A small village went ablaze one night at the hands of stray fire sparks that leapt from the hearth. The villagers watched their wooden homes burn and in the morning scoured the ashy remains for whatever was left. In the hearth of the home that was set afire first, a baby girl lay, unburnt. The husband and wife were stunned. They had wanted a child but were unable to conceive. The other villagers were terrified, claiming the gods had cursed the child. It was unnatural and her arrival had brought nothing but destruction. The couple agreed to raise the child but they were exiled from the burnt village for the price the child had cost was too high.

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They couple built another home within a village where the houses were built of stone. Should another fire occur, the couple reasoned, these houses would not burn. And so the child grew and the couple raised her as though she were their own. They quickly discovered she desired to be close to any fires and on many occasions she would get too close, or touch the stew pot, never once being burned. As she grew, patches of her skin became scaled like that of a reptile. Every year, she lost more of her fleshy, vulnerable skin. The couple kept telling her, show no one. No one must know. The girl understood it was for her own safety so she complied and learned to not be angry with her situation at her parents’ behest. And so the wife would make clothes for the girl, with more fabric every year. By the time the girl was fourteen, she was constantly wearing high collars and long sleeves. Her dresses touched the ground. She wore pants underneath as a precaution. She never went barefoot in the nearby flower fields as the other children sometimes did. The wife could tell that within the next year, the scales would touch the girl’s hands and face. Gloves and masks would be noticed. While the couple contemplated moving once more, the scales moved across the girl’s skin.

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One day, the girl’s scales were revealed to the other children for they had grown past the point of being covered. The children screamed when they saw and fetched their parents. The villagers were terrified and from their fear, hatred was born. Once more, the family was forced to leave a village. The girl was angry about the betrayal of those who once accepted her but the couple once more reminded her that if she let it, her anger would destroy her.

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They built a home in isolation near a lake. The girl became an adult and her skin was no more. Her scales were tough, her fingernails had become short claws, and her eyes were like those of a lizard. The couple loved her nonetheless and she maintained the gentle ideals they had raised her with.

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While out one morning, a hunter saw the scaled girl. Fearful for anyone nearby, he ran to the couple’s home and warned them. After attempting to explain that the girl was their daughter, the hunter slaughtered them for raising a monster. Returning home, the girl found the courageous couple dead and the hunter responsible. As the hunter readied himself to fight the scaled woman, she became enraged. She spit fire and her form changed into that of a large, winged beast, her scales hardened into physical armor. The house was destroyed as she was too large for it to maintain her within. The hunter and she fought, and she dispatched him with ease.

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In her grief-stricken rage, the dragon girl returned to the stone village, seeking retribution for past wrongs. She scorched the stones so hot, those inside were burned alive. With a swing of her tail, a grasp of her clawed hands, the dragon girl leveled the stone homes of those who had chased her and her family away. She roared her outrage to the skies for the villainy she had endured and for every year she had to hide herself from the prejudice of others.

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Afterwards, the dragon girl traveled to the rebuilt wooden village seeking justice. She burned the houses to the ground. The villagers had refused to give a baby a chance at survival and so she would give them the same. As the village lay in ruin, kindling at her feet, the dragon girl took to the air to return to the lake in mourning.

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She wept for days, weeks, months, and the lake grew in size with her tears. Wondering at the phenomenon of the growing lake and the rumors surrounding the destroyed villages, the king on the mountain sent soldiers to discover the cause. Each one fought the dragon girl and found defeat. Growing impatient for answers, the king sent his best knights to discover the truth. Each one went and none ever returned with news for the king.

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The dragon girl, wishing to be left to mourn alone, flew to the king on the mountain’s castle. She stormed past the guards, unhindered. She set fire to the door and burst into the king’s hall. Standing before the king of the mountain, the dragon girl roared her fury at him. The king, frightened for his life, offered up his daughter to placate the dragon girl. Outraged at the king’s selfishness for his own life, the dragon girl contemplated disposing of the king. Until she realized the hunter had taken her parents from her. And she, in her rage, had destroyed many families of two villages. Selfish or not, the dragon girl could not destroy the princesses’ father nor separate her from her family. The dragon girl left the king on the mountain with a warning to leave her be and flew back to the lake.

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She continued to weep for her loss and in regret for the losses she had caused in her grief. The lake grew so large that it overtook the dragon girl. In her guilt, she let herself drown in the lake of her tears.

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The king on the mountain’s daughter grew up with tales of how her life was spared by that of a dragon and tales of the dragon’s tears creating the lake where she swam in the hot summer months. It was rumored that the princess was blessed by the gods for dragons were their servants and they had allowed her to live. Swimming in the lake of the dragon girl’s tears gave the princess wisdom against judging others too quickly and strength to destroy her enemies. She grew into a fierce and benevolent queen. The queen with the dragon’s blessing.