"Gilbert Ch 6 - Love and Other Bruises (updated)" by Randall Owen Salau

The afternoon sun was slowly sinking towards the line of mountains on the horizon, as Gilbert farewelled his friends and set off on the journey towards Hasha’s cave. It had been such an eventful day, such a wonderful day! And still more promised to come! Gilbert’s heart missed a beat with excitement and anticipation. He always felt like this when flying out to see his sweet blackheart.

His excitement grew as he passed each familiar landmark on the way. What delights would she have in store? Gilbert remembered clearly her hatchday last month. She had squealed with delight at his gift of a shining gold casket, covered with glittering pearls and sapphires. Then she’d made a wish, and with one breath had set fire to the 48 dwarves, all lined up in a circle atop a pile of cooked chocolate-coloured cows. He’d kissed her on the cheek, and she'd smiled – a smile that sent an arrow of love winging through his cavernous heart.

Past the lone pine tree he flew, and circled to the left towards the boulder on the far ridge. He was nearly there!

* * *

Gilbert rounded the ridge, and there it was at last, the entrance to Hasha’s cave! He quickly landed behind a thicket of trees below and checked his grooming. Claws? hmmm, a bit shabby and none too clean. He gave them a quick scrape on a tree trunk and managed to remove most of the yellowy bits. Scales? ok. The scent of ale still hung heavily around him, as did last night’s dinner. Quick as a flash, he scooped up a passing hedgehog and gave his teeth a hasty scrub. One last check, then he flapped his wings and soon alighted in the portal.

“Hasha? Hasha?” he called quietly.

Almost immediately came a reply from within. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Gilbert!”

“Gilbert? What on earth are you doing here?”

“Oh, just visiting. It’s my hatchday, and …”

Hasha’s gorgeous head appeared, her ruby red eyes dazzling with the reflection of the setting sun behind him. “Oh, ummm, yes, now I remember. You told me last week. Happy hatchday!” She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Gilbert smiled as a great surge of joy swept through his massive body. She began to withdraw inside her cave, and he started to follow.

“Hang on, Gilbert. Where are you going? I’m sorry, but you can’t come in.”

“Wha … wha… whaddya mean?”

“I’ve got a visitor and, well, it’s just not a good time right now.”

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by a deep, uncouth growl eminating from inside the cave. “Who’s that you’re talking to?”

“Oh, just a friend. He’s going now”, replied Hasha.

“Let me see this friend!”, came another roar. A massive head appeared out of the darkness and gazed at Gilbert with savage coal-black eyes.

Gilbert took a step back in shock. The great head looked as if it had been in a fight with a farmer. A wheelbarrow dangled from his ear, and a spear had impaled both nostrils. His foreleg was badly scarred, the missing scales forming the shape of strange characters, like the ones he’d seen on a pile of sacks at the habour during one of his raids last year.

“Hey you, get out of here before you get hurt”, the ugly head spoke.

“Please darling, don’t hurt him!”, Hasha pleaded.

“Darling?” Gilbert muttered. “Darling? Do you mean to say, he’s your … your … dragon-friend? But I thought we were …”
”You thought what?” laughed the ugly head. “That Hasha would be interested in a puny lizard like you? Ha Ha Ha!” And he laughed a wicked, mocking laugh that tore through Gilbert’s heart and stabbed it with a thousand knives.

“I’m sorry, Gilbert”, said Hasha quietly. “You’d better go now”

A great tear started to well in Gilbert’s eye. “YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!” he roared suddenly, and launched himself at the other dragon. He landed on it’s back and snapped his jaws shut on the long sinewy neck. He felt one of his fangs shatter as it recoiled off the hard scales, then a sharp pain as the other dragon bit into his leg, and tore at his wing with razor-sharp claws. Then an awful thud, as he was hurled from the cave and landed on his back on the jagged rocks outside.

“Gilbert! Rocky! No!” screamed Hasha.

The other dragon slowly approached Gilbert, a menacing look in his evil eyes. His mouth opened wide, and a savage blast of heat struck Gilbert’s body. He tried to shield himself from the scorching flames , but this blast was meant to kill. He felt his scales glow red hot, blood boil, and his flesh start to burn. Soon he could bear it no longer. With a beat of his wings, he turned and fled.

* * *

Gilbert flew as far away as he could. He didn’t care where he was going, or what time it was, or anything at all. He just wanted to go as far away as possible. He flew until his aching wings could support him no longer, but still he kept on flying. Eventually he crashed on a mountain top, and lay where he fell in the freezing snow. Great torrents of tears erupted and poured down his cheeks, as he cried, and cried, and cried. He didn’t care if he died, in fact he wanted to die. Anything would be better than living. Anything to kill the pain in his broken heart.

Time ceased, as he lay there in the freezing cold, sobbing his poor heart out. He closed his eyes and a darkness descended upon him.

* * *

“Gilbert?”

He thought he heard a voice beside him.

“Gilbert, are you ok?”

He tried to open his eyes, but the tears had frozen his lids shut. There was something soothing about the voice, something familiar that made his forget his torment for a moment.

“Lucy?”

“Oh, Gilbert! You poor darling, what happened to you?”

He tried to answer but no words came out. A fresh bout of tears burst from his eyes, washing away the icicles.

“It’s Hasha, isn’t it?”

Gilbert tried to nod, but the pain in his neck was too great and made him groan.

“Here, let me fix you up,” she said gently, and he felt her cold body start to rub his aching limbs. Her warm tongue licked the blood from his torn wing and soothed his charred scales. Gilbert closed his eyes again and felt something new, a strange and wonderful feeling he had never felt before. A wave of contentment permeated his frozen body and touched his heart. He thrust his legs out towards Lucy, and wrapped them around her, holding her tightly. She growled softly and moved her head towards his, then kissed him – a long, passionate kiss that blew away all of the pain and hurt and the heartache that had gripped his tortured soul.

“I love you, Gilbert,” she said at last.

“I … I … I love you too, Lucy!”, he cried, and she kissed him again. Together they lay in the snow, locked in a loving embrace until nightfall.

Gilbert looked up at the stars circling in the clear night sky. “Time to go,” he said.

Lucinder nodded. Together they stood up, spread their wings, and flew towards Gilbert’s cave.

* * *

“It must have been some dream!” said Lucy, looking at the scattered pile of gold before her. Gilbert blushed. “Never mind, let’s clear it up, she added, and began to carefully gather up all the cups and caskets and tiaras and strands of jewellery into a large neat pile. She made a hollow in the top and then lay herself upon it.

“What are you doing?” asked Gilbert.

“This time it’s no dream,” she replied.

Gilbert smiled, and drew the dwarf skins closed at the mouth of his cave. This was indeed going to be a hatchday to remember! He moved towards his pile of gold, and prepared to say goodbye to his childhood.

THE END

* * *

EPILOGUE

Gertrude married Schnorkel, and they now have 5 brown-nosed hatchlings.

Kiki the dwarf lived happily in Bruggleton, none the worse for wear from his encounters other than a scar on his head from where Drakken had impaled the spear in his helmet. He quickly became famous as stories spread about how he’d single-handedly fought off the ferocious dragons with a rapid spinning manoeuvre. They named him “The dwarf who lived”, and the scar on his head became legend. He inadvertently started the craze of break-dancing among humans, which is seen nowdays as a fitting revenge for all the years of dwarf tossing.

Dingbat was slain the following year during a raid on a brewery, where an ambush had been set.

Drakken flew off to fight in the great dragon wars of 1036-37, where he served with distinction. All enemies fled at the sight of the scarlet wings of Drakken von Hiffhuffen, or the Red Drake as he became known. He was eventually felled by a single arrow, believed to have been loosed by an Australian dwarf on the ground, although a brown dragon from Canada also claimed to have shot it.

Hasha inherited a chain of caves from her father, and quickly became notorious after copies of a scratching appeared of her in a compromising position with another dragon.

Gilbert and Lucinder were eventually married and have 3 lovely hatchlings – Drakken, Dingbat and Schnorkel.