Dawn's Light

Chapter 13

'CELIA!' Verbena's panicked mental scream burst Celia out of her nightmare. 'I'VE BEEN FOUND!"

Celia jumped out of the warm sack in a panic. 'I'm coming!' After she grabbed her bag, she ran to the desk and returned the key along with a random amount of crystals by slamming them onto the table. Before the innkeeper could say a word, Celia had already left the room and was sprinting towards the exit.

Despite the strange looks she earned from the locals she passed, Celia never ceased her sprint. When she emerged from the cave, she slammed into the back of a human figure she could not see while her eyes adjusted to the change in light. "Sorry," she apologized without looking up as she stood and wiped the snow off of her ungloved hands, "I did not see you there."

The man she ran into, who happened to be the first resident she had encountered when she arrived, turned to face her. "What are you doing back out here, especially with a dragon on the loose." He paused. "Wait..." he pointed his stone weapon at her.

Celia emitted a whimper, unsure of what he was about to say.

"You arrived shortly after the dragon arrived, and then when we discover it hiding on the other side of the ridge, you suddenly appear." He glowered and did not lower his spear, "your timing seems rather suspicious, doesn't it? It cannot be pure coincidence, especially since you came through the door fast enough to blindly run into me. So why are you back out here, especially without all of your protection on?" He allowed Celia time to give an answer.

"Um...," Celia was unsure what to say as she mentally pleaded to her dragon to come to rescue her, but also wanted her to stay away. The human girl feared for her dragon's safety since the stone weapons that would definitely be thrown at her would hurt Verbena if the throwers landed a hit.

'Celia?' Verbena was confused by the conflicting orders and moved to circle around the area high above the range of the weapons.

'I've got this.' Celia promised, but she felt vast amounts of uncertainty. 'There's no need for you to come down here.'

"Stop staring and answer me." The man ordered.

Before Celia could answer, a draconic roar came from above and pulled every pair of eyes towards it. The white dragon dove toward the stunned humans with her blue eyes focused on Celia's attacker.

The man moved his weapon away from Celia's throat and prepared to stab the dragonet as she passed. Before he could attack, Celia reacted to the threat on her friend and blindly tackled him in the back with her shoulder and knocked him into the snow without causing herself to fall over as well.

When Verbena passed over, she snatched Celia in her front paws and flapped her wings to regain the altitude she had lost in her dive. The rider reached over and grabbed the ventral strap on the top of Verbena's harness, then wove her feet into the side straps of the harness since she struggled to. With Verbena's assistance, Celia finally made it back onto the dragonet's back.

Celia ran out of breath and her heartbeat rang in her ears. Also, the human was shivering and numb, and desperately needed to get out of the wind coming from Verbena's movement. "W—we sh—should l—l—land," she sputtered, "so—o I c—can p—put the r—rest of my g—gear on."

Verbena whimpered, then swiftly descended and managed to make a semi-smooth landing by using her serrated claws to grip the snow and ice. 'Perfect landing!' The dragonet cheered and hopped in excitement, but accidentally threw her freezing rider off and into the snow.

Celia flinched and released a small yelp as she hit the dense ice hidden under the looser snow. "The amulet," she suddenly remembered, then slowly took off her bag with trembling hands and reached inside. After a few freezing seconds, he fumbled around the bag for a minute, then sighed in relief as her fingers felt the warm jewel. Warmth flushed through her face and she could feel her hands and face again. "Thank goodness," she sighed in relief.