to kiss in cars and downtown bars
The kingdom of Osbora nestled between rolling hills and dense forests, at first glance what appeared to be a beautiful landscape to a foreign visitor or outsider they would soon learn that the kingdom of Osbora was the reason that the once magical creatures of all shapes and sizes such as pegasi, griffins, dragons, fairies, and so much more beauties no longer roamed the lands.. It wasn’t the kingdom as a wholes fault that those creatures had all been hunted to near extinction, it was by the decree of the dictator who ruled with an iron fist, King Norman Osborn. The king didn’t even have any sort of vendetta against those creatures, he just knew that the horn of a unicorn or the scales of a dragon would be a field day for the advancement of his kingdom, especially when it came to magic spells.. How petty and pathetic, kill the magic creatures for ones own advancement in the arts of sorcery.
Due to the king’s unbelievable way of running a kingdom, Walter Hardy and the love of his life Lydia Hardy had chosen to build a cottage on the outskirts of the kingdom and more importantly, closer to the enchanted forest due to the couple sharing a fascination for the remaining creatures who hid in the forest. Walter had chosen to leave his life of thievery and constant risks in the past and instead become a farmer whose only worry in life nowadays was spoiled crops, he spent his days tending to the garden, and Lydia, the woman he was forever grateful for was able to see through his ways tended to the house.. The couple had desperately longed for children but ultimately they were never had any so they resorted to treating their garden like it was their delicate child, their pride and joy, their hard work and devotion.
The couples life changed forever during that one crisp autumn morning when Walter noticed something unusual and amiss. The fruits and vegetables in his garden, ripe and ready for harvest, had been nibbled on. At first, he suspected a squirrel or perhaps a rabbit or even a groundhog, but the tracks were unusual— larger, which led Walter to believe that they belonged to a deer or possibly even something as big as a mama bear bringing her cubs some food.. But, Walter knew he couldn’t be sure unless he further probed the matter.
That very night, Walter set up a trap near the garden that he had to dig through his old thieving gear to find, but nonetheless, it was still a simple bear trap because he didn’t want to hurt the animal, simply catch it and hope it took the memo and went off to another farm. As the silverly moon its zenith, Walter kept one eye open the entire night which proved to pay off because he heard the clattering of the trap and rushed outside, a lantern in his shaking hand. Much to Walters astonishment, this animal was no bear and wasn’t even an animal at all, this was a dragon, half in its humanoid form and half in its dragon form.
“Lydia, come quickly! You’re not going to believe this!” Walter called out while trying to be discreet at the same time because he knew that where dragons went, Kraven and his cruel band of hunters weren’t far.
Lydia hurried outside, her eyes widening at the sight even though the couple had seen their fair share of strange and dangerous things simply because they lived in Osbora. “Oh, Walter, it’s a dragon child!” Lydia exclaimed, though even in the moonlight she caught Walters look of nervousness and she settled down. “It’s a dragon child, I can’t believe my eyes..” She whispered, pretty much repeating herself as if Walter and all the nearby critters hadn’t heard her scream.
The child that couldn’t be anymore than four years old looked up at them with wide, terrified eyes. Walter’s heart ached at the sight, this baby probably witnessed the demise of her family at the hands of humans and hadn’t known any other emotion from humans other than a lust for power. He knelt down, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, hesitantly moving the child’s unusual ivory hair behind her ear.
“Shh, it’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.” Walter whispered in the most reassuring way he could, but despite his hesitance, he was sincere and adamant about not hurting this little girl.. He couldn’t believe the nerve of some citizens, seeing this poor baby as nothing but a cash grab if they brought her head to the kings throne room.
The child whimpered and shivered from the cold, her ivory white wings wrapped around around her little body.. She had completely shifted to her humanoid form now, she had long and unkept ivory hair, black ram horns with one horn chipped— undoubtedly caused by one of Kravens hunters, ivory wings too big for her body, a scaly tail with white fur at the tip, and patches of ivory scales scattered across her skin. Lydia, ever the motherly figure and sweet soul who had unfortunately never been blessed with children of her own didn’t hesitate to wrap her shawl around the little girl, dragon or not. “She must be so frightened and hungry, we can’t leave her here.” Lydia muttered, shooting Walter a stern glare that showed she wasn’t going to take no for an answer in this matter.
Walter had seen that stern look many times before and normally he’d try to argue after getting that look but this time around he didn’t need that stern look, he was already on board before Lydia even put her foot down. “We’ll take her in, it’s too dangerous for her out here.” Walter agreed with a nod, freeing the girl from the chain on the bear trap and scooping her up in his arms without an ounce of hesitation.
That same night, Walter carried the girl all the way to the spare room he and Lydia had built incase they ever had children, tucking her in bed, Walter gently grabbed her ankle and took a handkerchief, cleaning the blood off her ankle and lastly applying honey to the wound as a means to disinfect it. “What’s your name?” Walter asked in the midst of the process, studying her expression closely to ensure that she wasn’t in pain. To Walters surprise, she looked at him in confusion and tilted her head. “Do you.. Have a name?” Walter corrected himself, this time around the girl shook her head as if not having a name was normal, Walter didn’t want her to feel strange or unordinary so he smiled and nodded, pinching her cheek. “That’s okay, I think that makes you unique, but if you want, i’ll give you a name.” Walter offered, smiling when the girl— no, his girl eagerly nodded, he paused to himself, he’d never met a dragon before so he didn’t know what kind of names they had, but he had read books where dragons where named things like Adrastus, Myndyr, or even Tempestas.. They all sounded silly and impossible to pronounce, so he glanced around the room, looking for any sort of inspiration for his girls name when his gaze fell on the family cat, Onyx.. Another word for cat was feline.. Felix sounded like a boys name, and then a lightbulb went off in his head. “Felicia! Fee-Fee for short.” Walter proudly exclaimed, earning a giggle from his girl whom he now named Felicia.
Thus began their life with the dragon child, whom Walter had proudly named Felicia. He and Lydia both knew the risks, and Walter especially was on thin ice when it came to the law considering he just barley got off with a slap on the wrist when a lot of the thieves he frequently worked with had been executed by now.. He knew harboring a dragon would be the straw that broke the camels back, but Felicia’s innocent eyes and desperate need for care let Walter know that he couldn’t just abandon her to save his own skin. Over the years, Walter and Lydia did their best to hide Felicia from the several different groups of people in the kingdom who wanted her scales for their own personal gain, and their best was certainly something that could outsmart Kraven and his hunters thanks to Walters past as a thief, but he knew that if he ever found himself in Normans orbit he wouldn’t be as lucky. He also did his very best to accommodate Felicia, even going as far as to digging a cave beneath Felicia’s room, a safe space for her to be in her natural element as a dragon so she didn’t have to constantly be cooped up in her humanoid form, he’d even put a pool of lava down there because he read in one of the many books about dragons that May Parker was practically urging him to keep because like most, she had no intention of being in the kings bad graces that dragons liked bathing in lava simply because they were cold blooded.. This was something Walter chalked up as odd since sharks were also cold blooded and didn’t bathe in lava, but he digressed because in the end there was nothing wrong with Felicia.
“Never settle for second best.” Walter would tell Felicia as much as possible, he needed to drill it in her skull because he knew he wasn’t always going to be there for her, as much as he wanted to. “You find a nice guy and you aren’t his main priority? Kick his ass to the curb.. You are unique, Felicia. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.” Walter continued to tell her sternly with all types of examples, whether it be about romantic relationships or what she wanted to do with her life— it was about what she wanted, not what anyone else wanted for her.
Felicia grew up idolizing Walter and being very grateful for him and Lydia because she knew she’d be dead without them, seeing Walter as her mentor and seeing him and Lydia as her protectors. Yet, as she neared her teenage years, she started to feel more like a prisoner than anything because she was so damn lonely, she just had books, Onyx, Walter, and Lydia.. They used to be enough, but she was a social butterfly and wanted to talk to other people. Halloween was some that was particularly difficult and painful, she’d watch others from her cottages windows and she could see the kingdoms lights and hear the festival music, and every Halloween she wanted nothing more than to be apart of it.. She was forced to watch the other children play with one another while she was forced to be hidden away just because the king decided he didn’t like dragons.
On the evening of Halloween, as the chill of autumn settled in, Felicia walked into the living room with a white bedsheet over her body with only the eye holes cut out, glancing at her parents. “Ahh!” Lydia playfully exclaimed, but this only earned a glare from Felicia. “They won’t think anything of me if I go out like this—“ Felicia tried to say, but she was quickly cut off by Walter kneeling to her level and gently taking the bedsheet off her body. “Felicia, as someone who lived a life filled with risks, it’s not worth the risks.. Those festivals aren’t as fun as they look, trust me.” Walter said reassuringly, caressing his daughters cheek. Felicia was far from satisfied with this answer, it may have worked the last seven times Walter brought up that point, but not this time. “Why can’t I go outside like everyone else?!” Felicia demanded, her voice tinged with bitterness as she yanked Walters hand off her cheek. “Why do I have to hide all the time?” Felicia continued to demand, she knew the answer, but she just wished that she could be a normal child no matter how many times Walter and Lydia told her she had a gift, she was special, and that she didn’t want to be like other children. Walter let out a saddened sigh, the look of pain in his eyes causing Felicia to feel a stab of guilt right in the gut. “Felicia, it’s for your own safety. The king’s hunters are relentless.. If they find you—“ Walter tried to say, but Felicia quickly cut him off the same way him and Lydia always cut her off everytime she tried to get them to meet her halfway. “I don’t care about the king’s hunters!” Felicia spat, her wings flaring slightly and a breath of fire left her mouth as a result of her frustration, causing Walter to quickly jerk away. “I want to be normal, to have friends, to live without fear!” Felicia continued to complain, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes when Lydia padded over to come to Walters defense. "Felicia, we understand how you feel, but the world is not kind to your kind. We only want to protect you.” Lydia tried to reassure her, a look of sorrow in her eyes.. But, Felicia had been told this same excuse every single Halloween and she’d had enough of it. "Protect me? Or keep me prisoner?" Felicia spat, her eyes flashing with anger. "I hate this! I hate being trapped!" With that, she stormed out of the living room, slamming the door behind her. Walter and Lydia exchanged a troubled glance, but they couldn’t even fully exchange the troubled glance because before they knew it..
“Kraven The Hunter, here under orders of the king, open the door or we will use force!” Kraven demanded from outside, banging on the door over and over. Walter and Lydias hearts sank, and Lydia slowly went to open the door. “Felicia, get out of here! Remember, never settle for second best! Go do the great things I know you can do, I love you!” Walter called out, Felicia had been trained for this day many times before and flew out the window, tears blurring her vision.. She felt so guilty, of course their last conversation had to be her yelling at them over something as stupid as Halloween. She could still faintly hear King Osborns soldiers descending upon their cottage, likely searching every inch of the only home Felicia had ever known, and even if they didn’t find a trace of her, she knew her parents were goners anyway.
Felicia had managed to escape the soldiers clutches, fleeing into the dense, enchanted forest that bordered their home. She hid among the ancient trees, her eyes still having so much more waterworks to let loose despite the fact she hadn’t stopped crying ever since Halloween evening. The forest, with its magical aura, became her sanctuary but it certainly didn’t lift her spirits and she still cried herself to sleep every damn night. One evening, while hunting for food and taking every little scrap she could get her hands on, Felicia encountered one of Kraven's hunters—a lone figure, grizzled and scarred, his eyes gleaming with predatory intent. Felicia's instincts screamed at her to run, but before she could react, the hunter lunged, pinning her against a tree.
"Well, what do we have here?" he sneered, his breath reeking of ale. "A pretty little dragon, all alone in the woods.. The King would probably give me enough money for your head to the point where I could buy a castle of my own and be a king of my own lands.. But you’re so pretty and it’s been so long, I think i’ll have my fun with you first.” The Hunter declared, causing fear and fury coursed through Felicia’s veins. She struggled, her wings beating frantically, but the hunter's grip was ironclad. He pressed closer, his intentions obviously and unmistakable that it caused Felicia to be frozen in fear for what was about to happen.
Felicia had cried the whole way through while the hunter had his way with her against her will, his hand covering her mouth to prevent any chance of her escaping whether she attempted by screaming, breathing fire, or flying away. He left by the time night fell, vowing that he’d return tomorrow to bring her in even though at this rate, Felicia would have rather been taken in because at least that way she would have died immediately instead of now having to live with the scars. “What in the name of all that’s holy am I thinking?!” Felicia demanded to herself, she couldn’t believe how helpless she was being right now. A hunter just raped her and had every intention of coming back to kill her with every intention of herring rich, and she was moping about it instead of doing something about it when she was clearly the more powerful one between the two?! “I shall have my vengeance on that human scum.” Felicia vowed, and if one knew what she went on to become after that fateful incident, they’d know she really meant it.