soldiers; tall, straight and unyielding. The rain was as heavy as the wind had predicted. Furious drops fell diagonal to the ground and only their crash and applause could be heard. The nymph was frozen to the spot, terrified of what could happen now that she was trapped. She placed a hand on the cold stone of the cave mouth. As she gazed off into the distance, she couldn’t help but wonder where her family was. In her mind, she was certain she would never see them again. She closed her eyes, praying that the dragon if indeed there was a dragon would take pity on her and eat her in one painless gulp.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” said a voice.

The nymph held her breath. Her hands had gone cold and her knees were weak. The stories were true. Someone was in the cave with her. She shut her eyes with a soft whimper, not wanting to see what death would look like for her.

A warm glow seeped into the room from further back into the cave. It was from that cookfire she had seen at night. Thanks to the light, more of the cave was visible. Water trickled down from the ceiling, making the stone walls shiny. A corridor curved and led to where the fire was. This was her chance, the chance to find out the source of that fire like she had long wanted to and the chance to find out if her mother’s story was true.

She took a small step, held back by her own fear and being egged on by her curiosity. A shadow danced on the wall near the end of the corridor and the nymph let out a startled cry. Again, she heard the voice. “I heard that!” it came, though sounding a bit unsure. “Come to the light where I can see you.”

The nymph bit her lower lip. Her heart pounded in her chest as each step brought her closer to the mysterious voice. The corridor widened the further she went and the shadow continued to dance on the wall which seemed to both warn and welcome her.

The corridor sloped down for a while and the nymph began to wonder where she was. Surely the cave was much larger than it was on the surface. She was underground now, most certainly. The room she came to had a high ceiling and one could see the roots of trees on it, twisting like gnarled ugly fingers. A large firepit crackled in the middle and the nymph was easily drawn to the comforting warmth, warming her hands and finding it far more welcoming than the rest of the cave. She sighed in slight relief. At least her last moments would be comfortable. Shutting her eyes, she pulled her legs to her chest and slowly fell asleep.

---

How long she slept, she didn’t know. There was no way of knowing. No sunlight seeped into the room and she wasn’t certain if it had stopped raining outside. A sharp savory scent hit her nose, making her mouth water and her stomach grumble. Her eyes opened slowly and before her she saw a large leaf, upon which were a small heap of mushrooms and some slices of fresh pink fish. A pile of berries and an apple were placed alongside the makeshift plate.

Without a moment’s doubt or question as to where the food had come from, the nymph ate her fill. She hadn’t eaten since the morning and she hadn’t noticed her hunger until this food was placed before her. The mushrooms were tender and shimmered slightly in their own juices. The fish was soft and sweet, the white flesh moist and warm in her mouth and had perhaps been caught mere minutes ago. This all had been cooked over the fire that she had slept beside. As she took a bite of the apple, she began to wonder how long she’d slept if her now not at all that terrifying host had time to prepare all this for her. Perhaps it wasn’t a dragon who lived in this cave. Perhaps it was someone else. She tried to keep this thought in her head but somehow, she couldn’t help but feel like she was just being fattened up for the kill.

The sounds of footfalls drew her attention. They seemed slow and heavy, not at all the sounds any normal being the walked on two feet would make. Her heart began to race as she got up, trying to look for the best place in the room to hide. The sound grew louder and the nymph girl was frozen on the spot, unable to move, unable to make the escape she planned.

In the path of the firelight, she could already make out the source of the sound. The shadow seemed far taller than she was. A long slender neck topped the broad shoulders and upon its head were two long points. There were the horns and wings just as her mother had said. The legends were indeed true.

Suddenly, the shadow seemed to shrink. From where it towered over her it moved lower and lower until it seemed to stand a mere two feet from the ground. The nymph stares, not knowing what to make of this strange phenomenon. Then she heard the voice from before speak up once more but this time from closer to the ground. “Over here!” she heard it say.

She let out a startled cry. At her feet near the fire was a small red lizard. It looked up at her, black eyes glittering as it got up on all fours. The nymph could see it clearly now. It had tiny wings and a short stubby tail. In its mouth was a strip of cloth the nymph recognized as her scarf. She knelt before the tiny creature and gingerly took the scarf, muttering a thank you. As she got back up, she couldn’t help but speak. “Surely… you can’t be the dragon my mother warned me of.”

The creature frowned, sitting back down on its haunches in a huff. “I am too a dragon!” it protested. “I’m just a baby. That’s why I’m so very small.” It seemed sad a moment but brightened up a moment later.

“Did you like the food?” it asked.

The nymph stared. “You prepared all that?” she said. All of a sudden, the tiny thing didn’t seem all that scary anymore if it was willing to talk to her.

“Yes! I caught the fish and harvested the mushrooms!” it said, its chest puffing slightly.

At this, the nymph laughed. It amazed her to see such a small thing capable of so much. As she sat back down near the fire, she could catch what seemed to be a smile on the dragon’s face. “Please.” It said, nudging more berries closer to the nymph. “Stay and sit a spell. I haven’t spoken to another being in years!”

The nymph nodded, placing her shawl back on her shoulders. Perhaps her mother was indeed wrong about the cave and the dragon that lived in it. Her companion reached for a set of pipes carved from smooth wood. “Come. Tell me about yourself and I’ll play for you. It’s still raining outside and I want my first guest to be as comfortable as possible.” The dragon said, smiling up at her.