Firstborne

Chapter four

Iris bounced up and down slightly in the saddle as her horse trampled on, its longish chestnut hair swishing like blades of grass. Her mother rode in front of her, astride a black horse with white patches and mane. (it was also the biggest, since she had the most luggage.)

As for Lucas........... THUD. "Palatrica!" she heard Lucas swear loudly behind her.

Did he fall off again?" Iris asked Tourmaline with a small, albeit exasperated smile.

"Yep." Tourmaline responded, her amusement soaking into Iris's mind. "For the what, fourteenth time?"

Iris turned in her saddle to see a dust covered Lucas sprawled on the ground, at the feet of his tall, rather exhausted looking chocolate brown horse. She opened her mouth. "Oh quiet!" Lucas grumbled, getting to his feet and rubbing his back with a grimace. "I'm not good at riding horses, okay?"

"If we keep up this pace, we should reach Corona in about half a century." Tourmaline said cheerfully, but Iris could hear a hint of impatience under her playful tones. Lucas clambered clumsily back on his horse, looking very apprehensive. "Just move with the horse's natural rhythm." Iris explained gently. "You're being too stiff."

Lucas mumbled under his breath; all Iris could catch was "show you" and "stiff"

But he seemed to take Iris's advice, as he went on to only fall off his horse once in the next two hours of riding, which sped up their pace quite a bit. Iris looked back at one of the two men escorting them. They both wore heavy navy blue cloaks and had rapiers slung around their waist.

"Rangers." her mother had explained in a whisper when they were loading up to leave.

"They often carry out traveling work."

Which made sense, as wearing a full suit of armor might slow one down a considerable amount. As she turned back around, she heard the other ranger, who was in the front, suddenly call out. "Halt!" he bellowed, holding up his right hand. Iris tugged the reins gently until her horse slowed to a stop. Judging from the indignant whinnies behind her, she guessed Lucas was a little rough on the reins. She waited for the Ranger to say something, but he instead leaped off his horse with grace that Lucas could never accomplish, and he strode forward, staring at the trees in front of them. Iris shifted nervously. Was he waiting for someone? Suddenly, her horse's ears pricked up, and she felt its body tense beneath her. The others horses stamped anxiously, and one or two even let out fearful snorts. Iris felt her uneasiness grow. What was scaring the horses? "Dismount. Now." she heard the Ranger command sternly, and she instantly got off, yanking her feet free of the stirrups. She planted her slightly shaking feet on the ground, and kept a firm grip on her horse's headgear.

"Somethings coming." Tourmaline warned. "Something BIG"

"WHAT?" Iris yelped in alarm, frantically searching the trees of any sign of the thing.

Tense minutes passed, everyone was completely silent. The air was so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife and serve it up on a slice of bread. Then, out of the chilling silence, came an ever more chilling sound. The sound of slow, heavy footfalls. Footfalls that made the very ground shudder and tremble. The horses reared on their hind legs, letting out terrified screeches, their nostrils flaring and their eyes wide. They snatched at the reins, trying to take back control. The Ranger suddenly held up his hand, and the horses fell back into an uneasy silence, pawing at the ground nervously. "What...... is it?" Katrina asked softly, her eyes wide and her pupils small with fear. The Ranger held up a hand to silence her, and she said nothing more. The footsteps were close now, close enough to make Iris tremble and the leaves shiver.

She stared into the darkness, trying to see something. There! A flicker of bronze in the darkness, the silhouettes of two massive, four legged creatures, approaching them. Tourmaline got it a second before Iris. "Dragons." she hissed. "Two of them."