Definition
: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign
If you look back to the ancient Greek terms that underlie the word xenophobia, you'll discover that xenophobic individuals are literally "stranger fearing." Xenophobia, that elegant-sounding name for an aversion to persons unfamiliar, ultimately derives from two Greek terms: xenos, which can be translated as either "stranger" or "guest," and phobos, which means either "fear" or "flight."
The cave smelt damp. There was sludge seeping between my toes and through my clothes where the villagers had haphazardly tossed me in before running for their lives.
My arms were yanked so far behind by back by the rope that my shoulders were really beginning to burn. The taste of blood was in my mouth, the foreman had punched me hard in the face as I had struggled to escape their grasp. He'd hit me so hard I'd become woozy and in no state to resist the binding of my limbs. They strung me up on a pole - like a pig to a slaughter house and carted me off to the dragon's den.
The dragon had moved in about five months ago - into the abandoned caves at the foot of the mountain, overlooking the swamp. I had never seen it but we had all heard it growling in the distance, its roars frightening birds from the trees. We had also seen the smoke, rising through the trees, thin delicate trails that led up far into the sky.
Most of the villagers swore that they had seen it flying over the village, circling it as it picked out it's next prey, it's dark wings blocking out the moon and stars.
When it had moved in, the village council had held an emergency meeting and decided, for the good of all, they would hold a lottery every two weeks, to offer a sacrifice to the dragon, in order to stave off its hunger and protect the rest of the villagers.
Every two weeks, for the past five months, one person had been 'randomly selected' from the giant pot of names kept on the village green.
One night, I had snuck onto the village green and easily lifted the giant pot. Strange how the names of every person in the village could be so light.
What was also peculiar was how every person chosen so far was a young girl, with no family to defend her and no money to protect her.
I was girl number ten.
I chuckled bitterly into the mud, the wet slick grittiness of it plastering the side of my face. If you're going to sacrifice the undesirables in town to save your own skin, you could at least be honest about it, rather than putting on a charade of 'fairness' to try ease your conscience or, more likely, to try and hide your despicable acts from the villagers. I thought to myself. Although, surely, the rest of the village must have clocked on to what was going on by now. No one could be that blind.
No one had stepped forward to save me. Instead they had simply averted their eyes as I had tried to run and fight my way free.
There was a crunching outside the mouth of the cave. The dragon was returning. This was it.
I clenched my eyes shut. I hope he burns the village down to ash.
There was a pause. It felt like the whole world had stopped in the moment before the dragon opened his mouth to bathe me in fire.
The dragon did indeed open his mouth. But what came out was not fire.
"For God's sake, not another one." It said tetchily.
Surprised, I opened my eyes and squinted at the dragon. It was a long, serpentine shape, quite elegant and neat, with four short but strong looking legs ending in sharp claws. Long whiskers sprouted from his snout and trailed back, over his shoulders. He was a delicate sky blue, the lightest shade of pre-dawn sky on his stomach, the shading growing darker towards his back with his spine being the blue of a brilliant summer evening sky.
He was beautiful.
In my shocked state I went to say this to him, but what I actually, slurrily, said was "You don't have wings."
He looked at me in exasperation. "Why is that always the first thing you girls say? I've never had wings - my kind don't. Where on earth do you hear all this random garbage from."
"Idiots." I said, and laughed. Blood filled my mouth again. Clearly the blow to my head had rattled more than I suspected loose.
He daintily tiptoed over to me, carefully avoiding the pools of sludge and stuck his muzzle in my face.
"Oh dear." He said anxiously. "They've really done a number on you. Can you stand?"
"My arms are tied, I can't get my balance." I explained.
"I see." A moment's introspection. "Pardon my claws." He carefully tilted me over - I had a brief moment of panic when I was face down in the mud, breathing in the dirt, but his claws sliced through the rope in seconds and I was finally able to sit up and rub some feeling back into my arms.
"You're lucky I've started to come by regularly." The dragon remarked. "The first poor girl was here for three days by herself before I came across her. She'd had to start licking the wet rocks to stop herself dehydrating."
I shuddered.
"She was in a terrible state." He mused. "It took me ages to nurse her back to health after all the bacteria she'd ingested. Not that she was even that healthy to begin with."
"So you don't live here?" I asked, trying to stagger to my feet.
The dragon intercepted by wild swaying and leaned his body against mine, steadying me. He gave me a look.
"Would you want to live here?"
"Well, no."
"So why should I?"
"The villagers say you do."
"The same villagers who keep inconsiderately dumping vulnerable, malnourished young women into a dangerous swamp. Yes, they seem like the pinnacle of intelligence."
"They're for you." My head felt even muzzier now I'd stood up. "You know, so you won't eat the rest of them."
"When did i even show the slightest bit of interest in your tiny village in the first place?" It said, indignantly. "I never even asked to be fed - or threatened your village! No one even came to ask me if I wanted these random women to just be dumped on me."
"So you haven't eaten them?" I said, my vision going dark around the edges.
"Of course not. I'm a pescetarian for a start."
"A what?"
"A fish eater - I don't eat red meat."
"Oh. And you don't have wings either."
"No. And we've already had that part of the conversation." The dragon looked at me and then gave me a gently nudge, until I was slung across his back. "Go back to sleep for now. Things will look better in the morning."
I was about to ask him how, when sleep loomed up and dragged me down into its embrace. I dreamt then, of being adrift at sea and being gently rocked by the undulating waves. It was a good dream.
When I awoke, I was high up among the trees, sunlight splattering on my face through the uneven covering provided by the green leaves.
"I see you're awake then." A voice said behind me.
I turned to see the dragon wound about the tree, looking down on me. He held out his front claw, showing me a leafy platter of fruits and nuts.
"You've been out for a while with a fever. Try some of these - you need to eat to get your strength back up."
I didn't need telling twice. As I gobbled down the food, between admonishing me to eat slower, he inspected the healing cuts and bruises, softly murmuring to himself as he did so.
"Consider your basic state of health was so shocking, I'm amazed you've healed so quickly. Tell me, don't those villagers of yours know even the basics about standard nutritional welfare?"
At my blank stare he sighed. "Well, these are the people who thought I had wings after all."
"So why are you here?" I asked curiously, "to look for gold?"
There was a long pause. "I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that." He said eventually. "I," He reared up proudly and put a claw on his chest, "am a botanist."
I gave him another blank stare.
"I study plants."
"Oh. Why?"
"Because they are a fascinating and beautiful creations and most living creatures on this planet are completely, intrinsically, reliant on them for their continued existence."
"Oh. Well. That makes sense." Did it? I didn't really pay much attention to plants - except to know which ones not to touch because they'd make me sick. Other than that, I didn't really have the time or energy to pay much attention to them.
I looked at the tree I was currently sat in. The way the branches twisted about each other and how green the leaves were with the sunlight filtering through them.
"They are very pretty." I offered.
The dragon's tail wagged in what i suspected was his way of showing amusement. "Yes." He took a breath. "Anyway, I came here to study the plant life of this particular swamp as a fellow botanist had recommend it to me. They did not mention the nearby village of murdering idiots, a fact I will be sure to bring up with him next time i see him."
"I see."
He looked at me. "In any case, my study is done. I have enough samples so I will be headed back home shortly."
"Oh. I , I see." I thought for a moment before biting the bullet and asking the question that had been plaguing me since I woke up. "What happened to the other girls before."
His serpentine body gave a quick undulation, which I think was his version of a shrug. "They came to me, in very poor condition. I nursed them back to health, gave them a few coins and sent them on their merry way."
"But none of them came back to the village." I said.
He gave me an unreadable look. "Would you go back to a place that had sent you off to be killed in their place? That had agreed, as a whole, that you were someone unnecessary and your murder could be excused."
"No." I said softly.
"Exactly. I took them over the mountains and far away, as they requested." He paused. "But none of the ones before seemed quite as...battered as you." He said hesitantly, as if afraid of hurting my feelings.
I shrugged. "The lottery was rigged and everyone knew it." I said bluntly. "I guess, I just wanted them to know, to realise what they were doing. To admit that they were lying to themselves and at least be honest about the truth of their actions." I smiled. "Maybe I just wanted to give them bad dreams. It was a fool's errand in any case - none that had condemned me to die would give two hoots about whether i went willingly or not."
"I see." Was all he said, but he did nuzzle my hair and his warm breath (slightly fishy but with a tang of something sweet and sharp overlaying it) was oddly comforting.
"So what do you want to do now?"
I looked at the dragon, his sky blue tail still wrapped around the broad trunk of the tree. The bark felt rough under the palms of my hands but warm. the sun was still shining and as I looked out from the tree, I realised we must be miles above the ground. The thought should have terrified me - one slip and I would plummet to my certain death but for the first time in possibly years, I felt completely safe. The mountains were grey and blue in the distance, the tops of them still hidden in mist but clearer now than I'd even seen them. The rest of the wood stretched out beneath me, a green carpet rolling far away towards the edge of the world.
How vast and how beautiful the world was.
"I want to go with you." The words just fell out of my mouth.
"Sorry?" The dragon said, clearly startled.
"I want to go with you." I said again, determined. "I want to learn about plants too - and the ground and the sky and everything in between. I want to see it all."
The dragon started to protest then stopped and looked at me. I looked back.
He rested his muzzle on my head. "Well, aren't you going to be troublesome."
"I, I" I started to say and he cut me off with a huff of hot breath.
"That's not a bad thing. Who wouldn't want to cherish a student who wants to know everything?"
He lifted his head up and then gave me a cheek dragon grin (for a fish eater he sure had a lot of sharp teeth).
"But I guess I should definitely thank my hosts for their hospitality first."
Riding on the back of the dragon was exactly how I imagined riding on the back of the snake would be like. Instead of flying like a bird would with wings, he kind of half slithered, half swam through the air. Looking at it from afar, it was almost as if he was a loose piece of silk, just drifting along in the wind.
Riding him however, you soon realised that the soft, drifting motion was a complete lie and in fact he was going fast enough to have tears streaming from my eyes and to feel the wind yank harshly at my hair in passing.
Soon the village appeared beneath us.
The dragon plummeted towards it, villagers catching sight of him and screaming in terror. We zoomed through the high street, people scattering out of our way like headless chickens, knocking aside anything and anyone to get out of his way. The dragon was so skilled in his flying that he knocked not a single tile from a roof or a person from their feet (they did that themselves).
From his back, I laughed and laughed and laughed.
All too soon we were through and out the other side (had the village always been that small?) and we again ascended to the big blue sky waiting for us, I shouted back over my shoulder,
"See ya, losers!"
"Consider your basic state of health was so shocking, I'm amazed you've healed so quickly. Tell me, don't those villagers of yours know even the basics about standard nutritional welfare?"
At my blank stare he sighed. "Well, these are the people who thought I had wings after all."
"So why are you here?" I asked curiously, "to look for gold?"
There was a long pause. "I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that." He said eventually. "I," He reared up proudly and put a claw on his chest, "am a botanist."
I gave him another blank stare.
"I study plants."
"Oh. Why?"
"Because they are a fascinating and beautiful creations and most living creatures on this planet are completely, intrinsically, reliant on them for their continued existence."
"Oh. Well. That makes sense." Did it? I didn't really pay much attention to plants - except to know which ones not to touch because they'd make me sick. Other than that, I didn't really have the time or energy to pay much attention to them.
I looked at the tree I was currently sat in. The way the branches twisted about each other and how green the leaves were with the sunlight filtering through them.
"They are very pretty." I offered.
The dragon's tail wagged in what i suspected was his way of showing amusement. "Yes." He took a breath. "Anyway, I came here to study the plant life of this particular swamp as a fellow botanist had recommend it to me. They did not mention the nearby village of murdering idiots, a fact I will be sure to bring up with him next time i see him."
"I see."
He looked at me. "In any case, my study is done. I have enough samples so I will be headed back home shortly."
"Oh. I , I see." I thought for a moment before biting the bullet and asking the question that had been plaguing me since I woke up. "What happened to the other girls before."
His serpentine body gave a quick undulation, which I think was his version of a shrug. "They came to me, in very poor condition. I nursed them back to health, gave them a few coins and sent them on their merry way."
"But none of them came back to the village." I said.
He gave me an unreadable look. "Would you go back to a place that had sent you off to be killed in their place? That had agreed, as a whole, that you were someone unnecessary and your murder could be excused."
"No." I said softly.
"Exactly. I took them over the mountains and far away, as they requested." He paused. "But none of the ones before seemed quite as...battered as you." He said hesitantly, as if afraid of hurting my feelings.
I shrugged. "The lottery was rigged and everyone knew it." I said bluntly. "I guess, I just wanted them to know, to realise what they were doing. To admit that they were lying to themselves and at least be honest about the truth of their actions." I smiled. "Maybe I just wanted to give them bad dreams. It was a fool's errand in any case - none that had condemned me to die would give two hoots about whether i went willingly or not."
"I see." Was all he said, but he did nuzzle my hair and his warm breath (slightly fishy but with a tang of something sweet and sharp overlaying it) was oddly comforting.
"So what do you want to do now?"
I looked at the dragon, his sky blue tail still wrapped around the broad trunk of the tree. The bark felt rough under the palms of my hands but warm. the sun was still shining and as I looked out from the tree, I realised we must be miles above the ground. The thought should have terrified me - one slip and I would plummet to my certain death but for the first time in possibly years, I felt completely safe. The mountains were grey and blue in the distance, the tops of them still hidden in mist but clearer now than I'd even seen them. The rest of the wood stretched out beneath me, a green carpet rolling far away towards the edge of the world.
How vast and how beautiful the world was.
"I want to go with you." The words just fell out of my mouth.
"Sorry?" The dragon said, clearly startled.
"I want to go with you." I said again, determined. "I want to learn about plants too - and the ground and the sky and everything in between. I want to see it all."
The dragon started to protest then stopped and looked at me. I looked back.
He rested his muzzle on my head. "Well, aren't you going to be troublesome."
"I, I" I started to say and he cut me off with a huff of hot breath.
"That's not a bad thing. Who wouldn't want to cherish a student who wants to know everything?"
He lifted his head up and then gave me a cheek dragon grin (for a fish eater he sure had a lot of sharp teeth).
"But I guess I should definitely thank my hosts for their hospitality first."
Riding on the back of the dragon was exactly how I imagined riding on the back of the snake would be like. Instead of flying like a bird would with wings, he kind of half slithered, half swam through the air. Looking at it from afar, it was almost as if he was a loose piece of silk, just drifting along in the wind.
Riding him however, you soon realised that the soft, drifting motion was a complete lie and in fact he was going fast enough to have tears streaming from my eyes and to feel the wind yank harshly at my hair in passing.
Soon the village appeared beneath us.
The dragon plummeted towards it, villagers catching sight of him and screaming in terror. We zoomed through the high street, people scattering out of our way like headless chickens, knocking aside anything and anyone to get out of his way. The dragon was so skilled in his flying that he knocked not a single tile from a roof or a person from their feet (they did that themselves).
From his back, I laughed and laughed and laughed.
All too soon we were through and out the other side (had the village always been that small?) and we again ascended to the big blue sky waiting for us, I shouted back over my shoulder,
"See ya, losers!"
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