A Bit Unconventional

3

"Clara." Blaze said placing his hand on her shoulder. "You'll just be trapped again."

"But I need to see it." She explained. "I need to know if he's telling the truth or not."

"Why would I lie?" Finn asked.

"How do we know this isn't a trick to draw you home?" Blaze glared mostly ignoring Finn.

"Look at him Blaze, he's a stick."

"Hey!" Finn complained.

"We could both take him down in a second." Clara said smiling. "Come on don't you want to get out of here?"

"And go to the palace that killed my father? Yeah no thanks." Blaze said angrily.

"Actually it wasn't Thelon that killed the other dragon." Finn said quietly cowering when they both looked at him. "He was killed by the queen of Durmount, the city to the south of Thelon."

Blaze raised a dark eyebrow at him. "How do you know this?"

Finn shrugged. "I know someone who used to be in Durmount's army, he said he was there the day it happened."

"Right." Blaze said looking back at Clara. "I really don't believe him."

"Can I go now?"

"No!" The two snapped making Finn flinch back.

"Look at him, he won't make it back."

"Good, less trouble for us."

"I made it here." Finn cut in but it did no good, he wasn't even being heard anymore.

"Blaze, I want to see it." Clara said taking the dragon boy's hands. "Please? I want you to come with me."

Blaze's eyes narrowed at her for a long time before he sighed. "Alright."

"Yes!" Clara cheered. "Get a shirt on and we'll go."

Finn watched the princess grab a sword for herself from the pile that was laying in a heap in the corner.

"Here, have this one." She offered, holding it out for him to take.

Finn looked at it sceptically. "I um... I could barely lift the other one."

"I know, this one is lighter." She smiled.

Finn carefully took the handle but the second she let it go it fell to the floor with an echoing clang.

"Hey!" Finn snapped as Clara let out a snorting laugh. "You lied!"

The princess continued to laugh with a very unladylike cackle that almost made Finn laugh himself.

"That was hilarious." Clara admitted trying to dry her eyes." Wow."

Finn abandoned the sword with a huff rolling his eyes.

"She gets like that."

Finn flinched looking at Blaze who had a loose grey shirt with a brown leather chest plate on.

"It's not princess behaviour." Blaze continued. "But she's never really been the perfect princess."

"I heard that." The princess laughed while walking over. "This one really is lighter, I'm not messing with you this time."

Finn frowned at her.

With a roll of his eyes Blaze grabbed the sword sheathing it in the hilt on Finn's back. "Can we get going now?"

Without waiting for them Blaze set off down the tunnel, Clara caught Finn's wrist dragging him after her.

They were all silent as they walked through the tunnels.

Finn didn't know what to say, he was now heading back to Thelon with the princess and the oh so feared dragon.

"This is crazy." He mumbled the moment they stepped out into the sunshine.

"What is?" Clara asked turning to him with a warm smile.

"I seriously thought I'd be dead by now." Finn admitted shaking his head. "I mean I shouldn't even be out here to begin with."

"I'm surprised you weren't attacked when you left." Blaze admitted. "The amount of mythicals out here-"

"Blaze, don't scare him further."

"You know I feel insulted." Finn complained shaking his head. "I know I don't look like much but I wasn't planning on dying straight away. I mean I grabbed this book about all the mythicals so that I knew what I might be facing."

"There's a book about us?"

"Yeah, although I've got to admit that most of the stuff about you is wrong." Finn explained looking at Blaze. "Like it never mentioned that you could become humanoid."

"Yeah well I don't do it for human entertainment." Blaze growled.

Clara laughed. "He's a joker."

Finn didn't believe her.

They walked in silence for a while and Finn was greatful for that. It gave him time to just think.

This wasn't how he had planned this trip to go, but he was alive. He had the first ingredient and he had a small glimmer of hope cutting through his grim existence.

Perhaps he had a chance.

A chance to make things right.