The Goddess' Druid

(Chapter 6) Travel

Arcadia woke up early, yawning as the last few remnants of sleep left her. She got up and started getting ready, packing what she would need for the next two weeks. She then walked out and smiled at the sight of Slader with the rest of the Roars of Dawn in a cart. Two stallions pulled the cart as she climbed in. She had decided on a dress with slits on both sides, so that she could run around and keep up with the others in the group. After they got to the headquarters of the knighthood, they all introduced themselves, starting with a man with silver hair and dark turquoise eyes. "I'm Simon, it's nice to meet you." He said, his voice carrying a bored tone. The one with a large set of armor went next, introducing himself as Hugo. The woman went last. "My name is Jillian, pleased to meet you, Arcadia." She said, causing the platinum haired female to nod softly. After everyone introduced themselves, the group of five went off to get settled in for the rest of the day.

The week went by fast with the Roars of Dawn, with the missions being refreshing and going relatively smooth. It had been too long since Arcadia had felt like this, and she didn't want it to end. However, when she woke up on the day she was supposed to go with the Pleiades of the Azure Sky, she got a letter from Hendrickson, which Molly delivered right before she left.

Dear Arcadia,

I hope that Molly got this letter to you in time, but me and Dreyfus have been sent on a mission to Danafal. I hope that you enjoy your time with the Pleiades and the Roars of Dawn, and I will see you when the two of us get back to Liones.

With love,

Hendrickson

She stared at the letter with wide fearful eyes. Not there, please not there, anywhere but there. She thought to herself. She folded the letter up and put Molly on the cabinet in the room she was in. She then finished packing her things and then left with the Pleiades of the Azure Sky, waving to the Roars of Dawn until the group was no longer in sight. Molly caught up with the female before landing on her shoulder as she was eating some grapes that Jillian had given her for the trip to the headquarters of the Pleiades. Denzel saw the feathered wings of the small Pygmy dragon and stared in shock. He had never seen one up close, let alone anyone who had tamed one. He thought that those dragons only lived in the Celestial Realm. Arcadia didn't notice him staring, and continued to talk to Arden and Deldry. So this is what they meant by a calming pure aura. There's no doubt that this girl could help with my research exponentially. He thought to himself, a wicked smile making its way onto his face. Dogedo spoke. "So then, where exactly are you from, Arcadia?" he asked, causing her to smile. "I'm from Istar. Why do you ask?" She questioned. "Well, do you know the druid chiefs?" He asked, causing her to nod. Meanwhile, Wallilo watched in mild amusement, his attention mainly focused on Deldry. Arcadia noticed in her peripheral vision that Deathpierce was staring at her, or rather, the wing marks on her back. She turned to look at him. "Pretty, aren't they?" She asked, acknowledging his presence for the first time that day. In all honesty, the silver haired knight was near swooning over this lady's beauty, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Ah, yeah, what is it exactly? The mark, I mean." He asked, causing her to sigh. "I really don't know what they are, but that's why I was headed to Istar in the first place. It was so that I could ask Jenna, since she knows about this kind of stuff." she lied. It wasn't that she didn't like these people, she just didn't trust them enough to tell them, especially Denzel. He had been listening to the conversation the entire time, and she knew it. However, she'd play along with his little game for now, and then homeward bound she'd be after these next painful seven days being with this group. The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence, with only small talk and very short conversation happening. All the while, Arcadia thought of her lover, and how he was going to be in deep trouble if he didn't know how to fight the monster in Danafal.

The group got to the tower near the mining town in the middle of practically nowhere, getting their things and Arcadia's as well as they went in. Molly clung onto the girl's arm tightly, hissing and gnashing her teeth at Denzel when he got too close. Arcadia told the small dragon to stop threatening him, but she eventually tolerated it as she got to her room. "Molly, cut it out, you need to stop. He's not a threat." She soothed. Not yet at least. She thought to herself. She unpacked her things and got settled in for the night, before Denzel called everyone down to dinner in the dining area of the tower. As she walked, she noticed the high concentration of light magic from one of the bolted doors on the hall, and decided to rest something when she heard the banging of a large animal throwing its body against the door. Deathpierce sighed deeply and clicked his tongue as Arcadia stared at the door. Ella had gone missing recently from her nest, and she was getting worried about her companion very much, without saying a word as Deathpierce watched, Arcadia took out the dragon shaped whistle and blew the tune she played for her friend into it, causing the struggling against the chains to get more intense, before the sound of chains breaking hit the ears of her and the knight with her. Shortly after, she watched as the door was smashed into pieces, the giant dragon stepping out and staring at the two. It was Ella, that was certain, but she looked thinner, sickly, and she looked exhausted. Her pupils were slits, fear swimming in them as Deathpierce ran to get Denzel. Seconds later, everyone else ran in with Deathpierce, but stopped as they watched in awe while Arcadia healed the animal, before the dragon rolled onto its back and let her rub its underbelly. "You ought to be ashamed, Sir Denzel, for kidnapping my dragon like this. She gets nervous easily, you jerk. Whose idea was this?" She asked, causing the knights to point at Denzel. "I figured. Since you just love to gather knowledge about the Goddess Race, you nosy, ignorant, selfish bastard. Why would you catch a dragon without knowing how it lives, especially since Celestial Tyrant Dragons need more space than regular adult Tyrant Dragons, and usually don't sleep in caves, but rather in nests in the treetops." She scolded, glaring at Denzel, who looked to the side and scowled. "So what do we do with her now?" Deldry asked, causing Arcadia to smirk. "I say she stays here. Besides, she'd be more comfortable if I was close by in case something like this happens again." she said. The group nodded before there was a knock at the front door of the tower. Denzel went outside and saw a bird with a report attached to it. He read it and smiled, before he spoke. "Turns out that Deathpierce was right, there is something in that forest. The men we sent found a woman with wings on her back and ice crystals in her hands. They described her as having dirty blond hair and green eyes." he said, causing Arcadia's eyes to widen slightly. What's she doing here? She asked herself, confused. She hadn't seen the lady in ages, but she also missed her a lot alongside Orchid. "Did they see anything else that was weird?" she hesitantly asked, hoping against hope that she was wrong. "Yes, there was a lot of snow within a mile of the lady, and she killed all but one of the men, who noticed the danger and managed to escape." Denzel replied, with the group all agreeing that heading out tomorrow to rid the forest of this danger was the best idea. "Alright then, it's settled, first we shall eat dinner, and then get a lot of sleep." he finally said, a grin on his face as the pieces of his wicked plan came together in Arcadia's mind. It was after dinner that she realized that she needed to find that woman, for Arcadia's, no, for Mallory's sake, and she was running out of time to do so. Arcadia locked the door to her room, grabbed Molly, and threw on two layers. Then, unfurling her wings for the first time in over a century, Arcadia took one last look back at her room, before she jumped, and took off in the direction that Denzel had told the group they would be going tomorrow, hoping that she had time to get there and explain what was happening, before it was too late.