Dragonfire
Pairing: Dragon!Wednesday Addams x Knight!Gender Neutral Reader
Summary: After a dragon attack leaves a village on edge, a wandering knight is tasked with slaying the great beast. When the knight enters the dragon's lair, however, they something quite different than the winged horror they expected...
A/N: This is an alternate, high fantasy universe where Wednesday Addams is a shapeshifting dragon. This is also my first ever fic on this site and my first time ever writing from this PoV (it's also barely proofread, lol). I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to leave feedback. As always, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.
When you’d entered through the mouth of a cave near the summit and made your descent into the hollows of the mountain, you’d expected that your journey would eventually bring you face-to-face with a dragon. You wouldn’t have come to this godsforsaken place otherwise — navigating winding, uneven stone corridors and ducking under stalactites that looked to have been polished to razor perfection. After a recent incident in which a great black dragon had sundered much of the fertile fields surrounding a nearby village, the leaders of said village had called for the monster’s head. You, a traveling knight errant, were the only one brave enough to rise to the occasion. You’d been tasked with searching the mountain where it supposedly dwelled and slaying it without mercy. The reward? A handsome sum of gold and a great accolade under your belt, both of which were invaluable to you.
Work had not come by easily as of late. More often than not, you were forced to set up meager camps in the woods due to being unable to afford a room at an inn. You slept on a rough bedroll on the grass, your throat parched and stomach aching with hunger most nights before you drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Assuming, of course, that the surrounding wildlife allowed you to rest without fear, or that highwaymen wouldn’t happen upon your position. Both had occurred on numerous occasions, and your armor still bore the scuffs and dings from each encounter.
This mission was an opportunity to change all of that, for good. Either you’d claim the dragon’s head and be eating like a king for a good while, you’d meet your end in a hellish blaze, or — if you’d refused the mission — you’d be a week or two away from living in squalor. The first two possibilities were largely preferable to the third.
The air grew colder the lower you descended through the cave, A deep silence filled the cavern, broken only by the clang of your iron boots against stone. The noise wasn’t ideal. You’d hoped to approach the monster quietly, perhaps finding it curled up in its chamber, fast asleep. The way your footfalls were sounding, however, you’d be lucky if it weren’t wide awake and lying in wait for you. You half expected it to come racing up the cavern any moment now, its maw opened wide with anticipation, purple flames waiting to erupt from its throat.
Your heart hammered beneath your beige tunic and iron cuirass. You kept your sword raised at all times, taking what little comfort you could from behind the slim protection it offered. In your other hand you carried a lantern, creating a cone of light in what would’ve otherwise been pitch darkness.
After what felt like an eternity of wandering through the semidark, you finally spotted an incandescent light pouring out from the vaulted entryway at the end of the passage. This was it! The dragon’s lair. Excitement and apprehension knotted up in your chest as you made your approach. You weren’t sure when you started running. Your boots pounded against the ground, the lantern swinging wildly in your grasp at your side. Your breath hitched, and then, you emerged—
—into a long, rectangular chamber that looked less like the vast, bone-littered lair of a dragon, and more like an eccentric aristocrat’s dreary getaway. To say you were baffled would be an understatement.
Flaming sconces and dark tapestries lined the smooth, limestone walls. A chair and table, both looking to be hewn from slate, were set up in a corner. Upon the table sat a large stack of parchment and a black-feathered quill beside it. A viol and its bow were leaned against the far wall.
What stood out most, however, was the coffin-shaped bed in the middle of the chamber — and the human shape resting atop it.
You inched closer, sword at the ready. Laying on a black pillow and linen sheet, arms crossed over her chest like a corpse before burial, was a girl that looked to be your age. She was almost porcelain pale, with merlot lips and raven hair styled in a parted fringe and two tightly wound braids that hung at opposite sides of her head.
Despite the confusion welling up in you and the strained atmosphere that came with hunting a dragon, you’d be lying if you said your heart didn’t skitter upon seeing her. She was absolutely gorgeous, and the thought nearly revolted you because you weren’t yet sure if she was fast asleep, or if you were looking upon a well-preserved corpse.
Who was she, even? A captive of the monster? She looked to be a noblewoman of some sort, if the fine, pitch-black kirtle and white chemise adorning her were any indication. And yet you hadn’t heard anything about the dragon kidnapping anyone, let alone someone of nobility. And what was up with the furnishings in here? Since when did dragons care about those?
None of this made sense. Had you scaled the wrong mountain, stumbled through the wrong cave, and trespassed on a particularly refined hermit’s home? No, this was definitely the mountain you’d been directed to. The dragon had last been seen prowling around the summit before disappearing into its depth, not that you could for the life of you figure out how such a large creature managed to squeeze through this narrow, rocky deathtrap of a cave system.
Her eyes shot open.
“How long are you going to stand there staring? I’d like to continue sleeping without a loud, toy soldier in tin plate hovering over me.”
A yelp almost escaped you. You startled back, sword almost slipping from your grasp.
The girl abruptly sat up and pinned you with a searching gaze. You froze. The way she studied you — through dark brown eyes that seemed as though they could dissect you with naught but a look - was unnerving. Yet, you could not bring yourself to look away. Your skin flushed with heat and your heart raced.
“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice perfectly even.
“Uh, I’m, er—” Damn it, why were you stuttering? “I’m looking for the….dragon?”
You felt silly saying it aloud, even more so under the gaze of this stranger. You must’ve been given bad information, because there was no logical way a fully-fledged dragon could dwell in a cramped place like this.
She didn’t react at all to your statement. In fact, her angular face remained clear of any emotion. Not how most would react to news of a winged, firebreathing beast in the area.
“And why have you come looking for me?”
For me.
Your brows drew into a frown. Had she misspoken?
You soon got your answer as she slid out of the oddly shaped bed, her right hand raised. Suddenly, her black-painted nails started to elongate, curving into razor talons. You watched in horror as a layer of obsidian black scales sprouted across her hand. Her stare never left you.
Your blood ran cold. You raised your sword reflexively, leveling the tip to her throat.
She moved like a streak of lightning, crossing the chamber in the space of a breath and swiping the sword from your hand. The blade shattered beneath the force of her clawed strike, littering the ground with iron shards. All that remained in your grasp was a leather-bound hilt, wholly useless in the face of the girl you now took to be the very dragon you were hunting. Somehow, she’d transformed into a human, or at least wore the guise of one.
You swallowed thickly. Despite the fact that she was shorter than you, her presence loomed higher than anyone you’d ever met.
Anyone else would’ve shrunk away from her, to cower and hope mercy fell upon them. You remained rooted where you stood. Out of fear? Perhaps. But also, up close, you noticed the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Could start to make out the microexpressions beneath the mask of aloofness. The way her eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance at the fact that you hadn’t answered her question.
“I’m not fond of repeating myself. Why are you here?” she said, drawing out the last question slightly, every word laced with cold menace.
You pondered the question for a moment longer. Saying you’d been sent there to kill her was a great way to get yourself disemboweled by her fearsome claws, but it seemed if you didn’t loosen your tongue soon, that would be the fate that awaited you anyway.
“Well…. I’m a knight—”
“Yes, because your sword and armor weren’t clear giveaways.”
“---and a local village tasked me with handling their dragon problem, after said dragon torched their crops,” you continued as though you hadn’t been interrupted.
She scoffed. “I burned half of their crops. What remains of their fields remains perfectly fertile. They’re lucky I spared even that much.”
“Well, despite your generosity, they still want you dead. But I’m very much open to this ending a different way,” you quickly added. Given your predicament — weaponless and more or less at her complete mercy — it was best you didn’t make it out as though you were still intent on killing her. Besides, you weren’t altogether sure you wanted her dead now. You’d embarked on a journey to slay a mindless, rampaging beast, not a person.
She didn’t say anything. She neither moved nor blinked. Maybe she was waiting for you to explain your alternative solution. Whatever was going on in that head of hers, the fact that you were still alive was favorable. But before you divulged anything more, you needed some answers yourself.
“Why did you attack their field?”
“Why does that matter?” she retorted.
“Knowing the context behind would probably go a long way with winning me over.”
“I’m not concerned with winning you over.”
“Then humor me. Come on, whatever your motive was, it’s not like I’m really a threat to you at this point, so my reaction doesn’t matter.”
“You were never a threat to me. You came here completely unprepared, with all the subtlety of a trebuchet, and apparently lacking even the most basic knowledge that dragons are capable of adopting humanoid forms.” She tilted her head slightly. “You’re not a very good knight, are you?”
Ouch. That… actually stung a bit. And wait, was that really common knowledge? Why the hell hadn’t you heard about it?
Sighing, you pressed on. “My failings as a knight aside, look, maybe there’s a way this ends with you getting that village off your back and me walking out of your lair with my life. You know as well as I do that I won’t be the last person they send after you.”
“If it came to that, I’d incinerate every intruder and decorate the cavern with their charred bones.”
Gruesome. “We haven’t known each other long, but I get the sense that you’ve got better things to do than killing a new challenger everyday. Besides, if one doesn’t work, they’ll send two. Then they’ll send whole teams. Soon enough, they’ll have a mage join the hunt, and badass dragon or not, you probably don’t want to fight one of those.”
She exhaled sharply, exasperation flashing across her eyes. You wondered for a moment if you’d said too much.
Then, she turned away from you and wandered back over to her bed. You noticed the scales on her hand fade, and her talons retract. She sat down, facing you.
“My brother was attacked in that village,” she began. “He was in his mortal guise. He thought to go fishing in the stream, but apparently the villagers don’t take well to outsiders poaching from their waters, and he was taken and flogged in the street.”
Your heart sank. To think such an innocent mistake had been punished so harshly. Even though her face remained impassive, you noticed the way her jaw tightened as she recounted the tale.
“Though a dragon, my brother is a whelp, and didn’t retaliate. He is weak and shies away from exacting retribution.”
Harsh words for her own brother, but it was clear she cared deeply about him.
“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d done worse,” you said, gently.
Her brows raised slightly. She looked a touch surprised, the first real expression you’d seen from her.
“I considered it strongly,” she said, bluntly.
“I’m sure they’re thanking the gods you didn’t go through with it. You’re a lot more merciful than I would’ve been.”
“There’s no need to insult me.”
You snorted. “Wasn’t intending to. What you did was smarter, actually. Slaughtering them would’ve prompted a much harsher response from the survivors and neighboring towns. Thanks to your choice, you only have to deal with one woefully unprepared knight.”
A smile tugged at your lips.
She stared at you, considering your words carefully. After a pensive beat of silence, she spoke. “I assume, to sate their desire for vengeance and prevent them from sending more idiots after me, you’ll need to return with proof that I’ve been slain.”
You nodded, giving an uneasy shrug. “Yeah. I don’t suppose you have a way around that?”
She didn’t respond immediately. She lifted her hand and snapped twice. You heard a gentle whoosh and something came flying past you. It was a sheet of parchment, one of those you’d seen stacked on the corner table.
You watched curiously as she balled the parchment up whilst muttering something quickly under her breath. From what little you could make out of what she was saying, it didn’t seem she was speaking in any language you understood.
Your lips parted in amazement as a black whirl of smoke enveloped the crumpled parchment. The gathering of smoke increased in size, taking on some sort of long, slightly curved shape. After several seconds, it dissipated. The girl now held a large, faded white tooth, no doubt one that could be found in the maw of a dragon.
Her gaze flickered up to yours, taking in your awe. “Those wizards you mentioned earlier? They wouldn’t have stood a chance either.”
“You’re a mage,” you breathed out.
“Obviously. How else would I have paved this chamber?”
She stood up and walked over to you, massive tooth in hand. She deposited it in your outstretched arms. Your arms sagged slightly under its weight, but that did little to deter you from marveling at her creation, your eyes wide.
“It’s an illusion. It should be convincing enough for your village, but the spell will last a couple of days at most. Show them your ‘proof’ and then get rid of it before the illusion fades.”
She sighed. “I will be leaving this cave soon. It seems my little respite from home has been compromised.”
Your chest prickled with guilt. “I’m sorry. Is there anything else I can do before I go? Anything at all?”
The girl looked fixedly at you. Her features softened. The two of you were standing close enough for you to notice something flicker behind her brown, doe eyes. Gratitude? Fondness? Whatever it was, it made your heart flutter.
“I’m not used to a mortal engaging with me,” she said, quietly. “And certainly not one who knew what I was.
“You’ve done enough.”
You nodded, resigning yourself to this. At least you could offer her this much, getting an angry village off her back.
You shuffled around and made your way back towards the vaulted passage you’d entered through. Your footfalls clanged against the stone floor, and with every step you took, a small pang of sadness shot through your chest. Would you ever see her again? It was highly unlikely, given the circumstances, but you hoped you would.
Stopping in front of the passageway, you peered back at her. “I never got your name,” you said, meeting her eyes.
When she didn’t respond, you almost turned back around, assuming she didn’t plan on giving you a name.
Then—
“Wednesday.”
You paused, lips parting slightly. A smile spread across your face. It was certainly a unique name, and you found you liked it quite a lot.
“Wednesday,” you repeated, softly. As her name rolled off your tongue, you thought you saw her cheeks go the slightest shade of pink.
With a final nod, you turned back around and made your way out of the chamber. You felt her stare on your back the entire time. The feeling made you chuckle. As you set off through the perilous cavern, you hoped it wouldn’t be the last time you were caught in this dragon’s gaze.
A/N: I want to give a special mention to these three users: @i984, @robiin-buckley, and @captain-lessship. They are incredible writers and even better people, and I absolutely implore you to check out their works! They inspired me to write a fic of my own and gave me excellent advice when I sought it from them. I appreciate them immensely.
