The Water Dragon of Loch Ness

 

Once upon a time, in an era untouched by man, there thrived a wondrous being, concealed beneath the depths. When she emerged, her scales glimmered with a radiant white, refracting light into a kaleidoscope of rainbow hues. 

 

She was free to roam wherever she pleased, but her heart was always called back to a familiar cove. 

 

She spent the warmer months there, basking in the summer sun. Her long, serpentine form swam in circles, swirling and forming a spiral. Her eyes peered just above the precipice of the water, lavender eyes inquisitive and curious as she watched a male in the distance. 

 

It had been an eternity since she had laid eyes on another of her kind, especially one so boldly out of the water. His scales were a deep, mysterious black, with undertones of cerulean and teal that shimmered in the sunlight. He reclined on the beach, his massive form dominating the landscape.

 

Her tail swirled, and her eyes grew large and catlike. She swam slowly up to the water's edge. As she emerged, she stepped onto the sand with bare feet. Pearlescent white hair clung to her back as she walked towards the male. 

 

His eyes fluttered open, revealing two golden eyes. He did not move. Only stared at her through his molten gaze. 

 

Images of the male in his human form flashed through her mind, revealing him beneath a full blue moon. 

 

His black claws gripped the sand as he stood to his full height. He towered over her, blocking out the sun. He walked to the water's edge and took a few steps into the waves, continuing until he was entirely submerged. 

 

Black, satin hair emerged, and ebony eyes now peered back at her. She could see the familiar golden fire dancing around his irises, but they had now been swallowed by shadow. 

 

She could surmise they could only meet in the same form beneath the full moon.

 

She nodded to him in understanding, the wind blowing through the waves of her now drying hair. She would meet him that night and every night thereafter. 

 

Once a month, they embraced. Bodies collided in remembrance and sacredness of their shared time together.

 

This went on for moon after moon until her belly swelled with his children. 

 

Excitement coiled in her belly as she swam to their shared cove. She sat on the beach beneath the stars and waited for him. Only he was not there and did not return any moon after. 

 

She peered beyond the veil and found him there. He was no longer residing with her in this realm. She could feel his heartbreak, and this left her torn between the realms of life and death itself. 

 

She could feel his support from the other side, guiding her and reaching out to her and their children. She decided she would not raise them in the uncertainty of the land, but they would dwell with her within the sea. 

 

In careful preparation, she swam deep into the darkness of the cove—deeper than she had ever gone before. The cold waters embraced her and revealed caverns and tunnels shrouded in darkness. Her perception allowed her to navigate them easily. 

 

Exploring each tunnel, she found they all connected to a centralized location. Water spilled from each opening onto the stone. Untouched and dry, hidden under the cove. She bore her two children here. 

 

They delighted in swimming in the tunnels and hiding in the shadows as they grew. They took to the surface, coming and going as they pleased out into the open ocean. 

 

She left her familiar cove during the colder months, her heart longing for familiarity upon their departure. 

 

Her children thrived in open water, gaining momentum and agility. When it was time to return to their cove, she felt wary in her stomach. Unease grew, and it became disturbingly quiet. Nature had gone still as though holding its breath.

 

They dove deep beneath the surface, down into the tunnels. She decided that they would all remain there until she could further investigate the disruption above. 

 

Suddenly, a slow rumble shook the rock surrounding them. Instinctively, they swam back towards the open ocean, only to find that it had been blocked off by piles of heavy rock. 

 

She swam back and forth, unable to find an opening. 

 

Man stalked the beaches. They spoke with foreign tongues. Although they shared the same form on land, she noted how differently they moved. How they spoke. 

 

They swam down, deep into the darkness where they stayed. One night, during a full moon, when all was quiet, she emerged from the water. 

 

As her children neared the water’s edge, they shifted. Her son shared the same ebony hair as his father, while her daughter’s hair shone white. 

 

Cautiously, they walked quietly along the edge of the cove, making their way to a wall of stone. Muffled voices echoed in the darkness through the trees behind her. 

 

A coy smile shone upon her lips, and she narrowed her eyes. Her children jumped into the black water, into the open water. She wasted no time following them. 

 

They swam, leaving the voices far behind. 

 

They would not be contained by a wall or stay hidden beneath tunnels. The home she left behind in the cove had changed, and she could no longer live there. 

 

Her heart would reveal a new home. One that she could thrive in beneath both the sun and the moon.