Sre awoke tangled in Roscrow’s arms, her face nearly buried in his powerful chest. She snuggled even further into his body, smiling when she felt him stir and slowly come into the waking world. He slowly turned over and stretched, before Sre laid on top of him, cuddling as close to him as she could.
And then the house shook. A great roar resounded through the woods and it suddenly got very hot. Roscrow leapt to his feet, scrambling to get at least his breeches on. As Sre pulled on a long tunic, Baby’s huge golden eye glared in through the window. Roscrow was about to go out to face the angry dragon when Sre grabbed his arm. “Wait! He’ll listen to me! He won’t hurt me, but he’ll kill you!” Roscrow looked to her, and despite his training, he nodded and let Sre go out to face the massive beast.
Baby was curled around the hut, and when Sre came out, she was suddenly faced with his bared fangs, his hot breath almost unbearable. Blood was still dripping from his nostrils and mouth. Before she had the chance to talk to him, she felt his great hand-paw wrap around her and lift her into the air as he rose, his wings spreading to fly into the air.
“Baby! Stop it! No!” Sre cried out, struggling against the powerful dragon. Baby looked down at her, his entire body posed for taking to the sky. “Listen to me, Baby! It was a mistake! He thought… he thought you destroyed the town. I told him you didn’t. He won’t hurt you again, and he won’t hurt me! He was the rider of your father. I’ve known him soon time, and he isn’t going to hurt you again. Please, Baby, put me down.”
Baby seemed undecided. He understood her, but he didn’t trust the man who had shown up out of nowhere and tried to kill him. Then, Roscrow emerged, his hands raised, empty. Baby glared down at him and bared his bloody teeth, snarling in rage. He backed away, his tail lashing about madly, smashing against the trees and brush. Roscrow began to speak softly in the ancient tongue, but they were not commands. Slowly, Baby began to relax. He looked down at Sre still in his hand, murmuring “ah-ah” softly to her.
“Yes, Baby. Put ah-ah down.” Slowly, Baby obeyed, settling her gently to the ground. He glared again at Roscrow when he moved toward her. As he reached out for Sre, Baby bared his teeth, lowering his head and snaking out his neck, trying to get his fangs between his mother and this man. But Sre patted him on the nose, kissing his muzzle. “It’s ok, Baby. Don’t worry. This man is not like the others.”
It took a bit of time for Baby to calm down enough to let Roscrow touch his mother. He huffed and growled, flapping his wings and lashing his tail. Sre stroked his muzzle, and he very gently mouthed her, a response that baby dragons had when they were worried or frightened. They would gnaw on their mothers, trying to get their attention to make whatever was bothering them to go away.
“I’ve never seen a dragon so tame.” Roscrow stated as Baby finally settled down. He approached slowly, his hands in clear view. Baby continued to eye him cautiously, not at all trusting.
“Is it really that rare? For a dragon to stay with its mother at this age, I mean?” She caressed Baby’s large nose between his massive nostrils. He looked very equine from the front.
“It is. I’ve never heard of a case where a dragon would tolerate its mother once it’s become sexually mature. Baby here is one of a kind.” Roscrow slowly came to stand next to Sre. She reached out her hand and took his, bringing it up and laying it against Baby’s hide.
Snorting, Baby reared his head and stood, limping off into the woods, but didn’t leave their sight. He wasn’t about to leave his mother alone with this man, but he didn’t want to be near him either. Something told him this man was going to bring change. What kind of change he did not know, and did not really care. He just wanted things to stay the same, that it was just him and his mother in these woods, all her attention on him, all his attention on her. He didn’t even care about other dragons, others of his kind. They were not so important. He’d never seen another of his kind anyways. All he needed was Sre. And he hated this man.
“What an odd dragon. I see now why you think he didn’t attack the village.” Roscrow pulled Sre against his body, looking over her head at the massive lizard. He looked more like a sulking cat at the moment, his shoulders hunched, his wings held up tightly, his tail tip lashing, his head down.
“I know he didn’t. That’s most violent thing I’ve ever seen him do. Isn’t it possible for wild dragons to cross breed?” She looked up at him hopefully.
Roscrow looked down at her with a bit of a frown. “War dragons were bred by humans, dear. They have all been destroyed since the war ended. It’s not likely that a War dragon and a Spindle would get together just for the heck of it. They have very different courting rituals. The only way Baby has Spindle in him is because his mother’s parents were force bred. The Breeders were trying to make a new type of War dragon…. Too bad they didn’t get to see him.” He nodded toward the sulking dragon, who glanced back at them with an evil eye.
“Wait… if all the War dragons were killed….” Sre looked into Roscrow’s face. Dragons and their riders were paired for life. It was customary for a rider to kill him or herself if their dragon died in battle. More often, though, both dragon and rider would fall from the sky during battle, dying together when they struck the ground. A rider could have more trust in his dragon than in his comrades, even than his own family.
Roscrow turned his eyes away from her. Obviously the loss of his dragon was great. “I see a lot of Granger in him….” His voice broke for a moment, and Sre slipped her arms around him, tucking her head under his chin, for which she had to get on her toes. His grip on her tightened. “I was one of few riders who didn’t join their dragons in the execution chambers. But I watched. I watched him fight, I watched him struggle against his bonds as the room filled with gas, I heard him call out, heard his labored breathing…. I watched as he slowly succumbed, slowly laid down his head, his eyes wide open….” Sre felt his warm tears on her scalp, felt his body tremble. “I felt so selfish for not joining him. I should have been there with him. But I thought of you. And even though I felt I betrayed him, I felt that there might be a chance to continue on, and to honor his memory.”
And then there was a great warmth that wrapped around them both. Startled, they both looked up into Baby’s large golden eyes. He had wrapped his wings around them both as if trying to gently embrace them. He couldn’t speak back to humans, but he could understand them well enough. And he understood their feelings. His mother had said that this man rode his father. He understood what had happened to his father. He understood the concepts of “unfair” and “unjustified.” He understood why he had been born. And he understood now why the man had attacked him.
Baby lowered his massive head, blood dried on his nostrils and mouth, and gently lipped Roscrow. He understood tears, and he understood pain. He gently nuzzled his muzzle in between the humans, his anger gone. He murmured “ah-ah” softly as he felt two pairs of hands on his muzzle.
“It’s almost scary to think that he can understand everything we say.” Roscrow stroked Baby under his spiked eyelid, and smiled when Baby drooled a bit. “Granger liked it there, too. He was the only one in the talon that did.”
“I think he’s outgrown ‘Baby,’ don’t you?” Sre scratched his chin, glancing at Roscrow from around his nose.
Roscrow blinked. “He’s your kid. What do you suggest?”
Sre chuckled. “I think Granger Junior works well, don’t you?”
Roscrow laughed, reached around the dragon’s muzzle, and ruffled Sre’s short hair. Rearing his head, Granger Junior gave a deep, rumbling honk that filled and echoed through the woods.
High on a ridge, overlooking the forest, two pairs of giant golden eyes looked out from their cave in great interest at the sound of a faint echoing honk. With much scrambling and huffing and creaking of massive wings, the creatures took flight to find the source of the sound, and the invader of their territory.
“He doesn’t fly much, does he?” Roscrow helped Sre take her furs to town. Granger followed along behind. He was used to helping Sre with her load for a short way. He knew where to stop and let her continue on her own. He followed for now, taking one step for every 10 of their steps.
“No. Not really. I think he figures that if I can’t fly, then there’s no point. He only flies when he has to, but he’s learned to stay on the ground. Once, when he was still small enough to come into the hut, he flew up into the air, over the trees, and got attacked by a whole flock of Bragiin birds. Apparently they were nesting nearby. They drove him right out of the sky. He couldn’t find the clearing that he had taken off in so he ended up crashing through the branches to escape their sharp beaks. After that, he didn’t fly again for a long time. He hates taking off in the woods. Branches tear at his wings and such.”
Granger honked in agreement before stopping and sitting down. Roscrow glanced back at him. “He knows when to stop following,” Sre explained. “He knows to stay far away from the town. He once went to prance in a wheat field… that didn’t end well. There was a massive hunt for him and I had to move out of my hut for awhile until the craze died down.”
They continued on without Granger, who gave out a low murmuring “ah-ah” as he watched his mother leave. Roscrow had theorized that the reason he was so attached to Sre still was because he’d never even seen another dragon. Had he been raised by a dragon mother, he would not be so docile.
It was fairly late in the day by the time they made it to the town. Since Granger had such long legs, he could usually get Sre half way to town in under an hour, and the rest of the way she walked in a few hours. But without a saddle, two people riding on his back could be dangerous because of the massive spikes that ran along his spine.
The town had been partially rebuilt in the few weeks since it was burned. Most evidence had been torn down and replaced. The two made their way to the tavern that had been totally redone on the outside. Derikel grinned when he saw them.
“Well, well, well. My dear, MoniKi, I am very much glad to see you are well. And you, sir. I never had the chance to thank you!” Roscrow held up his hand.
“None is needed. I did what needed to be done.” He raised a brow at Sre when Derikel had called her by her made up name.
“Still, good sir, I still wish to thank you personally. Your quick action kept my tavern from burning down. Please, have a seat and I’ll bring you some food!” He offered Roscrow a chair at an empty table. When Sre went to sit with him, Derikel took a gentle though firm hold of her arm.
“If you don’t mind, MoniKi, I’d like to get business finished first. Bring those furs will you?”
Sre nodded, understanding that he actually wanted to talk to her. But Roscrow, not knowing that Derikel knew about Sre’s identity, jumped to his feet. He was about to say something when Sre placed her hand on his chest and looked up at him. “It’s alright. No need to worry. We’ll just get business done then I’ll be back.”
Roscrow raised a brow suspiciously, but sat back down. He watched silently as Derikel led Sre to the back room.
Derikel glanced behind them before turning to Sre. “You know that man? Was he your master?”
Sre smiled. “No. If it wasn’t for him I probably would still be stuck with my master. He was a commander of a wing during the war. He showed up at the tavern I worked at with his wing during a break they were given, and one of the females had lain eggs. There was a drakon there also and she’d rolled an egg into the bushes before they left. Roscrow had promised to come back for me, but after Baby- er, Granger now- had killed my master thinking he was food, I ran away. I never thought I’d see him again. I’m glad he found me.”
Derikel nodded with some relief. “Strange how things work out sometimes. Well, Sre, I have good news. My friend, the blacksmith, should be heading this way sometime this week and should the travel be smooth, he’ll be here a few days after that.”
Sre looked at him in some surprise. Her hand went up to the collar, the cool metal so familiar to her after all this time. She knew it intimately, every tiny blemish that made its texture, every bump where the collar had been melted together so she could never get it off. She had hoped it would rust and fall off, but it never rusted, and had remained as it was when it was first put on her. It had been with her for so long she almost never noticed it anymore. She slept with it, ate with it, bathed with it. She’d come to accept its presence completely. But what it represented always brought her sadness and made her feel worthless. Even though she had no master, she could not be free while it defiled her throat.
Derikel could almost read her thoughts. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked down at his gentle face. “I know it’ll be strange not having that thing around your neck anymore. I remember I once helped a girl like yourself long ago. We got that collar off her, but it had been on her since childhood and it took her years to finally get used to not having it and to realize she was no longer a slave.”
Sre smiled at him. “Thank you so much for all you’ve done. I don’t know if I can ever repay you.” She bent her head and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Derikel turned many shades of red and stumbled over his words for a moment.
“I think that’s payment enough, Sre.” He patted her on the arm as she laughed. “Now, let’s get you some money for those furs. You know, I don’t know where you’re getting those furs from but they are softer than any of the others I’m getting. They go the fastest!”
Sre soon returned to Roscrow’s side. He was eating a meal of meat and spiced potatoes that had been brought to him by one of the serving maids. When she opened her mouth to say something, Roscrow stuck a forkfull of meat into her mouth. She glared at his grinning face. “You can tell me later. I don’t think we should be traveling in the dark anyways, so we’ll stay here.”
She chewed in bit of a fluster, and when she’d swallowed, she stuck her tongue out at him. He waved his fork at her. “Now, now, pet. Better keep that tongue in your mouth until we get up to our room where I’ll have you put it to better use.” Sre immediately flushed, squirming a bit in her seat as a warm tingling sensation spread between her legs at his tone and suggestion. Food was also brought to her and she ate it, all the while glancing at Roscrow. He had a hint of a smug smile on the corners of his lips, knowing very well what she was thinking.
They were soon finished with their meal, and they stood at the bar, waiting for Derikel to bring a key for their room. Roscrow glanced behind him when some new people came into the tavern as had been trained into him, but he otherwise paid them little heed. Sre was standing some way from him, looking in after Derikel when she felt a hand pull her hood back. She whipped around, her dagger in her hand. She then recognized two of the men. It was the Terrin brothers. The other was probably another family member.
“Still hiding, huh, slave? Well, not anymore, bitch. Now you’re gonna pay!” He was holding his sword, and he raised it toward her throat but he didn’t get much further than that before he was cracked across the face by Roscrow’s fist.
Towering over the whole Terrin family, he obviously made the other two men very nervous. He stood in front of Sre, glaring at the men. The oldest brother that he had struck stumbled to his feet, holding up his sword. “Bastard! Get out of my way! There’s no reason to protect a slave!”
Roscrow’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “She belongs to me. Any quarrel you have with her, you have to deal with me!”
“Fine!” The other family members pulled out their weapons, ready to fight. Before they knew what had happened, Roscrow’s long, powerful leg had stretched out and got the eldest brother square in the face again, this time with a wet crack that filled the tavern, knocking him flat and unconscious. Then Roscrow turned to the other two. He suddenly began to speak in a spidery language, one that Sre recognized, but obviously the other two had never heard. Roscrow raised his hands as if he was about to cast a spell. The two Terrins glanced at their fallen leader before racing for the door.
Roscrow looked down on the unconscious brother before giving Sre a sidelong glare. Derikel sighed in some relief. “That whole Terrin family have always been nothing but trouble. Hopefully, now, though, they’ll learn their place. Thank you again. Here’s your key. The night’s on me.” Roscrow nodded, and Sre took it.
“Thanks, Derikel. Maybe now he’ll leave me alone.” She followed Roscrow up the stairs, glancing back to watch as several other men in the tavern tossed the brother out the back door into the alley.
Once they were in their room and the door was locked, Roscrow glared at Sre. “What the hell was that about?”
Sre looked up at him. “His little brother followed me into the woods one day and tried to rape me. Baby must have heard me because he came running and threw him nearly a mile trying to protect me. After that, the other brothers came after me, but Derikel shot the oldest brother. They found out that I was a… well, they wanted to take me back to see if they could get a reward.” Sre’s hand went to her collar. She looked down at her feet in shame. Now everyone in the tavern knew her secret.
Roscrow pulled her into his arms. “They won’t hurt you again. And now everyone thinks I’m your master, so no one’s gonna try to get any kind of reward. Now what was it you and- Derikel, is it?- talked about that you wanted to tell me?”
“Derikel has a friend who will be coming here to get my collar off. He and his friend used to help slaves escape.” She looked up at him, expecting him to be happy with her at the prospect of getting off the wretched metal thing. However, he raised a brow. She suddenly felt his fingers slip under the collar and pull her up close to his face. Then a playful grin split his face.
“Now why would you do something like that? Don’t you enjoy being my slave?” Sre blinked at him, surprised for a moment until she realized that he was playing a game. She then turned her eyes down, a small smile on her face.
“Well, yessir, you are a kind master….”
“Oh? Kind, am I? Well, I might have to do something about that. Go start the water, slut. I intend to put you to good use!” Sre giggled a bit as he gave her a push toward the shower. He liked calling her names, but when he said them, they were not hurtful. In fact, she had come to see them as terms of affection whereas when those names were uttered by anyone else, like “slave” and “slut,” they were humiliating in the worse way.
She turned on the shower and started to pull her clothes off when she suddenly found herself pinned to the wall. Roscrow’s fingers interlaced with hers, pushing her hands against the wall so she couldn’t try to ward him off. His hard lips trapped her softer ones, and she had the strange impression that he was punishing her for making him have to kick in a man’s face for her.
He pushed her hands behind her back before taking his away. She knew very well to keep them there. Before she knew it, a rope had been tied to her collar. Then he backed away quickly and raised a brow at her. “Well, pet? Either you hurry with those clothes or they’ll get washed with you.” Sre’s jaw dropped a bit as she looked at the makeshift leash. Roscrow took a small step toward her. “Or do I have to remove the clothes like the first time?”
Sre giggled a bit, remembering how he had sliced her shirt off. She obeyed him, quickly pulling the rest of her clothing off. Then Roscrow pulled her leash downward, forcing her to her knees. He still had his pants on, and she knew what he expected of her. But, like always, she never gave him exactly what he wanted. Her hands slipped under the cloth and ran up his taut powerful leg, as she slowly brought herself level with the zipper that held his pants up. She took the zipper head in her teeth, very slowly pulling it down, one kink at a time. As she was pulling it down, she could feel him grow hard as he looked down at her, watching her do this. When she had pulled the zipper all the way down, she pulled at the bottom of his pant legs to take the clothing off. It fell around his ankles, and that’s where Sre’s tongue started, slowly moving up his leg and his thigh. She could feel him tremble just a bit in his arousal.
He suddenly jerked her toward the shower. She was forced onto her hands and made to crawl after him under the spray of hot water. “We really shouldn’t waste the water. After all, we’re getting this room for free tonight. Now, my sweet slut, you’re going to do all the work.” He handed her a bar of soap. She fought a smile, not succeeding very well, and lathered her hands, starting from his feet, slowly making her way up his legs, and to his torso, carefully missing his hard length on purpose. He watched her as she got to her feet to soap his chest, and then she went around to behind him to wash his powerful back. She could feel his muscles ripple under her hands and she gave a small shiver, knowing full well that if he chose to, he could be even crueler than her old master had been, and could hurt her so much worse.
She slipped her arms around him, pressing her body against his back, laying her cheek between the lower part of his shoulderblades. His fingers intertwined with hers for an intimate moment as he held them tightly against his chest before bowing his head to kiss her fingers.
Then the moment was gone and he jerked her around to his front. “You really aren’t a good slave! You missed the most important spot! Now you’ll just have to clean it with that tongue that you so love to use!” He pushed her down to her knees again and she looked up him innocently, pretending not to know what to do.
“But master….” Roscrow waved the tip of the rope at her. She knew exactly what that meant and a shiver ran through her. “Please, master, I’m sorry. I only wanted to save it for last so it would be the cleanest part!” Roscrow grinned in a playfully cruel way, dragging her to her feet again and pressing her against the wall, her back to him. He pulled her arms behind and used the rope to tie them so she wouldn’t be able to use them. Then he laid his hand against her ass with a loud wet slap. Sre gave a small yelp, but not in pain.
“It doesn’t seem anything I do can teach you a lesson that you’ll remember. So I guess I’ll just keep having to punish you!” Again Sre yelped when his hand struck her. “Will you be a good girl and do as I say? Or do I have to keep doing this?” Another slap.
Sre grinded her hips, wiggling against her bounds. She yelped again as he struck her some more for not answering. Finally, she gathered enough senses to whine. “I’ll be good, Master. I’ll do as you say!”
Roscrow pretended not to hear her for a moment. Then he whipped her around and forced her to her knees. “Suck it, bitch!” Sre took him into her mouth, her tongue sliding out over it. She had learned that sticking out her tongue slightly kept her from gagging and choking. She did as she was told, and sucked him, moving her head back and forth, licking his cock and kissing it until the water began to get chilled.
Roscrow turned the water off and made Sre stumble after him out into the room on her knees. He didn’t bother drying off, instead he pulled Sre to him again. “You’re now going to lick me dry, my pet, since you like to use your tongue so much!”
Sre shivered at his tone, and did as she was told. But she liked trying to make him do things that she wanted while pretending to do what he wanted. Slowly, she licked at his feet, then ran her tongue up his leg, very slowly, moving up to his hip, dipping into the curves of his muscles and bone, then, as she slowly rose to her feet, up his torso, tracing those muscles, moving up to his chest, over his nipple, and then raised her face to him. Several of his muscles twitched before he grabbed her hair and ravished her mouth with his.
His other hand moved down her body, slipping between her legs and touching her intimately. She whimpered and felt weak in the knees, leaning against his hard body to stay standing. Then he suddenly turned her and shoved her onto the bed. Her feet were still on the ground as he had her leaning over the tall bed. Derikel had given them the nicest room, which had a huge, four post bed. Roscrow liked the angle and he slid his feet between Sre’s making her spread her legs wide.
Then, instead of entering, he teased her with the tip of his cock, rubbing her clit with it, and pretending to enter only to pull out before anymore than the head had gone in. Sre moaned and squirmed, grinding her hips in an effort to make him enter.
At last, he slammed in without warning, filling her completely. She screamed into the mattress, writhing under him in ecstasy. He pounded her, getting lost in the feeling of her contracting walls, her squirming body, the sound of her pleasure heightening his.
By the time they were finished, the sky was at its darkest, signaling dawn was drawing close. Nothing less than the full glare of the sun through the window was able to wake them, tangled in each others limbs.
By the time they got down stairs, Derikel was serving lunch. He quickly offered them both food leaning in as he placed the plates on the table. “Apparently, last night, the Terrin family’s blood rival launched a sneak attack on the estate. They were completely unguarded due to the chaos you had caused. By the time they got themselves together to fight back, only a few were left to escape. Their family vault was opened and you have no idea what was found!” Both Sre and Roscrow were listening intently, leaning closer to hear his hushed voice. “Documents from back when the first settlers landed here! The Grag’uun’s found no value in the library, and left it untouched, as you know how those lizards are, only finding stories told by mouth to be of any value.”
“Where is the Terrin estate?” Roscrow was very interested.
“North part of town. Only a few people know about it. But no one finds it of enough interest. Everyone is quite content not knowing what this place was like before we tamed it.” Derikel nodded to them and hurried off to serve some other customers.
Roscrow had a strange look in his eyes, and Sre was interested to know his thoughts. “I wonder if they have breeding lines for War dragons.”
Sre raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
Roscrow looked at her. “Everyone assumes War dragons were bred by humans for human purposes from a non-native species brought along by the first settlers. Over so much time, the information was lost on their true origins. Maybe we should go check it out soon before anyone else happens to find the same interest in it that I do.”
They quickly finished their meal, and thanked Derikel for everything, before heading out and making their way toward the Terrin estate. They couldn’t miss it, considering it was in a total state of ruin after last night’s raid. Everyone knows Sarlykeins leave very little behind. The giant lizard people are very aggressive, and it doesn’t take much to insult them, and knowing the Terrin family, they must have insulted the violent lizards very badly.
Making sure no one followed, Roscrow and Sre made their way into the once glorious mansion. A few of the marble pillars still stood, holding up the elegant gold cast ceiling. Bodies littered the ground, both human and Sarlykein. The staircase to the vault was a bit hidden, but they found it and descended into the dusty, cool darkness. Roscrow found a lamp and lit it, going down first in case any lizards remained behind. Even if there were, they rarely attack strangers, but Roscrow didn’t want to take any chances. When they reached the bottom, they paused to look around in astonishment. Floor to ceiling was shelves with yellowed scrolls, leatherbound books, and parchments stacked atop each other.
Roscrow put down the lantern and picked up a few of the scrolls, gently rolling them out onto the dusty table. Sre reached out for a book when she suddenly sneezed loudly. They were both startled for a second, then Roscrow chuckled. “I guess we’ll be doing a lot of that while we’re down here. I wonder if we could ever transport all of these out of here without drawing any attention.”
There was a loud hiss and a lot of commotion as a creature uncurled itself and reached out for Sre. She screamed and backed away, barely escaping the sharp claws of a small shadowy creature. Roscrow leapt into action, grabbing the lamp and holding it up as he grabbed Sre’s arm and pulled her behind him in the same motion. The creature seemed to slither away and curl itself up onto a lamp stand in the middle of the room. It hissed loudly, a puffing hiss, like that of a snake rather than a cat.
The light revealed what looked very much like a miniature Granger, though it had a very long tail and a club at the end, as well as larger crown of horns and the ridge of spines ran the length of the spine with no break. It had saber fangs, and the glittering orange eyes had the obvious look of sentience to them.
“What is it?” Sre whispered, marveling at the iridescent blues, greens, and purples of the dragon’s tear-shaped overlapping scales, and its thick mane of extra scales that rustled together in threat. It sat on top of the lamp stand, its chest puffed out proudly, its neck S-curved, its front paws- which resembled a raptor’s- held together, its long tail curled around the stand. It was the picture of royalty, obviously a marvel of Nature.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a dragon like this one.” Roscrow, curious spoke softly to it in the Ancient Tongue. Then, to both their surprise, the dragon spoke back. It’s voice was so deep, one would not have believed it came from such a small creature.
Roscrow’s jaw dropped as it spoke, and he was obviously shocked. Sre glanced at him, nudging him a bit. “What is it saying?”
When it had finished its speech, Roscrow took a bit of time to find his voice. “It… it’s an Ancient One!” His voice was harsh, unable to comprehend.
“But I thought they were extinct, or had left the planet after the first humans arrived.” Sre was less shocked since she had not had the same education as Roscrow had all his life about the origin of dragons and the Ancient Tongue.
“That’s what everyone thought. But he said this is his library and he has been keeping people out of it for thousands of years. Apparently, there are a few left.”
“Indeed.” The dragon glared at them both, reminding Sre of a bird of prey. It slowly curled around and around the lamp stand until it was on the ground, its long legs so beautiful in their svelte deadliness. It approached them, barely reaching their knees. It looked up at them, glowering still. “Leave now. It’s bad enough that those pathetic humans couldn’t keep their word.”
“And what word was that?“Sre squatted down to be eye level with the little dragon. She was happy it could speak Common so she could talk to it too.
It turned to her, still obviously angry, but a little less tense as she showed great respect for him by coming down to his level rather than trying to intimidate him with her size. “They promised never to tell anyone or let anyone find this place as long as I didn’t interfere with their business.”
“Well, it’s not their fault they got caught off guard. And Sarlykeins are very strong. Why don’t you want anyone finding these scrolls?” Sre’s gentle voice and careful respect got the dragon relaxed enough to sit.
“Because humans like to use knowledge to do harm. It is a very unusual thing. Why do you do it?”
“Sometimes, humans can be cruel. But some just like to know. We would rather use this knowledge to learn about where we came from, and where the dragons came from. We wanted to know what happened to your kind.”
Roscrow also knelt down, hoping the dragon wouldn’t kick them out. He had gone to school where all the time distorted stories had been pounded into his head. Now he had the chance to know the truth and he didn’t want to lose it.
“And how do I know of your sincerity? For all I know, you may use the information here to destroy the dragon races altogether.” The dragon glared at both of them.
Sre smiled. “I have a son named Granger. He was born from a pairing of Spindle and War dragons. He is almost fully sentient. For over a year he has been my one and only. He acts as much like a human as he can. But he is not my pet. He is my friend, my child, and he is free to do as he pleases.”
“Is he free to breed? Is he free to chose his own mate, his own evolution? You humans corrupted what once was a grand and powerful dragon race. Those humanoids that lived here before lived with us, in harmony. All dragons were sentient, until you humans came along and bred them stupid! And when they couldn’t do it to us, you turned our brethren against us after you had the Dragon Tongue. That is why we left. You say he is almost sentient. There was a time when he could have been even more sentient than you!” The dragon’s voice had the undertone of aggression. He was obviously very mad. This was something that he had held onto for thousands of years.
Roscrow was stunned. “We were never taught that in school. We were taught dragons were stupid beasts that we were breeding smarter to serve us, and that the Ancient Ones were the ‘shepherds’ of the beast dragons and had given us the Ancient Tongue to help us live with them so they wouldn’t destroy our towns.”
The dragon’s mane clicked and ruffled angrily. “What a pile of Spindle shit!” it snarled.
“That’s why knowing this information would benefit us. Keeping it hidden only leads to more ignorance. And to your question, yes, if he found a female he likes, I’d let him breed, no matter what species.” Sre’s softly spoken words gave the dragon pause. He stared at Sre thoughtfully for a minute or so.
“Will you promise to liberate dragons from human rule? I know of the recent war and its outcome. Will you stop the further enslavement of my brethren to prevent anymore of these mass slaughters?” His eyes stared intently into Sre’s as if probing her soul to know that she spoke true.
“I will.”
The dragon turned to Roscrow. He placed his fist over his heart in a salute. “I pledge on the life of my dragon who was one of those slaughtered, I will do what I can to stop it from happening again.”
The dragon nodded, unfolding one wing and gesturing with it toward the library. “You may read what you like.”
“Thank you.” Roscrow nodded to it and stood, eager to start reading. But Sre stayed with the little dragon. “So you are an Ancient One?”
The dragon, whose face had softened now and looked more equine now, looked at her. It ruffled its wings, puffing out its chest, the mane of scales clicking as they rose to make him look larger than he was. He was obviously annoyed by the term. “If you mean a ‘Toraal’ then yes. That is name of my race, few as we are now because we were made to leave. Though, I suppose my race is the most ancient on this planet, as we were the first to know ourselves.”
“This is amazing!” Roscrow exclaimed. Sre stood and came over to his side. He didn’t look up at her. “It says here there used to be 7 races of dragon when humans first arrived. There were also some survivors from the Torint attack!”
“Well, how many dragons are there now?” Sre slipped her arm around his, looking up at his face. He was too engrossed in the scroll to notice her.
“4, not including the Ancient One.”
Sre poked him. “They’re called the Toraal. Say it right!”
He smiled. “You sound like a raksutan scrollmaster.” She poked her tongue out at him.
They had no idea how much time past underground, but Sre’s stomach told her it had been long enough. Since she couldn’t read, she spent her time talking to the dragon. As it turned out, a thousand and a half years had not made him any less of a hatchling, and by the time Roscrow was able to drag himself from the scrolls (only because his eyes were so blurry from exhaustion he could no longer see them) Sre and the little dragon had curled up to sleep together on the cold stone floor, the dragon slung over her side as they had been playing and had slept where they had fallen. He went upstairs and found some blankets before going back and laying behind Sre to sleep.
In the morning, he was back reading, learning as much as he could. When Sre awoke to her stomach knotting itself, she had no choice but to go upstairs and get some food from the kitchen which was still mostly intact. She brought back some fruit and offered them to Roscrow, who took some without looking up. Sre sighed, but didn’t press it. She figured once he read the stuff, he’d be back to normal.
They stayed there for another few days. Sre was beginning to get worried about Granger. He might get worried about her and come looking for her. Du’un, the dragon, was more than happy about having company after so long. He didn’t wish them to leave, so Sre managed to convince him to come with them.
Suddenly, the earth shook. Streams of dust poured from the ceiling and the building creaked threateningly. There was loud honking sound that vibrated down into the vault. “Baby! He found us!” Sre went sprinting up the stairs. Roscrow leapt to his feet and chased after her. By the time he had caught up, Sre had realized just why he had made his presence so much seen.
She pointed up into the sky, and as Roscrow following her gaze, his throat constricted. Circling the town were two other dragons, Spindles by the look of their narrow wings. Du’un was looking up as well, having followed them.
Granger honked loudly to them, as much a friendly greeting as an angry threat. He wanted to protect his mother, but these were the first dragons he’d ever seen and he wanted to make friends with them. However, the two had no such thoughts. They dove down at him, swooping closely, snatching at his head, which he ducked. He made a whimpering honk, unable to understand why they would attack him.
Then Du’un was at his ear, fluttered into the air. He spoke in the Dragon Tongue, telling him these dragons were not his friends and that if given the chance they would kill his mother and all the people of the town. Granger shook his huge crowned head and snorted angrily. No one would hurt his mother, or the humans.
“Those dragons are nearly identical to him! One of them must have been the dragon that attacked the town when I first arrived.” Roscrow could hardly believe his eyes. Spindle dragons were the only dragons that were not all owned by humans, but these looked like they had War dragon in them. Allowing two different species to breed was unthinkable to someone who had been raised by professional dragon breeders.
And then the two dragons that were near identicals to Granger descended from the sky, roaring in anger at him. He screamed back, raising his wings. He rose into the air with a great cloud of dust, causing Roscrow, Sre and Du’un to seek shelter, his wings larger than the two other dragons. Even though they looked similar, the differences were obvious. Granger had far more War dragon in him, and he was bigger than these two, darker in color, and mightier in body structure. His high chest and massive chest plates made him look very regal, and terribly intimidating. The grand horns that crowned his massive skull glittered threateningly in the sunlight. His long muzzle opened wide, showing the combined small teeth of the Spindle, and nearly saber fangs of the War dragon.
The other two dragons screamed back at him, hovering in place with great effort, lashing out with their larger paws, more paws than hands. They were smaller than him, thinner, more Spindle, more delicate.
Granger gained altitude, began to climb into the sky, pumping his wings. The other two dragons went after him, behind him for his wings were larger. He went up until he felt the misty tendrils againsts his hide. Then he turned, tucking his wings, and plunging to the earth. The other two saw him coming and screamed, back winging to avoid him. He knew they would, and he plunged past them, forcing them into a dive as well. They went after him, but his large bulk gave him more speed, and that massive chest housed far more muscle for his larger wings.
Sre gasped, thinking Granger was going to hit the ground. But at the last second, Granger opened his mouth, shot out a burst of fire to the ground, flipped over to face the sky, spread his wings, and glided the thermals as one of the dragons spread its wings in an attempt to avoid him. But his long legs reached out, and with his almost human hands, grabbed the dragon and pulled it to his jaws.
Before he had the chance to bite, the other dragon, slightly larger, flew directly into Granger’s side. All three dragons spun in the air, cartwheeling into a building with a massive crash that shook the town. They continued to wrestle, the two dragons trying to use their combined weight to hold Granger down. Granger opened his mouth and let forth a stream of fire, hydrogen he did not have to spend. He caught one of the dragons unaware, straight in the face. It screamed, leaping back and shaking its head. It’s scales were built to withstand fire, but not at that close range. Neither was its eyes, which literally melted from their sockets. It screamed in agony, lashing out in pain and rage at Granger.
In his strange fighting form, Granger moved more like a serpent than a dragon, using his long flexible neck to strike out and draw back. When the other dragon that could still see leapt at him, he used his long legs to spring back like a cat, his maw opened, his neck launching out in the same movement, grabbing the dragon on the crest, pulling its head down as he landed lightly for such a huge beast.
The other dragon struggled, screeching, then dropped and rolled, forcing Granger to let go otherwise rip out his jaw. Screaming, Granger backed away, his wings raised, his tail lashing.
“The larger one is a female,” Roscrow said, noticing Granger’s reluctance to attack.
The female dragon glared toward its mate who was still in much pain and stumbling into things trying to get into the fight. Granger then turned and pounced toward him, crushing him under his weight. The male screamed and struggled until Granger buried his fangs behind the head crest, severing the spine and killing the other dragon almost instantly. Now he looked up at the female who puffed and hissed like a snake. She backed away from him, but no longer seemed willing to fight.
He approached, his head raised, shaking his head to show off his horns and crownlike crest. The female hissed and backed away some more, but turned her side to him, showing the creme colored branding that happened when a female showed submission, usually occurring before she was ready to mate.
“Shit!” Roscrow started toward the two when Sre grabbed him. He tried to shake her off. “They can’t breed! Can you imagine what kind of beast they’d make?”
“The kind that might change the world!”
Roscrow stopped and looked back at Sre. She looked at him with huge eyes, filled with tears of fear for her scaly son. “Imagine a world where dragons aren’t slaves to humans anymore, aren’t alive just to fight worthless wars only to be slaughtered after the wars are over. You gave your word!” Du’un was sitting on Sre’s shoulder, and he nodded in agreement with her.
Roscrow opened his mouth, but if he was going to resist, it was too late. The female had taken off, Granger in pursuit. They circled a few times before heading off toward distant cliffs on the horizon to the west. Finally, Roscrow relaxed. He pulled Sre to his body and held her tightly. “You’re right. If Granger’s docile nature is indeed genetic, then it might pass on to his offspring.”
Sre peered off after the dragons, tears falling from her cheeks. “Will he be back?”
“I don’t know. With Spindles, both parents care for the young. With War dragons, only the mother does. Who knows what their instincts will tell them to do? C’mon. Let’s help get the town cleaned up.”
Sre nodded and followed him. But as they headed for the broken building, Du’un whispered in her ear, “A dragon knows where its true home is.” She smiled at him and wiped her eyes as people began to gather around, gawking at the small dragon.
Sre was picking the berries from the plants Roscrow had sown last spring. It had been months, all winter in fact, since her collar had been removed and that she had lost Granger. It had taken her weeks to get over her grief, constantly telling herself that he was safe, that he now had a new family. Du’un had offered to go find him, but she had refused.
Du’un had given his library over to the Grand Library in the largest city on the planet. As it turned out, the knowledge the old books held caused such a stir that there was a short civil war. Dragons all over the world were released from their bonds, the remaining War dragons were brought out of stasis and were being raised to not attack humans once they were set free.
As she bent over to pick up her basket, she heard a loud creaking overhead. At first she thought it was just another newly released dragon that was looking for a home. Then it sounded like a heartbeat and the woods got very warm. Sre looked up in surprise and shock as a massive winged shadow descended and whipped up the dirt. She had to cover her eyes until Granger had landed, but she was already running for him. “Baby!” she screamed in delight, dropping her basket.
“Ah-Ah!” Granger bellowed in his own delight. Sre threw her arms around his arm, hugging the only part of him she really could. Granger wrapped his wings around her, and laid his hand-paw over her back, hugging back. He trilled as he lowered his head and mouthed the top of her head gently. Sre sobbed in happiness, holding him as tightly as she could, afraid that if she let go, he’d fly away again.
Then there was the sound of more wing beats and another dragon landed. Sre was suddenly worried, since Granger’s wings covered her vision. But Granger mummered “ah-ah” soothingly to his mother as he folded his wings and turned slightly as if introducing her to his mate. The female stood some distance away, obviously not trusting humans. Instead of being afraid, Sre slowly moved toward her, her hand outstretched.
“Hello. You must be Baby’s mate. I’m very happy to meet you.” The female snorted and looked at Granger for a moment. He lowered his head to his mother and nuzzled her. Then it seemed as if she’d made up her mind that if he thought Sre was so trustworthy, then she’d give it a try. Slowly, she lowered her head and sniffed Sre. Sre stood still, letting her do so. Roscrow and Du’un, who were off hunting, had taught her a few phrases in the Ancient Tongue. She now spoke softly, introducing herself and telling the female she meant no harm. It seemed to work since she relaxed and didn’t mind it when Sre stroked her nose.
Then there was a squeak and Sre looked down behind the female. Several baby dragons peered out from around their mother, gnawing on her tail in an effort to gain her attention. They had never seen humans before and were afraid. One pounced out from around its mother and puffed out its chest, giving a loud squealing honk. Sre giggled, which frightened it and it leapt behind Granger’s leg. It squeaked “ah-ah” to its father, hiding behind his paw. But Granger moved back and using his muzzle to slid his child toward his adopted mother.
Sre smiled and knelt down to the baby’s height. “Hello there. Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.” She suddenly got up, went over to the fish rack and took a drying fish, then brought it back for the baby. It sniffed the fish curiously before taking it and munching on it happily. She giggled again. “He’s just like you, Baby!” Granger snorted and shook his head as if denying.
Then the other babies stalked toward her, all squeaking in hunger. Sre smiled and offered them the whole catch that Roscrow had made. After they had eaten, they immediately became playful and trusting of her. They pounced on each other, squeaking and squawking and flapping their little wings.
Sre giggled until she felt Granger’s nose nudge her swollen belly. She patted him and smiled at his curious look. “You’re going to have a sibling, Granger. Now I’ll have someone else to call ‘Baby.’” Granger blinked and tilted his head. At first Sre thought he was sad or angry at no longer being her baby, but then he gave her a tooth-filled grin and honked loudly.
By the time Roscrow and Du’un got home, the baby dragons were laying in a pile, having tired themselves out. Sre was sitting on Granger’s forearm looking up at him and his mate who were both laying next to the hut, his wing over his mate, listening to her tell them about what had happened since they had left.
Instead of being surprised, Roscrow shook his head and dropped the bingku he’d caught next to the pile of babies. They would be hungry when they woke up. Du’un leapt down from his shoulder and poked one of the babies, grinning with delight at the thought of having hatchlings to play with. Granger hardly looked up at his adopted father as Roscrow came to sit next to Sre. The female looked a bit worried, but since Granger made no movement, she figured this human was also safe. Sre smiled at Roscrow. “He came home!”
Smiling back, Roscrow sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders and his other hand on Granger’s muzzle as he lowered it to nuzzle him in fondness. “Yes he did.”
Sre gasped and put her hands to her belly. “It’s kicking! Granger, feel.” Granger gently placed his nose to her belly and felt the child move inside of her. He closed his eyes and trilled gently as if trying to calm the child.
Roscrow also put his hand to her belly, feeling his child move. He kissed her passionately. Then he looked up to Granger. “Just in time for us to be one big happy family.” Granger raised his head and gave low rumbling honk of agreement.