Riders Dragons of the Archipelagos

I

 A loud creak could be heard as the ship tilted to the side. My hands were tied tightly above me, my feet were bonded in front. Every now and then a burnt cigar was thrown at me through the cell bars by one of the passing guards. Each gave me an "intimidating" look, then laughed as if they had scared me, then walked away.

In this cell with me was a young woman, maybe two or three years older than me. Light freckles sprayed across her pink cheeks, which were separated by a small nose. Her blond hair was braided, and hung over her left shoulder. Her eyes were dark blue and sparkled like the ocean.

Occasionally a guard would walk by and glare at her, each one had a unique injury. The smirk on he woman's face told me that she was the one that inflicted all of them. Although she looked thin, I had no doubt at all that she was mostly muscle.

Starfire flew somewhere above us, keeping completely concealed like I'd asked her too. Every now and then we'd converse silently about our status. We'd also talk about what we were here for...

A dragon egg.

"Lovely day," I said as another guard passed. He gave me a dirty look, but he stayed, "isn't it?"

"Every day is lovely," he grunted, "especially when I'm the one not in the cell."

"Normal for me," the woman said once the guard left. "Chieftain's wife is always the one they take. It doesn't help that I was alone though."

"What is a girl like you," I asked, "doing in a place like this."

"I did it on purpose," she snorted, "they know who I am, so I just found where they were heading, and waited there."

"I gave up myself as well," I said, "attacked one of the captains men as he boarded the ship at the last dock. It's the first time I've been caught in quite a while."

"Honestly, you don't look like someone who'd just give themselves up," she told me, "you're small, maybe even scrawny."

"Excuse me," I remarked, slightly offended. "I am large for the average nineteen year old in the Nine Islands. I could beat a man three times my size in a fight. I've done it several times."

"Really?" she said, "I see you've made quite the name for yourself. Maybe not the best reputation."

"Only to bad people," I whispered, "and those who I've let down between being fourteen and now."

"Difficult job?" she asked.

"You have no idea," I said.

"Maybe a little. Ever since I was fifteen I've had a very difficult responsibility, but I was never alone. There was always people to support me, especially when I had to relive my past."
I'd said something like that before. I'd said to my wife, Stella, when I'd exposed that I was a Rider, and when I'd told her about Starfire. I'd only told her because I'd trusted her, I'd only just met this woman. I wasn't going to tell her anything else. At least not yet.

"So why are you here," she asked suddenly, making me snap back to reality.

"What?"

"Someone like you must have a reason for being somewhere like this," she said, "I mean, you got yourself caught on purpose. Not very many people do that."

Smart girl, Starfire said, tell her, she could help you.

But what about you? I asked, It could expose you, we don't even know her name.

Tell her, Star urged, She means no harm, I can tell. Why can't you, Chieftain of the Riders.

Fine.

"I'm here for the dragon egg that is on this ship," I said. "Where I'm from the Dragon Race is nearly extinct, in fact only four still exist. That egg could change the Nine Islands for the better, that is why I'm here. Stranger whom I've never met."

"Really," she whispered, "that's a lie, there are dragons everywhere. You can travel North, South, East, and West and find dragons of all colors and sizes."

"Ha," I said, "that's the funny thing about the Nine Islands. There are only four dragons, and four Riders in the Nine Islands. Each one has an elemental power, Fire, Ice, Water, even Lightning. Once day there may be more. Earth, Night, Nature, etcetera etcetera. But for now there is only four. Where I come from humans aren't the only race either. Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, and guess what the fifth is...Dragons."

"That is all one big lie," she shouted, "there is no such thing as the nine realms, there is just Midgard. Asgard, Jotunheim, Nidavellir, Svart Alfheim, Alfheim, Muspelheim, and even Niflheim do not exist, it is just Midgard, Valhalla, and Helheim. So whatever you learned, is wrong."

"I don't know what any of those are," I said, "Arsham and Earth, maybe even Hell, that's what I've lived by."

Suddenly a guard opened the cell door, "Shut your traps!" he yelled. "Take her to a different cell, I can't deal with them if they'll just be fighting all day."