Dragon Blood (Completed)

The Girl

"Please, don't be scared. You're safe here. My name is Maze." Maze spoke kindly, approaching the girl with caution. The girl looked for a moment like she might lower her weapon to accept Maze's outstretched hand, but then one of the guards spoke, and the girl's defenses were up again.

"This is impossible. What did you do wrong?" Drake, the commander of the Bluescale guard, said loudly. "We need to send them back immediately."

The girl looked at the guard, her eyes squinting as if she couldn't see him properly, then something flashed in her eyes that gave Zane pause. He wondered if she was as harmless as he'd thought.

Drake must have seen it too because he stepped in front of Zane, a move Zane was used to. How often in his life did guards place themselves between him and suspected danger?

When Drake stepped in front of him, the girl's eyes moved to Zane, taking him in with obvious distaste, and an equal amount of hatred she had for the guard. It was annoying. She was a stranger, and she looked at him like his staff did back at home. He was a royal, supposed to be loved by the people and viewed as a hope for their world. What awfulness did others see when they looked at him?

He wasn't sure of his own motivation to move closer to her. Maybe he just didn't like the look on her face. Maybe it was a need to prove to her that he was better than she thought. He stepped around Drake and approached her with his hands up in an effort to show her he wouldn't hurt her.

She took a few more steps back, but now she'd practically trapped herself, cornered with a big heavy door behind her. Zane figured she felt desperate. There was no way she would be able to turn around and open the door before she was descended upon by the guards. They wouldn't be able to let her wander around the castle, and Zane watched as these facts registered in her eyes.

Zane crept closer, and so did the guard that was pressed up against his back. Her eyes darted between Zane and Drake.

"Don't hurt them," Maze pleaded. "Please, just give them some space."

"Zane, get away from her! She could hurt you. Let the guards do their job!" his father roared, having transformed back to his mortal form, just to yell at Zane. The boy's eyes widened when he heard one of the other dragons roar in protest, but the girl looked horrified by the sound. She said something to the boy, then let go of his hand before he turned and tried to open the door.

The boy said something to her as he struggled with the heavy door, but she yelled at him while she used the knife to keep the guard at bay.

"Let's give her a little space." Zane echoed Maze's words, thinking it would be best if the girl didn't feel so threatened. He signaled for the guard to step back, only Drake remained close to him.

He watched her hand holding the knife. She was slow in his eyes with untrained, stilted movements. It was clear she didn't have much experience with weapons or how to use them. Zane knew he could easily disarm her in a move so fast, she wouldn't know what was happening until she was looking at her empty hand. But he didn't want to take the knife from her. He wanted her to look at him as someone trustworthy, and put the knife away because she felt safe around him.

"Please, calm down. We don't want to hurt you," Zane said in a soothing voice he hoped she would find calming. "We just want to send you home." Zane held his hand out to her and motioned for her to go back to the circle.

She looked at his outstretched hand, and something in her eyes wavered. Zane thought he might get her to cooperate.

"She speaks Balaan's language. Don't get near her, sir," Drake warned.