I awoke with a throbbing pain in my shoulder, and a dull ache in my heart. I sat up carefully, gingerly holding my bandaged arm, and cringed as the movement caused another burst of sporadic pain through my entire arm. I glanced around, and realized why my heart ached- Comet was not with me. Even now I could hear her cries, echoing in my head as she called for me from wherever she was caged.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I told her I was okay, that everything was going to be alright. She stopped wailing, but a whimper replaced her cries.

"You're awake."

I whipped around to face the sudden voice. A man, tall and burly looking, was leaning against an icy post beside my cell. He had strange tattoos on his over sized chin. He was looking down at me with casual interest.

"Release me now." I stated, plain and simple, standing upright. I kept my eyes trained on him, and more specifically, the dagger under his belt.

"How about no?" He pulled out his dagger and swung it around his fingers, catching it in his hand and holding it up to the cage bars. "We've got an order of dragons to fill by tomorrow, and your stupid dragon came and blew the place to smithereens! How on earth are we supposed to fill the order by tomorrow now? Though I suppose..." He gave a sly glance back towards where he had Comet caged, "A Night Fury would suffice."

"Don't you dare!" I shouted, knowing my words were no use against him.

"What's stopping me?" He asked, a hint of a challenge in his voice. He swung around and stuck his dagger back in his belt, turning his back to me. I heard Comet whimper again. Even if I couldn't save myself, I had to save her. I looked around the cell. It was small, and it was metal all the way around. The only part not metal was an icy panel above me where the top was blasted off. It made an adequate barrier to a muzzled dragon, but for me...

Shouting came from outside the fort, and the Man ran to figure out what was happening. With a quick glance, I checked to see if any guards were around, and hastily lifted myself up using the bars. I reached up to the top of the cage, barely able to squeeze my torso through the crack between the cell top and the slab of ice. I wiggled through, straining to escape without drawing attention. I heard dragon cries from outside, and was worried about the trappers, but Comet was my first priority.

I quietly slipped through the icy remains of the fort, heading in the direction the man had nodded. He seemed to be my age, but with a cruel streak unknown to my kind. I finally turned a corner and found Comet strapped down and muzzled to prevent her from making an escape with her fire. She was not caged, thankfully, but chains and straps littered the floor, rendering her immobile. She let out another whimper, lowering her head to the floor as I approached. She was ashamed that she allowed this to happen, and I saw the streak on her right cheek where the razor net had hit her. I gave her a small smile, sinking to my knees and hugging her snout. She nudged me and closed her eyes, nuzzling into my arms. While reluctant to leave the security of our embrace, it was not safe. I had to free her from the chains.

Hard as I tried, I could hardly budge the muzzle that constricted her mouth. I spun around wildly, trying desperately to find something before the trappers returned and our window of escape disappeared. Think Lucaria, think! I noticed a sword near the wall, slightly bent and obviously abandoned. Taking a deep breath, I picked it up, hesitantly walking over to Comet, who looked up at me with confusion.

It's okay, Comet. I won't hurt you. She lowered her head slightly, her version of a nod, and closed her eyes, waiting. I lifted the sword above my head, knowing it would draw attention to us. I paused, wondering if there was anything else I could do. Looking to my right, I caught a glance of a wooden shaft hidden under splinters of wood and ice. Praying for Thor to help me, I walked over and picked it up, revealing a spear head with a serrated edge.

Thanking Thor for his kindness, I rushed back over to Comet and began cutting the leather straps with the spearhead. If I could just rid Comet of these chains, maybe we could escape, but only dragon fire would be able to melt the chains...

I found a small gap where a metal ring connected the straps to the muzzle, and wedged the spearhead underneath. Comet let out a sharp whine as the opposite side cut into her jaw slightly.

"I'm so sorry Comet...but this is the only way to get it off..." I looked at her for permission, not wanting to go any further without her consent. She trusted me completely, again lowering her head slightly. I carefully sawed at the leather, trying to keep the opposite edge as far off her jaw as possible. Finally, there was a small snap as the leather broke, and Comet shook the muzzle off. She whipped around and blasted the chains with fire, melting them off into puddles of silver that pooled on the floor. Shouts came from behind us, and I knew we had to move.

I grabbed her collar and swung myself up over her back, lying down flat so she could fly as high as possible along the roof. We hugged the ceiling until we flew over top of the trappers, who had been dashing down the hallways towards us. Shouting, they turned around and chased after us, throwing spears and swords in useless attempts at stopping us.

My heart sped up as we finally escaped into open air, pounding as I saw archers aiming at us. I urged Comet higher, above their line of fire. Thankfully the archers' aim was dreadful, and we escaped unscathed. I turned around to make sure we had no pursuers, and saw faint movements going in the opposite direction. I thought I could make out two streaks, one blue, and the other black.