Anniya 6

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



" Wake up! Miss, will you please wake up!" a knight shook Anniya abruptly.

She blinked, hardly having time to be surprised before he bombarded her with questions.

" Do you know where the two men you and his majesty were traveling with have gone?" Looked like John and West had already made their leave.

For a moment she considered telling every bloody detail West had given her. It would certainly serve him right. Perhaps she could have some insight on how he could be killed. That was, of course, if Anniya just didn't decide to kill him on the spot. But then, John would be caught in that trap. Anniya feigned innocence.

" They left? Without saying good bye? Just what are you talking about, Sir?"

" Follow me." Anniya followed the man out of her tent.

She detested tents, and as far as she was concerned, she had spent her last night in one. She opened her mouth to ask about Robert when she saw the wagon. It lay in charred ruins, smoke still rising from it. Gleex. She could of killed the little lizard at that moment, and at the same time she wanted to hug him to pieces. Apparently, he had not gone without a fight. Anniya smirked, but dropped her smile when the Knight looked at her.

" The Prince wanted to see you." the knight told her, and she tore her gaze from the wagon and went over to Char , who were studying something.

" Kummeck ims powd." Char greeted her. He was surrounded with several other knights, and looked stressed. One of the Knights translated to Anniya as Char spoke to her.

" As you can see from the wagon, apparently your friends, the blonde haired fellow and his friend set off in the night. We're not exactly sure what happened, but our guard fell asleep, and as your friends were making a getaway with quite a few of our supplies, there was also someone who didn't want to go. And you can see where his temper got in the way. They grabbed what we think is a crate of dragon eggs, and made off on their horses. Not going to get far, their heading straight into the Fens. We've sent men to recover them, but we don't expect them to get far going defenseless into the Fens, it being the home of the Ogres."

" And the dragon......" Anniya prodded. Char looked at her quizzically.

" Yes, there was a baby dragon, in fact. Sir Martin found him."

" You didn't kill it, did you?" Anniya asked frantically. The knights looked at her suspiciously. Char continued, looking appalled that she had even suggested such a thing.

" No, of course not. We're keeping it in an Iron cage for the time being. It won't eat, though. Smoking like mad. Occasionally a flame comes out, just like in the wagon. Why? Did you know there was a dragon?"

" No, no, of course not! Why on earth, would I want a baby dragon? Besides, green's not my color. I mean, if it is green, because lots of dragons are green, and you know..."

" Gleexybly!" a happy tiny noise erupted from an iron cage as it saw her. Anniya cringed.

" Dragons react better to women, I suppose. Must be the whole virgin thing, same with unicorns, you know, I wouldn't possibly be able to have a dragon besides." Anniya blabbered, mentally kicking herself as she went on. Gleex nuzzled her hand as through the bars.

" Uh, haha. Isn't that cute, it thinks I'm it's adoptive mother, which I'm not. Before you know it, it's going to start nuzzling Prince Robert. You know how babies are-- so abundant in their love. Perhaps we should get it a toy or something so it will quit rubbing my hand. I think it has an itch of some sort. Well, I'm sorry, but I have really have absolutely no idea who could keep one of these things in captivity, it would of just been awful if something had happened to it, I mean you, and you're not going to kill it, are you?" Anniya bubbled. The Knights exchanged knowing glances. Anniya cringed, but reassured herself that they had absolutely no proof that Gleex was hers. Char spoke up.

" So you are absolutely positive that you have never seen this creature before."

" Positive."

"Zyssq Gleex." Gleex cooed, and curled up next to her hand, making happy noises.

" Alright," Char said, eyeing the dragon curled up against her.

" And you don't own it, you've never seen it, and you swear this?" Anniya nodded.

" Of course, of course! What would I be doing with a baby dragon? I knew you would see the light." Char smiled at her, but his face instantly clouded afterwards.

" I need to go speak to Robert then. He claims that you've been babying the dragon for about a month or so, and that you call it Gleex." All of Anniya's calmness went down the drain.

" I'll go fetch him for you." Anniya hurried off towards Robert's tent.

When she got there, a mysterious accident would occur in which Robert would lose 2 legs and an eye. If he was lucky. Anniya barged into his tent. Robert was going over papers, and looked up when she arrived.

" You told them all about Gleex?" she demanded. Robert shrugged.

" I did. What of it?"

" I just swore to the Prince of Frell that I had never seen Gleex before! I swore that I had never seen Gleex in front of a dozen witnesses! I have just broken the law, all because for once you tell the truth! You never tell the truth, what's gotten into you now?" Robert stood up and walked passed her.

" Kellia is twice the size of Frell. Their not going to hang me as long as that's in effect. Go tell Char that you were mistaken. He's not going to hang you Anniya; you're over reacting." She rolled her eyes.

" True, hanging is something that you would be more likely to do. So I go up to him and tell him that I just bloody lied in to his face? I don't think so."

" Go tell him that you were mistaken. Come with me." They walked out to the knights. Anniya pretended to take a second glance at the dragon.

" Wait-- is this dragon a male?" the knights nodded. " Why didn't you say so! Oh, you were putting me on again! This is Gleex, the little dragon I lost!" Anniya pretended for a joyful reunion. Smiling, she stood up and thanked the men profusely for the finding of Gleex. Satisfied, she tossed her head, and carried Gleex over to her hammock, which she had made a point to hang up. Robert watched her go, and laughed.

" Where did you say she was from again, Robert?" Char asked, curious. Robert just smiled.

" To tell the truth, Char, I think she comes from a little world of her own." Char continued,

" She's a nice girl. Reminds me of Ella, in a way." Robert threw his hands up.

" Ella, the goddess who has no faults. It's too bad that she left before we arrived. I would of had to meet her." Char blushed, and Robert laughed, and slapped Char on the back.

" We should get on the road soon. Frell is waiting."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



They rode on for a few more months, capturing Ogres and such. Gleex grew a considerable amount, now the size of a foxhound. He was unusually small, which meant that he would be a giant when he grew up. The smaller dragons were as hatchlings, the bigger they were fully grown. Robert joked about it with Anniya.

" The dragon's almost bigger then you, and it's only a hatchling. I don't care what you say, it is far from sweet and innocent. It set Sir Bertram's beard on fire the other day, and all that you did was giggle away."

" Well, it was funny! Sorry if some of us lack a sense of humor." Anniya retorted

. Gleex let out a wisp of smoke, and made one of his noises. Robert shook his head.

" What are you going to do when he grows to be the size of a small manor? Where will you keep him? Who will let you keep him?"

" Char for one. He said that as long as Gleex didn't set anymore things on fire, he'd be welcome in Frell."

"Oh Bloody Hell. It's a dragon; do you think it's honestly going to stop setting fire? That's just as likely as an Ogre becoming a vegetarian."

" And your ego shrinking."

" I do not have a gigantic ego, as you love to imply."

" Oh come on. I know all your little secrets." Anniya told him.

" At least I don't have five layers of dirt covering my skin." Anniya's eyes flashed. Robert instantly wished that he had not said that.

" Well, I'm sorry. So I haven't had a bath in awhile. So my hair's a little tangled. Maybe I like it that way." There was a touch of upset in her voice, and the touch of Robert's guilt became a wave.

" We'll be in the palace a few days, just in time for the Madame Olga's wedding. Supposed to be one of the biggest events of the season. They'll wash you all up."

" Right." Anniya nodded numbly. Then she frowned.

" But why would I want to become clean? So I can go be married off?"

" No one's forcing you to marry. You have no parents. You're a free phoenix. You can fly as high as you want."

" It would be nice to be different, though. Perhaps slightly unlike the dozens of girls who dress up in fancy dresses and parade about." She looked thoughtful for a moment. A smile spread over her face. But before she could say anything, Gleex began shrieking.

" Gleex? Be quiet you lizard! You'll attract all the bloody Ogres in the land." She turned to Robert and laughed. It still amazed him how pretty her laugh was. Like tinkling bells or something. Laughing, she said,

" Isn't it funny how these little fellows react? He acts like an arrows about to pierce my heart or something.." an arrow flew past Anniya's ear into the tree behind her. She bolted up, as did the rest of the knights. Not Ogres, thank goodness. Something almost as bad. Bandits. And definitely not West and John. No, these bandit's had earrings dangling from left ears with evil smiles and were dirty and had a malicious gleam in their eyes. They did not look kind at all, and far from John and West's style of living.

" Get them!" All of the Knight's immediately reacted, and got their swords and bows out. It became an all out battle. Could she actually go anywhere without getting in trouble? Anniya wondered. Before she could think anymore, Gleex jumped out of her hands, and tumbled to the ground, still not able to fly. His leathery wings were amidst the clanging of swords and blood. Anniya dove for him unfortunately as the same time as their leader.

" Ah, we have a wench here." he smiled at her, revealing large black spots in his teeth.

Anniya kicked him, and flipped over, making a grab for Gleex. The man, angry now, grabbed her.

" Let go of me, and my dragon!" Anniya shouted, and bit down hard on his arm.

He howled in pain, and Anniya smirked, taking this as an opportunity to run. The man tripped her. She landed face down in the hard mud, knocking the wind out of her. She rolled over to the side, nearly missing the sword that came down on her.

" Very courteous to the ladies, aren't you." Anniya told him, backing away from the sword.

The man ignored her, and sliced the sword through the air. It grazed Anniya's skin, leaving a long line of blood. Pain shot through her. She became consciously aware of the sword looming over her. Anniya was also aware that Gleex was flaming pretty well. Without a hesitation, she scooped Gleex and held him in front of her face. Fire roared at the man, and he screamed, dropping his sword and frantically batting out flames.

" Zyxaflgleex" Gleex chirped happily.

Anniya smiled at the tiny dragon, glad to have him around. Slice. Several locks of Anniya's blonde hair fell to the ground. Her eyes narrowed. She had just finished dealing with one psycho; how had another one come so soon? Gleex was just smoking and chirping frantically, aware of the danger. Suddenly, the man fell dead. Well, that had been quick, Anniya thought. She didn't see who saved her; she was only grateful. Finally, after a long time, the bandits retreated.

A few of the knights were injured, as with the bandits, only one had a third degree burn.



" It's really alright; my cut's not that bad." Anniya told Char and Sir Aubrey, as they inspected her wounds.

" The cut may have not been bad, missy, but it's the blades that we're worried about. Bandits like them aren't the type to take the time to clean their swords off. You could have a number of diseases." Sir Aubrey told her.

" Oh that's bloody marvelous. With my luck, I'll almost certainly have one." Anniya grumbled. Gleex licked her with his coarse, rough tongue. Char laughed, and touched the little dragon. His Emerald green coat shown magnificently now; he had also began flaming quite frequently, setting various things on fire. In addition to the growth of his size and color, his abundant devotion to Anniya grew as well. He hissed at anyone who he thought was upsetting her, smoked if she was obviously upset, and sometimes even flamed. His leathery wings began to send him airborne, although he could not fly all that far or high at his age. Although no one matched his love for Anniya, Gleex had also had a liking for Char, and Sir Stephan. Also, with his talent for sending out severe chirps and flaming whenever he thought something dangerous might be coming near Anniya, Gleex proved to be extremely useful. Except for the fact that it seemed Ogres avoided them; the Knights couldn't figure out why. They hadn't seen a single Ogre in ages. Sir Aubrey carefully cleaned Anniya's wound

. " Do you think that we'll be in Frell soon?" Anniya asked Char, curious. Char smiled at her.

" By tomorrow."