When she awoke she was sprawled over something rough and cold, her small form soaked to the bone. Slowly she placed her hands to the rough stone and pushed herself slowly into a sitting position. Shivering heavily, tears began to trickle down her pale cheeks.

"W-where am I?" A thick haze covered her large green eyes though she looked around as if searching for something only she could see. "Mommy? Mommy?!" Her soft, tear-choked voice became more and more frantic and upset with each word, her fear slowly consuming her with each passing moment. "Scallen?! Anybody!? Where is everyone???" Slowly the thick haze which covered her tear-filled eyes was fading and reality was returning to her blurry mind, but it did not yet receed completely and Chamber was left with a skewered version of reality. Filled with shadowy monsters and memories which faded in and out of view like whispered dreams.

Abruptly a large serpent-like creature errupted into the small cave which the child had been sitting. While it was only about the length of a large dog, Chamber's distressed mind warped the creature until all she saw was a massive, black snake. Crying out in concern, Chamber yanked away from the creature and thrust herself back against the cave wall. "Help!!!"

The dark serpent merely peered down at Chamber, looking unquestionably confused before shaking its large head and leaning in to nudge the terrified youth. *Ssshhhh, little one. You are lossst, are you not? I can help you, if you let me...* Frozen with terror, Chamber could merely whimper softly as she stared up at the apparently large creature; fear shaking her small form.

"H-help...me... S-scallen, help!" Although she continued to stare at the shadowed snake, it knew well enough that she was not speaking to it. Like she had been when he had first brought her to his cave, she was lost in her own delusions. With a hmph of displeasure the snake turned and vanished back into the darkness of the black waters the cave rested above; leaving Chamber alone once more.


Many hours came and went while the serpent was away from its cave, and in that time the haze which consumed Chamber had faded away completely. Reality returned with stinging clarity, and the truth of the child's situation was unnervingly clear. She did not know where she was, but it was cold and damp and all she could see beside the smooth, stone walls was a deep hole filled with clear, dark water. Sun didn't shine through the black liquid, but fish occasionally swam by and, deeper down, large shadows occasionally drifted by in their disinterested silence.

On the dryer side of the small cavern, however, sat a large pile of strange but glossy trinkets. In an attempt to distract herself from the despairing situation at hand, Chamber had turned to this pile of treasures and was slowly shifting through the myriad of strange objects.

So far she had found everything from common household objects to diamond rings and expensive jewels...but most interesting of all, was the small blue egg she found. It was not the only egg in the pile. In fact, there was a small nest-like pile filled with all sorts of little eggs with smooth, shiny shells...but the blue one she had found was the biggest and the warmest of them all. Whatever it was, it seemed to have been brought there most recently...and, for some reason, seemed the most lonely of the other eggs as well.

Cuddling the little egg close, Chamber sat against the damp stone wall and peered into the hole and the cold, shadowy depths it contained. In a hushed voice, she spoke comfortingly to the egg about her home and the warm, sunny waters around her home and of the beaches and, most importantly of all, her caretaker Scallen. It was all she could do to keep her thoughts focused and the tears at bay, and it was working quite well...until one of the many large, drifting shadows finally turned its attention on her.

With a small yelp of realization, Chamber scrambled away from the edge of the hole as the shadow grew larger and larger and, finally, errupted into the small cave. Although still considerably large, it was not as large in person as it had appeared while swimming around outside the cave...though it was still more than large enough to overwhelm the frightened youth. So, with eyes wide, Chamber could do nothing but stare in horror at the large black serpent she now stood before.

As it had before, the shadowy beast merely shook its large head before smoothly leaning in and holding its head at eye-level to Chamber. His glossy black orbs had shifted down to rest upon the egg in Chamber's small hands. *I sssee you have been looking through my hoard.* Although the serpent fully expected to be ignored once more Chamber surprised him by squeezing closer to the wall and tenderly tightening her grip on the little egg. While her grip was not tight enough to warrant harming the egg itself, it was obvious that she would not easily give up her small prize.

"Your hoard?" The small, green-eyed child slowly tilted her head toward the pile of treasures and then finally back toward the egg she had prized from it. "Y-you're not going to take the eggy away, are you?"

Well, at least she was paying attention to him now. All he wanted was to get this strange little girl out of his cave...he could care less if she took the little dragon egg with her. After all, he wasn't the sort to care for young children...human or dragon. So, with a grumpy huff, the serpent shook his head. *No... I'm not going to take the egg away from you. You can keep him, but only if you tell me where your home is. I'm sure your parents miss you, little one.*

Chamber burst into a bright and adorable smile, one that failed to rouse so much as a small smirk from the stand-offish serpent, but she didn't seem to mind the dragon's lack of interest at her pleasure. Instead she happily cuddled her egg and cooed softly down at the little blue object. "Do you hear that little eggy? You get to come home with me!" Climbing awkwardly to her feet with the small egg in her arms, Chamber returned the dragon's unblinking stare. "I'm ready to go home... Scallen's home is on the beach, I could show you once we got there."

Although the last thing he really wanted was to actually deal with the girl more than he had to, it was probably the only way to be rid of her. *Fine, I will take you to the beach...but you'll be on your way from there.*


Hours went by and the sea snake swam along the surface holding up the small child. She held the egg protectively throughout the whole journey. Soon the sea snake stopped in a familiar area. The waters here were blue-green like the sea should have been not black like before and Chamber now stood in waste deep water along the beach. She could see her home.


She waves goodbye to the sea snake and began to run along the beach. It had been 3 years since she last actually ran and her muscles screamed in the effort. She didn't stop. She missed Scallen and the urge to sea him dead or alive pulled her to the house.

"Scallen!" She cried. "Scallen!!!" The door to the small beach house flung open and a dusty-looking man stepped out.

"Chamber?" His face lit with happiness and relief his chest wrapped in bandages from the gun wound. "Chamber my little girl." He lifted her into his arms and embraced her. "My little Chamber. You're ok." He paused. "Oh dear you're soaked!" He was oblivious to the eggs and only seemed to care she was alive. So he carried her inside and got her warm clothes and set her up a warm bath. All along never noticing the eggs she clutched to her chest.