Amber Dawn

Chapter Three

Vera was tipsy, as were most of the party goers. But at some point after her dance with James and Lord Eddington, head of House Star, one of the wealthiest houses in the realm, literally trying to buy her from her father, she’d become disgusted with it all.

The party had begun to feel like too much, and it was all closing in on her. Merida had been dancing with two men all night. The second son, Roy, from House Herring and a son of one of the lesser houses, House Grey. Both men obviously enjoyed her company, and she was fawning under the attention.

Aly had spoken to Vera briefly about Robert. Her chatter was excited, discussing how different he was now, how close he was with her brother, and how glad she was that her father had made such a decision so long ago.

Vera had danced with Aly’s older brother, Duke, and they’d had a few laughs, but from Vera’s understanding he was madly in love with a commoner that his father wouldn’t permit him to marry.

James had never reappeared for that second dance. As much as Vera didn’t like to admit it, she had been looking forward to it. But as people got drunk on wine, and things got louder, Vera slipped out the door.

She snuck through the garden, inhaling the familiar scent of lilies that her mother loved. Pink lilies, white, purple - her mother had had them all planted. She felt the familiar pang for her mother and how much she missed her.

Once free of the garden, she started towards the familiar path to the dragon pit that her and her father’s feet had worn over the years.

The wind ripped off of the sea below, bringing salt and brine into the air. The moon was peaking through the clouds and she could feel the bond with Bane thrumming strong in her chest.

“Princess.”

She stopped and turned to her sworn sword, Sir Arthur. He’d protected her for as long as she could remember, posted near her always. “Sir Arthur, I’m just going to see Bane. I’ll be with the Scaled Men.”

He hesitated.

She knew how his sense of duty pulled him whenever she dismissed him. And she also knew that even when she dismissed him, he didn’t go far. “It’s alright.”

“You’ve been drinking. And there are a lot of guests.”

“But none that will come to the dragon pit.”

She could see him weighing her logic. It was true - everybody was terrified by the giant beasts that lived on the cliffs. “I will be fine, Sir Arthur. You can wait for me back in the garden if that will make you feel better.”

“I’ll walk you to the door, Princess.”

She smiled, feeling warm and safe with his steady presence. “Are you looking forward to the hunt?” She asked, knowing how he loved to hunt. He and her father had painstakingly taught her all about hunting, tracking, and trapping over the years. He was one of the best.

“You don’t usually ask questions you already know the answer to.”

“No,” she admitted. It was the wine.

“Yes. Are you?”

“I am looking forward to it. And I hope that it helps me determine a suitor to allow pursuing me. A man needs to be able to hunt. If he cannot, then I cannot marry him.”

Practicality, one of her strong suits.

“Yes, marriage,” he sighed, as if the idea pained him. He caught her glance. “Just a reminder of my years, Princess. Change is coming - it’s in the air. I’ve prepared, but still.”

“But still,” she turned to him at the entrance, hands clasped behind her back, “you will be with me and I with you.”

He gave her a fond smile. “Til my last, Princess.”

She returned the smile before entering.

The atmosphere in the pit was calm, the sounds of beasts slumbering. But the bond was humming in her chest. Bane wasn’t calm. He was alert, aware of so many new people, and it made him restless.

I’m coming, she thought to him.

She wound through the caves, following as the thrumming grew, until she emerged where he was tucked away. The chamber opened, the sea exposed beyond, hundreds of feet down. She could feel the salt in the air, hear the break of waves against rocks below.

Bane was waiting, eyes gleaming in the dark.

“Hello love,” she greeted, hand outstretched for him to touch with his snout.

His scales were warm, his energy humming in the space filling the cave. She began singing, a song her father always sang. His long neck began to glow, the fire inside warming up as the song soothed him.

She climbed onto his back, hiking up the skirt of her dress and tucking her knees in. He got up, a rumbling force beneath her, and start for the opening facing the water.

She grabbed a hold of his neck spikes as he reached the edge and jumped. The wind whooshed as it pressed against her, the free fall exhilarating. Then he spread his grand wings, catching the wind, and the water splashed below as they caught and he took off.

The sky was studded with stars, the moon almost full and bright. The warm summer air kissed her face, her heart pounded, and the world disappeared beneath them.

She could feel Bane through the bond, content. This was her favorite place to be. On dragon back, riding the wind into the infinite. She leaned back, floating on the breeze, looking at the star-studded sky. Beneath all of that, she felt small. Incredibly human. Here, she wasn’t a princess, she wasn’t a prize, she was just her. No expectations, no duty to fulfill, no responsibilities.

Just Bane and her.