Dragons #3
“Go ahead and scream all you want. They won’t get here in time,” he answered, advancing and raising his sword above his head. “How nice. I can end both of you with the same stroke of my sword.”
Just before he was going to slice deep into my chest, I instinctively thrust my hands out, and an arrow buried itself into his shoulder. Lord Everett dropped his sword and began spewing vulgar obscenities.
“Who shot me?” he yelled, looking around. Then he turned and frowned at me. “You did this to me? Where did you even get that bow?”
I looked down at my outstretched arm and blinked a few times, making sure I wasn’t seeing things.
In my left hand was a bright, glowing bow, intricately designed and lighter than air.
The pattern on the bow reminded me of something that I’d seen before, but I couldn’t quite place it.
I tried to drop it, but when I released my hand, it vanished into thin air as did the arrow in Lord Everett’s shoulder.
“It seems we now know what your Birthright is, Lady Cassarah,” King Edward’s voice said calmly from behind Lord Everett.
I shifted slightly to see the king and queen standing a few steps away with guards. I tried to recover from my shock and bowed to them, not sure what else to do in this situation. Did they agree with Lord Everett? Were they going to sentence me to death?
“Lord Everett, I demand an explanation!” King Edward barked, his cool blue eyes trained on his captain. “I certainly don’t remember ordering you to harm this dragon or his pair-bond.”
“I was only doing my duty trying to protect the kingdom from this evil dragon’s curse,” Lord Everett answered, bowing his head.
The queen walked up to me, brushing past Lord Everett to place her hands on my arms and look me in the eye. “Are you all right, my dear? I heard you scream, and we both came running as fast as we could.”
“I am unharmed, Your Majesty, but I can’t say the same for my dragon,” I answered, a little shaken at what had just happened.
“Get that arrow wound looked at, and I don’t want to see you near the roost or this dragon ever again. If that should happen, you will not just be stripped of your position. Know that harming a paired dragon without just provocation is punishable by death,” the king said coldly.
“As Your Majesty commands.” Lord Everett grunted as he left.
I turned slowly to my dragon curled up in the corner, still breathing heavily. I kneeled beside him and gently started to examine his wounds. Some were deeper than others, but all of them were bleeding.
I turned back to the king and queen, tears welling up in my eyes. “Do we have healers for dragons?”
“We do, but he was called away from the roost to heal a dragon in another city. We thought we had another few weeks before the eggs hatched, and he was to be back by then,” Queen Mary answered.
“We need to do something for him, or else he’s going to bleed to death. Is there anyone else who can help me?” I begged, feeling tears roll down my cheeks.
“The dragon healer does have an apprentice. He’s the only other one in the city who knows anything about healing dragons. I will send someone to fetch him,” Queen Mary said before leaving.
Not caring what the king would think of me, I sat on the sandy ground of the alcove and lifted my dragon’s smooth, scaled head into my lap.
I gently stroked his head, just like I did for the cats in our home, and soon I felt a humming against my leg.
As I continued, his breathing eased, and he seemed to be able to rest. I heard the king’s footsteps as he walked over to us, but I only had eyes for my dragon.
As if my dragon knew the king was there, he paused in his humming to let out a warning growl deep in his throat.
“Don’t worry, I’m not here to harm you or your pair-bond,” King Edward said reassuringly. “It seems you two have quite the connection already. I’ve never seen a dragon take to his pair-bond so fast.”
I knew the bond I had with this little black dragon would be until death, but the depth of what I felt surprised me.
I’d never stood up to my mother, never defended myself the way I should have, yet the thought of someone hurting my dragon gave me this uncontrollable need to protect him at all costs.
As if my dragon heard what I was thinking, one of his golden eyes opened and stared up at me.
“This bond we share is stronger than any other you will ever know. Most pair-bonds don’t accept the connection as quickly as you have.
They fear it, and as a result, they never know the many gifts and blessings that can happen.
Don’t fret, Cass. I will be fine. Dragons heal quickly, even more so if their pair-bond is with them. ”
Upon hearing my dragon use my name, it dawned on me that I hadn’t given him a name. While we waited for the healer’s apprentice, I thought through all of the different languages that I knew, searching for the perfect name. Finally, it came to me. It seemed so simple, and yet it was perfect.
“My little dragon, I’ve thought of a name for you. Vasin. It means ‘kingly.’ That way no matter what anybody else says, you’ll know how I see you,” I whispered softly.
Vasin started humming again. This time it was louder than before as if to show how much he liked his name. Moments later, the healer’s apprentice walked into the alcove and kneeled beside Vasin, gently examining his wounds.
“I think he will be just fine. I will place some ointment on the wounds to keep them from getting infected, but they will heal in a day or two,” he assured me.
“Thank you so much for looking at him and setting my mind at ease,” I said, smiling gratefully at him. “I guess I’ve got a lot to learn about dragons.”
“I’m sure you’ll learn fast. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help,” he said, giving me a shy smile.
I nodded in agreement but was distracted by a steward who came walking into the alcove. It was then that I noticed the queen was there, watching from just outside the alcove.
“Your Majesty, Lady Cassarah’s mother and father are looking for her,” the steward said, bowing.
“Is it dinnertime already?” she asked. The steward nodded his head in response and waited. “Tell the Baron and Baroness I’ll have her sent over soon. Put them in the private drawing room. Their daughter has much to tell them.”
As the steward departed, I looked over at the apprentice, who was swiftly applying salve to Vasin’s wounds. “Do you think it’s all right for me to just leave him here?”
The apprentice paused in his work and looked at the dragon resting peacefully in my lap. “I think he will be perfectly fine if you are not here with him, but with the connection between you two, neither of you will like the feeling of being apart.”
Queen Mary walked over to me and rested her hand on my shoulder.
“I know what it feels like to leave your dragon so soon after being paired together, but it will only be for tonight. You are more than welcome to come back to the roost whenever you please. Though I must ask you to come with me now so we can get you changed and ready for dinner.”
I nodded, acknowledging the queen’s words but didn’t move right away. I bent over and hugged Vasin’s cool, scaled head. “I’ll be back, and I promise nothing bad will happen to you tonight.”
“I will have a guard posted at the entrance to this alcove to make sure no one harms your dragon,” Queen Mary said, bowing her head to me slightly so I knew how much she meant it.
“Thank you,” I said as I stood up from Vasin, then slowly walked out of the alcove and away from my dragon.