Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.
Claimer: I own all of my original characters.
Yeah, I know its short…but I'm not too good at writing intense scenes…so they're short. But, at least it didn't take so long to update this time! I only have two more chapters planned for this story then it'll be finished! I have to finish "A Caged Fox" request, then I have a Rioichi request to do, a oneshot, and once those are done…I can move on to my Tennessee fiction. I know…ancestor overload…but with the results of the poll on my profile (which is still open for voting), a Tennessee story is wanted. So, I'm a bit busy but I won't turn down a request unless I'm just swamped. But, I don't have anything else to add, so please read, review, and let me know what you think! Thanks!
Chapter 11: With Blood and Fire
Nottinghamshire, England 1453 A.D.
"Keep thyself hidden my lady!" I shouted towards Katherine as I kept my sword pointed towards the dragon, "I wish not to see thee or thy mother harmed by this creature!" Without truly thinking, Henry and I darted in opposite directions towards the dragon after speaking to the queen and the princess. Two of the dragons' heads followed us as we ran around its body, shrieking in the process. Ducking behind another rock, Henry and I avoided flames once again, not wishing to be burned to a crisp ten seconds into the battle. The fire of the dragon pounded against the rock I was hiding behind, quickly making my brow sweat and the metal of my armor to heat up greatly. Once the flames ceased, Henry rushed to me, ducking behind my rock before the dragon shot another set of flames towards us.
"How are we to vanquish this beast? For our swords cannot piece it…for it is not flesh!" I shouted through another roar of the beast and a flap of its wings.
"We remove its heads!" Henry shouted his return, "If we remove them, not only do we extinguish the flames but we vanquish this beast for good!" I nodded, knowing that he was correct, but how we were to get close enough to remove the heads would be a difficult task.
"Take the left head, Galleth and I shall take the right. Once they are gone we both go after the middle head." I shook my friends paw as a symbol of comprehension before we glanced to our lady loves cowering behind their rock, watching us carefully. We bowed our heads in their direction before going around our rock and facing the beast. I ran forth, my sword in my gasp as I came to the left head of the dragon. Jumping onto rock after rock, I ascended the side of the cavern, looking for a spot to where I could attack the beat.
"Every creature has a weak spot Galleth!" Henry shouted from the other side of the cavern, "Look for an opening in the metal and strike with thy sword!" I nodded, searching the dragons' neck for an opening in the sheets of metal. I search for what seemed like an eternity before I finally spotted a gap in its metal plating just behind the head. Leaping onto the neck of the beast, I dripped to the metal scales of the dragon, keeping my grip as I inched my way towards the head of the dragon. Shaking its neck in an attempt to fling me away, the dragon shook violently, but I stayed attached. Lifting my sword into the air, I brought it down swiftly, slicing my blade through the electric veins of the dragon. With a shriek, the dragon roared as I kept hacking until the head finally fell from the neck. I glanced to the far right head, realizing that the head was already resting on the neck of the middle head, hacking away at it.
With a quick whip of its head, the dragon flung Henry from it, leaving half of its head dangling from the body. Knowing that I had to finish the beast, I leapt to the third and final head, bringing up my sword in the process. It was obvious that the final head was the main of the three, for it was the one putting up the greatest fight. Swinging its neck, letting flames from deep within its belly, and releasing ear splitting shrieks as it thought to shake me, I gripped onto the dragon as I stayed determined to finish it off. I straddled the neck of the beast, raising my sword once again, gripping its handle and the metal plating of the dragon tightly as I inhaled deeply, ready to strike.
"For Princess Katherine of Nottinghamshire," I muttered to myself as I swung my sword down with all my might towards the opening behind the dragons' head.
With a final blow of my sword, my blade sliced away at the metal of the dragons' neck, causing a final ear splitting shriek to come from the monsters throat as it fell and I jumped from the neck and stood next to Henry. Henry and I backed up, looking at the quickly falling beast. Smiling briefly, we marveled at our work before realizing that we should have moved. As the mechanical beast fell, one of the metallic feet of the dragon swiped at the air, sending a razor sharp, metal claw through our armor. Henry and I both fell, gasping in the process, seeing that our armor has been sliced through with ease. I brought a paw to my chest, feeling the armor that had been peeled away and quickly sucking in air when I felt my widely opened chest pillow out blood. My blood gushed from my chest, soaking my gloves, fur, and the sand below me. I heaved in breaths, gasping for air as the severity of my injuries hit me. My chest had been sliced open with no effort, sending my blood everywhere. I briefly glanced to Henry, who had also fallen, and saw the same with him…only the injuries were to his neck and chest. My vision started to blur, my mind going blank as I lost blood quickly.
"Sir Galleth!" Katherine's terrified voice flooded the cavern as she and her mother rushed to where my friend and I lay, gasping for breath and life. Her paws gripped my face tightly, shaking it roughly to keep from falling into a permanent slumber. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at my wounds, knowing that they were life threatening. She ripped the hem of her wedding dress away, wrapping it around my wounds tightly in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Mother," Katherine glanced to her mother, who was starting to panic herself, and looked for an answer on what to do.
"We must get them to their horses, Katherine. They must be tended to soon or they shall perish." Those words were less than reassuring, but the queen was correct. Our wounds were deep, gushing blood with every beat of our hearts.
"My Queen," Henry rasped out as she crudely tended his wounds. Queen Isabel shook her head and silenced the knight quickly.
"Thy must refrain from speaking, Sir Henry. For thy words will cause thee to perish." He coughed, blood spurting from his mouth as he did so. My dear, old friend, was in horrid shape…not likely to survive. The queen and princess stood, pulling us up with them. We were draped over their shoulders as they rushed, as best they could with the weight of our bodies against the small frames, towards the opening of the cavern, leaving the metal dragon dead in the dust below. The four of us struggled down the jagged rocks of the cavern as we descended towards our awaiting horses. As we rushed down the rocks, my limps became weak, my feet dragging against the rocks from the lack of blood as it spurted from my chest and into the dirt below. My vision was blurry, fading in and out as we trotted and weaved. I found myself leaning heavily against Katherine, who was struggling to keep me up and awake.
"Keep thy eyes open, Sir Galleth!" Katherine scolded as she shook the neck of my armor, whipping my head violently, "Do not leave me, Sir Galleth." I bowed my head at the raccoon, letting her know that I would do my best.
My mind fuzzed until we reached the bottom, not fully understanding what was happening until I found myself sitting on my horse behind Katherine, galloping at full speed from the caverns. I clung to Katherine's waist so I could stay on the horse, my head resting between her shoulder blades. Isabel toted Henry on his horse, controlling the reins as Katherine did, with him slumped against her, making no movements at all. I pressed my paw to my chest, seeing that my blood was soaking through Katherine's makeshift bandages. I was loosing more blood with each passing second, realizing that if we did not reach proper care soon…then we would surely die. Katherine's hair beat against my face as it whipped in the air as she directed the horse behind her mothers'. I gasped in breaths, feeling my vision start to black as more blood poured from my chest and soaking into the back of Katherine's dress. I gave a final sigh before resting my head fully on the back of Katherine and slipping into a dark, quiet, and numbing sleep.