Slay the Dragon

CHAPTER 9 - MAVE

As for what Mave had known, Harlin’s shift would end at sundown. She waited and hid behind one of the huge pillars outside of Acadrim—the one closest to Librad building. Leaning her back on the pillar, she played with her rapier, Gray Viper. It belonged to Rakim, her mentor, but he had given it to her along with the necklace. After that, Mave never fantasized about those amazing swords she had seen before. Gray Viper was the only weapon she found as perfectly suited for her.

Mave frowned as she studied her rapier. She didn’t get anything from her parents, as the fire had taken everything from her. Left with nothing, she went with Rakim, who taught her how to wield a sword. Sometimes, Mave tried to remember any kind of memory she had from her parents … but her trauma of seeing them burned alive had kept her from it. She wanted to remove the trauma and fear.

Mave believed that if she would find the truth, she’d finally learn to accept what happened and move on. The fear would go away and she would be free.

A few moments after, sundown came. Mave caught old Harlin walking out of Librad, carrying folders and documents. The old keeper guy was already inside, Mave knew. She’d spied him pass by and go inside earlier.

When the ground was clear, she sneaked into the building as quickly and silently as possible. Good thing she wore the hood of her black coat, otherwise the guards up from the towers and walls might recognize her hair.

Mave tiptoed on the hall entrance and leaned her head to search for the old keeper. Upon the front desk, piles of books rested, covering the sight of the old man—but Mave could see his hand with a pen, writing something on the document.

In quick succession, she slipped into the towering shelves of books. Librad contained over twenty bookshelves, aligned in columns and rows—and surrounded by another connecting shelf built on the wall.

Through the narrow space above one line of books, Mave spied at the red door behind the old keeper. She needed to get the man away from the desk for a short while so she could get there without being spotted.

All of a sudden, a faint laugh came from the back of the shelves. Mave almost froze in panic as the whispering voices of men came closer.

“I’ll break your faces if you two won’t shut up …”

Mave recognized the voice—Barded.

“Can’t believe a girl froze your a*s off, man …”

“She’s not a girl—she’s a witch …”

Mave quickly snatched a big book, opened it, and lowered her head as she sensed the men approaching her shelf.

“You saw those dark incantations? That’s exactly what the elders have been telling … from the other countries … they’ve been practicing it.”

“Keep it down,” the old keeper called out to them.

When Mave heard them coming from her right, she turned to her left and tried to pretend to read the book down. She bit her lower lip as her heartbeat went faster. If they would recognize her, she’d be dead. She would be expelled and taken to Sunvar City, where the Dravalon Army had been searching for her these past couple of months. Either they would throw her to jail for the accident she caused before … or lock her up inside the Monases forever.

The growing sound of hard shoes tapping on the quartz floor made her swallow hard on her throat. She pulled down her hood more to cover up her face.

As the three guys finally passed by, Mave breathed out in relief. They settled at one table after the front shelf.

Mave never wasted a second. She passed silently through the shelves like a shadow, heading towards the back corner.

Looking up, she had to take down this last bookshelf at the most cornered part. The space between the wall-shelf and the bookshelf was narrow enough for her to climb up. She rubbed her hands together and ascended, grabbing whatever she could hold on to.

A few seconds of climbing passed, and her foot mistook a step on a book.

She slipped … almost …

Good thing her grip above kept her from falling … but the book fell down and created a thumping sound.

Mave winced, holding her breath. She tried to wait for them to come, but it seemed like they didn’t hear it—so she continued her climb.

When Mave reached the middle height of the bookshelf, she turned, leaned her back on the bookshelf, and placed her feet against the shelves on the wall. Then she pushed back. The tall shelf swayed and swayed with a creaking sound of wood. It wasn’t that hard for her, so she managed to push the tall bookshelf down before she smoothly jumped to the floor.

The bookshelf slowly slammed against the one next to it, then to the next, and then to the next like dominoes—until all the shelves at the back row crashed down. Lots of books fell to the floor that instantly broke the silence of Librad.

Mave rushed towards the front shelf, waiting for the old keeper to move.

“b****y hell!” The old man stood in shock as he put down his glasses and strode towards the back. Barded and the others also followed him to see what had happened.

With her path cleared out, Mave hurried towards the front desk. She took a short glance back at the men, while taking the bronze key out of her pocket, and found them still not looking.

Calm as snow … clear as water … Mave reminded herself before she could even panic.

Praying that she got the right key, she inserted it into the doorknob.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath—then she twisted it.

It unlocked.

Mave opened the red door, sneaked through inside, and locked it.

The silence of air struck her ears as the stronger scent of books filled her nose immediately. When she turned around, only a dim hallway welcomed her. She drew deep breaths in and out before walking over the dark carpet.

The end of the hall led the way to a staircase going down. Mave could already see brightness from below as she climbed down.

When Mave reached the end of the steps, she found herself entering the Ardrad. It was narrower than Librad, but it rose into a higher ceiling along with taller shelves. All the leather-bound books had been color-coded and sorted based on specific periods of time.

“An archive?” Mave asked herself. Without wasting any second, she searched for any clue about her village.

She looked for the period from ten years ago when her village was attacked by a dragon. Following each book of each year labeled, she found the exact year. She pulled out the heavy book and opened it.

The book contained records of events and divided by the places where dragons had raided and been slain in that year—not only here in Drava, but also in places from the other countries.

“Winterrun Village …” She muttered as she slid her finger on the list of places on the first few pages. In every second that passed, she grew excited, and at the same time, nervous. “Winterrun Vill—“

“Who’s in there?” the voice of the old keeper made Mave jump in surprise. She almost dropped the book.

Mave crouched down and tried to pull herself back together; the next, she crawled through shelf after shelf. She could hear her chest pounding so loud, so fast, as if it would almost explode.

“I saw the red door shut close earlier. Show yourself!” the old man said.

Mave kneeled on the floor and searched again. “Glacia …” Her eyes widened as she found it and went on quickly through the pages.

“Winterrun Village … was found burning …” she mumbled in a whisper, reading as fast as she could. “Dragon had not been found?” her eyebrows rose. “A dragon with multiple heads had been caught in sight on the same day.”

“Surrender now! The Archon Hunters will be here soon,” the old keeper called out.

Mave couldn’t read all of it, so she ripped the page off the book, folded it, and dug it in her black boots. She closed the book … and was about to stand up when …

“Stop!”

Mave flinched for a moment. Then she turned around, meeting eyes with the old keeper behind her.

His face turned from anger into confusion. “You … you again?” he pointed at her face.

“Hello again,” she smiled nervously, dropping the book on the floor.

“What is going on in here?” A dark, familiar voice thundered from the entrance of Ardrad.

Mave muttered a curse as she saw who it was. This was indeed the end …

“Snowford! What is the meaning of this?” Stein’s face flushed in anger the moment he saw her.

***

That night, Mave already felt those eyes watching her as she headed on her way back to her bedchamber in Dormin. Words quickly spread around Ravareth, thanks to that stupid Barded and his friends.

“Pack all your things! You’ll leave for the Monases at dawn. And you’re banished! Banished from Ravareth for the rest of your life.”

Stein’s raging voice kept on striking back repeatedly at her head. This would be the end of her journey, locked up with the old women in Monases, and weave fabric until she dies of age.

“Such a disgrace to Ravareth,” one hunter said as she passed by.

“Why did she come here in the first place? She’ll never be accepted by what she is,” another hunter said.

Mave tried to hold back her feelings in front of everyone—until she reached her bedchamber, jumped in her bed, and finally release all her tears out. Was this the cost of the clue she’d been dying to find out? But why did she feel like it’s not enough? She thought knowing the truth would finally pull out that thorn from her heart … but it didn’t end up the way she expected. There were still so many questions she had in mind. But now, she had no more chance left to find the answers. That was it. That was her last chance.

Mave took the broken necklace from her pocket and kept it to her heart. “I’m tired … Rakim …” She sobbed in a silent voice—her eyes shut close while tears kept on falling down. “I’m so tired … I … I tried … but I failed you …”

Tomorrow, all those years of training with Rakim would end up wasted. They wouldn’t allow her to have any weapons or even go out of the Monases.

“I’m sorry …” Mave cried more as her hand found Gray Viper. The hilt was cold. Was it disappointed with her, too? She had sworn to herself that she would find the dragon who destroyed her life and her family. Despite her fear of fire, she still promised.

Mave pulled the stolen page out of her boot and unfolded it. The dragon who destroyed her village was no ordinary dragon, she thought. She had read before about multiple-headed dragons. They were the ones who ruled over all those beasts.

There must be a reason an all-powerful beast would burn her village and her parents alive.

If the dragon was still alive, she wanted to find it—and the truth of why that merciless beast did it. But it’s all too late for that now. She couldn’t do anything anymore …

Or could she?

“Slay the dragon …”

The last words of Rakim echoed in her head.

Mave sat up in her bed and wiped her tears. “No …” She shook her head. She could never go north.

The north of Ravareth was where the dragons had stayed. It’s too dangerous. Mave couldn’t afford to expose herself to those fire-breathing beasts.

But she had found a choice—another path aside from the Monases where she would weave forever.

“Slay the dragon …” Rakim spoke again in her mind.

Mave looked at her hands for a long time—then she rolled them into fists. Rakim wanted her to slay the dragon. Even though he knew about Mave’s greatest fear, he still believed she could do it. But he’s already gone. So Mave had to believe in her own self now.

Mave unsheathed her Gray Viper and saw her reflection on the steel blade. It all took one big breath before she finally decided. She could do it. She would rather die from a dragon’s fire than die of age inside the Monases.

No one could control her life—only her.

She would find it.

She would slay the dragon.