Cursed

2. Not Lost, Not Found-2

He looked up at Aldor as he uneasily closed the doors behind him. Rolav wore no jewels save the crown for his head, and even that wasn't forged of gold. His mustache curved along the edges of his nose, probably reassuring himself a lot more than Aldor.

“I've come to a decision.” Rolav's eyebrow's knitted together. “I can't believe this is what it's come down to, but I'm preparing several men to accompany you to the Twins. This task wasn't meant for one man alone.”

“No, this is exactly what this task was meant for. I'm not a team player, sir.” This was true. There was a reason why Jon was his only friend, well, Tempest too, now. He couldn't be a people person no matter how hard he tried—it really wasn't worth it.

“Fine.” Rolav drew a deep breath, the level of fluster rising. “Maybe not an entire b****y ‘team,’ but I won't let you go alone. That's my only term, and you're going to have to deal with it. Pick at least one person—anyone—to leave with you. I can introduce you to my commanders now.”

Aldor, slightly shocked at the idea of having to command around someone else, pressed, “Anyone?”

“Anyone.”

“You said I was a miracle, sire, but I certainly didn't do all the work. Your healers must be the best around if they brought me from the brink.” Aldor chose his words carefully. He didn't know how to speak to Rolav yet—as a “friend” or as a royal? Rolav watched him closely, eyes narrowed. “I want whoever healed me. They're obviously a very valuable asset, and I more than likely will need them to save me again.”

Rolav looked a little relieved. He stretched his arms and spoke to the guards on the other side of the chamber. “Please ask the medical staff as to whom had our guest in their care. Thank you.”

Five minutes later, the doors split apart again. Aldor turned, expecting to see a gruff veteran of some sort, and did a double-take. A young woman stepped into the chamber, strawberry blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. She was dainty but carried the air of something hardcore underneath. She walked a little clumsily, like her high-heeled slippers squished her feet too tight.

“Good morning, Father.”

“Hello, sweetheart. Aldor, this is my daughter, Kiera.”

When she smiled at him, the world spun. Aldor blinked several times, crossing his fingers behind his back that he wouldn't say anything too stupid. Keira surveyed him with a smile kind enough to not seem forced. Aldor returned it, bowing deeply.

“So nice to meet you.”

“And so nice to see you awake and walking around,” said Keira. “We've heard much about you and your father. You seem stronger than our reports described.”

“Um… Thank You.”

Keira stepped forward, probably keen not to spend any more time on him. “Father, you needed me?”

“As much as I enjoy your visits, you aren't needed, no.”

Keira raised an eyebrow. “Admiral Newton told me that you asked for me literally a couple minutes ago.”

“No, he— I… Oh.” The quiet grew so loud, Aldor's cheek flushed. He couldn't say the same for Rolav— the king grew corpse-like, stretched, eyes wide.

Keira glanced at Aldor. “How's the wound?”

The minute she said that was the moment the dots connected. Aldor grinned the widest he had in ages, ignoring the king's petrified face. There was no way he was going back on his original plan, and he'd hold Rolav to it. “I'm feeling alright now, thanks. You wouldn't happen to have any experience with dragons, would you?”

“For a girl who lives right next to one, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Oh, no, no, no.” Rolav was on his feet. The king's eyes darted between Aldor and his daughter, bent on halting the inevitable.

“This creature's been a nuisance to Longford long enough. Will you come with me? Only if you want to, obviously…”

“Are you going to kill it?”

Aldor was so full of adrenaline and excitement that it pushed any sense of awkwardness away. He couldn't care less if he was out of line. He bumbled forward, “Yes, and your father warned me of it and has agreed to let me go after the creature if I have one of his own with me. Will you—”

“At the exception of my own daughter!” Rolav let himself go. A new kind of fire raged in his eyes at the prospect of losing Keira, his greatest treasure. “What kind of father do you think I am?”

“Yes, I want to go.” Forget about Rolav—he didn't have a say in this discussion anymore. Keira stepped forward, pale hands curled, jaw set. “This is something I've been waiting to do my whole life.”

Aldor couldn't help but be surprised. Before he could stop it, he blurted, “Really?”

Keira snorted. “Really. I'd be honored to go with you, Rowan-son. I did bring you back from the dead, after all.”

“NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE!” Rolav's mouth gaped open—being ignored wasn't something he was used to. “Keira, you're not going anywhere. I love you too much for this.”

“You don't get to do that. You don’t.” Keira walked crisply to her father and took his scarred hand. She interlaced his fingers with her own, and cooed, “Aldor needs my help. Again. There's no one else as experienced as I am—he owes me his life. I have to go, father—for him, for us, and for our realm.”

“At least take a few knights with you—”

“They'd be slaughtered. You know that. The dragon would hear us coming from miles away—if this is going to work, we need as little people as possible. Please, father. I won't be alone.”

Rolav's glassy eyes grew older. He rubbed his face, as though already mourning his daughter. His beard acted like a moth-eaten carpet around his blank face. His eyes found Aldor, Aldor suddenly rethinking the decision he just made. What exactly did he just do?

“Protect her.”

Only the mountains stood out on the horizon when the gates opened. The sun’s blistering waves beat down on their backs. In just minutes, Aldor was slick with sweat. The stink of the horses wafted through the air as they picked up speed. His horse's flank heaved, the way smooth and uneventful.

“So… How did you do it?”

Keira snuck a smile at him. “What? Heal you?”

“Criptos wounds aren't exactly the easiest thing to cure.”

“You're right, they're not.” She slowed enough for him to catch up to her until they rode comfortably side-by-side. This was the best conversation Aldor ever had with a girl, so he was keen on not letting it slide. “You saw how my father behaves, he's so protective that healing was the only subject I could learn for the longest time. This is a real jump for me, thank you for bringing me along. However, if I'm completely honest, you did most of the work for me.”

“What do you mean?”

His befuddlement must've shown because Keira snorted. “You came back, Aldor. When Tempest hauled you in, it looked like you were already gone. The medical staff gave up on you, but when I checked, I found a heartbeat. You'd already died, and sort of came back. I used a lot of different detoxifiers to clean you up, but you stayed alive for me.”

It was hard to think of a good response to that. “Well, thanks.”

“Don't mention it; I had fun.”

It was Aldor's turn to release a snort of incredulity. “I didn't.”

There were no forests, only ragged, bare plains extending from the city to the mountains.

The land was flat, and the grass withered. It crunched under the horses’ hooves. After a while, the city grew so small, it was only a black speck in the distance.

“Why is it all so dry?” Aldor asked, catching up to Keira.

She shrugged. “Dragon, remember?”

Ahead, the mountains rose above them. The Twins were long, their peaks angling up toward the sky. Empty ghosts of trees crooked under and over rock. The arms of the mountains were bare, the Twins meeting in the middle at a central cavern. Aldor remembered Rolav saying the dragon’s lair was right between them.

As they came closer, Aldor saw it wasn’t snow that covered the mountains. It was ash. He imagined how a whole forest must have once thrived there, only to be obliterated.

The mountains grew bigger, spawning shadows as the sun fell between their peaks.

As they grew closer, the plains transformed into rock and stone. The horses’ feet slipped as the grass turned into granite. The path became treacherous, forcing Aldor and Keira to slow down.

When Aldor looked back, he could no longer see the city. There was nothing on the moors.

The stones grew into boulders and the pebbles into rocks as the horses passed between the mountains. The stone was stained by the ashes. Coals and other burnt remains lay scattered in clumps. The debris fell from the sky like snow when the wind blew, peppered with black. It stung Aldor’s eyes, and his lungs ached as he breathed its essence. Keira led the way, expressionless.

“Watch your step. The dragon isn’t the only thing that can kill you around here.”

Aldor gulped and tried not to imagine what could be worse than a dragon.

They urged their horses to a ginger walk, looking around at any sound they heard. It was quiet. The wind blew in harsh currents, making it feel like winter again. Aldor’s nose and cheeks stung, and he tried in vain to shield his face against it.

To Keira ahead of him, he called, “How will we know when we get there?”

His voice echoed through the canyon much louder than he’d intended. Aldor clamped a hand over his mouth. Sand and granite dropped from above, creating clouds of dust.

Keira swiftly whipped around and lifted a finger. “We’ll know.”

She was right. An hour later, armor lay strewn on the ground along with arrows, broken spearheads, and swords. The most horrific thing was that the chainmail still had remains inside.

Skeletons stuck out of the armor, a dying, silent scream on their faces, breastplates painted red with bloodstains. Aldor swallowed. He had never seen anything like it. He dropped from his horse and knelt by a skeleton.

“What happened here?” He asked. He looked into the empty eye sockets of the body and extended a hand to touch the armor.

He heard Keira dismount behind him. “We must be getting close.”

She sounded neither surprised nor frightened. He could only detect a grim sadness. Aldor turned towards her, shaking his head. “Did you know about this?”

Keira frowned. “I’m sorry you have to see this, but this is a dragon. What did you expect? My father warned you of how many people it killed. Did you not believe him?”

“I believed him,” said Aldor defensively. “I just didn’t expect it to be like… this.”

“I know,” said Keira gently. “We need to move on. This way.”

She grabbed ahold of her horse’s reins and led it toward the hill. They disappeared behind a curtain of falling ash. Aldor did the same and led his steed behind him, trudging through the ash-slopes.

A swallowing cavern was built into the heart of the Twins, exactly where the mountains met. Aldor shuddered when he looked in and saw only blackness. “Now what?”

“Now,” said Keira, “we go in.”

“What? NO!” Aldor protested, catching Keira’s wrist. “We need a plan.”

Keira snorted and shook her hand free. “Plans are for cowards. If you’re going to survive in the real world, you’re going to have to be spontaneous.”

Their voices bounced off the mountains and rang in their ears. Then, the ground shook.

The stone vibrated. Aldor bent and extended his arms to keep from falling. The dust on the cavern roof slipped and fell from above, hitting the ground with small crunches.

Then came silence. Aldor drew his weapon and lifted a finger to his lips. Something large was coming toward them. And it was coming from inside of the cave.

Aldor’s stomach plunged. He hardly dared to breathe. Keira gave him a fleeting look of panic, but Aldor motioned for her to stay. The wind howled, blowing dust and sand off the skeletons and corpses.

Then came the roar. Hot air escaped the cave, blistering Aldor’s face. He still couldn’t see anything. Ash billowed up in clouds, suffocating them. Aldor was knocked backward. His heart thundered as his whole body exploded when he hit the stone, hard.

His hands trembled as he picked up his sword and struggled to his feet. He looked up, eyes teary from the ash. Keira didn’t move. She held her ground, her gaze directed ahead.

“KEIRA!” Aldor yelled, lungs aching. A strangled fit of coughing ripped away his voice.

She didn’t seem to hear. She was transfixed on what was coming out of the cavern. The ground vibrated again from the footsteps of a gigantic beast. All speech was snatched from Aldor’s throat when he saw what was emerging from the cave.

The dragon lumbered into the open, squinting in the sunlight. Its leathery wings stretched out to their full length. Its wingspan was so large that the city of Alyeth could have rested on its back. Frills stuck out of its head, turning into spikes at the base of its neck and all the way down the spine. The dragon was covered in a thick mail sticking from its skin in a chain-linked armor. Its hide was a vivid, eco-green color—a poisonous snake.