Hours slipped by. I fidgeted nervously, my scales scraping against cold stone. It was similar to the Dragon Stables I normally slept in, but different. Worse. Here, the other four dragons shared the cell with me.
Thankfully, the humans had taken Black Beast's size into account, and given us one of the largest cells. Nonetheless, we couldn't move without disturbing another, and we were all too uncomfortable to rest. I had thought Lord Raffael was different, but obviously not.
Unlike the Dragon Stables, there was no food. Humans had come in a few hours earlier and hand-fed us pitiful scraps. How they could do that without worrying that we'd bite their hands off, I didn't know. Perhaps they felt safe because they were escorted by several guards, each of them armed heavily.
Nor was there any water.
Even the bucket of filthy water that I was accustomed to was better than none.
A day since I had last sipped water, my throat burned ferociously. It was almost as though there was a fire within me, scorching my insides. While, it was currently tolerable, there would only be so many more hours before the burn would become impossible to ignore.
Water. I needed water. As much as I desired more food, fresh food, I needed water. There was no way I'd be able to make the journey back, or even start flying with that horrendous scorching in my throat.
My heart skipped a beat when the metal door was flung open and light poured into the cell. Twisting my head towards the entrance, one human stood before us. Lord Raffael. Why would the lord come to get us on his own?
Unease filled me as I prepared myself to receive for the human's command. As I suspected, now his true colours were coming out.
The lord stared at us, his blue eyes bright with purpose. "Come on," he commanded quietly. "I don't have the time to wait while you dawdle." Impatiently, he moved away from the door, allowing us to exit slowly.
The red drake, being closest to the cell door exited first, immediately stretching himself in relief. Jealousy coursed through me as I watched him, longing to do that myself. Hastily, the other two dragonesses followed after him, leaving the Black Beast and myself.
Lord Raffael folded his arms, his dark brow furrowed in a scowl. "Hurry up!"
Not daring to glance at the Black Beast, I slunk out of the cell, flaring my wings the moment I had more space. Instinctively, I arched my back, and my talons scraped against the cold, stone floor. But I did not care, content to finally have some space to myself.
"SHHH!" implored Lord Raffael.
The lord was far from content. Quietly pushing door shut the moment Black Beast was out, he rushed ahead of us, walking much faster than I thought a human could. It was impossible not to notice his hunched shoulders, and the way he kept running a hand through his hair every so often. He was nervous. But why would a lord be nervous?
Confused, I scurried after him. Fear coiled in my stomach, growing stronger with each rapid step. The black walls around me passed with a blur, as well as the small flames flickering on the wall to allow the humans to see.
Finally, sunlight gleamed ahead of us, rapidly approaching. The corridor broadened, now lined with guards whose weapons were drawn - and pointed at us.
"Halt," a bored voice commanded, and Lord Raffael did so immediately. A soldier stepped out of the shadows, appearing to be no different than any of the others beside him. "Your identity please, sir. And an explanation of why you need those dragons."
"Lord Raffael. Here to collect these dragons for my brother - Lord Carlos," the lord spoke in a clipped voice, saying no more than necessary. "Now, if you would let me pass..." He had started to walk forwards before he had even finished the sentence. The guard barely had time to shuffle out of the way, allowing us to exit the building.
Warmth coated my back as I stepped into the sunshine. Humans milled around the streets, most of them wearing either dull, or dark robes. Paying little attention to them, I glanced at my surroundings desperately.
There!
Beside the entrance of the huge, dark building, was a large trough. As I had expected, it was completely covered in dirt and grit. But I was used to it, after so long at Fehïrk.
Not wasting another moment, I bounded across to the trough, eagerly drinking the water. The other four dragons did the same, but I paid them no heed as I swallowed as much water as I could, easing my burning throat almost instantly.
Too busy gulping down the water, I did not care that humans were bustling down a street that would have otherwise been too close for my liking. Nor did I care that five dragons with their heads submerged in a single tough must have been a strange sight for the humans.
Satiated, I finally stepped away, turning towards Lord Raffael. He was not where he had been when I had dashed for the water; instead waiting at the far end of the building, further away from all the other humans. How long had he been waiting there?
Unease prickling my scales, I glanced around the small area. Humans were everywhere. They could have done anything to us whilst we were drinking. Stupid, I thought to myself. With so many humans around, I should have at least considered our safety.
Cautiously, I approached the lord. There was no where else to go, but to him. But Lord Raffael merely glanced at me, before watching the other dragons. Impatiently waiting for them to return to him. It was only when the Black Beast stopped drinking, did he begin to speak in a hushed voice.
"This is your chance to escape," he murmured in a low and urgent voice, crouching down beside the bright red drake's tail. With wide eyes, I watched as his hand fiddled with the ring that rendered the tail fins useless. "Once I've gotten the tail fin off you, don't wait. Fly away immediately. But first... promise me something."
Unable to comprehend his words, I stared at him disbelief. Escape. All I had ever wanted, and now, it was offered by a human. Just for one promise in which he could not understand we'd agree too!
"Promise me, if I set you free, you will do everything you can to save other captured dragons at Fehïrk," the lord instructed, shaking the ring off the red dragon. Almost immediately, he jumped to my tail, gesturing for the red drake to go.
"I promise," I snorted, hoping that he'd understand my grunt. Even if he didn't... I meant it anyway. Rescuing the other captured dragons was too good an idea. After so long yearning to be rescued myself, I would be free. And then I'd start rescuing others.
"Thank you," Lord Raffael murmured softly.
I froze. There was no way that the lord could have understood me. Absolutely no way. Humans did not understand dragons. Ever. Perhaps he had merely just understood my grunt to mean that I promised.
Deciding that I had to know for sure, I shook my head. "No. Thank you for freeing us," I snorted, turning my head around to watch his reaction carefully.
Lord Raffael said nothing, but a sad expression momentarily passed across his face as his warm hands brushed against my tail fin. How strange it was, to have human fingers fiddling with the cold ring clasping my tail fin shut! Yet there was no doubt that he was taking it off.
As I watched, the cold metal ring moved, trailing down a few more scales, before it was gone. Gone. No longer clamping my tail fin shut, but a dark piece of metal now resting uselessly on the ground.
Finally, the lord glanced up towards me, his blue eyes sincere. "I do what must be done," he explained, before adding even quieter, "You're welcome."
Somehow, he had understood what I had said. It should have been impossible – and yet he had. But I could not worry about that now. Later, perhaps, but now...
I was free; free to fly away and escape.
Trumpeting my gratitude, I instantly hauled into the air, racing after the red dragon. Somewhere below me, dragons screeched in distress, and Lord Raffael muttered a curse. Worried, I dared a quick glance down – and a feeling of dread shot through me.
Guards were running towards Lord Raffael, having realised what he was doing. Swords drawn, ready to attack, they raced towards him, but the Black Beast was in their way. Snarling at them furiously, he held off the humans as the lord tried to hastily pull the pale green dragoness's tail ring off.
Along the streets, townsfolk had also realised what was going on, and started pointing and shouting. It would only be a matter of time before the Black Beast was overwhelmed by the masses of humans, and we would be chased.
Desperately, I screeched a warning to the bright red dragon in front of me. Adrenaline pumped through me, and I easily caught up to him, starting to swerve around the mountains. Yet no matter how hard or fast my wings pulsed, all I could hear were the furious cries of the humans in the city far behind. Already, flashes of colour were ascending towards us - undoubtedly humans riding dragons.
But there was one other dragon, this one without a rider. Pale green scales glittering under the sun, the dragoness soared up behind us, the ring from her tail dangling just below her translucent tail fins. Completely useless, but... that meant that Lord Raffael had barely freed her in time, before he had been stopped.
Which meant that the other two dragons, the sky blue dragoness and the Black Beast had not, and would not escape.
Despite the distance, I heard the Black Beast howl in pain. There was no doubt that even as the humans started attacking him, he was trying to warn us to hurry up.
"FLY!" I roared at the pale dragoness. There was no time to worry about the other two dragons still on the ground, we needed to get away. Humans could still catch up to us. Not bothering to wait and see if she had followed my command, I hurled myself through the sky, not daring to stop, not daring to falter. Because doing so would only end my newfound freedom.
Freedom! No more humans yelling at me; no more punishments or labour.
It was almost too good to be true.
Almost.
Black Beast and the sky-blue dragoness hadn't made it. Feelings of guilt sloshed around in the base of my stomach. Had I alerted the attention of all the humans when I had screeched my gratitude to the lord? What had I done?
Still behind the red dragon, I swerved around the peaks of the mountains, flying high above the clouds. Not daring to wonder why the lord had helped us escape, or what would happen to him. Instead, I focused purely on escaping alongside the green and red dragon.
At least we had an advantage. Tired and hungry as we were, the dragons chasing after us were just as hungry and tired. The extra weight of their human riders gradually slowed them down. And, now the tail ring worked against the humans – a free dragon would always be able to fly better than one that was controlled by a human. Humans couldn't feel the wind currents; they probably did not even know they existed – or how they could be put to good effect!
Being in control of ourselves, we did not have to worry about humans pulling or yanking us. That alone was enough to make it faster, without being able to glide along the wind currents that the humans were oblivious too.
"How far away are they?" the pale green dragoness rasped beside me. Almost double my size and age, she had caught up to us fast. If only the red dragon and I had her size and speed – no one could catch us then!
Glancing behind, I scanned the sky for the other dragons. Relief surged through me as I saw that they were falling behind.
"Still visible; still chasing us," I panted with a powerful beat of my wings as I turned to look straight ahead. Around us, the mountains were gradually dying away, instead replaced by hills covered in forests or fields. "But slowly slipping away."
"Freedom at last," the pale green dragoness sighed in relief, but exhaustion laced each word. "For a few moments, I had been beginning to think that I wouldn't be able to get free, and yet, here I am. Soriak, of the wind and trees once more!"
Her blue eyes shone with pride. A look I had not seen before, and took a moment to recognize.
I realised that Soriak was her name - long before she had been captured by the humans. A name that she had not forgotten, despite so many years. An identity that she had kept all to herself.
Perhaps I would have been jealous that she had a name, had I not had given myself a name a few days ago.
"What's your name?" I asked the bright red drake in the lead. Now that we were free, the humans could no longer control us. Finally, we could have an actual identity, without worrying that the humans would somehow find out and punish us!
For a few moments, the red dragon was silent, as though surprised by such a question. Or maybe he couldn't remember his name? But then his melodious voice, rich with pleasure announced, "Rutilus. Yours?"
"Argentum," the name rolled off my tongue smoothly. My amber eyes glowed brighter, unable to hide my excitement as I shared my name for the first time. No longer was I the only dragon who knew my name.
I could not have cared less if it was two dragons or the whole world knew my name. Finally, after twenty long years of yearning, I had an identity.
I was free.
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2368 words
Here we are - a slightly longer chapter!
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