Relying on the Dragon

CHAPTER FIVE

Kala

    Kala was sitting on her bed in the servants chambers, with a folded scrap of cloth on the bed beside her. When the meal was over, she had been given a package with instructions to change into it, and wait to be escorted to Drake’s quarters. When she had opened the package, she found a white dress, if she dared call it that. It was so transparent it left nothing to the imagination. There was so little cloth to the thing, she might as well walk through the keep completely nude. So now she sat with it beside her. This was just another way for her uncle to punish her, humiliate her. She wasn’t going to let it happen, consequences be damned. 

    There was a knock on her door, and she went to answer it. Thomas was standing there, with a flagon of liquor, leaning on the door jam. He grinned at her, which died as he looked her up and down. 

    “Where’s the dress?” He demanded, standing up straight, he swayed a little bit. 

    “You call that scrap of cloth a dress? I’m not wearing it.” She said, with disdain. She motioned to the bed where the cloth was. 

    “You are supposed to be wearing it!” He shouted. 

    “No, now I’m sure Lord Drake has been waiting long enough, we wouldn’t want to anger our guest.” She said, moving to walk past him. He grabbed her arm and pushed her back into the room. Stepping in, he closed the door behind him. 

    “Change of plans. Lord Drake changed his mind. Amy will be his gift tonight, and you will be mine.” Thomas informed her, crowding her. She backed up, trying to stay out of his reach. 

    This didn’t make sense at all, Drake had been so insistent that she was the gift. Why the change? She didn’t understand. There had to be a mistake.

    “That dress was something I wanted to see you in, but oh well, wasn’t like you were going to be staying in it long.” He grabbed for her, but she evaded him and scrambled to get around him before they reached the bed. This couldn’t be happening. She ran for the door, and pulled it open. 

    “You step out that door, b***h and your uncle will hear about this. He will hear about how you denied me, and let me tell you, there will be no escaping me in that cell.” He threatened. She froze for only a second, before flying out the door. They would have to catch her first. 

    Running down the hall, she could hear him chasing her, his footsteps pounding the stone floor. It just made her run faster, her breath coming fast and her heart was racing, she thought it would explode in her chest. Her ribs were screaming from the sudden movement. She needed to lose him, she needed to get away. 

    She looked over her shoulder, to find Thomas right behind her, his face was red from rage and the exertion of the chase. Sweat dripping down his face. He was stumbling, depicting how much he had to drink this evening. 

    “You’re going to regret this, wench!” He shouted after her. She gripped her ribs as the pain increased from her frantic get away, but she refused to give in. To give up would mean the end for her. 

    “What the hell?” An unexpected voice exclaimed ahead of her, as Kala turned back to what was in front of her, she slammed into a wall, or what she thought was a wall, but hands gripped her arms gently, catching her before she hit the ground. She let out a grunt. Tears were streaming from her eyes both from panic and pain, she started to struggle, trying to get free of whoever had her. 

“What's going on?” That voice was a demanding rumble and she looked up. She had run right into one of the brothers. She stopped struggling, she went weak with relief, but locked her knees and ordered herself not to collapse. Thomas had stopped behind her, and she wasn’t sure if she was safe yet. She was caught. 

    “Thank you my lord, this little trollop got away from me.” Thomas quickly explained, “if you would just hand her over. I am sorry to have disturbed you.” He reached for her. 

    “Hold on a moment.” The brother said he hadn’t let her go, and she prayed that he didn’t hand her over. “Isn’t this the woman that Cedrick had promised my brother?”

    “No, the woman that was promised your brother should be in his room now.” Thomas said quickly, glowering. 

    “Nope, I’m pretty sure this is the woman. What kind of trickery does your master play?” The brother demanded. “You humans go back on your promises and you abuse the one being among your kind that should be respected and cherished.” 

    “How dare you insult us!” Thomas shouted. He was breathing hard from the run, but that was forgotten as the brother insulted him. Kala knew now that she was in good hands. Despite the brothers anger, his grip on her had remained gentle. 

    “While we have been insulted from the moment we walked in the door. Go away, and I’ll take this woman to where she’s supposed to be, to my brother.” The brother turned around and started to lead Kala away, leaving Thomas standing there in the hallway, his mouth hanging open from surprise. She stayed quiet and allowed herself to be led away. She didn’t look back at Thomas, she was glad to walk away from him, and to have an escape. They turned a corner and she looked around. She hadn’t realized that in her hasty get away she had made it halfway to the guest wing. No wonder she felt so out of breath, she had made it further than she realized. 

    “Are you okay my lady?” The brother asked, he hadn’t stopped his walk, though. Maybe he was afraid that Thomas had decided to take pursuit? They had turned a corner so they couldn’t see Thomas anymore. 

    “Please don’t call me that.” She whispered. The last person caught referring to her by that name, her uncle had cut their tongue out. Those who still did, waited until there was no one around. Martha still called her that, not caring what would happen to her. She didn’t want these guests to find out what happened when they were caught showing too much respect to her. “And I’ll be okay. I just need to rest.” She said.

    “Once we get to my brother’s chambers, you’ll be safe to rest.” He let go of her arm, so she could walk on her own. She almost fell over, she had not realized how much she had been leaning on him. He steadied her, and then tried again making sure she wouldn’t collapse. 

    “Thank you.” She said, she attempted to smile at him but again her bruised face ached at the movement. He nodded. 

    “We had wondered where you were, when that other woman showed up. Drake sent me to look for you, but I seem to have gotten lost.” The brother explained. 

    Kala nodded. “It seems it was a good thing that you got lost then.” He smiled.  “My name is Kala.” She introduced herself. 

    “I know.” She looked up at him, suspiciously. “We’ll explain once we’re in the safety of my brother’s chambers. I’m Thorne by the way.” 

    She looked up at him. “It’s nice to meet you. It’s not often we have visitors here anymore. At least, not friendly visitors.” He grunted, and she focused on where they were. 

    “Not surprising. Now can you tell me where we are and how to get back to the wing we were given?” Thorne asked. Kala nodded, and pointed in the direction they were already headed. 

    “Of course, this keep was built to be confusing, that way if our enemies ever got inside the walls, they would get lost and turned around so they would never find the family wing, and give the family time to escape into tunnels that lead underground and into tunnels. You, my lord, made it halfway to the servants quarters.” Kala explained, they turned another corner. Kala made sure she didn’t elude to the fact that the family she was talking about was her own. She had a feeling he already knew who she was, but she wasn’t going to find out until she felt safe. She still had no idea why these men were here. Were they here to make alliances with her uncle as Drake had stated at the dinner? Or were they here for her like Martha said? She wanted very badly to trust Martha and feel that spark of hope, but in the last two years she learned that she was on her own when it came to the fight of getting her home back. 

    “That’s very smart. The Baron was a good man, he knew how to look after his family. I wish we had recognized that and given him the credit he deserved when we were here last. We shouldn’t have stayed away.” Thorne said, sadly. Kala looked at him, puzzled. 

    They entered a hallway that had multiple doors on either side of the aisle. “Here we are my lord. Which room was your brother --” she started to ask, when a door opened and Amy came flying out of a room, clutching her dress around her body. Kala stopped, gaping at the naked woman. 

    “Get out!” A voice boomed, before the door slammed. Kala and Thorne came to a stop, watching Amy pull her gown over her head, and turn to leave in a huff. Kala’s heart started pounding again, and she started to shake as panic tried to take over again. Thorne seemed to pick up on it and he gently took her arm and turned her to face him. 

    “My brother is not here to hurt you, Kala. Your uncle takes us for fools. We know more than you know, and we are here because of a promise. Come, we’ll explain more once we’re behind closed doors.” Thorne explained cryptically. “Take a deep breath, you’re safe now.” He whispered, looking around. The hallway was silent with just them remaining in it as Amy had left quickly in the direction of the great hall. Kala wondered if Amy had even noticed they were standing there to witness her humiliation of rejection. Nobody turned down a chance of having Amy in their bed. Thorne knocked on the door. 

              **********************

Drake

    Drake was still seething after pushing that other woman out. The nerve of the usurper and his followers. That woman had just barged into his room, no respect at all and just took her clothes off. When he had demanded for Kala to be brought to him, the woman had laughed and started pursuing him. Sure the woman had a luscious looking body, curves in all the right places, one would consider her beautiful. But, he wanted Kala, not this woman who clearly had no dignity. He had grabbed her gown, threw it at her and kicked her out. 

    He should have known the usurper wouldn’t let Kala near them, so while he was dealing with the woman he had sent Thorne to go on a hunt. It had been clear from the looks of Kala that she was in danger, her bruised face, her eye that was swollen so bad he doubted she had been able to see out of it. She had been in clear pain, with the way she walked.

    He paced his room, his rage was building. He knew that humans were destructive, but did they really not cherish their women? Did they really enjoy treating them the way they clearly treated their heiress? And to send that other woman in here, was she happy to strip like that? Offer herself up like a sacrifice? 

    He remembered back to the last time they had been inside Clarion’s walls. Cecil had never treated his wife like that. Oceana was his top priority, that had been clear back on that night of the banquet they had held in their honor. He had not wanted to go to that banquet that night. 

    *****************

18 years ago...

    Drake and Kargeth had been in their room, drinking their anger away. They had refused Oceana’s invitation to accompany Darwin to the keep to meet her daughter, Kala. What was so special about a human baby who cries all day, anyway? 

    Then Darwin had shown up.

    “You two had better sober up. You are wanted at the keep in a couple of hours. While you selfishly rejected  Oceana and refused to meet her new baby, for some dumb reason she still wants to see you two idiots. They are holding a banquet in our honor and it would look very poorly if the honored guests don’t appear. We are the higher beings and here you two are, acting like humans! I expect you both to be on your best behavior, and sober.” Darwin snapped at them. “You are better than this.” 

    “He stole her from us. How can you support Oceana, when you know damned well that human stole her?!” Drake demanded, slamming his fist down on the table, causing empty bottles to go flying in all directions. 

    “Drake, Cecil didn’t steal her. They fell in love and she wanted to leave the valley. She is a human, and she needed to be with her own kind. You know that.” Darwin said, gently.  “Come to the banquet tonight, and you will see that she is very happy, and well taken care of.” 

    “Humans are tricky. Are you sure you are seeing everything, old one?” Drake snarled at him. Darwin sighed and shook his head. He looked at Kargeth.

    “I’ll be there Darwin, but you better make sure our table is at the back. I might get a murderous itch if that man makes one wrong move.” Kargeth warned, as he downed a bottle of Clarion’s ale. 

    “Stubborn the lot of you.” Darwin growled, and stormed out of the room. 

    That night, the two brothers had gone to the banquet, and as Kargeth had requested they had a table in the back of the great hall, far away from the head table. Drake had watched Oceana, the human he had watched grow up under Darwin’s counsel and kindness. 

    As a child she had run through the woods and meadow of the village that their home surrounded. She had lived in a small cottage they had built for her when Darwin had found her as a toddler. She had started up in Darwin’s cave with him until one day she almost walked right out of the cave’s mouth and right off the cliff. When she was cranky it had been Drake who had entertained her by taking her flying and she would play with his tail. 

    Sitting here in this human’s fortress, he watched her as she ate from her husband’s hand. A smile that lit up her whole face. Her husband doted on her every minute. Drake grated his teeth together, refusing to believe what he was seeing. She was truly happy. Then a woman appeared with a bundle of blankets that was moving and making a god awful racket. She whispered something to Oceana, who gladly took the bundle and started to gently rock it. He watched as she looked down into the blankets, and a tiny fist seemed to punch through them to make an appearance. Ah yes, the new baby, the heiress, the reason they had come. The smile on Oceana’s face with pure, genuine love. He felt himself softening and accepting her happiness. At that moment, Oceana looked up and made eye contact with him. Cecil followed her gaze and smiled. He motioned for them to approach, but Oceana shook her head and whispered something to him. She then stood up and made her way to their table.

    Drake suddenly felt uncomfortable. Everyone watched as their Baroness walked to the table of the dragons, alone. Drake didn’t blame them, all night he and Kargeth had been sitting in a brooding silence glaring at anyone who attempted to be social with them. 

    “Drake, Kargeth.” She addressed them, in her soft voice. 

    “Oceana.” They both answered her. 

    “I know you both aren’t happy with my decision, but can you at least fake it for my sake? I am happy here.” Oceana said, getting straight to the point. Drake looked away, clenching his jaw.  Oceana sighed. “Look, you don’t need to like him, and I don’t need your approval. Just please don’t hate me. Don’t stay away, please come visit me. You are still my family.” She said her face had lost it’s happiness and it hurt Drake to know that they were causing her pain. 

    “I don’t know if I can do that.” Drake said, honestly. 

    “I want our daughter to know you. I want her to know she has a protector. I want you and your brothers to be here for her when we can’t be. You four are the only ones I can trust. For that to happen, I need all of you to come and see her. Meet her. I want her to know all of you.” Oceana pressed on. “Promise me, please.” 

    Drake shook his head, while Kargeth focused on his cup. “I can’t make that promise.” Drake had said.  Oceana’s face fell, and he knew that he had crushed her hopes. But he couldn’t lie to her. 

    “Do it for her, please Drake?” Oceana had held the baby up, taking the blankets away from her face and head. Drake had stared down into those big brown eyes, that seemed to be endless pits. The babe had reached out to him, making small cooing noises at him. Oceana offered the baby to him, but he didn’t take her. “You are the strongest warrior in the clan. I need to know that I can count on you to protect her, to keep her safe.” Oceana had practically begged him. But he refused to meet her eyes, and remained silent. With a sigh, she got up and left them. Drake knew he would regret this someday but right now he had to stand up for what he believed in. 

        ******************

    A knock on the door brought him back to the present. How he regretted his final words to Oceana, he should have made the promise, he should have come back to get to know the heiress over the last eighteen years. He cursed his stubborn pride. Now he had a strange woman on his hands who needed him, and what was worse he had felt the Bond start when he first laid eyes on her when they had entered the keep. 

    I found her brother. Thorne announced. Drake took a deep breath to try and calm himself.  Unlike the other woman, Drake really didn’t want to scare the heiress off. This was his chance to fix his mistake that he made all those years ago, when he had disappointed Oceana. The door opened, and Thorne walked in with Kala. 

    Her head was down, and he couldn't see her face but he did notice her trembling.  He could smell the fear coming off of her. She held herself very stiffly. The brown wool dress she wore hung off of her, like it was too big and Drake couldn’t help but wonder when her last meal was. Her hair was a mess and it hung around her face blocking him from seeing it clearly. 

    So this was what the usurper had brought the heiress down to, this scared, filthy wisp of a girl. This was not the woman he remembered seeing in the meadow. The one full of fire and fight. Where was that woman?

    Careful, Drake. She’s been through a lot since we saw her in the meadow. Thorne warned silently. Drake looked at his brother and then the stench hit him, another man had marked her. It took everything in him not to go into a berserk rage. The stench of the usurper's right hand man was all over her. Had he been the one to do this damage to her?  He struggled for control, clenching his jaw he took a deep breath, trying to shake the stench from his nose. Drake? Control yourself brother. You're growling.  Drake looked at his brother and glared. Then he heard it, he cut the growl off. Kala was staring at him, wide eyed, she had started to back up towards the door. She was ready to run, and he needed to stop her. He took a step towards her. 

    “My lady.” He started, and she shook her head. He reached for her and she seemed to shrink into herself. 

    "Don't." She said. She stared at him, and he got a good look at the damage done to her face. The left side of her face was swollen, it was multiple shades of purple, blue and black with a hint of pink and red around the edges. Her eye was completely swollen shut, with a shine to it, it was black. He wondered how hard she's been hit, or how many times she'd been hit. Thinking back to when they had entered the keep, her uncle had been kicking her. How many other bruises covered body, what else was damaged? He breathed deep, trying to keep his rage under control. 

    "We aren't here to hurt you, my lady." He gritted out, cursing at how angry he sounded. He took another deep breath, and tried again. He knew she clearly didn't believe him, and the glare he got from his brother. He sighed. "We came here in search of you, my lady." There, he was glad for the calmer tone. "We were asked by your mother to look after you when they wouldn't be here to do it." 

    “Who are you?” She asked. Drake was glad to see that she had stopped backing up towards the door. "What are you?" He winced at that question. Had her mother not taught of her of the dragons who had raised her? Had Oceana hated them that much after that banquet all those years ago? Was it because Drake had refused to make that promise? 

    What have I done?  Drake couldn't help but ask himself.