Bird clung to the warm scaly skin of the dragon as they passed through another cloud. She shivered as she was soaked once again. After what seemed like hours the dragon began to circle. Chancing a glance down, Bird could see a small clearing with brook running through it. The opening of the clearing was just wide enough to fit the dragon as it landed on the already packed earth. The girl saw scorch marks in a pit dug near the stream and a pile of last year’s leaves heaped beneath a birch. “Is this your home?” she asked.

The dragon shook its head then tore down a few branches from a nearby tree, threw it in the pit then lit it on fire with a small stream of fire. It nodded toward the burning wood then headed toward the heap of leaves. Bird gathered some large flat stones and put them near the flames to warm them. The dragon still had its back turned toward her digging in the leaves as she stripped her dress and shoes off and laid them on the stones. When she looked up the dragon was staring at her, a strange look in its eyes.

“What is it? Are you going to eat me now?” Bird said crossing her arms. “Or are you just going to light me on fire like those Hunters were planning?” her voice broke and unbidden tears came to her eyes. She ruthlessly wiped them away and turned her back on the dragon. I have no home and my family is in danger, she thought to herself as she sat on a large rock. How was it that a dragon she had captured come to rescue her? She had to go back, she had to rescue her aunt and cousins before the Hunter got to them, but none of the spells she had learned involved fast travel. She could not recapture the dragon after it had rescued her. Her only choice was to steal a horse and use a directional charm.

She waited until the dragon left her to hunt she supposed.

Quickly she picked up a small green stone mottled like a robin’s egg and breathed the charm on to it. She undid the loop of leather around her neck and inserted it into the hole of the stone she had chosen then wrapped it around her wrist. Quickly she put on her still damp dress and laid a spell trap for a deer then took off before the dragon returned to notice what she was doing. Stealing a horse was easy and with the charm’s help she made it back to the little town her mother once called home.

The sun was setting when she crested the hill leading down to the town. As she approached from the east she could see thick smoke rising from the middle of town. Curious she entered town cautiously. The streets were deserted, which was odd for so early in the evening. The sound of the horse’s hooves echoed off the buildings as she rode in the middle of the street looking for signs of people. The horse’s ears flickered in the direction of the town square and that’s when she heard the din of human voices.

No one noticed her as she rode behind the crowd and dismounted. She was shorter than an average person her age so she could not see what the crowd was yelling at. Pushing through she found a hole so she could see, and what she saw made her gasp in fear. Her uncle stood in the square, his hands bloody, and at his feet was her aunt, cowering with her cousins.

“To think I brought a Witch into my home to spawn evil!” her uncle yelled at her aunt then struck her again in her already swollen and bleeding face. The girls squealed and clung to their mother tightly.

“P-please. Let the girls go. They are your daughters, have mercy,” her aunt spoke through the swelling of her lips. Her husband’s eyes hardened and he extended his hand back. An axe was placed in his hands and the jeering of the crowd became louder. Suddenly Bird’s eyes were drawn to another figure in the square, a man with red hair standing calmly, his hands resting on the pommel of his sword. His eyes, the only part she could see of his face, were locked intently on her uncle. The baker met his gaze and the Hunter nodded. Her uncle raised the axe and a girl screamed. Bird realized it was herself as she scrambled through the crowd and into the square, but it was too late. The blade sunk into the chest of her youngest cousin who had stood up to protect her mother and sister. Her face contorted into surprise that matched her father’s face and then she crumpled to the ground. The crowd cheered shouting “Kill the Witch” until it became a chant.

“Ah, our little Witch has come for her family,” the Hunter said noticing Bird in the square. “Hold her before she escapes!” Two men stinking of ale grabbed Bird and dragged her into the square. Her aunt and cousin looked at her with fear as she was brought before her uncle, his axe already pulled from his child.

“If it wasn’t for you and that dragon, our lives would have been fine, Lavender. You had to learn the craft didn’t you? You had to be as your mother and tempt my children!” The baker roared at her. “I hope-“ his words were cut short as another roar filled the square. The people, confused, looked around them. A shadow passed over them drawing their eyes across the square then towards the sky. The dragon swooped again and the crowd scattered, tripping over each other as they fled. The grip the men had on Bird’s arms loosened for a brief moment.

“If we kill her the dragon will be sent back to Hell!” the Hunter shouted. Bird’s uncle lifted the axe above his head, but never got the chance to swing it. At that moment the dragon dived and knocked her uncle into the base of the statue that adorned the center of the square. The girl could see the odd angle of his neck as his body went limp. The men holding her yelled and released her, stumbling over the trampled in their hasty escape. The dragon tipped back its head and a large flame erupted from its throat bathing the square in heat and light. Bird ducked down and covered her head as the dragon aimed at the guards that bravely entered the square to defeat the dragon.

Bird heard a familiar scream from behind her and turned to see the Hunter pulling his blade from her aunt’s neck, her fingers groping at her last daughter as she choked on her own blood.

“Nettie, run!” Bird yelled, but the Hunter grabbed her cousin. She did not get to see what happened next for the dragon yanked her into its arms once more and took off.