Excilius

3. Survival

The beast was beautiful, though terrifying. Dark green covered all the bottom of his body. He had a crest that was a beautiful version of lime green. His body was black, and so was his face. His wing bones were completely black, just like his body. The rest of his wings were the same color of his crest. His tailbone was dark green, and he had spikes that were the same lime green as his wings. His nostrils opened and smoke started coming out of his mouth. Then, with no warning at all, the dragon launched at her, ready to rip her apart. Lirian could see everything in her mind, how the dragon tore her and had his feast. She could already feel his claws impailing her skin. The dragon was about to grab her when she hear a voice inside her head that told her:
" Ekeí tha páte lígo xotikó mou. Oúte kan agonízontai áthlio thánato tis. Érchontai se ména, egó pothoún aíma sas."
She could hear the voice so clearly. It sounded like a buzzing voice in her head, possibly femine.
The voice had said:
"There you go my little elf. Not even fighting her miserable death. Come to me for I crave the blood of your kind."
Lirian wasn't going to obey that voice. It had been the same one that had talked to her in the carrige. She was sick of that voice. Lirian saw the dragon going straight towards her, and her body flexed backwards. She crashed on the floor, seconds before the dragon could get her. His claws passed really close to her face, scratching the top of her nose. Lirian let out a roar. She instantly felt anger. She was furious at herself for falling and forgetting everything. She felt anger at everything. She wanted to beat the dragon up with her own hands. She was angry at the voice in her head. Her vision started turning green.
She was about to explode with rage. " Lirian!"
She looked for the person that had talked to her. It had been the guard that called her 'Liri' earlier.
"Let's get out of here!"
He said while running to the destroyed archway.
She took one last look at the place. It was covered in fire. Both prisoners and guards were on fire. The beast was big and could grab ten men at once. The dragon threw another fireball at their direction, almost burning Roger, who had decided to run with them. Lirian, the guard, and Roger, climed the archway and ran down the hill. Lirian didn't know where they were going, but she followed the guard.
"Where are we going?" Roger screamed while running at the same time.
"We're going to a place where the dragon can't spot us until the others arrive" screamed the guard over the loud roar of the dragon. They passed many rocks, and Roger occasionally tripped over the roots of the trees.
Right when they were almost out of breath, they reached a hidden cave that was covered by tree roots and rocks.
The three of them got in there and sat down. Lirian put her head to the wall of the cave and closed her eyes. Her mind was trying to process what had just happened.
The guard was the first to talk.
"Hey Liri, are you all right?"
Lirian chuckled. She opened her eyes and her vision turned normal again.
" I was almost executed, and not to mention that I was about to be dragon food. My nose is bleeding, I was about to be kissed by a freshman soldier, and I don't remember anything at all. So, you should take that as a no. I am NOT alright."
Lirian looked at the guard who always called her 'Liri'.
His face went pale and his eyes opened wide.
"You don't remember anything? How hard was your fall?"
Lirian shrugged, showing no interest to keep talking. Roger decided to answer for her.
"We estimate that she had a fall of possibly more than two thousand feet. It was a pure miracle she survived. I'm surprised that the only thing that happened to her was brain damage, wich will eventually heal."
Lirian closed her eyes and rested her head, on the dirt wall, only to open them again.
"Roger," she began, "where was the carrige when I was found?"
Roger looked at her with a confused face and answered;
"At the top of the hill, before the waterfall. No one could see you from there. It was a guard who got off to check the carrige that noticed you."
Lirian started feeling a deep sense of suspicion. She was getting closer to something.
"Where were you when they found me?"
She asked him.
Roger just looked more confused than before.
"I was about to jump, like I told you before."
Lirian looked at his deep black eyes and said;
" You know every detail of my wreckage, yet you say that from the carrige, nothing could be seen. If you were on the carrige, how do you know information that a guard wouldn't tell a simple prisoner?"
Roger's face went pale. His eyes got a bit more wider. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't answer.

"How exactly do you know, if you were on the carrige?"
Before Roger could answer, a loud screech was heard. Then, the ground started to shake. Dirt fell on top of them, blurring their vision.
The guard looked straight out the cave. He started getting up and Lirian followed him.
"We have to keep moving. The dragon will search for every last survivor. It's what they always do." he said and started walking down the hill, and deeper into the woods.
"Where are we going?" Lirian asked, looking in a suspicious way at Roger. She had her eyes on him.
"We are heading to the camp of Exciles. The only place that's safe for us in this kindom." he said with a look of concern on his face. He looked so familiar to Lirian, yet she couldn't recall where from.
"Refresh my memory please. You are?" Lirian asked politely.
"You really don't remember do you? Lirian, I'm Artemek, leader of the camp next to my wife, also your sister, Siriana."
Lirian examined this and stayed behind Artemek at all times. She didn't want to get lost in this maze of trees. What would Lirian's sister say to her? How would Siriana react to Lirian's problem? There was only one way to answer all the questions in her head, go to the camp of Exciles, in wich she was now included.

~ In times of suffering, what is good in men ceases to exsist.~ Ari