There was no time left. The world she had taken would soon be lost to her. Yet, in this one moment, she knew that everything would be alright.

“My Queen” A single voice echoed across the vast hall of her Chambers. This was the beating heart of her world. “The heroes have breached the palace. It won’t be long before they descend upon this chamber. I will hold them off as long as I ca-“

“You will do no such thing, Kane.” The small voice of the man that spoke prior felt like but a whisper to the command her voice wielded. For the small man did not speak to a woman, nay, only one being was worthy of his servitude. That being was no man at all.

Only the Dragon Queen, Calamity, was worthy.

“My Queen, I must protest, there is no other way for you to escape!”

To speak against such a mighty being took much of his will. He knew what ire he would bring upon himself to defy his Master’s command. Yet even as her form towered over his body, he had to fight against her wishes. To save her, to keep her safe!

“I will not escape this fateful day, my loyal friend. There is no land I may flee to that they will not give chase. No crevice I may crawl in that they will not excavate.”

“Even so! If my life can be sacrificed to give you more time. To find another way, then I will happily give my lif-“

“That is enough, Kane!”

As they spoke, her eyes stayed ever fixed downward. To the small item she cradled to her chest. Yet his foolish words could no longer be ignored. The loyal servant now felt the full, furious gaze of his queen. Her words shook the very foundations of the sacred chambers. He wished to protest, but he was powerless before her. Eyes fixed downward, awaiting his punishment.

“…You always were a man looking for his final curtain call. I will not have it. For you still have a role to play, one only you can fulfill.”

“Only I?”

“Only you.”

As he raised his head, the Queen’s Maw turned to her cradle once more. Only then could he see what she truly meant. A sudden shock grasped him as his eyes fixated on the future now laid before him. A singular egg, covered in scales, matching in its red hue to the dragon it is cradled in. Compared to the Queen’s size, it was but a small speck, an insignificant rock. However, in the world of man, the egg was the height of a full grown adult. In all the years he had served his Master, she had never once been able to bring about an heir. Yet here, at the end of everything, the Queen had finally fulfilled her final wish. She had created an heir.

“You are to take this egg, Kane. Take it, and hide from the world. No one will know of him, until the day he is ready.”

In his cold heart, Kane wanted nothing more than to protect her Majesty. To cull those accursed heroes who dare lay waste to the world she had made, but a Queen’s order is to be followed. With only pain in his still heart, he bowed his head.

“Yes, my Queen. I will take the egg to the Temple. Until the day the young King hatches. I will watch over him.”

The fury that had laced the Queen’s words had now passed. A smile gracing her lips.

“Thank you, for being my most loyal attendant.”

“No, thank you My Queen. Without you, I-“

A clawed hand rose to stop him. Cutting his words at the stem. He had thanked her a thousand times before, for giving him purpose. There was no need to add another. That hand then fell slowly back down, towards her cradled egg. A single claw gently caresses its shell.

“You will live, you must live. For when you awaken my precious son. The World shall be yours.”

A single nod was given to her servant. Allowing him to approach. His long, pale hands gently reached for and lifted the egg from its mother’s cradle. Despite its size, it was no test of strength for the Queen’s attendant.

“For eternity, I shall protect him. You have my word, My Queen.”

She, holding back her pain, gave one final command as Queen. The one command left for her to give.

“Now go!”

Her voice reverberated across the chambers, her very words imprinted on the finely crafted stone of her home. Kane was not one to hesitate, but for this one time, he couldn’t find the strength to move his feet. His new mission was absolute, he could not fail.

When he sets out on that mission, however, he will never see his Queen again. Even so, he must never disobey her command. He found the strength to move forward. It was but the blink of an eye that the attendant needed to disappear with the egg.

The great Queen rose from her nest, now bereft of her child. It was a painful feeling, losing what she had left to love. Regardless of that pain, she was at peace with her choice. The heroes had done what they had sought to do. To free the world of man from the terror of Calamity, and now perform the final blow at her nest. All that was left of her world, now rested in this chamber.

Her Hoard. Piled high with gold, gems, magic and power beyond what any mortal should hold. Even with a room filled with her golden might, it was but a fraction of what she once had. Today, she would lose the rest of it.

The doors to her great chamber began to open. Four individuals like specks compared to the Queen stood at its entrance with weapons readied. She looked at her would-be vanquishers, and let out a ferocious roar. The final chapter of a grand tale was about to begin, of great heroes, and the evil Dragon.

After all, a Dragon must protect her Hoard.