The Witch and the Dragon - Beta

Chapter Eight

They started walking again and the knight eyed her sheepishly. "I'm, uh – I'm here to rescue you."

"Really?" she said. "Because judging by the state you're in at the moment, I'm probably in a better position to rescue you."

"Ah. I... didn't expect them to be so - so organised." His hair was plastered to his head where it had been under the helmet and his dark skin was damp with sweat. "Or so fast. But I'm here now."

"What took you so long?"

"I had to hire a horse," he admitted and she exhaled.

"A knight who comes charging to my rescue without his own horse. I'm flattered."

"Well I think you were very brave," came Rose's voice and William peered around Alannah at the princess. "You took on all those slavers without even knowing how skilled they were." The knight perked up like a puppy looking for treats. "It was very romantic, coming all this way for your lady love."

"Oh, we're not – I mean-"

"He's not my knight," interrupted Alannah.

"Oh," said Rose, and immediately started to preen. "Oh, really?"

"This is Rose," Alannah added. "Rose, this is William. He's a knight, in case you hadn't noticed."

"It's an honour to meet you," said William and bowed at the waist, which, as they were walking with their hands tied, was quite an accomplishment. Rose flashed him a pearly smile.

"Rose is a princess from Dorithia," said Alannah, with a great deal of amusement. "She's betrothed to King Arion." William deflated so quickly it was as though all the air had been sucked out of him. Alannah felt a little bad for having been the cause. Only a little.

"I - I see," he said, then rallied beautifully. "Well, it would be my honour to escort you to the capitol." William didn't look at her as he said it, but Alannah narrowed her eyes. First the dragon, now the princess? All he wanted was to deliver her to the king and earn his knighthood.

"Thank you," said Rose, graciously, as though she'd been accepting knight's pledges all her life – which, to be fair, she probably had.

"Sounds great," said Alannah. It didn't matter what William wanted; as soon as they got free, they were going home. "Except for the fact that we're all slaves. And we're probably going to be sold off to work the spice caravans as soon as we reach Fellmere."

They trudged for a moment in silence. "I will think of something," William said, finally. "And I will free you both."

"Thank you," said Rose, again.

Alannah kept silent, trudging through the mud and leaves. William was as brave and as loyal as a Knight could be, but when it came to thinking his way out of a problem.... Alannah raised her tied hands and pushed hair off her clammy brow. She would just have to hatch a plan to stop the slavers and get all three of them out.

As if in answer, her magic tingled at the tips of her fingers. It carried its own flavour of salt-spray and mountain air, and settled at the base of her spine, purring. She couldn't do much with it at the moment, not with the slavers watching. She had to wait. They'd slip up sooner or later.

It came no more than an hour later, through no intervention by her or by the knight, but by the unwitting assistance of the dragon.

They were walking under a particularly dense part of the canopy, the trees twisted and gnarled, growing so close they melded into each other. The whole procession slowed as they navigated through the undergrowth. Alannah clambered over a tall, horizontal branch that came up to her midsection. The slack in the rope as she paused enabled William to help Rose over another tree. The princess cast doe eyes up at him and the boy blinked, looking dazed.

Oh, dear. William didn't have much experience with women, especially small, fragile ones. His instinct was to guard and protect, even if it was unwarranted – which was probably why she'd never been interested in pursuing his adolescent crush on her. Rose, on the other hand, would be perfect for him. If it weren't for the fact that she was already betrothed to someone else. Not just anyone, either – the king. The sooner she broke them apart, the better.

Abruptly the slaves ahead of her stopped. Alannah almost walked straight into Rose. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Hey," called a slaver. "Come on, get-" Then he stopped. The whole forest went still.

Frowning, Alannah moved to the side to see if she could see what had caused them to stop. Then she heard what the others had; a slow beat and a rush of wind. Wings.

The forest erupted into chaos. Alannah's feet swept out from underneath her as the slaves tried to scatter and forgot they were still attached. The rope jerked her arms out of her shoulders and her wrists burned.

A flash of fire in the corner of her vision and someone screamed. A slaver hurtled through the canopy and slammed into the earth at her feet. Someone screamed again. The dragon crashed through the trees, a blur of black scales and violet, shredding the forest like paper. He pounced on the slavers like a cat among mice. And he paid no attention to the slaves, to them.

This was her chance.

Kneeling, Alannah unwound the thread from her finger. She'd never used this spell on anything stronger than wool before, but now was the best time to try.

She looped the thread around the rope that tied her hands, twisting her fingers awkwardly until they hurt. Then she muttered a quick spell and pulled the two ends of the thread taut. The loop of thread tightened around the rope, glowing. Smoke rose from the strands and the rope frayed and fell apart. Alannah cooled the thread with a word and sent up a quick, grateful prayer to the Goddess.

The dragon was making short work of the slavers. Underneath the sound of trees tearing and men flying sideways was a constant, rumbling growl. Another burst of fire and the whole damn forest would be alight. She did not want to be here when that happened.

"Quick, William, give me your hands."

"That dragon!" William gave her his wrists but his attention remained fixed on the battle. "Is it the same one that kidnapped you?"

"Yes," she answered without looking up.

His hands clenched into fists. "And who knows how many others he's kidnapped."

"Many, I would guess," she muttered.

"I swear on my life that I will avenge you."

"I'm not dead," she replied, amused. The knots knots loosened and finally came undone. "Come on," she said, standing. "The village is back that way. We need to-"

But William went straight to Rose. He bent over her solicitously and started on her bonds. Alannah exhaled. Here we go.

Rose was trembling, her eyes huge and frightened. "That's a dragon, by the gods! What do we do?"

William pulled himself up. "Fear not, princess. I will protect you."

"Not without a sword," Alannah pointed out.

"You're right." William spun and leapt on the nearest slaver's body. The man groaned: so the dragon wasn't killing them after all. Just mauling them something vicious. William grabbed the man's shortsword from where it was half-unsheathed. Brandishing it like a loon, he dove into the fray. "On your guard, dragon!"

Oh, just brilliant. Now she was going to have to rescue him, too.

~*~

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