Valtava: Dragon Sword

Chapter 16

Swoosh! The gentle waves slowly awoke Stephen from his deep sleep. He peeked open his eyes and found the bright sun high in the sky above him, bathing him in warm rays. He turned his head to survey the scene around him and realized he had been washed ashore, his body still partially submerged in the water. He pulled himself upright and realized there was not a single person in sight. The beach transitioned into a forest behind him, which continued onto a looming hill.

He took a moment to recall the events that had brought him into his current state, then let out a gasp. "Tony! Ada!" he yelled, looking around frantically for any sign of their figures. He ran along the shore frantically calling their names, but he lost hope the longer he looked.

He halted when a glistening metal object in the sand caught his attention. He ran up to it and breathed out a sigh of relief when he discovered it was the Dragon Sword. He pulled it up and brushed the sand away from its surface, trying to restore it to its clean condition. If the Dragon Sword is here, Tony must be nearby! He gripped onto the sword tightly as he continued running into the distance.

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"Sir, can you hear me?" a voice whispered above Tony's ears. It was a soft, soothing voice, almost dreamlike, but Tony was so weak that he could not tell if it was real or not. He tried to open his eyes to see where the voice came from, but he quickly lost consciousness again.

He spent the next several days in a coma, occasionally regaining his senses for a brief period of time before falling back asleep. Sometimes he would feel water being forced down his throat, and sometimes a blanket would be placed on top of him. Finally, one day he had recovered enough strength to listen to a conversation between multiple people.

"Tell me where you are hiding him!" a harsh voice uttered, which sounded like it came from a middle aged woman.

"Master, I...I wouldn't dare bring an outsider in here," the frightened voice of a girl responded.

"Are you still denying it? Your senior sisters reported to me that they saw him with their own eyes! Bring him out at once or else I won't be patient!"

At that moment, Tony was able to open his eyes. He found himself surrounded by darkness, and the warmth and softness of the blanket he remembered on him was no longer there. He was lying on a hard surface and enclosed in a stuffed area, and when he reached out his hands, he felt a hard board above him. He continued to feel on all sides, and to his right his hands met a fabric sheet. He brushed it out of the way, revealing some natural light that allowed him to see the room he was hidden in. There were several people in the room, and although he could only see their feet, he could tell they were all women. By his position, he guessed that he had been placed under a bed. He covered himself back up with the bed sheet, listening to the conversation so he could make more sense of the situation.

"Master..." the young girl's voice trailed off.

"You're really rebelling against me, aren't you? Did I raise you up for nothing? You don't even listen to your master's orders anymore!"

A loud slap! echoed across the room, and the girl let out a shriek. She stumbled into a table, causing glassware on it to fall and smash onto the floor. By the sound of it, Tony could tell it was not a light hit. He pulled the bed sheet up and rolled out into the open space, and all eyes became focused on him.

"Who are you?" the middle-aged woman said in shock.

Tony quickly stood up and saw around ten women in front of him, all dressed in pastel coloured dresses. The middle-aged woman had her hair wrapped up in a bun, and within her hair was a crown decorated with sparkling purple jewels. They were all holding a sword, and at the sight of a foreigner, they placed their hands on their weapon's handle, ready to unsheathe it. The girl who had been hit was the youngest, and she was standing in the corner of the room, holding her hand up to her face where she had been struck.