Peter Persona

The dragon’s huge frame sprawled atop a pile of sparkling trinkets. Coins, pieces of gems and golden thingamabobs overflowed from the vast heap. Charred remains of several wooden chests lay scattered across the uneven floor. The dragon evidently felt keeping its horde neatly sorted in boxes as a waste of time. Instead of using such an inferior organization method; the creature had decided to shove everything into the cavern’s centre. Where it proceeded to stack everything into a perilous lump. The very same lump where it now lay and slumbered upon. 

As I moved closer I could see gems sparkling from the tips of the dragon’s wings and glittering along its scaly back. Several crowns adorned the creature’s forelegs. Golden chains hung from its horns mimicking flamboyant earrings. A thick tail curled around its head and somehow managed to entwine a jewelled sceptre in its serpentine grasp. 

“This could possibly the vainest beast in the kingdom,” I breathed to myself in the faintest of whispers.

I took one step forward, then two, another step and then stopped. Pausing to investigate my surroundings. My advantage became clearer and I decided to seize the element of surprise. My fingers tightened around my sword hilt and the blade slid out of its sheath with a metallic hiss. 

The great scaly dragon growled in its sleep and shifted causing a golden bauble to slide loose and role clanking down the glittering hill that the dragon called a bed. I held my breath; frozen in fear. The slumbering creature stilled after what felt like a century. Then the monster resumed its even breathing - a sound almost like purring. That is if purring sounds like gravel being shaken through a sieve. 

Seeing that I had no time to loose I quickly advanced towards the dragon and its gold. 

Perhaps I moved a little to quickly. 

My toe caught the edge of a golden bowl and I found myself toppling head over heels into a pile of silver goblets and spoons.  

Hearing my armour clank against hundreds of goblets must surely have been to much for even the soundest sleeper. For no sooner than I had fallen, the dragon snapped its eyelids open and peaked out from behind its bedazzled tail. Its eyes met mine with a burning yellow glare. The dragon hesitated for one second as if questioning why I dared to disturb its slumber. 

Then the creature raised its head, drawing its lips back into a snarl. Streams of grey smoke flew upwards from its nostrils as it exposed row upon row of razor sharp teeth...

~*~

One of the things that I'm most thankful for while growing up was having lots of space to play outdoors. Fields stretched into countries, puddles swelled to become oceans and rocks rose into craggy mountain peaks. Looking back we always seemed to get ourselves into such trouble and yet still overcome impossible odds at the last minute. 

We had grand adventures back in those days. 

I’m older now and I have a question for you. Why can’t those adventures continue? Yes, we have responsibilities now that we didn’t have as children. Those things take up a quite a bit of time and start taking life to seriously. What would happen if we made a conscious effort to look beyond our daily activities and tried to rediscover our imaginations?

Do you want to know what happened when I faced that dragon? 

Well, I’m not going to tell you. 

You’re going to have to imagine this one for yourself.