Walking through the village in the early morning after what I thought was a light snow overnight, I looked at all the thatched houses with snow on the roofs, took in deep breaths of the aroma of wood-burning fireplaces and knew that the villagers were slowly waking up. I walked out to my favourite log bench and noticed a tree that I hadn't noticed before. It was huge, like it had been there for centuries, but I was sure I had not seen it there before, I was almost ninety nine percent sure.
I walked over to it slowly, it looked like the limbs and branches were made of snow and ice, not just laying on it or encasing it. I walked under and around it, noticing the bark, which didn't look like any bark I'd seen before on any other trees. I accidentally touched what I thought was an exposed root with my foot, I could have sworn it sunk further into the ground at my touch. How curious, I thought, as no tree I knew of could do that. I continued to circle the tree trunk and noticed something long that looked like a root circling the trunk, but it came to a tip and got wider as I followed it back towards the trunk. As I said before, the bark did not look like the bark of any tree I'd seen before in my life, it looked more like ...scales. Scales? "What kind of tree would have scale-like bark?" I thought to myself. I looked at the trunk, following it up into the branches and noticed the branches did not grow out like a normal tree, but spread up almost in the shape of a fan, more width and height than depth. What I thought was leaves, actually looked more like feathery down.
Not realizing I had spent most of the morning inspecting the tree, I soon noticed the villagers starting to come out of their homes, chatting with other villagers and planning the afternoon meal. The chief cook had started the main village cooking fire and was calling for the ingredients from the villagers. I figured I would go find some mushrooms and chives to put in the stew. I really didn't want to leave the tree. I told myself, "it's a tree, it'll be here later," but would it? It had just appeared overnight, or had I just been that oblivious?
I walked around in a circular pattern away from the tree, searching and gathering mushrooms and chives. Yet, I couldn't keep from looking at the tree. At one point I thought I saw something move near the middle of the tree. I shook my head, thinking it was just a bird, but as I watched it for a moment, I noticed it didn't move off or fly away. The list of mysteries about that tree was growing. I took my gatherings to the cook and helped put them into the pot.
My mind kept wandering back to the tree, the bark, the root, the "bird". I kept looking at the tree, the shape, how the snow actually looked like feathery down. I tried as hard as I could to stay focused on something other than the tree, but it kept crawling into my mind. What would make it have scale-like bark, a root that tapered down from the trunk to a tip, the root that sunk into the ground more after I accidentally touched it with my foot, branches that looked like they were made of snow and ice, a layer of snow that looked like feathery down and something that moved in the center, but did not fly away.
I tried to continue with my chores, but kept trying to put rhyme or reason to what I'd found, the feather snow tree. I dare not tell anyone else in the village in case they thought me mentally unstable. After the evening meal, I went off for my normal evening walk. With no one thinking anything about it and not watching me, I ambled off, in a different direction than toward the tree, then circled around and made my way back to the tree.
When I arrived at the tree, watching to not step on that root again, I walked closer and closer, trying to see where that supposed bird was from earlier in the day. Nothing unusual, except, I put my hand gently on the tree trunk and felt it ripple under my palm. A ripple? What?
I removed my hand quickly, looked at my hand and at the bark again. "Now that was indeed unusual", I thought. I stepped back, circled the tree looking at every branch, every inch, I went to the opposite side from where the ripple happened and touched the trunk again. Another ripple, bigger this time, I jumped back as the branches started to lower towards the ground.
The twilight had crept in and the villagers had all gone into their homes as I looked toward the village. I looked back to the tree and noticed the "bird" that I had seen earlier and it wasn't a bird at all. No bird would move like a...blinking eye? I backpedaled, tripped over a rock and something caught me and kept me from falling. I put my hand on whatever it was and looked at it, it was the root that tapered to a tip, I stood on my own feet, inspected the root and found it to be more like a tail. I looked again to the trunk and saw a head start to move down towards me. I was frozen with curiosity as what appeared to be looking at me, eye to eye, was a white dragon.
As the twilight gave way to darkness, the being felt more free to move normally, as it spread dragon-like wings, then shook all over and folded the wings behind it.
It spoke to me in the most gentle voice, I couldn't detect a gender by the voice, but it was a soft purring voice nonetheless. "How are you not afraid of me?" the dragon asked. "I honestly don't know", I responded as the dragon carefully stretched it's legs behind it and started circling around me, just as I had done earlier in the day. "How is it I've never noticed you before and why now?" I inquired. "Because I am the last of my kind. I am called Reothadh geal, White frost. What are you called?" "I am called Victoria. Now, why have you allowed yourself to be seen now?" I asked. "Because, I need your help and in return, I will help you in whatever way you need," came the response. "Whatever way I need?" I looked at it curiously. By this point White Frost had stopped circling me and had laid down in front of me. I looked at it, taking note of the details that I had noticed in the tree and what they corresponded to in the form of the dragon.
The snow I had seen was actually feathers down the spine, the trunk was the chest and abdomen, the scales I saw, of course, were on it's back, the root that tapered to a tip was indeed its tail. "What can I do to help a dragon?" I mused as I walked around the dragon. "I am expecting an offspring, I need you to protect the egg I am soon to have, so that my kind can continue on," came the answer. I stopped next to the dragon's head and looked at it, eye to eye and saw truth, honesty and a pleading gaze. I stopped and looked at the dragon face to face and gave my oath, "I will do my best to protect the egg. How will things progress?"
"When the first buds of spring arrive, I will give birth to the egg. Whatever you need of me, will have to be done between now and then," White Frost answered, "do you have a mate?" I laughed and responded negatively. White Frost was saddened by this, stretched out it's wing and said, "Come stand by my side, so I may envelope you gently." I did so and White Frost spoke the following, "Diathan Ceilteach o shean, Tha am boireannach seo air bòid a ghabhail airson mo shliochd a dhìon, bidh i a-nis na lòchran airson dràgonan eile a dh ’fheumas cuideachadh agus thig an lasair càraid aice a dh’ aithghearr", which translated means, "Celtic gods of ancient times, This female has taken an oath to protect my offspring, she will now be a beacon for other dragons who need assistance and her twin flame will come soon." I understood the words as White Frost spoke, maybe because it enveloped me in its wing, but I responded with, "I am honoured that you have chosen me." I put my head on White Frost's side and looked forward to what was to come.
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