The Gift of the Dragon

Chapter One: The Intruders

THE INTRUDERS

Audrey walked in the dark, mystical forest by herself, picking fruits for Delaine and Jermaine, the newly born of Titania and Drigdon.

She had her wooden stake safely tucked inside her leather belt if it got dark before she went back home, and pyrine salt to protect herself from witches.

She hummed to herself of a lullaby, Alasdair had taught her, as she pulled the fruits from the trees, and plucked the berries from the shrubs.

As she continued her track, she began thinking about how she had ended up with Alasdair in the first place, and wondered who her real parents were.

No matter how many times Audrey asked Alasdair about where she had come from, in the past 18 years, the dragon had been stubborn and never said a word.

Not paying enough attention to her surroundings had made Audrey miss the sound of hooves, and so when she tripped on the roots of the trees, tearing her dress, only then did she notice it.

Panicked, she began picking herself up as quickly as possible, her sharp knife clenched tightly around her palms, and ran towards a puddle of mud. She quickly and swiftly covered herself in the mud and hid under the trees and behind the bushes.

While she hid, the sound of hooves and the clank of metal became louder and louder. Soon enough, 6 men, heavily armed with metal armours, shields and swords, on their horses had appeared right before Audrey's eyes.

Her eyes were wide open in shock, yet guarded. She furrowed her eyes in confusion, as to why they were here, and for a fleeting moment, her heart faltered at the thought of them being here to find her family and possibly kill them.

She thought of fleeting the scene and running towards Alasdair and warning them of what was happening, but if she did, the men would catch her, or worse, follow her right to their hide out.

She continued thinking of what she could do, but soon enough had brought a migraine upon herself. So, she stopped thinking of escaping and thought of observing these strange men.

Audrey watched the men stop for a while, taking rest to unclench their thirst, and somewhat satisfy their hunger with the fruits provided by the forest. Soon enough, these big, burly men were on their way. She noticed how they hadn't taken the path to her home, but rather the path to the dwelling of the witches.

She winced inwardly as they had no idea as to what was lying ahead of them, but breathed out a sigh of relief once all 6 men had moved a distance away from her.

At least her home was safe, she thought in relief and remorse.

As she was about to get out of her hide out, she heard another pair of hooves. Audrey scurried back to her previous position and watched out for the other intruder. She noticed the man wasn't as bulky as the others had been, but rather would be considered as lean.

Once she observed the man's horse, which was as dark as the night, with fierce green eyes, and strong legs, she observed the weapons the man carried, which were not much different from the previous men- a sword, shield, armour, however, he had a bow and an arrow too. But once her misty green eyes met the face of the man, she noticed how the man wasn't a man at all, but rather a boy.

A boy who had made her heart beat a little bit faster than normal.

'He's beautiful.' thought Audrey.

The man- no boy- had chestnut brown hair, which shone against the sunlight filtering through the tall trees. He had a strong and chiselled jaw, with a shadow appearing. He looked exhausted, yet his eyes looked warm and kind, unlike the other men.

She frowned slightly in sadness, as she thought about what his fate would be in a few hours. How, this boy with kind and warm eyes would never see the light again, and how he would probably be tortured to death.

Audrey began feeling the after effects of staying still for too long, and began cramping up. But, she knew she couldn't make a movement. The boy's horse held a sense of hostility in its eyes, and the slightest of a movement would make her be discovered.

She felt herself sweat underneath all the mud and grime, and as time passed, the more difficult it became for the girl to control her breathing.

She gritted her teeth in frustration and pain, and prayed that the boy and the horse would move a little bit quicker.

'Come on. Come on. Move already.' she thought to herself.

She was about to lose her stance and fall, therefore giving away her hide out- but that was before a white rabbit had leaped out of nowhere and just passed Audrey. She quickly took that moment to crawl towards a large tree and hid behind it. She stopped breathing for a while when the horse neighed alarmed by her presence.

Audrey watched the boy calming the horse in a soothing voice.

"Shh. There, there, Bounty. It's just a rabbit. Nothing to be worried or afraid of." The intruder talked slowly and calmly which made Audrey's heart beat faster for the second time in a row.

Audrey gulped and hyperventilated quietly as she saw the boy take something out of his bag- worried that she had been spotted and that he was about to shoot her with an arrow.

Audrey closed her eyes and waited for the pain and her death as she heard the swish of the arrow. He had shot something alright, but not her. She heard the whimper of the rabbit as the arrow hit it.

She opened her eyes and winced as she heard the boy talk to Bounty once again, and saw the arrow sticking out of the middle of the rabbit's head.

 'Bulls eye.' she thought.

"This will make a great dinner won't it, Bounty?"

He smiled as he took the rabbit by its ears and tied it to the saddle, patting Bounty.

The intruder finally mounted Bounty, and rode off to the same path, the others before him had taken.

As Bounty and the boy began riding, Audrey noticed how the horse stared directly at her with a gaze that made her shiver- in fear or in excitement, she didn't know. But, she stared right back at the horse with wonder and warning about the road ahead.

Audrey knew there was something different about the horse and the rider, and she hoped that they'd come out alive by the end of their journey and not dead.

The sun slowly began its descent, and the moon its ascent in the land of Fare, the inhibitants of this remote area unknown to what is to come for them.