A Dragon’s Tale

Alana felt like someone had used her entire body as a punching bag and then strapped lead weights to her small frame.  She was vaguely aware of being awake, but she just wanted to sleep.  She kept her eyes closed and tried to fall back to sleep, but just couldn’t do it.

She thought about opening her eyes but that felt like too much work.  Instead, she just listened.  Judging by the noises, she was in a town somewhere.  She could hear the clip-clop of horses, the squawking of chickens, and the sounds of a busy marketplace. 

How did she get here?

It slowly came back to her, her house burning, running from the soldiers with Ethan...  Ethan!  Despite the weariness and pain, Alana tried to struggle awake and up.  She didn’t succeed because her body just wouldn’t listen. 

”Rest easy there little one.”  A deep voice said.  She felt a warm hand touch her forehead and thought she recognized that voice.

”Unc...  Garth?” Alana managed to say. 

”Yes, it’s me child. Now rest.”

”Eth...  than...” Alana managed to choke out.  Her mouth was incredibly dry.  A few drops of water dribbled onto her lips and she licked them up.  Her mouth felt like a desert, but there was now a slow trickle of drops moistening it.

”The dragon is alive.”  Uncle Garth said.  ”Now relax, or all his work to save you will be undone.” 

Alana relaxed and the flow of water stopped.  Uncle Garth had always been her favorite uncle and he had never lied to her.  If he said Ethan was okay, then he would live.  Oddly, just the strain of trying to sit up felt like a lot of work.  She was tired now and closed her eyes. 

Sleep took her quickly. 

* * *

When Alana awoke again, she felt much better.  While her limbs still felt like lead weights, she could at least move them.  She allowed herself a few more minutes of dozing before she opened her eyes.  

She was in a small room built in the typical town style.  She could see the exposed beams and there was a simple iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling.  She turned her head and saw the room was simply furnished with a rough wooden table and a few dried stumps for chairs.  Uncle Garth was sitting in one and leaning against the wall, snoring quietly

There was one other bed beside hers and Ethan was asleep on it.  Or rather, he was mostly on it.  His tail hung over the end of the bed and his wings -- normally held so close they seemed to disappear into his body -- were hanging off both sides.  He looked okay, but his breathing seemed shallow; not dangerously so, but he didn’t look in the best of health.

Alana looked under the covers and discovered she was still wearing her green dress.  She sat up and rubbed her eyes.  The motion made the bed creak and Garth snapped awake at the noise.

”Iswearit’srealsilver.”  He blurted out as he woke.   He blinked for a few moments, then saw Alana awake and smiled.  He got up and handed her a glass of water, which she promptly swallowed in one go.

”Welcome back to the land of the living, Alana dragon-bride.”

”It’s good to be--”  She smiled, then stopped as his words sank in.  ”Wait, what did you just call me?”

”Alana dragon-bride.” 

”Now wait just a second. I hope you don’t think that...  I mean, I didn’t mean to...  We’re definitely not married.”

”You didn’t share your deep mana with him?” Garth asked.  ”Or perhaps you didn’t know what that means to an elf?”

”Of course I know what it means, but I only did it to save his life.”

”You gave him so much of your deep mana that it brought you to the brink of death, little one.  When the dragon found out, he shared his own deep mana with you to save your life.  You both nearly died because of how inexperienced he was in sharing mana, but I was there when he did it.  I felt the bond form between you.”

”Yes, but...”  Alana couldn’t think of anything to say.  Among elves, vows were merely a formality that weren’t always included in a wedding.  The sharing of deep mana tied two elves together more deeply than any vow could.  Since no one could force an elf to share deep mana, the act itself was considered a vow; the creation of a marriage.

”Is the beast unworthy?”  Garth asked.

”He’s...”  Alana hesitated.  If she answered his question honestly, she would confirm it in his mind.  She sighed.  ”He’s a good man, or dragon.  He saved my life and put his own in jeopardy to keep me safe.  I even told him to run, but he wouldn’t.  That’s why he got shot.”

”So, you saved each other’s lives, shared an adventure, and then shared your deep mana.”

Alana nodded. 

Garth got up from his seat, walked over to sit down beside her and put his arm around her.  Alana promptly laid her head on his shoulder.

”Be happy Alana dragon-bride. You found a mate early in life and among a race as long-lived as ours.  Can you feel him through your bond?”

Alana closed her eyes.  Her mother had always said that bonding with her father was like having a piece of him residing in her mind and heart.  She said she could sense him when he was close and even sense his mood.  Alana hadn’t believed it at the time and had dismissed it as romantic exaggeration. 

Now she started to reconsider.

She could feel something in her mind, something that definitely wasn’t there before.  It was a vague, nebulous feeling, like trying to describe a dream as it was fading.  It was there, but didn’t seem to have much substance. 

”I can sort of feel him.”  She said.  ”But it’s like he’s far away or not quite here.” 

”The bond will strengthen over time.”  Uncle Garth nodded, then added with a wink.  ”It will get much stronger once he beds you.”

”Uncle Garth!”  Alana sat up straight as her face went bright red and she slapped him on the shoulder.  ”I am not going to bed Ethan, he’s a dragon for Illuminar’s sake.”

”We both know that there aren’t any female dragons and they need other races to breed.”  He smirked.  ”Besides, if the stories are true, you’ll be singing a different tune once you’ve tried him on for size -- or should I say ’in’ for size.” 

Alana rolled her eyes as her cheeks grew warm, then curiosity got the best of her.  ”What stories?”

”You haven’t heard?”  Garth asked.  ”Well, far be it from me to spoil your wedding night, little one.”

”There won’t be a wedding night.”  Alana said through clenched teeth.

”Then there’s no reason for you to hear the stories, is there?”  He smirked. ”Pretend I never said a word.”

Alana opened her mouth to reply, but then thought better of it.  Uncle Garth was a terrible tease and asking more questions about dragon stories would only egg him on. 

Alana couldn’t help but wonder though...  were dragons reputed to have some kind of special skill in the bedroom?  If so, was it merely an old wives’ tale? Or was she in for a treat if she and Ethan ever--  Nope.  She cut off that line of reasoning right there and refused to think about it any further.

There were a few moments of silence, which were interrupted by her stomach rumbling.

”I’ll get some food for you.”  Garth said, standing up and walking through the door. 

His head popped back in a moment later, glanced at Ethan, then at her with a twinkle in his eyes.  ”You need to get something warm inside of you.”

”Oh.  Stop it” Alana said, her face going bright pink again.

Garth guffawed and then left. 

Alana yawned and stretched, and then closed her eyes and checked her mana.  As she had expected, she was running on empty.  Her deep mana seemed to be mostly replenished though.  She groaned; she hated collecting mana in town.  It was so much harder than doing it in the forest.   She couldn’t understand how some people thrived in lifeless towns without greenery. 

With a sigh, she reached out and started drawing the mana around her.  To her surprise, it was much easier than it had ever been before.  It was just as easy as in the forest, and possibly even slightly easier.  She tried to relax and let the mana flow into her, but the ease with which she was drawing it in made her uncomfortable.

Uncle Garth returned ten minutes later.  Alana had collected more mana than she thought possible in such a short time.  Her mana was far from full, but the last time she had been in town it would’ve taken five times that long to collect as much as she had.  Even in her forest, it would’ve taken longer.  Furthermore, she had had an easier time collecting it than ever before.  While it was certainly convenient, the difference was unsettling.

”A copper for your thoughts?”  Garth handed Alana a bowl of thick and hearty soup, chunks of vegetables floated in the bowl and it smelled heavenly.

”How hard is it for you to collect mana here?” she asked, then took a spoonful of her soup.  It was quite good.

”About as hard as any other time. Why?”

Alana swallowed before answering.  ”Because I just refilled it faster here than in the forest.”

”By Illuminar’s light...”  Garth’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.  ”Are you sure?”

Alana nodded.  ”Positive.  Even in the forest I couldn’t do it quite this fast.”

Garth looked pensive for a few moments, and then glanced over at Ethan’s sleeping form.  ”I did warn him that there could be side effects.”

”Side effects?” Alana asked after another mouthful of soup.   ”What kind of side effects?”

”I don’t know. I’ve never heard of an elf bonding with a dragon before.  For that matter, I’ve never heard of a dragon bonding with anyone before.  I mean, there’s always been a rumor that Ithlan held dozens of women enthralled, but I dismissed those as old wives’ tales not worth considering.  And besides, there are a lot of rumors that surround our first emperor which are clearly false.”

Alana nodded and took another spoonful.  Emperor Ithlan was a confusing topic in history and there were as many anecdotes and opinions about him as there were people; maybe more.  About the only thing that everyone agreed on was that he was a dragon and he had established the first true empire in the Ten Kingdoms. 

”So, you don’t know what kind of side effects there could be?” Alana asked.  ”I mean, if it’s just a matter of being able to collect mana more easily, then I could live with that.” 

”Hmm.”  Garth stroked his beard with his hand.  ”I did notice that the dragon seemed to do better when you were around.”

”What do you mean?”

”Well, you’ve been out for almost a week.”

”A whole week!”  Alana sat up in alarm.  ”I’ll miss the staff buyer.”

”Relax, little one.”  Garth said.  ”I found the staves near where I found you.  Since you were unconscious, I met with your buyer, explained the situation and even got a bit of extra coin because you were feeling ill.”  Garth reached down, pulled her coin purse out of his bag and set it down on the bed next to her.  It was considerably fuller than when she had last seen it.

”I couldn’t sell two of them though.”  He said.  ”They had a few scuffs and if I’m not mistaken dragon claw marks, so he passed on them.  They’re both in great shape otherwise though, so maybe you can sell them at a second-hand market.”

”Oh, thank you.”  She let out the breath that she hadn’t realize she’d been holding.  That was all the money she had for the foreseeable future.  ”But I interrupted you, what were you saying?” 

Garth continued, ”After the dragon gave you most of his deep mana, I returned him to his tent.  Neither of you were doing well, and I wasn’t sure if either of you would make it.  Then we broke camp and I put you both in the same wagon while we were traveling.  When you got close to each other, you both started doing better.  That night when we made camp, I put you in separate tents and your conditions worsened again.  In hindsight, it got worse whenever you two were separated.”

”Really?”

Garth nodded.  ”I put you both in the same tent later that night and both of you improved.  That’s why you’re in the same room now.  Honestly, if you had been separated, I’m not sure either of you would have survived.”

”You mean I’m going to be stuck with him forever?”  Alana asked.  She liked him well enough, but perhaps not that much.

”I doubt it. That’s only because you were wounded.  But the closer you two were, the faster you both seemed to replenish your deep mana.  Once the dragon is well again, I’m sure you can go your own way.”

”He has a name.”  She said.

”Protective of your husband?”  Uncle Garth asked with wink.

Alana felt her cheeks go slightly pink.  ”No, I meant he has a name and you could use it.” 

”Fine, you can leave Ethan when he wakes up.”  He was trying to be casual about it, but Alana could tell he was watching her reaction intently.

He changed the topic when she didn’t take the bait.  ”So, what will you do now?”

”With the staff farm gone, I have no idea.”

”You could travel with us for a while. You have a sharp mind and I’ve got a few things you could do while you’re with the caravan.”

”I appreciate it Uncle Garth, but no.  I would barely pull my own weight and I really don’t want to freeload.  I need to figure out what to do with my life.” 

”You could always go home little one.”

”The staff grove and my house were destroyed.”

”That’s not the home I was referring to.”  Garth said quietly.

”Oh.”  Alana replied as she realized what he meant.  ”You know that’s not a good idea.” 

He nodded.  ”I’m just saying you could consider it.  And you should tell your husband about it too.”

Alana sighed.  ”There’s no reason he needs to know.  Besides, everybody always changes how they treat me when they find out and Ethan...   well, I like things the way they are.”

”Okay.”

Outside the window, Alana could hear a commotion.  She turned to her uncle.  ”Did something happen?”

Garth nodded.  ”The Bank owner’s children were kidnapped about an hour ago.  The news is all over town.  He’s so concerned he has already put out a contract bounty for their safe return.” 

”Contract bounty?”  Alana asked.

”It’s a stronger version of a regular bounty.”  He said.  ”He’s contractually obligated to pay, and the person who saves them is contractually obligated to accept the reward.”

”Oh.”  Alana looked out the window and found herself wishing she could help them, but didn’t see how.  She looked over at Ethan and wondered what he would do.

”He will probably wake this evening or early tomorrow morning.”  Garth said.

”We have some time then.”  Alana smiled.  ”So, what’s new with the family?”