To Lure a Dragon Chapter 6, a dragon's bait fanfic

To Lure A Dragon

Chapter 6

Alys wandered through the cavern, straining her eyes in an attempt to find a familiar section of the rocked wall, ceiling, or floor. Her father always told her to make landmarks while in exploring the forest so she wouldn't get lost, so she had tried. She hadn't realized that walking through a cave was so very different from everywhere else. Selendrile did it so easily. The problem was that inside the darkness, with every surface having the same consistence, up looked like down, down looked like up, and every tunnel looked exactly like the next one. She had been stumbling around the underground caves for what seemed like hours (Selendrile was teaching her how to tell time too, only she was better at it when she could actually see the sun. They had very quickly figured out that instinctively knowing day from night was a dragon trait). Unlike some people, she didn't mind admitting it. She was hopelessly lost.

She had watched Selendrile navigate from the outside to the inner chamber with ease and a sense of direction so often that she had thought the way would be ingrained into her head. No such luck. Apparently following someone (or being carried by them) was far different from doing it on your own. When he found her, he would smirk and shake his head condescendingly before leading her to where she wanted to go. She knew what his reaction would be - this was the second time she'd gotten lost in the maze of caves this week.

The waning light of her torch sputtered, throwing shadows over the already deep and dark tunnels. Her arm was aching from holding the heavy burning wood away from her body. She didn't want to watch fire. Wouldn't do for Selendrile to find her charred, cooked body when he figured out she was missing. Dragons probably didn't eat cooked meat anyway. What a waste.

"Selendrile?" Alys called out half-heartedly. Her not-so-adept internal clock told her it was still daylight and he was still snoozing the great dragon sleep, but it had been wrong before. He wouldn't be able to save her for a few hours yet. She loathed the fact Selendrile would have to come to her rescue once again. It was like she had saved his life once and he was indebted to her to spend the rest of said life following her around and saving hers.

The torch failed to illuminate a space on the floor a few steps away from her feet. She squinted, wondering if it was a trick of light or if the floor dropped off into what could quite possibly be a deep abyss, or even a shallow hole no deeper than her ankle. She didn't have time to step closer and check, for her torch burned out, leaving a few glowing embers in the fire-darkened wood.

Should she consider going on without being able to see and hope to stumble across an entrance to the cave, so when Selendrile found her freezing outside she'd be able to say 'ha! I got out this time!' or should she stay where she was? Going back was another option, she supposed. Alys compromised with the least dangerous of the three, lowering herself to the cold ground carefully, trying not to brush the burnt-out light against herself. She knew from experience that just because a fire looked to be out, didn't mean it wasn't still burning. Alys gently blew on the torch, trying to nurse the glowing flame-eaten wood back into a light-source. Finally giving up with a trademark sigh, she hunkered down, waiting for the invaluable dragon skills her fey companion would use to find her.

"Selendrile?" She called again, trying to pace her cries. She wasn't sure if he could hear and understand her while in his true form, but she didn't want him to think she was in serious trouble. She did need to pee, but that wasn't so much a dilemma as it was bad luck. Yet anyway. Another hour of sitting against a cold slab of rock and she might change her mind. This whole thing wouldn't have happened if she was able to sleep. She still wasn't used to sleeping during the day and being awake all night, and Selendrile had assumed that it was another defect in her human body. Truth was, she wouldn't be able to sleep at night either. When she was alone, lost in her own thoughts, she thought of and mourned for her father with a single-mindedness she couldn't shake. When she finally managed to drift off to sleep, she had nightmares. Selendrile could never know about those.

"Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz," she muttered, trying to keep her mind occupied. The last thing she needed was to think of her father so close after having one of those nightmares. She had needed to be alone and get away from Selendrile for a while, but that never really worked out either. She was a mess and the only thing she could really do about it was hope for a normal night sleep for once. She never did seem to get her wish.

"Alys. A-l-y-s." That was boring. She has learned how to spell her own name almost immediately after Selendrile finished explaining the alphabet. Now, she was learning how to read the bigger words with mixed success. She figured she was doing well enough so that Selendrile didn't become impatient, but after two weeks of learning she wasn't able to pick up a book and read yet. He kept telling her it took time, but that was easy for him to say. He had picked reading up in seconds (s-e-c-o-n-d-s, another term he taught her). "Selendrile. S-e-l-l-e-n-d-r-y-l---e? I'll have to ask him," she muttered to the empty cave. The cave didn't respond, so she figured she was safe from other fey for the moment. He had warned her about gnomes, but she hadn't seen one yet.

"You'll recognize them by their red pointed hats," Selendrile had explained.

After that she kept a look-out for them. She didn't want to step on the poor things.

"Hats. H-a-t-s." Oh yeah, she was bored. "Bored. B-o-r-d." That one didn't sound right. The game was far more fun when Selendrile was around to smile if she got it accurate, or soothingly correct her when she was wrong. Alys sighed again. It was going to be a long few hours.

"12. 24. 36. 48. 60. 72. 84. 96. 108." Too easy.

"13. 26. 39. 52. 65. 78. 91. 104. 117." She wasn't sure, but she still could be adding the numbers together. She was trying to learn this multiplication thing, not how to add quicker.

"117 times 42 equals," she paused to think about it for a second, frowning as her mind tried to mentally multiply the numbers. "4914." She still wasn't sure if she was right or not. "2914 divided by 13 equals," Alys muttered. This equation took her slightly longer. It was harder to go back than forwards. That applied to life as well. If she was able to solve the problems in her life as easily as she could check if her multiplication was correct through reversing the problem and dividing, she might not be having these nightmares. "378 divided by 42 equals 9. 9 times 13 equals 117."

"Selendrile!" Alys yelled. She needed something else to occupy her time. She was going a bit stir-crazy. Maybe she could tell herself a story. "Once upon a time there was a girl named Alys, and she…" Alys broke off. That one took even less time than the other ones. She yawned. So tired. So bored. So lost. Before she knew it, her eyes fluttered closed and she fell asleep.

She was tied on the side of the mountain as bait for the dragon. Her wet dress was clinging uncomfortably to her skin and she couldn't stop shivering from the cold. Her eyes were frantically scanning the sky, looking for the winged form coming to eat her. She couldn't really see much through the tears in her eyes. It wasn't fair. She wasn't a witch, only a normal girl. Alys sniffled, not even able to wipe her running nose on her sleeve.

"Alys," a voice whispered roughly from the trees. She looked, heart leaping with hope. Her father stepped out from his hidden shelter, looking pale and haggard. He was clutching his chest as if he could alleviate his pain and exhaustion.

"Father," Alys cried out, hoping her voice didn't betray their position, but not able to keep the relief away. She would be saved now. Her father would let her out of the bonds and they could go home. No. She didn't want to see those people ever again. They could go start a new life somewhere else. Slowly, her father was moving towards her. She wanted to scream for him to hurry up, that they didn't have much time, but one look at his face stopped her from saying anything. He must have almost killed himself following the townspeople over the country-side. He hadn't looked completely healthy since his illness, but now he looked like he was knocking on death's door.

Suddenly, as he stumbled towards her, a shadow swooped down from the sky and landed behind her ailing father. The dragon had come! It opened its mouth, teeth and lips pulled back into what looked like a sardonic grin. Alys stared at the dragon. The dragon stared at her. Alys watched her father quiver and drop. As did the dragon. Quicker than she expected such a bulky creature to move, the dragon swooped his head down and devoured her father. Sharp teeth bit into flesh, and a squirt of blood splattered from her father's body and onto the hem of her dress.

Alys screamed. The golden dragon turned into the human form of a beautiful boy, obscenely sucking on his teeth as he watched her. A stream of blood trailed down his chin. He smiled.

"SELENDRILE!" Alys woke up as she screamed his name. Her breath was coming in pants. 'Just a dream,' she told herself. He hadn't killed her father. By that time, her father had been dead.

"No need to shout. I'm right here." His voice trailed across her skin. Alys shivered in disgust as if she had just walked through a cobweb and she resisted the urge to wipe her arms as if to clean them. She turned her head sharply to the side as he immerged from the shadows. He knelt beside her and smirked, just as she thought he would, as he reached out a hand to help her up.

Alys flinched, turning her head away from him. Her body tensed at the thought of him touching her. God, she couldn't get that spurt of blood out of her head. He had killed her father, just like that. No. Her father hadn't been there. He hadn't been there at all, and Selendrile had been kind.

"What's wrong," he demanded, making no more sudden moves. He was trying to alleviate her fear, like a predator might do to get close to his prey.

"Nothing," she mumbled, pushing against the wall as she stumbled to her feet. He frowned at her, his eyes searching her face. She knew he'd see how unnerved she was. Every time she had one of the nightmares, it took her a bit longer to calm down, and even longer before she could trust him again. She knew, she really did, that he hadn't done what she had seen in the dream, just as she knew by the look on his face that he knew she was lying. "A nightmare," she muttered. "That's all."

"That's all?" He repeated, lip curling in disgust. "I can smell the fear coming off you in waves. I can…" he trailed to a halt as her eyes widened and her heartbeat picked up. "Whatever it was, it wasn't real."

"I know," Alys whispered. "I'll be ok." She could tell that he thought she was lying again. "I WILL," Alys asserted. "I always am. It just takes a while."

She could see his face, the frown between his eyebrows, the way he pursed his lips when he was thinking. He had brought another torch. Maybe the change in light had been why she had awoken when she had, or maybe he had said something to her. All she knew was that the dream usually didn't end there.

"How long has this been happening?" He grabbed her arm, forcefully turning her to face him when she tried to move away.

Alys couldn't meet his eyes. "A while," she finally confessed. She didn't tell him that she had barely been sleeping. He didn't need to know that, and she had a feeling he realized it nonetheless.

"And they're…" he let go of her, trying for delicacy. "About me?"

She was tempted to lie, but then he probably already knew the answer to that too. She wasn't sure if it was dragon intuition or familiarity with her that helped him understand things without being told, but sometimes it was both a curse and a blessing. "Yes. You. My father. That hill you found us," she trailed off. "ME on."

He immediately noticed her slip of words. "Tell me about it," he gently urged.

Alys shook her head. He would think she was foolish or would get insulted by what her subconscious kept showing her. She could tell he was disappointed that she wasn't opening up to him. She did feel a bit guilty, but her need to protect herself was greater. She was still seeing him as the enemy, despite the notable difference between the dragon in her dream and the boy who was taking her hand and leading her back through the catacombs of the cave. "Can we go outside so I can pee?"

He immediately changed directions just as she had changed the topic of conversation – with a sense of relief. They both remained silent as he led them up to the surface. The journey was shorter than usual. Apparently, she had been going in the right direction before she got lost this time. That was good news. Maybe after another week or so of losing her way, she'd make it on her own. They emerged into the quiet night. There was a dull grey blanket covering the stars and moon so that the only light was from Selendrile's torch.

"I'll just…" Alys gestured over to a bush awkwardly. As she spoke, her breath turned into little foggy puffs. Great, just what she needed. Squatting behind the foliage was uncomfortable on a regular day, but now that it was getting colder out she was seriously wishing for an outhouse or something. Alys edged over to the coniferous bushes, thankful that there was still something to hide her from Selendrile's view as she did her stuff. Most of the leaves from the trees had already fallen, so twiggy little branches wouldn't serve as much of a cover. She seriously hoped Selendrile got the hint and went back into the cave. It was unnerving to pee when he was standing just a few feet away.

She got behind the covering, practically dancing as she tried to hold it in for just a few more seconds. Quickly, she tugged off her pants. After an unpleasant accident she had with falling mid-squat, she no longer tried to pee around her clothing. It was colder this way, but she didn't need Selendrile laughing at her and her urinated clothes again. Alys crouched, either the cold or embarrassment lending a blush to her face.

"I try not to eat humans, you know." Selendrile said conversationally from the other side of the bush.

Alys jerked mid-pee, somehow managing to hold the second half in. Oh my God. Who did that? She was lucky none landed on her leg. Maybe this was one of those times he wasn't aware that normal human behaviour usually dictated not to talk to someone while they were emptying their bladder, and even worse, to listen while they did it too. "Selendrile!" She shrieked. "Go away while I do this!"

"Human meat is usually pretty sparse on the bone. You're all too skinny, and don't make good meals."

"I'm peeing!"

"You stopped," he pointed out. She could almost hear the smile on his face.

"Because you started talking about how yummy humans are!" Alys popped up from behind the bush long enough to glare at him. He was looking straight towards her. She really hoped her covering was as thick as it looked, because she really didn't need him to see anything along with hearing. "Please, just go back into the cave for a second."

"I can't leave after the nightmare you just had. It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me."

Now he was worried about manners! "No one ever considered you one of those." Her bladder screamed. "I'll tell you about it if you just leave," she bribed desperately. Selendrile grinned at her wolfishly, clearly amused, but finally heeded her request and turned back into the cave.

Alys didn't even stop to watch him leaving. She finished doing what she had to, pulled her pants back up, and walked from behind the bush. Selendrile was standing closer than she expected, leaning against the side of the entrance. He was still grinning. This time, his smile didn't scare her and remind her of the dream - it only infuriated her and made her want to smile back. Yeah. He definitely knew what he was doing that whole time. "You aren't funny," she muttered.

"Oh, I'm very funny. Amusing oneself is something we learn in dragon school." He offered his arm, apparently taking his role of gentleman seriously. "And talking about school, let's go read some Beowulf."

Eugh. Beowulf. Apparently she was going to have to learn French if she wanted to read the really interesting stories. Oh well. C'est la vie.

Hey! Yay, new chapter! This almost didn't get written, as I had a final exam on Wednesday and another Thursday. A few of you asked if I was going to do a smutty chapter for this story too, and my honest answer is that if I do, it won't be until chapters and chapters and chapters later. I hope you enjoyed the update. Please review!