A Match of Monsters

Chapter Ten

"Please understand that you have brought this upon yourself. That it is your fault that I must now do this. Please forgive me." Manasseh's last words were much quieter, much more intimate, as he addressed the golden dragon in front of him with burning eyes. They shone with his magic as he focussed on who had now become his opponent.

From where she hid, Elain could not see the Lady's face, but she knew the pale dragon's eyes would hold more frost in them than all of the ice the Far North had within its borders. Her face would be absolutely void of emotion, and despite Manasseh possessing a longer neck and standing taller at his haunches, Elain just knew her Lady would be staring him down.

She did not say a word or move a muscle, but held as still as the statues her peoples had modelled after her.

It was in that moment, as Elain observed the absolute tranquillity of her ruler, that she finally felt for the first time that she stood a chance at protecting the young kit she held crushingly tight above her heart, and surviving herself. This dragon, this great monster and bringer of terror, had given Elain more peace than she had ever experienced before.

For that alone, Elain would care for the small hatchling that clung to her embrace.

She jerked as a powerful, raw force startled her and shattered both the bubble of silence, and the serene inner reflection she had been in.

Once more the magenta dragon leapt at his Lady, charcoal claws flashing against an invisible shield, curving away just inches from where her Ladyship's wings had been raised to shield, and the flames forth from his mouth were reflected back into his own breast.

From Elain's hidden vantage point, she could see behind the taut leather that controlled her Lady's magical guard that Manasseh kept crashing against.

Hidden by the wings to as they faded to pearly points, Elain watched the powerful dragoness ready herself, moving ivory fangs and claws into position.

The bone flashed in the dim light where her opponent could not see them, and the young girl shivered in anticipation of watching what her Ladyship could do. How she would utterly destroy this usurper and defend her clutch.

Suddenly Manasseh uttered a guttural worn from a language Elain had never heard before, and the jagged tips of his midnight claws glowed a menacingly, sickly pale green. The light the magic generated shadowed his face, and the girl curled deeper around the shaking kit in fear and awe at this majestic monster that was more than she could ever hope to be. When the hatchling tried to burrow deeper into her smock, Elain just clutched him tighter, feeling the strong urge to protect the kit to the best of her capabilities.

This time, when the magenta and charcoal claws were brought down against the Lady's defensive magic, the previously invisible enchantment erupted with colour like a rainbow reflecting on polished ice. Deep cracks the same freighting shade and dark glow as Manasseh's claws spread throughout the curved surface from where black tips were still imbedded. Until the magic shattered like a fragile, coloured glass bauble.

The force of the explosion drove the two dragons away from each other, and Elain winced at the sharp sounds of their claws digging into the stone floor as the dispelling magic forced them to skid across the cavern, away from each other.

Other than the snarl on her Ladyship's snout, she looked unruffled from being forced across the room. Elain admired the ice in her eyes and the still relaxed muscles along her shoulders and back as the golden warrior watched her opponent unfazed.

Manasseh was tense. As he had still been rearing in his hind legs, the dragon had lost his equilibrium when the magic had hit him. Had he not spread his wings to catch the air, the male would have fallen backwards and the fight would have been over before it had really even started.