Chapter Text
leg·end
noun
/ˈledʒ.ənd/
a very old story or set of stories from ancient times, or the stories, not always true, that people tell about a famous event or person
Cycling around aimlessly, meandering through the different landscapes around the village you were living in with your bike, crossing bridges, following paths and dirt tracks likewise, all the while not coming across a single living soul … That was what you had been doing until now, armed with a big bottle of water, a jam-packed lunch box, sunglasses, and your mobile phone.
You had found some pretty cool and beautiful places during your previous bicycle tours, like an old, weathered bench in a hilly landscape right next to a bubbling stream or a small waterfall in the middle of a forest. These tours of yours usually lasted a couple of hours – and kept you more or less in shape because you were mostly just loafing about during the other parts of your free time.
This time, you had discovered a cave in a rock face near a sheep meadow. The entrance was like a yawning mouth filled with impenetrable pitch-black darkness that seemed to want to swallow you whole.
Now, you had enough common sense to know that entering such a cave, with or without a source of light, would be foolish and also very dangerous and most likely lead to you getting hurt. You would never try to explore a dark cave without someone else and professional equipment, and besides, you were far too jumpy and probably would have a heart attack every time you’d come across something that was moving in the dark.
But!
And now came the one and only reason why you were currently standing in front of said cave entrance, your [colour]-eyed gaze fixed on a point somewhere in the darkness. Your [favourite colour] bike laid discarded on the ground next to you while you were busy contemplating entering the cave against better knowledge. Said reason was that you had noticed some pretty … odd things in close vicinity to the cave.
First off, the most conspicuous thing that had caught your eye almost immediately: The ivy covering large parts of the rock was singed and even burnt near the gaping hole of an entrance.
Secondly, but this was only noticeable upon closer inspection: There were footprints leading inside the cave – but not any kind of footprints. They were clearly non-human ones. Why clearly, you may ask? Because who- or rather whatever had walked into the cave was at least five times bigger than you … and had claws. Clearly non-human, right? Right.
And, the third and last thing you had noticed was the fact that the sheep on the nearby meadow seemed to avoid going anywhere near the cave you were currently standing in front of in a two-mile radius.
Funny enough, you knew what these signs meant – and thus, you also knew what was inside this cave. Only the other day, you had read a book which mentioned the meaning of signs like these and gave instructions on how to act if one should see them. You had read it late in the night because a sudden thunderstorm had scared you from your slumber and kept you awake, and to kill time, you had gotten this book from the shelf right above your bed.
It had an emerald green cover with slightly shimmering ornaments in a lighter hue. Its pages, full with scribblings of you everywhere there had been space left to write or draw something, had a faux old look. Your parents had given this book to you as a gift for your sixth birthday, and you had gathered a few similar ones over the years.
Too bad that these books were all about dragons, meaning that these signs you had noticed were supposedly signs of the presence of a dragon. But dragons didn’t exist. Or did they? I mean, you thought that dragons were totally awesome and amazing mythical creatures. In fact, they were your favourite mythical creature of all times, which was why you had a couple of books about them, and you had read them all at least six times. But you weren’t really sure if you believed in dragons or not. (Though it would be hella rad if they actually did exist.)
You would’ve dismissed these signs, deeming them as a peculiar string of coincidences but nothing serious, and quickly forgotten about them – if it weren’t for the giant footprints one of which you were currently standing in. How could this possibly be? Never in your wildest dreams could you have imagined coming across something like this. Everything indicated that there was a very large creature with claws and possibly fire breath inside that cave. If your books were actually true, chances were high that this creature was a fucking dragon.
Curiosity overcame your apprehension in a matter of seconds and flipped the switch to your common sense, effectively shutting down your worries and silencing the voice in your head which was screaming about the possible dangers. Without a second thought, you pulled out your mobile phone, activated the flashlight, and walked inside the cave, eyes nervously flickering about and ears strained to hear even the quietest sound.
Even on the highest setting, the light of your mobile phone’s flashlight function only lit about two feet ahead. Beyond the light’s reach hung a thick curtain of darkness you couldn’t see past. It was surprisingly warm in here, not as cold and humid as caves usually were. It was getting slightly warmer with each step you took towards the presumable center of the cave. Your quiet and cautious footsteps were the only sounds you heard; they echoed against the stone walls shrouded in darkness and reverberated through the tunnel, creating an eerie atmosphere.
A breeze was blowing and changing directions at regular intervals, either brushing over your face or tickling your neck. It was like a giant creature was breathing somewhere deep within the cave, but considering the breathing’s steadiness, it seemed that the creature was sound asleep.
Fortunately for you, the tunnel pretty much ran in a straight line (as far as you could trust your rather weak sense of direction, that was) and did not diverge. Plus, the light from outside was still visible, following you like a bright eye peeking through the entrance hole whilst getting slowly smaller. If necessary, you could easily run back to the cave’s entrance without having to be afraid of getting lost in here or running straight into a wall and knocking yourself out.