DragonClaw

I doubt the fire could melt your icy hearts

*Welcome to the country of Shui!

Levels of Class (lowest to highest): Wyvern, Serpent, Dragon Defense, Dragonclaw*

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"Come back here, thief!"

One word went through my head.

Run.

I dashed through the crowded market, the warm bread loaf tucked beneath my arm. Weaving through the crowds, I risked a glance over my shoulder, and there they were, swords and all.

The Dragon Defense was dressed in their usual attire: a black tunic with azure swirls curling up the torso, azure trousers, and black shoes. A sword was tied around each of their waists, its silver hilt glinting in the mid-morning sun.

I shuddered.

Everyone knows that if those swords so much as prick you, your blood turns to pure ice, and it's obvious what happens to you then. I witnessed it happen to a fellow Wyvern (the people who belong to the poor side of Shui) once. It was a grown man, probably around the age my father would have been. His tan skin turned ice blue, and frost coated his skin, even though it was one of the hottest days in the summer. I swore that day that I would avoid the swords like a disease, but here I am, running from them.

I swung around the corner, only to crash into a Serpent (the upper-class of Shui). I immediately lowered my eyes, and bowed in apology.

"Watch where you're going, you good-for-nothing-"

"I'm so sorry, but I have to go," I said, trying to edge my way around him, but his smooth hand grasped the edge of my worn cloak.

"Where do you think you're running to?"

I looked behind me, and the Dragon Defense was closing in, a few feet away.

"Please, sir, I really have to leave."

He smacked me across the back of the head, knocking me to the ground.

"Insolent Wyvern! Learn your place! To explain clearer, for your dumb mind to understand, that means that you are beneath me," the Serpent sneered. I kept quiet, although my "dumb" mind thought of a thousand ways to reply to that sentence.

With that, the Serpent strode away, the bells on his shoes jangling like a death call. I muttered a curse at him under my breath, waiting until he was around the corner to stand up.

I painfully hoisted myself up, my bones aching from the fall. Brushing the dirt of my torn clothes, I started walking again, but then froze.

Where's the Dragon Defense?

I searched the crowd, but found no guards. They couldn't have given up, right?

I turned around relieved, but of course, there they were, smiling.

"Found you, little girl."

The leader stepped forward and made a lunge for my arm, but I stepped back and ran.

"Get her!"

Once again, I went through the market, but this time my injuries slowed me down. I turned the next corner, and ran straight into a dead end. All there was was boxes of fresh fruits, and golden hay, neither good for defending yourself. I hid behind the furthest box, and curled up into the smallest position I could make.

The air smelled like wet wood, but I kept still, and soon enough, they came.

Their footsteps echoed into the dead end. I held my breath, praying to the Azure Dragon not to be found. One pair of footsteps got closer and closer until I could hear the guard's breath, calm and steady.

My heart pounded at my chest, demanding to be let out. Suddenly the guard was in front of me, looking to the left, but it was only a matter of time before he looked this way. It was one of the older ones, and unluckily, they were the ones with eyes like a hawk.

I shrank into the shadows, but it wasn't good enough.

The guard's eyes lit up as he found me, his mouth shaping into a wolf-like grin. His arms snaked around my waist, and he dragged me out into the middle of the passage, throwing me down like a sack of goods.

"Found her."

The Dragon Defense examined me, all twelve of them trying to wordlessly decide what to do.

Finally, the leader spoke, his voice cruel and rough.

"Kyoya, give me your sword." The one who capture me, Kyoya, pulled the icy sword from its sheath, and handed it to the leader, with no objection. The sword glowed with a bluish tint, and glimmered like crystal. I cowered into the wall, but the leader pinned me against his body and hovered the sword above my throat.

"Any last words before you die, little girl?"

I stared at the guards in front of me, and I finally snapped. Something about situations like this just causes people to act differently than they usually do, because I doubted that I would even say the words that formed in my head if I wasn't about to die.

"Have a nice time in hell when you die. Sadly, I doubt even the fire in there could melt your icy hearts."

Their faces contorted into anger, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the slash of the sword. It never came. I heard the sword clatter to the ground, its echo piercing my ears like knives. The pressure on my body released, and the leader spoke two words.

"My lord."

There is only one person who the Dragon Defense follows, one person who they are beneath.

The Azure Dragonclaw.

The ruler of Shui, the person who speaks with the Azure Dragon.

And he's right in front of me.