The Fate of a Dragon Witch

The Dark Kingdom

*mentions of physical abuse*

~Virgil's point of view~

Virgil stared at the mud on his boots as he tried to ignore how bad he was shivering. The cold morning air seemed to soak into him as he leaned against the wall of the well. He closed his eyes as the shivering worsened, shaking the chains that held him and causing the well to echo with the sound of chains rattling. He flinched at the loudness of the sound. He opened his eyes again then let out a sigh.

"Solile." He whispered. He hoped that his familiar would answer. As a dragon witch he did not have a normal familiar like a dog or cat, instead, he had a dragon. When the soldiers had captured him, in order to protect Solile he had cast a spell to hide them. Solile was the only reason he had stayed alive for so long. He couldn't leave the young dragon alone in a world so full of evil.

"Virgil." The dragon hissed in his mind. Virgil smiled slightly as he felt a warmth that started from his chest spread through him. He closed his eyes

"Thank you." He whispered. He felt a spark of anger spike through his mind as the dragon huffed.

"Why must you suffer? Together we could burn down this castle in seconds." Solile spat. Virgil shook his head slowly, causing the chains to once again ring through the well.

"Solile, you are too big for me to summon in this well. You would become stuck and I would be squished." He explained slowly. It had been a while since he had any food or water. His mouth was dry and the act of speaking took a lot of energy from him.

"What about when they pull you out next?" They suggested

"Solile, I tried that when we first arrived here. There is no escape." He let the words hang in the air. In the beginning he had tried every magic he wielded but still he couldn't escape. The only hope he had of escaping was if they released him (which he knew wouldn't happen) or someone saved him.

"You can't give up. There must be a way." Solile protested. Virgil would have replied but he felt a tug on the chain. His heart clenched as he realized what that meant. The king of the castle summoned him. He held in a whimper as the chain began to raise him out of the well. As he made it to the top he was blinded by the light of the sun. It was midday and the castle grounds were live with activity. He cracked open his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the brightness. Two men pulled him out and released the chains that held him. He considered fighting them to escape but the idea quickly left him, he was too weak from lack of food, water and sleep.

"Consider yerself lucky boy." One of the oafs spat. "The king wants ta see ya." The man was tall, muscular and could have been pleasant looking if he took care of himself, instead he had grime on his face and through his dark brown hair. He smelled of ale and was chewing a plant loudly, smacking his lips. Virgil pulled back from his face then regretted it. The man landed a hard blow onto his face causing him to fall to the ground. "Is there a problem boy?" He demanded. Virgil trembled on the ground, the hits were another reason he had stopped thinking of escape. He would get whipped when he tried and beat when they caught up to him.

"N-no." He whimpered. The man seemed satisfied and turned to a much younger looking guard.

"Chain the boy up." He spat and the guard jumped to it, placing a new set of chains around Virgil's wrists. Virgil tried to stay still as he let them chain him. He knew what would happen if he didn't. The chain scraped his already raw skin and he whimpered. The older ugly man spun towards him quickly, landing a blow on his head. He smacked into the well wall behind him and whimpered as his head throbbed painfully. The man laughed

"That's what ya get." He spat "alright let's take 'im inside." With that Virgil was pulled to his feet and dragged towards the castle entrance. Virgil's well resided in the outer most courtyard of the fortress. The fortress was made from the same grey stone the well was. People were running through the courtyard to do their work and guards lined the outer edges. As Virgil was pushed through the area he received glares from all who passed him. He had learned a long time ago that none of them would help him. He shivered as he remembered the time he had tried to beg for help. They beat him worse than the guards did. The three came to a stop outside a servants door and the oaf knocked. The door was opened slowly and a young servant girl stood nervously in the doorway.