Snip Part 7 (the climax!)

Fluffy white clouds with darker under bellies and blue tipped edges came and went in the sky above Arabella. Lazily they sailed, gently touched each other, merged into a combined mass, became shapes that could legitimately represent ducks or evil witches riding broomsticks. The burning sun, only slightly diminished by the shade of a baby pine tree, hit one side of Bella with reasonable force. Groaning, Bella turned over on to her stomach and looked over the grassy ridge down into the pine tree covered plains. Something like a jerk shook her frame as she looked. It is possible that it was some kind of convulsion; perhaps it was the scene that lay in front of her. Fuming jets of black smoke were billowing from that little hill that rose strangely from out of the flat plains. Quickly, the smoke filled the air with its blackness, chased away the sun with long tentacles of ink that curled venomously in the sky, threw the land into a dark shadow.

Arabella started to be alarmed at this disturbing prospect. However, she finally realised that this mysterious smoke could well be the sign of a potential adventure, that there was possibly money involved, and that she would at least have a story to tell when she came home, a heroine and an avenger of evil. Forgetting the fatigue that she and Clara had felt only minutes before, she scrambled up, jumped into the saddle and "Ye-haaad" all the way down the dusty hill. As she plunged into the murky shadows of the plain, Bella thought that she faintly heard something. At first the sound was like that of a mouse when it is caught in a trap, but as she galloped on, the sounds became clearer, and metamorphosed into shrill cries for help.
"Blast!" Muttered Arabella to herself. "It's probably just another damsel in distress. And here I was thinking that it might be a real adventure."
Bella and her faithful steed galloped on to the hill until the smoke was so thick that it hung in tendril-like shapes in the air. Arabella patted Clara to thank her for galloping so hard (she was a weary beast by this time) and climbed down from the saddle. Reaching into her saddle pack she pulled out the green object that Danny had given her before she ran away. Quickly, she pulled off the cloth and held up the sword in the swirling night of smoke. Bella breathed in sharply. The sword was glowing in the darkness with an ethereal green light that illuminated the gloom.
"Save me good Knight!" A girl's scream accompanied this command. The voice was pathetic, entreating, everything that a damsel in distress should sound like.
"Where on earth are you?" Shouted Arabella.
"Over here!" Screamed the Damsel In Distress. Bella muttered fierce words into the smoke.
"Over flippin' where? I can't see you. Tell me where you are!"
"I don't know where I am! Please Knight, save me from the Dragon!" Sobbed the DID.
"Dragon? What Dragon?" Said Arabella, alarmed (and frightened, though this is not something that the authors like to admit).
"There is a Dragon in that cave! He is even now about to devour me for afternoon tea! Oh, save me, please! He tied me up to this tree and I can't get the knots undone." The DID screamed shrilly.
Bella, at this point, was guilty of the crime of uttering chauvinistic words about girls in general.
A low, guttural growl (not unlike that of an angry bulldog) sounded from the cave, only meters from where Bella stood. Bella leaped back. At this uncertain moment, Bella did the right thing. She asked God for strength and courage. Then, taking the glowing sword in one hand and several pieces of string in the other, she strode manfully (yes, manfully) into the cave's gaping mouth.
It was hot in the cave. Holding up the sword like a firebrand, Arabella looked around. The crumbling walls were covered in ancient paintings of men and strange looking beasts. Large bits of rock stuck out from the walls and a few stalagmites and stalactites hung and sat and dripped. Our brave and resourceful heroine walked on through the cave.
Something glittered.
Arabella stopped in her tracks and held out her sword to the glittering light in the corner.
"What is it? Who is it? Are you the Dragon?" These words came from Bella's mouth in little more than a squeak, and petered away to nothingness.
The Dragon (if it was a Dragon) uttered a low, angry growl.
Suddenly, the Thing made scraping noises that sounded like he was getting up from a sitting position. Something dragged along the ground. Something went "Snuffle snuffle." Something was very large. Two eyes glowed with a blazing red light.
The Thing emerged from its shadows.
Arabella was confronted with the Dragon.