[Complete] You have been tasked to take down the Snow Dragon, a beast of nightmares. However, while you are in the mountain forest when you come face to face with the creature: an adorable, furry, and surprisingly tiny white dragon who just happens to breathe fire.

- Aim to Engage 2019 Wattpad High Fantasy Prompt

Genre: High Fantasy / Flashfiction
Target Readers: General Readers

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A chest of gold! Would you believe that? The palace has just issued a decree stating that anyone who defeats the Snow Dragon would be instantly rewarded with a chest filled with gold. Den, a lanky merchant from one of the kingdom's outlying villages, is already imagining himself dressed in expensive garbs, closing his little store and finding a bigger house inside the citadel. Somewhere closer to the palace would be nice.

He grins. Foolish people. Why hasn't anyone rather than him climbed the mountains? The moment the messenger delivered the news, he hurriedly took one of the papers the messenger was distributing, went back to his home, and started packing for his journey.

Den wipes the sweat pouring down at his forehead using his tattered brown cloak. The trek towards the mountain's peak is exhausting but not impossible for someone as adventurous as him. He has been to other kingdoms in search of new items to sell in his little store. Soon, he won't be worrying about what to sell given the amount of fortune he would receive after slaying the vile creature. He wants to laugh, but he can only puff out fast breaths. He finds a good stone to sit at and decides to take a break. Out of his knapsack, his tanned calloused hands take a loaf of bread and his water flask. How many days has he spent just to be this near to the mountain's peak?

"Let's see, what is it that the paper says about this dragon," Den mutters to himself, finally finding the time to read what was on the paper that the messenger gave. It says:

'The Snow Dragon is a beast of pure evil and terrifying might. Its scales of ice are sharper than an eagle's claws. Its fangs are the deadliest blades humankind has ever discovered and its breath can turn into burning flames--'

Cold sweat and uncontrollable tremblings wash Den's body. Stupid! Stupid! What an utter fool he is! He feels so nervous and covered with fright. Slay the Snow Dragon, huh? Oh, how ferocious that beast should be! Surely it would be horrifying!

A rustle on a nearby bush startles him. Is it the beast? Is it there? Already? Has it felt its presence and is now about to launch its attack before he discovers where it is hiding? He picks up his sword and swings it against the terrifying creature. "G-go a-away!" He manages to say.

However, out of the leaves of the bushes, only a tiny dragon not more than a foot emerges. It is covered in white feathers and has round eyes that shine like crystals.

Dumbfounded he stares at it. Then finally manages to exclaim, "My goodness! Good gracious. Is this the ferocious beast that they say?" He cannot believe what is in front of his eyes. "How adorable, lovely, and cuddly it is," he thought as it inches its way towards him in tiny, careful strides. "Come here, little buddy," he extends his arms towards the creature and chuckles when it lets out a cloud of smoke as a greeting. "That is some flare you got there," he jokes. "Not looking so vile. Not at all." It lets itself nestle in his arms like a human child, then it perks up its little ears. Den, too, hears the noise--a roar just loud enough to be heard but not enough to terrify. From within the mountain's forest, a creature almost his size with feathers as white as snow and eyes as clear as ice walks its way towards him. The adorable little one hops away from his arms to join the other creature. Den looks at it with a keen interest and awe rather than the fright he felt before. It is amazing how he could not sense even a bit of animosity from it. Smoke rises from its mouth. Den wonders if it is due to the cold weather on the mountain's peak. He tries to touch the dragon with his hand, and to his delight it lets him caress its soft wings. Its big feet carries itself towards him, near enough for its forehead to rub his head. This makes Den smile. He is beyond touched by such a warm gesture coming from the sweet creature.

Suddenly, they are startled by the sound of approaching footsteps accompanied by human voices. "Oh no!" Den gasps. The dragons almost let out a growl of alarm. He tries his best to pacify them. "You'll be fine if you leave now. Quick! Go back to the forest," he tells them. As the dragons slowly walk away, he runs to meet the other humans who are on their way to the peak.

"This is a surprise. I didn't expect someone else would be here," says the leader of the group when he sees him. Den's eyes automatically wander at the group's swords and crossbows. There are about ten of them--muscled and obviously trained to take down a beast. "You're alone. You're pretty brave."

"Here for the dragon?" He asks.

"Well, what else would we be here for?" The response of the leader causes a burst of raucous laughter among the group.

Den feels worried if such a ruckus brings more fright to the already scared dragons. He abruptly cut the noise with his words, "You shouldn't."

They stop their laughter and stare at him. "And why shouldn't we?" the leader asked.

"Because--" He quickly thinks of an excuse. "Because they're not here. Yes. They're not here."

"Wha--"

Carefully, he holds the leader's arm and leads him away from where he found the dragons, doing his best to convince the group to abandon their goal of slaying the creatures.

As they exited the mountain, away from the dragons' lair, Den knew within himself that on that very day he has discovered a task worth more than a chest of gold--something that is priceless.

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Author's note:

I hope that this story somehow reminds us to not forget about the creatures driven into extinction because of man's deeds.

Thank you very much for reading this! 💗