Of Spinning Gold and Song

| Eight | The Wind

The air was thick as we rode up the mountain. Part humidity before a storm, part increasing smoke that alerted us we were near the dragon's lair, part tension from the imminent encounter. No matter the cause, I was stifled. Lyvens was always humid, but this took it to the extreme. I had started humming to myself and a slight breeze followed, diffusing some of the heaviness and making it slightly more bearable.

Today was the day. We left bright and early in the morning, all ready to see the dragon. I was filled with fear and exhilaration. Mostly fear. Today, I would see Rosie. Perhaps she would be nothing more than a pile of bones.

No.

I wouldn't let myself think that. I had to trust that blasted, ugly, cruel, awful dwarf if it was the worst decision of my life.

We rode on for a little while longer before stopping. Augustin dismounted first, then the rest of the men and I followed. My legs were stiff and sore from all the riding, but I didn't care.

"We're getting close," Augustin announced, hand going instinctively to his sword hilt at his belt. I hadn't even noticed that he was carrying it today, but here it was, of course it was. His face was gleaming with a maniacal sort of excitement, his eyes sweeping around broadly. He was fully in his element, practically radiating.

"Sparrow and Bradyn you two are to stay here now. The rest of us, onward. Today is the day we kill the dragon!"

"What?" The word burst from my mouth before I could control it. "Are you serious? I've come all this way; I am not stopping here."

"Sparrow it's not safe!" Augustin sounded exasperated as he repeated the words for the umpteenth time in countless days. "I will not have you dying! Here, you are safe. There, I cannot protect you."

"I don't need protecting," I said. "I can fend just fine on my own. And who says I'm safe here anyways? There are other things in the woods, you know. Not that I need protecting from them but just because I'm out of the immediate reach of the dragon doesn't make me safe."

Other things like dwarfs. Or one dwarf in particular. I figured he was as bad as or worse than dragons. But I didn't say that.

"I don't have time for this," Augustin muttered. "Castor, tie them up."

"What?" Castor, one of the two men that had initially found us that first night, looked shocked. Perhaps he was unused to being singled out, or perhaps it was the words themselves. I was sure that I hadn't heard him correctly. "Tie them up?"

"You heard me right," said Augustin. "Sparrow, believe me when I say that I trust you. But I learned the hard way how you will go against my orders and march right into danger. It's not your fault; frankly I think your stable boy is a bad influence on you. Bradyn wanted to go and you were too easily swayed because of your nature as a member of the fairer sex. But I can't have that happening now. I just can't lose you, Sparrow, I can't."

"You're not going to lose me if you let me come!" I cried. I was sure my fair complexion was turning an ugly and blotchy shade of red that announced my anger. My hands turned to fists at my sides. I clenched them tighter before releasing, taking a shuddering deep breath in a last ditch attempt to calm my tempest. "Please. I just need to see my sister."

"Sparrow, as much as I want you both to be happy, your sister is one person. One person out of dozens, hundreds maybe, that have been taken and eaten by dragons all across this wretched kingdom. With each day it's allowed to live, thousands of young maidens like yourself are put in danger. I need to kill it; that is the most important thing."

"How dare y-"

"Tie them up. Now. We're wasting time."

Castor shot a bit of an apologetic look at me before reaching into a saddle bag to attain some rope. As soon as I realized that Augustin was actually being serious, I turned to run but found strong arms grasping at me before I could. A frantic look around revealed the same was happening to Bradyn. I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming. This was not happening.