The Pearl of Avalon

The warmth of the sun greeted me when I woke up. I stretched as far as I could without having to free myself from Arthur’s arms. “The rain is over,” I said, somewhat cheerfully. Which is strange because I am rarely cheerful in the morning. I heard no response. I pulled back a little and noticed he was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful I hated to wake him. “wakey wakey,” I said nudging him.

Arthur’s eyes opened slowly. He smiled, “Good morning, milady.”

“Morning,” I replied. I was really starting to like it when he called me “milady.” I smiled and crawled out to the edge of the ledge and peered up. It didn’t look too far up. “Shouldn’t take us long to get to the top.”

“That is good to hear,” he said, stretching. “How is your foot?”

“It’s all better now,” I said.

“That is also good to hear.” He climbed out beside me and looked up. I so loved to have him near me. “The rocks look dry. It must have stopped raining quite some time ago.”

“Probably not long after we fell asleep.” I wanted to kiss him again so bad! I could not look directly in his eyes because at this point I knew I would. Did he remember the kiss as vividly as I did? “We should get moving,” I said, trying not to think of it. Damn!

He agreed with a nod and started pulling himself upwards on the rocks. I put my dagger in my mouth again, reluctantly, and climbed up after him. He made a motion for me to get ahead again, but I just waved my hand, hoping he would get the idea that I was fine where I was. I didn’t think I was in any danger of falling backward. My foot was fine and the slope wasn’t as steep. Plus, it was daylight now, and I could see what I was grabbing hold of.

Arthur made it to the top and reached back to give me a hand. We both stayed low and crawled across the top. I could see the larger mountain ahead. And it was shimmering! What a stunning site! The closer we got to the other side, the more of the mountain I saw. Many towering peaks. And then I saw the valley.

We fell lower and crawled on our stomachs. The valley put me in mind of the Grand Canyon, but not as deep. It was here that I did not want to go any further. I knew I had to, but the little bit of courage I did have, had just left me. There were hundreds of small dragons. And that is not an exaggeration! No wonder they would come so frequently! I saw a few just trudging along the ground, slightly smaller than the others. Not flying yet. And then I saw the big ones.

“This will be tricky,” Arthur said. He was obviously thinking the same thing as me. The big dragons were huge! There was no way we could run through that valley and get away from them! One stomp of a foot and we were goners! These dragons were larger than an elephant! Probably twice as big! I didn’t want to imagine how much they weighed.

“What now?” I asked, after letting the dagger fall from my mouth onto the rocks.

He was silent for awhile before he spoke “We could try to go around, but that would take more than a day in itself, providing we do not get seen. And it would take even longer if we crawled like we are now.”

“Around,” I whispered back. Not a question. Not a statement. Just the word. An acknowledgment.

“Unless.....” his voice trailed off.

“Unless what?” I couldn’t tell what he was looking at. I was way too afraid to talk too loud. “Arthur?”

He motioned me with his finger to follow, “Stay low,” he whispered. I followed, obediently, with my dagger in my mouth once again.

We came to a large boulder and could sit up. That felt good. My stomach was getting scratched to pieces. I saw the shadow of a young dragon fly overhead. It was heading in the direction we had just come from. It was searching. Searching for us. I just knew it. I just pray it don’t look back and see us because if it did, they would all know we were here!

After the dragon was out of site, Arthur took my hand, and we crouched low again. We eased out from behind the boulder, “Look,” he said pointing towards the valley. “There are a lot of larger rocks on this side of the mountain. We could get down to the bottom if we take it slow enough. Then use the egg shells as cover.”

I let the dagger fall again, “egg shells?” I squinted my eyes. There were loads of them. And the shell pieces did seem large. But large enough for us to hide behind? I squinted again as a large dragon moved aside. It had been laying on a nest. One of the eggs was twitching. It broke open and two dragons slid out. Two? Dragons hatched in pairs? I would never have thought that! Another egg opened and two more were born. They sure do multiply fast!

“If we make it to the valley we could take our time crossing through. We could maybe even take a shell along with us and cover up at times.” Arthur seemed just as nervous as I was, but he kept his cool.

I just kept staring down at the hatching dragons. “It would be a long shot,” I said. It was either that or the mountain top idea. I didn’t relish either idea, but it had to be one or the other. Another day or so crawling along the top of the mountain, or possible egg shell coverage in the valley? If we did take the longer way, we would have to climb further up, because the Golden Mountain was much higher. I could clearly see that. And the cave is only half way, so we’d have to climb down again. “If we make across the valley, how do we climb up without being seen? And where is the cave? I can’t see it from here”

Arthur pointed and my eyes followed his finger, “I see a crack. A very large crack. Maybe the cave. And if you look closely enough it, there seems to be a pathway leading up the side. Not a straight line, though.”

I squinted again. Yes! I could see it! That had to be it. Right from the valley floor to the large crack. It zigzagged slightly. Too perfectly lined up to be just a normal mountain formation. I let out a sigh, “Okay, let’s do it.” I can’t believe I said that! “Can we be silent enough to make it?”

“I do not think we can be sure of anything right now, milady. We can only try. We just need to believe. I have faith in us.”

That sounded so nice. He has faith in us. It made me smile. “You never seem to lose hope,” I commented.

“I have faced many dangers in my life. Fought in many battles. Hope is what got me through.” Arthur smiled, “I know I have never faced a dragon before, but they are living creatures, and I highly doubt they are without weaknesses or blind spots. We walk behind. We walk quietly. We hide along the way. The fate of Avalon is resting with us. You have a wish to go home, and I wish to find an old friend.” I figured he was talking bout Merlin here. Arthur’s eyebrows creased together, “Modred has caused enough trouble. I will not let him continue to ruin a place as sacred as Avalon. It must be restored.”

“I bet you were the best king to ever rule.” I wasn’t just saying that to be nice, or make his head swell, I was simply stating the facts. “Lead the way,” I said.

We crawled along the mountain top on our stomachs a little further before settling on a good spot to descend. I could smell sweat. It was me, I was sure of it. I needed a shower so very badly. A bubble bath sounded nice.

Arthur eased down and put his foot on a small ledge, “Seems to be sturdy. There are several large rocks along the way in case we need to take cover.” I just nodded in agreement.

The descent was nerve racking. More often than not, we laid flat against the mountainside. We made sure to stop and cower near the large rocks if either of us thought for a second that we were making too much noise. We were descending down the side of the mountain that faced the dragon valley. If we got spotted, we were dead. Plain fact. I had to keep wiping my palms every chance I could take. I was sweating so bad. Bad nerves and hot sunshine did not mix well. My hands got so slippery sometimes I worried if I would fall. And, since Arthur was ahead of me, I would no doubt fall on him, causing him to lose his grip. That would be bad.

I was glad, in a way, that there had been newborn dragons. It kept the large ones occupied. The other young ones, the ones not taking turns flying out to search for us, were scampering around, chasing each other, or their own tails. Just like dogs. If I could have just sat and watched them play, instead of fear them, I would have been quite amused.

I’m not sure if it was the heat or my nerves, but I started to feel light headed. The dagger I had been holding between my teeth fell. My hands were starting to lose grip. I nearly passed out when I felt Arthur wrap his arms around my midsection and help me get my feet on the ground. We had made it to the bottom! “Milady?” His voice sounded distant. “Chloe?”

I snapped out of my daze when he said my name, “We made it down?” I asked in a whisper.

He gently helped me to sit. We were behind a large rock. Just large enough to block our view of the valley, “Yes,” He whispered. “Are you alright?”

“I think so,” I replied. “It’s all just getting to me now, I think.” I had to be honest. “My life had been a mess, but at least it was sort of normal. Never dreamed I would ever be in a situation like this!”

“I understand. It is overwhelming for me as well. I never expected to be fighting dragons.” Arthur sat next to me, keeping his arm around my shoulders, “We can rest for a while if you would like.”

“No,” I said. “I’m fine. We should keep going.” I really wanted to say, “Yes, we should rest. We should stay here and not move.” But how would that have sounded? Quite stupid, no doubt. I could just imagine the look Arthur would have given me. “I dropped my dagger,” I said after a few second pause.

Arthur handed it back to me, “I caught it.”

“Thanks,” I said. At least now that we were not climbing anymore, I could hold it in my hand. At least until we had to crawl again. And of course, that came sooner than I had hoped.

We crawled out from behind our rock and inched over to some broken shells. Surprisingly, some pieces were large enough to hide behind. They weren’t big enough for us to hide to together, unfortunately. I really hated not being close to Arthur. He wasn’t that far away, but any distance was too far. He was, after all, the one with the big sword.

I watched him as he peered out around his shell cover. He motioned with his hand to follow and so, with the dagger in my mouth, I crawled after him. We came to another batch of shell pieces. Thank goodness they were plenty! Every movement we made towards the Golden Mountain, was a move deeper into the dragon's territory. Closer to the dragons. I was starting to wish we had opted for the long trek around the valley. Not that is was any safer by no means, but at least it was going around them and not towards them. We may have been able to run back down the mountain into the trees if one saw us. Where could we run if we are spotted now?

No, I really had to stop second guessing this. Both ways were equal in danger. One was just prolonged.

The next shell cover had two large pieces right together. Finally, I was able to get close to Arthur again. I took the dagger from my mouth and quickly glanced at him. He was dead still. I cold see beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His eyes turned to look at me as he held his finger to his mouth. That was a sign to be quiet. I really did not like the look on his face.

Then I heard it. The shuffle of dragon feet. It was not a small one. A shadow loomed over the shells, and I saw the dragon’s tail slither silently near me. The black scales glistened in the sunlight. I heard a soft thud as the shadow lowered. The dragon had lain down. Completely blocking our way.

I was starting to cramp up. I had no way of telling how long we were there, just sitting up against the shells, but it seemed like an eternity. As cramped as I was though, I was not moving. I was even nervous that the dragon would hear me breathe. What would happen if I had to cough or sneeze? This was not good. I was glad that no other dragon came near. At least not that I could see. But as long as one didn’t come around where we were, was fine. Or, at least as close to fine as you could be in a situation such as this.

I could see by the look on Arthur’s face that he was not overly comfortable either. We were just sitting with our backs to the shell pieces, but not actually resting on them in fear they would crack or shift. We both had our knees pulled into our chests. I really needed to stretch out. I opted instead for letting my forehead rest on my knees.

A low rumble broke the silence and I glanced at Arthur. He so very slowly leaned to the side to peek out around the shell. I held my breath until he sat back. I let my breath out, trying to keep it silent. He looked at me, clasped his hands together and held them to the side of his face. I mouthed the word “asleep,” raising my eyebrows to indicate a question. He nodded.

Arthur made a quick motion with his hand to follow him. We had no choice but to go around the dragon. My stomach was doing flip flops. He carefully inched out and crawled around the head of the dragon. I was near the tail and should have probably gone that route, but instead, I crawled behind Arthur. The dragons head was the length of my entire body. Sweat was dripping from my forehead and running down my cheeks. I had never sweat so much in my life! What would happen if the dragon opened its eyes while I was in its line of view? Could it smell me?

I made it around one side and passed by its mouth. Its nostrils would widen as it took a breath, and warm air would flow over me as it let the breath out. I looked and saw that Arthur had already taken shelter among some other broken shells. He was beckoning me to crawl faster, but my body was not cooperating with me. The dragon stirred. I froze. Oh shit! It was going to wake up, and see me! I did not want to be a dragon's meal!

I couldn’t move. My body was so stiff it hurt. I was petrified. Please, please, please don’t wake up, I begged in my mind. I stared at the closed eye that was so close. Please stay closed!

Keeping my eyes on the sleeping dragon, I finally forced my arm ahead. I pulled myself along as fast as I could. And that was not very fast. Tears were starting to roll down my cheeks. My eyes were stinging so hard I could barely see. When I finally made it to the safety of the shells I fell into Arthur’s arms, crying silently.

Arthur wiped away my tears when I finally stopped crying. He kissed me on the forehead and smiled. It was a reassuring smile, and that made me feel a little better. It didn’t completely calm my nerves or anything because they were completely shot. My stomach was paining with a mix of fear and hunger. What a nice top off!

We had to stay put for a little while. A hole in the shell I was behind allowed me to see some activity. There were several young dragons running around very close by. Every now and then one of them would take to the sky and go in search of its prey. They were, however, ignorant to the fact that its prey, Arthur and myself, were right there. And boy, do I ever hope they remain ignorant to that fact!

When one dragon would return, another would go. I never once saw a large dragon take flight. I could only imagine what it’s wing span would be! Most of them seemed to be resting, curled around some eggs, or laying beside them. A few were watching the young ones frolic. One young dragon returned from a flight and dropped a dead griffon down for a couple newborns to pick at.

An egg nearby started hatching, and the young dragons that were near us scampered over to watch. Arthur tapped my shoulder and tilted his head quickly to let me know it was time to move again. While the majority of the dragons were distracted, we crawled low on our stomachs to a few large rocks. He seemed to have a map of the area in his head because he knew right where to head to keep hidden. I knew he didn’t really know, but it just seemed like it. I guess he learned the tricks of sneaking around during his battles and hunting expeditions, and I was glad of that. It would be nice to see a map of Avalon, I thought.

Our next hiding place was not so pleasant. A dead dragon. Not as large as the others, but not overly young. We could both hide behind it. By the look of the lacerations, it must have died fighting. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female, nor did I want to, but I suspected maybe it was a male who lost a fight with another male, over a female. That probably was not it, but it seems as good an explanation as any.

There was enough squawking going on amongst the dragons that I risked an extra silent whisper, “Can you see the cave from here?”

Arthur was scanning the mountain carefully. We were getting very close to it now, thank goodness. He just shook his head.

We left the dead dragon behind and took shelter behind more shells. Then, the next hiding spot was a deep indentation in the ground. After that, more shells. Dragons certainly laid a lot of eggs! Where did the population go to? How long have they been here multiplying like this?

Our final hiding spot was a large boulder at the base of the Golden Mountains. The sun was getting lower in the sky now. It took nearly all day, but we made it across the valley alive and well. A wave of relief swept over my entire body. Now, the only thing left to do was climb up and find the entrance to the cave. Climb up and be visible to the dragons. I tensed again.

Arthur tapped me on the shoulder, “How fast can you climb steps?” he whispered.

“Steps?” I asked after spitting out the dagger. The corners of my mouth were sore from holding it.

He nodded and pointed up, “Look closely,” he said. “That pathway we saw is a set of steps.” His finger traced the stairway, “and it leads up to that ledge. That ledge is where that crack was. It must be the cave entrance.”

“But it’s too open. We will be spotted for sure. There is no cover at all.” Panic time. Of course, it would be me who panics.

“No, there is no cover. That’s why we must go swiftly. Run as fast as we can.”

I have never run up a set of stairs before without tripping. And they were never this long either. If I didn’t trip, I would be out of breath in no time. I was in fairly good shape, but this would test my limits for sure! “I guess knowing there are dragons behind me would help move me fast,” I finally managed to whisper out.

“I wonder if we should go together or apart?” He was focused on the pathway.

“What? You mean, one of us stay here? What if a dragon attacks?”

Arthur smiled his reassuring smile, “It may not notice the one of us who is hiding. The choice is yours, milady. Whatever you would rather do.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. It wasn’t as silky and detangled as I normally kept it. It felt greasy and matted. I pulled on the tangles as I tried to make up my mind. Together or alone? Maybe separate would be best? The stairway did look narrow. “Alone, I guess. But how long before the other follows?”

“Not long.”

“So, who goes first?” I asked, swallowing a big lump in my throat.

“I think, perhaps, that you should go first.”

“Me?”

“If a dragon discovers you I could jump in with my sword to fend it off while you keep running for the cave”

“But then, you would be left fighting them all by yourself!”

Arthur gave a weak smile, “Better for one of us to make it to the cave than neither of us.”

“But....”

He put his finger to my lips and cut me off, “Your safety is my first concern right now. Excalibur is a very strong and powerful sword. I can fight my way up if need be.”

“What do I do if I get to the cave?”

“Just find Merlin. And be careful.”

“I really don’t like the thought of you against all those dragons by yourself.”

“Please, Chloe.”

I knew I cold not argue anymore.