The Dragon's Master

At a Crossroads

People scrambled off the cage and were distributed among the arriving soldiers, two children would ride alongside one soldier, an old man was fitted in front of another soldier, until everyone had a means to leave.

Everyone helped themselves.

Jeascqui and Quinten watched until only two soldiers and a small girl was left.

Quinten helped the small girl up onto a horse and then waited for Jeascqui to climb onto another. Jeascqui didn't move, or rather he couldn't move. Jeascqui was frozen with fear, he couldn't move.

Jeascqui knew two things. He knew that one of the two soldiers was about to die, and he knew that if he rode with a soldier, he too would die.

"HYAAAAH"

The galloping of hooves became closer.

"Jeascqui come on! Get on the damn horse!" Quinten tugged Jeascqui's arm, the soldiers looking terrified at the incoming mercenaries, they started rearing up their horses, readying for a speedy get-away.

Jeascqui watched the fast approaching mercenaries, then looked back at Quinten. "Quinten, just get on that horse now and leave" Quinten hesitated for a very minimal time and then grabbed onto the horse with the child as the soldier sped away.

"Come on kid, just get on please! Quick!" The soldier pleaded for Jeascqui's co-operation, but Jeascqui couldn't bring himself to commit a literal act of suicide. As soon as he mounted the horse, he knew he would be shot in the back and bleed out until the soldier too was struck down. Jeascqui couldn't handle that outcome.

He glanced back at the mercenaries who were stampeding down the hill, still a few hundred meters away. One mercenary was ahead of the rest, he had long scruffy hair, a shabby stubble, and his form on the horse was impeccable.

Jeascqui looked down, his five year old legs couldn't carry him very far, or very fast. He looked once more at the long haired mercenary, their eyes locked. Then Jeascqui looked up at the soldier that was attempting to keep his horse calm, whilst he himself was shaking profusely with fear.

'Just get on, maybe I'll survive!'

The soldier's eyes practically begged Jeascqui to get on the horse. Jeascqui wished the soldier had no sense of duty and that he would just abandon him. The soldier's pitiful eyes were only a dead man's eyes to Jeascqui. Jeascqui pitied the soldier, and with the one last heap of resolve left in him, Jeascqui ran from between the two armies and straight into the woods, he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him.

It took the long haired mercenary, and nervous soldier a few moments to realise that Jeascqui had slipped away and without much more hesitation, they both followed the small boy into the woods.

Jeascqui huffed and panted. He wanted to stop running, his lungs felt like they were going to burst and his heart was beating so hard and so fast that he could no longer hear the hooves of horses behind him. Scratching himself on twigs and falling down multiple times, it would be no surprise to him if he had sprained both ankles and both wrists by now. The pain Jeascqui felt was hardly justifiable, as he ran, he wondered what might've happened had he got on the horse. Perhaps he wouldn't have died, perhaps his fortune would have changed. But what if he did die? Perhaps he would be reincarnated again... Maybe into a more subtle life, suited to his personality better.

Jeascqui stopped running, he collapsed panting and lay on the muddy floor.

'What on earth just happened?!?'

He sat up and viewed his surroundings. Thinking he was safe, he stood up, dusted off his clothes and limped on. If he were to die in the woods, he would accept it. He decided this life was far too eventful from what he was used to.

'Too much stress, way too much'

There was so much adrenaline coursing through his veins that he didn't even realise when both, the mercenary and the soldier, arrived right behind him.

"Let him go you criminal scum!" Jeascqui spun round and right in front of him was the soldier who was meant to be dead, and an angry mercenary.

The soldier was scuffed and bruised, whereas the mercenary, although shabbily dressed, seemed entirely unscathed. The soldier grabbed Jeascqui and shoved him behind his back, as a means to protect Jeascqui, but Jeascqui just tripped over behind him and winced at the pain in his ankles.

"Come on, boy! You're years too early to fight me, you'll never be able to win, just hand over the broken child, look at him, you hurt his leg already anyway.." The mercenary's voice was calm, cool, and almost charismatic, Jeascqui analysed him behind the soldier's legs. He was right, the mercenary seemed too collected to lose to a nervous soldier.

The soldier glanced over at Jeascqui curled up holding his leg. Jeascqui then realised the soldier was planning to fight... He wondered where the soldier's horse had gone and it dawned on him, the only person able to leave at this point, was the one who won the incoming fight. The soldier drew his sword and steadied his shaking hand with his other shaking hand. Jeascqui almost laughed as he rolled his eyes at the soldiers pathetic form.

 'Wait, this is no laughing matter... one of them will die... the soldier will!"

Jeascqui hopped up onto his painful ankles and limped to stand between the two fighters. "Don't fight, it's fine, this man is my friend" Jeascqui lied about the mercenary, attempting to let the soldier leave, although Jeascqui himself didn't want to die, he decided that it should be fine if he can at least save the soldier.

'Damn it! Why did I say that..."

Jeascqui's lie was obvious, then in a flurry of fury, the soldier leapt at the mercenary and in an instant, the soldier dropped down, practically dead in front of Jeascqui.

Jeascqui's eyes widened as the head of the soldier turned to face Jeascqui, still gasping as the stab wound that left a gaping hole in his abdomen. The soldiers weak hand grabbed Jeascqui's knee and gripped tightly. Jeascqui felt like puking at the stench of blood and the gruesome scene.

"The soldier's fate was inescapable, poor guy shoulda listened to your pathetic lie, kid.." The mercenary carefully watched Jeascqui and how he seemed to be on the edge of sanity. "I like you kid, its a shame you won't last long where we're going"

"what about mine?"  Jeascqui mumbled.

"What was that kiddo?"

"..Mine!... What about mine?! My fate?!!" Jeascqui's tears rolled down his face. The soldier couldn't escape his death! Even after so many diversions, so how? How was Jeascqui supposed to escape his fate?

"Your... fate?" The mercenary furrowed his eyebrows, "Kid, you don't have death on ya', I can't smell it. In fact, you got nothing but blood on you."

Jeascqui looked down and realised the pool of blood he was sitting in. He glanced at the dead soldier. The soldier now looked frightening, like a wax figure that had melted and lost its colour, still gripping to Jeascqui's leg. The mercenary plucked Jeascqui from the soldier's dead body and flung him over his shoulder. Jeascqui looked up from behind the mercenary as the soldiers body moved farther away.

When the soldiers body was out of sight, Jeascqui snapped back into reality. "Let me down please, I can walk the rest of the way myself." Of course, Jeascqui only planned to find a route to escape.

The mercenary laughed, "if you could see the state your legs were in, I don't reckon you would say that". Jeascqui's legs were swollen and purple, his adrenaline was beginning to wear out and cause him excruciating pain. "I like you, boy. You're tough."

"..." Jeascqui stayed silent. 

The mercenary carried Jeascqui off his shoulder to view his face, thinking that perhaps Jeascqui had died from shock, but Jeascqui was fast asleep, or rather, he had fainted. The mercenary marched back to meet up with his crew.