~Leora~
An angelic figure clothed in white lay against the coolness of the cavern floor. Rhythmically, her chest rose and fell in her sleep. Her golden hair was horribly tangled while her dress was tattered. Her mouth was covered in dried blood. Everything was perfectly still and quiet, something the girl had rarely experienced. Usually the sounds of the great dragon Aconite would fill the cave and echo off the walls. Even his snores would shake the cavern walls. He must have been still for some time now if Leora could sleep for this long uninterrupted.
The one small opening at the roof of the cave shimmered brightly with the light of day, casting a soft glow that bathed the sleeping girl in warmth. She stirred. A pair of bright blue eyes blinked in the light. Suddenly the silence was disturbed by a loud sneeze. Leora sat up on the cold floor rubbing her face. Flakes of dried blood migrated from her face to her hands causing her to look at them closely. She sighed while trying to remove the blood from her face. I did it again didn’t I? As if to answer her thoughts, her tongue tasted of the red substance painting her face.
Once she believed that all of the blood was gone, she looked around. There was no sign of Aconite or even Maedoc. She knew Aconite was in the shadows somewhere, but he must have been in a bad mood to be hiding like this. He was awfully big to not be seen so not being able to see him was only because he didn’t want to be seen. Her scaly companion’s location, however sketchy it was, was known to her, but what about her other companion? Maedoc has been taking care of Leora sense she was a babe. She loved him like a daughter would love her father, but he never seemed to return that love. He even has begun disappearing for days at a time. Today has been the third day sense she had last seen him and she was beginning to worry. Feeling alone, the young girl hugged her knees in the only speck of light in her cage of shadows.