Part 7

Rudolph's stomach convulsed. The dragon continued,"Ha ha. Oh you humans are an absolute delight! You have no idea how boring it is to spend hundreds of years alone in a cave. Oh yes, I do enjoy the occasional bit of company. Not from other dragons no...they are far too irritable and...competitive. No...I have lived with humans before. I keep them in my cave with me and they entertain me." She swooped down low towards a canopy of trees, her belly hovering over the branches. Rudolph scrambled, his hands struggling to find purchase with a sturdy branch. All his efforts earned him were scraped arms and a mouthful of leaves. The dragon laughed scornfully and climbed higher. "Do not injure yourself, human. I will not be able to heal you, and if you grow sick or too frail to be of any use, I will be forced to eat you." Rudolph stopped his struggle immediately, hanging limply from her tail, and trying to ignore the spams of heat that kept shooting down his body. Tears streamed down his cheeks and knocked against his captor's scales---sizzling into steamy air. He was ashamed to be crying when his love was so far away and more hopeless than he was (she was a princess after-all, and inept at handing herself in any way), but he was so afraid. His untidy mop of red hair slapped against his face, stinging his cheeks.  Clouds rumbled in the distance and raindrops began to pounce lightly upon his body. The rain came down more hurriedly and with more force, until Rudolph was unable to see for the constant stream running across his eyes. His thoughts began to bounce feverishly between Isadora and his own fear. I mustn't get sick. I mustn't. For...Isadora...she needs me. She needs me. Ah...the rain...My face is so cold, but the rest of me is boiling. My head...pounding. Isadora....Isadora...