To Love A Dragon (BOYxBOY) *SLOWLY UPDATING*

Chapter 8

Alex dreampt about nothing and everything; he dreampt of the dragon's half-death, he dreampt of his own demise.. And he dreampt that Kyriakos kissed him.

He woke up with a start, his eyes wide, his hair matted from sleep.

Remembering the goblins, his head swivelled wildly in search of them. And yet he remained in the dark, dank cave, with a warm breathing body by his side, with no one else in sight. Alex huffed, the sound reverbrating around the small room. Propping himself up on his elbows, he turned to look at the sleeping, human form of kyriakos.

As always, Kyriakos was beautiful. Too beautiful for words, actually. He was masculine, with long, lithe limbs and pale supple skin. Alex felt awed that he was in his pressence.

He tried to curse himself for getting close, for noticing these little details in the physique of the dragon's human body. He wanted to run. But the will to do so had left, replaced by the need to stay by him. But somewhere deep inside, was a voice that kept telling him he would be betrayed.

Alex, confused, hurt, and starving, crawled over the sleeping form of the dragon, standing up on the other side of the bed.

Besides his labored breathing, Alex wouldn't have been able to tell that kyriakos was mortally wounded, let alone hurt at all.

His stomach growled loudly, interupting him from his thoughts. Alex groaned out, deciding that he should hunt for food - there was no other option, seeing as these goblins ate weird, gross globs of goo that made his stomach turn.

Taking a last glance at the dragon, Alex exited the cave.

Ten minutes later, he was afraid that he was lost. But then he saw light at the end of the tunnel, and he followed it. He hadn't known how deep in the cave he was until now.

Upon feeling the fresh air against him, a smile grew on his face. He raced out into the open, greeted by the mid-day sun. He felt as if he'd just taken a cool dip in a pool of water and had craved the warm, sun-baked sun for far too long. 

His skin tingled with anticipation. His second time hunting without the help of Kyriakos. He could deffinitely do it. He would bring back food for both him and the dragon, and soon Kyriakos would get better.

Now that he could get a look of the place, he was surprised to find that it was quite huge.

He was situated on a large hill rising up from the land around it. Forests covered the lower slopes of the terrace, giving way to grassy fields and then a rocky crag at the bottom. While he would have to check it out to be more certain, Alex was sure that the mountain contained a fairly extensive cave complex. Plenty of game should be in the surrounding forest, with herds of sheep and even cattle in some of the valleys a short hike away.

Looking beyond the immediate environs, Alex found that several human villages and towns were well within a day's walk, offering the promise of easy escape if need be.

Of course the thought to run flitted across Alex's mind.

He could run and be safe in the village. They could cart him out of there and back to his home.

But the question was: Did he really want that?

Alex sighed as a headache came on. Rubbing his temples, he slid down the slope, surprisingly agile for a child who always stayed inside. Who was always protected. He sneered at himself for being such a coward all these years, for not sticking up for his right to do as he wished.

The prince came to a stumbling halt at the edge of the tree borderline.

If he were to encounter trouble, he could not expect the dragon to help. The dragon, after all, was the weaker one of the two at the moment.

Alex, feeling a big smug now that he was taking care of the beast, strode into the maze of greenery without stopping to notice how silent the landscape was.

Four hours later, and no luck. He had failed at an attempt to make a bow, having not the patience to sharpen a rock and attatch it to a stick. He therefor went in search of easy prey, but found none as easy as the first time with the baby boar.

His stomach was set aflame from starvation. He had never gone this long without food (While he was still concious) in his life, and he could feel the effect on his body - he was trembling and weak.

"Food," He rasped, biting back a yelp when he found that his throat was indeed, quite dry.

And then he became aware of a smell. This scent was familiar, as if he'd encountered it before.

So, trying to follow his nose, Alex walked straight into a stream. His eyes brightened in satisfaction. Yes! He would be able to fish, if not hunt with a bow and arrow.

So he pulled up his pants, rolled up his sleeves, and set to work, doing just as kyriakos taught him.

Two hours later, and the embankment was full of either dead or on the verge of dead specimens. He turned to survey his work, nodding in approval. Only then did he figure that he'd caught a little to many fish to carry.

As he trudged up the embankment, he caught sight of a woman and a man staring at him. The man and the woman seemed to be married, because the girl shifted behind her lover fearfully. Alex smiled disarmingly at them. "Hi!"

"There's a mighty fine catch we got there," The man stepped forward and looked at the prince. Alex, thinking he meant the fish, felt proud of his work, and nodded happily - though he did not know why the man used 'we' in his sentence.

"I ain't never seen a boy who could fish like that, how 'bout youz stay with me for a while."

"Huh?" Alex was taken back by this guy's immediate offer. "No, No... But you can take as many fish as you can carry, I've got to many." He blushed sheepishly and scratched his head.

The man looked at him in ammusement. "Boy, that wasn't a question."

"W-what...?" Alex asked, taking a hesitant half-step back. "What are you talking about?"

The man laughed, turning to his wife. "Hah! Berta, the boy acts like he don't know slave traders when he sees them." Berta giggled lightly, as the man turned back to the prince. "With a face as pretty as yours, you'll sell for a hefty price. Mind comin' with me?"

The prince could not flee. The raging river was to his back, and was too wide to jump across, and too deep to attempt swimming. His only option was to move forward. If only he could shove past both the man and Berta without them catching hold of him....

Alex tried to run, but the man caught him by the arm and held him there. "Boy, that wasn't a question either."

Alex thrashed, but the man held him tight - so tight, that a bruise formed on his arm in the shape of a hand print.

"Hey, don't be fightin, now." The man sneered, pulling out a knife. He held it to Alex's throat, making the prince shiver and gulp at the sight of cold steel.

"Just come along, then." He smirked.

Alex complied only because his life was on the line. Without even ordering himself too, his legs walked forward and he held out his hands to the woman so she could bind them with leather. Alex felt the urge to call out for the dragon, to scream until his lungs burst and he coughed up blood. But as he went to do so, a hand was slapped over his mouth. "Don't you dare speak a word," The man brandished his knife, making it gleam dangerously.

It was then the prince was forced to come to the terrifying assumption that Kyriakos would not always be there to save the day.