Selendrile was falling towards the clearing, struggling to keep control. Glancing back, he noticed two arrows sticking in his back and wing, no doubt in his mind that they were iron tipped. With a little effort, he twisted his collapsing body toward Alys at the stake, lifting himself slightly to miss her head but break the stake she was tied to. Alys made a barely audible shriek as his tail whipped past her face. With a thunderous thud, his dragon body crashed against the hard ground.
Marlin and Lanin ran over to the fallen dragon, ready to attack. Alys let out a sigh of relief that she hadn't just been beheaded and could feel the stump behind her was just barely reaching above her tied back hands. The men were distracted with the dragon behind her, she lifted herself up to her tiptoes and pulled her hands up from her back against the broken stake. Her elbows strained and with a little hop, she managed to get her tied hands over the what was left of the stake. She stumbled forward into the sizzling stacked branches around her, struggling to get up without the use of her hands. Once up and stabilized, she searched for the men and dragon, seeing them just in front of the treeline.
Selendrile had cornered himself against a tight bunch of trees, making an escape nearly impossible but his backside was protected from attack. The wounds in his back and wing were pulsing with pain and he could feel himself slowing with every manuever he did to avoid a blow. Alys watched in horror as Lanin shot another arrow, hitting Selendrile's dragon body in his shoulder. Selendrile faltered and Marlin was about to take the opportunity to use his iron sword to stab him through the chest. Alys could never run to stop Marlin in time, but her voice could. She looked up at the darkened sky just as the last sliver of the sun shrunk down. They wanted his scales, she thought to herself before taking action.
"They want your scales! Change!" She screamed. Another moment later, the dragon was gone and a naked and bleeding Selendrile stood in its place. Selendrile fell to his knees and elbows, weak and in pain. Lanin raised his bow to finish him, but Marlin threw up his arm to stop him.
"He's no use to us in human form!" Marlin barked at Lanin before turning to Alys. She was relieved that her idea had worked and that Selendrile was no longer the center of their attack, though their attentions were now turned to her. "Change him back, witch!" Marlin screamed, charging her.
Alys stumbled back, falling onto her butt, terrified as he came at her with his sword drawn. He didn't attack her with the sword though, instead he chose his fist. She sprawled back into the dirt from his first blow and then curled into a ball as he continued his attack. Marlin kicked and punched at her stomach, back, and head, demanding all the while that she change Selendrile back to dragon form.
Between her cries, she managed to open an eye to see Lanin with his back to her, his arrow still pointed at Selendrile. Her vision was becoming fuzzy, but she could make out Selendrile still slumped over on his knees. Selendrile lifted his head to look at her, she saw the pain and effort it took just to make that small movement. His eyes locked on her, wide with agony and fear, he gritted his teeth and tried to lift himself to come to her rescue. Lanin, with his bow still raised, he used his foot to push him back down. Selendrile groaned as he fell back to ground.
Marlin lifted Alys up from the dirt by the front of her dress and then wrapped his hand around her neck. With her hands still tied behind her back, she was unable to try and pull at his grip, causing her to cough and gasp for air. Marlin pointed the tip of his sword into Alys' side, "Change him back now or I will cut you where you stand, witch!" Alys couldn't respond even if she wanted to and was beginning to feel like she was going to black out from the lack of air.
"Stop!" Selendrile growled, a faint whisper compared to his usual booming voice. "She can't change me."
Marlin dropped Alys, she took in a huge breath of air before trying to scramble to her feet. She was woozy and unstable, but able to stand and hear Selendrile's words.
"I have to change back to a dragon by dawn or I'll die." Selendrile repeated with more explanation. "If I don't change back by dawn, I will still become a dragon, but I'll be dead."
"Are we suppose to expect you to just give up and die, dragon?!" Lanin growled angrily.
Selendrile struggled with his words through the pain. "Yes, just let her go. I promise to die at dawn, leaving you with a dead dragon." Selendrile hoped by waiting until dawn to die, he could keep the men preoccupied enough in keeping him prisoner to allow a free Alys to get far, far away.
Alys eye's widen in horror, "Selendrile, no!" He was going to die to save her and that was the last thing she wanted. "I'm a witch! He won't change at dawn! He's lying, dragons always lie! Only I can change him back!" She was practically screaming the words, her eyes begging Selendrile to run and live.
"Shut up!" Marlin bellowed annoyed. "Let's tie them both up to a tree, use the iron chain on the dragon boy. We will see who is telling us the truth."
"No!" Selendrile roared with his jaw clenched. "Let her go or I won't cooperate."
Marlin turned his sword back to a defenseless Alys. "You'll cooperate dragon. Go sit against that tree and wait to be tied up, or I'll kill your witch now." Alys had begun to wish she had run when Selendrile had given her the chance. Though she would have come back to save him before dawn. At least this way he wasn't going to suffer alone. I'm sure that so comforting...she thought sarcastically to herself.
Selendrile hung his head and crawled over to a tree and waited. Lanin wrapped heavy iron chains around the tree and across Selendrile's body. Alys could hear the metal sear against his skin, she winced, knowing the torture he was enduring. Lanin threw a cloth at Selendrile to cover his nakedness. Alys imagined Selendrile would have rolled his eyes if he had the energy to, but instead his head was bowed and his eyes were closed.
Marlin threw Alys against the opposite side of the tree from Selendrile, but used simple rope to bind her to the tree and not an iron chain. Alys' body was bruised and beaten and her wrists red from the ropes, but Selendrile was in far worse condition. Lanin had yanked his arrows from Selendrile's slumped over body, triggering agonized wheezes, the wounds were dripping blood and trailing crimson against pale gold skin. The iron chain was pulled tightly against his chest and a smaller chain bound his hands together in front of him, the iron was burning and blistering his flesh. Alys had flashbacks to the day of Atherton's death, remembering Selendrile's suffering then. She knew in his current condition, there was a chance he might not even make it to dawn.
Lanin and Marlin discussed their new plan several feet away, closer to the small fire that had finally formed around the stake. Knowing that they had some privacy, Alys tried to scoot against the rope to move her tired body closer to Selendrile's. Her hands were bound behind her and his in front of him, she wished she could hold his hand to silently let him know she was there, though she knew it was physically impossible.
"Selendrile?" she whispered concerned. He didn't answer. She gulped, "Selendrile, don't worry, I'm going to get us out of this." His only response was tilting his bowed head in her direction. Wishing she could say more, she turned to rest her head against the tree, her throat was tight with emotion. Now could be the best time to tell him everything she had wanted to tell him when she thought she was going to burn at the stake, but decided she didn't want to act like this was the end.
Assessing the ropes, Alys decided that with a little wiggling, she could slip underneath them. She had to stop her efforts twice when Lanin and Marlin looked over towards their prisoners, but the second time she gave them her best evil eye and they turned their backs to her, probably thinking she was trying to hex them. Selendrile weakly lifted his head every now and again to watch her struggling, but his head would fall forward weakly after only a few seconds. Dawn was fast approaching, she could tell by the color of the lightening sky. Alys knew she had less than an hour, her panic over the coming dawn felt very familiar.
Wiggling herself one last time, she managed to get the ropes to her shoulders. She used her teeth to pull them up and over as she quickly ducked her head. Letting out a quiet sigh, she rested back against the tree, she was exhausted and sore, but free. Sitting on top of her hands, she pushed herself back and her bound hands were no longer behind her but instead stuck between her butt and knees, making standing now impossible. A lot of good this will do me... She could swear she heard Selendrile snort at her. Pulling knees almost up to her face, she reached her arms out as far as she could and managed to slip her bound hands past her ankles and toes. Her hands now sat tied in front of her, she mentally she gave herself a pat on the back for managing to be so flexible.
Lanin and Marlin were now sitting around the fire, their backs turned, no doubt struggling to keep themselves from nodding off. Alys slowly stood and tiptoed to kneel in front of Selendrile. She reached for the chains around his chest, his hands rose to grab hers before she was able to touch them. Lifting his head to meet her gaze, his eyes softened and he whispered with his voice hoarse. "Go."
Alys knew he was telling her to run, to save herself and leave him to die, alone. She planted a quick kiss on his lips, just like she had done before, "I won't abandon you." Turning back to the chains, she began to untie the knots, trying not to pull them any tighter against him. The chains around his chest loosened and Selendrile gave a heavy audible sigh, his body noticeably relaxing some. Alys slipped the chains over him, he slumped further forward as she knelt back down to work on the chains around his wrists. As she worked, her eyes took in the blistered strips of skin on his chest and three wounds now covered in dried blood. Selendrile groaned as she pulled part of the knot out of the chain, tears came to her eyes, she couldn't stand to see him in anymore pain, she wasn't sure he could survive more.
"I'm almost done Selendrile. Please hold on." The chained was hung up on itself and she needed to give it a tug to try and free it. Selendrile moaned as she tugged and fell to his side. "Selendrile!" Alys yelled alarmed, forgetting that Marlin and Lanin were only feet away.
They spun around, jumping from their seats, running towards her and Selendrile with their weapons drawn. "Witch!"
Standing with her feet planted, she stood to protect weakened Selendrile the best she could. She took a last second glance back to Selendrile, he was struggling to pull himself up, but to her relief, he was breathing and moving. He would need to change soon. She just needed to give him enough time to get the strength to pull off what was left of the loose iron chain from his wrist and change, she reminded herself.
Lanin was first to reach her, she used her tied hands to knock into him. He tumbled to the ground and Alys followed up her attack with a kick, leaving him rolling on the floor. While she was surprised by her own strength, she didn't think Lanin had gave his attack on her his full effort. Whether that was because of lingering feelings he still had for her or from his exhaustion for being up all night, she didn't know.
Marlin reached her before she had a chance to turn and defend herself, the dagger she had longed to see before was no longer on his belt but pressed into her stomach. She sucked in a breath, feeling the dagger's blade rip further into her flesh and muscles. Looking down at the hilt of the dagger now protruding from her stomach's side, she couldn't help but manage a small smile, there WAS a moon on the other side. Figures. Falling hard to the ground, she coughed blood and rolled to her side.
His blurry eyes locked on the dagger in Alys' side, blood slowly soaking the area of her dress. His weakened body surged with rage, he tugged the loosened chain from his wrist with a terrifying rumble. Free from the iron, he stumbled to his feet and made a leap towards Marlin. Marlin was able to easily avoid his slow attack, knocking Selendrile back to the ground next to Alys. As he got to his hands and knees, trying to get the strength to fight again, Alys reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. Managing to give him a weak smile, she mouthed the words "Change." Selendrile got to his feet, took two painful steps towards Marlin and then transformed into an angry golden dragon.
The pain in her side had become too much for her fragile body and the loss of blood made her dizzy. She closed her eyes as she saw the sun peak above the horizon.