Chapter 3 - aftermath

Oh my God. What had I done? Had I really just inadvertently told a dragon in denial that it was FAT???

The creature was in utter shock.
"I-I did not realise," it repeated, over and over, clutching folds of its bellyfat over and over (for it couldn't fit the whole thing into its claws). "How can this be?" Its eyes were wide and shiny as they darted from its flabby chest to its thick thighs, to its enormous gut. "This cannot be true. What trickery is this? Answer me!"

I had been backing away having hoped the dragon had forgotten me in its shock, stopping dead as the dragon addressed me directly for the first time since discovering that it ha probably gained a tonne.
"Um... well, you have been eating all of the cattle."
It looked at me, face full of fear.
"They kept... appearing in the fields, like magic; so fat, and tasty. I thought... I thought I had been blessed, that my misfortunes were finally over, that I... I could live happily, no longer starving..."

The knot in my stomach tightened. This was wrong. So, so wrong.
"Your body does not matter," I tried pathetically, "a dragon cannot be made any less beautiful." I smiled at it compassionately.

It glared back at me. "Beautiful?!" It waddled over to me as fast as it could manage, and I tripped and fell to the ground as I tried to hurriedly back away. It lifted its belly from beneath, and gave it a shake in front of me.
"How is this beautiful?! I am a predator, and now I resemble one of the fat, lazy beasts on which I prey! I may never show myself to a soul, ever again!" A tear rolled down its grief-stricken face. I had never known a dragon to get so upset. I felt contempt rising in my chest for the knights who had put such effort into damaging this creature's pride, and for what? It was the wrong dragon, and they had successfully destroyed its body for naught, and now planned on killing it at its lowest...

I sighed. "It's not your fault." The dragon let itself fall to the floor, creating a thunderous boom as it sat, head low.
"It is entirely my fault," it said quietly. "I am a disgrace. Just because I had been deprived of food for so long I let myself gorge myself on all of the livestock I could manage, not even pausing to think of the consequences. I should have resisted the temptation when they appeared in the fields-"

It stopped dead, eyes widening and head rising slowly. The silence was painful as the sense of a realisation being made was almost tangible.
"The knights, gathered on the mountain," it almost whispered to itself. "They have been there as long as the cattle have been appearing. I believed them to be setting up a camp, but they were not. They were... scheming!" It was shouting now with hurt defiance, "providing me with all the food I could eat in order to fatten me like a prize pig! But for what cause? Humiliation? Seeing me with this loathsome belly-"
It stopped dead, again. Another realisation. It looked down at its belly; huge, soft. Exposed. The beast shivered, as if feeling the cold air on its sensitive skin for the first time.
"I am a fool." it said quietly. "They want to kill me. In my lowest ebb, they want to strike me down."

It turned its head slowly to look at me, its face dark with so much menace that I should have died right there, its eyes narrowed into slits.

"You."

I began to mumble something but I forget what it was. Nothing that could have spared my life, in any case.

"YOU!!!"

The beast surged forward, its weight propelling it to glide across the cave and knock me to the floor, holding me there with one claw. I could barely breathe, and I struggled against its shiny black talons but there were immovable.
"They sent you here!" It screamed, furious, "to lure me out! So that they could taunt me and kill me, even though I have done nothing to them! NOTHING!!!" I gasped and gagged, and the creature's head glided towards me until its face was inches away from mine and I could smell the sharp stink of its breath.
"Now you may reap the rewards of your success," it snarled, "and know in your final moments what the entirety of my weight feels like."

"It... wasn't me!" I gasped. "I wanted to help you! I... study your kind, and I couldn't bear to see you die."
The creature paused. It leaned back, and its voice was now dead.
"So you could bear to see me like this instead. If you knew my kind at all, you would know that I would prefer to die than live with this." It lifted its massive foot and I gasped deeply. As I recovered I looked around; the dragon had disappeared. I turned to see it waddling towards the entrance of the cave.
"NO!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet to run after it. The dragon reached the entrance, its scales glittering in the sunlight and the sweat of its underbelly shimmering perhaps even more brightly, and drew itself up to its full height.

"YOU WANTED TO SEE ME, TAKE A LOOK!" it bellowed, its voice booming around the valley. I could faintly hear the sound of men yelling in the distance, a call to arms probably. "FEAST YOUR EYES UPON YOUR HANDIWORK AND TAKE YOUR SHOT, YOU UNWORTHY HEATHENS! DESTROY ME AT MY WEAKEST LIKE THE COWARDS YOU ARE!"
A huge spear whistled past my head, clattering against the wall of the cave.
"Whoa, whoa, stop!" I yelled up at the dragon, but its eyes were closed, chest puffed out.
I slapped its doughy love handle, sending a ripple through its whole body. I tried again as a spear skimmed the dragon's scales. I began pummelling its side with my fist, making its fat jiggle like mad. The creature giggled, and looked down at me.
"That tickles. Do it again."
"Please don't give up!" I pleaded. "This isn't the way! Are you really going to let them get the best of you? There are only five hundred of them, only a few knights, you can take them on!"
The dragon flung itself from the entrance with a gust of wind that almost knocked me out of the cave, and the cavalcade of catapulted spears subsided. I looked around, and the dragon was pacing, its cumbersome belly swaying from side to side.
"Yesssss..." it hissed. "Revenge... I will destroy them for what they have done to me. But no, they wanted to fatten and humiliate me before the killing blow. I will do the same to them." It grinned, showing all of its yellow dagger-like fangs for the first time. I really didn't like the sound of this, but it got worse.
Its head whipped around to face me.
"And you, my friend... you will help. Yes?"

I gulped, and nodded slowly. What choice did I have? I was turning on my own species to help this vengeful creature. This mess was just getting worse and worse. Beware, men, of the fury of the dragon. Revenge is a dish best served fiery hot.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Hot damn. Look out for the next instalment tomorrow, where the magic of the dragon is revealed to great gain- I mean, effect. Ahem. Anyway, chapter 4: "Best Served Large". Watch this space. -MFB