Revelations

Chapter 1

"Kaida!" Andrew yelled from across the bar.

I slowly leaned away from the man I was currently threatening. A sickeningly sweet smile plastered to my face. He shoot up as soon as he was out of my reach, running out the door seconds later, stumbling from the few drinks he had consumed in the last hour.

"I thought I told you to be nice to the men" Andrew sighed as he cleaned the bar we currently worked at.

"I have tried Andy, I can't do this much longer. You see the way they look at me. I am not a piece of meat." I growled as another man started to walk up behind me.

As an elf, cat calling and drooling were human men's general response. I am about five foot three, with lean muscles and beautiful curves. My wavy dark brown hair flows evenly down my back to almost my waist, and frams my face making my light gray eyes look like windows straight into my soul. My features were unusually perfect in a human's eyes. However back home I am an average elf, nothing to stop and drool over. The attention at first was kind of nice, knowing that someone thought that I was pretty. However, now it was disgustingly inconvenient. I should be flattered, but it didn't mean much.

"Try harder. We need these jobs" He grumbled as he walked down to a drunk man calling for his attention.

I pulled my apron farther down my short uniform dress, and continued working, praying that the rest of the night would fly by. We couldn't afford to lose this job right now.

Two hours later the bar had finally closed. I sighed in relief as I took the apron of, and Andrew ushered the last drunk man out of the room.

"How was the tips tonight?" Andrew asked as he pulled the bills from his pocket. He made his way over to the counter as he pushed a few chairs up to the table.

"Normal I guess" I said as I pulled about 25 bills from my pocket. Handing them to him, he slowly counted it all.

"About 200" He said with a sigh, "You need to be nicer."

"While they literally drool over me?" I said angrily. I hate being objectified in such a way. It was demeaning.

"It pays for rent and food love" He said softly as he put the money away.

I had met my handsome brown haired, blue eyed human best friend four years ago. I had fled my home hoping to never take on a duty in the council. I couldn't stand being trapped indoors. I had run into the small village he lived in during the middle of the night, to find him climbing out his second story window. He had been running from an engagement his parents had set up. He is 22 now, and seen quite a bit of our country with me. We stopped here in a small village to rest before jumping on a ship to travel to another country, hoping for far more exciting adventures, and hopefully a place to call a real home.

"I know" I sighed and leaned against the wall of the bar.

"Let's go home" He sighed as he stuffed the money in his pocket.

We walked for half a mile before hitting the outskirts of town. The small cottage not far ahead of us. We had been making this same walk every night, just enjoying the silence that the town had. It wasn't large, but it was by the water, and a great trade station. That kept the town busy and bustling during the day. Finding a peaceful moment in town was quite difficult. But not long after the thought crossed my mind that silence I so greatly enjoyed was pierced by a scream.

"Help!" screamed a little blonde boy running to my side.

"What's wrong?" I whispered as I lifted him onto my hip.

"Bad man, bad man, bad man" he mumbled over and over again.

Just then a group of three very large men surrounded Andrew and I. They were human from the way they held themselves, but that didn't ease my mind. What reason could they have chasing a child?

"What the hell?" I growled through clenched teeth.

The men pulled swords from their holsters on their waists. Grinning wild grins, they began to stumble towards us. I backed up a few steps looking for somewhere to set the small boy down. He squirmed in my arms, trying to get even farther from the men advancing on us.

"Money" the largest man slurred, holding his hand out, waiting for some sort of response from us.

We continued to back away, hoping that somehow we could get out of this with the little boy unscathed. I pulled him closer to me, as Andrew side stepped in front of me blocking the largest man from me. He put his hand out, searching for mine. I swiftly put mine in his as a sign of reassurance.

"Give it to me!" He slurred again, coming towards us much faster, sword pointed straight at Andrew's chest.

 I didn't even hesitate. I put the child down and rushed in front of him, face first toward the sword. I pushed his wrist up as I spun under his arm. In his drunken stupor, he must not have realized that I was an elf. Andrew grabbed the little boy and started running in the direction of our little cottage. He knew that keeping the young boy safe was a top priority for me. I pulled the sword from his hands, and struck his head with the handle. He fell to the ground as one of the other men ran towards my best friend. Before I could turn and run after him, the last man grabbed my hair, pulling me to the ground.

"Not so special now are you" he slurred, his voice familiar.

He pulled me up to face him as he chuckled. Right in front of my face was the man from the bar. His messed up teeth far too close to my face. He threw me to the ground, and climbed on top of me straddling my hips.

"Get off" I growled as I thrashed around under him. He brought his face uneasily close to mine, the smell of liquor engulfing me.

He stopped and looked up in the air as a large growl rumbled the ground. I turned my head far enough to just barely see the large yellow dragon land on top of my little temporary home. It blew fire in the air as its claws dug into the fragile structure.

The man on top of me jumped up and ran, not even thinking twice about me lying on the ground. I jumped to my feet and ran toward the large creature. Andrew is in there. That little boy is in there. I kept yelling inside my head willing myself to run harder. This is what you get for being so weak, why don't you just grab hold of all of your potential? I cringed as I scolded myself for letting such a thought into my mind. I slammed the door open as the last man ran out. He was screaming to the high heavens, terrified for his life. I turned to see the large dragon scoop him off the ground as easily as a hawk would a mouse.

"ANDREW!" I screamed his name as I ran into the building. It had been set ablaze from the dragon's outburst.

He ran out of our small bedrooms, holding the little boy and our two small bags. He pushed me towards the door, trying not to trip over the falling ceiling. As a beam fell, I pushed Andrew out farther in front of me, barely keeping it from hitting his back. Unfortunately the beam blocked the exit I was so close to using.

"Kaida! Run!" Andrew yelled back at me. Pulling himself and the small boy out of the house.

I jumped to my feet coughing as the smoke began to clog my lungs. I turned to run, and stopped mid step in front of the large face of a white dragon. This one far larger than the yellow one that had previously been here. I screamed as it grabbed me, and pulled me out of the burning house.