The Last Princess of the Dream Dragons

Copyright 2012 Janet Mac Donald

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Chapter 1

Peeps awoke in a panic, the thunderous sounds of hooves striking against the hard ground was shaking the straw bed she had so diligently made for her best friend Marbles and herself. It was quickly becoming a loose mess on top of the loft over the stables. Marbles showed his displeasure at being awakened from his slumber by rumbling out a low begrudging hiss, as his long scaly tail flicked its annoyance as well.

Unfurling his waxy wings their full twelve feet had thrown straw and dust into the air and nearly knocked her out of the loft, but he quickly whipped his tail around her very tiny waist to save her from going over the edge. A slow curl of steam rolled from his nostrils as he flared them and Peeps couldn't help the light pained giggle that had passed her lips; the silly little dragonling wasn't old enough to make fire yet, but it didn't stop Marbles from trying. His silvery green scaly body was just as long as hers at a measly five feet, however, his tail added another six feet to him.

Peeps stood and fluttered her one good gossamer wing, her broken one hung limp and throbbing down her back; she made a motion with her finger to her lips to silence Marbles next grumbling retort. They had come looking for the healer hag but ended up getting here way too late for her to let them in. This was a border town between two kingdoms in the Cerulean Mountains, and although there were several different races living here it was mainly a human town.

"Hush silly." she whispered to the baby Dragon.

Making her way to a large crack between the barns wall boards as she heard the rattling of many small chains and what reminded her of the sharp snapping of a flag in the wind. The whining and snorting sounds of horses could also be heard, and she could make out several dozen weary, dust covered Knights on their lathered mounts as they rode past the building she hid in.

They had all looked like they rode hard for a long time to get here. Watching intently and in awe, Peeps saw them unsheathe their swords as they entered the village proper. A banner flew on a pole with the crest of a griffin fighting a unicorn; she knew they were the Sidhe Knights of The House of King Verrick.

"Oh no!" Peeps declared as the attack started.

The night erupted into sounds of steel on steel, the shrill whining of horses, the tell tale 'whoomping' sounds of magic and the blood curdling screams of the village inhabitants as the knights began to attack the once quiet township of Highgate Ridge. Peeps could make out several buildings going up in flames farther into the town. A man ran past a knight and was struck down by the nearest swordsman; he had no weapon to defend himself with, but the Knights didn't seem to care.

The animals inside the barn began to kick up a fuss to the sounds of the carnage outside adding to Marbles already agitated state, Peeps knew what the knights would do to her friend if they caught him. Climbing down out of the loft she motioned for Marbles to follow, with a rather loud thud he jumped effortlessly down onto the hay strewn ground. Marbles might be just a baby, but he was most definitely solid like a rock.

Without any hesitation, the pair made for the back of the barn where they had snuck in via two loose boards. Stealing into the half darkness of the back of the barn the two had started for the edge of the Inn beside it when three horses came snorting from between the two buildings. The horses squealed their surprise at the sight of a dragon and reared; their riders expertly reined them into control as Peeps hissed out in dragon tongue for Marbles to run.

Marbles was so much faster than she was at running, but then he had four legs, and she only had two; Peeps had never really had the strength to be fast on her feet. Her thin features were made for flight, with small delicate limbs, a tiny body frame and petite breasts; nothing about her was strong or muscular just tiny weak features. The only thing she had in abundance was her black hair that rested behind her knees. She wore a small scrape of cloth around her hips and a scarf like top covering to hide her small perky breasts from leering males.

As the two tried to run in and around several of the smaller building Peeps was painfully aware that her broken wing slapped against her back. Being tiny helped to get out of reach of the knight on horseback and even though she wasn't as graceful on her feet, she was still much more dextrous then the horses. As they were nearing the edge of the village several more knights joined the pursuit, and one started barking orders to cut the head off the dragon.

Marbles was several feet in front of her, and he swiftly banked left back into the town along a side wall, and down into its alley. Peeps hissed out a warning to Marbles to flee faster so he would not lose his head as she could hear the mounts behind her gaining rapidly. As she made for the same spot her friend disappeared down, she realized he was gone and now two knights' on horseback blocked her from following that way.

One of the knights was not a Sidhe however, but a human with the royal crest on his armour; it meant he was a royal blood relative to King Verrick. Hanging from one of his hands was the shiny webbing of a net made from the silky unbreakable strands of unicorn hair and Peeps heart leaped out of her chest as he flung the thing expertly over her.

* * * *

The order had not sat well with him, but Prince Falcore was the commander of the elite Black Knights of his brother King Verrick's army and orders from the King himself had to be followed to the letter. The Governor of the Highgate Ridge border settlement had turned his allegiance to the wrong King in a treasonous move. Falcore's brother demanded an exact punishment, destroy the town, ensure high male mortality and show no mercy.

Of course, there was the issue of bringing back the Governor of the village to be tried for his crime of treason, if he lived through the attack that is. Falcore knew the Kingdom of Hapswick would view this as an act of war...which is what his brother had wanted.

His second in command Graft had come to make a report as Falcore had finished dispatching of two men whom had foolishly tried to attack instead of run away.

"There is a dragon in the town!" his second said in a steely tone of a seasoned warrior.

"A what!" Falcore snapped looking skyward.

He had never before seen a dragon. Not many of the denizens of the Kingdom of Magoret ever had. As the most powerful creatures to have ever existed, a dragon could not only destroy the town but easily half the Kingdom if not slain.

"A baby dragon my Lord, and it's apparently in the company of an injured female Sylph." The knight was looking almost bemused by what he was saying.

"Sylph's have been extinct for several thousand years, so how is this possible!" Falcore demanded.

Then he recalled a rumor of a far off land consisting of marshes and wild woods. Stories told of an elderly sprite woman who found a Sylph child left on her doorstep...but no one had ever confirmed the tale.

"Yes my liege and I believe I did say she was injured, apparently her wing is damage, and she is unable to fly." His second told him.

"I want the Sylph...alive, kill the dragon!" He commanded him pulling the unicorn net out and ribbed his mount to follow the other man to the area they had spotted the creatures.

Spurring his horse to veer left as he saw the flicker of movement from behind a row of sheds Falcore's heart raced with excitement and fear. He rode his mount to head the thing off at the next row by taking an alley way. The scaly thing slide in around into the alley just as Falcore did, and he heard a strange hissing bark come from somewhere behind the beast, and the thing hissed a response.

Damn it two of them! Falcore thought to himself. Its yellow eyes reflecting from the light of the burning buildings as it bore toward them. It was remarkably small, not what Prince Falcore had envisioned at all, maybe eight to ten feet long from snout to tail tip and stood only two feet at the shoulder. The thing moved with very lizard like movements as it raced passed his horse at an incredible speed and vanished around the corner into the darkness behind them.

Seconds later Prince Falcore stared down at the most incredible sight he had ever seen as a tiny winged woman rounded into the alley, in the next moment she was enwrapped and struggling in his net, her attempts to escape only ensuring her capture.

"Bring her...carefully I don't want her injured any more than she is and make sure the rest of my men breathe not a word of her to His Majesty!" Falcore said as he turned his mount to chase down the dragon.

He knew all of his men were loyal to him, above even that of their King, he trusted them to do as he commanded, wanting one day to be serving as the Kings personal Guard, once Falcore overthrew his brother that is.

Falcore drove his mount into a lather as he hunted after the beast, the thing wasn't flying away, but it was impossible to follow. It managed to wheel in and around obstacles his mount could not manoeuvre around as easily. All around him thick billows of smoke rolled and red sparks raining down to the ground from the fiery blazes. The town was burning into nothingness; woman and children were screaming and crying; their husbands, fathers and sons butchered before them by his men.

There had been no mercy shown to the town as his men slaughtered every last adult male regardless of race. Although he did not agree with this massacre, he had to follow his orders, his brother was ruthless and cold, but he was also his King, it made for tense family relations. Prince Falcore reigned in his mount, they had lost the dragon; he would have to report it to his brother. The thing would need to be hunted down and killed, the discovery of the Sylph however, he planned to keep to himself.

Chapter 2

Being roughly hauled onto the back of a large black horse in front of the Sidhe knight Peeps screamed as pain tore throughout her from her injured wing. Still bound up with the magic nullifying netting there was no way for her to use any magic to escape, the situation really felt hopeless to her. The jarring motion of the animal and rider against her fragile body was enough to make her cry out for mercy; however, it fell upon uncaring ears.

They rode for hours and hours, the assault on the village seemingly complete; they were now returning to the core of Magoret, but first they needed to descend the terrain of the heavily forested mountains. The smells of the forest, horses and their sweaty riders filled her sense of smell; it made her nauseous. Peeps lay still in the arms of the Sidhe knight now as the pain had completely drained her every movement of his mount a painful reminded of her injury. Looking up at the rider she knew even if she was able to get free she wouldn't make it far.

The Sidhe kind were all so very attractive, tall, graceful, delicate features; with sinewy muscles, their slender pointed ears were reminiscent of her own much smaller ones; all of them had dark almond shaped eyes and thin eyebrows. Lethal archers, expert woodsmen as well as horsemen and swordsmen they were also extremely loyal to whomever they swore their allegiance, and by the way they seemed to regard this human, he was the one they answered to.

The man called Commander Falcore was just one horse ahead of them. He was a large human male, dark fleshed, with black knotted hair that was tied back in a piece of leather. He wore chain mail and boiled hardened leather armor as well. A long black flowing cape hung from his shoulders and there was a sword sheathed at his hip.

Painted on the chest of his black leather breast plate was an emblem of a Gryphon and a Unicorn in battle, she knew she was in so much trouble as this was none other than King Verrick's elite Black Knights, and she was at their mercy.

The troupe came to a halt near a river that flowed for many miles down into the valley still a day or two travels out of the mountain range. The men set camp for the night and as two of them guarded her, she watched from her seat on the cool leaf strewn forest floor as they built a few small fires and set up one tent with the royal emblem on it.

The horses were stripped of their tack and taken to the river to drink; some of the knights ate what looked like jerky and drank from leather pouches while others prepared their bedrolls. The one thing that every one of them did do, was stared at her, sitting on the ground entangled in the net.

Some did it blatantly while others did it coyly, but they all did it repeatedly; she knew from what her adoptive mother, the Sprite Reese had told her that she was the last of her kind. During her childhood, Peeps was a very closely guarded secret of the outland hamlet of Hester where the Sprites dwelt.

Only after mother had died three years back when Peeps was only 18 had the Elders demand she leave and take the chaotic four year old friend she had found with her. Peeps had stayed hidden from view as much as possible; no one was supposed to know she existed here, Mother had told her all the dangers that could happen to one such as herself.

For a year now the pair wandered aimlessly living a very carefree life. They lived off the land and when she needed to talk to anyone, she used her Glamours to hide her true seeming. Three nights back, however, things got hazardous as they had crossed from Hapswick into this territory. The winds in the mountains had blown her into a large tree, and she broke her wing. Healing magic Peeps had not yet learned and so unable to fly, they made their way to seek the hag to heal her.

Sitting there the cold night air began to enfold around her, and she shivered staring at the inviting glow of the small fires. She wished to be near one as she was cold now but knew she had little chance of that happening. A movement from the large tent of the Commander drew her attention, and she saw the Second In Command Graft walking toward her and her two guards.

Something shiny and metallic swung in his hand as he walked and the closer he got the more visible the delicate collar on the end of the chain became. She had seen those collars before on poor unfortunate souls caught by the Slave Merchants men and the closer he got to her, the more frantically she started to try and get free of the net still enshrouding her.

* * * *

Prince Falcore waited by the small torches that lit his tent. He could hear the feather light steps of Graft just before the fold of the tent opening revealed his trusted second. He walked in dragging the Sylph behind him, the poor thing looked utterly petrified by her experience. Desperately clawing at the slaves' collar around her throat, she whimpered and Graft smiled slightly before him.

Falcore eyes drank in the vision; the creature was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen even with the dirt and filthy clothes. The tiny little female was maybe five feet tall, although she had a curvaceousness about her body that lent to her over all sexiness. Her soft subtle skin on those sexy curves looked very inviting to his fingers and lips.

Long luscious silky black hair draped over her body in a shroud of cascading locks that glistened in the light. The big black cores to her eyes caught the torches' fire lights in them, and he could see the flames dancing back at him as she looked up at him from all fours on the ground in front of him. Her full lips trembled ever so slightly, one of her delicate gossamer wings lay limp, and he could see it was broken; the other twitched on her back.

He watched her as she backed away from him and bumped into Graft, the sheer terror in her eyes told him she knew how very bleak her situation could be.

"My Lord...your slave." Graft said as he passed over the chain.

"Please have one of the men bring me some water and a rag, oh and some clean bandages." He said as he continued to eye the trembling girl before him.

"I already ordered it done as well as some rations and a vessel of mead." Graft told him as another one of his men came to the tent flaps carrying what Graft had the foresight to have asked for. Falcore instructed him to put the food and drink beside his fur bedding.

The two left, and he was alone with his prize; her eyes had darted from him to the wash basin with water to the food and drink by the warm pile of furs he had for his sleeping comfort.

"What is your name?" He asked her kneeling down on one knee before her, and she tried to back away further without answering him.

"I won't hurt you, come here girl, so I can tend to your wing." He said gently, but she tried to stand and flee.

A yank of the chain made her cry out as he pulled her back, and she flew down directly against his leg. He hadn't realized how incredibly light she was. Her face had hit the side of his boot with a soft thud, and an umph escaped from the Sylph lips; a red welt appeared almost immediately where her face had struck.

"Please stay still girl!" he said sternly holding the chain near to her throat to give him better control.

The Sylph lay there whimpering as he carefully tended her wing and wrapped it to lay flat to her back. As he had predicted her skin was the softness of silk against his rough calloused fingers, and as he began to bath her exposed skin, she trembled and tears welled into her eyes.

"What is your name? Tell me and I will give you some food and drink." He coaxed her.

Her eyes dart again to the food and bag of mead sitting right beside his bed of furs. She looked hungry at the food but fearful at the furs.

"Yes you will be sleeping in here tonight little one, but not as my lover." He explained.

He had wanted to take her into his furs and have his way with her, but injured she would only get more hurt, and he wanted a pleasurable night with his slave not a torturous one.

"My Name is Peeps." She said with a soft angelic voice that caught him completely off guard.

The sound of her voice matched the Sirens of the Turaq seas, and he was mesmerized by the soothing sound. He desperately wanted to hear his name on the breeze of her sweet enchanting voice as he took her in his arms and carried her to heavenly ecstasy in his furs.

"Falcore...my name is Prince Falcore!" he said his voice sounding barbaric and harsh after her tender gentle ethereal voice.

* * * *

Peeps watched him as he passed her the food and mead, he wore no armor now, and he was standing there bare chested in his britches and boots; he seemed to study her every move. He was a very handsome human, his skin was a deep caramel color, and his eyes looked a lot like her own dark ones. His face was chiselled like stone, and he was clean shaved; his lips were full and glistened lightly from the firelight and oddly it aroused her.

The matted hair he had done up in a ponytail earlier was now hanging loosely over his very broad shoulders, and several scars adorned his wondrous physique. He stood more than a whole foot taller than her and there wasn't any part of him that she could see that wasn't hard well defined muscle.

When he had wrapped her wing, he showed extreme gentleness, the giant human showed tenderness as well when she cried out in pain and tried to use soothing words to calm her fears. Carefully, he took the rag and had dipped it into the cold water, and with one hand squeezed the excess out.

Very slowly he began to wipe the dirt and grime from her face, and his touch on her skin sent tiny sparks of fire coursing over her; it was a feeling she had never felt; no male had ever touched her like that before.

Her captor said he did not have intentions to take her as a lover so what did he want from her then she wondered as she studied him. Peeps didn't fully believe his intentions didn't include her being under his naked weight on top of his pile of furs because as he bathed her, his eyes took on a look of a man in need. The situation would have had her paralysed with fear, but another fear overwhelmed her.