Lion's Trio (on hold)

Chapter Three

"Stop doing that!" Gwen screamed.

The Empress stared blankly at her, laughing on the inside.

"What?" She asked.

Gwen stared at her and scoffed. Climbing out of bed and rubbing the bump on her head where she had collided with The Empress's forehead. She stretched and removed her sleep shirt with no shame, The Empress politely turned away and awkwardly cleared her throat. She could hear Gwen shuffling around behind her, getting dressed for the day.

"I have a task for you and your team." The Empress announced.

Gwen grunted and tightened her corset before tying Dyfar's scarf around her waist and fastening her belt over the top. She lightly stroked the golden locket hanging from her necklace and squeezed her eyes shut. She pulled on her boots and groggily swung her cloak around her shoulders.

"What is it then?" Gwen asked. Turning to The Empress.

"Head to the Goblin caves in Naur's mountain, and go into the tunnels that run underneath the land. Take their gold back to them, the gold Gabriella took." The Empress explained.

Gwen raised an eyebrow. Of course she had heard of the nursery rhyme, it had been one of her favourites when she younger. Victory would tell it to her whenever she asked, he was always so patient with her.

"I'm going the mountain named after one of my dragons, to do what?" She asked, clearly puzzled by the request.

The Empress let loose an agitated sigh and handed Gwen a stack of papers. Information, maps, eye witness reports, and a copy of Gabriella and the Goblins. Gwen snatched it up and read through it, she dropped it on her bed and thought for a moment before removing her cloak. Usually she was the best at withstanding heat, she could stand in the middle of a fire and be fine. But it seemed the sensible thing to do, so that she would blend in with the mortals who would always complain about the summer warmth. She also removed her gloves and hung them on the hook with her cloak.

"Fine I'll do it, but if it's fake I'm coming back for you." Gwen looked up at the Empress.

The ginger grinned and laughed, disappearing in swirling cloud of Aqua smoke, her chuckle still hanging in the air. Gwen blinked. "Creepy." She muttered, heading outside and jumping the balcony railing.

She dodged a brunette pixie who whizzed past her head, angrily mumbling about the change in seasons and how her wings were drying out too quickly. Gwen scowled, she had never gotten along too well with the fair folk who she shared the clearing with. Most of them she knew by name, the ones she had played with as a child. They were the kind ones.

She pushed past the fern and leisurely walked up the secret path, hearing the fairies whisper and giggle among themselves. They were most active during the warmer seasons, preferring to stay in their small homes during the cold months. Gwen stroked her collarbone in thought, she rubbed her calloused fingers over the scars that littered her skin.

Her right side flared with pain. Dae writhed and roared, itching to escape his prison inside the woman. Gwen cried out and collapsed to her knees, the fairies in the trees gasped collectively and gathered around her. Speaking in their shrill voices, patting Gwen's arms with their tiny hands. Gwen sucked in a breath, trying to stand again. Only to fall back to her knees in pure agony.

'You cannot hold me in here forever, rider!' The Shadow dragon King screamed into her mind

'I will use your power soon, Dae. I promise you that.' Gwen assured him, gritting her teeth and gripping her side.

Dae hissed and slithered back to the bottom of Gwen's mind, receiving an annoyed smack from his sister who began to yell at him in ancient Dragonese. Gwen stood up, feeling dizzy. She assured her fairy friends that she was alright and continued along the path, blocking out the argument that the dragon siblings were having in her head.

The redhead wandered into Redfandor, ignoring the children running past and the alley cats smooching her legs, she managed to get to the tavern without anyone asking for an autograph. She quietly opened the door and crossed the room, jogging up the stairs to the bedrooms upstairs. She had always found it odd that the tavern and inn were conjoined.

She knocked on a door. The rusty room number, 5A was nailed to the front of the wooden door. When she received no answer, Gwen banged on the door harder. Still no answer, she kicked it open and growled, seeing the sleeping form of Thane in the small bed pushed in the corner.

She smiled wickedly, running silently with her feet taping on the floorboards, she launched herself into the air and landed heavily on top of her friend. He sat up with a jolt, only to see Gwen's eyes staring into his.

"You sure sleep like a rock." She said.

Thane gulped, only then noticing that the fire witch was straddling his pelvis. She didn't seem to be uncomfortable or notice his obvious embarrassment. She smiled innocently and clenched her thighs, Thane squeaked in surprise. Gwen leaned in and subtly kissed his nose.

Thane blinked, looking up to see Gwen standing in the middle of his room and smiling mischievously, "We have a mission, so come on!" She turned and marched out of the door, a light blush dusted on her pale cheeks.

If he hadn't seen her blushing, Thane could of sworn that it was all a dream. He rubbed his face and clambered out of bed, pulling on his white coat and black boots. He rubbed his face again and tied his dark hair back hastily, ignoring the messy pieces that hung in his vision.

"That girl will be the death of me for sure"