Ashton: Child of a Dragon

[Wolfy]

Well...here it is...Ashton's story...It starts when he was five...

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Five-year old Ashton stood outside the cave that was his home with his mother Serena. "Mama, what are you thinking about?" he asked, looking up at her. Serena smiled and picked up her son. He flapped his wings, making it easier for his mother to hold him.

"Look out there, Ashton. It's a whole world for you and daddy and me to explore some day," she said softly, turning her face to the sun. Ashton looked at the world below him.

"but mama, I don't want to leave," he said softly. serena chuckled and sat him down.

"silly boy, I wasn't talking about now. Later, when you are older," she said, ruffling his hair. AShton laughed and grabbed his mother's hand. Serena smiled and turned back to looking over the land. Someday, father, you will see what a fine heir to the land you have, she thought, thinking about what a fine king her son would be. The princess sighed happily, her eyes searching the ground for
signs of her beloved, Thorn. Suddenly, her entire manner changed. "Ashton, get in the cave," she said softly, her voice urgant. Ashton looked up at his mother in confusion.

"But why, mama?" he asked. Serena turned him around and pushed him in the cave. "Mama?" Ashton asked, startled by the rough treatment.

"Please, stay quiet. Hide," she said, her voice strange. Ashton, frieghtened by his mother's manner, retreated into the shadows of the cave, making sure he could still see her. suddenly, he caught the sound of armor scraping on the rocks below the cliff.

"Mama?" he asked, scared.

"shhhhh..." his mother cautioned. Ashton quieted, watching the cave opening, his eyes wide. soon, the source of the noise appeared. A knight, only recognizable by the sheild and sword, walked up to Serena.

"Princess Serena, i've come to rescue you from the dread dragon Thorn," he said. serena stepped away.

"i do not wish to be rescued Colin," she said softly. colin walked up to Ashton's mother and grabbed her waist.

"Do not be foolish. we are to be wed. even your dissappearence for all these years have not changed that," he whispered, leaning closely.

Crack! The echo of Serena's slap rang through out the cave. The knight stumbled back, his cheek red. Serena glared at him.

"I will return when I wish, and not one moment sooner. I am happy here with Thorn. you may tell my father that," she said imperiously, her head held high. Colin scowled, his manner turning ugly.

"If you are so happy, then why are you alone?" he asked. Serena smiled.

"Thorn is out hunting. He left me here to keep me safe," she replied serenly. Something in the knight's manner changed.

"You mean, the dragon is not here?" he asked. Serena looked nervous for a moment, then squared her shoulders.

"No, he isn't. But he will return shortly," she replied. Colin thought for a moment.

"Then this is the perfect oppourtunity for you to escape," he said. serena shook her head.

"I am not leaving Thorn," she said simply. Colin scowled at her.

"why?" he challenged. "Are you afraid he will hunt you down?" serena raised an eyebrow.

"No. I stay with him because I love him," she said simply, her face serene. Colin took a step back, shocked.

"You chose a dragon? over me?" he said, incredulous. serena stared at him.

"Over you? Colin, you were never even considered. I don't like you. I would have never married you, even if I had stayed," she explained. Colin growled and grabbed his sword.

"You are not serena. she would have never said that," he said, drawing his sword. Serena's eyes widened.

"What are you doing?" she asked, stepping back again. Colin growled.

"Die dragon!" he shouted, stabbing Serena through the chest.

"Mother!" Ashton shouted as his mother fell. Colin dropped his sword.

"Ser..serena...?" he asked, shaky. "No...no, it can't be..." he continued, backing away. Ashton came out of the cave and went to his mothers side.

"mama?" he asked, touching her black hair. His mother, beautiful even as she was dying, smiled at her son.

"My beautiful baby boy. I love you, and your father. Never forget that, okay?" she whispered. Ashtn nodded, eyes filling up with tears as his mother shut her eyes and died.

"Mama?" he whispered, hoping she would open her eyes. When she didn't, he scooted back and stared at her corpse, his eyes dazed. Suddenly, a movement caught his attention.

Colin had wiped of his sword and re-sheathed it, muttering "the dragon killed her," over and over again. ashton's eyes filled with rage and stood, fists clenched tight.

"You killed her," he accused, walking towards him. Colin turned and his eyes wiened with fear.

"D..D-D-D-DEMON!!" he screamed. Ashton lunged at the knight, claws outstretched. He caught the knight in the chest and knocked him over. He ripped his claws down, tearing through shirt and skin. Colin, groping about for a weapon, grabbed his dagger. He swang wildly and caught Ashton in the chest. Ashton jumped off the knight, bleeding from the wound that went diagonally from his right shoulder to just below the last rib on his left side. He put a hand to hs chest and stared at the blood on his hand. He then looked back at the knight, his eyes pitch black. He lunged for the knight again, Ashton screaming in anger and pain. But then, Ashton blanked out.

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Heh....i'm stopping here...maybe I'll continue it later...maybe...*evil grin*

[Wolfy]

*looks at her story* I told you guys I can't write a short story...>^_^< I'll continue it tomorrow, probably...

[Dundee]

Sweeeeeeeet... I love Colin's reaction; so satisfactory. Nah, you're good, just write it in Word Microsoft or something so you can spellcheck. I can't wait for the rest of it!!

[Wolfy]

I don't have word. haven't installed it yet...

[lysinias]

It's good. ^^ Poor Ashton.

[Wolfy]

Yeah...something i feel should be explained: Ashton didn't black out physically, but mentaly. he kinda...just stopped processing what he was doing...I hope it gets explained better in the next installment...

[Wolfy]

Meh, I can't wait until tomorrow to wrap this bit up...

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Thorn flew home, a large buck in his claws. The sun warmed his green scales as he flew above the clouds. He smiled, thinking of his beloved Serena. She would be pleasantly surprised with the deer. He swooped under the clouds and saw that he was close to home. He flew lower, still grining, when he smelled the rich copper scent of blood. He stopped in midair.

Something is wrong he thought, eyes narrowed. He dropped the deer and fairly hurtled towards the cave. He landed with a gust of wind, instantly in his semi-human form. He saw his wife laying on the ground in a puddle of blood and was instantly by her side.

"Serena..." he said mournfully, cradling her head in his lab. A sniff interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to see his son rocking on the ground, staring at a bloodstained hand. "Ashton, what happened?" he asked, gently laying his wife down and walking over to his son. Ashton raised tear-filled eyes to his father's face.

"Daddy...the man...he hurt mama..." Ashton said, his voice dazed. Thorn looked around and saw what he thought was the man Ashton was talking about. The knight had been viciously disemboweled and slashed about the face. There was no recognizing him now.

"Therifinah..." Thorn swore softly, then turned to his son. Ashton had resumed his rocking, now staring at his mothers body. He laid one clawed hand on Ashton's shoulder.

"Daddy...mama said...she said she loves us...she said to never forget...it's important daddy! don't forget, ok?" he said with childlike insistence, clutching his father's hand with both of his. Thorn smiled sadly.

"Come on, son. We have much to do," he said softly. Ashton shook his head.

"Can't. Won't leave mama out here by herself. She'll get lonely..." he said softly. Thorn turned his head away for a minute and was silent. When he did speak, his voice was gruff.

"I'll take care of mama. You go inside and get ready to leave," he said. Ashton nodded and wiped his eyes.

"Mama always did like to travel," Ashton said, walking into the cave. Thorn crouched by Serena.

"My fault...if I had been here, I could have protected you...how can I ever forgive myself, love?" he asked, stroking her hair. he shook himself, and, picking her up carefully, transformed back into a dragon. "Come on Ashton," he said, calling into the cave. Ashton came outside, clutching a small bundle to his chest. He climbed onto his fathers back. Thorn took off with a huge down sweep of his wings. Soon, they had reached the massive platue that was the dragon graveyard. Thorn landed and allowed his son to climb off before returning to his smaller form. Silently, they walked to the small cave that served as a tomb for the dragon kinds friends. Humans that had gained and kept dragon trust. into the cave they walked, Thorn carrying Serena's body.

They reached a small secluded off-shoot of the cave, where Thorn placed her body. Then, moving Ashton away, Thorn reached up and created a small cave-in. Ashton stood silently, eyes shut, as Thorn prayed for Serena's soul. His prayer finished, he stared at the tomb of his beloved, eyes distant as they thought back to the past. he was distracted from his memories by his son digging in the small pack he held. Thorn watched in silence as Ashton took out the small painting of Serena and Thorn, done before Serena had run away, and placed it on a small shelf. Beside it, he placed the badly made quilt he had made for her.

"There. Now mama can always have a piece of us with her..." he said softly, turning to his father. Thorn smiled at his son, blinking away tears.

"Yes," he replied. "come Ashton," he continued. Ashton grabbed his father's hand and they walked out onto the platue. Thorn shifted back to his natural form and motioned for Ashton to climb on. Ashton paused in his climb.

"we aren't going back, are we daddy?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Thorn shook his head. "No we aren't," he replied. Ashton finished climbing and settled on Thorn's back. "Then where will we go?" he asked. Thorn sighed and took off. "I don't know, son. Where ever the winds take us," he said, flying off towards the setting sun.

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Huh...shorter than i thought. of course, we still have five years to go through...

[Dundee]

Awwww... Sad. I'd say more, but my dad's bugging me to go to bed. Night! And good story!!

[lysinias]

Ooh. Well written, but sad. Poor Ashton... At least he has his dad though...

[Wolfy]

yeah...a little side note:Ashton has only ever seen two humans: his mother and Colin. However, he has met Thorn's family. Thorn's family are considered strange, even for my dragons, and never said anything to Ashton about being a half-breed. In fact, they treated him like a fullblooded dragon hatchling would have been treated. He felt right at home with them. As of now (in the story) he has never been called anything hurtful that pertains to his blood. Even Colin's reaction didn't hurt him...although that may be because Ashton has blocked parts of that day out of his memory. He still has nightmares about it, but not from the space of tme between when he got hurt to when his father came home...

[aermis]

^_^ Neat. I've already said quite a bit on it, but now something's bugging me.... You wrote in that Thorn has a human form, right? But then you said that Ashton's only seen two humans.... Am I just being dense as always and confusing myself...? ^__^'' I do that often. But I say again. Great story.

[Wolfy]

Yeah, ashton's only seen two real humans. Thorn's semi-human form still has horns and a dragon aura. So, ashton has seen two humans: Selene and Colin.

[aermis]

Oh... another question- [sorry to be so annoying] does Thorn have a full-human form?

[Wolfy]

nope. ^_^ ...the only reason he has a semi-human form is because of his element. The fire and ice dragons don't, just the green (a.k.a. plant) dragons do. They have a semi-human form so that they can walk through their forests without damageing the plants.