The Fate of a Dragon Witch

A Taste of Freedom

*Mentions of abuse and blood but not too much?*

-_- -_- Virgil's point of view -_- -_-

Virgil walked through a beautiful green forest, trees towered over him and he could feel a soft warm breeze on his skin. As he walked his limbs felt free and lighter than they had ever felt. He grinned and took in a deep breath, the scent of flowers and pine trees filled his lungs. He let out his breath and went to take another deep breath in but pain shot through him. He gripped his clothing above the pain and tried to breathe through the throbbing. He stumbled back and looked out at the beautiful landscape only to find the color was slowly draining from the forest. He felt tears bubble as the pain intensified and he gasped for air.

"Virgil." a voice whispered through the dream and he looked around at first he didn't recognize the voice then slowly it clicked.

"Solile." he forced his eyes to open and he was once again faced with his fate. He was still in the bottom of the well, he was still a prisoner. He breathed in but stopped as his lungs began to throb in pain. He whimpered which made his lungs ache more. It had been maybe two weeks since the king had last summoned him and he was still healing from the beating the knights had given him. Virgil looked up at the sky far above him and closed his eyes. He remembered when, before he was a captive, he flew up in the sky on his dragon's back. He would give anything to be that free again. He began to shiver and did his best to warm himself up. The chains rattled as he shivered and he breathed in a sharp breath. The breath caused pain to shoot through him and he let it out, coughing hard. He heard something splatter in the mud and he looked down to see dark red mixing with the brown mud. He sighed tiredly and closed his eyes again, at least he could escape reality through his memories. He let his head drop as he tried to imagine the green forest again. As he began to doze off the chains rattled and he was pulled out of the well. He blinked at the sudden brightness of day.

"Is' your lucky day whelp. King needs ya." A man with rotting teeth breathed into his face and Virgil gritted his teeth to hold back a flinch. The man smirked as he exchanged the chains around Virgil's wrists lazily. By that point, everyone knew he had lost his will to escape a long time ago. They went through the same pattern as always, he was dragged around, took a bath then dumped outside of the throne room. Virgil waited outside of the room with a tall knight who glowered at the floor. As they waited footsteps filled the hall and Virgil glanced up in curiosity. Two knights and a young squire rounded the corner. They were whispering among themselves but stopped when they noticed Virgil and the knight. The squire gave him a worried look and one of the knights tightened his grip on his sword. Virgil hadn't seen his own reflection in years but he knew how he must have looked like. His shoulder-length black hair was still wet from the bath and it hung in clumps around his face. His face was covered in light green bruises and he knew his lip was split. The knight that stood next to Virgil didn't seem to notice the odd behavior and grinned

"Ah! Have you come for dragon duty?" The knight called as the three drew closer. A confused look crossed all three faces but quickly vanished. Virgil blinked, the three were not from the castle. Everyone in the castle knew what dragon duty was, even the squires.

"Er, yeah, dragon duty!" One stepped forward and Virgil froze. The man that stood in front of him was the same man he had seen in the crystal two weeks prior. Curly brown hair, soft brown eyes, and a strong jaw. A small bubble of hope rose inside of him but the more he thought about it the more his hope died. Virgil swallowed as he shrunk away from the three. If he told the king he was sure to get beaten and the three imposters would be hung, but if he didn't he would also get a beating for not seeing it coming. No matter what, he would be punished. Virgil bit his lip and didn't say anything. The man glared over at Virgil who couldn't help but shrink back at the gaze.