Almost home. He could see it in the distance; it gave him hope as he staggered on. The rest of his troop lay miles behind him. Only he'd escaped. They'd let him go for some reason. He whimpered and kept his gaze fixed straight ahead--home, where he'd be safe.

The war--he could hardly remember why he'd led his men out to the glory of battle. He barely remembered the scene when he'd left the castle--his mother fastening her scarf to his left sleeve and Helene tying her scarf to his right gauntlet. The scarves had been colorful; he could see that in his mind, but those colors paled in comparison to the bright scales of the dragons they fought. He whimpered again.

Home now--the courtyard. He fell full length and his head rested on the cobblestones. The length of his neck made it easy for the old castle guard to limp forward and hack his head off. His body shimmered then--the scales evaporated, and he resumed his human form. The women staring out from the safety of the battlements screamed.
 

Joy V. Smith has been writing stories since she was a kid. Sugar Time, her series of time travel stories, was recently published as an audio book by Hadrosaur Productions. Her work has also appeared in Twilight Times. She has an interview with horror writer Owl Goingback in an upcoming issue of Inscriptions. Joy lives in Florida with "Xena, the warrior puppy."