Burning Lion

Chapter Three

Early in the morning, the next day, Gwen got dressed and swung her cloak over her shoulders. She inhaled and then exhaled with her nose buried in the soft material; the air carried the scent of dragons, smoke, horses and of course a smell Gwen could never identify. It had been her mother's cloak beforehand, so her scent never left it.

She turned the rusted, brass doorknob on the front door and it opened stiffly with a push. Gwen had always been too lazy to use the door, she had gone around the side and pushed the curtains aside to get in. And so the door was rarely used and its hinges had rusted over and made it near impossible to open and close the door.

But today she used it, she knew not why. Maybe it was because she missed the feel of the doorknob, or maybe it was because she had a feeling that she would not come back to the shack.

She closed the door behind her and completely ignored the steps, instead she jumped down and landed lightly on the earth. She peered underneath the shack and her brow furrowed; the dirt had been disturbed. Victory had been there.

Gwen strutted out of the clearing and skipped up her path, she waved to a passing fairy wearing a dress of leaves with a daisy in her hand. The redhead climbed up a tree and walked through the branches.

She peered down at the path that was built through the forest, just to make sure no one was around to see her leave. When satisfied that she was alone, Gwen jumped down from the tree and yawned as she walked towards Redfandor.

Karyn and Edward lived in the city in a small accommodation built on top of the weapons shop they owned. Before parting ways for the night they had all agreed to meet back up at Howling Wolf Tavern in the morning so that travel plans could be discussed.

Gwen entered the city without interruption and calming advanced towards the tavern. She halted, she could hear a hustle happening inside, and she chose that moment to step to the left. A man was thrown out the doors and down the steps until his face made contact with the cobblestone of the street.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at the familiar mess of dark hair. Thane jumped to his feet and grumbled in annoyance as he brushed dirt off his body, he turned slightly and locked eyes with Gwen. She was standing there, staring at him with a disgusted face; last time they had met, it had not ended well.

Thane smiled sheepishly at her, but she only rolled her eyes and grunted sassily before making her way up the steps of the tavern. She turned to glance at him again before entering, only to find him staring back at her.

Once she was inside the warm building, Gwen made her way to a table in the corner where shadows covered it. She liked to think of it as her table, due to the fact that she sat there so much and no one dared sit at the table when she was inside the building.

She rubbed her hand over the table's surface, feeling the indents where she had drummed her nails so many times in one spot. She sat down and thrummed her fingernails on the table in a random rhythm, out of habit.

Gareth approached her and placed a mug of beer down on the table for her, she smiled gratefully at him and took a sip of the delicious drink.

"Why don't you have to pay?" Karyn asked with a smile. She sat down next to Gwen while Edward sat on the other side of the fire witch. "No fair." he muttered.

Gwen snorted at his childish actions, "I'm special," she stated, taking another sip.

Edward rolled his eyes and pulled a rolled up parchment from his satchel, he placed it on the table in front of Gwen and stared at her expectantly. Gwen blinked and placed down her cup, she unrolled the parchment and scanned her eyes over the information.

"One of the soldiers was carrying it." Karyn whispered.

Gwen's eyes rested on one of the many sketches drawn at the bottom of the page; it was a fire Mage, imprisoned in the dungeons of what she presumed was the waste king's fortress.

She went back to the words and started to read it to Karyn and Edward, "Attention, King of Dralgia. I, the King of the south wastelands have already won,"

Gwen creased her brow and read on, "My soldiers are ready. Are your dragon-riders? My children are ready to take my throne upon death. Where are your children? The land which we ruled together once, many years ago, shall once again be mine, and you can join the others in the dungeons."

Gwen lowered the parchment from her face, Karyn opened her mouth to say something but Gwen was already leaving the tavern. She rolled the scroll back up again and ran out of the city gate, ignoring the calls of her friends.

"Thane!" She screamed. Turning in circles as she stood in the middle of the crossroads. A fair way from the city entrance.

"Yes?" A deep voice asked.

She turned in a flurry and stared straight into Thane's onyx eyes. He was almost her height, she realised, maybe an inch below her and actually quite attractive. She nervously cleared her throat and poked him in the stomach with the scroll.

"I know you're staying with the Empress, make sure she sees this and gets it to the King immediately." Gwen said in a rush.

"Certainly, milady." Thane said. He took the roll of parchment and grinned as she rolled her eyes.

A green dragon dropped down from the sky and clutched Thane in her talons, she wrapped her wings around him, then opening them and lifting herself into the sky. Gwen recognised her as the dragon that had taken Thane to the Empress in the first place.

Gwen watched her fly away before making her own way back to Redfandor where Karyn and Edward eagerly awaited her explanation for running off without warning.