For Her Honour

Part 2

With three little babies in tow, I carefully and quietly walked down the stairs and prayed that the knight had left the castle. He said it, but that didn't mean he would do it. There was a high chance that he was trying to lure me out.

I'd reached the castle gates by the time I finally saw the fiend. He was galloping off into the distance, eager to return with more men. My time here was running out.

Hearing a low whining noise behind me, I turned and saw the babies had found their slain mother. I'd avoided the body initially, only to ensure that the knight was gone. I had to care for the babies now, and their protection from him was paramount. For now, it was just a moment to grieve.

The walls around the gatehouse and inside it were scorched black, she'd put up a good fight. But then, she always did. I'd leant on the window sill and watched many foolish knights venture here and naturally, they'd die.

This one though, he'd outsmarted her. I hated him. I would make it my life mission to ensure that he suffered as much as what the dragon had. Mama Red, I wished that I could give her a fitting burial rather than leaving her here. She was far too big for little old me to carry, I had a hard-enough time lifting Ruby and Jade. As for Sapphire, he was stockier than the girls and I'd not been able to lift him in several days.

I sat down beside Mama Red, stroking the little tuft of feathery fur on the top of her head. The armour plates began at the back of her head, a striking line that ran down her spine and to the tip of her barbed tail. Lying over her large head, I could still feel the warmth of her body.

The babies nestled in close to us, nudging their way under my arms and making me sob with happiness. Sad happiness.

"Hello."

I gasped, bolting my head up from the dragon's head. Before me was an old man. He leant on a long stick, the flowing grey robe hung from his shoulders and draped over the bloodied floor. I'd met a few wizards in my younger years but this one, I had no idea who he was.

"Sorry to startle you. I saw the knight enter and uh,"

The wizard cleared his throat, looking a little ashamed.

"Well, after that grand lady demolishes them, I wait until she's back in her nest and then I loot the bodies."

"Oh."

"Didn't think he'd win, to be honest."

"They usually don't."

He nodded, looking at me curiously.

"Were you with the fellow?"

"No, I was locked in the tower."

He frowned, gazing up at the place that had been my home for so long that I'd lost track of time.

"Really? I didn't know she was guarding someone. I would have come in to say hello much earlier if I did."

"And not try and save me?"

The wizard chuckled, shaking his head.

"My dear girl, that dragon is a Northern Rynath. Mostly docile, she defends her home and her family. If you are alive after all these years, then it means that she considered you a part of her family. Uh, who put you in the tower?"

I shrugged, feeling worse now that the wizard had revealed that particular piece of information. Mama Red really was a mama, she believed that she was my mother.

"A witch, she never told me her name. Just dragged me here and locked me in the room."

"Hmm. Sounds like the lovely creature that inhabited this part of the world about five years ago. She would take the young and offer them to creatures like this lady here as part of her incantations."