Silenced Voice

Chapter 11 Winter

After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the foot of the steep rock walls, and the wagons rolled slowly, winding first between huge boulders, as if in a labyrinth, and then down to the bottom of the gorge into a canyon whose walls sloped almost together at the top.

A perfect place to hide captured dragons... Winter thought as he watched the dark walls curve above them. The mouth of the canyon was narrow and well hidden. It was almost dark between the rock walls when the sun was already setting, and only the torches gave a faint light to the bottom of the gorge.

Winter noted that the area had been worked on to make it evener so that the wagons could pass. Still, the vibration was almost unbearable on the hard rock bottom. The ropes embedded in the scales seemed to cut deeper into the flesh with each shock. He wasn't sure he could even walk, let alone fly, if the ropes were opened now.
Luckily, luckily Sky didn't have to experience this, he thought in pain.

Finally the carriage stopped and Wren was lifted down. Soldiers climbed next to Winter to untie the ropes with which he was tied to the platform and attached something to the ropes on his back. Suddenly there was a creaking sound and he felt the ropes pulling him up until he was completely hanging in the air on the ropes. The ropes that were now biting painfully into the scales from the other direction and he felt as if his wings were being crushed.

That too is a device developed by humans. They are able to move things many times their own weight. Like a dragon's...
He slid sideways in the air and then was lowered. Not gently at all. The soldiers came around him again and untied the nets and the ropes around the wings and legs, but left the snout tied. Then they left and - now Winter noticed the strong bars around them - closed about two dragons high door as they went. He left lying on the stone floor with his eyes closed.

"Winter!" Wren's voice shouted in dragon, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the girl thrown herself to the ground on the other side of the bars. "Let me go!" She shouted in human language.

As Winter watched, the men untied Wren from the ropes and set off, taking the horses that had bucked the wagon with them. There was a screeching sound in the distance, a loud thrashing, and then silence. He hadn't noticed that Wren had slipped through the bars to his side while he watched the soldiers and horses leave.

"Winter... you look terrible", Wren sobbed.
I've never seen Wren cry... Winter thought in wonder.
"Can I...? This could hurt..." She said and carefully began to untie the ropes around his snout. It took a long time to untie the tight knots and Winter had to grimace in his mind as he forced himself to stay still. He saw that Wren's little paws were finally covered in both her own bright red and Winter's dark blue blood. The hard ropes had shredded Wren's thin skin and bit into Winter's snout to the point where he suspected he would be scarred for life. Finally the ropes came loose and Wren threw them farther. Winter couldn't even raise his head, but said a hoarse thanks in a barely audible voice.
"I'll get you some water", Wren said and disappeared to the other side of the bars.

She returned with a vessel of water.
"Horrible, disgusting scoundrels", Wren muttered as she dragged the water container right next to Winter's snout.
"Can you drink?" She asked in a worried voice.

Three days without water. Winter couldn't remember if he had ever gone so long without drinking. How long could IceWings survive without water? He didn't remember or know. SandWings could do without drinking for a very long time, but in this heat, water was the lifeblood for the IceWings. It felt as if the tongue had dried to the palate and the scales were cracking from the dryness. He slowly raised his head with Wren's support, and got his snout over the edge of the container. He drank in slow, careful sips at first, and when he felt his body adjust to receiving the liquid again, he raised himself a little and drank the container empty.