Dragons of Chivalry 2
Chapter One: Thorn's Invention
Thorn sat alone against the wall of the cave that she was now inhabiting. Her stomach growled as she pressed her knees closer to her stomach, even though her knees were as close to her as they possibly could be with the long stick in her lap.
Thorn held her dagger tightly in her hand, which she used to carve down the stick, that she held in her other hand. At her feet lay two other carved sticks, that had been carved into two little pointed blades. Thorn sighed, trying to keep herself busy with the task she had assigned herself with.
Jacob had promised to come visit her in the cave and bring her food. Although Thorn did not know what time of day it was, she couldn't help but feel like Jacob was late.
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The sun was starting to go down, and Thorn was still sitting against the wall. She had finished carving the stick, and now it was lying at her feet. As her stomach growled, Thorn looked out of the cave exit, looking up at the sky , waiting for Jacob to come.
"Jacob..." Thorn found herself wondering out loud. "...Where are you?"
No sooner had those words left Thorn's mouth, did she finally hear flapping heading toward her cave. At first, it was faint, and then finally, it started to get closer and closer and closer. Finally, a large red dragon landed inside the cave, and Thorn found herself getting to her feet.
"Where were you?" Thorn demanded as the red dragon walked further into the cave. "I was waiting all day in this cave waiting for you to come here!"
"Whoa!" Jacob stopped walking toward her abruptly when he heard her angry words, and instead, he took a step back as Thorn finally reached him. "There's no need to be rude. Look, I'm sorry..."
"You should be..." Thorn replied. "...I'm starving. Did you bring me the food like you promised?"
"Yeah..." Jacob replied, holding out his claws, revealing a small bag made out of cloth that bundled up and tied at the ends. "...I'm sorry it's not much, but I think what'll make up for the lack of quantity is the quality of the food. I took it from the Main Hall..."
"You did?" Thorn asked, snatching the bundle from Jacob and using her free hand that was not keeping the bag from falling to untie the string that closed it. As the string fell away and the cloth fell down over Thorn's hand, therefore revealing the food, Thorn's eyes widened. Jacob had told the truth. There was not much, but what was presently in her possession looked delicious. To her, the food looked foreign and rare, even though she was sure that the dragons on the island had food like this every time that there was a special occasion.
Still, it was enough to make her mouth water.
"Yeah..." Jacob continued. "...That's the reason it took me so long to get here. See, my knighting ceremony is tomorrow morning. No one would leave me alone today. It was a miracle that I was able to snag what I could and come down here..."
When Jacob looked back up from the cave floor and looked up at Thorn, he could tell that she was too busy looking at and admiring the food that she wasn't paying attention to what he was trying to her. Sighing, Jacob called her: "Rose." He said. This got the young huntress' attention, and her head snapped up, her eyes staring attentively at him.
"Glad I have your attention..." Jacob said. "...Look, what I'm trying to tell you is that the dragons are all over me like a disease. It's because of my ceremony tomorrow. That's why I couldn't get here until now. And, uh...that's...probably why I won't be able to come here tomorrow..."
It took Thorn a moment to comprehend what Jacob was telling her, but when she finally did, her eyes widened and her lips parted. "W...What?"
The look that she was giving him felt like it was enough to break Jacob's heart, but Thorn's confused and hurt look soon changed one of anger.
"What do you mean by that?" She shouted, stomping her foot like a young child. "You promised that you would not only come here every day to bring me food, but you also promised to help me plan my escape! You promised!"
"I know, but--"
"There's no excuse, Jacob!" Thorn told him sternly. "I can't stay here forever! And you promised to help me plan my escape."
"Why can't you come up with an idea?" Jacob asked, but once again, this only got an angry response from the huntress.
"Oh, like what?" She demanded. "The only thing I can come up with is just swim away. That'll never work, Jacob. I need your help."
"Rose..." Jacob tried to say, but he stopped. There was no getting through to this girl. She had no self confidence, no real source of friendship. She was right. She needed some help. Sighing, Jacob decided on how to calm her down. "Okay..." He said. "...I won't be able to make it tomorrow. But, if you can last just one more day, I will spend all day down here with you on the next day. Deal?"
Thorn looked at Jacob, as if she was considering his offer. Finally, she answered: "But, what am I supposed to do tomorrow?"
"Ro--I don't know." Jacob told her, exasperated. Not knowing how else to answer her, he looked over her shoulder, his eyes spotting the stick and the two other carved pieces of wood. "What's that?" He asked.
At first, Thorn looked surprised, but then her eyes widened with realization, and she turned around, looking at the stick. "That's just..." She answered. "...Something I'm working on..."
"Well..." Jacob smiled, finally finding the answer. "...Work on that some more. Now, I should go..."
Jacob then turned around and started to walk toward the exit of the cave. Hearing Jacob say that he needed to go, Thorn's eyes widened, and she turned around to face the red dragon. "But..." She tried, but it was too late. Jacob spread his wings and started to flap them, lifting off of his feet and finally flying out of the cave.
Thorn watched Jacob fly away, her eyes slowly filling with loneliness. Sighing sadly, Thorn turned and walked over to the cave wall and her stick. Pulling her dagger out of her pants, Thorn knelt down and picked up the stick. Then, she sat down, starting to bring the blade of her staff toward the stick.
END CHAPTER
A/N: It's finally here! After ten days, the real first chapter has finally arrived. So...please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter.
