When Stephen touched Zola it was apparent that he wasn't touching foliage
but a scaly hide, she knew that she was no longer hidden. But before she
could fly away, she had to get further out of the trees to open her
wings. She opened her mossy green eye and was now entirely visible
hovering over Stephen who had fallen backwards over a log. She took a
step forward with her clawed front leg and made herself seem intimidating
just until she could spread her wings.
Stephen was at a loss for words, he had heard so many dragon stories about getting eaten and sorts that he was terrified but knew his duty was to protect the prince so he pulled out his sword.
Vladimir slowly looked upwards towards her head and warily eyed her horns and the edges of her teeth. He backed up a bit as she continued moving forwards and his hand came to rest on the hilt of his own sword by his hip.
Elden, at this point, was gawking. "Oh.My.God," he said, watching the green dragon pause in front of the other two and blink at them. "Not good... VERY not good," he added as his horse whinnied loudly and reared, throwing him unceremoniously to the ground to land with a thud on his behind.
Zola had no intention of harming the three human that stood before her, in fact she was the most harmless of the four dragons. She slowly kept walking forwards but Stephen held his sword forwards motioning for her to not come any closer. Zola stopped not wanting to get into a conflict at this point, and then it hit her. The boy that was standing next to Stephen was the Prince. She lowered her head to look at him better, bringing her head incredibly close to his and making his bangs swish as a puff of warm air came out of her nose. One thing she had about her, and which usually got her into trouble with her siblings, was her curiosity. Her mossy green eyes stared at him and she could immediately tell he had a good soul and heart. To show that she was no danger to them she lowered her body so she was lying down, her long tail swishing into view and lying next to her.
Stephen didn't know what to do, but lowered his sword and watched it in amazement. "It's the most stunning creature in the world." was all he could say. He walked a bit closer to the prince to look into its eyes as well.
Vladimir slowly let go of his sword and looked at the dragon. "Fiction you were saying?" he commented with a small smile to Elden, "This looks pretty real to me."
"I.well. I don't know.. Whoa," Elden said, his words a mess of sounds to his own ears as he pushed himself up with an extreme amount of effort to walk over to the other two and peer rather curiously at the creature before them.
Vladimir reached out one hand towards Zola, but the stopped as she huffed, sending a small burst of greenish smoke into the air. Keronio had walked up to them gliding along on his horse, his dark black hair was a mess and had some twigs sticking out of it. His brown eyes peering at the empty horses, "Well I think we should be heading back to the castle... HOLY CRAP!!!!" He said as he spotted the emerald and bronze dragon sitting before the prince and his companions. "It's a dragon" he all but jumped of his horse and ran towards them, pulling his sword out as he went. His crew followed shortly, carrying rope and chains.
Zola's face became frustrated and she stood up baring her long teeth at Keronio, she wasn't going to hurt him but she did not want to be captured. In an attempt to get out of the bush area, she moved forwards, pushing the prince and his companions out of the way in the process. When she thought she was out far enough she spread her long emerald wings, creating a rather magnificent sight, given each wing being equal to the length of her torso. Before she could get out of the danger zone though, a guard appeared suddenly beside her and tossed over her neck and pulled. It didn't hurt her, but annoyed her, causing her to make a loud screaming roar in his direction. It was only seconds before a second noose cut through the air and secured itself around her head. Both men got to go for a ride because at that precise moment, she flapped her giant wings and started heading up. She didn't make it past the treetops before she was jerked back by down by a series of heavy chains that had caught around her hind legs. She was sent careening towards the ground and landed at an odd angle, emitting a grunt of pain as her side slammed against the soil. Another two guards made fast work and more carefully constructed nooses around her neck, and started pulling downwards, at the same time backing up in order to bow her head. By now, Zola had had quite enough. She snapped her tail around, cutting the ropes on her left side.
She struggled to her feet, hauling two men up with her as she curved her neck, leaving them to dangle helplessly by her shoulder. But when they resorted to using only chains, she had no choice but to use her breath weapon as an absolute last resort. Her chest swelled out as she took a deep breath, and then contracted as a brief shot of shimmering green flame issued from her nostrils. Despite this, the men proceeded to try and get a damper on her and added to the number of restraints that were laced across her head and torso. One last chain snapped up towards her face, looped around her snout, and jerked her exquisite head rudely to the ground and kept it there. She was trapped. In a last attempt to rid herself of confinements, she lashed her tail, only to find it immobile under a cleverly woven net of thick ropes.
Elden crept forwards slowly and looked at her again before backing up as her eyes turned towards him, fright evident in her expression. He turned towards Keronio, his face a mixture of shock and anger. "WHY did you DO that!?" he demanded, walking up to the older man and looking him straight in the eyes.
Vladimir crouched on the ground near Zola's head and peered at her with a sympathetic look. He slowly reached out and lay a hand lightly on the end of her nose, watching for a second as the other men dashed around and made sure the chains were securely, registering her helpless and ground- bound.
Keronio looked back at Elden, "Have you gone nuts? These thing are killers you are lucky to be alive it must have already eaten or something. Now we need to figure out how to get it back to the castle." He said looking over her sizes, "we better move quickly were there is one dragon there is more. You can bet on it." He ignored the oncoming glares from Elden and walked over to where his men were preparing the dragon for it oncoming drag home.
Stephen walked over to the dragon and saw that it had a look of sadness on its face. He watched in distress as Keronio got on his horse and led his twenty-five men on horseback to drag her away from the spot she was laying and onwards towards the castle. He then got on his own horse and waited for Vladimir to do something. anything.
~*~*~*~
Shiri had just flicked water at Tanginika when it hit her. Her whole body shivered and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, a single tear slid down her cheek, "Zola." she murmured and looked in the direction of the castle.
Tanginika sloshed through the pond to come to a stop near Shiri. "What happened to her?" she asked, her soft voice laced with the onslaught of dread. ".. They didn't get her. did they?" "I'm afraid so Tanginika, and they are dragging her to the castle. Take me there I have to get her back" Shiri said an automatic plan immerging in her head.
A fretful expression whirled in Tanginika's blue eyes for a minute before she nodded her head slowly. "Alright," she answered, "that would be best. She could get into a lot of trouble around humans. given her extreme curiosity." She rose to her feet near the bank and flapped her wings to fan dry the thin membranes before folding them along her sides. Her head revolved on her long neck and turned to look at the girl, who was wringing her white clothes out and making her way out of the water. As soon as Shiri was settled at the base of her neck, right by her shoulder joints, Tanginika clambered out of the pond, apologizing briefly for the jolt as she leapt up the short distance to flat ground before gathering her wings for take off.
~*~*~*~
Back at the Castle Zola had been chained down inside the wall and was lying under her imprisonment wishing she had just eaten the guy like Ignatius would have. Her belly was sore from the drag back to the castle over all the rocks and roots and sticks. She closed her eyes and tried to rest but couldn't. She wished Shiri were there as she could make her raw swollen belly feel better, and she wished her other siblings were there to comfort her like they always did when she got into trouble. So this is what you get for being curious with humans, she thought to herself having now learned a lesson.
~*~*~*~
Stephen had taken the horse back to the stables to be taken of by the stable boys.
"Ok so you found yourself a dragon. Big deal. they are just large dumb animals" Nero, Vladimir's older brother, protested in mild annoyance. "At least you finally accomplished something" he added talking to his younger brother when Keronio had told him of their victory.
Why is it that I got blessed with this egotistical asshole that claims to be my brother!? Vladimir thought to himself in annoyance. He composed his face into a look of unconcern. "What's it to you?" he asked. Then he peered at his brother, who was presently sporting an expression bordering on disgust. "That look is ruining your complexion," he added with a shake of his head. "You needn't get yourself involved in this little fiasco, because it is nothing to worry your head over. We'll deal with it soon enough."
~*~*~*~
Elden pushed the door to Zola's cell open and gazed at her almost cautiously. He quickly slammed the door when she looked at him with wide eyes. Leaning against the wall outside, he looked at the ceiling. Shells! He thought to himself, It's just a dragon for crying out loud! Indeed. the other part of his brain argued. "YES! Just a dragon!" he said, and then slammed a hand over his mouth as the realization of saying that out loud registered in his mind.
Zola watched him close the door and rested her chained head once more, she was only able to lift it a centimeter or so off the scattered pieces of hay and straw that littered the cement floor.
~*~*~*~
"I don't really care either way brother, the day I say they call you a prince is the day when you do something worth it!" he said glaring and turning away from his quick witted brother to walked off towards the throne room and their father.
Vladimir sighed under his breath and rested one of his elbows on the table edge, swirling his drink around in his glass. At the best of times, his brother could be annoying. But he was bordering on unbearable now. and Vladimir was more than certain that the thought of ruling the country was seeping into Nero's brain and investing his mind.
~*~*~*~
As all four of her feet landed roughly on the uneven terrain near the castle, Tanginika made a slightly worried noise when she tilted to one side as she fought for a foothold. She let out a sigh of relief when she moved a small boulder out of the way and balanced evenly on the dirt and rocks. Lowering one wing, she granted Shiri access to the ground and then tossed her head for a second, making the frill of spines down her neck quiver. Her gaze shifted to the castle that stood a little ways away, it's torrents and towers reaching skyward. "There you are," she said, folding her wings and flicking her tail. Affectionately, she nuzzled Shiri's shoulder and blinked her large eyes. "I want to go with you."
~*~*~*~
Elden wrestled with his thoughts and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing to be uncomfortable with around the dragon. Taking a deep breath, he closed his fingers around the door handle once more and pulled it open, stepping quietly into the cell like area and closing the heavy door with a small thunk behind himself. Reaching for a chair on his way towards the dragon, which was sitting rather miserably underneath a burden of thick chains, he seated himself nearby on the straw-strewn floor and regarded her thoughtfully.
Zola noticed him and looked at him with one jewel-faceted eye. "I don't bite," she said now that her head chains had slackened off a fraction and granted her a bit of movement around her snout, "Unless you're a overgrown apple." She now wish she had fruit because it suddenly dawned on her that she was hungry, and that's what she ate. lots of fruit and vegetables.
~*~*~*~
"It's not safe Tanginika, they can't hurt me like they can you. Go and find Ciro he will know what to do now that the old plan won't work, don't tell Ignatius if you can avoid it. He won't do anything smart," She said to her dragon sister, patiently waiting for her to leave.
"I'll do my very best," Tanginika replied. Then she let out a low, watery chuckle. "He would most likely torch the castle if he found out anyways," she added, turning herself around and starting to head off. "Be careful," she said to Shiri as an afterthought before she took off, spreading her wings and gliding off towards the nearest stream.
~*~*~*~
Elden nearly fell of his stool in horror. I must be dreaming. dragon just TALKED! To ME! He thought in a state of hysterics, How in the hell!? He shortly managed to regain his posture somewhat and stare at the creature, his eyes wide. "Okay. either I am hallucinating and imagined that I heard a dragon SPEAK to me, or that just happened," he said, tilting his head to the side and examining her as though he was just seeing her for the first time.
"You people don't know much about us do you?" she said and wished she could stretch out her confined wings that were tied to her body with more rope then she thought was possible. Her body tensed and her breath hissed between her teeth as she tried to shift positions, due to her scraped underside. Once she had settled, she huffed out a sigh, sending some of the hay flying into a small dance in the air before floating back down.
*** A/N~ Sorry we haven't updated in so long. Myself and Smare have been super busy the last little while. But we hope to have more time soon and will update then. Please no flames! This is our first story together. R&R
Stephen was at a loss for words, he had heard so many dragon stories about getting eaten and sorts that he was terrified but knew his duty was to protect the prince so he pulled out his sword.
Vladimir slowly looked upwards towards her head and warily eyed her horns and the edges of her teeth. He backed up a bit as she continued moving forwards and his hand came to rest on the hilt of his own sword by his hip.
Elden, at this point, was gawking. "Oh.My.God," he said, watching the green dragon pause in front of the other two and blink at them. "Not good... VERY not good," he added as his horse whinnied loudly and reared, throwing him unceremoniously to the ground to land with a thud on his behind.
Zola had no intention of harming the three human that stood before her, in fact she was the most harmless of the four dragons. She slowly kept walking forwards but Stephen held his sword forwards motioning for her to not come any closer. Zola stopped not wanting to get into a conflict at this point, and then it hit her. The boy that was standing next to Stephen was the Prince. She lowered her head to look at him better, bringing her head incredibly close to his and making his bangs swish as a puff of warm air came out of her nose. One thing she had about her, and which usually got her into trouble with her siblings, was her curiosity. Her mossy green eyes stared at him and she could immediately tell he had a good soul and heart. To show that she was no danger to them she lowered her body so she was lying down, her long tail swishing into view and lying next to her.
Stephen didn't know what to do, but lowered his sword and watched it in amazement. "It's the most stunning creature in the world." was all he could say. He walked a bit closer to the prince to look into its eyes as well.
Vladimir slowly let go of his sword and looked at the dragon. "Fiction you were saying?" he commented with a small smile to Elden, "This looks pretty real to me."
"I.well. I don't know.. Whoa," Elden said, his words a mess of sounds to his own ears as he pushed himself up with an extreme amount of effort to walk over to the other two and peer rather curiously at the creature before them.
Vladimir reached out one hand towards Zola, but the stopped as she huffed, sending a small burst of greenish smoke into the air. Keronio had walked up to them gliding along on his horse, his dark black hair was a mess and had some twigs sticking out of it. His brown eyes peering at the empty horses, "Well I think we should be heading back to the castle... HOLY CRAP!!!!" He said as he spotted the emerald and bronze dragon sitting before the prince and his companions. "It's a dragon" he all but jumped of his horse and ran towards them, pulling his sword out as he went. His crew followed shortly, carrying rope and chains.
Zola's face became frustrated and she stood up baring her long teeth at Keronio, she wasn't going to hurt him but she did not want to be captured. In an attempt to get out of the bush area, she moved forwards, pushing the prince and his companions out of the way in the process. When she thought she was out far enough she spread her long emerald wings, creating a rather magnificent sight, given each wing being equal to the length of her torso. Before she could get out of the danger zone though, a guard appeared suddenly beside her and tossed over her neck and pulled. It didn't hurt her, but annoyed her, causing her to make a loud screaming roar in his direction. It was only seconds before a second noose cut through the air and secured itself around her head. Both men got to go for a ride because at that precise moment, she flapped her giant wings and started heading up. She didn't make it past the treetops before she was jerked back by down by a series of heavy chains that had caught around her hind legs. She was sent careening towards the ground and landed at an odd angle, emitting a grunt of pain as her side slammed against the soil. Another two guards made fast work and more carefully constructed nooses around her neck, and started pulling downwards, at the same time backing up in order to bow her head. By now, Zola had had quite enough. She snapped her tail around, cutting the ropes on her left side.
She struggled to her feet, hauling two men up with her as she curved her neck, leaving them to dangle helplessly by her shoulder. But when they resorted to using only chains, she had no choice but to use her breath weapon as an absolute last resort. Her chest swelled out as she took a deep breath, and then contracted as a brief shot of shimmering green flame issued from her nostrils. Despite this, the men proceeded to try and get a damper on her and added to the number of restraints that were laced across her head and torso. One last chain snapped up towards her face, looped around her snout, and jerked her exquisite head rudely to the ground and kept it there. She was trapped. In a last attempt to rid herself of confinements, she lashed her tail, only to find it immobile under a cleverly woven net of thick ropes.
Elden crept forwards slowly and looked at her again before backing up as her eyes turned towards him, fright evident in her expression. He turned towards Keronio, his face a mixture of shock and anger. "WHY did you DO that!?" he demanded, walking up to the older man and looking him straight in the eyes.
Vladimir crouched on the ground near Zola's head and peered at her with a sympathetic look. He slowly reached out and lay a hand lightly on the end of her nose, watching for a second as the other men dashed around and made sure the chains were securely, registering her helpless and ground- bound.
Keronio looked back at Elden, "Have you gone nuts? These thing are killers you are lucky to be alive it must have already eaten or something. Now we need to figure out how to get it back to the castle." He said looking over her sizes, "we better move quickly were there is one dragon there is more. You can bet on it." He ignored the oncoming glares from Elden and walked over to where his men were preparing the dragon for it oncoming drag home.
Stephen walked over to the dragon and saw that it had a look of sadness on its face. He watched in distress as Keronio got on his horse and led his twenty-five men on horseback to drag her away from the spot she was laying and onwards towards the castle. He then got on his own horse and waited for Vladimir to do something. anything.
~*~*~*~
Shiri had just flicked water at Tanginika when it hit her. Her whole body shivered and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, a single tear slid down her cheek, "Zola." she murmured and looked in the direction of the castle.
Tanginika sloshed through the pond to come to a stop near Shiri. "What happened to her?" she asked, her soft voice laced with the onslaught of dread. ".. They didn't get her. did they?" "I'm afraid so Tanginika, and they are dragging her to the castle. Take me there I have to get her back" Shiri said an automatic plan immerging in her head.
A fretful expression whirled in Tanginika's blue eyes for a minute before she nodded her head slowly. "Alright," she answered, "that would be best. She could get into a lot of trouble around humans. given her extreme curiosity." She rose to her feet near the bank and flapped her wings to fan dry the thin membranes before folding them along her sides. Her head revolved on her long neck and turned to look at the girl, who was wringing her white clothes out and making her way out of the water. As soon as Shiri was settled at the base of her neck, right by her shoulder joints, Tanginika clambered out of the pond, apologizing briefly for the jolt as she leapt up the short distance to flat ground before gathering her wings for take off.
~*~*~*~
Back at the Castle Zola had been chained down inside the wall and was lying under her imprisonment wishing she had just eaten the guy like Ignatius would have. Her belly was sore from the drag back to the castle over all the rocks and roots and sticks. She closed her eyes and tried to rest but couldn't. She wished Shiri were there as she could make her raw swollen belly feel better, and she wished her other siblings were there to comfort her like they always did when she got into trouble. So this is what you get for being curious with humans, she thought to herself having now learned a lesson.
~*~*~*~
Stephen had taken the horse back to the stables to be taken of by the stable boys.
"Ok so you found yourself a dragon. Big deal. they are just large dumb animals" Nero, Vladimir's older brother, protested in mild annoyance. "At least you finally accomplished something" he added talking to his younger brother when Keronio had told him of their victory.
Why is it that I got blessed with this egotistical asshole that claims to be my brother!? Vladimir thought to himself in annoyance. He composed his face into a look of unconcern. "What's it to you?" he asked. Then he peered at his brother, who was presently sporting an expression bordering on disgust. "That look is ruining your complexion," he added with a shake of his head. "You needn't get yourself involved in this little fiasco, because it is nothing to worry your head over. We'll deal with it soon enough."
~*~*~*~
Elden pushed the door to Zola's cell open and gazed at her almost cautiously. He quickly slammed the door when she looked at him with wide eyes. Leaning against the wall outside, he looked at the ceiling. Shells! He thought to himself, It's just a dragon for crying out loud! Indeed. the other part of his brain argued. "YES! Just a dragon!" he said, and then slammed a hand over his mouth as the realization of saying that out loud registered in his mind.
Zola watched him close the door and rested her chained head once more, she was only able to lift it a centimeter or so off the scattered pieces of hay and straw that littered the cement floor.
~*~*~*~
"I don't really care either way brother, the day I say they call you a prince is the day when you do something worth it!" he said glaring and turning away from his quick witted brother to walked off towards the throne room and their father.
Vladimir sighed under his breath and rested one of his elbows on the table edge, swirling his drink around in his glass. At the best of times, his brother could be annoying. But he was bordering on unbearable now. and Vladimir was more than certain that the thought of ruling the country was seeping into Nero's brain and investing his mind.
~*~*~*~
As all four of her feet landed roughly on the uneven terrain near the castle, Tanginika made a slightly worried noise when she tilted to one side as she fought for a foothold. She let out a sigh of relief when she moved a small boulder out of the way and balanced evenly on the dirt and rocks. Lowering one wing, she granted Shiri access to the ground and then tossed her head for a second, making the frill of spines down her neck quiver. Her gaze shifted to the castle that stood a little ways away, it's torrents and towers reaching skyward. "There you are," she said, folding her wings and flicking her tail. Affectionately, she nuzzled Shiri's shoulder and blinked her large eyes. "I want to go with you."
~*~*~*~
Elden wrestled with his thoughts and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing to be uncomfortable with around the dragon. Taking a deep breath, he closed his fingers around the door handle once more and pulled it open, stepping quietly into the cell like area and closing the heavy door with a small thunk behind himself. Reaching for a chair on his way towards the dragon, which was sitting rather miserably underneath a burden of thick chains, he seated himself nearby on the straw-strewn floor and regarded her thoughtfully.
Zola noticed him and looked at him with one jewel-faceted eye. "I don't bite," she said now that her head chains had slackened off a fraction and granted her a bit of movement around her snout, "Unless you're a overgrown apple." She now wish she had fruit because it suddenly dawned on her that she was hungry, and that's what she ate. lots of fruit and vegetables.
~*~*~*~
"It's not safe Tanginika, they can't hurt me like they can you. Go and find Ciro he will know what to do now that the old plan won't work, don't tell Ignatius if you can avoid it. He won't do anything smart," She said to her dragon sister, patiently waiting for her to leave.
"I'll do my very best," Tanginika replied. Then she let out a low, watery chuckle. "He would most likely torch the castle if he found out anyways," she added, turning herself around and starting to head off. "Be careful," she said to Shiri as an afterthought before she took off, spreading her wings and gliding off towards the nearest stream.
~*~*~*~
Elden nearly fell of his stool in horror. I must be dreaming. dragon just TALKED! To ME! He thought in a state of hysterics, How in the hell!? He shortly managed to regain his posture somewhat and stare at the creature, his eyes wide. "Okay. either I am hallucinating and imagined that I heard a dragon SPEAK to me, or that just happened," he said, tilting his head to the side and examining her as though he was just seeing her for the first time.
"You people don't know much about us do you?" she said and wished she could stretch out her confined wings that were tied to her body with more rope then she thought was possible. Her body tensed and her breath hissed between her teeth as she tried to shift positions, due to her scraped underside. Once she had settled, she huffed out a sigh, sending some of the hay flying into a small dance in the air before floating back down.
*** A/N~ Sorry we haven't updated in so long. Myself and Smare have been super busy the last little while. But we hope to have more time soon and will update then. Please no flames! This is our first story together. R&R