All that glitters is not always treasure

Saphire's tail dragged through jewels, catching on a particularly pointy gold statue. Whomever the human once was, he'd adored using every shred of shiny stone and metal to make tiny replicas of himself with jeweled eyes and adornments. When she'd been a younger dragon, oh, how those sparkles lit Saphire's fire. Now, her tail caught on a sharp point, or the damned things fell off a pedestal and struck her tail, and pain would shoot right to her hip. 

She whipped her tail, knocking the statue clear across the room and straight into the cave rock hard enough that the figure stuck straight out like a hook in the wall. 

Still got it! Saphire cheered to herself. 

But with her next step, Saphire’s back creaked, and a pain shot into her wing so sharp Saphire yelped out and fell onto her side, sliding down the mound of coins she’d been walking on. She clawed at the coins until giving in and waiting for the abrupt stop at the bottom of the hill. 

Saphire slammed into a stalagmite, her wing bending at an awkward angle but fortunately not snapping. All around her, the twinkle of gold and silver burned her eyes. 

"Useless!" Saphire snapped at no one in particular, considering no one was around. Every joint, particularly her wings, was so sore Saphire despised the mere thought of moving. But she forced herself up. All she wanted was a quiet rest near the opening in the back of her cave. 

Bones and joints creaking and cracking, Saphire pulled herself to stand on all four feet. The glittering mass of coins, jewels, statues, and more shined at her with spite. There was no use climbing back up. Saphire hobbled out of her cave, moaning and complaining the whole way. There wasn't much sun, but outside her cave, far more light burned her senses. She ducked her head and loped slowly toward the wood, trying to shield her sensitive eyes from the filtered sunlight. 

In the cover of the trees, Saphire folded her wings back again, hissing at the way they ached. She walked until she heard the water of the river that ran through the human town, turned toward the sound, and collapsed onto the ground near a short waterfall. Here, nestled deep into the woods, Saphire grinned and relaxed. 

When was the last time she’d heard the trees or running water? 

That cave she called home once had running water and glittering crystals growing from the cave roof, simmering like stars in the sky. Saphire’s own personal sky. No one else’s. 

Until she redecorated and gathered that pointless hoard! The mere thought of the stash brought new flashes of pain! 

The water lapped against the rocks, carrying Saphire's pain and thoughts away until she fell asleep. 

***

“What is it?” a small voice asked. 

"Must be statue or carving," another answered, this one lower as if older. "Not sure why anyone would carve a dragon laying on its back…" 

Saphire let out a long breath, feeling her bones ache once more as she tried to shake the last remnants of sleep away. 

“Did the statue make wind?” the small voice squeaked.

"Statues don't make anything but trouble," Saphire sighed, feeling a pang in her tail where the blasted statue caught her. 

The forest went silent, and Saphire realized she was talking to… someone! Rolling onto her stomach, Saphire blinked, allowing the moon to guide her eyes to the two humans across the stream from her. Lazily, Saphire settled her head on her front legs, which she’d crossed, and swished her tail from side to side. 

Had Saphire been in her youth, when the entire countryside knew her name, knew her flame, and knew her wrath, she would have been left to her own devices. Stupidly, she’d spent more time protecting her hoard than letting the pesky humans know who was in charge of this land. 

“Heh, Xan… we should…” the larger human tried corralling the younger one. 

Saphire’s belly rumbled, and both humans froze. 

“You’re not a suitable meal,” she continued. “Too little meat on all those bones.” Saphire stretched her wings, flapping them a bit. 

“Cows,” the tiny one gasped. 

"Do you know of some good cows? I am a bit peckish," Saphire grinned, her long, pointed snout toward the sky. The pale moonlight made her old, dull blue scales the color of everything around her. Bleached of color and drenched in grays and blue.

"Farmer Collins!"

“Xan!” The elder one snapped.

“What? He threw me out of his garden! It’s just outside of this forest! Right… over… yonder!” The young human — Xan — hopped onto a few stones in the flowing stream and pointed north away from Saphire's cave. 

Saphire stood. She towered over the young boy and even the older one but was not more than half the height of the trees. Though it made her neck stiff, Saphire bent and eyed the tiny human. Yes, she'd been correct the first time. Humans were too much bone and skin and not enough meat. 

“Thank you, skinny morsel,” Saphire leered at the elder boy, then gave a great cackle when he yanked little Xan off the rock. 

“W-who are you? This wood is owned by the Terrible Saphire.” The elder boy’s voice shook. 

“These woods have not been terrorized by me in many moons.” She stepped over the stream, heading slowly in the direction of the farmer’s lands the lad had pointed out. 

Bounding into her sight, the young one asked, “Why?”

"I'm too old to terrorize or sleep in my own cave. It's all nothing but a nuisance." 

The boy leaped again with another question, “Where’s your cave?”

"Shh! You know where the Terrible Saphire's cave is, you dunderheaded…" 

Saphire stopped, and a rueful chuckle escaped. Bending low hurt, and she considered doing it yet again. “You amuse me, young human. This farmer… he wronged you?” 

"Yes! He yelled and yelled at me and got me in trouble with my mum all because he caught me in his field and thought —  only thought — I stole some of his food.” 

“How very rude. Let us actually take something of his, then, shall we?” The larger human scowled at Saphire deeply. “Unless this other human is…” 

"I like him enough. He's my brother." 

"That means nothing to me," Saphire scratched a tooth with her claw. "I killed my brother." 

Her stomach rumbling again, Saphire continued on. 

"Why don't you fly?" the boy asked.

"It hurts to fly now that I'm as old as the mountains," Saphire answered truthfully. 

“Where do you sleep?” 

"I may keep that spot near the brook. It's rather peaceful. Do many of your kind come through?" 

“Oh, yes,” Xan answered while hopping again. 

“Pity. Humans annoy me. Well, except for you.” Saphire grinned, dipping her head again and pausing. “Would you like a ride?” 

The tiny human released a burst of excited squeals and came running onto her neck. 

“Do you need a new home?” Xan kicked her in excitement. 

"I believe I do. Mine is unhabitable! I suppose it's my own fault. Why are you so tiny? You weigh practically nothing." 

"We were hunting for food. Or fishing, but we've caught nothing in days. We can't afford any food from the market. It's just Carn and me." 

"Hmmm," Saphire neared the edge of the forest where the land had been cultivated by humans. The few trees and all the low-lying plants bothered her nose, but she remembered they burned wonderfully in her fire! Ah, that had been so very long ago! 

"Maybe," Saphire pondered, "we can make a deal. Let me eat first." 

She allowed Xan off her neck and ambled into the open. Fences had been built in a few areas, corralling the human's cattle in a small space. How convenient! 

After gobbling down her first meal in some time, Saphire returned and picked up the child. Its older sibling gawked and made nothing but strange, strangled squeaks. 

“What kind of deal?” Little Xan asked as Saphire made her way back through the wood. 

"Well, I rather like my cave. But it's such a mess now. I even had my own stream that ran through it and all. But it's filled with all the treasure I collected, and now… oh, the piles hurt to lay on and climb — I'm not as young as I once was. It's all useless to me, but it was once my treasure." 

“Pft — treasure," the other human scoffed.

Xan nearly fell, trying to bat his brother. “Keep going. Ignore my very rude brother.” 

"Maybe you could clean out my hoard. Oh, I'd love to unblock the waterfall too! Ah! Can you imagine! The sound of trickling water again! Echoing around the cave. And in return, I could continue to terrorize this nemesis of yours. Added bonus… I get some easy meals. Those fences are genius!" 

"What kind of hoard are we talking about?" Xan asked, but her home was in sight, so Saphire kept walking. The moonlight dimmed to nothing as they crossed the threshold until Saphire returned to the main cavern. Moonlight trickled through the hole in the back of the cave and made the gold glitter in a different, ethereal way. It cast shadows in odd angles. 

Xan slid off her neck and seemed unable to walk at first. His sibling ran after him, grabbing his small brother but stopped dead in his tracks. 

"What do you say, little morsel? Should we make a deal? There's quite a lot of junk to clean out, but my old bones… they can't seem to muster the energy."

Both humans blinked at the hoard. Shiny things always mesmerized her, and apparently humans too, but… ah… to be rid of it now. That would be nice. 

"Deal?" Saphire asked again, hopeful these worthless but pretty baubles would be gone soon.

“Deal…” both humans breathed the word in a slow, deliberate breath.