Alliance

Midnight Rendezvous pt. 1

I lean into Nala as she darts through the forest, my mind only half-trained on steering her reigns. There are so many questions I have left for Chatura that I didn't have the gall to ask at the time: where are the other dragons? It was obvious that he lives alone and has for some time, why is that? Why do dragons not fly freely now as they once did in his pictures? Why did he so adamantly avoid speaking of the battles depicted on the wall? Is it because there were humans involved?

    There's a soft growl from underneath me. I lean up enough to see the pup irritably squirming about. I suppose he's growing restless from traveling this all way for so long, but only so much can be done about that. I ordinarily would be inclined to take a break and let him run about for a bit, but we are too close to our destination to bother. Instead, I have Nala slow from her ferocious gallop to a much more mild but nonetheless efficient trot. I take the pup from in front of me and place him in the pouch I usually carry my bow in. The change of pace and position seems to appease the pup, so he remains silent for the remainder of our trip.

    Soon the cottages come into view and dread begins to seep into my bones. I haven't the slightest idea as to what effect my running off has had on Farrell's rage and, God, am I afraid to find out. Thankfully, he's not outside nor is anyone else when I make my way into the horse's stables. I quickly take Nala's gear off and store it in record time. I don't bother grooming her; there's little time for that if I am to get inside before anyone sees me, so the stable hands take care of the task just this once.

With the pup in hand, I dart towards the larger of the two cottages where my husband undoubtedly is. I tentatively open the door to see him sitting in one of the chairs cleaning his sword.

    "You are lucky the maids haven't come to wake us yet," he says coolly, "or else you would have caused me even further embarrassment."

    I swallow the lump in my throat before speaking. My voice sounds as on edge as I feel. "I apologize."

    "Just this once, you are forgiven. Do not let it happen again." There's an obvious threat in his tone but I decide not to push my luck. His attention shifts from my face to the squirming creature in my arms. Farrell's posture begins to lose some of its rigidness upon looking into the pup's big brown eyes.

    "Is that a dog?" He asks, his mood instantly lightening, his tone softening.

    I shake my head, "a wolf pup, actually. Its mother was killed by a boar so I took it in. If you would be so kind as to allow it, may I...keep him?"

    Farrell takes a few strides across the room and plucks the pup out of my hands. He examines the wriggling little creature for a few moments before giving it an affectionate pat on the head.

    "It looks strong and has not been fully weaned yet, so it should be easy to train to be loyal to us."

    I give him a smile so wide it hurts my still aching lip. "So we can keep him?"

    Farrell chuckles, "yes, Seraphina, we can keep him under three conditions."

    "Anything," I reply instantly.

    "First, the pup trains with me and the soldiers every morning. It will serve as a good guard dog when the soldiers and I have to set up camp during our deployment. Secondly, the wolf will be taken to the local breeder at least once a month so we can have larger war dogs that we already do."

    "What is the third?"

    He gives me a wolfish grin of his own, "You provide an heir for it to protect in a year's time. Do you agree to these terms?"

    That was already a condition listed the actual marriage contract that we signed in my village, but I don't think that Farrell recalls that fact, so I readily nod in agreement. He seems more than pleased by my eager acceptance of his last proposition.

    "Excellent," he says, placing the pup on the floor and closing the gap between the two of us. "Let's get started on the third condition, shall we?"

...

Hey guys, I know this chapter is a little short, but it's the first of a three-part chapter. I had originally planned to post it all at once, but I realized that it ended up being 4,440 words (approx. 10 single-spaced pages) which seems kinda excessive for a single chapter. I'll be posting the other chapters throughout the week since I don't have as heavy of a workload this week.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy your fall/winter breaks and do well on finals or whatever else you have to do.

Don't forget to leave some comments and vote!

--Kristin