Anna had packed a lunch in a wicker basket and neatly covered the provisions with a spare blanket to serve as a tablecloth. She had fixed the lunch herself, but Llewllyn was the one who suggested the blanket.
“My gran would never let me come here,” she told Llewllyn as they turned off the road onto the path into the rocks.
“Oh, it’s perfectly safe, I can assure you,” the putative wizard said carelessly. “I’ve been here many times.”
“Many times?”
“Picnics,” Llewllyn added hastily, catching her tone. “I’ve been here on picnics.”
“Oh, this is a lovely spot,” the girl said, as they came to a glade in the rocks.
“There’s a better one a little ways up. More private-ah-better view.” He took her hand and helped her up the steep trail among the pink granite boulders. The path twisted and climbed until it reached a spot just below the top of the main spire. Rocks jutted up around them, forming a natural bowl enclosing a flat spot just large enough for a cozy picnic.
“Here, you see? You can see for miles and no one can see us at all.”
“No one?”
“Completely private.” He moved closer to her. “And look at the view.” He stood behind her and extended one arm over her shoulder to point out the sights. “There’s the river, and there’s the town over there, you see?” Somehow it was completely natural that Llewllyn’s other arm fell around Anna’s waist.
“Are you sure we’ll be all right?” she asked wide-eyed.
“Never fear,” Llewllyn said. “I am here to protect you.”
“Oh, Llewllyn,” she whispered softly.
He drew her to him and held her in his arms. “You know I would give my last drop of heart’s blood for you. I love you more than life itself.”
“Oh, Llewllyn.”
Anna’s eyes were dewy and her lips soft and partly open. Llewllyn bent forward to kiss her.
A shadow passed before the sun.
Anna’s eyes grew round and she went rigid in Llewllyn’s arms. The wizard wasn’t used to getting that kind of response so it took him a second to realize she was looking over his shoulder and not at him. He turned around in time to see a dragon settle down among the crags below them.
Peering around a rock Llewllyn could see the dragon, or part of it, nestled among the rocks below them. It had curled up, blocking the trail.
Anna shrank back against him, cowering in his arms. Llewllyn clasped her tightly to stop his own trembling.
“Be brave, my beloved,” he said to her. “I will protect you.” She made no sound but clung to him more tightly.
Llewllyn’s first instinct was to sneak away. But he knew this place well enough to know there wasn’t anyplace to sneak to from here. The only way out was the trail they had come up. They could stay where they were, but sooner or later the dragon was sure to see or smell them. There really wasn’t anything else to do, he decided. Especially not with the girl here.
“I will face the monster.”
Anna turned even paler. “Oh, but you can’t. You’ll be killed.”
The wizard took her in his arms. “If I am it will be in a good cause. I will gladly offer up my last drop of heart’s blood to save you.”
“Oh, be careful,” Anna breathed. “Come back to me.”
He patted her cheek. “Never fear my darling. All will be well.”
A quick peek around the rocks showed the dragon was lying down and couldn’t see the trail. Llewllyn took a deep breath and moved toward the dragon, dodging from boulder to boulder and sometimes crawling on his belly.
His first thought was that he might be able to find another way down the rocks. Or perhaps, if the dragon was truly asleep, they could sneak by it. By the time he reached the place where the dragon rested he knew both hopes were in vain. The rocks were much too steep and while he could hear the dragon breathing regularly, it was obviously not asleep.
Llewllyn stopped and thought hard. He had scant experience with dragons. But he knew Wiz had handled one by talking to it and if there was one thing Llewllyn was confident of, it was his ability to talk.