The Dragon Scale

Chapter 19

"Rosina! ROSINA!" Ella yelled. She scrambled onto the pile of rocks, desperately searching for a sign of life. Zachary stood behind Ella, still in shock.

Ella continued pulling rocks off of the pile. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, and to her astonishment, Rosina was standing behind her, unharmed except for a small cut on her cheekbone. Despite that, she was smiling.

"Rosina? But... how?" Ella gaped.

"Ella, I believe that you have forgotten that I am an elf. Although I am not able to use many of my powers here, I can run out of the way very quickly." Rosina said.

"Being able to move short distances with great speed is a power of elves." Zachary intervened. "I learned about it while I was researching for my journey."

Ella nodded with understanding, but Rosina looked confused.

"Wait." She held her hands out in front of her. "You two are on different journeys? I assumed you were traveling together."

"We are --" Ella started.

"That's true --" Zachary said at the same time. "Erm, you first."

"No," Ella insisted. "It's your journey."

"Okay, then." Zachary swallowed. "I'm not from Ella's village. I live in the village of Mons, the mountain village. Usually,  we are not able to grow enough crops in the mountainous terrain, so we import food from the village of Topiaria. It's an agreement between us. Anyway, there was a terrible winter and the crops didn't grow well. Many people died. So my Elder told me to find the Herb of Revival as my journey," he motioned to Rosina. "You must know about that." She nodded.

"The Herb of Revival is very important to the Elves," she said. "I understand why you would want to find it for your village." Ella, as she was watching the exchange, couldn't help but notice how Zachary avoided eye contact and fidgeted as he was telling his story.

"Guys, look," she said, turning away. "The door...it's open."

*****

They pushed the door fully open, revealing a dark cave, a rickety wooden bridge, and a dizzying drop.

"Oh my," Rosina said. "This bridge looks as if it's about to fall."

"And yet our man over there had already crossed," Zachary jammed his thumb back towards the other cave.

"I'll go first." Ella volunteered. Rosina shook her head.

"No, I will. I'm the lightest," she said. "So if the bridge can hold my weight, it can probably take yours as well."

"That's a good idea." Zachary said, scanning the surroundings. Rosina nodded and gently stepped on the bridge. She scurried across the cavern, the picture of ease, while Ella's heart pounded at each step she saw Rosina take.

She was next. To help Zachary, as he was the heaviest, Ella took his sword and his heavy rucksack instead of her light bag.

The bridge moved and creaked with every step, and Ella's palms were sweaty as she clutched onto the ropes. The sound of the churning and rocky river echoed around the cavern. Ella took deep, calming breaths and looked back up. Rosina was beckoning to Ella.

"Ella!" She called, yet it sounded distant. "It's okay, come on!" Ella exhaled, her breath a small cloud in the frigid air. Her hands and knees were shaking with fear and cold, yet she was sweating under the weight of the excess items.

Slowly but surely, she half crawled, half walked to the other side. When she touched the ground, she fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

"Oh, that was terrible." Rosina glanced at Ella.

"You're afraid of heights?" Rosina asked.

"I suppose, I mean, I've never been that high up before." As she was saying this, a thought crossed her mind. How was she supposed to be a Dragon Rider if she was afraid of heights? While they were talking, Zachary had already run over the bridge and around another corner. "Zachary! Wait!" Ella scrambled to her feet, gasping under the weight of his items.

Ella and Rosina ran around that same corner, but they were stopped by the outstretched hand of Zachary. Ella was about to tell him off for leaving them like that when a pleading voice escaped from a room in front of them.

"No, please! Let me in! I'm Tom, you know me!" Ella's eyes widened. "I was on an errand, for Elder!"

"Sorry, kid. Elder has said that you haven't completed it yet."

"But I did what she said!" He sounded like a whiny toddler. "I have it with me, here, in this cage." A clang of metal and earth resounded through the cave.

"Careful kid, you might wake something up." A different guard noted.

"I. Don't. Care!" Tom snarled. "I just need to talk to Dan--" Tom stopped halfway through his sentence. Ella could only assume that a sword had been drawn.

"Don't you dare speak her name aloud." The first guard whispered angrily, through gritted teeth. "You have no respect for your Elder." The sword was put back in its sheath. And then silence.

"Zachary, he has Auburn!" Ella whispered. "Why don't we get him?"

"Ella, that boy is dangerous. He knows magic, and he is surrounded by two guards who seem to be the very best Lutum has to offer. Do you want to face them?" Zachary argued.

"Yes! I can complete my journey, and then we can focus on yours." Ella said. "And I can save Auburn." Zachary looked extremely uncomfortable. His eyebrows furrowed, and he seemed to be arguing with himself.

"Alright," he sighed and stood up from his crouched position. "But Rosina doesn't have a weapon."

"It's fine, I can manage--" Rosina started, but Ella pulled her knife out and handed it to Rosina.

"Here, take this. It's not much, but it's the best I could do." Rosina bowed a little as she took the knife.

"Thank you, Ella," she examined the blade. But Ella was already walking past her and into the room. Tom was standing in front of a wooden door, and Midnight was sitting on one shoulder, like an overgrown leathery bird. On the ground lay a covered cage, which, Ella assumed had Auburn in it. The door was flanked by two large guards, each with a sword in their hands.

"Tom," she said loudly and confidently as her heart pounded. "It's time you give up trying to get in. I need Auburn. NOW!" She yelled, and Tom didn't jump. Instead he turned around and smiled.

"Try and take it back from me, princess."

********

Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoyed another installment (a very fancy word) of this book! So, what's up with Ella being afraid of heights? She's supposed to be a Dragon Rider! Well, the answer to that and many more questions will come in time.... But tell me what you think of this chapter in the comments!

This chapter's shoutout goes to.... @panther_at_heart ! Thanks for voting!

As always, don't forget to vote and comment!

Until next time!

~CB_1