A Dragon's Tale Ch. 14

"Hey Havorleth."

The other dragon whipped around on all fours and Ethan pointed to his feet. Havorleth looked down and saw the grenade sitting between his forelegs. His eyes went wide.

BOOM!

The dragon roared in pain. He stood up on his hind legs and looked at his arms, shock and disbelief written all over his face. Thanks to his enchanted scales, his arms hadn't been blown off, but they were a bit of a mess. The shrapnel had pierced the scales in several places and his arms were covered in blood.

He was still swinging his tail back and forth to discourage those behind him from attacking. He started to spread his wings, then winced in pain as the arrow still embedded in one of them was jarred. The larger dragon turned so he had Ethan on the one side and the others on another. He then began to slowly back away using only his hind legs.

"You're done Havorleth." Ethan said. "Give up."

"I would never shame myself by surrendering to filthy human cattle." He spat, then grimaced at the pain of moving.

"You wouldn't losing to humans; you'd be losing to a fellow dragon. Where's the shame in that?" Ethan countered, hoping to resolve this before the larger dragon realized they were out of grenades.

He glanced at the humans, then back to Ethan. "You would make me leave my hoard?"

"I would have you live." Ethan said. "But you'll live far away from here. Here is the deal: You will leave this place; you'll leave and never come back. In return, we will spare your life."

Havorleth sneered. "We?"

"I will spare your life." He corrected himself. "You still aren't losing to humans."

Just out of Havorleth's eye-line, Raklan opened his mouth to object. Serif smacked him upside the head and he remained silent.

Havorleth stared at Ethan for several seconds. He glanced toward his cave, then at his mangled arms, then back to Ethan.

A sly smile crossed his face.

"Sure, you can have my hoard..." His sly smiled turned into a wicked one and he looked almost triumphant. "...and everything that comes with it."

"Such as?"

The same wicked smile became broader. "You'll see."

Ethan felt like he had just been tricked somehow, but didn't see another way out of this tense standoff. If it was just him, maybe. But Alana was lying unconscious and helpless a dozen yards away. He wasn't willing to take risks with her so unprotected and vulnerable.

He nodded. "Then go."

Havorleth nodded, inclining his head slightly in a gesture of respect, which seemed oddly out of place given the wickedly sly smile on his face.

He then opened his wing so he could look directly at the arrow embedded in it. He started at it for almost a full minute as he seemed to be collecting himself. Then he opened his mouth and a jet of extremely concentrated flame came out. It looked more like a blowtorch than a flame thrower.

He aimed the highly concentrated flame at the arrow's shaft. About thirty seconds later, half of the arrow fell to the ground. Havorleth screwed up his face, and in one sharp motion pulled the other half out of his wing.

He howled in pain.

After collecting himself, he began to stare at his wing and Ethan could see the wound begin to close. About a minute later, it was healed and the larger dragon flapped his wings experimentally.

He turned to Ethan. "Wewill meet again, whelp." Then Havorleth leapt into the sky and flew off into the distance.

Rachel walked over to Ethan and they watched together as the dragon almost cheerfully flew away from his hoard of gold.

The redhead looked at Ethan. "Did that seem-"

"- a little too easy?" He nodded. "Yeah, it absolutely did." He stared after the dragon for several moments, then remembered...

"Alana." He breathed, and whipped around just in time to see Kendra pulling her Dragon Slayer bow back, a Dragon Slayer arrow knocked into the string. She had found the arrow...

...and It was aimed at his heart.

No one moved.

He barely breathed.

Kendra just stood there, bow drawn back and eyes filled with rage, confusion and hate, but she hadn't let the arrow fly...

Yet.

"Why?" She asked as she glanced at his shoulder, where the burn marks from where he had saved her life were still visible.

"I don't know." He replied honestly.

* * *

"How could you not know?" Kendra almost spat.

Her arms were starting to get tired from holding the bow drawn despite her strength-enhancing vambraces. If she was going to kill him, she'd need to loose the arrow soon.

The dragon shrugged.

Her arms were extremely tired.

It didn't make sense. Why in Illuminar's name would adragon that she'd tried to kill four times rescue her? It didn't make any sense. It gained nothing from doing so and put itself at great risk by the act.

So why!?

"Tell me, or this goes through your heart."

She looked into its eyes.

For the first time, she really looked at them. They were fairly typical dragon eyes; green with cat-like slits for the pupil. But that wasn't was caught her attention. She had looked many dragons in the eye before ending their lives. She seen rage, hate, disgust, disbelief, shock, and many other things in dragon eyes...

But never kindness.

Never sadness.

Never concern.

The dragon's eyes flicked to the boulder near her feet where the wood elf still lay unconscious.

"Did you hurt her?" It asked, eyes full of concern.

She could tell - she wasn't sure how - but she could tell this dragon truly cared. It was sincere in its concern. It wasn't putting on a show or bluffing. She'd learned to read people extremely well.

It really was concerned.

Kendra slowly let the bowstring back down so the bow wasn't drawn anymore, but didn't lower it.

"She's unhurt." Kendra said, but kept the un-drawn bow aimed at the dragon. "She will feel like shit for a couple hours after waking, but she'll be fine afterward."

The dragon's eyes narrowed, a different emotion replacing the concern. Something darker; something malevolent. She couldn't meet its eyes and looked away, before looking back again.

It walked up to her and stood mere feet away.

She didn't stop it.

Its head was inches from hers. She could smell its breath. She could've counted the tiny scales around its mouth. She had allowed a dragon to step into her personal space.

She hadn't stopped it.

She had let it approach.

She didn't know why, but she didn't.

She hadn't drawn her bow, warned it away, or even taken a step back. She had just stood there, unable to meet its eyes as it towered over her. It wasn't even that big, but somehow its bearing and demeanor made her feel cowed; almost like a child facing a parent after misbehaving.

"Look at me." It hissed.

She did.

"Listen." It commanded with venom behind its eyes. "I can forgive you coming after me, even after I saved your life. I can forgive all the attempts to kill me. I can even make peace with the fact that you'll probably keep trying to kill me because I won't kill you in cold blood."

She looked away, not able to meet its eyes.

"LOOK AT ME!" It boomed.

She complied.

The cold fury behind its eyes was unnerving. She had never seen such depth of emotion behind a beast's eyes before, not even a dragon's. It wasn't merely bestial rage either; this was something else. It looked almost...

Almost...

Human?

"I can deal with all that." It said, the emotion behind its eyes intensifying as its volume lowered to almost a growl. "But let me make one thingperfectly clear. If youever harm a single hair on Alana's head, I swear I'll tear you limb fromfucking limb."

It spat the words in low, quiet, and deadly tone. Not loud - that would've been more bearable - but with a conviction that was almost scary. No, scary wasn't a strong enough word.

It was truly terrifying.

Kendra nodded.

At that moment, she realized the only reason she was still alive was she hadn't hurt the wood elf. She'd seen men do incredible things under adrenaline. Something told her that even if she had put the arrow through its heart, it would've killed her before dying itself.

"Do you understand?" It hissed.

She nodded.

It growled threateningly. "Do. You. Under. Stand?"

She swallowed hard and whispered. "Yes."

"Then go!" It stretched out one of its long arms and pointed a long, clawed finger toward the forest from whence they'd come.

Kendra obeyed.

She didn't think, she just complied.

She turned and ran into the forest. She barely had the presence of mind to hang onto her last dragon slayer arrow and not drop the bow.

She just ran.

She didn't know why she was running. She didn't understand. She had never - not once in her entire life - taken orders from a dragon before. Yet today she had done so. Not once, but twice. Twice she listened to this dragon.

Why?

It didn't make any sense.

She'd had the beast dead to rights. She had the arrow knocked, the bow aimed, and her fingers primed for release. Why hadn't she killed it? That's what she'd come for; why couldn't she follow through?

Why had it saved her?

Why did it have such care and concern behind its eyes?

Why did it seem so protective of that wood elf?

She had never heard of such a thing before. Dragons weren't even protective of the women who they raped to carry their brood. But this one dragon, this one beast was different. Out of all the dragons that roamed their land, this one seemed to want to protect someone else.

Why this dragon?

Why this elf?

Most of all, she didn't understand why it had saved her life.

She couldn't wrap her mind around it.

It didn't make sense.

After all she'd done to kill it, it had saved her. It had saved her not once, but twice. The second time, it had taken dragon flames to its back to save her.

Why?

* * *

"Alana." A voice said as she felt a gently shaking

*Alana.* The voice repeated inside her head, gently nudging her mind.

She groaned. Her head felt like someone had used it for a drum.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Not so loud." She moaned as she tried to open her eyes. The light of the early morning sun viciously attacked her retinas and she slammed her eyelids shut. She clutched her stomach. It felt like a whole bowl of worms were rooting around in there.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

"I think so." She said, but it turned out that opening her mouth again was a bad idea. She had just enough time to turn before she emptied her breakfast all over the ground. Thankfully, someone - probably Ethan - grabbed her hair and held it out of the way before she did so.

"Can you heal yourself?" He asked.

She started shivering as she tried to focus her mana. It took some time, but she was finally able to start purging her body of whatever had knocked her out. It didn't work very well or quickly. It seemed to be actively resisting her attempts to cleanse it from her body.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked as she remembered why they were there in the first place.

"Everyone is fine; don't worry."

"Okay, then I'm going to lay down." She said, making sure to avoid the vomit as she did so.

"I got you." Ethan said.

She felt strong arms pick her up and she just relaxed into them, still not opening her eyes because of the brightness of the sun. She just relaxed in the arms of her beloved, knowing he would keep her safe.

Fifteen minutes later, he gently set her down on a soft patch of grass-covered earth. Even with her eyes closed, she could tell it was in the shade. He was so thoughtful.

"We're at the ladder to the Argo, so rest until you feel up to climbing it." He said.

"Okay." She nodded. The nausea had lessened and she began to concentrate on cleansing her body of the toxins. It took the better part of twenty minutes because they were so resistant to removal, but finally she had purged them enough that she felt okay again. It probably would've taken hours without magical healing.

She opened her eyes.

Ethan was standing nearby, staring into the sky.

"What happened?" She asked.

He explained everything, including Kendra's strange behavior.

"I'm glad she didn't hurt you." Alana frowned. "But that's very strange. Why would a dragon hunter..."

"I know right?" He agreed. "I'm not complaining though because she might've saved all our lives. Shooting Havorleth made a huge difference. I'm not sure we would all be alive if she hadn't."

"And she didn't hurt me, or your baby." Alana mused.

"Our baby." He corrected.

"Why do I keep doing that?" She put her hand protectively over her womb. "I loveour baby with all my heart and would never let anything happen to her. Why do I keep calling her 'yours' instead of 'ours'?"

"I don't know, but I do know you're going to be a great mother."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." He said with conviction. "There's no doubt whatsoever in my mind."

She felt her heart soar. She leapt off the ground, nearly lost her balance, and then gave him a massive hug.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." He said with a chuckle as he returned her hug.

"Me too." She let go and looked into her husband's eyes. Some part of her refused to believe she was so completely in love with a dragon, and yet she was. He gave her a lopsided grin and she couldn't help but smile in return.

"I'm so glad I married you..." She felt a familiar tingling sensation in her loins, so she added. "...sir."

"You are insatiable."

She nodded, then reached down to the hem of her dress.

"Wait." He caught her hand. "Right here?"

She looked up at the Argo and then to a nearby clutch of trees that wasprobably big enough to keep them hidden. "We can be creative."

He shook his head, and there was suddenly something of the dragon behind his eyes. "Not where anyone else might see."

"Okay." She nodded and reluctantly let go of the hem of her dress. "I suppose you should save your energy for Taloni anyway."

Ethan's eyes doubled in size. "What?"

"Well, we're going to free her now, right?"

He nodded.

"Don't you want to take your new wife to bed?" Alana asked, not understanding what he was missing.

"Oh." He said as a small burst of arousal come over their bond. "Yeah, I mean if we're going to free her then..." He looked at her. "And you're okay with this?"

She let her arousal at the idea seep over their bond. "More than okay. Just be gentle with her; it'll be her first time. The more she enjoys it the more she'll want to do it again."

Again, he looked confused. "...and that's something you want?"

"Mmm hmm." She nodded, the tingling feeling between her legs grew stronger. "I absolutely do."

"Why?"

"Um." She couldn't quite meet his eyes anymore and felt her cheeks grow rather warm. "Because?"

"Because why?"

"Um... I..." she stalled, trying to think how to avoid answering the question. "I just think that... That you..."

"Alana." Ethan used the side of his index finger to gently raise her chin so she looked him in the eye. "Why is that something you want?"

Her cheeks were definitely getting very warm, and it had nothing to do with the weather. "The Um... the idea... the thought, had occurred to me before and... I didn't, I don't exactly hate it."

"So, you don't exactly hate the idea of me having sex with another woman?" He raised an eyebrow. "I know you said before that you'd be okay with it. Heck, you even insinuated you wanted to watch. I thought you were joking though."

She bit her lip and shook her head ever so slightly.

"Well, well, well. Whatever happened to the innocent little wood elf I met a couple months ago?"

"She got married and..." She took a deep breath. "...and repeatedly impaled on your magnificent..." she turned beet red and couldn't quite get the word out. "Well, you know... sir."

"I do know." He gave her a sly smile. "You got repeatedly impaled by my cock. Go ahead, you can say it."

Alana took a moment to compose her thoughts, trying to prevent herself from turning even redder. "I got impaled by your... your..." She took another breath. "By your cock... sir."

She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe I just said that."

He put his arms around her, chuckling slightly. "Was that so hard? Especially after what we've done in bed?"

She shook her head while leaning on his chest.

"So you'd like to be there huh?"

She hesitated a moment, then nodded.

"I suppose if Taloni doesn't mind, I certainly don't." He said with a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin.

She looked up, met his eyes, and then looked down again. "Really?"

"Really, as long as she's comfortable with it." He cocked his head to one side. "If she's as squeamish as you though, it might take a little while for her to warm to the idea."

"Okay, I'm patient." She felt a strange sort of calm come over her. She hadn't realized it before, but she'd been scared to admit to Ethan how much she wanted to be there when he took his other wife to bed. She wanted it so much, she could feel herself starting to get wet. Now that she'd told him and he'd accepted it, it was like a breath of fresh air.

She relaxed, and - with the anxiety gone - felt much freer to express how she was truly feeling; what she truly wanted.

"Sir." She said with a sultry smile. "Shouldn't we get you ready for you to take your other wife to bed?"

"Absolutely." He growled slightly, the desire in his voice and in their bond was almost palpable.

She walked over to the rope ladder leading to the Argo, Ethan motioned for her to go first, and his eyes on her butt left her in no doubt as to why he wanted her to go first. She had only gotten up about ten feet when she realized he wasn't behind her.

He was looking around as if searching for something.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Whoever or whatever pushed me saved my life. I just wish I knew who or what it was." He shrugged, then stepped toward the ladder.

"Hey!" He shouted as he jumped back touching his shoulder.

"What?" Alana asked in alarm.

"Something just touched me." He looked around.

There was no one there.

* * *

Kendra ran.

She ran fleeing what had just happened as much as the dragon who'd told her to flee.

She ran until she reached her tiny airship. She jumped into it and then realized that there was nowhere left to run. This was the end of the line. A sad as it was, as pathetic as it was, this tiny little airship was the closest thing to a home she had ever had.

She sat down on the chair meant for one. She looked around at the lack of space for anyone who wasn't bound and gagged.

It felt pathetic.

She felt pathetic.

She felt her eyes grow watery and resolved to put the entire thing out of her mind. This was her lot in life; to be lonely. She'd been warned about that when she'd started her training. She hadn't grasped the full meaning, but she'd been warned. She just didn't realize it would be like this.

She felt a tear roll down her cheek.

She brushed it away.

Another tear made its way down her cheek. Then another. She looked into the big blue sky and blinked trying to clear them. They wouldn't stop. That hole in her heart - the immense void left by the absence of friends and family - it was swallowing her alive. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, trying to make the tears stop.

They wouldn't.

She barely made a sound. She just let the tears fall silently. She felt her throat get tight and her breathing became shaky. Still she didn't make a sound. There was nothing to be said.

There was one to hear her.

She was completely alone.

She slumped back and lay down, her head resting on some coiled rope that she used for a pillow. She grabbed the thick blanket she used to keep warm on cold nights and pulled it over herself. Not for the first time, she wished that she wasn't alone under that blanket.