The Shackled Sorceress' Mate

The Runaway

Each droplet of rain is like acid in my eyes as I force myself to keep them open while I run toward the forest. My feet squelching loudly in the wet ground with every step. As the grass gets muddier, my shoes begin to sink into the wet mud. Each stride is stickier and heavier than the last, and my legs are on fire despite the rain that’s pummeling my body.

The clouds in the sky are getting thicker and darker with every passing moment. I can barely see a stone’s throw ahead of me, but I have to keep running. 

I’m never going back to that hellhole, even if it kills me.

I just have to make it to the tavern before nightfall. I’ve been skimming a little bit of coin from my father’s room for the past few months, and by now I have enough saved up that I should be able to afford to rent a room for a night or two while I figure out my next move.

My options as a girl are pretty limited, but I honestly don’t care at this point.

Squish, slop, squash. My feet sink deeper and deeper into the saturated dirt, and it’s like the mud is trying to grab on to me. To hold me back. I’m holding up my drenched skirts as I run, but the armfulls of fabric are getting heavier and heavier with the weight of the water they’re holding.

I’m sucking hard for air by the time the edge of the forest comes into view through the darkness.

Squish, squash. A few more paces and I’ll be safe from the humans. A few more paces after that and I’ll be safe from the wolves.

Go, Dru… just keep going…

I finally reach the first tree and take shelter from the rain under its branches. I press my hand into the trunk and lean forward, hanging my head low and watching the streams of water drip from the tips of my hair. Every breath feels like fire in my lungs, but I pull the air in with desperate gasps nonetheless.

I’m so close to freedom. I have no idea what it will look like, but who cares? I’ll be free.

Then, a high-pitched howl echoes from deep in the belly of the woods. The sound makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention and my blood run cold. They’re out tonight, and it sounds like they’re on the hunt. I look back toward the castle in the distance, and for a moment I wonder if it’s too late for me to go back. At least I’d survive there. 

But what kind of life is that? It’s not. It’s a living death.

So I steel myself, trying to slow my breathing enough to be able to walk through the thick foliage undetected. I force myself to ignore the blood-chilling howls in the distance and move forward. I pick up one mud-soaked foot at a time and place it down as quietly as possible. I watch carefully for dry twigs and branches that might alert the wolves to my presence. The rain has penetrated the canopy of the forest just enough that the ground is wet.

What a stroke of luck.

One soaked foot in front of the other. Just keep going.

But wait…

I stop for a moment and perk up my ears. The howls have gone quiet. As terrifying as the howls were, the dead quiet is worse. So much worse. Have they found some prey? Have they discovered me and begun to stalk me from the shadows?

My heart is racing, slamming against my ribcage so hard that it hurts. I press myself against a nearby tree, holding my hand to my mouth to try to quiet my ragged breathing. Through the silence comes the last sound I wanted to hear. 

The sound of giant paws in the ground..

My whole body is shaking from the fear and the damp cold. Every limb is trembling with nervous energy, and I can hear the heavy footsteps getting closer and closer.

I knew these wolves were huge, but these heavy paws are enough to make the earth rumble under my feet.

I hold my breath as the creature approaches, knowing that these will probably be my last breaths. So I close my eyes and say a little prayer, taking one last long, slow breath before I dare open them again.

When I do, a pair of enormous yellow eyes are staring right into mine.

My whole body freezes, paralyzed from fear. It’s not a wolf that’s looking back at me.

It’s a dragon.