Marked by the Dragon

Chapter 3-2

The old widow Cora joined the crowd that surrounded her and inspected the wound. In her younger days, she’d worked as a healer in the Dracan Dominion.

“I"ve never seen anything like this. It’s … fused to her flesh. I can’t remove it without causing greater injury.”

Mina began to sob, clutching her leg. She didn’t understand what was happening. All she wanted was for the pain to go away.

“There, there,” Cora said gently. “I’ll do all I can to keep the wound clean and prevent infection, but I’m afraid you’ll have to learn to live with this … thing. It looks like a dragon scale.”

Live with it? Mina stared at the scale in horror. She didn’t want this thing to be part of her body, but it seemed that was not an option. If Cora couldn’t work her healing abilities on it, then it was bad indeed. Her life had changed in that hidden chamber, all because of her curiosity and thirst for adventure.

*

Mina hobbled back home, leaning on her mother for support. Each step sent waves of pain radiating from the scale in her leg. She bit her lip, trying not to cry any more tears.

Back home, she collapsed onto her bed. Her mother brought her a warm cup of tea, the herbs soothing her frayed nerves.

“The pain will lessen in time,” her mother said gently. “You"ll grow accustomed to it.”

Mina shook her head. “I don’t want to grow accustomed to it. I just want it out of my leg.”

Her mother sighed and sat beside her on the bed. She took Mina’s right hand in her own, calloused yet comforting. “I know this is difficult to understand, but maybe this is a gift. Maybe this scale has a purpose we can’t see yet. Only time will tell.”

Mina scowled. It didn’t feel like a gift. It felt like a curse. She leaned into her mother’s embrace, letting the warmth and familiar scent soothe her. She knew her mother meant well. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe one day this scale would prove to be a gift. She closed her eyes, drifting off to the sound of her mother’s lullaby.

The next morning, Mina awoke to birds chirping outside. For a brief moment, she felt at peace. Then a sharp pain in her leg jerked her back to the present.

The scale.

She peeled back her blanket to examine the injury. The bleeding had stopped. The scale was embedded in her flesh as before, but now she noticed something new. A tingling sensation emanated from the scale, as if it had developed a life of its own. She rubbed her fingers over the scale, and the tingling intensified into a surge of awareness. Somewhere, in the distance, was a dragon. She could feel its presence like a heartbeat.

Mina gasped and yanked her hand away. How did she know there was a dragon nearby? What dark magic was this? She had always been sensitive to the natural world, but this was something different. Something unnatural.

The tingling faded, but it left her unsettled. She had a sinking feeling that this was only the beginning. The scale had changed her in some fundamental way, and given her an ability she never asked for.

Her mother entered the room, smiling. “How are you feeling today?” Then she noticed Mina’s expression. “What"s wrong?”

Mina hesitated. How could she possibly explain this? Her mother wouldn’t understand. No one would. She was alone in this.

Mina shook her head and forced a smile. “I"m fine. Just tired.”

Her mother frowned, seeing through the lie. But she didn’t press the issue. “Get some rest, then. I’ll bring you some broth.”

As her mother bustled out of the room, Mina curled into a ball. She pressed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the rhythmic pulsing that seemed to permeate her mind.

A dragon was out there. She could feel its presence, like flames l*****g at the edges of her consciousness. No matter how hard she strained to ignore the sensation, it persisted.

A tear rolled down her cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut, cursing the wretched scale and the fate that had befallen her. If only she had never ventured so far into the forest. If only she hadn’t been so curious.

Now she was cursed, marked by something dark and strange.

*

The whispers started as hushed murmurs in the village square, but soon spread like wildfire through the cobblestone streets.

Mina could feel the stares of villagers as she walked by, their eyes following her every move. She pulled her cloak tighter, as if she could hide from their prying gazes.

Did they know she could sense a dragon was out there? Her heart hammered in her chest at the thought. Dark magic was outlawed, and only nobles could use the magic sanctioned by the High Prince. What if they thought she was a witch?

Within days, tales of her mysterious ability had spread throughout the village. She had only told her mother, but someone must have overheard their conversation. She prayed word of her affliction didn’t leave the village, but a few days later, that fear was confirmed.

Mina’s parents called her into their small kitchen. Her mother wrung her hands anxiously, while her father stared out the window at their farm, brow furrowed.

Mina’s stomach twisted into knots. “What’s wrong?”

Her father turned to her, his eyes grave. “Lord Klodian has requested an audience with us. He wants to discuss your ... ability.”

Mina paled. She knew this meant trouble. Lord Klodian did not request audiences out of idle curiosity. There was always an ulterior motive behind the actions of Dominion Lords.

“You can refuse,” she said hurriedly. “We don’t have to meet with him.”

Her father gave her mother a knowing look.

“If we refuse, it will only anger him,” her mother said.

“There must be another way. What if he wants to take me away?”

Her parents refused to meet her gaze, staring instead at the floor. The silence in the room was suffocating. Finally, her father spoke, his voice heavy with resignation. “We have agreed to meet with Lord Klodian. He has offered to give you a better life than we can provide.”

“No!” Mina cried.

“It is the only way to keep our family safe.”

“We’re protecting you. And ourselves,” her mother added. “It would not be good for any of us to defy Lord Klodian.”

“I won’t go with him!” Mina insisted, panic rising in her chest. “I"ll run away first!”

“And then he will hunt you down,” her father said. “His soldiers will scour every inch of the kingdom until you are found. It is better to go willingly than be dragged there against your will.”

“I hate you!” The words burst from Mina unbidden, hot and angry. “How can you do this to me? I’m your daughter!”

Her parents flinched, but held firm in their resolve. They had made their choice, and now Mina would have to live with the consequences. Or die trying to escape them. She turned and fled from the house, tears blurring her vision as she ran into the trees. But no matter how fast or how far she ran, she could not escape the truth: she now belonged to Lord Klodian. Her life was no longer her own.

*

Mina huddled in the branches of an old oak tree, watching the winding dirt road that led to her village. Any moment now, Lord Klodian would come riding through, flanked by guards in gleaming armor. Coming to claim her.

Her heart thudded in her chest like a wild bird trying to escape. She didn’t want to go with him. She didn’t want to be owned and controlled, treated like some kind of prize horse. But she had no choice. Her parents had seen to that.

When the procession finally came into view, Mina squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t watch, couldn’t bear to see the look on Lord Klodian’s face as he took possession of her.

“Mina!” Her father’s voice rang out below. “Lord Klodian is here for you. Come down at once!”

She opened her eyes and slowly climbed down from the tree, limbs heavy with dread. This was it. The end of her freedom. The beginning of her imprisonment.

Mina blinked back the tears, steeling herself for the long journey ahead. She may be bound to Lord Klodian now, but she would never truly belong to him. Not as long as she had breath left in her body. She only hoped she could survive long enough to find a way out of his cage.

*

Lord Klodian surveyed her with a possessive gaze as the carriage rumbled along the road to his keep. Her parents’ stricken faces haunted her, even now. They didn’t want to sell her any more than she wanted to go. But what choice did they have? Defy Lord Klodian and face his wrath, or give up their only daughter to save all their skins?

Mina couldn’t blame them for choosing the latter. She knew the stories, knew the fate of those foolish enough to cross a Dominion Lord. They did what they had to in order to survive, as always.

She sighed, gazing out the window at the rolling hills of sand that stretched endlessly into the distance. If only she had the freedom to roam the forest as before, but wishes were for children, and she was no longer a child. She was a prisoner in a gilded cage, a pawn in Lord Klodian’s game of power and control. And there was no escape—not for her, and not for her parents.

They were all dancing to the tune of the Dominion Lord now.