The cave was large and sprawling, just like all the lairs of these wretched beasts.  Luckily, this may be the last of them that I have to hunt.  Their numbers are dwindling.  All over the country, it is becoming less common that people are spotting them.  They used to be all over, wreaking havoc for everyone.  That is why people like myself exist.  All of the most skilled knights across the land are called upon to rid ourselves of these creatures.  Steadily, we have hunted them down, one by one, and now, our services are less needed, but no one will be safe until they are all gone.  Dragon slayers, they call us.  I will be glad to take down just one more of these gruesome beasts just so I can settle down and pay attention to more important things.

I draw my sword and hold my shield in the other hand and randomly pick one of the branches of this giant catacomb.  There is no telling when the thing will strike, but it doesn't seem to matter what path I take.  They always seem to be waiting for me.  I swear that they will even swoop down from the ceiling.  These places also always seem to be very dimly lit, perhaps by some kind of magic.  Many encounters with their kind come to my mind, from the very first to the most recent one.  Powerful bastards, flinging whatever they can at me.  I quickly found out that any reflective surface can rebound their attacks, no matter what they are, as long as it's not fire.  You'll just have to avoid that, if you can.  There's no telling what they know about, and I have no interest in the craft of wizards and the like.  I'm just a soldier, and I always have been.

I stumble upon this dragon's hoard, it seems like all of them have the penchant for collecting human things, although why is anyone's guess.  They've all been made at least three times their normal size, as if to suit the dragon.  It's always nothing more than furniture, though, and books.  They are intelligent creatures, I've seen the way they move.  They plan, they anticipate; that is why only the most skilled knights can deal with them.  They are just as much of a challenge as the greatest generals of our time.  Even though they are giant sized, I saw one of the books they've kept.  What would a dragon need with the works of Shakespeare?

The only other things I've seen them collect are carcasses, stolen from our farms, and also fruits, vegetables, and grain.  This is why they are such a menace.  Some small towns have starved from these creatures, and others suffer from lack of proper food supply.  Those that resist are met with their might and power, though oddly, they don't seem to kill too many, just the ones that don't have the sense to not run into danger.  Most of the time, they just take what they want and fly away.  That makes them easy to track, though.  That is how I've found myself in my current mess.
It's just as well, though, I'd rather fight them in their lair than out in the open, where they can fly.  You need a good ballista for that.

This particular one seems to love books.  It has enlarged a whole library, worthy of some of the more prominent lords in the land.  Perhaps they are more clever than I anticipated.  My lord has taught me much about what you can learn from people by what they write.  He demonstrated that he could easily invade one of our more troublesome enemies simply by knowing they have a festival on a certain date.  Unfortunately, if dragons can write, we have nothing that they have made.  All I can do is observe, and observe I did, until I figured out the best way to deal with these beasts.  I must be extra careful, then.  This is the largest library I've seen one of these creatures have, it must be well learned in our habits.  It makes me cling to my sword and shield much tighter, and watch all of my surroundings for something that may be out of place or for some kind of movement in the shadows.

My caution pays off, but not in the way I expected.  I see a figure chained up against a wall:  a woman, fair as any courtly lady, and with a dress as fine as one, too, or at least it once was.  It's been torn somewhat, no doubt by being handled by that beast.  Having a prisoner is a new low for these creatures, and I will not stand for it.  As quietly as I can, I approach her, until she notices me and gasps.  I motion for her to be silent.  Nothing too secure, just leather wraps around her wrists and ankles.  I pull out a strong knife and work away at them, tearing them apart and freeing her from her confines.  She embraces me, and I cannot help but embrace her back.  She is so lovely, but I have better things to be concerned about now.

"Go.  Leave this place," I whisper.  "I will handle this beast."

She nodded, and pointed to one of the paths to the right.

"It went that way.  It should be sleeping.  Be careful, brave knight."

She ran off in the direction I came from.  She should be able to find her way safely, but for now, it is time to end this.  I went in the direction indicated by the lady and prepared for what I was about to face.  Upon entering the corridor, I could hear the low growls of it's slumber.  I tried with all of my might to creep through this chamber and not make a sound.  There it was, curled up amidst a pile of pillows.  This one had scales of polished ebony, with an underside of purple.  It's back was lined with a mane of the same color, until close to the end of it's tail, where it had a tuft of the same hair.  It was quite large, one of the largest ones I've seen, but I'm not too concerned.  For once, I have the advantage, and I am not going to lose it.

I approach the beast, testing to see if I can find purchase upon it's tail.  It's sound asleep, and I can climb on top of it and follow it's mane higher on it's body.  The idea occurs to me to simply stab the creature, but that would surely waken it, and I'd be hard pressed to inflict such a wound again.  A vital organ, perhaps, but I am not certain of it's insides, as much as I've killed of them.  Usually, just bleeding them to death does the trick.  I then look towards it's head.  That's it!  I will stab into it's brain and end it quickly.  Heh, of all it's cleverness, that particular part proves to be it's downfall.

I work my way down to it's neck, crawling on my belly so it will not easily sense my movements.  I am soon upon my target and draw my sword.  The creature stirs, uncurling it's head and neck, but settling back upon it's pillows.  I held on firm, hugging the creature's neck as it got into it's new position.  This is all too easy!  Instead of having to aim at an angle now, I have a straight shot to it's head.  I firmly grasped my sword with both hands, and in one swift movement, I plunged the blade into the top of the creature's head, using all my strength to force it in.  I was met with some resistance, but with all of my weight behind it, it gave way to the inside, firmly planting itself in whatever flesh lies within.

The dragon was startled and let out a great roar.  It reared it's head, but I wrapped my arms around the sword, refusing to let it go.  The ride did not last for long; the beast shivered and collapsed back onto it's bed with a great thwump that also nearly threw me from my position, but I stayed firm as the creature settled down and moved no more.  I slackened my grip upon the weapon.  I did it!  The creature is dead!  I took a moment to let the relief wash upon me.  All these years, I can finally rest.  I slumped against my blade and realized that now I have to pull it from this creature's carcass.  Mustering all of my strength again, I slid the blade from the great lizard's brain, finding it all tarnished with it's blood.  I can deal with that later, and it will provide some proof to the locals.  To make sure, though, I take out a blade and shear away some of it's skin.  I then got off of the body, leaving it to rot as I make my way back out of the cave and back to the people who were plagued by this dragon to tell of my victory.

That was not all that awaited me, though.  In the midst of the action, I had forgotten the maiden who directed me to it in the first place.  She had found my horse and was waiting patiently by it, stroking it's cheek.  I beheld her beauty once more as she turned her head to notice me and smiled, running up to me to embrace me once more.

"Oh, thank you.  I don't know what that beast was going to do to me."

I patted her back and said, "There, there.  It's all over now.  Come, I will take you  home."

She backed her head away from me, turning it to the side in embarrassment.

"I...don't have a home.  I was given to the creature as payment, to stop it from terrorizing the land.  Apparently, that did not succeed.  I am alone now.  My own family will not take me.  I am nothing."

She started to sob, but I turned her face back to me and looked into those vibrant yellow eyes.

"Then I will take you to my home.  You can stay there as long as you wish.  I would be honored to have such a lovely woman in my house."

Her face lit up, taking my hands into hers.

"You mean it?  I can stay with you?"

"Yes," I replied.  "I will not see someone like yourself left on the street.  My home is your home.  Now let's go, you can tell me more about yourself on the way."

She blushed.  Perhaps I will be settling down in another way as well.  I got on my horse and helped her on behind me, starting our journey back to the village.  It was much farther back to my own place, but it was well worth it.  It turns out she is quite well educated, able to match me on most subjects, and even sharing my love of fairy tales and arts.  She is quite good, handling a brush unlike any I've ever seen and capturing the grandeur of the landscape in astonishing detail.  I awoke one day to hear her sing.  She has the voice of the angels, enchanting all around her.  My heart leapt, completely captivated by her very being.  Surely she must've been a countess or better.  Not even the ladies at the local court could compare to her.

We were not together for long when I decided that she was much too precious to let go from my life.  I proposed to her, and she was incredibly surprised.  At first, she seemed hesitant, but she looked into my eyes and blushed, saying "I will.  I'll marry you!"  My lord was much pleased to see that I had taken such a stunning wife.  The rest of the court also marveled at her and welcomed her as one of them.  If she did once have greater standing, it did not matter to her.  She was now my Viscountess, and she was happy.  As the months progressed, her tummy swelled, telling me that she was now also carrying our child.

It was then the odd things started to happen.  She would mysteriously disappear for moments at a time.  It didn't seem too strange at first, but there were times I searched the whole place for her, unable to find where she went.  She would then appear, as if she was never gone at all.  I wanted to feel her tummy, to feel the life within it, but she always seemed hesitant to let me do so.  Sometimes, I swear I catch her being far more agile than she should be.  She doesn't even seem to be bothered by her condition at times.  She seems to be like any other pregnant woman the rest of the time, though.

Finally, one day, I heard a sharp crack come from somewhere, and she seemed surprised by it, holding onto her belly much tighter.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Oh, it was probably the wind," she said.  "You continue working, dear.  I have things I need to do."

She then left the room, albeit in somewhat of a hurry.  This was the strangest thing of all.  There had to be something up this time.  I left what I was doing and went into the hallway, catching her about to head down the stairs.  Again, she was going much faster than I've seen any pregnant woman go, flying down the stairs like she was on fire.  I kept my distance, following to see where she would go.  Incredibly, she headed straight for the front door, heading straight outside and closing it behind her.  When I rushed to open the door myself, I looked around to see no sign of her anywhere, not even a glimpse of her back going around one of the corners of our house.  I walked to the edge regardless and still saw nothing.  I headed behind the house, still nothing.  What was going on!?  How could she just disappear!?  How could she move so fast!?  How!?

I sat there, angrily tapping my foot on the front stairs.  Finally, she came up the road, carrying something.  She was noticibly thinner, which could only mean one thing, but even that brought up more questions.  To even give birth, she would be bed ridden for days.  Yet, here she is, only hours later, and she looks perfectly fine, but yet, still carrying a baby in her arms.  She sees me and frowns, slowly approaching me.

"I am sorry," she says.  "I didn't mean to deceive you.  I didn't know this was going to happen, it was all so fast."

She took a breath and sat down in front of me, still cradling our child in her arms.  I patiently awaited whatever reason there was for all of this.

"I am the dragon you sought in the cave that day.  I had disguised myself as a woman in hopes of escaping with my life.  What you fought was merely an illusion, made to feel like the real thing.  I came with you hoping that I would later be able to flee, but...I did not know I was going to fall in love with you.  I did not know you were so sweet and so ."

She started to cry, but she continued her story through her sobs.

"You made me pregnant, but dragons are not like your kind.  We lay an egg only a few days afterward, and I had to disguise it as a part of my body.  I imitated how your kind carries your children in their bellies for months.  I was gradually able to hide the egg as my belly after a while.  When you wanted to touch it, I made it feel like you could feel the life inside.  Then...the egg started to hatch.  I didn't know what to do.  I had to go somewhere for the egg to hatch.  You followed me.  I couldn't bear it at the time.  I made myself invisible and flew to a better place to hatch the egg.  I'M SO SORRY.  I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THIS TO YOU.  HERE, THIS IS OUR CHILD.  I HAVE DISGUISED HIM AS A HUMAN CHILD.  HE WON'T KNOW UNTIL HE IS OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND.  PLEASE, FORGIVE ME!  PLEASE, FORGIVE ME!"

She held the child out to me and poured out her anguish, making the child start to wail as well.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it was too fantastic, but then, all the parts of it started to make sense.  In my bewilderment, I took the child into my arms and saw for a moment, it took on a black skin and had brown hair, just like my own.  I then looked over to her, and she also flashed to a rich, ebony color, and had purple hair, just like the dragon.  My compassion for her won over, and I rushed to her and embraced her with one arm while I held our child in the other.

"No, no, no.  It's okay, it's okay.  You haven't done anything wrong.  You did what you felt you had to.  That doesn't matter, what matters is that we're here, together.  My love...my...dragon."

She wrapped her arms around me and calmed down, causing the child to also stop whining.

"Do you mean it?  You don't mind that I'm..."

"...a dragon?  No.  You are my wife, my treasure, my light, nothing can change that.  You showed me real magic, not whatever craft it is you weave on this world, but the magic that only comes from the union of two souls into one.  It doesn't matter what you are, you're still the most wonderful person I've ever met, and your concern for me and our child only makes me love you more."

I pulled apart from her to look at her face as I spoke.  I could see it both, the woman I had known for so long now, and also the creature that lied beneath.  They were one and the same, and I could also see her smile and those eyes light up, quite literally, revealing her slitted pupils.  We embraced once more and kissed, renewing our love for each other and also the new life we had together.  I was now the husband to a dragon, and the father of some hybrid, and I wouldn't have had it any other way, save for one thing.  I knew that we would still have to disguise him as a human, but I saw no reason to keep him from what his true nature is, nor that of his mother.  I had her fully reveal herself to me, and to him.  No longer would we keep secrets from each other.  We were now a family, from this point forward.