A Damsel and Her Dragon

His blood? Or theirs? He didn't say, and she didn't ask. Both was the likely answer.

The most striking thing about the dragon was that he, like her, was entirely nude. He wore no armor or clothes, and no weapons were strapped to his hip. His skin appeared to be natural armor, the crimson scales providing thicker skin than her soft human flesh.

The guards, at last, noticed their unexpected guest. Shouts rang out, loud in the close quarters of the cellar, and they drew their swords. She cringed, clasping her hands over her ears, cowering away from the knights and the dragon both. The men seemed to move slowly, though, at least in comparison to the dragon-man who lunged across the dark, dim basement, his black talons sweeping like daggers towards the startled knights. One man fell quickly with a cry of pain, the wicked talons finding an artery through a crack in the man's metal armor. His blood spewed onto the dirt cellar floor, quickly creating a thick, black pool of mud.

"Don't rush him!" Derrin's voice broke through the mod, and again Yasmine was reminded that he seemed to be the leader of the expedition. He was the one to watch for, the true enemy. "He's not the same; he's different. We need to be careful."

The other men were right to be more cautious, seeing how quickly one ally fell. It took them only a moment to realize they were fighting against a creature more beast than man, whose natural skin seemed equivalent to that of a suit of armor. The dragon didn't respond to Derrin's comment, but dark amber eyes narrowed fiercely. He seemed to move in front of her, placing himself in front of the guards.

Protecting her?

She didn't worry about it. The dragon and mercenaries were both pre-occupied, and that gave her an opportunity that she hadn't had before. Her eyes flitted to the drake's, and she saw that he watched her. Waiting.

He wanted her to run.

She didn't bother hesitating; the knowledge was all she needed to find her courage. He was going to help her for some reason, and she wouldn't question it now.

The men shouted as they realized that she was running, but as she moved forward, so, too, did the dragon. He surged forward, covering the ground quickly. The knights were slow in their armor, and the drake was quick with his naturally-defensive thick skin. A second man was injured before the knights could adjust, an arm missing, torn from the shoulder. He stared stupidly at the stupid for a moment before he sat down. He was dead in moments, the blood loss claiming him quickly.

It took all of Yasmine's strength to not stop and empty her stomach, but somehow, she held her composure. The attack had startled the humans, and it seemed like they'd forgotten her presence entirely. One screamed pathetically as he looked at their newly-fallen companion. Two down, four left.

The dragon had fallen into the shadows, and the knights were beginning to realize they didn't know where he was. Panicked shouts rose, and Yasmine took advantage of the chaos, clinging to the dark walls to hide her sneaking progress towards the stairs.

Erroc, of course, saw her. He moved to cut her off, a half-sword drawn in his armored fist. He was missing the chest piece to his armor, and his boots were on the wrong feet. She would have laughed, if she didn't know that his presence complicated her escape immensely.

"Derrin, the Princess!" The scarred man's shout drew the attention of the leader of the mercenaries and the dragon alike. The dragon was ruthless, and Yasmine saw only a flash of the scarred man's demise before she turned the corner on the stairs -- a clawed hand bursting through his chest with a stunned look on his ugly, leering face.

Behind him, she saw Derrin, his cruel eyes watching her. He was already turning towards the stairway, and she knew he would not be far behind. The other two men moved to cut off the dragon, which was the last thing the fleeing princess saw before she burst through the stairway entrance to reach the floor above.

Carnage greeted her.

The great hall was destroyed, as she had both hoped and feared. A corner of the building lay torn open, with rubble strewn across the ground, and dust still filtering through the thin, late-evening sun beams. Corpses lay about the great hall in various stages of destruction. Some were scorched, some torn to pieces, and still others seemed to simply be crushed. She knew that this had been what they'd heard from below, but she hardly could put this image together with the red dragon who had guarded over her for so long. If he could do this the whole time, why hadn't he?

Why had he let her live?

Footsteps pounded behind her, and she turned, witnessing the snarl of Derrin as he stormed his way out of the cellar. Screams from below indicated that the dragon was distracted by the two remaining guards. "Vile bitch," he spat, his hand reaching for her.

Run.

She did. Bare feet slipped on splattered gore as she tried to run, but she caught herself, pulling herself forward with her hands and feet. Derrin's hand closed on air as she found her balance and sprinted forward, doing her best to ignore the damage that had been done to the bodies around her. If Derrin caught her now? She dreaded to know what he would do to her. He no longer had to share her, the entire troupe in pieces around them, and somehow that was even more terrifying. She saw the fury in his eyes and knew that if she wasn't careful, he might just kill her outright for the difficulty she was giving him.

Yasmine was quicker than Derrin, and that was her only saving grace. She had slipped his grasp on the rooftop, and she did so again now, allowing her adrenaline to flush through her to urge her faster. No dragon waited at the castle's entrance as she burst through the doors, though the metal net that had been holding her remained. The scorched remains of a man lay there—the knight who had gone to check on him earlier? It seemed likely.

She didn't stop. The pounding of metal on stone informed her that the knight pursued her yet, and his rasping breaths indicated he was close. She looked around, looking for safety, anywhere she could flee. The courtyard opened before her, open and bright. There was nowhere to hide here; the furniture had long since been trashed by the dragon in one of his many fights.

The forest. It was the only option, the only place she could hope to hide until Derrin tired of the hunt and moved on, abandoning his prize. She would have to reach the woods and lose him in the thicket, then wait him out.

It was a plan. A weak plan, but a plan, and it was all she had. She angled herself in the direction of the trees, then drew on the last of her energy to try and spring across the clearing. Yas cast a daring glance over her shoulder.

And stopped.

Derrin didn't pursue her. In fact, no one did. She was entirely alone, the castle quiet, the field deserted. She stood, panting, exhausted from the frantic flight. Had the dragon caught the man, killed him before he could catch her? She stepped back towards the castle hesitantly, pale eyes desperately seeking any clue.

A horse whinnied, and she turned, too late. The stallion burst around the corner, with Derrin perched expertly on its back. A massive black destrier, Yasmine tried to outrun it, but the knight caught up her with embarrassing ease. A primal terror seemed to settle over her as she felt the massive black creature riding at her heels, and the mercenary who commanded it seemed to be mocking her. He let her run for a moment, not bothering to stop her or cut her off, enjoying the fear that seemed to at his presence. He laughed, the sound familiar and harsh, before he tired of his game.

Cold metal bit into her flesh as his hands wrapped around her forearm, hauling her onto the beast as he rode behind her. A scream ripped from her throat as she found herself lifted onto the horse, draped sideways across the man's legs. Her rear was pointed upwards, and humiliation flooded her as the knight was free with his hands, turning the beast away from the castle and towards the very trees she had been fleeing towards. He urged it into a gallop, the rough ride ceasing his groping at least, though it left her bruised as they stormed across the land.

"I bet you thought you had me there, didn't you, Princess?" Derrin's voice was quiet, or perhaps her hearing was simply muffled from the position he still had her draped in. In the confusion, a rope had been bound around her wrists, and attempting to struggle free risked placing her in the path of the galloping warhorse. "I'll punish you for all of that, I promise you."

The castle was disappearing into the distance, and with it, Yas's hope. Yas tried, screaming, "Drake! Help!" But the knight slapped her on the side of the head, hard, and she fell silent as stars swirled around her.

Caught. All of it for nothing. The dragon was nowhere to be seen, perhaps dead, and she was once again captive. This time there was no one to halt Derrin, and she thought he seemed almost excited as he rode. It had all worked out for the best for him, hadn't it?

The castle disappeared. Only trees surrounded them, and the earth that the horse pounded over. She saw nothing but the ground rushing by, and soon nausea from the motion of the animal made her clench her eyes shut so that she couldn't see that, either. Despair -- it was the first time she'd felt the bitter emotion, she that was certainly what she was feeling. Derrin had won.

The horse screamed, and Yasmine's stomach flipped over as the beast was suddenly lifted in the air. Her eyes snapped open, but the chaos of the scene was too much, and confusion seemed to reign. She saw red scales and wings, the leathery appendages flailing around them as the dragon seemed to be attempting to lift the struggling warhorse, but the wounds he had taken earlier and the sheer weight of the beast and armored man seemed to be causing him issues. He had managed to drag the horse into the air a few feet, but he'd dropped it, and the beast was struggling to regain its footing. It didn't seem hurt, merely frightened out of its mind.

The horse surged to its feet, thundering randomly into the trees as soon as it had regained its balance. It screamed relentlessly, and white froth sprang from its mouth as it wildly plunged into the undergrowth, fighting through bushes and trees and grass with little care as to what was in the way. Yasmine realized with horror that Derrin was unconscious, his head lolling limply as the beast wandered madly. A branch, perhaps, or the whipping wings of the dragon when he had been attempting to lift them. Straining her head, she saw the dragon flying over the canopy, evidently watching the horse's panicked flight as it took Yasmine along with it.

One moment the frightened horse had been running recklessly through the trees, the next second she and the beast and Derrin were all falling blindly into a ravine. Time seemed to draw to a slow as she saw the white water, the rocks, the edge of her journey.

Ice cold water bit as the exposed flesh of her nude, battered body. She was floating free now, finally having broken free of the horse and its unconscious rider. The sweeping current wiped away the blood and gore that she had stepped through and fallen in, pulling at her hair and wrenching her under the waves. The rope that Derrin had used to bind her tied her hands, but her legs were free. She pushed herself to the surface, sucked in a greedy mouthful of air, and then was pulled under. Again and again, this was repeated, until she felt her strength fading.

Of all ways to die, she was going to drown.

Hands gripped her, strong and painful and very clearly human. Yasmine would have screamed, had the water not already choked any air from her lungs and stripped any strength she had left. Derrin pulled her from the rapids and onto the back of his panicking, but still alive, horse. He looked half-drowned and furious, but calm despite the chaos of the scene they were in.

"Found you, Princess." The knight's words were said with a cold finality that made Yasmine's heart want to stop in her chest. He had indeed found her.

The stupid beast, in its frenzy to flee the dragon, had dragged them all straight into the rapids of the raging river. Only by some twist of fate had the cold water been enough to jolt the unconscious knight from his sleep—Yasmine simply wasn't sure whether those fates were cruel, or if this was their way of saving her life. Did it matter? She was safe, but she now had to find another way to escape the man who seemed so determined to possess her.

The rope she had escaped was in his white-knuckled grip, and he roughly bound her to the saddle of the horse. She didn't bother to fight, not while they still fought the current's deadly grip. It was almost a relief to have the rope's reassurance that the rapids wouldn't pull her away once more. "Don't squirm," the knight was saying, though she didn't know if he actually expected her to listen. For once, though, she did, not bothering to fight the bindings that held her bound on the horse's saddle.

From her vantage, one of the knight's armored feet twisted awkwardly to the side, clearly broken and evidently the anchor that had held him to the panicking horse. Yas realized with relief that she had some advantages over the man now. Before it had been twelve on one, here it was one on one with him being injured. Hope flared, though the light lit was dim and wavering. Her eyes tried to scan the skyline, but she saw no sign of the dragon, and the awkward angle and bobbing horse prevented her from getting any good glances at the sky.

Yas only saw bits and pieces of what the knight was doing to get the horse to the side of the rapids, her head plunging under the frigid water as the animal twisted and turned. The dousing felt like a renewed attack on her already battered and bruised body, and exhaustion made her muscles burn and ache. Only after moments stretched into minutes and the dousing failed to occur did she realize the horse had finally pulled itself onto the shores of the raging river, though it looked past exhaustion. Its legs trembled and its head hung low, snorting heavily. Blood ran down into side, and she saw distinct punctures from where the dragon had attempted to lift it into the air.

The poor creature would not be carrying them any further, of that she was quite certain.

Derrin, too, looked past the point of complete exhaustion, the man resting against a fallen log, his dark eyes closed and not bothering to watch her. She was still bound, so there was hardly any need to. The man had lost most of his armor during their plunge into the river, though he still wore the black and brown leathers that most wore underneath. He was soaked through, like herself, but she had no cloth to shield her from the evening wind, and chills were beginning to wrack her body.

The horse went to its knees, and Yasmine must have made a noise of shock or nervousness, because Derrin's eyes opened, and he looked at her. His brown gaze lingered on her, and after a moment, he finally stood.

Anxiety clawed at Yasmine's gut, and as the knight started to approach, she squirmed desperately against the bindings that held her. The rope during into her wrists, and all her wriggling seemed to do was tighten the binds and irritate the horse. The horse snorted in annoyance, but it was far too tired to try to stand again, instead rolling slightly so that it lay on her legs. Pain bloomed at the sudden weight on her body, and Yas cried out, frustrated and terrified that the universe seemed so intent to see her taken.

The man seemed to enjoy watching her struggles. Her panicked eyes saw him as he stroked the front of his leathers, and she saw that his desire strained against the wet cloth. Despite his exhaustion, it seemed as if he still intended on following through with claiming his reward. Blue eyes clenched shut, the princess falling limp in despair.

All of this, and she was still going to suffer the same fate.

The knight's hands were cold when they found her, sapped of their warmth from the river as her own body had been. It felt as if a corpse fondled her, with pruned, frigid fingers pulling on her nipples and squeezing her breasts. No desire rose in her this time, her body too exhausted to rise to the mental and physical torture inflicted on her. Now she only felt vile revulsion as she was acutely aware of his hands on her body but was unable to do anything other than feebly try to push him away. He caught her hands, amused by the attempts.

Derrin laughed at her attempts to do so. The horse had gone still, and Yas realized with horror that it had, at some point, simply shuddered and finally died. The fall from the dragon's taloned grip, the reckless flight through the trees, and the final floundering in the river had been too much for the beast. In its demise, though, it truly was a dead weight.

Yasmine didn't need to see to know what pressed against her lips. She had tasted it once before, though it had been Erroc's need that she had tasted in that dark cellar. Then, Derrin had stopped Erroc before the scarred mercenary had been able to plunder her mouth, but no such men stood around to halt Derrin, now.

The tears that had been threatening to spill finally did, trailing thin wet lines down her cheeks. She heard Derrin chuckle and felt a bead of salty desire form on the head of his member, slipping between her lips, though she pressed them tightly together to prevent herself from tasting his seed. She didn't lick at it as he knew he wanted her to, and with a grunt, he grabbed the back of her head and slammed himself into her mouth, forcing his length past her pressed lips.

Choking, it took all of Yas's strength to not gag on his girth, feeling it curve backwards down her throat and press against the roof of her mouth. Panic caused her limbs to flail, pressing against the man, the horse, the ground, whatever she could to try and wrench herself off the invasive member. The knight, though, was stronger. His fingers clenched in her pale hair and held her against the skin of his pelvis, groaning as saliva slipped down her mouth and dripped between the two of them.

Yas could feel him twitching in her mouth, and she knew that he enjoyed her agony.

The dragon, for what it was worth, was very quiet when he wanted to be. She didn't hear him approach, merely felt the massive buffeting of wind as he flared his wings, dropping down into the clearing with a bellowing roar. The earth itself seemed to heave as he landed, his immense size and weight enough to leave imprints in the dirt and grass where he'd landed.

Derrin, distracted, forgot about her. With a desperate, muffled cry, Yas bit, and felt a surge of satisfaction as she heard Derrin scream before he pulled his member out of her mouth. She tasted blood on her tongue, which she turned and spat onto the ground. A moment later a fist found her chin, but she felt no regret as the star bloomed, and blackness threatened.

The man couldn't focus on her as he wanted to, the quick, brutal hit all he could manage before the dragon charged the clearing, trying to push the knight back away form the corpse of the horse and the pinned princess. Derrin abandoned her, as the dragon and woman had both hoped, fleeing towards the woods. He had no weapon, no armor, and no mount, and it was no challenge as the crimson dragon simply ran him down. The drake pinned the man to the ground with digging claws, drawing screams of pain from the knight.

Yasmine did not hear what the dragon said to the knight before he killed him, merely saw as one second he had a head, and the next it disappeared into the dragon's gullet. Then the flickering, faceted amber eyes turned on her, still trapped under the horse, and she felt a mixture of fear and excitement lance through her. He approached slowly, like a cat hunting its prey, and she wondered whether he would simply devour her here, horse and all, or if he would truly free her.