Fire and Ice

Jupiter pondered this new development as she walked back toward the playground, balancing her bare feet on the curb. The cement was cold and stung her toes. She tugged the sleeves of her sweater over her wrists and puffed smokey breath into the air. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, but the image of the dragon consumed her mind.

It was huge, with spikes from the crest of its head to the spade shaped tail. Chains tethered it to the ground, and men, minuscule in comparison, heaved desperately on the iron muzzle caging its snout. Jupiter had only seen it from afar, through the slit in the wooden fence, but even from there, she saw the strength of its jaw rip through the metal and the flames swallow the men and muzzle whole. She shuddered, partly from the cold and partly from the heat she could still feel from the blast of flames.