After Abby left, Sandra released Jim.
"Now that she is gone, we can have a little fun, " said Sandra.
She pulled her pile of branches to the center of the cave, and shot a small flame at her makeshift bonfire. The light of the flames was much stronger than Jim's small lantern, and the whole cave was suddenly very bright. Jim saw a large pile of bones in the corner. Most had been picked clean, but rancid rotting flesh still hung from a few. With a little shock, Jim saw that a few of the skeletons looked human.
Sandra followed his gaze, and was a little embarrassed. She wasn't sure why. She was a dragon after all, and that was what they ate and how they lived. But she reached forward and pulled the bones behind her large body and out of view.
"Sorry about that. Please forgive the mess. But your visit is something of a surprise. If I had known I was going to have guests today, I would have tidied up a bit, " said Sandra.
"So I am guest now, huh? I thought I was a prisoner, " said Jim.
"Oh, Jim. Don't be so dramatic. I had to say something to get you guys to help me. I may have laid it on a little thick, but I didn't mean to scare you. Of course you can't leave until she gets back, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun while we wait. I mean, it has been such a long time since I had company, especially a human as interesting as you, " said Sandra.
Jim blushed a little. "Oh, I am nothing special."
"Are you kidding? You are the first people to find my cave. No one is brave enough to venture in here, even if they are smart enough to find the entrance. So what brings you here?" asked Sandra.
"Well, I am a geologist, and rocks are kind of my thing. I spend my free time spelunking and exploring caves. I found this one by accident, and thought it might make a fun spring break trip, " said Jim.
"Oh, exploring unchartered territory. That does sound like fun. I like caves, too, but I can't do much exploring because of how big I am. But I wish I could do it with you, " said Sandra.
Jim sighed. "I wish that Abby felt that way. She thinks my hobby is just a waste of time."
"Really? Mapping and charting unknown caves, maybe even discovering one you can name after yourself? Or finding things never seen before by man. That sounds very worthwhile. You might even discover a new creature. Maybe something like me....." said Sandra with a giggle.
"Yeah, something like you would be quite a find. You are pretty special yourself, " said Jim. And he meant it. He was beginning to relax a little. The dragon didn't seem nearly as threatening. In fact, it was quite pleasant company.
"Thanks, Jim. I know you are only saying that because you are scared, but it still feels good to get a compliment, " said Sandra. Sandra sighed. "So tell me about Abby. She doesn't seem very nice. At least, she wasn't nice to me. Where did you meet? How long have you been together? Are you married? Do you have kids?"
Jim was a little shocked by her rapid line of questioning. "Oh. Well, we met at the university and we have been dating about six months. We don't have any kids, and we haven't gotten married. I'd like to, but Abby wants to finish school first."
Sandra nodded sympathetically. "That's too bad. You seem like a really nice guy. Abby doesn't know what she is missing, and it kind of seems like she is taking advantage of you. I would snatch a nice catch like you up the first chance I got. I mean, you aren't just brave and smart, you are pretty handsome. For a human."
Jim smiled. "Thanks. You are pretty good looking for a dragon, too, I guess."
Sandra blushed and waved him off. "Oh stop. You are just saying that to be nice. You don't mean it."
"No, no. I do. I mean, I haven't met many dragons in my life, but you have a magnificent figure. Very imposing and intimidating. And your scales have a nice coloring " said John.
"Oh, thank you, but I am not sure how you can tell. It's so dusty in here, and I am sure I am positively filthy. I should have cleaned myself up, but I wasn't expecting visitors, " said Sandra, as she began to primp and preen her body.
Jim had a sudden revelation. The primping, preening, concern with she looked and how her house looked. This dragon was female! And thinking back on their conversation, he began to wonder if she was flirting with him.
Sandra interrupted his thoughts with another question. "So what do you do? Please tell me all about your work in Geology."
Jim smiled and began a long diatribe about his work. He was excited. Abby rarely let him talk about Geology.
Sandra suppressed a yawn, and listened to the little human prattle on. She knew the way to a man's heart was to stroke his ego. By feigning attention on him, she would get him to desire her company. And with just a few more subtle manipulations, he would be hers willingly. The male was attractive, for a human. Not that she found humans that sexually appealing anymore. But what really interested her was his personality. He was brave, intelligent, and very devoted to his lover. He would make a fine mate. The vial would take care of any little physical imperfections. She found herself getting excited thinking about what his body would look like. How strong and virile he would become. She began to forcefully rub her cloacae against the ground, imagining his large phallus penetrating her. Oh, and the offspring they would produce together.... They would soon rule this world. She could barely contain her glee.
Sandra thought about the only obstacle in her way - Abby. That rude and insolent little whelp. How dare she challenge her and show her disrespect. Sandra decided that she would force Abby to witness Jim's transformation. After he changed, they would share her as their first meal together. It would be a fitting entrée before their first mating. Sandra silently cooed as her body began to get more excited, and she hoped Abby returned soon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It didn't take Abby long to find the box. There was only one farm that recently burned down, rumored to have been destroyed by a dragon. A quick check of the estate sale led to its location in a local antique store. The owner sold it to her cheap, eager to be rid of it. Apparently, the locals thought it was cursed, having survived the fire, and it was not likely to be sold. But Abby was more than happy to take it off their hands.
Abby was beginning to make her way back to the caves when she began to get very curious about the box. What could be in here that a dragon would want so badly? Inside there were just a bunch of clear vials, exactly as the dragon had said. But what use could a dragon make from these strange things? She doubted the dragon could even open the vials.
A thought occurred to her. Maybe she should open one, just to see what the big deal was. The dragon had warned her not to do it. But the dragon seemed to be hiding something. Abby didn't quite trust it. Hell, Abby didn't even like the dragon.
Fuck em, she thought, as she stopped and opened the box. There were hundreds of vials, maybe even more. It would not notice if she opened just one of them. As she popped open the box, a thin sheet of paper fell out. She picked up the paper - a list of instructions for the vials - and began to understand.
So, that dragon is just a human who took one of the vials. Probably explains the gryphons, too, thought Abby. But why would they want the vials back? They were already a dragon. Did they want to become human again?
Abby didn't think so. The dragon as very smug and seemed pretty pleased with itself. She wondered what kind of person would want to become a dragon. Who could have had it before? She remembered that the box was recovered from the house of a woman named Sandra, a woman who went missing.
Suddenly Abby understood everything. The reason the dragon - the dragon she now realized was female - was paying so much attention to HER boyfriend.
That bitch! though Abby. She doesn't want to become human. She wants Jim to become a dragon! I wonder what she had planned for me. Probably just another meal after she got this. Well, screw that.
She was about to toss the box away when she remembered Jim. She did love him, and she couldn't leave him with her. Who knows what she would do to him if she never returned? At best he would be a meal, at worst ..... well, she didn't want to imagine that.
Abby sat on the ground and tried to think of a plan. Maybe she could somehow trick Sandra into drinking another vial and becoming human again. Or she could switch the vials and give something to Jim that would help him escape. Or maybe she could make him big enough to fight her.
Suddenly she had another idea.
You know, there is no reason you couldn't drink one of the vials yourself, she thought. Fight fire with fire and become a dragon, too. Or maybe there is something even more powerful in here.
The idea kind of excited her. Being bigger and more powerful than that conniving bitch and putting her in her place might be kind of fun. Abby began to rifle through the vials, planning an escape for her boyfriend and a punishment for Sandra.