Chapter Text
It was the sound of the warning bells ringing that woke you from your slumber and after dressing you hurried outside where the villagers were screaming and running in all directions in fear, falling all over each other in their panic. A glance up at the sky revealed the reason for such panic and confusion. Dragons. With two of them on the horizon and closing in fast, it was no wonder the villagers were hysterical.
Hearing the chink of armour and of swords being unsheathed, you turned to watch as a group of the kings knights raced towards the dragons. You considered drawing your own sword in aid but you were no knight and you had no desire to die today. Instead you tried to help your neighbours, many of which were to hysterical to seek shelter and many stood frozen watching the chaos unfold.
Fortunately, it seemed that neither dragon was interested in the village itself and as one stood fighting the knights and batting them away like flies, the other headed straight towards the castle sailing high over the defences and crashing straight into the north tower. You were too busy to see what the dragon was after but not ten minutes had passed when suddenly it was all over.
The village itself was unscathed and the villagers only injuries had been caused by their own hand. The knights were not so fortunate, many of whom had to be carried on stretchers to the village hospital. It was surprising that there were very few casualties, with two dragons you’d have expected more carnage, and you wondered what had brought on this attack. It had been years since the dragons that lived up on the mountains had come down to this village, despite the ongoing war between your two species.
It hadn’t always been this way. When you were a boy, dragons had been an everyday sight. The dragons had been your kingdom's allies and the king and his knights would ride the dragons into battle. It had been your dream as a child to become a knight and be a dragon rider, but then everything changed and war had broken out. The details of why were unclear, the king had said that the dragons had betrayed the kingdom but the dragons claimed the opposite had happened.
Many rumours had spread through the kingdom as to the reason for the war, some had merit, while others were completely ridiculous. Whatever the truth, the day the war had broken out you knew four things for certain; One - The queen was dead, having died giving birth to the princess. Two - The leader of the dragons was dead, killed by the king himself. Three - You would never become a dragon rider, and four - The dragons who were once cherished and revered, were now hated and feared and had returned to their homes in the mountains or had left to new lands.
No one was sure how many dragons remained in the mountains, they were rarely seen and the knights and squires that ventured up there in the hopes of bringing back a dragons head rarely returned. The lucky few that did never spoke of seeing more than one, likely the reason they had survived the trip. Taking on one dragon was stupid, taking on more was suicide. Still it seemed every month produced a new, young, foolish squire that ventured up there with the hopes of coming home to be knighted by the king for their supposed strength and bravery.
You had never become a squire, your mother did not have enough coin and no knight had been willing to accept you as their page due to a slight limp you had acquired from an accident as a young boy. Instead you had become a mercenary, a soldier available to hire for the right price. You rarely worked with a crew, finding the other local mercenaries lacking in morals. A little hypocritical perhaps but still, there were things even you were unwilling to do.
The following morning you caught sight of a group of knights making their way up to the mountains. The dragons must have really upset the king this time you thought as you watched their progress until they were out of sight. The knights returned the following day, the group half its original size and those left sporting a number of injuries. This went on for three days, until finally on the fourth, you and every other mercenary in the kingdom were called to stand in the king's banquet hall.
You stood there waiting, gazing around in discomfort. It was the first time you had ever entered the castle and you were not expecting to see mounted heads of dragons decorating the walls. You had heard rumours that the king had gone mad with both rage and grief after the death of the queen but you had never been one to put much stock in rumours. Perhaps you should of you think, cringing at the sight before you. Your fellow mercenaries seemed just as disturbed as you and you all shifted uncomfortably while waiting to discover why you had all been called there.
The king had not been seen outside of the castle for years and you are surprised to see him looking so old and haggard when he makes his entrance surrounded by guards. His voice is strong however as he welcomes you and he states that he has called you all here for an important mission. He claims his daughter, the princess, has been taken by the dragons and he asks that you all journey to the mountains to rescue her. He offers a high reward for her safe return and you listen as the men murmur amongst themselves.
It is not a job you would usually accept having no interest in taking on a dragon, however when one of the men refuses the job outright it is made clear that it is an order and not a request after all. The men gathered wisely stay quiet after that but you wonder just how many will abandon the quest once you reach the mountains. As you leave the castle, the king makes one last request, he asks that when you do find the princess, you do not look upon her. With that confusing request he leaves the hall followed by his guards.
On your journey to the mountain the men talk amongst themselves, separating naturally into groups. You end up riding alongside a crew that had just been passing through the kingdom and had no intention of actually going up the mountain. They were quiet, a stark contrast to the crew riding ahead of you, who are jovial about going up the mountain. This crew are locals and you can hear them boast to others about having faced dragons before and it being an easy job causing you to snort dubiously.
‘‘I’d heard the rumours that your king had lost his mind but I didn’t believe it until today… I’m Gadaric by the way,’’ says the half orc next to you. ‘‘And these boys are Frederic, Laodamas and Meuric,’’ he continues, pointing to each of the men as he introduces them. Nodding to each of the men, you introduce yourself.
‘‘Do you plan on going up the mountain?’’ Frederic asks you quietly.
‘‘I suppose I’ll have to if I wish to return home,’’ you reply. You do consider leaving it all behind but there is also the matter of the princess’s life. While you do not know her, you feel obliged to at least try and save her.
‘‘Good luck,’’ Gadaric says. ‘‘I’ve gone up against dragons in the past and it's never ended well.’’
‘‘Thank you. I'm hoping to avoid the dragons to be honest,’’ you reply.
‘‘That’s your best bet. Let the others cause a distraction, then sneak in, save the princess and get the hell out of there,’’ Frederic whispers.
You just nod at him in agreement. Honestly that had been your plan, you had no desire to face down a dragon. You may be skilled with a sword but you didn’t believe yourself competent enough to take down a dragon. You also had no desire to kill such a creature, you had always thought them to be magnificent and majestic, and you knew they were capable of great acts of kindness. It had been a dragon that had saved your life when you had your accident. Your whole life you had felt conflicted when you thought of the dragons, you knew they were now your peoples enemy and that you were at war with them but you couldn’t separate the new knowledge from the old feelings.
As you approach the base of the mountain, the men break off into two groups. The crew you were talking with leaves riding East towards the next kingdom and many of the other men move to follow them. You knew many of the men wouldn’t stay but you are still surprised when only eight of you remain to make your way up the mountain.
‘‘Why do you think the king asked for us not to look at the princess?’’ One of the men asks quietly.
‘‘Maybe she’s really ugly,’’ laughs another loudly. You recognise this one as a local mercenary, who’s always been a brute with no morals. He’s also the one that boasted of killing a dragon before, though you’re confident that he was talking out of his arse.
‘‘ Or … maybe the rumours about her are true,’’ says another one of the men.
‘‘What rumours?’’ asks the only non-human left amongst you.
‘‘They say she isn’t the king's daughter… that she isn’t completely human,’’ answers one of the men.
‘‘Wh-what?’’
‘‘Who says?’’
‘‘That’s all utter bull crap.’’
‘‘You’d believe anything.’’
Everyone speaks at once. Some of the men are guffawing loudly, and one pushes another. If they carry on at this rate the dragons will you hear you coming a mile off. That is assuming they don’t already know you’re here.
‘‘Everyone shut up! Do you want them to know we’re coming,’’ hisses one man, echoing your thoughts.
It’s far too late though, as just as he gets the last word out, you all hear a mighty roar and a large green dragon appears breathing fire towards the group. Everyone scatters, with some of the men ducking behind rocks, others raise their shields, draw their swords and race towards the dragon. Seeing this as an opportunity, you scan the rocks searching for an entrance to the tunnels and caves inside. Finally spotting one, you make a dash for it, reaching the entrance unscathed. None of the men follow you inside, which you’re glad of, but you do hope that the majority of them make it home in one piece.
Luckily the entrance does in fact lead to a tunnel, though it is tight and obviously not used by the dragons and you carefully squeeze your way through it. You know you are on the right track when you see the glow of firelight up ahead. Slowly, unsure of what you will find, you follow the glow, breathing slowly until you reach an opening in the tunnel. Beyond that, you find an enormous cavern and you can hear the rumbling snores of a dragon far too close for comfort.
Torches line the cave walls thankfully providing light, however you can still feel your heart pounding frantically as you search the cave for the source of the rumbling snores. You almost miss the dragon at first, your gaze skipping over him before you do a double take. He is lying fast asleep amongst his hoard of gold coins and other trinkets, the colour of him blending in to the rock like camouflage. You feel your heart skip a beat and the first word to come into your mind is beautiful.
He is magnificent and large, a grey-blue colour, with two long white curved horns upon his head. Two smaller white horns sit just beneath those, jutting out from the side of his head and on each of his four legs, he has a set of sharp white claws. His long neck, bat like wings and sharply pointed tail are tightly curled around his body while smoke billows from his nostrils as he continues snoring, your presence for now going unnoticed.
Shaking your head at your thoughts, you note that he is not one of the dragons that had attacked the kingdom, both of those had been green, and you see no sign of the princess here. Searching the large cavern for another exit, you curse internally when you see that the only other way out is directly behind the dragon and you consider your options. Do you try to get around the slumbering dragon to the opening which likely leads further into the caves and hopefully to the princess or do you go back out the way you came, not knowing what’s outside, and try to find another opening.
Deciding you’d rather face a sleeping dragon than the angry one outside, you press yourself close to the wall and cautiously inch your way along it. Every time the dragons rumbling changes in pitch, you stop holding your breath hearing your heart pounding in your ears. Just as you think that you are going to make it, the dragon suddenly snorts awake and his amber eyes open, his gaze narrowing when he sees you.
‘‘Human,’’ he growls, standing up on his four muscular legs, claws scraping over the stone.
sh*t! You did not appreciate his sheer size until he stands facing you, he’s not the largest dragon you’ve ever seen but still, he’s double your size. You raise your shield but do not draw your sword, hoping if you do not pose an immediate threat he may not kill you just yet. Eyeing the opening you wonder if you should make a dash for it but he follows your gaze and blocks the way by unfurling his wings, caging you in.
‘‘Have you come for my head or my hoard?’’ He growls snarling, lips pulling back revealing his maw full of very sharp teeth.
‘‘Neither… I came for the princess,’’ you gasp, standing frozen with your heart pounding and gaze fixed on those teeth.
‘‘Ah... You’ve come for the girl. How chivalrous,’’ he rumbles, tilting his head to get a better look at you.
‘‘Do you know where she is?’’ You ask.
‘‘Perhaps…’’ he rumbles, sitting back on his haunches and folding his wings back.
You dare not move though, as his tail trails dangerously close to your body. Alert, as if waiting for any sudden movement.
‘‘Will you tell me where she is?’’ You ask him hopefully.
‘‘What makes you think she wants to be saved?’’ He rumbles in amusem*nt, his tail twitching side to side, occasionally brushing against your legs.
‘‘Um… because she was kidnapped by a dragon?’’ You reply blinking, confused by the question.
‘‘Humans,’’ he growls in reply. ‘‘You are all the same, rushing in to save the day, assuming the worst.’’
‘‘I… Are you saying saying she doesn’t need saving?’’ You ask, shifting your weight uncomfortably. Since it appears that he has no intention of killing you, you relax a little and lower your shield.
‘‘Hmm… Would you believe me if I said yes?’’ He asks, watching your movements carefully.
‘‘I’d believe it if she told me herself,’’ you reply frowning.
He growls, tilting his head again, studying you for a moment, before rumbling, ‘‘Strange little human… engaging in conversation with the enemy… Do you not wish to see me dead?’’
‘‘No…’’ you say honestly. ‘‘Now can I speak to the princess or not?’’ You ask.
You manage to keep your voice steady, trying to sound braver than you feel but as he stands and lowers his head so that his snout is in front of your face, you can’t help but tremble wondering if he may just kill you after all. The heat that blows from his nostrils is stifling and you nervously break out in a sweat. Fortunately he just chuckles and turns towards the opening.
‘‘Follow me brave little human... and leave your sword and shield behind.’’
You watch him move, exhaling in relief as he leaves the cavern and you debate whether or not to trust him. Figuring if he was going to kill you, he would have done it already, you reluctantly drop your shield and sword, hoping you won’t regret leaving them behind and follow him through the opening which leads to another tunnel. As you quickly catch up with him, he lets out another rumbling chuckle which causes you to tremble for an entirely different reason, the sound of it vibrating through your body.
Trying to ignore it, you pay close attention to where you’re going, keeping track of all the twists and turns in the tunnel in case you need to make an escape later. Suddenly you make a turn into a tunnel which isn’t lit and as you move further along it the light from behind dies out, leaving you unable to see. You start to panic slightly, trying to see by sound but even the dragons footsteps are silent, and you stop, no longer following.
‘‘What’s wrong, why have you stopped,’’ the dragon rumbles a second later.
‘‘I can’t see,’’ you explain.
You gasp, tensing as you feel something wrap around your waist and touching it you feel the rough scales of what can only be the dragon's tail. He surprises you by tugging you towards him and you collide with the side of his body.
‘‘I forget you humans can’t see in the dark,’’ he rumbles quietly. ‘‘Just relax and let me lead the way.’’
Laying your hand on his side, you let him lead you through the tunnel, sighing when you realise that you will now be unable to get out of these tunnels on your own. Absently one hand strokes along his tail while the fingers on your other knead into the ridges on his side. You only realise what you’re doing when he rumbles out a noise which sounds strangely like a purr. You stop what you’re doing immediately, embarrassed, but fortunately the dragon doesn’t comment.
‘‘What’s your name,’’ you ask, trying to distract yourself and tired of referring to him as dragon.
‘‘Ode,’’ he rumbles in reply. ‘‘What is yours?’’
Telling him, you listen as he repeats it, before he chuckles, ‘‘I think I prefer little human.’’
Shaking your head, you walk the rest of the way in silence. It feels like you’ve been walking for miles, when eventually you see a light up ahead. Sighing in relief, your legs now sore and your limp more pronounced, you remove your hand from Ode’s side and step away slightly. You expect him to remove his tail from around your waist and you're surprised when he doesn’t, eyeing him subtly you watch as he continues you walking, not acknowledging that you have moved away or that he still has a hold of you.
The light leads into yet another tunnel, this one lined with torches, finally at the end of it is another cavern similar to the one you found Ode in, wide with high ceilings, and immediately upon entering your gaze goes to the large green dragon, who’s head swings in your direction growling. Then you notice the human standing beside the dragon and gasp.
‘‘Ode… Why have you brought a human here?’’ The distinctly female dragon growls.
You don’t hear Ode’s reply though as you’re to busy examining the only other human in the room, though perhaps human is the wrong word. She’s tall, with curved golden horns that sit above her ears, and skin that is dappled with black scales. Then you notice that she has digitigrade legs and a tail, also black, that curls behind her. You feel Ode’s tail leave your waist as you approach her slowly.
‘‘Princess Adelaide?’’ You murmur questionly.
You hear the dragon beside her growl at you and feel the heat of Ode behind you but are far to distracted looking into the eyes of the princess in front of you. It’s like looking into the eyes of a dragon and you cannot believe the rumours are true, that she is half dragon, but she nods in reply to your murmur before frowning.
‘‘You are not a knight,’’ she says.
‘‘No,’’ you agree. ‘‘And you are not what I was expecting either.’’
As the green dragon growls at you again, the princess runs her hand along her snout. ‘‘It is alright Estrild. It’s understandable that he is confused,’’ she says to the dragon before turning back to you. ‘‘Did the king send you?’’
‘‘Yes, he’s very concerned for your welfare princess.’’
‘‘I highly doubt that,’’ she snorts.
‘‘I… do not understand,’’ you murmur.
‘‘Come sit. Let me tell you a story,’’ she says, leading you over to sit by a stream that runs through the cavern. Both dragons follow behind you, and while Ode lies behind you, his head at your side, Estrild lies beside the princess laying her head over her lap. You watch this with interest, wondering just how close the two are.
Princess Adelaide then offers you a cup full of mead and you take it gratefully, sipping it slowly while you wait for the princess to get comfortable.
‘‘Hmmm... where should I start,’’ princess Adelaide mumbles, staring down at her cup.
‘‘The beginning is usually the best place princess,’’ Ode rumbles amusedly.
‘‘Thank you Ode,’’ she chuckles in reply. Then looking at you she continues, ‘‘My mother and the king were betrothed… they had no love for one another and that never changed. She was treated as a possession and while he was known for being a strong and fair king, he was not a good husband… My mother sought comfort elsewhere and found it with the Dragon leader Arthfael. They fell in love with one another but they tried to keep their relationship platonic, knowing it would be wrong for them to be together…’’ she says sighing, and then taking a drink.
‘‘One night they gave in to their desire and while they never regretted it, they swore to never let it happen again. Soon after, my mother discovered she was with child, but assumed it to be the kings, believing it impossible to be Arthfaels… When I was born, the king discovered the truth, he murdered my mother in a fit of rage and then Arthfael. It is unknown why he spared me, but he certainly did not raise me, I was kept locked in the north wing and whenever our paths crossed he treated me with derision’’ she sighs, her gaze unfocused.
‘‘How… how do you know all this?’’ You ask, stunned at her story.
Shaking her head and with her gaze focusing, she looks you in the eye. ‘‘My mother’s maid was her one true friend and confidant. She became my nanny and as I grew older I kept asking her questions about my mother, the dragons and why I was different. She eventually told me everything just recently.’’
‘‘And the dragons?’’ You ask questionly, glancing briefly at Ode and then Estrild.
The princess smiles and looks down at Estrild smiling and stroking her head, before saying, ‘‘They knew of Arthfaels love for the queen, when he was killed by the king they left for the mountains, the alliance over. They would have left it alone but the king, still mad with rage wanted every dragon to be punished… People say the king went mad after the queens death but servants in the castle would tell you he was always this way.’’
‘‘How did you come to know Estrild? And the other dragons?’’ You ask. Everything you had heard so far was interesting but it did not explain why the dragons would come for her now and how she seemed to close to Estrild.
‘‘I discovered a secret passageway out of the castle a year ago, I have been sneaking out, meeting with Estrild in secret,’’ she giggles. ‘‘They never knew I was Arthfaels child and you can imagine their surprise when I met them. I always returned to the castle though, my nanny is very much like my own mother... Then I got caught trying to sneak out one night and I was locked in my room. Estrild came for me with her brother Dew when I failed to meet her as we arranged… but I never expected it to cause all this trouble.’’
‘‘The king has sent most of his knights after you and now he’s moved on to mercenaries… He seems determined to get you back,’’ you say frowning.
‘‘He does not want anyone knowing the truth, nor does he want me to be happy,’’ she says sadly.
‘‘What will you do now?’’
‘‘Most of the dragons have already left these mountains to a land across the sea, the rest remaining are planning to leave in a matter of days and I am going with them.’’
‘‘What of the king? He’s going to keep sending men here after you,’’ you ask.
‘‘I know and I worry for the dragons if more come before we leave,’’ she says, frowning before suddenly sitting straighter with an excited look. ‘‘Will you return and report to the king that I am dead?’’ She asks hopefully.
‘‘I… You want me to lie to the king?’’ You ask, worried about the consequences of such an action.
‘‘He won’t know it is a lie. Please, ’’ she begs, and you find yourself unable to refuse especially with Estrild eyeing you like she might eat you if you do.
You spend a little more time there talking with princess Adelaide, you ask how she met Estrild and she asks what life in the village is like. Ode and Estrild mostly stay silent, only occasionally adding to the conversation. Dew, Estrild’s brother, eventually makes an appearance and you are introduced. It is evident that he was the dragon outside that took down the rest of the mercenaries and that he is most displeased to discover that you managed to evade him.
He is huge, the largest of the three, with only one eye and a broken horn. You leave soon after his arrival, feeling uncomfortable as he glares at you distrustfully. Ode escorts you, leading you back into the tunnel from which you came.
‘‘Did you injure your leg?’’ Ode asks, as he notices your limp.
‘‘No, it is an old injury. It has just been exacerbated by the journey here and by all the walking,’’ you explain.
‘‘Climb onto my back, I will carry you the rest of the way,’’ he rumbles, stopping and looking at you expectantly.
‘‘That is not necessary, I can manage,’’ you protest, though secretly you would love to ride him and feel your heart race at the prospect.
‘‘Get on,’’ he rumbles. ‘‘We will be in the dark again soon enough and you cannot see where you are walking.’’
‘‘Alright,’’ you say, withholding a grin. ‘‘You will have to help me up though.’’
He does so by wrapping his tail around your waist again and lifting you straight onto his back. You hold on tightly as he lets go and starts walking, finding it surprisingly comfortable. Now he is no longer looking at your face, you grin widely. It may not be the same as flying on a dragon but it certainly comes close.
‘‘Alright back there?’’ He rumbles questionly.
‘‘Yes, thank you Ode.’’ You reply, still grinning happily.
In the dark you stroke the scales on his back, finding them rough to the touch, while Ode rumbles a purr that seems to vibrate straight through you. The journey back to Ode’s cavern passes far quicker than you hope and you reluctantly slide down from his back when you reach the cavern and he stops laying down to aid your descent.
‘‘It is late, you should stay here for the night,’’ he rumbles.
‘‘I… well if you don’t mind, thank you,’’ you say, not liking the idea of traveling back to the village in the dark.
‘‘Not at all… it has been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of another’s company.’’
‘‘What about the other dragons?’’
‘‘We tend to keep to ourselves… Dew and Estrild are the exception. I speak to them both on occasion but we are not close,’’ he explains, and you nod accepting this, knowing that dragons are generally solitary creatures. ‘‘There is a small stream towards the back of the cavern is you wish to bathe,’’ he says, standing and leading you over to the back of the cavern.
‘‘I would, yes,’’ you say, eager to clean yourself. After the journey here and walk through the tunnels you cannot imagine that you smell particularly fresh and you wonder if it bothers him.
‘‘I will get you a cloth that you can use to clean yourself and a cloak to wear,’’ he rumbles, moving around a protruding rock which is large enough for him to almost disappear behind it.
Removing your tunic in preparation, you are bare down to the waist and debating whether to remove the rest of your clothing, when he returns, bundles of cloth clutched in his claws. He stops when he sees you, his widening as he stares at your torso. You feel a thrill run through you as he eyes you in what seems like appreciation before cautiously approaching you and pushing the bundles towards you.
‘‘I will go hunt while you bathe,’’ he rumbles, before turning and heading out of the cavern, tail scraping along the stone.
Smiling you bathe before pulling on the cloak that he has brought you. While you wait for him to return, you have a look around the cavern finding it to be even larger than you first thought, with corners that lead to more areas that contain items of his hoard. Around one corner you find bundles of fabric which have been arranged into a makeshift nest.
When he returns, you help him build a fire on which to cook the meat he’s brought back with him. He may not need it cooked but you certainly do and as you do that you ask him about his life up here in the mountains and about what his life was like before the war. You sit by his side, comfortably leaning against him as you listen to him talk feeling his chest vibrate with every breath.
You are surprised to learn that he is considered young in terms of dragons but old enough that he has already had young that are now fully grown and have since left. He has been on his own ever since, hunting and sleeping the days away except for the brief time he spent with the humans. You have many questions for him and he answers them all patiently before he loses interest in speaking about himself and instead asks that you tell him more about your life in the village and the work you do.
‘‘So you’ve never battled a dragon then?’’ He asks, as you finish telling him about your previous jobs.
‘‘No, I’ve never wanted to. A dragon saved my life when I was a boy and…’’ you say, trailing off.
‘‘And what?’’
You chuckle self consciously. ‘‘He was my first crush. Strange I know but…’’ you say, turning to look at the fire.
‘‘Not so strange,’’ he rumbles amusedly, turning your head carefully with a claw. ‘‘Surely you noticed that the princess and Estrild are more than just friends. And I… I have always found you humans beautiful… so small and delicate.’’
‘‘Ode,’’ you whisper questionly searching his eyes, as you feel him shuffle slightly, wings twitching.
‘‘Get some sleep little human, you need it for the journey back tomorrow,’’ he rumbles standing. ‘‘It is more comfortable in my nest, come.’’
You frown as you follow him to the nest you saw earlier, confused at his sudden withdrawal. Not wanting to push your luck or upset him, you settle down in the nest, finding yourself yawning. You are tired and while you would rather be engaging in more interesting actively, sleep is the next best thing.
‘‘Stay?’’ You murmur questionly, as Ode turns to leave. He eyes you for a moment before laying down next you. When you tuck yourself closer in to him and stroke along his snout, he lets out a purr and wraps his tail around you.
‘‘Good night little human,’’ he rumbles, as quietly as a dragon can, sounding just as tired as you feel.
‘‘Goodnight Ode,’’ you murmur in response.
