Hi there, I know, it's been a while. But I can give a single word that will explain all. School. Yes, school kept me away. (Not a surprise.) Anyways, I'm trying to update as fast as I can with my other stories but it's become a challange with school. But I'm not giving in. Nope, nope, nope! So, I hope you peeps like my new chapter.
Also, you will notice that the POV changes. I won't have a fancy title that says so-and-so's POV. No. If you read carefully you will notice who's pov it is.
Disclaimer!: I own nothing.
Dragon Princess
Chapter 4
It took eight days for Anzu to reach the foot of the mountains. Because of her new body she stayed away from roadways; not because she feared the people that might be chasing her, well, that was part of it. But because of her own new strength and what would happen if she had to defend herself against a mob of people.
She traveled well within the tree line until she reached Aquiis Sluice. Forging the wide, freezing waters of the river proved less difficult then she feared because of her new form. Though the cold chilled her she noted that the racing current broke over her sleek scales and passed around her without sufficient strength to drag her under.
Her clawed feet barely sunk into the river bed. What had Derek said, she was larger than most dragons . . . something like that.
When she reached the small farming town of Clemdale and all the outlying villages that huddled around the ducal holding, she relaxed, knowing that she neared the mountain. For hundreds of years her people didn't go through the mountain. She had always wondered why, well, guess now was the time to find out.
When the sun set on the eighth day after her transformation she was at the foot of the mountains. From a human's point of view the mountains would look threatening, but for a dragon, it looked like a safe place.
As she picked her way up very carefully Anzu experienced a trembling beneath her sensitive claws just before steam spouted from the vents in the earth surrounding the base of the mountain. The heat felt incredibly good, and Anzu rested her travel-weary body next to the vent, nearly sighing with pleasure when the superheated steam rolled over her, engulfing her in comforting fog.
She relaxed into the steam as she stood directly on the steam vent. Her eyes slit close and her long, forked tongue lolled over her teeth and scales.
Anzu looked around and found a group of closely grouped vents. Getting in the middle of them she laid her serpentine head on some rocks, using them as pillows and for the first time in eight days, she slept deeply and dreamlessly.
The rising sun nudged her awake and she came around reluctantly. She opened her eyes to the clear crystal world. Anzu looked down and her claw and realized she was a bit curious about how she looked. Looking for some water hole or small river she got up and looked around.
Finally after some time looking she found a good sized water hole. She looked down in the water to see a sapphire dragon staring back at her. Her eyes were a lighter shade but what stood out were her silver claws and teeth. Anzu actually liked them.
Then she remembered that a dragon had a breath weapon. She looked at a rock and made it her target. Taking in a couple deep breaths she felt something building in her chest. When she breathed out the rock disappeared in a blue mist and then reappeared.
Anzu nearly fell over in shock. The rock was now a large sapphire! On closer inspection she confirmed that it was a real sapphire. "Wow, so I can turn rocks into sapphires, I wonder, maybe I could do the same to people."
She laughed at the thought. She could see herself arranging multiple human statues, amusing herself. Anzu then looked at her wings and first word that came to mind was 'massive'.
The membrane covering her wings wasn't see-through, she had heard from men who said they faced many dragons before that you could see through the wing skin. Anzu growled, they lied then.
Those men actually had the nerve to lie in her face. She huffed and blue sparks appeared within the smoke. If she could find them again she would give them a real dragon.
Sighing, she moved on, it was better not to dwell on things of the past. She turned north and headed for the volcano. As she continued to walk on she felt herself tense with every movement of something small, like a small rock falling from its place.
It's not like she couldn't defend herself, she was a dragon now, but no matter how many times she tried to assure herself she couldn't shake this feeling off.
"Alright!" she said to herself. "I think I should go find a better place to sleep at least for now."
She looked around and spotted a cave. Anzu's eyes nearly popped out of her head. How in the world had she missed that? Oh well, right now it didn't matter, all that mattered was sleep.
With her silver claws she gripped the earth and climbed up to the cave entrance which wasn't very hard thanks to her new strength. Once she was on the cliff she looked within the entrance. She didn't see or sense anything or anyone, so maybe it was empty.
Anzu took a few steps in and waited. Nothing happened. If a creature wanted to defend its home it would have attacked her, of course, she considered the thought that if the creature wasn't as powerful as her or big like her than it probably left.
She continued to walk inside and decided to look around. Once, when she was a princess, she had always dreamed about being inside a cave and wondering what was hidden inside.
The cave and the tunnels didn't smell foul; instead it smelled like hot metal, wood smoke, and an unidentifiable but surprisingly delicious scent that caused a curly, pleasurable feeling to unfurl in her. She noticed that her body changed as she proceeded cautiously into the cave, which opened into a series of tunnels. The deeper she went, the heavier the air grew until it seemed to possess a presence, an intelligence that observed her every move. Instead of fear, she felt . . . anticipation. Her wings twitched and her scales stood out a bit from her body. She realized that she now emitted some sort of oil from beneath her scales.
"Now that, is gross, but, I might have to deal with this later in life so, I might as well get used to it. But no one says I have to enjoy it." She thought as she shook herself and focused, consciously ordering her scales to smooth back down—and was surprised when it worked. But she just about fell over in shock when she came face-to-face with a large dragon, maybe about a human, two or three, taller then her.
The dragon's scales were pure black. Two other colors were mixed in. Violet leaning a little more to crimson and a gold, yellow mix streaked down his back and ended at his tail.
But what really caught her attention was his crimson eyes. They were compelling, in a way. Of course, what else caught her attention were his teeth and claws. One might think, 'oh, the teeth aren't that scary.' Whoever would think that in this dragon's presence was an idiot. Of course you're going to be scared when the dragon had teeth and claws that are about two damn swords long!
In her mind, she knew she had screamed, but for some reason she only released a puff of blue smoke that floated in the tri-colored dragon's face and swept over him like a caress. One question . . .
What was wrong with her? She should be running, as in, the opposite direction. Instead, here she was practically purring!
"Are you seeking death, foolish fledgling?"
Just like when Anzu had talked to Derek, she didn't hear him speak, she felt his voice in her mind, and it resonated, sounding incredibly deep and darkly exciting. She couldn't understand why she remained so mesmerized by the brute but her body refused to obey her command to flee in terror. Instead attempted to answer him like she had done with Derek. She was pleased with herself when she remembered.
"I'm . . . lost. Yes, that's it, lost."
The black dragon glanced down at her, and she could almost see his raised browridge. The skepticism rolled off him.
"Do you think me dull-witted, female? Can you not feel my mark? You and the rest of your ilk are not welcome here." The dragon's mental voice lashed out at Anzu and she flinched, finally rediscovering the useful fleeing kind of fear.
"I don't know what you are talking ab-"
"Silence! I will not hear lies. Those meddling clutchmates you call kin have been sending young females just like you my way for centuries. I will not help you breed my own destruction, I will not send you back heavy with eggs so that you can raise my blood to return and defeat me. This is my territory and you are trespassing. I thought I sent a clear message last time. I will have to kill you this time to make them understand!" he snarled with such fury that it shook the volcano.
Anzu was shocked. Whoever the he was talking about she was very glad she was not a part of them. The shock gave way to outrage and anger. She had done nothing and here this stupid male was saying some offensive words to her when he knew nothing.
She bared her teeth at him, knowing that this would probably kill her but the need to fight rang through her. Anzu flung herself at him, barreling into his chest. He obviously didn't expect that so she had pushed him back quite a bit. But he got himself together quick and pushed her back.
He came at her with his two sharp horns and she met his with her silver ones. When she crashed with his her head rang for a moment before she got herself together and pushed back, digging her claws in the rock below her to try and stop her from sliding too much. But in the end she was shoved backward.
"No!" She thought. Anzu snarled and with her silver teeth she bit down on his neck. The black dragon snarled and had to tumble down with her to avoid injury. They tussled, growling, scratching, and biting until final they broke apart.
Both of them were out of breath, but his crimson eyes danced with flames. His pearl-white fangs bared, she knew that her fangs were bared as well. Anzu was about to lunge at him again when she heard a crack ring out into the air.
Silence.
Anzu knew that if one of them moved the ground would cave in, bringing one of them, or both of them, crashing to the ground. Even though she knew that this black dragon could fly, even he could not take off.
She had to try something; she could not stay here obviously. Suddenly he lunged at her, which caused her to panic, which made her move.
The ground disappeared and she fell, hitting her head on the jagged rocks below. Her last sight before she blacked out was the shadow of massive wings and long, shimmering claws descending over her.
For Atem, life was good. He enjoyed his hibernation, all five hundred years of sleeping. He toyed with the thought of migrating yet again, but after so many millennia he grew tired of changing worlds, fighting new enemies, and claiming new territory. In over four migrations, he'd never found a better territory on a better world. He faced few challenges now that the "Circle," as they called themselves, had finally ceased their endless plots to destroy him. The dragons native to this world followed the old, hag-like females with their atrophied wings and massive bodies too huge to leave their own lairs. They hated him because from the start he and his friends and brother had refused to obey them, to mate with their females and males and mingle their powerful blood with theirs in hopes of strengthening their own kind.
After centuries of defeat they'd finally given up, or so he believed until he sensed the intrusion in his territory. His awareness covered the entire mountain like a blanket, noting and dismissing the many life forms that traveled over, around, or through his lair. None threatened him or disturbed him, so he left them alone, content to simply sleep and dream-until the feeling of yet another female dragon entering his territory goaded him awake. The last female sent by the Circle returned to them eggless and relatively untouched, though her persistence forced him to physically eject her from his lair.
That had been before this latest hibernation. Resisting her proved more difficult than the previous times. He had not mated since his last migration, and he didn't know if he could resist another female's concentrated seduction.
Though, he had been shocked when he saw her height. He thought he would have to bend his neck a little bit but this time he came face-to-face with bright, light sapphire blue eyes. All of the dragons in this world were small with the exception with those who had good bloodlines and those who had grown old, but even with those he, his brother, and friends usually towered over them.
But this female was maybe two, three humans taller than her, and she looked young, so maybe she was still growing.
She flirted with him openly, responding to his scent in a typical fashion even as he struggled to resist the very feminine scent her own body instinctively released, a signal that she readied for mating. Perhaps he acted a little crueler to her because of anger, interrupted sleep, and frustrated desire. She didn't behave like the others, that was for sure.
Usually they only tried to seduce him, but she had attacked him. She was new at battle, he could tell by the way she fought with him, but she knew how to trust her instincts well enough. Had she bit down on his neck any harder, she probably would have had the chance to kill him. And when the cracking of the ground shattered their battle she froze, not daring to move.
Atem knew that when he lunged for her he was risking himself. Had the ground collapsed under him, he wouldn't even have the chance to take flight.
What made him curious was when she opened her mind to him. He could have sworn that might have done so maybe once, twice? Impossible of course, as dragons communicated telepathically from the moment they hatched.
But what really got him was when she dropped, like a rock. She should have been able to take off with the cliff edge at her advantage.
Sighing internally and cursing all females, especially meddlesome old dragons, he alighted next to her crumpled form and folded his wings. He studied her and again marveled at how much bigger she was than most females. He noticed more clearly in the light of day the glorious colors of her aura, the magic of her spirit. Her aura glittered with violets and blues, a hint of aqua green, and the sparkle of gold. He spotted no sign of the grayish taint of the controlling malice of the Circle anywhere in her aura. In fact, he observed no sign of the deep black of death in her aura either. Unlike himself, this female had never killed another dragon for any reason. Instead, she glowed with life, vitality, and innocence, and they let her come to him. They must really hate her.
She didn't stir, so he moved closer to her. If he had found her like this, or maybe curled up in a little ball he would have thought that she was a sapphire statue. All through the years he had never found another dragon like her. In their small fight he noted the blue flames that sparked off her scales. She was powerful. Her power reminded him of a sword.
At first, the sword is dull, but once taught and skill was honed, and placed in the right hands, the sword became a deadly weapon. That was what this sapphire dragon was. A sword not yet honed.
He touched her mind, wondering about her past, but he was met with an iron wall of pain, misery, and hate. Atem stumbled back in shock. For such a dragon that glowed with life and innocence, she held strong hate. For who, he didn't want to even think of their fate.
Then the female came around. Her draconic healing was erasing any remaining damage from their tussle and the fall.
"I had the most horrible dream, a black monster accused me of something stupid about this 'kin' nonsense. He even tried to kill me just because I flirted with him! How petty can a dragon get? I thought most dragons around here were proud?" she hissed to herself.
She gazed around, taking in her surroundings: jagged rocks, mountain, mountain, crumbly rock, cliff face, black dragon, mount-. Her gaze snapped back to him. She snarled at him and glared.
He snorted. "Why don't you fly, you fool?"
"I can't . . . I don't know how."
"That's impossible; don't the females of your precious Circle share the responsibility for raising and teaching the clutch?"
She snapped at him. "What nonsense do you spout black dragon? I know not of this "Circle" of which you speak. I live alone, I've always been alone."
"So you're telling me you're an orphaned egg, no one taught you anything. You cannot fly but you still managed to survive undetected through human-infested lands to my mountain? I find that hard to believe."
"Believe what you want dragon, and as I do recall, this is truly not your mountain."
Atem stiffened. Was this female about to challenge him?
"This land to belong to Mother Nature, not you." She snorted. She had a point, the mountain did belong to Mother Nature, but right now, he owned it.
"Anyways, I wasn't even going to harm you."
"Harm? I'll admit, you pose a threat, but to harm me?"
Anzu bit her tongue, he had a point. Even with her new size, she probably couldn't beat him in a real fight. "O-kay; I meant that I didn't even know you were even here, and I wasn't planning anything against you."
Atem found himself believing her, against his will. She just didn't hold any malicious prevarication in her aura. He didn't think she would even be capable of such a thing. Then he started thinking stupid thoughts and cursed himself for what he said next.
"I suppose you want me to teach you what you need to know to survive?"
"No!" The female mentally shouted and then, embarrassed, "I . . . I wouldn't want to impose, I'll just leave you alone." She turned to head back down the mountainside. Atem sighed again, spewing smoke and a few sparks.
"Stop! You can't go back that way. Humans live that way. Most of them will run from you but a few might attack. If you kill one the others will gather together and come at you in masses. Then you have to kill more and it never ends. They breed so prolifically, and despite their short lifespan they have very long memories; you will never be free of them. I will not allow you to enter the valley and cause problems for me. I have enjoyed centuries of peace and quiet and I prefer to enjoy centuries more." Once I train you and get you out of my territory, he privately thought.
"Now accept my offer to train you, or leave my territory over the mountain, not through the valley."
The female seemed to think about it. Suddenly a spark of skyfire zipped of her wings. Atem nearly chocked. Was she a storm dragon too?
He confirmed it when full-blown skyfire crackled over her wings. "Oh damn my luck. I not only run into a dragon that can produce blue flames but one can produce skyfire." Atem suffered static problems for months after his last encounter with the small but very rare and dangerous storm dragons. But storm dragons should only be able to only do skyfire, and they should be small but here was this blue dragon that had two abilities and she was just about as tall as he was.
Her mother must have been the storm dragon while her father, he didn't even want to go through the types of dragons to find out.
"Very well, I don't want to cause problems for you. I will accept your offer and I thank you for it."
"Don't thank me yet. You have a great deal to learn and I am not patient." He glowered at her for a moment, and then turned away. "We will meet back here after I have hunted. You should hunt as well."
"Hunt?" she looked at him, panic in her eyes even as her stomach growled audibly.
"Ohh, noo. How have you managed to feed yourself?"
"Um—I don't seem to need to eat very much often, I guess." She bowed her head, her claws digging grooves into the rocky dirt.
"Very well, it seems that your lessons begin now. Let's go." Atem didn't bother to take wing, knowing the female wouldn't follow. Instead, he did something he hadn't done since he was a flightless chick and prepared to hunt on the ground. He couldn't believe how badly this day was going. He'd just saddled himself with a young, nearly helpless female. How could he possibly be so unlucky?
Anzu had thought about her choice. It seemed logical, get a dragon who was no doubt older than her to teach her. It wasn't like she was going to loose anything.
Of course, unknown to her, fate had other plans for her.
Fate's a bitch, isn't she? Just like Life. LOL!
Now, as for their tussle, I must say sorry for that. That sucked for me but I'm not good with fights. :P
If you guys are wondering about what the 'Circle' is you'll find out soon. Right now, the 'Circle' in the enemies at the moment. But I'm going to put twists in. Mwa ha!
Now, as for reviews. I need 20 or 25. (Going in fives.)
Thank you for reading again, and if this chapter wasn't to your liking, I will try harder with chapter 5.
See ya and thanks again!
