A big thank you to all those who have read the first chapter! Feedback and criticism is welcomed. Here's another one, so please enjoy.
Happy reading!
Curse of the Dragon Chapter 2
Flight: The distance covered or the course taken by a flying object.
The Grand Chateau of Vineta was a chaotic frenzy.
Maids bolted in and out of rooms, particularly Pique and Lilie with desperate tears streaming down their cheeks. Rachel composed herself, relaying instructions calmly to the frantic servants.
Indeed, the Lady Ahiru was nowhere in the Chateau.
Three figures occupied an extravagant, spacious throne room. At the end of a long, white hall lined with tall windows and tapestries of swans and roses, the Prince perched stiffly on his throne, one hand clutching the armrest in a death-grip, the other pinching the bridge of his nose. Karon stood stiffly to his right, facing a kneeling knight before them, a pile of blue and black shredded cloth next to his foot.
"Send every soldier on every pegasus to every corner of Vineta. No one rests until the Lady Ahiru is safe and sound within these walls," Karon firmly directed General Lysander.
"Right away, sir. Our knights will be dispatched within the hour." With that, the blonde, gruff-looking general rose and hustled out of the throne room as swiftly as his armor allowed.
The clanking of the metal shoes on marble floor ceased to echo throughout the hall. "Your majesty, is it possible that Rungholt may have had a hand in this?" Karon inquired, turning to the Prince.
Prince Siegfried's weary eyes shifted to his advisor, gaze questioning. "Rungholt?" he asked. After a moment, the Prince shook his head. "No. They do not have the motive, nor the audacity. Certainly not after the message they sent. How could they send their officials to discuss acres of Vineta's fertile lands in exchange for slaves?" He paused in disgust. "And how would they enter the Grand Chateau without notifying anyone? You and I are both aware of how flamboyant the Prince Femio is about power."
Karon sighed. "Then, sire, who would kidnap Lady Ahiru? And how could they have entered the gardens, let alone thepremises without alerting the knights?" He paused to pick up the blue low-quality material that was found in ripped pieces next to the fountain. Sneering and holding the fabric away with two fingers, he added, "And what is this? An obvious sign of a struggle, but the Lady Ahiru would wear no such attire." Karon dropped the cloth as if it caught fire. "What happened?"
The Prince stood abruptly and snatched up the sword adorned with swans that leaned on the armrest of his throne, startling Karon. "Ready my pegasus."
His assistant blinked. "Your…your highness? Are you joining the search?"
"I have no choice, you see." The Prince's shoulders slumped. "I met her no longer than two hours ago, and yet I know for a fact that I cannot have a future without Ahiru by my side." Pure agony settled in his amber eyes, his warm features twisting into a painful grimace. "I fell in love with her. From the moment I gazed into her eyes, I was certain she was the one, Karon. I was certain of it."
"Sire…"
"I understand I do not know her yet, but I love her dearly regardless. That is why," the Prince whispered, pausing to take a breath, "That is why I need to find her. I need to see her safe and in my arms."
"I understand that, your majesty, but what of Rungholt?" beseeched the advisor.
Prince Siegfried straightened up, staring at Karon with hard determination. He unsheathed his blade and lifted it up to glint in the light. "Politics will have to wait. If I am absolutely needed while I am gone, light the signal fires, and I will return.
"I swear on my sword that I will find my fiancé, no matter what it takes. I swear..."
"…on my own name that if you do not bring me back to the Chateau this instant…!"
Despite herself, Ahiru could not help but futilely pounding her small fists against the dragon's iron grip around her waist and kick her feet back into its solid abdomen. Her frustrated, desperate screeches did just as little damage.
Although she used to have an intense fear of heights, years of riding pegasus' built up a tolerance for elevation. Thus, flying in an unknown direction while facing the vast, green fields so far below did not perturb her.
What did perturb her was having her back pressed firmly against a hard, scaly chest and large claws firmly grasping her middle.
She was not even sure if Mytho was aware of her abduction. And if he was, he must have been so worried about her. Thoughts of her Prince forced her sorrow to the front of her mind.
It was just her luck to be kidnapped by a ravenous beast mere moments after meeting her future husband (who also happened to be the man of every girl's dreams). For the first time in her life, something was going to go right, and she would finally find her happiness after the death of her parents.
Alas, there she was. Ahiru was at the mercy of a disgusting creature that was said to be extinct for thousands of years.
"Please bring me back to the Chateau!" she pleaded, eyes watering and ceasing her barrage of fruitless attacks. "What is it you want of me? Hold me for ransom? Have me for dinner?!" She slumped forward, letting her limbs hang limply.
The dragon's long neck bent downward to see her and the reptilian head entered her field of vision from above, appearing upside-down. Its wings continued to beat in the air, remaining airborne even as it stopped flying in its chosen direction. The green eyes glared into hers almost threateningly.
Ahiru swallowed and prayed that her tears would not pour down her cheeks. This monster fed on fear. I refuse to show this thing that I'm afraid!
Hardening her features and forcing away her tears, she folded her arms and pursed her lips, eyebrows drawn closer together. "Put me down. Now." She cringed when her voice cracked.
Its deep, green eyes glinted and if she didn't know any better, she would say it seemed to raise an eyebrow.
"As you wish."
Oh my…
Ahiru barely had time to register that a human voice--a smooth, deep, and infuriatingly confident voice at that--flowed easily from the monster's jaws before the pressure around her middle vanished.
She found herself plummeting.
She shrieked in absolute horror as the earth below grew closer and closer. The gusts whipped at her hair and dress, as if trying to save her from gravity's pull. She plunged faster and faster until she knew the ground would soon reach up and catch her in its fatal hold.
I want to live! I want to live! Mytho! Mother!
With everything she had, Ahiru consumed all of the air she could as the wind blew against her, and cried out, "Please!"
Claws once again seized her waist and jerked her back against the dragon's hard chest, soaring upward to the skies once more and knocking the air out of her.
Ahiru barely noticed that her braid came loose and the long, thick curls of her salmon-colored hair fell over her shoulders and face, the tips fluttering behind her as the dragon resumed its flight.
After a few minutes of gasping for breath, the panicked, smothered suffocation was eased and the tightness in her chest loosened.
"Maybe that'll teach you to shut up."
Without the strength or will to respond, she remained silent.
--
The monster flew for what seemed to Ahiru liked an eternity. Perhaps it was, as the sun was disappearing over the horizon already. After her near-death experience a few hours prior, the girl found herself slipping into a dreamlike trance. She wasn't asleep; how could she possibly rest without fear of being eaten by the beast carrying her? At the same time, she wasn't awake. She would have thought she was dreaming if it weren't for the tingling prickles on her numb feet.
A valley soon came into view. If the Grand Chateau's wondrous architecture was amazing, this place was too glorious in all its unique simplicity to be real.
A small meadow of white grass seemed to glow in the twilight, flowing with the breeze like sea-foam on crashing waves. Dominating, steep mountains and dense forests surrounded a lofty ivory tree in the center of it all. The entire scene glowed with an enchanting white light that grew brighter as the sun continued to sink behind the mountaintops.
Perhaps Ahiru truly was dreaming. This place must have leaped right out of a fantasy, and she almost forgot that she wanted to go back to the Chateau. In fact, she might have forgotten she was kidnapped at all.
The dragon gradually descended into the surreal landscape and literally dropped her four feet above the ground, her face colliding with the feathery white ground. Ahiru grumbled and reminded herself of her current predicament.
She tried to stand, but her feet were still asleep, and the ache and needle-like discomfort sent her sprawling back to the ground. The beast settled next to her, beating its great wings.
A strange noise came from the dragon's throat. Did it just snort at her?
"The nerve…" Ahiru groaned as she forced herself to sit up. Her legs really were aching, and she found herself tearing up in frustration once more. Why did this always happen to her?
She sniffed and turned her attention to the towering monster beside her. "What do you want from me?! Why can't you just leave me alone?! Please take me home!" Ahiru couldn't believe she was resorting to whining and begging, but in all honesty, what more could she do?
The dragon seemed to roll its emerald eyes. With two long paces, it was next to the white tree and reaching for some type of black cloth that hung limply from its branches. It lifted the fabric in one claw and then let it fall to the white grass.
Pants? thought Ahiru when she took a long look.
She jumped when the dragon let out a deafening roar. Its claws clutched its head and its body thrashed around, almost as if ripping off the leathery scales. She bit her lip as the dorsal spines and wings sunk and folded painfully back into softer skin. The creature shrunk and the growling and snarling of a dragon gradually melted into the groans and gasping of a man. It fell to its knees and took deep breaths for a few moments.
Ahiru felt her face heat up and she looked away. It slipped her mind that the thing could look like a human. It wore nothing except for the horned instrument still hanging by his hip.
In her peripheral vision, she could make out the figure reaching a long arm out to the black pants on the grass. A shuffling noise followed and she then chanced a look in its direction.
He stretched, rolling his neck and arms. His slender body was toned and she would have blushed further (a lady of her standing would never be in such proximity to a shirtless man), but something else caught her attention.
A hideous, wide dark scar ran from his right shoulder to the left of his sinewy abdomen. She grimaced. In an instant, his attention was solely on her, glaring at her from his position next to the tree. She looked away from his scar, pretending to not have seen it. His right hand curled into a fist and his arm flexed from the tension.
Faster than Ahiru could register, he slammed his fist into the ivory tree.
Nothing happened for a long moment, until the tall plant shifted, the earth vibrating savagely. If Ahiru were not already on the ground, she certainly would have fallen.
Her jaw dropped when the shaking ceased. The tree's roots disjoined from the ground and revealed a dark stairwell that led deep into the ground.
Was this all real?
The man strode to her side, appearing even more imposing than the last time he stood above her. Perhaps it was her seated position or the darkened skies that made him all the more threatening to her.
"Oi. Get up. Let's go," he commanded monotonously.
Ahiru pursed her lips. Her legs still tingled, but she regained most of the feeling she lost. Holding back her tears once more (once again, she refused to show him her fear), she inched backwards, lifting herself onto her shaking feet.
"I don't know what you want from me," she began defiantly, "but I won't let you take me down there that easily!"
The man raised his eyebrow. "Look, I don't have all night. Go down the stairs."
"No! Mytho will find me! I'll be taken safely back to the Chateau and they will have your head for this! What you have done is a violation of countless laws! Kidnapping the Prince's wife-to-be is a crime punishable by dea-"
"You little twit, what did I say about shutting up?"
Ahiru gulped. His hands formed fists at his sides and his bare chest rose and fell with each calculated breath. Again, she tried not to stare at his scar.
He closed his eyes and clenched and unclenched his jaw. She deduced he was composing himself and after another moment, the tension rolled off his posture. He calmly looked down on her once more.
"I'll say it again. Go down the stairs."
She replied by backing up even more. Not once has she ever been spoken to in that manner, and she was absolutely insulted. This thing was not taking her without a fight, and Ahiru readied herself to make a run for it and hoped to death that she wouldn't trip on the train of her dress.
"No. You can't make me."
The reaction she expected from the dragon-man was something akin to growling or yelling. Maybe he would hurt her if she couldn't get away quick enough. Even perhaps another agonizing transformation into that monster form of his.
What she did receive, however, was an exasperated sigh and a roll of the eyes.
"You idiot," he grumbled, "There's nowhere else to go."
Indeed, in every other direction, there were steep, rocky mountains and dark, ominous forests. The only way out was flight or the ivory tree.
Hopelessness crashed down on her shoulders like an avalanche down a slope. A sob escaped her throat and she finally allowed the tears to pour down her cheeks. All of the anger and sorrow she held in for the past few hours rushed to the surface, breaking down all defenses and leaving her weeping in front of the heartless, disgusting dragon.
"Why?" she blubbered, "Why did you take me here?"
His emerald eyes glinted dangerously.
"Simple," he said casually, "You have to die."
Pretty much just a kind of transitional chapter. This will probably be the shortest part of my story, so the others will be longer, I promise. Otherwise, I agree this chapter is a bit boring.
Thank you to all of those who favorited and alerted this story. The reviews are most appreciated!