It Started With a Sword

Chapter 5

The next morning, Scott and Lyla were riding their horses down the path away from the castle, a short distance behind the guards that were going on the quest. To Lyla’s surprise, her father had said that she could come as long as she had “nothing to do with the dragon.” At the time, Lyla had nodded, rolling her eyes at Scott as they talked about it later. Like Diana had said, King Kristoff was expecting Scott to come along, so the two of them packed up a trunk each of supplies and left that morning.

As they rode down the path, Lyla turned to Scott and smiled. “We did it! We’re going to go save a dragon!” Then she glanced furtively towards the guards in front of them. “You don’t think they heard that, do you?”

Scott shook his head, laughing. “No, I’m pretty sure they didn’t.”

“Good,” Lyla said, looking triumphant. “Hey, do you think we could find a unicorn while we’re out on this quest?”

Scott stared at Lyla, completely confused as to where this request came from. “A unicorn?!” he scoffed, shaking his head at the idea. “That’s about as ridiculous as thinking rain makes things smell pretty.”

Lyla glared at him, raising her eyebrows. “It does, I’m serious! And unicorns are real. Trust me.”

“Whatever,” Scott replied, rolling his eyes. “But if you really want to, even though it’s crazy, we can see if we can find one. Bet we won’t, though.”

“We will, you’ll see,” she stated confidently. “Hey, race you to that oak tree up there!” She urged Shadow forward, taking off towards the rest of their party.

Scott laughed as Cedric galloped after the princess and her horse. It was turning out to be an interesting trip, and they had barely started.

After several long hours of riding, riding, and more riding, King Stefan finally led them to a spot near the Pine River, named for the long stretch of pine trees that grew on the opposite shore. He ordered his men to set up camp, then went off with King Kristoff, presumably to discuss the ambush on the dragon.

“Okay, do you have a plan now?” Lyla asked Scott as soon as the two kings were gone. He looked around and motioned for her to follow him over to a tree.

“Yeah, here’s what we’ll do,” Scott answered, mentally thinking over the plan he had thought up. “We’ll wait till our fathers leave tomorrow with the guards. You said you knew your way around those woods over there, right? We’ll take a shortcut through the woods, get to the dragons’ lair before the knights, and then you can do your reasoning with the dragon. Though that sounds ridiculous to me,” he finished.

“Dragons are smart, they understand humanspeak. I’m sure if we talk to him without all the weapons that the knights will have, it will be less terrifying for him, and he might listen quicker,” she explained. “But that sounds like a really good plan, Scott! I hope it’ll work.” She smiled, then turned around to scan the camp. “Well, those knights certainly move quickly.”

In front of them the knights had set up a dozen tents, which would easily accommodate the twenty-odd members of the quest. Scott was surprised at the speed in which the tents had been set up; it had barely been a half hour since they arrived on the campsite. He guessed that nine of the tents were for the eighteen knights that accompanied them, one was for King Stefan, another for King Kristoff and himself, and the last for Lyla.

“Think that one over there’s for you?” he said, pointing to a small tent near the most opulent one.

She just grinned at him. “This princess is special.”

They headed over to the cluster of tents, finding their trunks already inside their respective sleeping spots. King Stefan then called everyone in the questing party outside and explained to them what was going to happen the next morning.

According to him, the knights were to leave bright an early, for that was when dragons were “awake and most active.” Glancing over at Lyla, Scott saw that she looked worried; he assumed it was because she was afraid the knights would beat them to the dragon’s lair.

“Don’t worry, we’ll still get there in time,” he assured her, leaning over to whisper in her ear. She only smiled at her, remaining quiet.

After King Stefan’s instructions, the knights began dinner, which was quite excellent for such a quick preparation. Soon after the meal, they all went to bed, preparing for an early rise the next morning.

Chapter 5! Almost done :) Please vote/comment