Dragon's Dogma - A Forgotten Tale of the Arisen and his Pawn Chapter 8: Decisions, a dragon's dogma fanfic

Chapter 8: Decisions

They had spent the entire morning searching for survivors amongst the corpses. The Red Dragon's words still echoing in his head, it was speaking the truth about him; he had indulged in the mortal life for far too long because it was something he had left behind but could never return to due to his pact, a fine price to pay but an eternity to pay off. No doubt the Dragon could have swallowed him whole if it so chose to but it had a different purpose for him. The soldiers that got in the way were hindering that purpose but were of little threat; instead they became an amusing sport for the Dragons wrath.

"Master, I don't think there are any more survivors left, I believe it's wise to be on our way fore more beasts begin to show" he nodded in acknowledgment. The stench of death was beginning to attract the beast that had a taste for human flesh, those that didn't die in the fire, where either smashed or pulverized by the Dragons body.

The Dragon spared their lives so it could show off its might to them, to strike fear; it was clever, meager enemies like foot soldiers are no match for a Dragons wrath. He was angry at himself again, he wasn't afraid to die, death had not been an issue for a long time, his life was insignificant in his eyes and yet he could not make a move. Something was holding him back, fear and doubt; it was utterly taking over him.

Regardless of the Dragons warning to abandon their quest they pressed on to their original destination, "The Tainted Mountain", the Dragons roost. Their walk was in silence, if the pawns had been normal humans they might have interrogated him on his hesitation before the enemy, he felt he owed them an answer but remembered they were under his command so he held his tongue instead.

Not even half a day's march to the mountain before he felt the fatigue come over him, he had been out of breath for a while now, this was not like him; this wasn't even a hike to the store and his insides felt like they were falling apart. Were the Dragons words of warning so powerful? Had he always felt this way? No, he'd been through worse; this was nothing but another hike up a mountain to punish a little devil for its mischief.

"Let's set up camp here" he was out of breath.

"Master?" she asked in surprise for his orders were not like him and he was short on breath.

"We have to rest, I don't feel like myself right now" he collapsed on to his knees and hit his head on the cold ground, knocking him unconscious. As he passed out he could hear her calling out to him in a desperate voice to come back.

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It was dawn again; he woke up inside the tent the pawns had set for him. He felt her lying next to him, he assumed she didn't care that anyone else knew that she was lying right next to him anymore; not that the pawns would make any comments on their relationship anyway; after all they were there to follow orders not question his judgment. He got up slowly from her side so as to make sure not to wake her but even as he got up he felt his entire body was sore. It was a bother just to try and get up slowly without making noise but he finally made it out of the tent and sat by the campfire. A pawn was keeping watch over the camp in case any monsters approached but there was nothing to report, the fields were empty and the cold breeze felt nice against his skin. He would wait and think about his next decision before he decided on his course of action.

He sat by the campfire looking down, he pondered on his decisions wondering if what he was thinking was wise, an opportunity to face the Dragon would not present itself again. The Dragon would come for him whether he was ready or not, he was connected to it.

"Master, I am glad you're well" this time she actually made the right expression to show her concern for him.

"I suppose I was just tired. Come let's eat and rest" it was still morning as the Arisen and his pawns sat quietly around the low burning camp fire eating away at their provisions. He had given thought to his plans: he had to make a decision and was ready to face the Dragon at last. Fear and doubt would not cloud his judgment; it was this decision that made him realize his next course of action while he finished eating and announced his decision.

"I want you all to obey my orders, is that understood?"

In unison: "Yes master"

"I will not have you question my judgment about my choice, is that understood?"

In unison: "Yes master" this time he could tell she hesitated to speak but it didn't matter he had made a decision that would change the rest of his journey.

"I want you all to go back home and live the peaceful lives that you wish to live, leave me, from here on this journey is mine alone"

"What? Master, no I should go with you"

"Didn't I just ask you to obey me?" The other two pawns acknowledged his command but he could already begin to see panic in her eyes.

"Master, please wait, let me help you" he had completely lost his demeanor raising his voice.

"You are my pawn correct? Then listen and obey, go with them! This is something that doesn't involve you anymore. You will only get in my way"

The other two pawns had already begun their journey back to Gransys while their voices carried on.

"Master you still need me; I promise I won't be a burden"

"This isn't about you becoming a burden; this is a problem I must to tend to alone"

She was panicking disobeying all of his commands, refusing to leave his side.

"Why must you take on your troubles alone? I will take whatever troubles you have and dispel them for you" tears had begun to form around her eyes further pleading to her master not to part from her.

"Unless you can control time itself, you'd best obey me and leave me to my fate" his voice was stern, he was beginning to understand why it was he couldn't react when he came face to face with the Dragon.

She had lost herself completely as well, after all they've been through he was going to abandon her, the Dragon would not compare to her magic if it meant standing beside her master.

"Master, if you fear the Dragon, I shall protect you" she began to speak out of place.

"Don't be foolish, I do not fear it"

"If he comes for you, I shall render him powerless"

"I don't need your protection, now go back"

"If you are troubled I shall take on your troubles whatever they may be"

"I told you to go back already!"

"If you need comforting, I shall be your comfort"

"Stop speaking already!"

"If you feel a foe is beyond our means the-"he covered her mouth with his hand in an attempt to silence her.

"Please just stop and go back" he had begun to choke on his own words but she gently took his hand off her mouth and continued.

"Whatever you may suffer, I wish to share it with you." He was silent for a moment and stared into her eyes looking away after a while.

"Do you know about love?" he asked turning away from her.

"The act or the emotion?" her answered amused him.

"When did you become a human?"

"No, I am very much still a pawn, but I decided that only you would be my master, tis the reason I cannot bear to be apart from you"

"So then do you love me?"

"I am not familiar with the emotion of love so I do not know if it's what I am feeling, master"

"Well I love you; I love you very much so"

"Then I do as well, master"

"Love is a very strong emotion indeed; it is the very reason why I hesitated when I came across the Dragon. Do you remember when that drake had taken you for a hostage?"

"It will not happen again, I swear it master"

"Fear had taken the better of me, I could not think, I could not act, I was about to lose you and if I did I would have gone looking for death. I cannot live knowing that you're not alive and well." He took hold of her and gave her a deep kiss that lasted for a few moment s before he let her go.

"Please go back, forget that I am your master and listen to me as the woman I love. Live your life as you wish it, just live and be happy for my sake" her tears were staining his chest; they both understood but did not wish to be apart from each other. She understood in more ways than one that she could help him slay the Dragon but her death meant his death and likewise his hers.

"One day" she said silently

"One day?"

"Allow me to stay by your side for one day, and then I shall return, please master" he knew it would only bring more pain and awkwardness but he wanted her to stay too.

"Very well I shall enjoy your company for one more day"

It was still early in the morning but she was by his side as they decided to go fishing near the river. Their conversation would go on as usual and they would ask each other questions every time making their conversation lively and warm.

"Master how old are you? I sense you are much older than anyone I have encountered"

"I am not sure, I lost track of time long ago, what about you? How long have you been in the rift?"

"I am not sure either; we don't have any sense of time when we are in the rift"

They would talk and ask questions trying to uncover each other secrets before the time to part would come at last.

"Okay my turn, so far what's your favorite food?" he asked her.

She thought about it for a moment then happily recalled: "It's the cocoa beans mixed with rotten milk that you bought me when we went through the market"

"Chocolate? You like chocolate?" he recalled the day when they went shopping for supplies in the town market. She would stare at things that were new to her and look inquisitively at the food she never tasted. He had bought the chocolates for her not because he wanted to convey the message of love to her but because he thought that every girl liked chocolates. He began to laugh at the irony.

"What is so amusing about that master?" she looked at him in confusion.

"In truth you are like a human. You give chocolate to someone you like as a sign of affection for them"

"Is this true?" she asked him in surprise

"Yes it's true" he said continuing to laugh and enjoying her embarrassment.

"Then I want to give you chocolates as well master"

"It doesn't have to be chocolates, anything given from the heart will have the same effect, as long as you think about what the other person will like" she pondered on his words as her confusion turned in a different direction.

She set the fishing line down and pushed him back on the ground and started to lick his neck. He didn't resist but it was amusing that she would attempt something like this.

"I can't give you chocolates but you did this for me once and felt really good so I want to do the same thing for you"; what a silly girl he thought, men and woman have different erogenous zones but he stopped her and brought her back up.

"You don't like it master?" he laughed again because he was touched by her affections towards him.

"I love it but I think there are other places on me that want your attention"

They were together for the rest of the morning hugging and kissing until they were out of breath, but he felt they shouldn't go further because he did not want to hurt her. Just being in her arms was enough, any more than that and he might have lost his resolution to take another step towards the Dragon.

Dusk had approached; hours seem to go by like minutes when they were together. It's not as if they needed to fish for food it just gave them time to spend together. Being near the water's edge at night was only asking for monsters attention, so they decided to go somewhere else to look for a place to camp. It was getting dark, he didn't want her to leave but he felt that soon they would be apart and his time to leave would come. He wanted the day to last forever as long as she was by him, but he did not want to hurt her, leaving behind only pain and baggage for her to carry on her trip of life, he wanted her to understand that.

They would need to set up camp soon; the forest they entered was quiet and was still in the duke's domain, not too many incidents of monsters in the area. Only the deer would show up from time to time as they were walking hand in hand through the forest, it was getting to be somewhat magical.

"Master, this place feels like a dream"

"I know what you mean; it's almost as if the forest is starting to become alive" Fireflies and creatures of light began to show in the darkness. Like the stars themselves were in the forest glowing as they passed through it. Indeed, walking hand in hand with the person you love as fireflies dance merrily around you could only be described as something of a fairytale, but they were there, dancing slowly in the forest night.

"Master I don't want you to go" she started before he could say it out loud.

"I wish I could have stayed by your side longer" they kept walking in the forest hand in hand.

If he would let her go he felt she would descend into the darkness, the dancing fireflies reminded him as if he was in the sea of stars with her, if he let her go then she would surely be lost forever.

"There master, there is something glowing" they were approaching something that was shining in the middle of the forest, it was too late to tell how long they've been walking, but at this point the company of each other was the only thing that mattered.

"It's a spring master" she walked ahead and dipped her hand in the spring.

"Master I believe we found a healing spring, it's the one the duke and his men were searching for"

"I believe you're right, I think I can feel something coming from the inside" he dipped his hands in it as well. He could see the bottom; it wasn't deep, and there were no fishes or grime at the edge. The spring was pure and untouched, no monsters or death had ever approached such a place which made the spring ease the wariness of travelers; when he put his hands into the spring it was almost like receiving blood that was lost.

"No wonder it's called a healing spring, it feels like energy is flowing into me" she reached out to his hands and got closer to him as they knelt down before the spring. He was looking into her eyes about to ask the reason but no explanation was needed for her actions. Even though they were silent, a thousand words were communicated with just their touch; from the hand, she grabbed his arm.

She gently led his body into the spring not saying a word, gently from the edge of the spring to the center of it. He followed her willingly feeling the spring rejuvenating his entire body and giving him an abundance of energy to his entire being. They had stopped in the center slowly getting closer to each other, taking her body into his kissing her slowly then speeding up, now they were the only two people in the world everything else was oblivious to them. He began with the top, carefully taking off each button and slowly revealing her wet skin; she took off his armor and led his shirt off of his arms. Both of them had pulled each other closer, as more skin was revealed. The magic of the fireflies made them feel as if they were floating in the stars; the healing spring was giving them so much energy that their minds had lost themselves to their carnal pleasure seeking more of each other with each kiss and touch. She had taken off the last of his clothes exposing himself to her; she allowed the last piece of silk to come off like a flower that had dropped from the stem. He felt her soft body against his as he kissed her with every bit of burning desire, she held him closer as she guided his longing to her nectar. Little by little he could feel himself pulsing near her entrance; being guided into her, from the tip to her door her wetness was dripping onto him making him go deeper, feeling her soft walls as he felt her insides getting warmer making it impossible to pull away only to draw him in deeper and harder. He gave one long thrust into her body with all his might leaving him in one position that would allow both of them to savor each other; they felt each other now that they were finally connected, not wanting to ever break away. The time he was deeply inside of her was too short they needed to feel that ecstasy of being one again and again. He pumped into her again and again not being able to stop feeling the very inside of her womb as she kept up with his rhythm, matching his thrust with her descend. Their minds were lost to anything around them just each other; their bodies had taken over everything inside of them. He would take hold of her with his body while she climbed on him wrapping her legs to him and allowing him to continue to hump away at her. She couldn't care less if he tore everything inside her, it was all his to do as he wished; he couldn't care less if he was being too rough; his instincts were demanding he gave her everything he had in him. Their moans were no longer in silence they were echoing, getting louder with each time they both connected, with each time they felt each other, with each time they finished kissing.

How much time had passed? Neither of them were sure, they had been going at the same rhythm for quite some time but she was still wet and receiving him, while he was still hard and thrusting deeper each time. Hours seemed to pass like minutes as they continued their loving embrace. There was no end to their stamina; they wanted to keep going until they were one forever. They had both climaxed numerous times without hesitation forgetting their worries and unleashing unto each other until sweat was dripping on their entire bodies. They would dip themselves in the spring to keep the wetness only pausing for a moment before beginning again; over and over again; a repetitive action that would be welcomed if it could last forever.

They were not tired, but hunger had stopped them, she lay on top of him still connected at the shallow end of the spring, trying not to move but twitching every time she felt him move slightly. Night had passed, the morning had passed, the afternoon had passed, and it was dusk all over again. There was still food left in the bags they had laid by the spring, but neither of them made any movement for it.

"I think night is here again" he said panting with a smile.

"Yes master, tis a wonder they call this the healing spring, it replenishes your energy each time you run out" she was still trying to catch her breath as she kissed him. They had been going on for more than a day and even though they weren't tired they silently slept connected to each other on the spring's edge. They both drifted off into a deep sleep.