Disclaimer: I do not own Warcraft or it's sequels. Blizzard Entertainment does.
"Samuel, calm down" I held my hands out and pushed the air down, trying to calm Samuel as I took a step closer to him, but he just took a step back, closer to the edge of the rock. His eyes were darting back and forth, and I didn't like the look in his eyes. He looked downright insane, his eyes darting around, narrowed, shifty, like he was going to do something drastic at any second.
"W-what do you want with me?"
"I just want you to calm down and let me explain" I took another step forward, and he took another one back.
"Explain? Explain? Okay, start here. What are you doing in Stormwind?"
"To be honest? I don't know. Some... thing told me to come here and that things would work out"
"You expect me to believe you?"
"I would hope you did, it's the truth" I took another step forward, and Samuel stumbled. He looked over his shoulders and was horrified at the huge drop I had unintentionally backed him up against.
"You're lying! What've you done with my sister?"
"I haven't done anything to her" His face widened in shock.
"Oh no... Amanthe, how could you?" The tone in his voice made Amanthe's head snap up. Her mouth quivered slightly as she spoke.
"How could I what?"
"Join the blasted Twilight's hammer cult! That's what! Why else would you let that" He pointed to me."willingly into your house? Huh?" I growled under my throat.
"Her"
"I'm not in the cult! She saved my life when the-"
"Shut up! You're all liars!" He turned back to me, his face slowly going from horror and shock to anger. "To think, to think I helped you! Well, you're not getting back. I already closed the portal, and none of you know how to make it. Outland will eat you alive" Amanthe started walking towards her twin.
"Samuel, you can't be serious! Think about this..."
"No, YOU think about it! Why would you want to destroy the world?"
"I don't! You're not listening to a thing I'm saying!"
"Why should I listen to a damn Twilight cultist?"
"I'm not a cultist!" Amanthe's voice was starting to rise. "If you would stop panicking you would know that! Please, just, open a portal back!"
"No, I won't! I'm leaving you here, one less cultist and one less drake. I'm teleporting out of here" Samuel put his hands together, small sparks of blue energy forming along them. They coalesced and started to grow. I did the only thing that came to mind. I jumped at him.
"No!" He interrupted his spell and whispered a word under his breath. An explosion of heat and light hit me in the chest, and the flames blasted me back a meter from him. But the force of the spell had pushed him back. Samuel stumbled, bending backward from the rock, his head hanging over the air. For a moment me and Amanthe were too stunned to react as he spun his arms in circles, trying to balance himself, a look of sheer terror on his face, his eyes wide as plates. Samuel failed at balancing himself, and he fell off. Amanthe screaming his name brought me back to reality. I jumped straight off the rock, after him.
The air whistled past my ears as I let my illusion fade once again. I heard Samuel's constant screaming. He was spinning around in the air around and around, trying in vain to right himself. I flapped my wings against the air, trying to fall faster than Samuel. I was falling faster, but only just. I was going to be fast to make it. My wings were screaming in agony from their exertion last night, but I pushed through it. I dove straight down, gaining on Samuel. I was three meters from him, and we had fallen halfway down, Outland's low gravity helping me close the gap. But it was still slow going. Samuel twisted around and got a look at me. He yelped and flapped his arms, trying to actually fall faster. I growled at him. He was almost in my grasp now.
I strained my head out as far as it would go. I opened my mouth and snapped down on the back of his shirt. He yelped, and I spread my wings out to slow the fall. I flapped them down, again and again, straining to slow down as fast as possible. The ground was approaching dangerously fast. 200 meters. 125 meters. 75 meters... I slowed to a stop just a third of a meter above the ground, and panted. Only then did I notice Samuel was still screaming. I angled myself and started back up towards the rock. I moved Samuel out of dangling from my mouth into my hind legs and started flying up, making a large spiral around the sky to ascend.
I hurled myself up onto the rock, scrambling for purchase on the edge. Amanthe ran over to me and grabbed my front legs and started pulling back as hard as she could, but I was too heavy for her, and she just pulled herself to the edge, leaving a trail of dirt behind her. I beat my wings, a fresh stab of pain tearing through them each time, slowly moving up. I unceremoniously dropped Samuel onto the ground. I flopped down on my stomach, panting, folding my wings up against my back to rest them. Immediately the mage got up and backed up from me. He stumbled, and fell down. Amanthe knelt down next to me and placed her hands on my side, rubbing them in circles, yellow light flowing out from them. The light warmed me up, seeping down into my scales. The warmth spread up my wings, and when I stretched them out, they didn't hurt.
"Thank you, Amanthe" I looked back up at Samuel, who was beginning the teleportation again. I took a small breath and fired a tiny (Tiny!) fireball at him, hitting him in the chest. It didn't burn him or anything, just interrupted his spell, and knocked him down.
"Honestly, Samuel? After I just saved your life, you're still going to try to abandon us here?" His face became beet red.
"Your still the enemy, I can't let you back to Stormwind. Why did you even need to come here in the first place?"
"I was, Amanthe, what's the word you used?" I pivoted my head to look at her, still healing my exhaustion.
"Ground sick"
"Ah right, I was that" I got up onto my feet, and Samuel backed up again, falling. I sat down on my haunches. My stomach growled, reminding me that I had previously passed out for three days with no food. "Amanthe, I'm going to go hunt. Think you can keep him from abandoning us here?"
"Well, I have a spell that would do the trick" Samuel threw his hands in the air.
"Seriously, sis? Seriously?"
"Bye" I dove down the rock, gliding down to the surface, and turning once I spied a pack of clefthoofs. I spotted one smaller than the others, it's brown fur hanging down in mats, it's huge head equipped with a mouth filled with flat teeth too big to allow it the simple pleasure of closing it's mouth. It stomped awkwardly after it's mother. Even if it was small, it was easily half a dragon's size. The low gravity of Outland seemed to allow things to grow bigger. Even the grass was up to my head.
I flew around, waiting for the young animal to tire, and separate from it's roaming herd. Eventually it did just that, and I wasted no time. I dove down at it, fast as thought, and landing on it's back, digging my claws into the flesh as hard as I could. It... bleated... in pain, thrashing around, trying to dislodge me. The rest of the herd turned around, and when they saw me latched onto it's back, 'charged' at me. They weren't all that fast though. I tried to bite through the, the... what do you call a young clefthoof? Oh hells, I'll call it a foal. I tried to bite through the foal's skin, but was met with rock hard spine bone. I recoiled, and in my surprise at it's bone being so tough, was tossed off of it.
I righted myself in mid-air and skidded a short distance along the dirt, before launching myself at the foal's face. I scratched at it and it bleated in panic, trying to shake me off with no success. I could smell it's blood in the air, from the injuries on it's head and it's back, but I wasn't doing any notable damage. I looked to my left to see one of the other clefthoof, an adult the size of a dragon, charging it's head at me. I took off, hovering a short distance above them. I brought fire into my crop, but I messed up. I brought them up too fast and they spilled over into my throat, and I choked on them as they burned my throat from the inside. I would have to wait a few minutes before I could do that again.
Alright then. I can improvise.
I soared higher and higher up, the herd fading to a small speck under me. The clefthoof that had forced me off, probably the foal's mother, was licking it's scars. That was my cue. I dove down, and slammed my claws straight down onto the foal's head, stopping at it's thick skull, my momentum forcing it to the ground, stunned from the concussion. I wasted no time in the herd's shock. I jumped down and dove at the now-lowered flanks, tearing into them. Like I had assumed, the large muscle mass of the foal meant it's ribcage was pushed further in, so I could rip and tear at it's sides and make it bleed out without being hindered by the elementium-tough bones. I ripped through muscle and sinew, then when the mother tried to crush me by dropping her head on me, I flew to the other side and repeated the process.
The unfortunate foal bleated in pain, but I needed to eat. I flew off, and watched the ground around it slowly redden. The foal collapsed, it's mother walking over to it, nuzzling it's head. Maybe they weren't sentient, but they could still feel emotions. The mother turned, leaving the foal. It had no chance. It's injuries were too great, it would bleed out no matter what they did. I settled down next to it. The mother moaned, and rejoined it's herd. The foal bleated after them sorrowfully, begging for them to come back.
I winced in empathy. The least I could do was end it's misery.
I trotted over to the foal, not daring to meet it's eyes. It's bleats were getting quieter, more tired, as its blood ran out. I stepped over to its head, which it now seemed to weak to lift. I lowered my head onto it and rubbed against it, making the foal open it's mouth in surprise. I wasted no time in launching a fireball into it's mouth, incinerating it's brain instantly as the fireball exploded its skull from inside.
I ate from the clefthoof's flanks. The meat was chewy and tasteless, but that wasn't what I was focusing on. It had hurt me so much when the mother left the foal. Why? It had never affected me like that before when I hunted. Had living in Stormwind really changed me so much? I had much more empathy than did me good. Maybe that's why I was sent there? Would that become helpful later? I finished filling my stomach and crop, and flew back up to the floating island where Amanthe and Samuel rested. I flew down and shrunk into my mortal form again, this time my clothes were the purple robes that I wore when I first used the illusion.
The air was hot and sticky, and already clouds were piling high up. One blotted out the sun above us. Samuel walked over to me.
"You have blood on your mouth"
"Oh" I wiped it off.
"Amanthe told me everything that happened while you were hunting. I guess... I don't really have a choice, do I?" He pointed to a distortion of light behind me.
"There's the portal" I walked over to the portal.
"Thanks, Samuel"I waved my hand through the shimmer, and some force seemed to grab me and throw me through it. I emerged in Amanthe's house, exactly where I had left. I got up, only to have Amanthe and Samuel crash into me from behind. I groaned as they both flattened me.
"Get-off-of-me" They rolled off. "Gah! Thank you" I got up and swept off my robes. Samuel started to walk for the door.
"Now if you EXCUSE me, I have a Pilgrim's bounty feast to get to. Amanthe, are you coming?"
"Sure. Selriona?" Samuel raised an eyebrow.
"Selriona?" Amanthe coughed a little.
"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you. That's her actual name, but call her Selria when we're in a public place" He nodded his head.
"Go-o-ot it"
"So, are you coming?" I shook my head.
"I'll pass. I have to digest the clefthoof" Amanthe shrugged.
"Alright then" The siblings walked out, Samuel making sure to keep an eye on Amanthe. When they were out, I allowed myself to smack myself in the face and chastise myself.
"YOU IDIOT! Three people can't keep a secret like yours!"
The following weeks went nicely. The weather got steadily colder and snow started to dust the ground, making it impossible for Amanthe to practice hunting, much to her delight. I found a use for the money I got from the Scribe of Stormwind; to indirectly fight ground sickness. I would buy the portal rune for Samuel, and he would transport me to Nagrand for some time to fly. The runes, of course, weren't cheap. I could only fly once a week, but it was enough to stave off any serious flight withdrawal. The real surprise came when Amanthe asked me THIS question.
"What are your plans for the Feast of Winter Veil?"
"The what?"
"The Feast of Winter Veil. It's right around the corner, what are your plans for it?"
"Stay out of it"
"Oh come on, Selriona. You've stayed out of every holiday so far, you need to at least celebrate this one, if none of the others" I looked up at her, and away from the book on history I was studying, for purposes related to a CERTAIN bronze dragon following me. It was on the recent developments of dwarven politics. I failed to see how it might relate to me, but I wasn't going to take chances.
"Why? What's so special about this one that makes it any different from all the others?"
"Well, it's a story from the dwarves, that there used to be a supernatural being on Azeroth, and that winter itself was his cloak, and wherever he tread late in the year would be incrusted with ice and snow. He would provide bounty to all who reveled in his season, to make up for the loss of food from the cold. People would get together and feast as they welcomed Great-father winter. Of course, the goblins took advantage of this and commercialized the whole thing-"
"Which is exactly what makes it no different than the others" Amanthe glared at me. "Sorry, sorry, continue"
"As I was saying, the goblins commercialized the whole thing, but not a lot of people buy into it. They mostly direct it towards children. But the rest of us still get together and get each other gifts"
"I'm not doing it"
"Seriously, Selriona. It's fun, you'll love it"
"Oh I highly doubt I'll enjoy ANYTHING related to winter. Cold blooded, remember?"
"But you aren't right now, are you?" I waved the argument off.
"Doesn't mean anything"
"Fine, do whatever you want. I'm still getting you something, whether you want me to or not" I sighed.
"Do whatever you want. I'm going to the Scribe of Stormwind" I walked outside, shifting my scales that the illusion had turned to clothing into a fur coat and stepped outside. Snow fell heavily from the sky, and there was a light dusting of the stuff on the floor. I made a face. Disgusting stuff. I made my way over to the inscription store. When I got inside my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
The shop was laced with red ribbons around the ceilings, white snowflake cut-outs of parchments they sold, fake reindeer hanging by strings from the ceiling. I forced the bile in my throat down and approached Catarina.
"What-is-all-this" She smiled back.
"The Feast of Winter Veil is in three days, we're making preparations" I swatted a parchment snowflake out of my way.
"This is disgusting. Honestly. I'm going to regurgitate looking at all this" Catarina rolled her eyes before delivering her sarcasm, complete with arm-swing.
"That's the spirit, Selria! So, are you getting anything for anyone?"
"I'm not celebrating this titan damned festival of snow"
"It's not a festival of snow, it's about... it's about..." Catarina trailed off.
"Exactly my point"
"It's about giving presents to each other, giving and receiving!"
"And I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the goblins came up with that part, didn't they?" Catarina opened and closed her mouth several times without noise. I smirked and got behind the table, ready to begin another long, long nine hours. "I thought so"
The job passed uneventfully. I got the pieces of flattened metal, the money, and set out, wincing in disgust at all the snow around me. I looked around. Nobody nearby. I tossed a blue fireball at one particularly disgusting pile of snow, turning it to a pile of slush. I raised my smoking hand to my mouth and blew the smoke off. I was getting better at controlling my flame in a mortal form. I remembered that the first time, all I could do was briefly light parts of myself up. Now I could throw fireballs. I walked along, my feet leaving distinct marks in the snowfall. I shivered in utter repulsion. I made a note to get to the Trade District as fast as possible, the body heat of the people there would help melt snow.
I turned on the Canals and I saw a human whelp, a male, run up to me with a piece of parchment in his hand. He ran right up to me.
"Hey! Hey, are you..." He read the paper briefly. "Selria?" I was quite taken aback by this.
"Um, yes, of course"
"Someone told me to give this to you. Paid me a gold. Here you go" What? Who would want to give me a message? Couldn't they simply walk up to me themselves? I took the letter, but I was just looking straight ahead.
"Thank you" I walked ducked under an arch and started reading the letter. It was short. Extremely short, not twenty words. It was written in a gray ink, metal gray, with streaks of silver breaking through in some spaces.
~Selria
Best to enjoy the winter festivities while you can. You may not be able to do so forever.
-E.H.
I put the letter down. E.H. Those were their initials. But why couldn't they simply come find me themselves? And was that about not being able to do so forever? Were they implying that I was going to... die? Still, it made a good point. At any time I might be found out, and I would probably die. I should enjoy this while I still could. No matter how utterly pointless it was, and how very much I hated anything that celebrated cold. Still, I would have to keep a lookout for an E.H. I turned down into the Trade District. Okay, so, first order of business. What I was going to the Trade District for in the first place. Which was to look out for what the hells this festival was doing this early.
Said district was unrecognizable. Red and white had all but replaced the standard blue. Goblins were working all over on the rooftops, hammering more streams of red and white onto it, while hoards of people milled about, collecting the snow, selling them as 'snow-cones'. Simply revolting. Why would you eat snow? One stand in particular made me interested. I was almost drawn there. There wasn't anyone else there.
It was a simple stand of wood, only the planks had a metallic luster to them. There was a single man standing there in warm fur silver robes covering him head to toe. His skin was a very dark brown, and seemed almost to shine, as was his hair. He had several scars though, looking like cracks in his skin, and these scars were white. He smiled as he saw me approaching.
"Ah, what would you like to buy from my collection (collection)?" I did a double take. The end of his sentence seemed to echo, like it were in slow motion, without him moving his mouth. It was faint, but it was there.
"I'm sorry, what collection?" He spread his arms out, and I noticed all sorts of objects that weren't there before. I found my eyes glued to them, hanging on the man's every word.
"Encyclopedias (pedias). Books of history, titans, magic, gods, powers, demons, dragons(dragons), essentially all of recorded history in them (them)" I shook my head from the hypnotic trance I seemed to be under. The man smiled.
"I'm sorry, I'm only browsing" The man's silver eyes drew me in again, making me ask a stupid question almost not of my own will. "What's your name?"
"My name(name)? Edward Hillingston, a pleasure(pleasure)" A human whelp ran up, the same one that had given me the letter.
"Mister, I gave her the letter" He turned around and saw me. "Oh, there you are! You know him, uh, Selria?" At the mention of my name Edward smiled widely.
"Oh, no, she doesn't know me(me)" I forced myself out of the spell again, this time determined to not be caught again. Edward moved his hand towards me, but as he was halfway across, he flinched, pulling back. I could have sworn I saw a gold spark on his hand "Blast her(her)", he mumbled under his breath. He looked up at me and smiled. "Ah, would you like the collection(collection)? You've come just in time, you know(know). Free of charge, for the season(season)" I looked at the books. Essentially all of recorded history. Knowledge was power. With that sort of knowledge...
"Thank you, I'll take them" Edward reached down and grabbed the books, giving them to me. I buckled a little under their weight, but held them up.
"There you go(go)" I nodded and turned around, heading for Old Town to get out of the snow. I shivered at Edward's echoing voice. That was usually a bad sign. And what was that hypnotic spell he had put on me? It made me forget all else and...
He knew my name.
Titans blast it, first that elf Jeziba knew my name from nowhere, now Edward does too? Why had he sent me that letter in the first place? How had he known that I wasn't going to celebrate the feast? Why was his voice echoing in the first place? I turned down the canals, my legs tiring from the weight of the books, which seemed to be growing heavier and heavier. Why was there nobody else at the man's shop? All the others were filled to capacity, his was abandoned. Was there a reason? The books seemed to be growing warmer in my hands as I turned into Old town.
Echoing voice. Knew my name. Nobody at his shop.
Nobody at his shop.
Nobody.
NOBODY.
I turned around and sprinted for the Canals, throwing the books into it. As I hurled in the last one, it caught fire in the air briefly before sinking. I stumbled back, turning and running for Old Town. The books were traps. Edward had meant to kill me. He had told me, essentially, to celebrate the feast of winter veil, but now there was NO way I was going to do that. He likely had another trap planned for me there. I shivered. Why did he want to kill me? What was his motive?
Did he know? Impossible, he couldn't have found out. Samuel trusted me, marginally, he wouldn't have betrayed me. No way Amanthe would have. So why did he want to kill me? I walked into Amanthe's house, closing the door behind me. I shivered from the cold, igniting my hands for a small time to warm myself up. I settled to my history book again, and started reading, combing for the slightest detail which may help me. I sighed, closing it. Nothing. I ate some clefthoof meat I had brought back from my voyages to Outland, and ate it to fill my stomach. Interesting. I could eat as little as a mortal in this form, shift to my real form, and it was like I ate enough for that form too. Very useful.
I sighed, and allowed my thoughts to drift lazily across my mind. I stopped when I found one that was interesting. Might I be able to get the guards after Edward? He knew something, I was confident of that. He wanted to kill me though, so maybe I could get the Stormwind guards to kill him for me. If I killed him, it would look... bad. Grinning, I stepped outside Amanthe's house and started down the paths of Old Town. I was in the heart of it when I heard a psst.
I stopped.
Immediately someone stepped out into my path. It was a human, male, a head taller than me. That was all I could tell, because he was dressed completely in black, a black mask over his face.
"Your money or your life" I gave him a blank stare. This seemed to anger him. "What, you stupid? Give me all your money, or you die" Oh, that's what he was. A thief. The embodiment of the state of nature; you only own something if you have the strength to keep it. Two more stepped out, one behind me, one at his side. I sighed impatiently.
"I don't have time for this" I raised one hand towards him and the other hand towards the thief behind me, and let a sheet of twilight flame shoot out from each. They both dropped screaming to the ground. The other one looked at the two spinning around, burning to ashes, and ran. I nailed him with a fireball, causing the same effect. I stepped across, between the ashes, trying to suppress the horror welling up in me. Suddenly, I was back on the floor of the Wetlands, wondering if everyone I had killed had friends...
I pulled myself out, back to the present. If only I had just ran, or intimidated them... No. No sense wishing about it now. I sighed, swallowing my conscious, and walked to the Trade District. When I got there, Edward was nowhere to be seen. Just, gone. Not a trace. He couldn't have uprooted the thing that fast. I pulled out the letter. It crumbled in my hand, turning to dust and blowing away in the wind. I did the only rational thing.
I ran back.
I struggled about in my sleep. I was only half aware of my body curled up in my makeshift nest, the other half of my mind was in a grassy place, iron chains criss-crossing my true form, pinning me to the ground. I felt I had to get out, even more so than usual. But the harder I struggled, the tighter the chains pulled, cutting into my scales...
I woke up with a strangled gasp, curling up tighter. I opened my eyes, groaning, shaking off the residual terror. It felt so real...
I walked down, practically gliding down the stairs I had now learned to walk across. I nearly blasted a fireball when I saw what the HELLS Amanthe had done to her house. Long story short, she'd given it the Winter Veil treatment. I groaned and stumbled, catching myself on a wall. Amanthe came down the stairs, smiling at me.
"What? The twilight drake can't handle red and white parchment?" I growled at her.
"Shut up. You know how nauseating this thing is for me" She smirked.
"Well, then I wouldn't go outside, if I were you. You might throw up"
"What?" I walked to the door and pushed it open. The world around me had been replaced with a flurry of red, white, and pine trees. Almost immediately I regurgitated the few fluids in my stomach onto the ground. I groaned and stumbled back in. My right eye twitched. "I hate you so much, Amanthe" She laughed lightly.
"What are friends for?"
"I need something to drink" She reached for a cup and poured some frothy liquid into it that looked disturbingly like the ale I tried in Kharanos. I grabbed the cup and raised it nervously to my mouth and let the fluid in. I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting ale, but I got something completely different. Sweet and light, it tasted marginally better than stag. I drank the cool liquid down in a few gulps. "What was that?"
"Eggnog, a special drink for the occasion" I snapped my head around to look at her. She only shook her head and chuckled.
"You're like the Abominable Greench. Come on, I want to show you something"
"Does it have anything to do with the Feast of Winter Veil?"
"What else?"
"I'm not going"
"Oh ho, yes you are" I looked at Amanthe, tiny shadows drawing towards her hand.
"No, I'm no-" My voice screamed in my mind, 'go celebrate!'. I don't know why, but I obeyed it. "Okay, let's go" I followed Amanthe through the whirls of red, white, green and snow falling down. It seemed the entire population of Stormwind was out and about. I managed to catch a glimpse of the prince at one point. If he was out, that meant this holiday really was a big deal. Amanthe led me to the Trade District.
"Stay here, I'm going to go get you your present"
"Right" Amanthe turned and walked down. I heard a voice behind me that made me freeze.
"'Tis the season(season), ho, ho, ho(ho), to be giving and receiving(receiving)" I whirled around. Sure enough, there was Edward, his mouth in a wide smile.
"You"
"Yes, me(me). How did you enjoy your little present(present)?" I clenched my fists.
"You tried to kill me. Don't-try it-again" He waved his hand, like he was swatting a fly.
"All part of my plan(plan)" I walked up to him.
"Look, I don't know who you think you are, but I'm telling you now. Back off" He smiled.
"Oh, or what(what)?"
"If you try anything like that again, I will kill you. You don't know what your dealing with" He smiled even wider and lowered his head to mine.
"Oh, don't I(I)?" He whispered. "Selriona(Selriona)?" My blood froze in my veins. I just stood there, gazing off into the distance, stunned, as if the mention of my name had magical power over me. Edward turned around. "Enjoy the feast, my little friend(friend). You won't live to see another(another)" He turned around, passing through the crowd, out of sight. Amanthe came back behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.
"Who was that?"
"He, he, he knows. I don't know how he found out but he knows all about me" I turned around.
"What? How?"
"I don't know, but three days ago he gave me a collection of encyclopedias. They were traps, and they caught on fire a few minutes after, good thing I had thrown them into the canal"
"He wants to kill you"
"Yes, but what I want to know is how the hells he found out"
"I can ask Samuel if he told anyone. He can't lie to me. Okay, so, um, here's your present" I absently let Amanthe give me a box a third of a meter on each side, covered in nauseating red paper with a green ribbon on the top.
"Thank you. Let's go find Samuel" Finding Samuel wasn't too hard. He was passed out next to a barrel of eggnog, a slight halo of the frothy drink around his mouth. I rolled my eyes. Unbelievable. Amanthe shook him awake. He got up with a 'wha? Huh?', and wiped his mouth.
"Hey, what you need, sis?"
"Did you tell anyone about Selriona?" He held up his hands, shaking his head.
"Nuh-uh, no sir" A tense silence passed over us. Amanthe groaned.
"He's telling the truth. Then how did that guy know?"
"Wait, what guy?" I answered.
"There's this man, Edward Hillingston, he knows I'm a," I looked around at the crowd passing by. "you know. He said, he said I'd better enjoy the Feast, because I won't live to see another" That really grabbed Samuel's attention. His eyes snapped up to me.
"Has he done anything yet?"
"He's tried to kill me by giving me books that burst into flames a few minutes later"
"Okay, okay, anything else?"
"Before that, he sent a male whelp to give me a letter telling me to enjoy the feast, because I might not be able to again. After the book incident, it crumbled to dust"
"Okay, well, um, do you think it's maybe possible that, I, I don't know. We'll just have to keep an eye out. He said that you won't live to see another Feast of Winter Veil, right?"
"That's right"
"Okay, that gives us another year for him to kill you. Anything else, particular?" I thought about it. There was one thing that stood out.
"When he first heard my name, my fake name, he tried to reach out and touch me, but there was a little golden spark at his hand, and he said 'Blast her'. Any idea?" Amanthe thought about it.
"No, I don't. Who could 'she' be? And, wait, what were the encyclopedias about?"
"Everything, really. Magic, dragons, history, gods, all of recorded history. That's what he said, anyway"
"I don't have a clue. But we'd better keep a watch out. But for now, just relax, he won't kill you yet" Samuel gave the bad news.
"Unless that's what he WANTS you to think"
"Well, what exactly can you do, then? Selriona, you have to be careful. But, don't do anything stupid, alright? You're not alone. We can help you" Blood rushed to my face. I hated having to be helped.
"Thank you. Now, since this may be the last time I can celebrate this holiday," I took a deep breath and let it out. "let's go feast" Samuel nodded, stepping back towards the barrel of eggnog.
"I second that. You two go on ahead" He eyed the barrel. "I'll catch up with you" Amanthe chuckled.
"Yes, try not to get brain freeze" Samuel didn't respond. As I turned around to follow Amanthe towards the feast hall, I noticed something in the alleyways. It was the bronze dragon, in gnome form, like always.
She looked absolutely terrified.
Review, let me know what you think. Congratulations to whoever correctly guesses who Edward Hillingston is. I've been waiting a long time for the next chapter, I'm so glad to finally be there.