The sun bathed the hills, giving the green grass a golden hue.

Only the faint murmur of the townspeople broke the tranquility. The village was peaceful, secure under the castle high above in the cliffs. The roads were safe, always traversed by merchants and farmers. Though today, one could not avoid but feel the slight ominous curiosity in the eyes of the people. A figure marched quickly through the streets, south. Clad in a brown hooded tunic, fearful of being seen.

And with good reason.

“Where is she?!”

Belinda gasped and looked back, not without dashing and hiding behind some crates. She clutched her chest in worry, for she saw Gregory, holding tightly the collar of a man with both hands. It was the man who had let her enter his cart, when he saw her walking alone through the night towards the small town.

“I won’t ask again; where?!” Gregory had seen the merchant in the castle, and knew he could have been the only one to help her reach the village in such a short time. It was the only possible way, for he had not seen her while chasing on horse. “Speak, or I will make sure you can’t sell any of your trinkets in this land again; neither in the kingdom of Ravenfall, I swear.”

The merchant gulped and swallowed his previous lie. He decided to admit he had aided her, not wishing to anger a soldier.

“S-sir, forgive me, I always offer a hand when possible! How was I to know she was wanted by the queen’s men?” The next question made Gregory frown, seeing a hint of resent in the man’s eyes. “She went off as soon as we got here. Is she a thief? Or-”

The man stopped, finally let go, in a harshly manner. Gregory snarled, only giving him a few words before continuing his search.

“None of your business. Now go on, dare not speak of it.”

Gregory wanted to curse him for saying such things towards the princess, but he knew better than to reveal her presence to the common folk, unguarded. So he parted away from the small curious crowd and began to march strongly through the market. His eyes fixed into every corner, every space, like a hound.

As much as he hunted, he did not find her. With one last whispered apology for the merchant’s plight, she had dashed away in the shadows of the alleys. Once she reached the end of town, she held out her small coin purse. At the edge of the small river, a ferryman only needed one small glance onto the golden coins, for him to seal his lips. She boarded the boat with other travelers, all with their own concerns.

The southern edge of town was busy, full of carts and roads… and the soldier could only keep riding through the road ahead, south, hoping to find her.

He had to find her, before she could reach Hallow peak.

She had the gem with her.

——————————–

Even under the horrible pain, he fell victim to sleep. His senses finally felt numb after hours of strain. He stopped feeling the horrible weight over his leg, even though it never went away. His eyes had not wanted to close; again and again, he kept them fixed on the towering monster just steps away. Yet, in the end, the vision of those claws and sharp irises became blurry. Adrenaline and dread fading, his tiredness took him.

When he awoke, he did so to a blinding light.

Wincing, Frederick tried to move. Only to hiss and stop his attempt at sitting up, halted by the sudden pain that shot up through his body. After raising an arm over his face and shielding himself of the glimmering sunlight, he realized that he was still pinned down, by that dammed rock.

He was still alive.

Honestly, he was confused by that fact. Before losing consciousness, he had never stopped thinking of what that dragon would do to him if he averted his gaze. Horrible things, like-

“Wait.”

Blinking, he glanced around him again. The thought of being eaten alive reminded him of what was missing. Something very obvious now that he had a clear mind: the dragon.

He was alone in the cave. Morning had come, and without the beast seated at the cave’s mouth, the sun shone over him, piercing now into the previous reigning darkness.

Afraid that by moving he would summon it, he listened carefully. Birds sang outside, something that had not happened in the presence of the monster. No heavy footsteps, and no deafening flaps of wing. It had vanished in the dawn, without making a sound loud enough to wake him.

This was his chance.

Silently, he sat up as much as possible. Wincing again, he assessed the weight on his leg, glaring at the rock. Now capable of pushing it without fear of angering the dragon, he kicked it twice. Only when he used both his hands and free leg did he manage to shift it an inch.

It was enough, maybe not for his armor to slip out from under it… but enough for his foot to escape the metallic confinement.

When he slid his leg out of his boot, he gave himself a slight cut. The rock had deformed the armor inwards. And so, he had to pressure his skin against the rough dent; the rock gave him one last parting gift, to taunt his escape.

But… he did get free.

Panting, he stood against the humid wall of the cave. He kept his injury over ground, knowing better than to lay his weight on it. Limping, he was fast to head towards the mouth of the cave, always holding on to nearby stone. Every burning step brought him closer to the light, every huffed breath allowed him to focus on getting out.

And at last, he stood at the edge of his prison. Then he knew; he knew that even if there were no chains or gates to keep him in, he could not flee.

Freezing, like ice, it was how his blood felt then. Much like the one in the veins of the beast eyeing him sharply from below. With bloody fangs, its maw held tightly the carcass of a doe, which had given its last breath seconds ago. And yet, the dragon looked like a statue; it did not seem to even breathe while it eyed him, with piercing eyes. It looked like it had been always staring his way, even while tearing into the flesh of the animal.

Frederick dared not take another step. A silent agreement was made between the two, even from so far away. The dragon slowly opened its wings, ready to leave the hills below; and he knew to retreat into his prison.

In seconds, the light that had given him hope was gone. A huge shadow began to tower into the cave, foretelling the arrival of its caster. It engulfed everything, even him.

It did not make a sound. Its claws seemed weightless as they rested onto the damp stony floor. Its movements were almost ghostly, more so when its gaze leaned closer to glare at him. Silently, it judged him, inquiring without speaking. The answer he gave were a resigned bow of head and a tired snarl while he clenched his fist.

It took a minute for the dragon to speak. He winced but did not look up when it did, not wanting to see the carcass of the doe slide down those blood stained fangs onto the floor.

“You need to feed.”

It did not even bother to acknowledge his bold attempt. Frederick chose to ignore it too, in favor of questioning what those words meant.

“What?”

The dragon startled him and made him drop on his back when it leaned even closer, raising a more stern tone. Some smoke flowed with each word, which made him cough.

“Nourish yourself, sate your hunger, or even more plainly… fill your stomach. Humans tend to eat three times a day. So, unless you are some freak for which I have wasted time hunting, eat.”

The dragon soon showed a more annoyed expression, when Frederick threw a hand over his mouth and gagged at the thought and sight of the torn carcass. It was obvious that the human was thinking about eating the flesh raw, considering the sudden paleness on his face.

“You idiot.” The dragon pointed at some dried wood it had brought before into the cave, realizing that the knight was not thinking much. “Do you believe I would force you to eat like an animal?! I’ll help myself first, for you will only lay there like a fool.”

With one swift swipe, it threw the doe onto the pile of wood. And before Frederick could back off, it breathed a blaze over it.

The knight lowered his arms and breathed out, relieved he had not been scorched. He saw the dragon use its tail to hit the fire and meat, turning most of the remaining fire into a bed of flaming coal. Almost all the meat was already cooked.

“…You cook your prey?”

The dragon’s neck snapped sharply to look at him, with an expression that was pure disbelief.

“I swear, I want nothing more than to burn your lips shut, human. We are the ones who taught you to use fire in the first place, you insignificant brainless ape.”

Frederick sat there, staring. For the first time, it was the beast who looked away uncomfortably, disliking how he showed confusion, wonder and suspicion at once.

“You… Taught us.”

“Yes. Not that you could learn much.”

Frederick scoffed, disgusted to be talked down by it.

“An animal like you, taught us.” The next daring words made the dragon’s eyes open with ire. “You are not even supposed to exist; you are extinct, a simple-”

He huffed in pain, when a claw slammed him down, pinned him. Gasping for air, he trembled under its angered gaze, eye to eye. Its outraged voice was deafening, inches away.

“Let me guess, your books say we are dead, and you thought we were just tales. Easily torn down from the sky ages ago, by brave men. Well, let me tell you, boy. I am alive, and wiser than your arrogant historians. You know nothing.” He thought it would rip him in two… but it let go slowly after a resigned resentful huff of smoke. He stayed still, while it moved away to mourn in a corner. “But I guess, you could not know any better. Winners write history.”

He dared not ask. He sighed with relief and let his head drop back, not feeling hungry at all.

Neither was the dragon.

It clenched a claw, closing its eyes and refusing to glare at him. No matter how much his words stung, he could not be blamed for them.

The days in which their words led men were gone.