Part Three: Blood-lover or Beast?

“You want what?”

“Just some blood… not much… just enough to get by.” Matthias tried to explain in a manner that made the request seem small, but you did not believe him. As much as you were very shy, at heart you had enough strength to realise that blood was blood – you were not supposed to splash it out to anyone. The thought of blood spilling even made you feel a little queasy and you groped about for something to fend him away with. The meal did not seem as tasteful as it had been and suddenly he was not as easy to talk to as you had hoped.

With a groan of anxiety, you stood up and away from the meal, stepping toward the kitchen sink in the hopes that running water was a cure against vampires. Even if it wasn’t, splashing water in his face might distract him at least a little… wouldn’t it? As you stepped form him, Matthias stood up and looked very upset of at least concerned by your actions – so, he was a little unsure of water. As you tried to keep further away from him, you failed to look behind yourself and suddenly whacked the back of your head against a stretchy, practically invisible washing line. You were pinged forward, nearly rolling over yourself with a lack of control and suddenly Matthias was there.

He caught your firmly against his warm chest and you felt your cheek slapping against it as you practically fell on him. He merely gave a soft chuckle and patted your shoulder, trying to ease the embarrassment perhaps, but each pat pushed your head against his chest again and your face turned red with the embarrassment of being so close to a man’s… a man’s… well to a man’s “nipple”.

“You alright Little One? You look really flushed, perhaps I should wait until tomorrow evening to ask for some blood.” Matthias suggested with a gentle smile upon his kind and cheeky face. You were free enough to stand up properly, but your shyness was suddenly taking hold and you could not lift your gaze. Suddenly your hands were fumbling about and you were mumbling to the ground where your eyes remained. You were too scared to say yes and too scared to say no to his ideas. But Matthias sense the anxiety and you were suddenly frozen as his hand stroked the side of your face and gently brought you to gaze into his handsome and noble brown eyes. “Don’t let it bother you, it’s alright to say no and it’s alright to be scared.”

“I… I…” You wanted to state your sorrow, but the moment your lips trembled and you tried to look away, he smiled. It was such an amused kind of smile, like he though your daft actions were positively adorable and you felt even more embarrassed. But at the warm sensation of his hand brushing the hair gently back past your ear, you felt sleepy again. There seemed some strange powdery incense in the air that eased your tension and made you feel almost… dreamy. The moment you felt your eyelids growing heavy, Matthias lent in and planted a soft kiss to your bottom lip, making your body ripple in delight before sleep took you.

* * * * *

The morning light caressed your skin as tenderly as Matthias’ hand and with a low sigh you opened your eyes gently. Looking about you noticed that your friend was missing and replaced with your other friend. The great big dragon looked a little smaller and some of his skin was a little flaky and you were surprised. Standing up you shuffled over to the big dragon and almost leapt onto him, a gorgeous warmth washing from its great form.

“Denmark… Denny are you awake?” You crawled onto the pile of gold and then onto the big dragon’s shoulder. You were a little nervous as the animal’s jaw twitched and his teeth seemed to be shown. You looked at how pale his gums were, on any animal, wasn’t that a bad thing? You started to feel concerned and patted at his cheek gently. “Denmark… are you okay? Wake up….”

“Go back to sleep Greenland, if the others are being too loud then just bite them!” Denmark grumbled and snorted a smoke ring. The ring shifted towards you and as you stared at it the ring suddenly changed shape into a knight on a horse galloping around your head. You stared at it gently with a warm smile, lifting a hand to swat at the smoke ring before it disappeared. With a gentle chuckle you patted Denmark’s forehead and gave a deep sigh before hopping off of his back. Perhaps he was alright and just needed a rest – you certainly had no idea with dragon health!

Stepping off of his shoulder you searched around for the secret doorway into the kitchen and seeing a new dress hanging up for you, you changed. You made yourself breakfast and even cleaned up. You put your clothes in the bucket and started scrubbing the cloth against a washboard. With a bit of soap you gave your old dress a firm wash before hanging up and clambering in a new soft _____ one. Just as you stepped out off the little kitchen to see what was going on with the big dragon, only to hear a great rumbling of anger.

You skipped out to the front of the cave and looked out at the most terrifying thing you’d ever seen – another human! This time it was not just any human but a mounted knight with a very nasty looking lance. You gave a shriek of fear and the human suddenly turned alongside Denmark to look at you.

“Fear not maiden, I’ll save you from this monster!” The voice was bold and had a very posh accent. You stared in surprise before lifting your foot, taking a slipper and then threw it. It landed firmly against the knight’s helmet and knocked him off his horse. Denmark started chuckling before stepping over toward the stranger; the horse was smart one and galloped away. The knight looked very scared and began to beg for pity, but you were a little scared about what might happen and quickly grabbed Denmark’s leg.

“Don’t kill him, he’s just an idiot…. Please don’t hurt him Denmark.” You blushed nervously as the knight lifted his visor to stare at you. He looked so shocked and confused that you felt very awkward. This must be really strange to see and firmly you hooked your arm around Denmark’s foreleg to keep him steady and keep yourself hidden. The knight was still staring at you and even began to mouth words that made it sound like he thought you were an angel fighting a devil. “See Denmark, he’s just a religious nut job! Ignore him and let’s go back, please?”

The great dragon gave a long and angry roar, the sound made you release his leg and collapse onto the floor trembling. Your head was spinning, your heart pounding and you felt the air being pushed out of your lungs; you were terrified and wanted to run away there and then. Denmark gave a snort of irritation and then roared again with smoke pouring out of his nostrils so that the knight got up and ran for it, clattering away. Then Denmark’s head turned about to you and gently he nosed you up from the ground. You automatically latched onto the raised nostrils and were swung up onto his shoulders and gently you gripped him in a hug.

“Don’t be afraid of me _____; I was worried that the human was going to hurt you. They say religious things to make people think they’re in the right. The truth is that they’re killing my kind faster then anything else and they’re being mean about us too. What makes me angry is that if he’d have killed me, he’d have taken you away and forced you to marry him. It’s wrong!” The big dragon snorted angrily, only to turn around and give you a gentle lick to the forehead, which made you giggle. “You don’t think I’m a beast do you?”

“No… I was just scared you’d hurt someone.” You sighed gently and gave Denmark a soft kiss, only to watch a large piece of scale fall off and land on the ground. The dragon shuddered painfully and then gave a groan of annoyance. You patted his shoulder. “What’s wrong Denmark?”

“I don’t know… I have to go and see Norway – he’s a pain and eats too much fish but he can be bothered to read when I can’t.” Denmark snorted gently before opening up his wings so that you hooked around him firmly.