She was lonely.

She soared over mountains and valleys, her own wingbeats her only company.  All around her, the sky was open and blank.  There was nothing there.  No one else.  She was lonely, and she was alone.

But it had not always been that way.  She remembered a time when there had been others with her, who had flown with her over these same landscapes.  When the air beside her had been filled, not with emptiness, but with laughter.  With small darting dragonets and loping adults.  With siblings she had raced.  With parents who enfolded her in their wings at night.  A mate who had gently nuzzled her long golden neck.  A daughter, too young to fly, who had clung to her back as they traveled.

They were all gone now.  Killed in wars.  Slaughtered by the fae who had feared their power.  All the dragons’ fire, strength, and magic had not been enough to save them.  One by one, her family had vanished, until she was the only one left.

She could feel herself fading, now.  Dragons were not meant to live alone.  They were not supposed to hide in caves in the mountains, balled up and solitary.  But that was how she lived.  She had not seen another of her kind in years, decades-she wasn’t certain how much time had passed.  It had lost its meaning.  She didn’t know how she had survived when her family had not.  But she had, and now, she felt the pain of being the only one left behind.

A glimmer caught her eye in a clearing below.  A flash of silver amidst the green.  Hesitantly, carefully, she swooped lower to see what it was.  Maybe something interesting?  But no.  It was just one of the native fae, a child by the looks of her.  The dragon knew of the native fae’s traditions; this young one had been left out in the forest as a tribute to their gods.  She would remain their all night, to see if one of their gods would be interested in raising her as their own.  The child was not a sacrifice.  The fae’s gods had not taken interest in a child in a long time, the dragon knew.  She didn’t know if their gods existed, but she did know that there had been several children who disappeared without a trace when she had been young.  Whether they were taken by the gods or by predators was up for debate.

The dragon had seen this before and was tempted to fly by, to continue on her way to the next secluded cave.  But there was something about this child that stood out.  She was dressed in fine clothes, not the ceremonial cloths, but something different.  She was covered in a brilliant red cape, and. . .there it was.  The same glimmer that had caught the dragon’s eye.  Not a jewel, but a shining knife.  A dagger.  The girl was not supposed to have that.  Weapons weren’t allowed in the rite.  Which meant she was no longer under the jurisdiction of the fae and their gods, but nature itself.

And I am a piece of nature, the dragon realized, the beginnings of an idea forming in her mind.  She flew down until her talons skimmed the tops of the trees, rustling their branches and startling the nightlife.  The girl heard the commotion and looked up, straight into the dragon’s eyes.

The dragon had not been seen by another in years.  The feeling of being looked upon, of being looked into, was foreign, but not unwelcome.  It felt good to be seen.

She touched down on the soft forest floor.  The girl’s breath caught in her throat and she scrambled back a couple steps with her dagger held out in front of her.  The dragon almost laughed.  As if the weapon smaller than one of her own teeth would stop her if she wanted to harm the girl.  But that was not what the dragon intended.

The dragon stepped forward, still staring into the girl’s pale green eyes with her own golden ones.  There was fear there, but a defiance and determination that the dragon found endearing.  Yes.  This girl would do.

Without warning, the dragon lunged forward.  The girl tried to flee, but it was too late.  The dragon clasped her talons gently around the girl.  The girl twisted, trying to get free, but it was no use.  In the struggle, her red cape fell to the ground.  The girl screamed for help, and the dragon picked up the sound of footsteps running towards her.

In a flash, the dragon was in the air, with the girl still clasped in her talons.  By the time the adult fae reached the clearing, there would be no sign that she had been there.  The girl in her talons stopped struggling as they soared over the landscape.  The dragon looked down at her and saw the girl’s eyes open wide with wonder.  The dragon smiled as she remembered her first time flying.  The view of the world from the air was truly a marvelous thing.

The girl might be frightened of her now, but the dragon knew she would learn.  She would learn that the dragon meant her no harm.  That she only wanted a companion.  Someone to keep her company as she faded.  She would raise this girl, and ensure that her knowledge as the last dragon would not be lost.

And she would not be alone.