Chapter 11: An Unexpected Reunion

Winter was in agony. Her newly acquired horse was just as gentle as had been promised, but that didn't mean she was in any shape to be riding it. She had long abandoned a proper posture and was practically lying on top of the horse now, resting her head on its neck. Although she was taking special care to keep her nose from hitting anything. It was still broken too, and she absolutely did not need anything aggravating it further. Her only solace at the moment was that no one was around to see her in such an undignified state.

Winter's horse had been slowly walking for about an hour without her guidance. But now it came to a halt. It took Winter a moment to realize they had stopped. When she lifted her head, she saw the reason why. Two steep, rocky cliffs were overlapping each other up ahead, blocking the way forward. However, this was exactly what Winter was looking for. This was the spot that Yang had told her to find.

Winter slowly sat fully upright. Then she gingerly swung one of her legs over the saddle and slid off her horse. Her feet hit the ground and sunk nearly an inch into the sopping-wet earth. This particular part of Atlas was nothing but marshlands surrounded by crags and jagged hills. It was clear why a dragon would choose to inhabit a place like this. Humans were unlikely to be found around here. There were no roads or settlements nearby, and only a fool would have tried to build on terrain like this.

An eerie silence hung over the miniature valley. It was like nature itself knew this was a forbidden place. A chill went down Winter's spine, but she had come too far to turn back now. She grabbed her horse's reins and started leading it closer to the cliffs. As Winter got nearer to the outcroppings, she spotted the entrance to a cave nestled in between them, exactly as Yang had described. She led her horse all the way up to the cave. A warm wind was blowing out of the rocky opening. It sounded like the distant roar of a great beast. It was pitch black inside, and Winter couldn't make out anything beyond a few feet. She took a step closer, but then her horse reared back, refusing to follow her.

Winter let out a hiss and let go of her horse's reins as pain radiated outward from her broken rib. Fortunately, the horse did not run off. It just whinnied a few times in protest and tramped its hooves nervously.

Winter contemplated what to do for a moment. She obviously wasn't going to get her horse inside the cave, but she didn't want to leave it outside either. It would be a sure sign that something of interest was in the area. And while it was highly unlikely that anyone would wander by, the scouts that she and Ironwood had employed to track down the dragon were still scouring the countryside.

Eventually, Winter reached for her bag of supplies and untied it from her horse's saddle. She carried the bag just inside the cave where she could set it down on solid ground rather than in the swampy soil. Then she grabbed her horse's reins again and guided it until it was facing back the way they'd come.

"Hyah!" Winter said as she gave the horse's hindquarters a sharp slap.

The horse whinnied in alarm and took off in a gallop. Winter watched it rapidly vanish from sight in the rough terrain. She spared a brief thought as to where it might eventually end up, but she couldn't worry about that now. She had more important things to do.

Winter turned back to the cave and her bag of supplies. She opened up the bag and rummaged through it, producing an oil lantern and a striker to light it with. She quickly lit the lantern and returned the striker to the bag. Then she closed the bag up and hefted it onto her shoulders.

Winter picked up the lantern and looked into the cave's gaping maw. The unknown was staring her in the face, and she felt a great deal of trepidation. She knew just enough about what was awaiting her inside to be terrified. But there was nothing for it. She gathered her courage and stepped forward.

The cave immediately branched off into several paths. Winter took the rightmost one as Yang had instructed. In short order that path led to even more branches. This time Winter took the leftmost one. She knew from what Yang had told her that there would be several more forks in the cave, but by alternating taking the rightmost and leftmost paths, she would eventually find her way through.

The light from Winter's lantern barely held back the inky darkness inside the cave. The air seemed to be getting hotter the farther Winter ventured inside, and her nerves were getting more and more frayed. This felt so much like a trap that it was everything Winter could do to keep herself moving forward. She didn't believe for a second that Yang would lead her to her doom, but it was hard to ignore her carefully honed instincts.

Eventually, the cave opened up, and Winter found herself inside a large cavern with a surprisingly smooth floor. She had no idea just how big this chamber was though. The light from her lantern didn't reach any of the walls or even the ceiling. Her only sense of scale came from a myriad of faint, almost imperceptible reflections off in the distance. It was like the light from her lantern was bouncing off some kind of irregular, shiny surface that had been greatly dulled with age.

Winter slid her supply bag off her shoulders, freeing herself of its weight. She cautiously inched forward but stopped almost immediately. Now that she was out of the narrow branching paths, she lost all frame of reference to her surroundings. Her lantern was a mote of light in an infinite abyss, and she was tiny and alone. Her stomach was in knots, and her heart was pounding in her chest. Her feet felt glued to the floor, and they refused to take another step.

Winter drew her sword. Her saber would do little against the threats she knew must be lurking in this place, but it was just enough of a placebo to bolster her courage. She was finally able to move again, and she ever so slowly walked deeper into the cavern.

A quiet, guttural growl suddenly echoed off the unseen walls. Winter froze, and her hair stood on end. She felt like she was being watched. She lifted her lantern up high. That was when she spotted a pair of eyes reflecting in the darkness. They were about ten feet up off the ground, and they were pointed directly at her.

Raw terror gripped Winter, paralyzing her. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. And she couldn't look away. Injured, unarmored, and practically unarmed, she was completely at the mercy of whatever had fixed its gaze on her.

The eyes shifted. Suddenly, a burst of flame shot across the roof of the cavern high above Winter's head and flowed over its surface like a liquid. Several torches that had been mounted up high sprung to life, and light filled the chamber.

Winter's eyes were greeted by an astonishing sight. She had thought that the cavern she was in was mostly empty. But she saw now that she was standing on a tiny island of bare rock surrounded by oceans of treasure. There were piles of coins, heaps of gemstones, paintings, statues, finely-made blades, and even clothing. Anything that could be considered valuable was present in some form or fashion. However, it wasn't the eye-watering amount of wealth on display that commanded Winter's attention. Near the back of the cavern was a red dragon with silver eyes. It looked exactly like the one Winter had fought weeks ago. Although this time it had what appeared to be an orange scarf tied around its neck. Winter would have found that odd if she wasn't distracted by the mortal peril she found herself in.

The dragon glared at Winter with anger in its eyes. A rumbling snarl escaped its throat.

Winter realized she needed to say something. Her life literally depended on it. She shouted, "I'm not here to fight you!"

The dragon's only response was to narrow its eyes. Tiny hints of flame danced in the corners of its mouth.

Winter was suddenly very aware that without her armor the dragon's fiery breath would burn her to ash in seconds. She dropped her sword and kicked it away. Then she gently set her lantern down on the floor and held up her empty hands. She said, "I come at the behest of your sister, Yang!"

The dragon seemed to react at the mention of Yang's name. It looked surprised. Then its body began to shift and shrink. Winter lost sight of it as it vanished behind a collection of gilded furniture that was piled up in front of where it had been standing.

A young woman padded out from behind where the dragon had disappeared. She had red-streaked hair and silver eyes and was walking with a pronounced limp. The scarf that the dragon had been wearing was loosely draped over her body, looking now like an oversized bedsheet. It seemed Yang wasn't the only dragon who could take on a human guise. Winter had wondered if the ability was unique to her.

There was a hopeful expression on the woman's face. She asked, "You know Yang?"

"Yes. She told me how to find this place," Winter said.

"Wait! You!" the woman suddenly exclaimed. She hobbled toward Winter and pointed an accusing finger at her. "You're the one who stabbed me in the leg!"

"You were trying to kill me at the time," Winter said.

"You stabbed me in the leg!" the woman repeated.

"You were trying to kill me," Winter said again. She realized how juvenile this debate was, but she couldn't help but feel she had the stronger point.

"I wasn't trying to kill you," the woman said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"So you intended to stop short of crushing me underfoot?" Winter asked.

"No," the woman said. Then she asked in a curious tone, "Would that have killed you?"

"Yes!" Winter said.

"Oh. I guess I was trying to kill you," the woman said. "Sorry?"

"I…suppose it can be forgiven," Winter said. "But that does beg the question. Why was your sister pretending to be kidnapped?"

"Yang thinks I need more practice defending myself against humans. I told her I didn't. But I guess she was right," the woman said. She sighed dejectedly. "As usual."

"So she wasn't intending to lure in me specifically?" Winter asked.

"If she was she never told me," the woman said. "I don't even know who you are."

"My apologies. We haven't been properly introduced," Winter said. "I am Dame Winter Schnee of Atlas."

"And I'm Ruby!" the woman said, pointing a thumb at herself. "Of…this cave."

"A pleasure to meet you, Ruby," Winter said, holding out her hand.

Ruby stared blankly at Winter's outstretched hand.

Winter awkwardly took Ruby's hand and gave it a shake. She said, "This is a gesture of greeting among humans."

"Oh. Cool!" Ruby said.

Winter couldn't help but notice that the orange fabric draped over Ruby's body was not being held in place by anything. Winter glanced around and spotted a collection of clothing nearby which represented a spectacular number of styles, many of which Winter had never seen before. But importantly for her, a belt was among the garments.

"Excuse me one moment," Winter said. She went over and grabbed the belt and then returned to Ruby. She held it out and asked, "May I?"

"May you what?" Ruby asked.

Winter took that as the closest thing she was going to get to permission. She started fiddling with the cloth covering Ruby and fashioned it into a makeshift toga. Then she pulled the belt around Ruby's waist and secured everything in place.

"Oh! Wow!" Ruby said. She twirled around on her good leg, admiring herself and her new outfit. "Is this what those are for? What are they called? Belts?"

"Among other things, yes," Winter said, trying not to sound too perplexed. "If you don't mind me asking, why were you wearing that…scarf? I've never known a dragon to dress itself. At least…not in its true form."

"Yang likes to wear it when she wants to feel fancy. I really miss her, and it smells like her," Ruby said forlornly. "You said she sent you here? Is she coming home soon? She told me to wait for her, but I didn't think she'd be this long."

"Yang has been…preoccupied these past weeks. But—" Winter said.

"Preoccupied?" Ruby interrupted. She frowned. Then she leaned in closer and very conspicuously sniffed at Winter a few times.

"Yang!" Ruby said exasperatedly. "Not another one!"

"Another one?" Winter asked. Then she shook her head. What Ruby had said wasn't important at the moment. "Listen to me! Your sister has been captured."

"Captured?" Ruby asked. "Like…by humans?"

"That is correct," Winter said. "She's languishing in Atlas's dungeon as we speak."

"If it's just humans who got her, I wouldn't worry about it," Ruby said. "I'm sure Yang has some kind of plan to escape."

"I believe we are her plan," Winter said.

"We? As in you and me?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Winter said.

"Wow. Bad plan," Ruby said. "No. That can't be it. She'll bust out of there when she's ready."

Winter was getting frustrated. She needed to figure out how to make Ruby take this seriously. Then she remembered one last thing Yang had told her. She said, "Your sister also mentioned something she called, 'the red stuff'?"

Ruby froze, and a look of fear crossed her face. She asked, "Yang told you about the red stuff?"

"She did," Winter said, although she had no idea what this "red stuff" might be.

"And she gave you permission to use it?" Ruby asked.

"That was implied, yes," Winter said.

"She really is in trouble," Ruby said. "Come on! Come on!"

Ruby started limping away as fast as she could. Winter followed and tried not to feel too guilty about the wound she had inflicted on Yang's sister. She reminded herself again that Ruby had been trying to kill her at the time.

Ruby led Winter to the edge of the cavern. Winter had thought that there had only been one entrance to the large chamber, but now she saw that there was another path that led deeper into the cave system. Ruby and Winter followed the path. There were more torches mounted to the walls along it, and Ruby blew a quick jet of fire on each one to light them as they walked. There were several branches along the path that led to more caverns, all of which Ruby limped past. Winter ignored them at first, but when she started glancing inside of them, she realized that many of them were filled with more treasure.

For the first time Winter began to comprehend exactly what was hidden away in this lair. The treasure hoard in the initial cavern had been vast, enough to put any kingdom's wealth to shame. But it only represented a fraction of a much larger whole. The more branches, and treasure, that Ruby led Winter past, the more her mind boggled. Even she was unable to keep an evil thought at bay. What if she were to stab Ruby in the back and seize all of this unfathomable wealth for herself? What might she be able to accomplish with it? She dismissed the idea instantly of course, but much to her chagrin, she felt like she understood Ironwood's motives better. He hadn't been exaggerating about the scale of a dragon's hoard. If anything, he had undersold it.

Winter asked Ruby, "Is all this treasure yours?"

"No," Ruby said, sounding disappointed. "I'm not allowed to have my own hoard while Yang's still raising me. Anything I find right now is hers."

"Raising you? You're a child?" Winter asked in surprise.

Ruby turned and angrily puffed out her cheeks. She said, "I'm forty-seven! I'll be an adult in just a few years! Then I'll get to go out on my own and hunt for my own treasure!"

"Forty-seven…" Winter mumbled. That raised some serious questions about how old Yang was. Winter wasn't sure she wanted to know. She said to Ruby, "You look…mature for your age."

"Really? Thanks!" Ruby said, suddenly beaming.

Winter was relieved she'd chosen an acceptable compliment.

Ruby started walking again. Winter followed and asked, "Do all dragons of Yang's age have such extensive hoards?"

"Well…. All dragons have hoards," Ruby said. "But Yang's really, really…enthusiastic about hers. Do you think it's because she's gold-colored?"

"Ah…" Winter said, unsure of how to respond.

"Wait. Was that racist?" Ruby asked. "That was probably racist."

Now Winter had questions about Ruby's and Yang's parentage. If they were sisters why weren't they the same color? Were they not related by blood? And for that matter, shouldn't Ruby's parents be raising her? Or was that not how dragons handled such things? Winter was embarrassed by her lack of knowledge. Especially since she'd purported herself to be an expert on dragons not so long ago.

"Ah! Here we are!" Ruby said. She dove into yet another cavern that branched off of the main path. A moment later, light started shining out of it as Ruby lit more torches inside.

Winter walked into the cavern. It was considerably smaller than the first one, but it was no less filled with treasure. Ruby was busy shoveling aside a huge pile of coins, and Winter watched the cascade of gold, silver, and even platinum scatter about the cavern floor like it was nothing more than sand on a beach.

Winter moved in closer to Ruby, but something else caught her eye. It was a wooden rack holding dozens of glass jars. She walked up to it and pulled one of the jars off the rack. Inside was some sort of finely-crushed and dried leaves.

"Exotic spices," Winter muttered to herself. She recalled something Yang had said not long after they'd first met. At the time Winter had thought it was an attempt at a joke.

"Got it!" Ruby said.

Winter put the jar back onto the rack. She walked over to Ruby and saw that she had unburied a heavy wooden chest with thick iron hinges. Ruby opened the chest. The interior was lined with velvet, and sitting inside was a large decanter filled with a red liquid.

"The red stuff," Ruby announced.

"But what is it?" Winter asked.

"It's a healing potion," Ruby said in a hushed and reverent tone.

"Truly? I've never heard of such a thing," Winter said.

"It's the single most valuable thing in Yang's entire hoard. I don't even know where she got it. One tiny drop will heal any wound," Ruby said. Then she cheerfully added, "Two tiny drops will kill you! Horribly!"

"Should I ask how you know that?" Winter inquired.

"Nope!" Ruby said.

"Well then. There's nothing for it," Winter said. She pulled the decanter out of the chest and removed its stopper. Then she slowly tilted it toward her lips.

"Careful…" Ruby said nervously.

Winter's eyes were locked onto the neck of the decanter. She watched as the red liquid inside slowly began to peek over the lip of the glass.

"Caaarefuuul…" Ruby said.

Winter really wished Ruby would be silent.

A drop suddenly slipped from the decanter and fell into Winter's open mouth. She immediately tilted the decanter back upright.

When nothing happened right away Winter replaced the stopper on the decanter and returned it to its chest. She started to ask Ruby, "How long does—?"

Winter suddenly felt a horrific itching sensation both inside her nose and inside her chest. She doubled over, clutching her body. The need to scratch was maddening, but the itching was coming from beneath her skin. She was helpless to relieve it short of cutting herself open. Something between a scream and a gasp escaped her lips. She thought she might truly lose her mind if this continued much longer. But then in an instant the terrible sensations vanished just as suddenly as they had come.

Winter stood upright again, blinking in amazement. Cautiously, she touched her nose. She felt no pain. Her nose was no longer broken. She turned about, but her rib didn't complain at all. To go from being injured to being the picture of health was so surreal that Winter felt completely disconnected from reality for a moment.

"Did it work?" Ruby asked.

"It did," Winter said, still marveling at how she could move without pain. "Now it's your turn."

"What? No!" Ruby said. "Yang gave you permission, not me!"

"If we're to rescue your sister, we both must be at our best," Winter said. "I will take responsibility if Yang doesn't approve. But I'm certain she will."

"If you say so…" Ruby said. She grabbed the decanter and pulled off its stopper. She tipped out a small drop of the magic liquid much more confidently than Winter had and swallowed it. She cringed for a moment and let out a little squeak. Then she hopped around on her good leg, spinning in almost a complete circle, before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Ugh. That stuff is so weird!" Ruby said, replacing the stopper and putting the decanter back. "Alright! We're both good as new! Now off we go to storm the castle and rescue Yang! Right?"

"Not quite yet," Winter said. "First what we need is a plan."

Author's Note: Look at that. I almost managed to get this chapter out on time. Unfortunately, I'll probably need more than the traditional week to get the next chapter done. It's kind of a doozy as you'll see. I'll do my best to make it worth the wait.

It was fun to finally get to write dragon Ruby when she wasn't simply (accidentally) trying to kill someone. Like Yang there are some changes to her personality. Again, not because of any deliberate decision on my part. It just kind of happened that way.

Oh, and the wizard that made that healing potion was definitely killed by their own creation. This is why you need hapless minions to test things for you.

As always, I welcome constructive criticism. Please feel free to leave a review. And if you like what you've read, taking the time to favorite and/or follow really helps me out. You can also find me on tumblr (electronicyarn) if you want to send me a message or be notified of updates.