Once a fairy sat upon a sun drenched rock. The warmth of the day had made her restless and she moved about impatiently, the light reflecting off her wings, filling the valley with a brilliant array of colours. Normally this would have thrilled the little one as she sat at the bottom of the waterfall that her river had provided for her enjoyment, but today she just stared through the display. She watched the sky, sure that today he would come.

She had first seen him on a day like this one. He had flown across the sky, so self assured, so unafraid. He had terrified her and fascinated her at the same time. She had been unable to move, even if she had wanted too. She had sat completely still on the rock as he had danced his way through the air, turning and preening, showing off his scales in all their glory. He was a magnificent sight.

From her position on the rock she had a clear view of him. She watched as his mouth opened and let go a terrific roar that rolled through the valley, shaking the trees and trembling through the ground beneath her. His strong legs were tucked beside his body as he flew effortlessly about. She could see the long claws at the end of each of his four feet as he rolled around the sky. She could see his strength; sense his power in the air around him. Never in her life had she felt so small, so unimportant as she did in the presence of this majestic dragon.

Her attention had not shifted from the giant since he had first appeared so she did not see the eagle that had used the cover of the trees to make its way closer to her. She did not notice the hungry way in which the bird watched her. Her eyes never left the dragon as he suddenly stopped in the air and hung there, his impossible form held up only by the air around him. His look had become one of sharp focus and his body tensed. Suddenly he had gone into a dive, heading straight toward her. He made no sound as he fell from the sky, his sleek body growing larger as he come closer to the ground. She knew that she should move, but she was unable to coordinate any of her muscles to the messages her brain was sending out. She opened her mouth to scream but all she could manage was a whimper.

No matter how many times she tried to recall what had happened next, the best she could remember was the shriek of a bird, a strong claw wrapping itself around a bundle of feathers, then absolute quiet. She was sure that for a moment even the water had stopped flowing.

As the sounds of nature had rushed back in to invade her mind, she had looked around for the creature, sure that she had dreamed it all. He was sitting beside the river, watching her with gigantic blue eyes that contrasted with the red shine of his scales.

'Hello little one.' The warmth of his breath had carried across the water too her. She shivered as it flowed around her.

'Who are you?' she had whispered

The huge creature had smiled. 'I am One that knows you. I have seen you from afar.' He watched her expectantly. She frowned, confused as why this One would find anything interesting in her.

'I am just part of the river,' she said.

He smiled again. 'You aren't just anything, little one. Or perhaps, you are just you.'

She found herself returning his smile.

'I must go now.' He said and he flew off into the sky and within seconds had disappeared from her view.

That had been the start of their friendship. Sometimes he would fly over her, hardly noticing she was there, sometimes he would come to the river especially to see her. Often she waited for him, not knowing if he would come or not. Often, when she was sad or lonely she would call out to him and he would be there.

She thought about this as she sat upon the rock, waiting. Today she was impatient. It was not a day when she was sad or lonely but still, she wanted to see him, just to see if she could make him smile.

She squirmed on the rock again. A warm breeze rolled over her back and she shivered, curling her toes into the rock.

'Hello you.' She called out without turning around. She sensed his smile and soaked up the pleasure it brought her.

'Little one?' his voice rumbled. 'Were you waiting on me?'

'No.' she lied unconvincingly. His chuckle moved through the earth beneath her. She stood and turned with one fluid movement, looking at him, her hands on her tiny hips a disapproving look on her face.

'Come, girl, let's journey together and see what the world brings us today.' He held out his front foot towards her and watched as her face melted into a smile. She climbed up into his hand and he carefully closed it around her, allowing her to see between his claws. He held her close to him as he flew up into the air.

She smiled softly, watching the world turn from within his grasp. She trusted him to keep her safe.