Nike

Ch. 10

Nike nods, "I will stop to heal myself soon. But we need to be farther away."

Glaring at her, Noir holds his fingers to his lips whistling. 

Not long after Balthazar coasts down from the sky, "I'm not a dog. Next time you whistle I will not come."

"What's wrong with dogs huh?" Terra asks, aggressively.

Backtracking, Balthazar starts apologizing, "I didn't mean it like that Miss Terra, but I don't like being called with a whistle. It makes me feel like a common pet, not an equal."

Nike moves forward staggering. Shadow leaps forward supporting her as she tries to continue walking.

"We need you to carry my sister. She was hit with a stray arrow and needs to heal herself." Shadow announces from his spot holding up a trembling Nike. "Nike won't let us stop moving from the Bonclay Kingdom."

Shaking her head, Nike refuses, "Shut up Shadow. I can still run." Her steps more steady, Nike runs farther from the horrific memories behind her.

Shadow sighs defeatedly, "Balthazar, please take her. If she goes any further she may not be able to heal herself."

The dragon nods, "Anything for her."

His big wings flapped shooting his body forwards, just before knocking her over, Balthazar grabbed Nike with his teeth and threw her on his back. Beating his wings once more the dragon lifted off to the sky. The others still remaining on the ground followed as best they could.

The sky was freezing cold in the dawn, but was warming with every passing moment as the sun rose from behind the distant land.

Balthazar's back was wide enough that Nike could stand and walk, so she stood from where he placed her pacing back and forth anxiously. Her wound hurt, but the anger of being told what to do drowned it out.

The dragon glanced at Nike constantly, worried that his savior had not started healing herself yet. After 20 minutes of her still pacing, the dragon spoke up. "Little human, please stop. If you keep going like that, your wound will only worsen."

"I don't care." She huffs out, the anger clear in voice. "Noir shouldn't have forced you to take me. What if they need me..." her voice softens as the root of her anger comes to the forefront.

"My lady, I don't think you understand. You are the sole hope of the princes' mother. Should you die their only chance of saving her disappears. Yet you treat your life with so little respect that even wounded and safe, you will not heal yourself." the dragon tries to explain.

Sadness permeates the air as Nike drops her head, "Right. That's all they want me for. I should not have forgotten that."

Balthazar tilts his head confused. What did he say that made her sad? The flight turned silent.

Unable to fight the pain much longer, Nike sat down to meditate and heal herself, making the giant dragon give a shallow sigh of relief.

Below, Shadow and Aurora we're fighting.

"You sent her up there with no food and no one to keep an eye on her!" Aurora growled.

Shadow raised his snout, "Balthazar is protecting her and she had food in her bag."

"I don't trust that dragon! He could fly off with her and leave us forever!" She barked.

Noir and Oliver, who could not understand them, only saw the two wolves growling at each other racing faster and faster the more animated they got, leaving the humans and other wolves farther behind.

Shadow sighed, "We have entire forests in debt to us and our sister, how could he ever keep her hidden from us?"

"But what if he takes her beyond the sea!"

"Darling I promise you that we can trust the dragon. He isn't as stupid as those humans behind us." Shadow swears with a quick kiss to the side of her snout.

Aurora gives in to her mate, but her eyes are still locked on the sky above where a small speck only visible if you're looking for it moves farther and farther away.

Hours later, the sun had warmed the day causing the wolves to pant in exhaustion from their chase. The two princes were even worse with their lungs burning in their chest. Nike had managed to rest and her wound had disappeared, but the sight of blood on her shirt kept the image stuck inside her companions' thoughts.

"Where are we?" Nike asks disoriented from the flight and lack of magic.

Oliver, sitting down at a fire cooking dinner for him and his brother, replies seriously, "We're close to the Leonis Kingdom. Be careful here."

Balthazar quirks his head confused, "Why? Are they like the last kingdom?"

"No, they are a kingdom of bandits. They claim anyone is welcome there, but the land is ruled by strength alone. You can do whatever you want as long as none can beat you." Noir replies as he returns from gathering more wood in the forest.

Soul grunts, "Bandits are dangerous. We should avoid them."

"I agree, Soul, but the only way to avoid them is to run around the kingdom." Nike points out.

Oliver shakes his head, "We don't have time! If we don't hurry, our mother could be dead by then! OW!!"

Noir slaps the back of his brother's head. "Shut up you idiot. They know that. But getting killed before we reach mother would do us nothing good! We can plan something now that will keep us all safe and rush us to our mother."

"Fine then. I propose we just use Balthazar to fly all the way home!" Oliver announces.

Nike immediately shuts down the idea, "He is not some carriage to use as you see fit. Balthazar is his own dragon and while he may be following us for now, I am still trying to convince him to return home. He insists that he owes me, and I disagree wholeheartedly."

"Thank you milady, but you are my priority. Should you need my help, I will be here to offer it whenever." The dragon bows his head to the ground.

Raising her eyebrows, Nike scoffs. "Stop it. I do not need help. I told you that the best way for you to repay me is for you to live free."

Annoyed with everyone once again, Nike walks off into the forest. Her feet had long grown used to guiding her around the trees on instinct, but still she stumbled and tripped in her exhaustion.

The others stared on in worry, but none made a move to go after her. She needed time alone.

"Why do they treat me as if I'm as fragile as a baby?" Nike cries out as she gets deeper in the forest. "Why can't I ever be equal to them? I survived this long didn't I?"

As she continues walking, her foot stumbles on something soft and springy. It's like a thin root with leaves loosely wrapped around it, but the roots of this forest are thick and don't grow leaves.

Her curiosity peaked, Nike bends down to feel the mysterious root. What she finds is paper wrapped around a stick with a ribbon tied to the end. Unsure, she carries it with her as she continues walking.