The Witch and the Dragon - Beta

Chapter Six

The slavers marched along at the side of the procession, watching them with hawk eyes and hands lingering close to their whips. The slaves were silent, cowed, and they walked as though their spirits had been beaten out of them. Alannah eyed the whips. Maybe they had.

The depressing train turned north, away from her village, and Alannah pressed her lips together. Fantastic. Tied up again in less than two days. This had to be some kind of record. She was at the back of the slave train, between a slender young girl and a boy who looked no older than ten. Monsters.

They marched through the forest and the sun only intensified. Alannah's mouth was parched and sweat soaked the back of her neck. They were allocated short rest breaks every hour or so, only enough time to get their breath back, then they were moving again. The rope was tight on her wrists, too tight to slip out of, and the slavers were always watching.

Finally the shadows lengthened and the warm spring breeze turned cooler. The slavers called a halt. Alannah sucked in a deep breath. This slow march was murder on her thighs.

The slaver called Sonia seemed to be in charge. She directed the others with a low, hoarse voice. "Jannik, get a fire going. Ramiz, make sure our slaves will survive for another day."

The man named Ramiz journeyed down the rope, handing each slave a biscuit and a mouthful of water. Alannah took hers with a scowl. Their captors huddled around a glowing fire a few feet away and the slaves bedded down where they were, curling in on themselves to keep warm.

Alannah sighed and sat cross-legged on the ground. Well, at least she was dry now. All day in the sunlight and her dress had turned stiff, caked in mud. How anyone could mistake her for royalty was beyond her.

An odd sound broke her concentration, almost like a whimpering puppy. Alannah looked to the young boy who'd been tied next to her on the rope, but he was asleep. The sound persisted. Whatever it was, someone should put the thing out of its misery.

Then she realised it was coming from the girl who'd walked behind her. She was curled on the ground not that far away, weeping into a scrap of her dress. Alannah picked dirt off her hands and tried to ignore it.

The girl kept crying. With a sigh, Alannah stood and circled around to kneel beside her. "Hey." Damn it, she really wasn't good at the sympathy thing. "What are you - uh, what's wrong?"

Big blue eyes blinked up at her. The girl wore a silk dress much fancier than hers, all rose pink with tiny silk rosebuds sewn into the bodice. Her hair was a riot of chestnut curls, still almost pristine despite what must have been days on the road, and her skin was a clear and unblemished brown.

"What's wrong?" the girl repeated, her voice still husky from the tears. "I've been kidnapped by slavers! They're going to sell me off to the highest bidder and I – and I –" Her face crumpled and she descended into sobs.

Alannah patted her shoulder awkwardly, very aware of the slave-traders sat not ten feet away. "Yes. I can see how that would be – disheartening," she said and the girl's sobs intensified. "But your family's probably looking for you. I'm sure they'll find you soon."

The girl shook her head rapidly. "By the time they realise I'm gone, it'll be too late."

Alannah tucked her feet underneath her to stop them from getting pins and needles. "What's your name?"

"Rose."

Of course it was. "I'm Alannah," she said and added a smile she hoped was reassuring. "And I'm sure we can find a way out of this."

Rose pushed herself into a sitting position and blinked dewy eyes. Really, no one had any right to remain as pretty as that after crying for twenty minutes. Her skin wasn't even blotchy. "Is it true?" she asked. "What you were saying before? Are you really a witch?"

Alannah sat back on her heels. "Well. Yes. I mean, sort of."

"What do you mean sort of?" said Rose with a snappy tone that had Alannah blinking in surprise. "Are you, or aren't you?"

"Yes, then. I am."

"Then you can get us out of here," said Rose, clasping her hands together at her throat.

Alannah shook her head. "I only stopped being an apprentice a few years ago. I can't do much more than a few protective charms and some domestic cures."

"Oh." Rose dropped her hands. "That's all right," she said and patted Alannah's knee with faint condescension. "I'm sure someone will rescue us."

"Mmm." Alannah didn't voice her doubts on that subject. No one knew where she was. In fact they probably thought she'd been eaten. "That would be much worse," she said aloud.

"What would be worse?" asked Rose.

"Being eaten by a dragon," Alannah explained. "That would be worse than being sold into slavery."

Rose stared at her. "How on earth did you come up with that?"

"I was almost eaten by one," she admitted. "He left me at his cave back that way." She pointed off in the direction they'd come.

"What?" Rose shrieked. "There's a dragon in this forest?"

"Shh!" hissed Alannah, but too late. The slavers went quiet.

"Say that again," demanded one, standing. "A dragon? Here?"

Rose immediately went quiet and Alannah tugged at her bonds. "That's – well, uh-"

"Is there one?" asked another of the slavers. Oddly he didn't look scared. "Tell us, girl."

"There is," Alannah admitted.

"Where?"

"In a cave. That way," she said, pointing again.

"You know what this means?" said another slaver, the woman. "Dragons have hoards of treasure – sapphires, rubies, you name it. We'll be rich."

"We go back and steal it." Their eyes glinted with greed. "Then we kill the dragon."

"No," said Alannah. "He doesn't have any gold, any treasure – nothing. It's just an empty cave."

"All dragons have treasure," the woman scoffed.

"Not this one. He's different – he doesn't collect gold." Just royalty, apparently.

"Tch," said Ramiz. "Not likely. Jannik, Sonia – take the swords and kill the dragon. Bring back whatever you can carry and bury the rest. Oh, and bring back the dragon's teeth. We can sell them for a pretty price when we get to the capitol."

"Wait –" Alannah paused. Why was she trying to stop them? The dragon had flown her halfway across the kingdom and left her with no way to get home. She should be encouraging them. Still, the dragon might be an arrogant bastard, but he'd let her go. "Wait!" she called again, but the slavers had gone.