In The Hands of Darkness
Chapter Two
Cyn awoke in an unfamiliar place and thought for a moment that Lord Ire had put her in the dungeon again. Suddenly, she sat up and looked around, remembered what had occurred the day before and scrambled to get to her feet.
Oh, I hope Lord Ire hasn't come back in the night. That would be horrible. He'll kill me before I have a chance to blink. Oh, please make it so that Milord hasn't come home yet. I'll explain everything to Hep when I get home. Just make it so that I can get home before Milord does. Cyn stopped and blinked as she steadied herself.
Who am I asking? That doesn't make any sense. Oh well, I might as well start heading back. I hope it doesn't take me as long this time. She went to go out of the small entrance when something else occurred to her.
"My stones!" She gasped in realization. She turned back around and picked up the sash with her new treasure in it. She tied it around her waist and made sure the knot was tied tight enough that it wouldn't fall off while she was trekking back to Lord Ire's castle. She then picked up the one stone that she had slept with, curled up against the hollow of her throat.
The stone gave off a happy thrum that nearly made her drop it. She held the stone against the hollow of her throat again, a smile turning the corners of her mouth up. The stone let out another happy thrum, and it seemed like it was responding to the calm, happy feeling that Cyn felt at that very moment. She held the egg out, cupping it in her hands.
"You're not a stone, are you?" She asked it. It thrummed again. "Well, I'll just have to find out what you are when we get back to Lord Ire's castle. Maybe he'll be happy that I found something like you." She held the stone against her chest as she crawled out from under the boulder-entrance. Voices reached her ears as soon as she was clear.
"Don't worry, Lady Kale, we shall find your lost daughter. She couldn't be too far off. You said that you were released in this area. You recognized the surroundings." A deep voice soothed. That voice sounded like a doneel, the way the words flowed smoothly into each other. Only the doneels that visited the castle had that much control over the way their voices sounded like.
"I can't help but worry, Dar. It's been over fifteen years since she was taken from me. Lord Ire is bound to have corrupted her mind and she probably doesn't remember me at all." A woman's voice sounded worried. This one sounded like an o'rant and it nearly shook with worry. Cyn thought that it sounded as if the woman was about to cry or had already started.
"And what about the pull of those dragon eggs that you felt earlier, my lady? Has that still not come back to you?" Another o'rant voice, only this time, it was male. And it had a different tilt in its voice, one that Cyn couldn't recognize right off the top of her head. Suddenly, what the male o'rant had said registered in Cyn's head and she looked down at the stone that she cradled.
Dragon eggs? Am I holding a dragon egg? The stone gave a responsive thrum and she nearly jumped in pleasure. A dragon egg! I found a dragon egg! I'm going to have to find books and things on the subject when I get home. Surely Hep will know what to tell Lord Ire about me finding a catch of dragon eggs! She spun in a circle, pleased with herself. A high-pitched shriek filled the air. Her golden gaze snapped up to look above her. A purple minor dragon was sitting in the branches of the tree, calling a warning. A whole other group of minor dragons, all different colors, filled the tress, calling warnings.
"Someone's in the woods around us! The dragons have found someone!" The woman o'rant's cry came closer as she surged forward to see what the dragons were calling about. Cyn bit back a frightened cry that sprang to her lips and took off running as fast as her bare feet would take her. She ran in the direction that she had come from yesterday, or at least that's what she thought. She'd been so focused on trying to turn around that she hadn't looked for any land marks that could tell her where she was or in what direction she was going.
Footsteps followed behind her, but she was faster. She pushed through the trees and overgrown plants around her, running straight for the place she felt safe from intruders like this. Lord Ire would protect her if the bisonbecks and schoergs didn't do their jobs first.
"Wait, stop! We're not here to harm you! I promise!" The doneel called to her from much farther behind. Cyn couldn't stop her feet to listen. Her blood pumped in her veins and her egg thrummed soothingly to try and calm her down. The minor dragons that she had seen before flew around her, calling at her. Her eyes widened as she realized what they were saying.
So I'm supposed to slow down so that they can just talk to me? Then I can go free? Are you sure? Well, I read that a dragon knows best, so I guess I'll listen to you, but if these people turn out to be my enemies, I'm running again. And you can't have my eggs, I found them, so their mine to take care of! After getting reassurances that her eggs would not be taken from her, she still couldn't stop herself from running.
A red minor dragon swooped down in front of her and blew fire out of his mouth, coming straight towards her. Cyn let out an ear-piercing scream and lost her footing. She tripped over a root and fell straight to the forest floor on her backside. She cringed against a tree, clenching her eyes shut. The egg let out another soothing thrum, though she still trembled in fear.
"All right, what happened here?" The male o'rant asked in a stern voice. Small, high-pitched chirrs and whirrs answered his question.
"Crispin was trying not to let the girl get away and he blew fire at her! Oh, Crispin, that's not how we do things! Apologize right now." The o'rant woman answered the man, understanding the mutterings of the dragons. Claws landed on Cyn's shoulder and a small, scaly head rubbed against her chin. She opened her eyes to see the little red minor dragon rubbing against her apologetically. He sank down to her lap and nudged the hand that held her egg. She looked at the little dragon curiously.
"Can…Can I touch him?" She asked without looking at who she was asking. After a moment of silence the woman answered, "Yes, of course." Cyn reached out a curious hand and stroked the little minor dragon's head. He let out a short trill of happiness and Cyn giggled.
"He's so pretty! His name's Crispin, right?" The o'rant woman laughed, as did the man and the doneel. Cyn finally looked up at who she was speaking to and saw a short, furry doneel that had patches of black and white. He was dressed in fancy yellow clothes that made Cyn's eyes hurt just looking at him. The o'rant man had black hair and bright blue eyes. And his hair covered the tops of his ears, but since he had been running, they showed slightly pointed ears. Cyn's eyes widened slightly. Her ears were like that, only with less of a point. She looked at the woman.
She had short, curly hair that had an auburn color. Her eyes were hazel and had gold flecks that were visible to Cyn all the way over here. She kneeled down and Crispin jumped from Cyn's lap to her shoulder. A whole lot of minor dragons were perched either on one of the three that traveled together or the branches of the trees near them.
"What's your name, little one?" The doneel asked with the grace only a doneel could have. Cyn sealed her lips and shook her head. The doneel smiled at her and gave a courteous bow.
"How could we be so rude, my fair lady? Manners entail that one must give his own name before asking another's. My name is Sir Dar. These are my traveling companions Sir Bardon and his Lady Kale." Cyn's eyes widened and she backed against the tree, scraping painfully against her back.
"No, I know you! Milord says that you work for that evil Paladin that's going to destroy Amara! He says that you all are a scourge upon Amara and must be eliminated. And you can't have my egg! It's mine to take care of!" She yelled, clutching her egg to her chest. It let out more soothing tones.
"No, no young one. We're not evil. Paladin's not evil and we don't want to take your dragon egg." Lady Kale soothed. "How about this, we'll answer any questions that you ask truthfully?" Cyn paused as she thought it over, the egg giving encouraging thrums against her collar bone. She gave Kale a lopsided grin.
"What's the catch?"