Marks of Dranolia

Chapter 3

Her eyes darted around her surroundings trying to find the predator and hoping to hide, but before she notice anything off, a huge shadow passed the camp and flew towards her. She immediately looked up and gasped at the magnificent sight. A dark turquoise dragon illuminated by the warm colors of the setting sun flew over her not even bothering looking down but bright determined eyes set straight to its destination. It flapped its wings causing a heavy breeze, shaking the the nearby trees. Lena's dark black hair was swept up by the strong force of the wind, but her black like orbs never left the image of the dragon. This sight may have horrified others, seeing a huge scaly reptile fly across the sky but to Lena it simply fascinated her for she always thought dragons were ugly. But this sight was absolutely beautiful and she was not able to tear her eyes off the gorgeous being until it flew too far away for her eyes to see. She gazed at the dragon the whole time in awe and admiration only knowing that in her lifetime she would not be able to ever get so close to such a holy being. Flying dragons were scarce allowing only the richest and most powerful nobles to own.

She stood there at the spot dazed for a few moments before remembering her goal for risking her life today was reach the destination of the campsite. Cautiously she made her way there, letting out a soft gasp at the horrible sight. There was blood everywhere but on;y remains of a few corpse lingered. The blood was still fresh causing her nauseousness. She held her breath preventing herself from throwing up. Quickly she savaged through their supplies and to her own luck, she found her favorite weapon, a bow and arrow. Picking up a nearby bag, she empties the useless materials inside and grabbed a handful of things she needed for survival. Swiftly she grabbed a few daggers, a few pair of clothing, luckily there was two female in this group which provided her a few female garments, a pair of boots, rope, and lastly but most importantly she grabbed a heavy thick blankets. She stuffed what she could in one bag held the rest with hers arms. She slipped on the pair of boots and a few pair of daggers wrapped around her leg with the bow and arrows over her shoulder. Finally thinking that she basically scavenged what she needed she began to turn away but stopped her tracks when she bent down to pick up a large dark blue cloak with a hood and wrapped it over herself. Perfect disguise.

Swiftly she ran through the forest knowing that if she stayed any longer there were bound to be hungry beast who won't reject such a feast of free food. After a long run she made her way a few miles away from the sight. Exhausted she found a random shrouded area to rest for the night. Realizing now that she had taken a short sword with her, her elated face immediately reached out the sword and broke the chains on her arms and feet. Finally freedom! She thought as she flung her arms and feet around like a child she was. Though the chains were set free, her cuffs seemed impossible to take off without professional help. Bit by bit, she cut off the long chain until only the cuffs remained. She took off her awkwardly worn dress and finally slipped it on like a normal person. A soft sigh of relief was heard as she patted her dress neatly and set up the blankets that she stole tonight. Naturally she plopped down on thick blankets and for the first night in many years she finally slept under warm comfortable blankets. During her slavery, she was only allowed to sleep on hay and during the winter the minimal coarse blankets were provided for warmth since they had a fireplace to warm the room.

She slept like a dead log that night dreaming of her childhood, waking up late in the morning when the sun has already risen. In the mornings she would change her bandages and wash whatever she needed to and allow them to dry as she looked for food during the afternoon. Since she had weapons now, she was capable of hunting for fish and other small rodents though she did have a softer spot for small animals, she usually ate fruits or any vegetation she found. In the afternoon she would forage through the mountains once again learning her area and still hoped to find shelter. At night she would settle down at a different place each time to sleep. This process repeated for about a week or so and by this time she has already traveled many miles away from town where she was first abandoned but still followed westward along the stream since she didn't want to lose her only source of water.