I stumbled back, shocked.
He was never meant to be the heir to the throne, he had an older sister who was meant to take over once their father died. She was perfect and everyone loved her, smart, caring, compassionate and she went out of her way to understand those people living in her kingdom.
But she died about 6 months ago, a horrible accident involving her favourite horse and a hunting trip. Her younger brother, who had been forever pushed to the side, was suddenly the centre of attention and it must have been horrible, because he was never taught the things to take the throne.
But the other thing I knew about the royal family was that they were part dragon, the strongest type of hybrid or creature ever known, which was how they seized power many, many millennia ago.
He was the dragon prince.
I turned and scrambled back up the tree, going as high as I could where I was out of his reach. Although he could fly, he had dragon wings which were probably hidden underneath his armour, he couldn't go anywhere surrounded by trees.
"Hey!" He cried. "Come back!"
I started flying from tree to tree, trying to get away, but in the cramped space up in the tree, my thin wings kept getting caught among the branches. I could hear his horses hooves below me and I knew that I was probably caught, but then something else happened.
One of my wings caught on the point of a branch and I wasn't quick enough to pull my wing away, because it created a huge tear down the middle and fell from the tree, all the way to the ground. I screamed when it tore, my wings were very sensitive and a tear this big could possibly mean the end of my flying.
I hit the ground hard and I couldn't move at first, because the wind had been completely knocked out of me. My eyes were flickering open and closed and I only just made out when the dragon prince crouched beside me, talking to me.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" My mind was fading in and out. "Shit, this is not good."
I felt myself being lifted from the ground and bundled into his arms, then I was lifted up onto a horse and leaned up against his shoulder. The horse ride was uncomfortable and bouncy, but I kept fading in and out so I didn't remember most of it.
When I was pulled from the horse and bundled into his arms again my torn wing was pushed against something, and I groaned in pain. The dragon prince hissed a rushed apology.
"Oh no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that." I was rushed into somewhere warm, inside I assumed, and taken up flight after flight of stairs and then laid down on a bed. I was left alone for less than a minute and in that time I managed to open my eyes. Everything was blurry and the only thing that I could make out was a flicking fire in a stone fireplace.
Again my eyes flickered open and shut and then he came back, this time with someone else.
"See! He fell from a tree and tore his wing and I don't know what to do cause he's unconscious- well, kind of- and I need your help!" There was a hand on my head, pushing my hair out of my eyes.
"Calm down Lachlan, he'll be okay. The first thing I'm going to do it sew up his wing while he's unconscious and although he might have trouble flying in the future, it won't be off the table. See these other little scars? They're tears that have healed." It was an older woman's voice, soothing and comforting.
"Okay but why is he like, fading in and out! He's scaring me and I don't want it to be my fault that he's hurt cause I scared him!" He was clearly freaking out and I groaned in pain as a pair of hands started working on my torn wing.
The Pack Ships- Mythical Lands Part 1- 3
Start from the beginning
