Dragon Blossom

Dragonslayer

Eight years ago.

Runaesthera ran swiftly toward Artemia's square, once again her magic practices would have to be in combat. Her father's disapproval of her fighting was of no concern to her; once more, a dragon had crossed the ballistae and was attacking the city directly. There was no way she would stay locked up again while people died burned to death.

She could already see the beast on the other side of the canal; it was a huge monster with white scales and a long neck ending in an elegant arrow-shaped head, topped with long black horns. It would have been worthy of admiration if it weren't a damned dragon. May the goddess condemn it.

The bridge was burning when Runaesthera reached it. She could have extinguished it but opted for the direct route and created her own bridge by freezing the canal water with a spell. It was a bad idea; it was so slippery and uneven that it took her much longer than necessary to cross. Fortunately, the beast seemed to focus its attention on something in particular and had not yet noticed her.

Upon reaching the other side of the canal, a guard who had recognized her shouted, "Princess! Flee!" The man ran trying to get away from the huge monster he had decided he could not fight, a luxury she could not afford. She ignored the man and approached the square where apparently the dragon was already fighting someone. If she took it by surprise, she could pierce its belly with an ice stake, or perhaps aim at its head with lightning...

With a muffled roar, the dragon's head fell to the ground lifeless, the long horns clinked against the square's tile, and the body simply collapsed. Its blood ran towards the canal like rainwater itself. Then, Runa reacted.

"Take cover! Everyone get away!"

The lifeless body began to swell as the pool of blood ignited into a blue flame. Runa invoked a magical shield around her, praying to the goddess that it would be enough. The explosion of the body was not as violent as others she had seen, but dragons always died releasing all the fire inside them. The entire square shook, the ground cracked, but the shield managed to prevent further damage.

A few meters away, sheltered behind one of King Alistor's statues, was the author of such a brave feat. Runa could see him better as he stood up; he was a young man, he could not be more than seventeen years old, he had brown hair just at the nape of the neck, he was quite tall for a human of his age and... he wore a captain's uniform... So young? It could be stolen but... it fit him perfectly, when he walked towards her, his step was so firm, determined, he had barely stained himself with dragon blood, or perhaps...

"Miss," said the young captain with absurd formality, "If you are a mage, I beg you to assist me, it seems I have a deep wound on my side."

Runaesthera immediately noticed that what she had thought was dragon blood was oozing from his side slowly.

"Quick, lie down, I can heal the wound, but you have to rest or you will bleed out before I finish the spell."

"Do not fear, I will be fine, I have had..." The princess pushed him to the ground with a shove, visibly annoyed.

"You're weak, idiot, that wound is from its horns, it won't close on its own. Have you never fought a dragon?"

"I have never been wounded," he said with a whimper, starting to feel the pain.

"Save the pedantry for another time." She cut his shirt with her knife and began to murmur a spell; closing a dragon wound required a very powerful spell to eliminate the curse and regenerate at the same time. She placed her hand on his abdomen and could feel the heat of his muscles; the brief distraction was enough to have to start over.

When the work was done, people had begun to approach the square again, several soldiers rushed to take their captain away.

"Your Majesty! On behalf of the third infantry platoon, we thank you for taking care of our captain. He is a valuable element although he has given you trouble."