The Dragon Rider Vol. 3 Red Moon (COMPLETED)

Three

flashback

The air was thick with heavy smoke. Buildings around the village had been torched by the Rogues, as Toban's men pulled all the women and children to the small clearing. Off to the side, men were being pulled towards the forest where they would soon be killed. Their screams could be heard from where Sarah was hiding, causing a chill to seep deep within her bones.

Upon the first set of screams heard from the farming area, she had hidden in the back corner of her hut. From here she was sure she wouldn't be seen. As the sound of footsteps came closer to her, she prayed no one would see her. She wasn't about to let these people come in and take what they wanted.

As carefully as she could without making any sound, Sarah reached down to grasp the knife strapped to her thigh. If they were going to take her, then she was going to give them one hell of a fight. There was no way she was going to just let them drag her out there without a few cuts from the sharp blade in her hand.

Taking a deep breath as the footsteps got closer, her grip on the knife tightened as a man in his late twenties gazed at her. He didn't make a move for her but instead just stood there watching, almost like he was contemplating on pulling her out or not.

The sound of shouted orders from outside the hut had the man shaking his head as he reached forward, but as he did Sarah swiped at him with her blade, just missing his hand. Shocked, the young man frowned at her.

"If you don't come out here, I'm sure the rogues would love to pull you out themselves."

Glaring at the man, her grip tightened on the blade. Although she would gladly put up a fight, she was smart enough to know that the rouges would inflict more damage on her than what this soldier would do.

The sound of metal hitting the ground echoed throughout the quiet hut, as a loud sigh of defeat escaped her lips. "This isn't over." She growled.

Smirking, the man grasped her arm, pulling her out of the hut. Once outside, Sarah could finally see the damage that was happening to her village. Bodies of young kids she had grown to love laid on the ground with eyes open, their mouths slightly agape as if they had tried to take one last breath. Huts were on fire, the thick smoke almost blinding as rogues ran around pulling men towards the thick forest.

A chill ran down her spine at the thought of what was going to happen to them. She knew the men would be killed. Toban didn't want any more dragon riders to be born. He wanted King Albert's riders to dwindle down to nothing to make it easier for him to take the kingdom.

Being tugged towards a line of girls, her eyes snapped towards a man on top of a horse. His armor was silver, and sitting on top of his head was a large crown. He gazed at the scene around him with a content almost smug smile. He was happy with the carnage around him.

As she continued to glare spitefully at the man, Toban's eyes snapped to hers. As he gazed at her, his eyes seemed to change. The content smile that he had worn, almost turned animalistic. Jumping down from his horse, Toban made his way towards her and the soldier.

"General Robert!" he shouted.

Robert stopped in his tracks, his grip tightening on Sarah's arm. He knew nothing good would come from this interaction right now. He almost feared for the young female he held. He knew Toban didn't take notice of any female in all the raids on the villages they had done, yet as he gazed at his king he knew this poor innocent female was in trouble.

Coming to a halt in front of them, Toban smirked down at the women. "What's your name?"

Sarah glared at him as she mimicked his smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

A small rumble of a laugh came from his lips before his smirk fell. Slapping her across the cheek, he moved closer. "I asked you a question, now answer your king."

Roberts grip tightened on her arm, almost pleading with her to just answer him but she wasn't going to let this man control her. She was stronger than that. Sighing, Sarah glared back at him.

"Go to hell." Spitting at his feet, her eyes met his that seemed to hum with some unknown energy. She could feel it flowing off him and that's when it hit her. Pain surged throughout her body as her knees began to weaken. Her head spun with pain but all she could do was groan. She wasn't going to scream for this man. She wouldn't let him know it was hurting her.

As soon as the pain came, it disappeared. Gasping for breath she closed her eyes. All the rumors she had heard were true. Toban wasn't just a ruler but also a dealer in dark magic. This made things worse.

Moving closer towards Sarah, Toban smirked. "I'm going to have fun with you." Turning to Robert he nodded. "Take her back to the castle and lock her in my room.

Nodding at the order given to him, Robert gave a gentle squeeze on Sarah's arm. He hated his king, yes, and right now he felt torn. Torn between making sure his family was kept safe, and torn for wanting to help the woman that would now be known as Toban's women. Robert knew Toban didn't take interest in women around him, he was too power-hungry to even care but he could see the lust in his king's eyes.

Robert knew that nothing good would come from this but there wasn't anything he could do to stop him. What the king wanted the king got.