The Story of a Weapon: Part Three

     She stopped and looked around. Why did everything seem so different--so much more vivid? The colors were alive. The entire atmosphere of the place seemed... happy. The trees were vividly green, and swarming with life, unlike the dead world she had seen previously. There was a buzzing sound as small insects flew around, and the singing of birds... She felt that she had passed through time and space to a new existence, not knowing that she had truly managed to find one slip in the space between the worlds while she ran.

     She felt certain that this place was too good for her. It was only meant for the pure hearted who had actually had a birth. She was created. She wasn't even supposed to be alive anymore. This place appeared full of kindness, and she was meant to be malicious, malevolent, and malignant. She was made to destroy the things that a military of a specific region decided that didn't deserve to exist, she was supposed to be the dispenser of vengeance to those who opposed that military. She was worse than what those people had called demons. (She had asked them to tell her about these demons after she heard one person muttering and calling her a demon after seeing her for the first time. The most they dared to explain to her was that they were extraordinarily evil beings, and that they would do extremely malicious deeds for only one reason. Although, they never did say what that reason was, so she assumed that something had molded them into these evil beings, much like herself, although, she was designed to be evil, while they were manipulated into it).

     She noticed something... Since she left, she hadn't killed anything, not even for sustenance. When she hungered, she'd find something already dead to eat. She felt kind of like a scavenger at first... Then she realized that someone... or something... was leading her somewhere. She began to think that it might be a trap. Were the humans tracking her and trying to kill her for revenge?

     Spotting a cave hidden in the mountains, she decided it would be the best place to watch and see if these humans were actually following her, and defend herself, should she need to. Days passed and she remained hidden, desperately hoping her instinct had been wrong, yet unwilling to test the theory.

     Feeling a disturbance, she awoke in the middle of the night. Eyes darting furtively trying to find the small impediment in the room, she rested her eyes upon a small black figure.

     She growled at it, half-wishing it would leave. It stood its ground, showing no fear. It growled back. If she had an eyebrow to raise, she definitely would have raised it then. It was odd, this small creature challenging her thusly, especially when even large animals or people refused to so much as look her in the eyes.

     She observed everything about him with extreme care, not forgetting even the smallest detail. He was pitch black, not a single speck of grey was on him; his eyes glowed red and orange such as a fire; his stance showed that, despite his size, he was a very powerful creature; his claws, like hers, seemed to have a red undertone to their black powerful shine. His eyes showed that he was a strong willed as she, and that he had logically decided to make himself known to her.

     She moved toward him, quickly, to make him show some sign of fear. He stood his ground, showing not even a speck of fear and oozing stubbornness and defiance. She was taken aback. No one had ever been fearless around her. Even those creatures she had seen while running were afraid of her. Everything feared her... Except for him... What made him different than every other life form in existence who feared her when she simply appeared as a silhouette in a room?

     She broke the silence and spoke to him, half expecting him to simply jump up and leave her forever in her solitude...

     ~~~~~~~~~

     The descendant of the Weapon could hardly keep the tears from her eyes. None of her family knew of the things she was reading... All they knew was of what had happened afterward. Of the life she loved and enjoyed in Neopia. She couldn't believe the things that her ancestor had gone through, much less ever imagine going through a small portion of what Weapon had gone through...

     Determined to learn more of her ancestor, the faerie Draik calmed herself and began to read again...

     ~~~~~~~~

     The little black creature was also dragon-like; much like she was... Only... much much smaller, like he could be her pet. He did not move, he simply regarded her as though he were judging her. As if her next few actions would make him decide... something. She did not know how she knew he was male. It just seemed obvious, kind of like the sky is up. He simply was, and there was nothing else to it.

     She spoke to him... He didn't respond with words, as she would have expected from any other, suggesting that he might not communicate the same way, but he purred... She did not even really expect him to speak in her language, for, even though they were very similar, the differences were too immense for them to be the same. He jumped up from where he was sitting, slowly pranced over, curled up next to her paw, and rapidly fell asleep.

     She stared in wide-eyed wonder. This small creature was not afraid of her. The realization slowly swept over her mind. She was awestruck by the fact that he could trust her. She was designed and created to be a weapon... Yet, this creature let down his guard and slept in her presence. She should take advantage of the fact, and kill this poor, innocent, and trusting creature, yet, she knew she couldn't.

     A forgotten feeling of compassion overwhelmed her. She wanted to protect him from any harm, and most of all, she wanted to make sure that he wouldn't leave her, she didn't want to be alone anymore. She then curled around the small draconic being to keep him warm and protect him from the building wind, lest he freeze.

     The pair slept through the night and awoke in the afternoon... Preposterous to Weapon, she lived to be aware of everything going on... It was a lapse in her system, she wouldn't and couldn't let it occur again. The people could have found her, had their vengeance on her, and then harmed the poor black dragon. She could never allow it.

     Days continued to pass, and the small creature brought her meals blatantly, causing her to realize that the creature thought he was taking care of her. She was perfectly capable of hunting on her own, yet she was grateful that he cared to do so... Perhaps he knew that if she shed blood, she could become a ravenous beast... No... that was unlikely, he probably just wanted to help...

     Creating a mind block against those thoughts, she attempted to find him a name. She certainly couldn't call him "small black dragon" for eternity. He deserved a name much better than hers...

     They were playing a game. He would nudge a rock toward her with his nose, she would pick it up, toss it a few feet away, he would stalk it, attack it, and, only after he had "killed" it, he would return with another rock, causing a seemingly endless cycle of hunting the poor rocks. He looked adorably cute when he stalked the motionless objects. He certainly knew how to hunt, even if this was only a game...

     "I need to find you a name," she whispered aloud. He merely glanced at her and pranced off toward a sound only he could hear.

     Suddenly, she realized he had yet to return. He never disappeared for more than a few minutes. Panic overwhelmed her. Was she doomed to be alone? Had they found him, destroyed him, and continued on their search for her? Most importantly, why was her friend missing? She needed him...

     She searched the nearby area frantically. "Verriol," she called out into the darkness of the night. That has to be his name... She waited... Please... don't be gone... She heard a sound and from the darkness she saw the glowing orange eyes appear. She let out a sigh of relief, and cuddled this "Verriol" letting him know that he had been missed... Perhaps he had disappeared simply to help her discover his name...

     They continued to a destination which she was not sure of. It appeared more that Verriol was leading their frenzy than she, but it did not matter. They would end up somewhere, people would be terrified of her, and she would have to flee yet again. She accepted that fact, but apparently, her small friend hadn't. He diligently led her toward some place that he wanted her to be, and when she'd fall behind, he'd continue walking, whimper, prance back toward her, whimper again, and start off, expecting her to follow. And she did, mainly for fear that he wouldn't return. She'd hate to lose him now...

     She followed him, not noticing where they were headed. She looked up, and realized something... He was taking her to civilization... She stopped.

     "I can't go there, Verriol. They'd never accept me."

     He simply whimpered at her in his cute little way, and she knew she had no choice, she had to continue to follow him. He led her closer and closer, until finally, they were at the edge of a town. The town itself seemed archaic, as if it had been left in a section of the world where time had never made it past the medieval era. Despite that fact, it seemed a comfortable place, somewhere she could possibly be accepted.

     Verriol was looking up at her. "What do you expect of me, little one? I can't just walk in there; people have always been terrified of me." He walked off, headed toward the last house in the row, the one most secluded and most hidden in the surrounding trees.

     She panicked; she couldn't go, but she couldn't let him leave. She needed him, he was her lone companion in her desolate life, she could not go back to being alone. She took a hesitant step. What if they try to do what the scientists failed? They'd try to kill me... She pushed aside those thoughts, and thought about her little friend. He hadn't led her astray yet, and he'd done so many kind things for her on their journey.

     She followed him, slowly until she reached the house. He had already found his way in. She couldn't just barge in after him... She sat on the ground, unsure of what to do next. Suddenly, he was coming out of the door, a person in tow.

     This person, a woman, looked at her with kindness; as if she didn't see the frightening exterior and saw what was in her heart. The woman approached. Verriol stayed on the doorstep and let Weapon and the human have their moment.

     The woman simply gazed at her, but not as the scientists had done, she wasn't studying her, she was trying to understand what to do.

     "Come inside with us. It seems that Verriol has taken a liking to you." The woman turned, and let the dragon make her decision.

     "Wait, how do you know his name?' Weapon asked, confused, she thought that she had given him his name.

     "He named himself. He may not be able to speak, but he knows how to communicate," the woman said as she continued to head back in side, "Join us if you wish, though it's an awfully big world out there if you choose to leave."

     Weapon was hesitant, of course; how couldn't she be. She had been through so much pain because of people. Slowly, she began to walk into the little house, followed by her little dragon friend.

     ~~~~~

     "Happiness at last. I no longer have to worry about scientists finding me and destroying me. I have my freedom, I have my Verriol, I have a friend. I cannot deign to call her mom as the other creatures living here do, but I will call her my friend. Peace has found me. I may have been created to do harm, and harm I have done, but at last, I am where I was truly meant to be..."

     The faerie Draik realized that several hours had passed and heard her mother calling down from upstairs. "Coming," she cried up the stairs, as she carefully hid the book back into its box.

     "Mother was right," she said to the basement, "these things are down here for no reason other than to be forgotten..."

The End