Snapping

He knelt before her with his wrists shackled and red where they’ve been rubbed raw, arms covered in dirt and blood with streaks in the filth where sweat trickled down. What clothes covered his thin frame were tattered and drenched in sweat. The cave where he was facing punishment was intensely hot. The heat pouring from the dragon’s skin and the coals surrounding her nest made it difficult for him to keep focused on the large creature. Her narrow pupils stared down at him like he was nothing more than dust, his mere existence to her barely registered.

He was disposable. Useless. A burden. In reality, he was exactly that. He was nothing more than a lowly convict about to receive due punishment. You don’t disrespect the rules set by the Elders and expect to walk. You were brought forth after a month of confinement, forced to make the travel to the Elder’s lair with no rest, no nourishment, not even shoes to stand before them as they decide whether you’ll be exiled or if there is some greater form of reprimanding necessary. Those who are lucky found themselves maimed and banished. The unlucky end up dead. He was in that very predicament.

Aphae’s black scales shone like oil as the light of the fires reflected off her sides. Her jowls were pulled back in a snarl as thick slobber pooled around her teeth- teeth that were sharp enough to slice meat cleanly and jaws powerful enough to break bones. A dragon’s mouth, especially that of an Elder Dragon, was its most dangerous and preferred weapon. Its drool alone was enough to cauterize wounds.

“Speak. Announce your crime.” Aphae’s ancient voice echoed throughout the cave and shook the flames of her nest violently.

“I, Frewin of Saria, am charged with the crime of stealing from Great Elder Aphae.” his voice shook nervously. His hair was now a matted mess of sweat, ash, and dirt. It hung in his eyes and mouth. “I stole the egg of Great Elder Aphae and Great Elder Graelnareth. I fully accept my punishment regardless of what it may be.”

Aphae didn’t seem pleased by his confession. The dragon stood from her nest, her massive height nearly filling the entire cave. She leaned forward into Frewin’s face, her breathing warmed his skin and blew his hair all over. He could smell sulfur and rotting meat on her breath. If he had anything on his stomach, he probably would’ve vomited. It took a great amount of control to keep from dry heaving in her face.

“You have committed a grievous crime. Your apology is pathetic. Extend your hand, lest you want to just die.” Aphae snarled at him. Frewin felt his stomach lurch at what was to happen. He’s heard tales of people who faced the dragon’s wrath. No one ever returned after infuriating the Elders. Frewin did as he was told and pressed his arm toward Aphae. She pulled her lips back even further to expose rows upon row of teeth and drool. If Frewin had it in him at that moment, he probably would have wet himself.

The dragon darted forward at such a fast pace he didn’t have time to register what had occurred until the sickening snap, splatter, and tear. Pain flared up his arm as if someone was ramming a hot iron straight into his elbow. He tore his eyes from the beast before him to look down at his arm. Or, rather, what there was of his arm. Everything below his elbow was gone, leaving a blackened stump where the monster’s saliva had burned the wound.

“You are to leave now. Do not return to this village unless you wish to lose more than just your forearm,” she demanded, chunks of his arm caught in her teeth and his blood splashed across her face.

Frewin could barely manage a nod as shock and pain wracked his body. He feebly turned to the exit of the cave with his severed arm pressed tightly against his chest. The hardened scab of his stump scratched against his bare chest while the heat still coming from it burned his skin. His legs carried him to the entrance before they collapsed onto the grass outside. The cool night air was a welcome change from the burning hell he had just endured. His body was slowly coming out of a numbed daze, pain shooting into his shoulder like someone was jabbing heated nails into the naked muscle. His face was wet with his tears, but his eyes were strangely dry. He forced himself back onto his feet. His knees buckled and shook with every step he took. He’d gone barely twenty minutes of walking before his knees gave out and he slumped face first into the dirt. His injured arm slammed against the ground hard, forcing him to cry out loudly. Tears stung his eyes as they forced their way out.

Once the first tears were out, more joined. His chest was wracked with sobs as he lay face down on the cold earth crying. His arm was throbbing. His feet felt like they were covered in tiny cuts. He was tired. He was starving His mouth was dry. He was dirty and he stunk. He wanted to go home, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t go anywhere now with his arm the way it was. It was his brand now, his moniker. A symbol of his status as a thief who was shunned by his village Elder. No other village could take him in without risk of having theirs destroyed. No one could afford him even a glance of kindness now. He was alone. Truly and completely alone all because of a stupid egg.

He lost his village, his family, his livelihood, his arm all over stealing a pathetic, stupid, unimportant egg. Well, perhaps not entirely stupid, unimportant, or pathetic. The egg would’ve brought in enough money to feed his family for a few months. Enough to pay off the horses, enough to buy a few cows for milk and meat, and enough to buy wood to patch the holes in the roof. Dragon eggs go for a high price in certain circles. Baby dragons are defenseless and blind making them easy to kill. Their scales, bones, and hide are used in making all sorts of items ranging from medicines to armor, to weaponry. “I fucked up.” He sobbed, pressing his face deeper into the ground till his words were muffled against the dirt, “I fucked up, I fucked up, I fucked up, I fucked up!”

He wiped the clammy sweat from his forehead and tried to push himself up off the ground, though found that his body no longer had the strength to support him. He grunted in pain as he continually pushed against the earth in hopes his body would miraculously comply with his demands. The pain was slowly making his head swim dizzily, thoughts becoming hard to form, and his vision was turning incomprehensible. Colors merged together as shapes became distant and fuzzy. Gradually the pain seemed to subside into a fuzzy warmness, his body was swept over by an eerie calm as his mind slipped away.