Relying on the Dragon

CHAPTER ONE

Clarion Keep

18 years later...

Kala

    Kala ducked behind a wall, breathing hard. She was so close to getting away, she had never made this far before. A group of men ran past her hiding place, and she pressed herself up against the wall and held her breath. She prayed they kept going. She had been put in charge of delivering drinks to her uncle and his nasty men, so she had laced the mead with a herb that put people to sleep for a while. She hadn’t put enough in the last few times, and was caught before she even made half way through the village. This time though, she was sure she had put in enough. The only problem was that obviously not all of the men in her uncle’s hall had drunk the laced mead. She just needed enough time to get through the fields and meadow that surrounded Clarion’s walls to the forest beyond. If she could do that, she knew she could lose her pursuers in the trees. She was good at climbing trees, she had done it so often as a child in her mother’s garden. Her heart clenched at the thought of her mother. She missed those times when her parents were still alive. When life was happy, carefree and there were no worries to be had. But that had ended two years ago when her uncle had shown up announcing the death of Clarion's ruling family, forcing her into hiding. Six months ago, her uncle had found out that she was still alive, she needed help now more than ever before.

    In the past two years, Clarion had suffered, the villagers were starving and illness was starting to take over. What was once a happy, thriving village, now it was a ghost town. Everyone feared her uncle and his cruelty. Kala fought for her people, and it ended up in her suffering for it. She couldn’t stay here any longer. She needed help and she needed it now. Her parents had always told her about a mysterious people who resided in the Myst Mountains. That they would protect her when she needed it. Her mother always spoke of them with a love in her voice, her face had always gone soft and dreamy when she spoke of them. They were her adopted family, and the stories she told of them, Kala had hoped to meet them one day. She needed them now, and she needed to find them. 

    Once you get to the forest, head due east, it will take two days by horse. You will come to the foot of the mountains. Look for a path that is surrounded by two boulders the size of dragons, follow that path and it will lead you into the valley of the Myst Mountains. Her mother had told her several times over her childhood. Her mother had even had her repeat the instructions to the mountains until she had been satisfied that her daughter knew her way to her people. Now, was the true test to see if she could find her mother's people.

    She looked around the corner and saw the streets empty, so she made a run for the gates. She wished she had a horse, but there were none to be had. Her uncle had hoarded them all for his men. So she needed to rely on her feet to get her to the forest and the Mountains beyond. 

    She looked at the gate house, there was nobody around. She found that odd, as her uncle was a paranoid man. She had learned in the past two years that he had many enemies, and several were out for his head. She feared that he would bring war on Clarion eventually, and she needed to prevent that from happening to protect her people. He was especially paranoid of her coming of age, knowing that once she married, he couldn’t stop her from taking her place as the new Baroness of Clarion. He knew the people loved her, and he had done everything possible to stop the people from supporting her. But she grew up alongside the villagers' own children. Being the only child and heiress of the Baron and Baroness, her parents had encouraged her to find friends among the villagers. It had helped her gain the people’s trust and love, it had also helped her learn how things were run in the village. The different businesses and the market. How they thrived and their challenges, what her father had to do to support them to ensure they kept business, and stayed running when they fell on hard times. 

    Now she was on her own. The people still loved her, but they had learned that if they helped her they would be punished, and what was worse so would she. None of them wanted her hurt so they stayed away. She knew none would open their doors for her. The last person who did on her last escape attempt was killed. She ran to the door that was beside the large set of gates that was inset in the brick wall that protected the village. The big gates were usually opened to travelers and merchants who would set up in the marketplace. The small door that she was headed for was for the guards to go in and out when the main gates were to be closed. This was her way to freedom. She got to it and tried the handle expecting it to be locked, but it wasn’t. She wondered at that but didn’t care, she needed out. 

    Pulling the heavy door open, she made a break for it, she lifted her skirts to free her legs up, to make it easier for her to run. She saw farmers at work in their fields, a few looked up as she raced past them. They watched her from sunken eyes, so many were starving. If not for herself, then she needed to find help for her people. Clarion was nothing without them. 

“HALT!” Came a cry from far behind her, it only made her run faster. She couldn’t stop now, she was so close. She made it past the fields and into the meadow. She looked over her shoulder to see men on horses leaving the gates, she was breathing hard now, and her lungs were starting to burn. She pushed herself to keep going. She just needed to reach the forest. She ran into the meadow, and stumbled, catching her fall, she forced her feet to keep going. She could hear the hoof beats coming up behind her. Tears started to fall, as desperation took over, adrenaline pumped through her and she kept going. She couldn’t allow herself to be caught, not now. She was too close to safety. She didn’t see the large winged shadow that flew over the meadow. She was too focused on her goal. The hoof beats were too close now and she was surrounded by horses. 

    She came to a stop, gasping for breath. She had been so close, she looked longingly at the forest that was just a short distance away. She looked up at her uncle’s right hand man, he was sneering at her. 

    “You thought had outsmarted us this time, little mouse.” He grinned at her. He dismounted from his horse and approached her. The strong booze stench coming off of him made her want to vomit. She cursed under her breath, she had forgotten about Thomas. Usually he would be close at her uncle’s side. She had forgotten that he had just returned from a raid, and he with his men were celebrating their success in the village. They must have seen her and mobilized. He circled her, and she turned with him keeping him in front, and in her eyesight at all times. 

     "Not sure where you thought you were going, and with no supplies at that. His Grace, will be happy to know that we found you. Maybe he’ll even reward us.” He said. He lunged for her but she easily side stepped him. Due to his intoxication, he wasn’t able to stop himself and fell on his face. With a growl, he got to his feet. “Little b***h, you’ll pay for that!” She was grabbed from behind, her arms wrenched painfully against her back. She fought hard as the captain approached. She had been so focused on Thomas, she hadn't noticed another man had gotten off his horse and was able to sneak up on her. 

    “Little spit fire bitch.” He slapped her hard, her left cheek felt like it was on fire. More men dismounted, surrounding the three of them into a tighter circle. Her uncle came for her again, and she kicked at him, causing him to stop. She lifted her leg, and kicked backwards as hard as she could, connecting with her captors knee cap, causing the man to yell out and let go. Once free, she spun in a circle trying to keep everyone in her sight but it was impossible. 

    "Let's have some fun shall we?" Thomas asked, he went for her again, along with two others, and she knew she was in trouble. Doing everything she could, she fought with everything she had. She clawed and scratched, while kicking where she could, trying to hurt them before they could get their hands on her. Thomas grabbed her around the waist, pulling her in close, and she raked her nails down his face, as she screamed in her fury. He squeezed her harder against him, refusing to let go. She kept clawing at his face. Another man grabbed her, so he could let go, blood was welling out of the scratches and tiny trails started running down his cheeks. 

    She threw her head back, into the man's face, connecting with his nose. He let go so he could clutch his face. She backed away towards the horses, as all of the men remaining including Thomas came towards her. 

    “You can’t fight all of us. Though we would love to see you try.” Kala spat at him, getting him in the face. One of the men ran at her, not giving her time to spin and run herself, he grabbed on to her, this time he was ready with rope. Tying her hands behind her back. He also stayed out of range of her feet, not wanting the same fate as her first captor who was still on the ground holding his knee. She had always known her uncle's men were weak, she just had to know where to hit them to take them out. Wiping the spittle from his cheek, and pointed to his horse. “Get her on the horse.” He ordered. She started kicking and flailing again trying to throw her captor free, but it was no use, he easily lifted her onto the horse. He untied her hands, only to bring them in front and re-tie them to the pommel of the saddle. The rope was too tight, cutting the circulation off of her hands, they started to tingle and go numb. Thomas mounted up behind her, and she cringed at how close he was to her. 

    “This is going to be a fun ride, little mouse, for me at least.” He rubbed himself up against her, and she could feel that he was hard. For a second time, she wanted to get sick. He wrapped his arms around her to grab the reins, and urged the horse into a full gallop back to Clarion. She closed her eyes trying to distract herself from Thomas grinding against her in rhythm to the horse. She really wanted this ride to be over with, despite what was waiting for her at the end. 

    She missed the huge, winged shadow that flew over them for a second time, she felt a sudden gust of wind though. She opened her eyes as the horses who had been on a steady gallop back to the keep, were now out of control from fear. They were stomping their feet, screaming, while their eyes rolled, despite the men trying to urge the animals back to the safety inside Clarion’s walls. She looked up, as an enormous winged creature flew in front of the sun. In awe, she forgot what was happening and watched as the magnificent creature flew in a lazy circle above them. 

    The creature seemed to have scales that flashed and sparkled as the sun’s beams hit it. She couldn’t tell what color the creature was as it was too bright to make out any details. She watched the huge wings that kept the creature afloat above, move smoothly through the air. She knew she should be frightened by the huge creature, but she wasn’t. She felt like she knew this creature, that she had met it before. She then remembered her parents teachings, of a mythical creature of great strength; dragons they called them. She was taught the myths and stories that surrounded them. Her mother was fond of them and said that her adopted family had ties to these mythical creatures. While the horses panicked and the men struggled to get them under control, she was enchanted as she watched the creature fly over them with such grace and beauty it took her breath away. She couldn’t help but smile, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt revived. She didn’t understand it at all, but she welcomed the feeling. 

    “Thomas, look at her.” A man called out amidst the chaos. “Do you think she brought those horrific creatures here?” He asked. Next thing she knew, she was cuffed up against the head, breaking her out of the trance, bringing her back to reality. The creature roared, seemingly in fury, which she found odd. But, finally the men had control of the horses again and they were once again racing towards the gates. The people who had been in the fields had already fled to the safety of their homes. 

We heard your call, we are here. Kala strained to look back at the creature, where had that thought come from? It hadn’t been her own. The creature was already gone though. Her heart felt heavy as if experiencing a loss, which she found strange. 

                *******************

Drake

    They had been watching Clarion for two years now, ever since the news of the deaths of the Baron and Baroness of Clarion, along with their daughter had reached the Myst Mountains. Darwin had gone into mourning over his precious Oceana and her daughter. Drake had been angry and wanted revenge for her death, he and his younger brothers had been close to her, and thought of her as a sister. Darwin then had come out of mourning, when he had heard a call, one he never thought would come. He had felt Kala's essence, somehow she was still alive. Drake and his brothers were then sent to Clarion, with strict instructions. They were to watch Clarion for however long it took, to keep an eye out for any signs of the heiress and if she was in any trouble. 

    By the time, they had arrived, Cecil’s brother had already moved in, and getting into the village alone was impossible. The people were scared, and despite knowing who they were, they were afraid of what their new Baron would do to them. So instead, they took up residence in the forest that looked over Clarion, and watched from afar. The villagers had shown their welcome by sending the odd cow into the forest as peace offering. Drake also felt they did this out of guilt, as they couldn’t help them by giving them shelter. Drake and his brothers, Kargeth, Thorne and Tolan didn’t hold a grudge against them. 

    Drake could have done without this mission, humans were not his favorite species to interact with. He found them pompous and arrogant, humans had no idea how to live with the land they lived on. They killed everything around them, including themselves with their petty wars. The only human he ever tolerated was now dead. The only reason he was here, was because this would be his chance to get his revenge for Oceana's death. He just had to find her murderer. 

    While he found it pleasant to have to live in a forest, rather than the village it was grueling to have to watch from afar, waiting for something to give them a sign that the heiress needed help. So, when they saw the heiress running for the forest, and getting caught, Drake knew this was their signal. He landed in a clearing in the forest, and pulled his wings in close to his body. He closed his eyes and willed himself into the shift from Dragon to human. His blue scales seemed to shimmer as they disappeared, and his four powerful legs turned into human arms and legs. He stood and went to the stack of clothing they had brought with them, to clothe their human bodies. Drake hadn’t meant for them to see him, he hadn’t even meant to go into dragon form, but he needed to see what was going on, and his senses were a hundred times better in dragon form than when he was human.  He hadn’t meant to roar when that human man had hit the heiress for a second time. He didn’t even understand why he did it. He thought back to how she had fought though, she was a true fighter that one. He wondered what kind of damage she would have done if she had a dagger in her hand. After the man who had taken her was gone, the others stayed behind to tend to the wounded. She had injured three of them, out of eight, no easy feat for one so small as her. 

    “Was that her?” Kargeth asked, excitedly. “She sure was pretty.” Drake looked at his brother, and growled. He stopped himself, when he realized what he was doing. Why was he growling at his brother? What the hell? Kargeth looked at his brother in surprise. 

    “I’m sorry, brother. I don’t know what’s come over me. And yes, that is the heiress, though it's hard to tell with all the filth she's caked in.” He said, shaking his head. He couldn’t get the image of that man hitting her, his anger started to boil up. 

    “What's our plan? The villagers won’t help us. How are we supposed to get inside the gates, let alone the fortress itself? It’s clear she needs our help.” Kargeth asked. 

    “I don’t know.” Drake said, as their two brothers, Thorne and Tolan joined them. He played the images of what he saw to his two brothers. Who each growled, they had not been close to Oceana like he and Kargeth had been, but they thought highly of her, and had sworn to help the daughter anyway they could. 

    “We are dragons, why are we trying to sneak in?” Tolan stated, matter-of-factly. Drake smiled at his brother, always the brawler, Tolan never thought about consequences, he was all about using brute force and asking questions later provided there was anyone left alive to answer them. 

    “It can get her killed.” Drake pointed out, “the usurper knows we are here. I know for a fact that detail won’t be left out, they’ll be expecting us. We need to be strategic in how we get inside and get her out.” Tolan snarled at him. 

    “I don’t think she has that much time for us to waste trying to come up with a strategic plan, brother.” 

    "Indulge me then, what do you think we should do?" Drake growled at him.