Dragon Blood (Completed)

The Prince Returns

Chapter 6

It was two days before he saw either one of them again, despite an extensive search with everyone from royals to wash maidens participating in the hunt. The excited buzz about the two royals was quickly turning to stressed apprehension. What if they weren't found? What if they were found by the wrong dragon? The idea that Drake had not been working alone plagued Zane every minute they were missing.

The dread that spread across the land when Theo Bluescale died was quickly engulfing the sliver of hope that had shown so brightly on this kingdom. The hope that had shown so vibrantly in the eyes of the guards and staff when Zane first ordered them to find the true Bluescales was dimming, as search after search returned nothing.

Zane was asleep in the kitchen when he was woken by the sound of nervous hands dropping a utensil on the floor. He'd decided to stake out the kitchen after Greenwing made the comment that when they got hungry enough, they would come out from wherever they were hiding.

Silently, Zane sought the noisemaker. He was somewhat surprised that the floor was dry, expecting the Bluescales to come in through a water passage, since that was how they left. He saw Dean crouched on the floor against one of the cupboards, shoving a roll into his mouth like a squirrel in an effort to satiate his hunger. Zane thought he looked too small and too tired for burdens that Zane knew were weighing down his little shoulders.

"Dean?" Zane whispered.

Dean froze mid-chew. Staring wide-eyed at Zane, he pushed himself up onto his feet, ready to run. Zane could have easily caught him if he ran, but he was really trying to build some trust with the boy, and he knew a chase would not help with that endeavor.

"Easy. I'm not going to hurt you." Zane knelt where he stood in an effort to show Dean he would stay away. "I just want to know if you and Paige are okay."

All the trust was gone. Dean reached behind him, groping for a bag of food he'd already gathered without taking his eyes off Zane.

"Dean, please. I didn't know I was going to hurt her like that. I was only trying to help her the way I would any other dragon."

Dean clutched the sack to his chest, but still refused to speak to him.

"Will you tell her I'm sorry?"

Dean shook his head, and Zane felt the hope he'd had at the sight of the boy drain out of him. "Please, I hate that she thinks badly of me."

"She would be mad at me if she knew I was talking to you."

"What will happen if she finds out?"

"You don't want to know," Dean said with a small shudder.

"Does she hurt you? You know I can protect you if she tried to hurt you," Zane said, wondering what sort of wrath she could unleash on the boy that just the thought would frighten him.

"She doesn't hurt me. She doesn't let anyone hit me." Dean was suddenly fiercely defensive.

"Has someone tried to hit you?" Zane asked, thinking of the bruises on her abdomen and back.

"You can't trust grown-ups. They never believe her, but she never lies."

"What don't people believe?"

Dean's rich brown eyes turned darker than Zane would have thought possible in the dim light cast on the wall. "Everything."

"Is she okay? Is she healing well?"