"Before there was anything there were dragons. They ruled over oblivion, a gaping void where nothing exists but everything lives."
The war had raged for decades. And in it's wake all that had been left was a broken expanse of a fire burnt wasteland...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I stirred. A flurry of movement happening around me and yet my body was left paralysed. All I could see was that infernal darkness. Slowly, so agonisingly slowly, I felt my muscles start to relax, but as I tried to lift myself up my arms, they wouldn't move. I tugged more and felt thick rope chafe my wrists.
I was aware of the sun beating down on me, yet I still could not see. Every time I breathed, it got warmer and my face grew damp. I felt the coarse burlap scrape at my face. My head was in a sack I could not untie. I writhed and scratched, pushing my fingers into the tight knot of the drawstring around my neck, but it wouldn't budge.
They had dumped me here and left me to die.
The sound of movement grew closer and I froze, adrenaline coursing through me. I felt the sand shift beneath me as it stood next to my head. Then voices. Human voices. A thousand questions coursed through my head, but one snagged at my conscious thoughts.
How? How were humans here, outside of the mines, where they were not supposed to be at all. The only places we now lived were under the close surveillance of these creatures, abiding by the awful laws they created. It had been made clear that no one managed to escape being enslaved, but perhaps that was just to give them more authority than they actually had. Living here, of all places, in the barren, dragon-fire scorched wasteland that had consumed most of the world? No one would suspect the living of human civilization.
I sensed the cold kiss of steel next to my neck, then the freedom and the string was cut. The bag was pulled off and I could see once more. Well, the most I could see was blinding blue light as my eyes adjusted to the glare. I could breathe freely again. I gulped down the cooler evening air and rose to a crouch, looking at my rescuers. Definitely human. The two stared down at me. Both were armed to the teeth with bows and knives.
"Well, who are you?"
I thought. I had not used my given name for so long, I had nearly forgotten it. My voice came broken and gruff. I cleared my throat and tried again.
"Kelsie Latunski."
"Latunski?"
I nodded, It was not the first time my name had elicited that reaction: I had seen the dragon wars. I nodded. She stared to saw at the rope binding my wrists.
"You'd better come with us. Risha, help her up."
The other girl grabbed me under my arms, pulling me to my feet. I stumbled but regained my balance. She removed a water skin from her belt and held it out.
"Water?"
I nodded again, and pulled out the cork. Holding the skin to my mouth, I tipped it up, the cool water flowing down my parched throat. Bliss. The water tasted sweet but musty, though that was to be expected if it was stored in animal skins. I handed her it back, thanking her.
"You good? Let's go." She spoke with such speed there was no pause between the sentences, indicating it was more of a statement than a question. I nod in affirmation anyway. We started walking as the sun slowly sank in the sky, taking the blistering heat and replacing it with a more bearable temperature. The desert stretched out before me, a never-ending expense of sand and scorched dirt littered with the skeletons of the dragons. And we talked. The first few minutes were tense and silent, but soon tiredness loosed our tongues.
"What do you call those creatures?" I said in the break between the light-hearted banter.
"Atrix. In the common tongue, it means bringer." Risha started talking about how they had been hunting them, as they had been seen lurking around the camp.
"... And Thaiya actually killed one didn't you?" She looked at the older girl with partial awe. "But she didn't let me look." Risha tugged on Thaiya's tunic. "I'm old enough, truly!"
Thaiya shook her head. "Risha," she said with total disbelief, "You won't come hunting because you don't like the blood. You would hurl your guts up if you saw an Atrix corpse."
Risha pouted admitting defeat, and didn't mention the subject for the remainder of the walk.
Half an hour later, they stopped in front of a looming mountain, shadowing a narrow path. Apparently they had arrived at the camp. I couldn't see much, but the shadows always seemed so much darker in the sunlight.
Risha tugged on my arm, pulling me into the shade. And in that shade, the whole world changed.
Tents made of hide were pulled up in every space along the sides, the musty, damp smell cutting through the aroma of spice and baking vegetables. I had not smelled anything like this in years. I closed my eyes, the scent enveloping me in memories.
As I travelled further into the heart of the camp, people gazes followed looked so different to me, though there were similarities. The light brown skin for one. But their sleek black hair looked so jarring compared to my copper hair. But their clothes. Such bright colours and patterns seemed foreign to me after spending a decade in the mines, where I saw nothing other than grey rock and grey cloth. As I looked closer, I saw that some had painted bodies and faces, decorative whorls and stripes, some depicting the old script of the dragon language. Their clothes were made of fur and hide, and the children wore lightly coloured cotton tunics in shades of yellows, blues and reds, and dresses secured by strips of leather at their waist.
Things were certainly different here. I looked back at Risha, who was smiling at the look of amazement probably written all over my face.
"What do you think?"
"It's the most wonderful thing I have ever seen!" I breathed in a hushed whisper.
"Come on!" She said, laughing, pulling at my sleeve once more, "Come and get some food!" She led me over to one of the tents, the floor of which was littered with two bed rolls and numerous hides, which I assumed were used as blankets. outside was an iron pot sitting in the still hot embers of a fire. She went inside the tent while I sat down, savouring the heat that slowly warmed me.
"Here." She handed me a roughly carved wooden spoon, and a spoon made out of bone, then plopped her water skin down in between us.
"Help yourself!" She said, while ladling what looked like stew into her own bowl. I looked over her shoulder, and saw Thaiya's silhouette approaching. My stomach growled, but I felt guilty about not waiting.
"Shouldn't we wait for Thaiya?"
"No, she's a slowpoke, and she doesn't mind." Rita handled me the ladle, and I scooped a small amount of stew into my bowl. I wasn't used to this much food. Biting my lip, I debated whether I should take more. Risha saw my indecision and nudged me playfully. I smiled and gave myself more.
"Hey!" Came a voice. Thaiya wasn't angry, merely amused when she saw the two of us about to dig in. "You two started without me! Oh well, I suppose I have to get my own bowl, huh?" She raised an eyebrow at me and I snorted.
Were these two sisters?
As soon as the thought formed, I had to ask them.
"Yes, we are. I'm older of course. I'm 17 and Rita's 12." That was Thaiya. Well, that answered my question.
I realised that I hadn't actually eaten any of the stew I had given myself, so I picked up the spoon sitting on my lap and lowered it into the food. The first morsel touched my tongue, and I could not think of anything else apart from the flavour bursting in my mouth. I realised I was ravenous and started eating as fast as I could, scraping the sides of the bowl to get the last pieces.
That night Thaiya found a spare bedroll, and set me up in their tent. As I lay beneath the furs, listening to the fire crackle and the wind blow through the mountain pass, I felt something I had not felt for years.
Love.
The feeling was unlike anything I had felt before, so comforting after the hardship and pain of slavery. And now, after all the ordeals I had faced, I could not bear to ever be alone again. That night I went to sleep feeling safer than I had in the past.
No nightmares plagued me, and no fear could worm it's way into my mind.
What do you think of Kelsie's two new friends? As always if you liked this story please consider voting and suggest anything you feel could be improved!
