Chapter 4

Zala

Her brain could not process what had just happened in the last few minutes.

She had been in a merchant's cart with her father,his friends and her friend's son riding towards Ignius when out of nowhere a dragon appeared before them!

The dragon killed her father and his friends,wounded Grant and took her away. She never believed in dragons or thought that they even existed,that they were only in stories to scare children,but here she was. Held by her coat in the jaws of a dragon itself as it flew wherever.

At the moment,she didn't know what she was more afraid of: The fact that she was being carried by a dragon or that she might fall and be plummeting to her death. She looked down then immediately turned her head back up and closed her eyes,softly sending a prayer to the gods above.

She didn't know how much time passed but at some point she felt solid ground beneath her feet. She opened her eyes and saw that they were in an enormous cave filled with gold and a few charred bones here and there. She knew without a doubt that this dragon stole the gold.

At least I know that the stories of dragons stealing gold is true she thought.

"Have you not seen gold before female?"the dragon asked,his voice echoing through the cave. She turned around and saw the dragon. The mere sight of the dragon made her freeze in terror. He must've seen her fear for he smiled,exposing his long sharp fangs. "Do I scare you,human?"he asked. She only stared at him,wide-eyed in terror. The dragon lowered his head until his fangs were just inches from her face. "Well,do I?"he asked.

She opened her mouth to speak but words would not come. The dragon rose its jaws from near her and chuckled,a deep rumble that reminded her of thunder. "Your silence is answer enough."he said. "Though do not make this a habit. I want an answer when spoken too."he added. She nodded her head vigorously,still unable to speak. "Good."he said. "Now that that's out of the way,welcome to your new domain."

He stretched his wing towards the cave. "You will be staying here until I see fit." Upon hearing that,Zala looked at the dragon in surprise. "My domain!"she exclaimed,completely forgetting about her fear.

"Yes your domain."the dragon repeated,slightly annoyed. "No,no,no,no! I refuse to be kept here like some caged animal! You can't do this!"she protested. The dragon lowered his head until his fangs were before her face bared in a snarl. "I already told that male human once and I'll tell it again. I am a dragon and what I want,I take it. No questions asked."

He moved his teeth from her and turned his head so one giant yellow eye was staring at her. "If you ever tell me what I can or cannot do you will meet the same fate as those other humans."he threatened. Sweat beaded Zala's forehead as her body trembled slightly in fear. He moved his head from her and walked deeper into the cave. "I suggest you rest up female."he said casually as he laid down on the floor. Zala looked at the mouth of the cave for a moment,debating if to escape,but decided against it.

She knew it would be foolish to try anything with the dragon watching her. She would have to wait until the dragon fell asleep or left the cave. She walked over to the gold on the cave,sat down then laid on her side. The gold was extremely uncomfortable but it was much better than laying on the cave floor. She placed her head on top of her hands,closed her eyes and waited for sleep to overcome her.

Hours must've passed before Zala woke up. She yawned loudly then rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She then looked around,blinking her eyes rapidly to push away the blurriness,and realised something was missing.

The dragon was gone.

She jolted upright as the realization dawned on her. This is a dream she told herself. It has to be. She moved her hand to her arm and pinched herself. Wincing from the slight sting,she looked around and saw everything was the same.

She was not dreaming.

Now is my chance!

She quickly got up her sore body protesting from the uncomfortable "bed",and walked over to the cave entrance. Before walking out of the cave,Zala turned back and looked at the gold. She knew she would need gold to buy food,clothes and other stuff but decided not to give the dragon a bigger reason to chase her.

She took a step out of the cave and nearly turned around to go back into the cave. The bright glare of the evening sun practically blinded her momentarily. The wind was biting cold and so strong that she thought she was going to go flying and the snow was icy enough that one wrong step and she would be sliding down the mountain. Carefully and slowly,she walked down the mountain as the wind pushed her side to side. She looked up to the sky every few minutes before continuing to walk down.

Just a bit more and I'll be free she told herself happily. After some time,when she was a bit above the halfway point,a loud roar echoed from somewhere in the distance. Zala quickened her walk to a trot,making sure not to fall or slip. A minute later,a large black silhouette flew over her.

It won't be long before he notices I'm gone.

Merely seconds afterward,a blood curdling roar bellowed throughout the entire mountain.

Zala broke into a full on run.

She didn't even care if she fell or slipped. All she cared about was getting away from the dragon before he caught her again. At some point,her foot crossed onto a patch of ice and she slipped,tumbling down the mountain unable to tell up from down as she rolled. At last,she slowly stopped rolling as she reached the mountain's base. She slowly got her feet,slightly wobbling in the process,then took a few deep breaths before continuing to run.

"Get back here female!"the dragon's voice roared. Zala looked over her shoulder and gasped. The dragon wasn't far behind her and,even with their distance apart,she could see the anger in his face and eyes. She looked back ahead of her and saw only an open plain of snow as far as her eye could see. Zala knew she wouldn't be able to outrun the dragon in the open and needed to run through somewhere with close quarters.

She looked around and then spotted a forest to her right. The trees might just slow him down or,if I'm lucky,might snag his wings. Without a second thought,she made a hard turn right and dashed to the forest. Her lungs were on fire and she was forced to take shallow breaths. Don't stop,don't stop she chanted to herself forcing herself to continue running despite her legs protesting.

The forest was becoming closer rapidly. She looked behind her and saw the dragon was no longer behind her. Where did he go Zala wondered. She knew that the dragon wasn't going to give up that easily but she didn't see him anywhere. Pushing away the thoughts,she turned forward and half stumbled half-ran. She got close enough to think she might escape when the dragon arrowed down from the sky and landed in front of the forest.

She went to a full stop,causing her to fall down heavily,but barely missed the snapping jaws of the dragon. "Hello female."the dragon said. She didn't even have time to think of a response as he grabbed her by her coat in his jaws and took off.

Away from the forest.

Away from her one chance of escaping.

"Just what did you think were doing?"the dragon growled,his voice was deathly low. Zala could tell that he was furious but at the moment,she couldn't care less. "I refuse to be caged in here! I have a right to my freedom and you can't keep me here!"she exclaimed. The dragon brought his jaw before her face and roared.

His hot breath warmed her freezing body so fast it felt as though she was burning and the air was so strong it nearly threw her off her feet. "How many times do I have to tell you,female,that I can do as I please?"the dragon growled. Her body locked in terror,making her unable to speak. The dragon looked at her for a long moment before moving his jaw away from her. "You are becoming more trouble than you're worth female. If you try to escape again,I will not hesitate to kill you."he threatened.

Zala couldn't believe her bad luck. Not only did she lose her one chance at freedom,she had lost her little bit of family left. Her entire body felt numb and at the moment she couldn't even think. Exhaustion along with numbness took hold of her body as she zombie-walked over to her "bed" and laid down as sleep took her in a matter of seconds.