Unhinged Fantasy Story

Zeraphinnia Bucksotter knew one thing in life was for certain. In the world of dragon hunters, it was ride or be ridden. Never in her short eighteen years of life would she have expected to become not just a huntress, but the best dragon huntress in the realm of Driagonite. She was feared by every beast that crossed her path, praised by the village as if she were sent by the gods, and wanted by every eligible man within a five mile radius. Such was the burden of someone of her great, immense talent. A burden she never really asked for. 

 

For she was just a plain, unremarkable girl. Her hair was the standard neon pink of every other girl in town, her eyes a boring lemon yellow. And, despite being strong enough to wrestle dragons, she was built like a starving mouse. She had never wanted, or even trained, for the task of dragon huntress, and yet her skill was undeniable. 

 

How she wished to be like the other boring girls of her village, to not have so much expected of her. To have a friend. But her duty would not allow it. Besides, Zeraphinnia was never good at making female friends. She assumed it was because they were all jealous of her. She was greatly gifted after all. 

 

If only her parents could see her success. She thought such thoughts solemnly, for her parents were dead. A dragon ate them. Swallowed them in one gulp as Zeraphinnia watched on in horror. She was but a child, and her parents were taken from her simply because they made their dinner from the eggs of the dragon. And the great beast retaliated most cruelly. It was for that reason that her hatred for dragons surged so brightly, along with a hatred for those sworn to protect them.

 

Particularly one man. Her arch nemesis, the brooding and darkly handsome Draken Shadowdaddythinius. The insufferable man, with his midnight black hair, piercing violet eyes, seven-foot frame, and rock-hard abs. He was a Draguardian. A protector of all things winged and scaly. Their families have been feuding for generations. His believed in the sanctity of the beasts, while hers saw them only as a danger to them and their land. Her parents proved the danger when the green-scaled, sharp-toothed fiend killed them, completely unprovoked. 

 

The insufferable man approached her as she lingered outside the blacksmith’s shop. She had commissioned a new dagger to be made. Only the finest for someone of her skill set. That was what the blacksmith had said, at least. Zeraphinnia could never hold herself on such a pedestal. 

 

“What’s the occasion?” Draken Shadowdaddythinius asked as he leaned against the wooden doorway to the shop. “For you to grace the town square with your presence?”

 

Zeraphinnia glared up at him. What right did he have to ask her anything? Despite his neutral tone and general unthreatening stance, she knew he was trying to intimidate her. And despite her best efforts to hate him for it, she was drawn to him like a dragon to one of her sheep-bait traps. It had been that way since they were small. Just two children battling different sides of the same war to make their families proud. Even as a boy, he was handsome.

 

No one stopped to ask if it was a good idea to give children weapons. All the adults cared about were the dragons. Fighting over if they deserved to live or die. Perhaps if Zeraphinnia’s school had cared about the safety of its students, more than three of her classmates would have survived to see graduation. But who cared about the population replacement rate when your world was run by dragons?

 

“None of your business, Draguardian.” She spat the words, saying his title like a curse. It only made a smile appear on his stupidly gorgeous face. 

 

“If you’re here to purchase a weapon meant to kill the very creatures I’m sworn to protect, then it is very much my business,” he replied.

 

“What if I promised to only use it on you?” 

 

That made him chuckle. Her anger flared hotter. 

 

Before she could utter another word, an ear-splitting screech filled the air. A sound so familiar it ran down her spine like ice. Dragons.

 

Dragons had come to terrorize the village, and only she could stop them.