The Dragon Bond

Chapter 6

When night came and darkness grew, Jordan waited to come across a proper camping area before stopping his men and resting for the night. Despite having ridden horses before, Ariana was still extremely sore and was relieved when they came to a stop. Stiffly, she reached her left leg across the saddle and then hopped off the horse, grunting as her feet made contact with the ground.

She winced in pain from the soreness. Never before had she ridden a horse for so long and she started to regret her decision not to ride in the wagon.

Her soreness, however, was nothing compared to Fuego's who had been forced to walk the whole way. He had flown for a while but after almost an hour his wings grew tired and he was forced to walk again. He still was not used to flying and it would take some time for him to be able to fly for long periods of time.

Ariana looked over at her dragon and watched as he plopped down on the ground. She walked over to him and gave him some comfort until he fell asleep. Then she made her way to the back of the group where the wagon was. The healer was just climbing out of the wagon when Ariana arrived over there.

"How is she?" Ariana asked.

"She is doing better," he said, "I was able to give her more herbs to help speed the healing process, but it will be another day or two before she can walk around."

The news was a relief to Ariana. She had been worried about her friend and curious as to if she was getting better. Knowing that Sofia would recover was a huge burden lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you for helping her," Ariana said.

The healer smiled. "It is no problem. Thank you for being as kind as to allow me to ride in the wagon." He saw the brief look on Ariana's face that told him she regretted her decision. "I hope it was not too much of an inconvience for you."

Ariana sighed. She knew he was buttering up to her so he could ride in the wagon again tomorrow. "It was more painful than I had expected but I will be fine to ride again tomorrow."

She could sense the man was pleased with the news. "Nonetheless, why don't you let me give you some herbs to ease the stiffness?"

She nodded. "That would be much appreciated."

The healer reached in his bag in the wagon and pulled out some herbs. "You can use half tonight and then half in the morning; I find it works better that way."

Ariana took the herbs and nodded her thanks. She made her way over to the tiny creek where the horses were drinking and she filled a canister of water. She picked half the herbs, stuck them in her mouth, and washed them down smoothly with water. Then she stuck the other half of the herbs in her pant's pockets for the morning.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jordan approaching. She turned to face him.

"Sore at all?" he asked.

"More than I thought I would be," she admitted. "But the healer gave me some herbs for it. I'll be fine."

"You know you can ride in the wagon if you want to tomorrow, right?"

She bit her lip. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't help but feel bad for the healer. She could take another day of it, she decided. "I'll be fine."

"All right," Jordan said. "If you are sure."

After a pause, Ariana asked, "What are the plans for tonight and tomorrow?"

"Well," said Jordan, "tonight we will have something to eat...probably left over fish. And then tomorrow we will continue to make our way to the castle. I'm guessing we will arrive just before it gets dark."