81

Bonds

Relief is not something one can easily explain. It is perhaps one of the most wondrous of feelings; it goes beyond happiness and joy, it is more complicated. If one was to explain worry as a weight resting on your heart, relief would be a fire. A fire that does not burn hot and is not scolding, no, this fire is rather warming. It warms the heart, warms the soul and clears the mind.

This is what Slyfer feels as he watches Trisha closely. He had felt it before, but never this strongly and in the dragons’ memories, this feeling was always accompanied by someone one cared for and loved. -Love, I love her.- Is what goes through his mind as he now looks at her. He looks at the way her lips are slightly parted, those lips he has tasted so many times before, it is precious in a way he cannot explain. He looks at the way her chest raises subtly with each breath. Her breathing, at this moment, means everything to him. He looks at the way a strand of hair has curled in the crook of her neck. Her hair is a mess, but it does not take away from her beauty.

He stares and watches, looking for any discrepancy, but finds none. It is only when he hears a light snap behind him that he whips around, already gathering magic to blow whoever it is into oblivion. He stops the magic but keeps it boiling away in his maw, ready for use at any time. The fire causes smoke to billow through his teeth as he regards the newcomer with a growl, his wings unfold and quickly covers Trisha’s nearly naked form.

Not far from him, stands one of his troops. –I know this dark elf, yes, Lookin is his name.- Slyfer’s eyes narrow at realizing who it is. For a moment his anger flares once more, he was the leader of this group and was supposed to protect her. The anger soon fades to a simmer. He needs to hear him out first, however, now is not the time.

- By the gods, why did I come here? Do I seek death or am I just this stupid?- Wonders Lookin as the dragon stares at him. The dragon had obviously saved her, so it must be on their side was his thinking, but seeing the look it is giving him. Lookin, finds himself unsure and very stupid for coming close. He tries his best to do some sort of bow, but it proves too much for his injuries and he nearly falls over. He manages to catch himself and looks away from the large orbs regarding him and starts. “Lord Dragon Sir, I was wondering,” He clears his throat giving the dragon another look, “well you see, Lady Trisha; the one you saved. She is very important to someone that is very important to us.” He gestures at the warriors behind him; some try and make themselves as small as possible in order to not be included in his wanton pointing.

Seeing this, Lookin can’t help but think, -if we survive this, I think we will need to go through special training.- He nearly smiles at the thought of torturing them, but seeing the dragon still looking at him he fights it down.

He is about to start begging to get Trisha back, but a wave-like entity floods into his mind, clearing away any and all of the thoughts he has in an instant. “Enough of this, your Lady Trisha will be fine. I will take her back personally. Tend to your wounded, Elf.”

Lookin watches with different feelings spilling through him; worry, awe, happiness and finally relief as he thinks. –I have no idea if Slyfer will still kill me if the dragon does not take her back, but I tried my best and the dragon has no reason to lie. Besides, there is no arguing with a dragon… I bet not even Slyfer can.-

Slyfer regards Lookin one last time before turning away. The fairy that had healed Trisha is nowhere to be found.

He quickly scoops Trisha up and shoots into the air, his powerful wings kicking up dust and debris. Lookin is thrown off his feet and sent tumbling with a string of curses uttered by him.

Slyfer soon climbs until the horns on his back are scratching the lazy clouds. The moons’ light escapes through them now and then, creating a world of wonder for Slyfer’s draconic eyes to look upon. With the wind in his wings and Trisha safe in his claws, he experiences a moment of peace. Something he last felt on the Slymur mountains where he grew up.

His mind reaches back into his memories and everything he had experienced since leaving his home. First, there was Browly and his troops. They were so easily killed, but it took a huge toll on him mentally. Then the Dark Elves and all of their problems, Slyfer growls and can’t help but wonder. –Would I have done it, would I have stood for the punishment? Accepted it when it actually came down to it?- He pushes the thought aside, that was in the past and he will never know now.

The next thing was the death of, Old Sun. It brings a pang to Slyfer’s heart whenever he thinks of him. Not because of how they were, but how they could have been. The day Old Sun gave him the clothes, was the day he truly felt accepted and it wasn’t long after that when he lost him. Old Sun’s value would have been unimaginable now that the council is finally starting to form.

Slyfer banks slightly to the left, wishing to take a longer route back and mumbles. “Sure I have the dragons, but what do they know of the hearts of weaker creatures. What do I know? He nearly sighs with helplessness, but then lashes his tail with irritation, irritation pointed at himself. –What do they know? How can I ask myself that when the Slyfer before me united them all? What they did not understand was the greed and fear of the other races and that is something I will learn. Besides, I am not alone. I have Jade, my very short and now, probably very angry step sister.-

He then thinks of, Fira, who far outmatches him in politics and his heart warms at the thought. –Once we marry, she must take care of the idiots in court.- He snorts in amusement at the thought, causing smoke to billow from his nose and then mix in with the clouds. He nearly starts laughing when a picture of Fira, burning council members comes to mind.

Slyfer sees a small lake and dives down, not too fast or too slow. He soon levels out just above it. The cold air above the lake washes over his scales. His passing causes a slight wake to form under him, disturbing the surface that is reflecting the two moons peeking through the clouds. He senses a familiar presence high above him and lads when he reaches the other side of the lake.

It does not take long for Serena to appear out of the darkness. Her large but graceful figure looks almost ghostly in the moons’ light, adding to the strange picture is the fact that her dive is making no sound at all, much to Slyfer’s surprise. Like her flight, her landing is equally graceful.

She walks closer to him and sits down, eyes narrowing dangerously before she says. “You have caused a lot of problems, all for the sake of this tiger.”

Although he has to look up to meet her eyes, Slyfer does so, not willing to back down at all. “I care for her and will not let her die.”

Serena, says nothing. Her eyes bore into his as they search for something. She finally relents and lets out a long sigh. “I will not give you more problems than you already have, just be ready for the backlash of revealing yourself. We can make up some story or another, but there will still be those who doubt our words, especially those who work for the betrayer, do not ever imagine that you are out of their reach.”

Slyfer can only nod as he looks down. Serena’s claw taps him playfully on the head. “With that being said, you are becoming a fine dragon and male at that, I am proud of you. Willing to risk it all for the one you care about is not something to be ashamed of. It is still foolish though, you could have simply asked me.”

Slyfer can’t argue with her about that, but still, her words help to comfort him. The main reason he had been stalling was because of all the trouble he would now have to deal with when he got back. Serena bends down to look at Trisha, still held in Slyfer’s claw close to his chest. She snorts and turns away to sneeze, causing the water in the lake to splash and form waves. “She smells like fur, your choice in mate is strange. The other one, Luna is a better fit in my opinion.”

This time it is, Slyfer’s, turn to snort. “You only say that because Luna asked for you to help. If any of the others asked, you would do the same. It is too late now anyway, we share a bond that goes beyond flesh and bone.”

Lifting her head and turning away Serena looks at the moons. “I had guessed that you had made bonds, but hearing it is another story.”

Slyfer places Trisha gently on the grass before sitting next to Serena. His tail curls around Trisha to block of most of the wind. The two dragons sit in silence for a while until Slyfer manages to ask. “What are these bonds?”

Serena turns to him, her eyes glinting in the moonlit sky and in them Slyfer can see worry. “These bonds are supposed to be made between two dragons alone. Much like you are connected with Alric. You see the bonds go far beyond sharing feelings and finding someone’s location. They also serve as a conduit or road of magic shared between two dragons. Using this bond a dragon can share a part of his or her strength with the one they are bonded with and in doing so, both can become very powerful. Due to pride, not many dragons were willing to form these bonds; it was also restricted by the elders long before Alric and I were even born. I don’t know much about it, only that a group of young dragons shared the bond among each other and in doing so, became a lot stronger. The sudden jump in strength made them grow disdainful of others and they imagined themselves to have become greater beings than a normal dragon. They broke many of our laws and hence were hunted down and killed by the elders of that time. It was not an easy thing to kill them though. Physically, they were far weaker, but in terms of raw magic power, they far outstripped others. Knowing this, the Elders devised ways to split them up and in doing so picked them off one by one. You see the bond grows weaker the further apart one is from the other as you may have experienced already.”

Slyfer nods, remembering how fast his bond fades whenever Alric leaves on one of his escapades, but when he is away from the girls the feeling is not as strong. “I have felt the bond weaken when Alric moves away, but I do not feel it as strongly when I am away from Trisha, why is that?”

Serena looks at him, “it should be obvious. Alric is far more powerful than you are and I believe that is not the only factor. Your growth is abnormal, to say the least, and I have watched you since I arrived. You do not hunt or eat enough for your size. I think you are somehow receiving what you need from her and Alric.”

Something occurs to Slyfer and he contemplates for a while and finally decides to fess up. “Trisha is not my only bond. I have another with Fira.”

Serena shuffles around as if uncomfortable. “I thought as much but was not sure. Honestly, I leave you for a while and you already have two mates.”

Slyfer interrupts Serena before she can continue. “Technically, Fira is not my mate. When I defeated her brother something happened that I cannot explain. I think they were bonded, but when I beat him. I somehow took over the bond and made it my own. It was not my choice nor did I…” Slyfer can feel his face grow hot and for a moment if a dragon can blush. “… I did not sleep with her like I did with Trisha.”

Serena thinks for while and then remembers who Fira’s brother is. “You speak of the Dark Elf prince. He seems like a good elf and is always giving me co-” She stops halfway through the sentence and looks away before she continues. “He seems amiable enough, why did you fight?”

Slyfer snorts at the memory. “He was… not the same as he is now. Much like me, he had a touch of darkness in him that was starting to take over. I think when I defeated him part of that came over to me.”

Serena looks back at him with surprise and worry. “It is not a good thing. Remember this little one, if you ever were to lose your mind to the darkness I will not hesitate to kill you. We cannot have another Chronos running around.”

Slyfer can only nod at this, unsure of what to feel about it.

*****

In the tower, Fira and Jade are sitting with mixed feelings. To Fira, it is obvious that Trisha is now safe and with Slyfer. Still, she cannot feel them returning. No, instead they seemed to be heading further away, which made her worried. Jade, on the other hand, is contemplating what she is going to do. All the work she had lost and now with Slyfer’s idiotic move… -What was he thinking? What are we going to do, how will be spin this? …My precious paperwork, the contracts. All my hard work! Punch him, yes, the first thing I am going to do when I see him will be to punch him right in his idiotic face!”

Fira whips around at the strange sound suddenly coming from Jade. She had seen that look before and Fira is honestly starting to worry about Jade’s sanity.

A knock on the door draws both of their attention. When Fira opens it, she finds her father on the other side. Since telling him what her plans are they have not really spoken. Her heart aches to be hugged by him once more. She wishes that they can speak normally as they used to, but so far such a thing seems far out of reach.

Her father takes time before he finally speaks formally. “Good evening, I have come to speak with Lady Jade about this mess and what is to be done. More and more reports are coming in about this… black dragon. We wanted to hold a council meeting, but discovered that Slyfer is nowhere to be found.” He then turns directly towards Fira and asks in an almost accusatory tone. “Do you know where he is?”

Before she can retort, Jade answers for her. “Slyfer has gone to help our forces that were hunting bandits. He should be back before morning.”

The Dark Elf king visibly relaxes, in truth the other council members had been giving him nothing but grief. Expecting answers he did not have just because he had known Slyfer the longest. Still, they needed to do something because people were starting to panic and panic was never a good thing. “Do one of you know anything about the alleged dragon?”

Fira and Jade looked at each other at the same time and they both shook their heads. “Jade quickly followed up with a plausible explanation. “Perhaps it was one of the dragons that came with the others they just did not tell us about it?”

The King snorts. “Perhaps, but those dragons are also missing so they cannot provide answers and it is something we desperately need to calm the fools down.” It is clear from Great Hunter’s stance that he does not believe that there was a dragon at all. In his mind, it could have been many things. He takes one more glace at Fira before leaving and closing the door. When he nearly reaches the stairs he stops and leans with his back against the wall. The guard following also stops and gives the King his space.

In Great Hunter’s mind, a war is going on. –Was I really such a bad father? I just wanted the best for her and my people; I thought she wanted the same from a young age, she was so gifted in manipulating people. She had us all wrapped around her finger. If I could to go back in time, I would…” He stops the thought, he won’t lie to himself. “I would not change anything, I am a King and my people come first above all things, even, even my own family. That is the way of things.-

He stands up straight, new determination in his eyes, he needs to fix this mess. The bond he has with his people as King, far outweighs the one he once had with his daughter. Still, in his heart, he hopes he can change her mind.

*****

On a balcony stands a familiar High Elf with small lights flickering around him. They had given him news and he has no idea what to make of it. Apparently, more fairies were coming; five of them to be exact and they are not your usual run of the mill fairies. No, they are what the fairies call sages. That is not the thing that concerns him though. It is one in particular that he is worried about. Back in the days when he was fighting in the war, he had heard of this one. A fairy unlike any other that would kill and take lives as easily as speaking. That in itself is not something to cause worry.

What does is that this fairy was on the enemy’s side.

There were even rumors that the fairy was bound to Chronos much like Vinx’s mother was bound to Slyfer, the white dragon. This fairy was among the five coming and even though the fairies forgave her for some reason, Aldowin does not trust the small creatures’ reasoning and judgment. They are, after all, a race that thrives and lives in happiness and bliss and is usually in the pursuit of nothing else but those things.