The Dragon in the LIbrary

The rain battered the window panes, making it impossible to see anything outside except blackness.

Inside, the soft candle light reflected off the mahogany bookshelves and burgundy carpet, giving everything a warm glow. Maya padded barefoot across the soft floor, holding the base of the candle in one hand and protecting the warm glow with her other.

A large, leather bound book was tucked carefully underneath her left arm, snug against her pale blue nightgown. A fuzzy white blanket was thrown around her shoulders like a cape.

Massive bookshelves loomed above her, but their presence was comforting rather than intimidating as Maya wound her way to the back of the library. There was a window seat there, with plush, dark red cushions, tucked in a far corner where anyone rarely looked.

On sunny days, the window overlooked a large pond, often full of ducklings and flowers. Today, however, only dark fog was visible.

Maya didn't mind; she never came here for the view, anyway. At least, not the one outside her window. She never failed to have at least one book with her--often, she would be found with a stack of books piled as high as the seat cushions.

Tonight, she only had one--an ancient, leather-bound tale of dragons, knights, and princesses inked onto yellowed paper with gold leafing. The book was her most prized possession--the story, one of her favorites, the object itself almost priceless in value. She'd read it close to a hundred times--quite literally--but on stormy nights such as this one, it was more calming than a hug or a glass of warm milk.

It was well past midnight, according to the loud grandfather clock ticking away above the window seat. Maya was supposed to have gone to bed ages ago, but the storm had kept her awake. So, she had sought refuge in the library, knowing between the warm blankets, the soothing candle light, and the rumble of thunder, she would be lulled away to sleep in no time. The book was something to pass away the time until then.

Maya's candle illuminated one flaw in her plan, however:  her seat was already taken.

The figure in the window seat was small and the exact same shade as the cushions. At first, Maya thought it was a cat; the mansion was known to house a few strays now and then, though they usually were kept in the kitchen.

Further inspection, however, revealed that it was not a cat, but a dragon.

Maya did a double take, unable to believe her eyes.

But the figure was unmistakably serpentine in nature, with a long sinewy body covered in ridges, a finely chisled snout, and four delicately sculpted legs. A fine column of silvery smoke rose from its tiny nostrils.

Its scales were a study in burgundy, from almost black ridges fading into wine colored talons that gripped the window seat cushions. Perfectly circular ruby red eyes stared up at Maya, glowing in the darkness.

It did not seem afraid, merely curious, as though it had not expected to come face to face with a human in the library.

Maya stared back, dumbfounded.

She had to be dreaming. It was the only logical explanation.

The dragon--for it was indeed a dragon, there was no denying that--chirped sleepily at her, before curling into a small ball and tucking its nose underneath its red, pointed tail. One ruby eye watched her carefully, though a scaly eyelid was beginning to droop over it.

Maya giggled, her voice echoing strangely in the quiet library.

The dragon yanked its head up, startled by the noise. It bared snow white fangs that glistened against blood red gums, and let out a soft growl.

"It's okay," Maya whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you."

It stared mistrustfully at her for a moment, before yawning. It chirped again, before tucking its long, thin nose underneath its tail.

Maya smiled. "Mind if I sit down?" she asked softly.

The dragon didn't move, so she took that for a yes. Carefully, she set the candle on the ground, and then sat gingerly down beside the small creature.

It looked inquisitively at her as she pulled her legs up to her chin. It made another chirping noise, getting to its feet.

Maya stared at it uncertainly. While small, those talons looked awfully sharp, and the fangs she had seen were needle-sharp.

She shouldn't have worried, though. The dragon arched its long back like a cat, before moving to the side of the window. It looked at Maya's legs, then the cushion, and back again expectantly.

Maya slowly slid her legs down on the cushion, readjusting her blanket as she did so. The second she was comfortable, the dragon made another chirping noise and climbed up her thigh.

The thick cushion of the blanket sheltered her skin from the worst of the talons, but she had been right about the claws being sharp. She could feel them poking even through the fuzzy material.

Maya didn't dare complain, though, for fear of upsetting the tiny creature.

The dragon circled twice, before curling up in a little ball once more. It was a warm, comforting weight in her lap.

It looked expectantly at the book underneath Maya's arm.

"Do you want me to read to you?" she asked incredulously, half wondering if she were going insane.

Much to her ever growing surprise, the dragon nodded once.

Deciding it didn't really matter, she opened the book and began to read.

Outside, the storm raged on. Whenever the thunder got loud enough to give Maya pause when reading, the little dragon would stand up, arch its back menacingly, and growl at the sky, as though it could scare away the storm.

The thought was absurd enough to make Maya laugh and continue to read. The dragon would then curl back up, tucking its nose underneath its tail.

She wasn't sure how long the cycle continued, with the dragon scaring away the worst of the storm and Maya reading, but eventually, the words on the page began to blur and her eyelids began to droop. The storm outside was beginning to fade, and the gentle breathing of the dragon and the ticking of the grandfather clock were lulling her to sleep.

There was another rumble of thunder, soft and miles away. Maya looked to the little dragon when it didn't immediately start growling, smiling when she found the creature was fast asleep and snoring softly.

Maya read the last page of the book silently before closing it gently. She set it on the floor and blew out the candle.

Her eyes fell shut and within seconds, she was fast asleep.