Dragon Matchmaker

The ground shook beneath the soldiers boots and the wind smelled ominously of fire and rotting flesh. The signs were obvious. A dragon was near. Kinsey stood ahead of her soldiers, staring up into the clouds, watching for any visual signs of the beast. "Stand strong. I think it's young. It won't have the tricks of an elder dragon, but it'll have lots of energy."

Her second in command, a tall man named Audrey, stepped forward and nodded, pulling his sword. "You're right, but some young ones are clever and shifty. He may have acquired a few tricks."

Kinsey glared at him and pointed her sword in his direction. "Watch who you're talking to."

He sighed and nodded, turning away and gazing at the clouds. There were about fifteen soldiers under her command, but only fourteen did what she asked. Audrey was her best soldier, but he was reckless, not wanting to do what she commanded. He could be irritatingly stubborn and bullheaded, but he was enticingly handsome and muscular. His dark hair and blue eyes were gorgeous and he showed them off well, knowing he was as handsome as everyone said.

Kinsey turned her head away, not wanting to think about this subject during the first dragon hunt of fall. A thunderous roar echoed from the clouds and all the soldiers jumped in surprise.

"Easy, men." Kinsey knew that reassuring them wouldn't work. She was one of the best captains the king had, but since she was female, she ended up getting the weakest unit. Only a third of her men were really cut out for battle. That included Audrey and some of the more burly men. The others were a collection of bird like farmers who thought that joining the soldiers would bring home more money for their families. The only soldier who wasn't a farmer or a built soldier was...

"Uhh...is there a formation we need to get into? Or do we just stand and wait for it to eat us all?"

Kinsey rolled her eyes and had to bite her tongue to keep from spewing an insult to the soldier who had spoken. "Aldwin, we've been over this, only get into a formation if I tell you to. Have I told you?"

After a slight pause, his voice came back. "No."

"Good. Now wait until I do."

Aldwin was the last man she'd ever want in any command of soldiers. Before she could start issuing out orders, another roar echoed from the clouds, followed the glint of blue wings. She opened her mouth to issue an order, but the dragon's next roar drowned her out. The blue beast suddenly erupted from the clouds, diving towards them.

"Scatter!"

She and Audrey dove forwards out of instinct, but the other soldiers all ran back towards the safety of the buildings. They had been walking through a local village that the latest dragon had been terrorizing. Kinsey swore and stood, pulling her sword. "I meant scatter in different directions!"

She turned as the ground gave another tremor and as she looked up, she was staring up the nose of the dragon. It was a bright royal blue with long horns which adorned the back of its head. The spikes along its back were still sharp and tall, unlike the full ones of elder dragons. As it snarled at her, it's teeth were still pearly white and as sharp as needles, another sign that it was young.

She snarled and stood still, waiting for her chance. She didn't have to wait long. It opened its maw and the back of its throat began to glow with fire. Before it could blast her, she stabbed her sword upwards into the roof of its mouth. It roared and the glow disappeared. She shoved the sword upwards into its mouth, but it reared its head back, standing on its back legs as it tried to shake the sword out of its mouth.

Audrey ran out from the wall he'd hidden behind and charged the beast, flinging a rope over its neck. The other soldiers caught on and three grabbed the other end. Two more took the end on his side and they all heaved in opposite directions. The dragons neck was yanked down and Kinsey managed to grab the handle of her sword. The rest of her soldiers managed to get another rope over the dragons haunches and they managed to hoist it down onto its belly. The ones holding its neck pulled it all the way down to the ground and it gave up, relaxing and letting out a smoky snort.

Kinsey smiled and poked it's nose with her sword. "Not so high and mighty now."

Her soldiers got done tying the creature down before they began moving towards its head. Audrey smiled at it as he came up beside Kinsey. "Who gets the honor of killing it?"

Kinsey chuckled and sheathed her sword. "You may, but not before I do something."

She went around behind the dragon and pulled her sword again. She walked closer and closer to its tail, beckoning some of the soldiers. When the creature heard her behind it, it lashed its tail and tried to knock her off her feet, but her soldiers grabbed the tail, wrestling it to the ground. She went around and ordered one of the men to hold it at the very end of its tail, right below its tail spike. At the very end was a gold triangular horn that all dragons had. They could be used by healers to cure diseases and heal wounds. She raised her sword and brought it down sharply right where the triangular horn and the tail met, making the soldier flinch away.

The Dragon roared and fought against the ropes, but they were secured down by spikes in the cobblestones. She picked up the severed tail horn and went back around to its head. "Go ahead."

Audrey smiled and raised his sword, but suddenly, the rope slacked on its head and the dragon's head reared up again. It roared and blasted fire, but the soldiers were already diving. It managed to turn its head back and burn the other rope before leaping back and spreading its wings. Kinsey tried to rally the soldiers, but only her and Audrey tried to get it before it flew off, but the two of them couldn't take down a dragon alone.

Kinsey went to stab it's chest, but it roared and grabbed her with its talon. She grunted and dropped her sword and the horn as it yanked her up to eye level. It snarled and she watched as its eye underwent a transformation. The pupil of its eye dilated and the rest of its eye started turning into a deep violet. She was transfixed. That eye was beautiful and hypnotizing, unlike anything she'd ever seen.

The trance only lasted a moment before the Dragon roared and looked down. It dropped her as it tried to lift into the air and she screamed as she fell, but instead of hitting the cobblestones, someone caught her. She gasped and looked up, meeting Audrey's eyes only once before he set her down and turned to where the dragon was flying into the clouds, roaring in anger. Kinsey brushed away Audrey's looks and turned to her soldiers. "Did anyone see what loosened the ropes?"

The soldiers looked away and the two in the front suddenly shoved someone out. The one on the left explained. "He did it. He walked past and his sword sliced through it."

Kinsey sighed and glared down at the man at her feet. "When we go to the king about this, it'll be you who takes the fall for it, Aldwin."

He glanced up and his green eyes were deeply frightened and he could barely stand for his trembling. "I...I didn't mean it. It was an accident."

Audrey stepped forward and hauled him up. "We don't have room for accidents. Now let's get back and make sure the healers get that horn. It'll soften the blow the king gives us."