Finding The Red Dragon

Breaking Ella

"Ragnar!" Ella called again, looking for him through the trees. She could hear him, and his pain was clear, but she was not sure where to run. The sound of footsteps behind her made her turn, as Torsten came up beside her in his human form. "Keep going, I am here." He took her arm and ran with her and she was thankful for the support. 

"Ragnar!" She called again as they reached the riverbank and she frantically scanned to find him. Where could he be hiding? He was massive, it was not like he could crawl in a hole. The sound of something large running caught her attention, just as Torsten yelled.

"Watch out!" Torsten yanked Ella to the side, putting her behind him, as Ragnar came storming through the trees towards them. "Ragnar!" Ella did not hesitate as she came around Torsten, and the dragon stopped his charge instantly as he stared down at her.

Ragnar looked angry, but his eyes held confusion. Ella wanted to reach out for him and rub his scales or touch his snout, anything that would help, but he was breathing hard and the anger was winning out over everything else.

"What is she doing here?" The large red dragon roared, rage thick in his voice. His hot breath washed over her, but she stood her ground. "I came to help. Sal said you were in trouble. What did you do now?" She stepped closer and he moved back. Ella held back her emotions as she tried to reason with him.

"What happened? Why are you like this?" Her voice was softer, trying to comfort him with words as she stepped forward again, and he stepped back, just as before. "Please, let me help you." She reached for him and he let out a warning growl, making her pause.

"You did this to me! My thoughts, my mind, it is spinning out of control. I am being torn apart inside and it is your fault!" His voice was so loud and angry as he snorted his hot breath towards her.

"I was helping!" Ella yelled back at him. She was not going to be yelled at by a dragon, let alone this one that she had spent so much time with.

"You didn't seem to mind when I was helping you remember your mother!" She yelled. "My parents are dead. As will I be soon. I would never love a human. You are disgusting and foul. You are nothing more than a pest. Go away before I kill you!" His voice rumbled across her, but she still held her ground, crossing her arms.

Would he really hurt her? Her question was answered when he took a long stride to her, teeth bared and eyes glowing. Fear raced over her, but she was frozen in place, her body not moving at all. How could he do this? They had become so close.

She opened her mouth to protest, but out of nowhere, Sal slammed into Ragnar's side, knocking him down. The air seemed to pause around them, as no one moved, not even the mighty red dragon who laid at Sal's feet.

"YOU WILL NOT TALK TO HER THAT WAY!" Sal was loud, angry, and looked downright scary. "She deserves better than you. Royal or not, you have no right to treat her that way. And over my own soul, I will not let you hurt her." Sal was massive and stood his full height as he started down at Ragnar.

"Take her then. Choose her over your brother." Ragnar pulled himself up, spitting on the ground next to him. "I will always choose my brother first, but Ella is a part of this weyr, and I will defend her until death." Sal roared.

"As will I." Torsten had shifted back to his dragon and moved in front of her, blocking her from Ragnar and she wanted to yell, but fear still had her gripped tightly.

"Fine! You can both have her!" Ragnar roared, then flew off into the darkness for the second time tonight. Ella felt small and worthless among these massive creatures as the rejection of what just happened hit her.

He thought she was disgusting. That was enough to break her spirt. Quietly she turned and walked away, but soon heard the footsteps of the other two men, following behind her without a word. Which was good because she had nothing to say. She was now the one that was broken.

"Ella, I am sorry he acted like that. I wish things were different." Sal finally said as they reached the manor. "It's no big deal. I am just a human, and you all are beautiful dragons. He was right, I do not belong here with you." "I disagree." Torsten took her arm, stopping her.

"You have done so much for us in a very short time, and that meathead will come around, just wait." "No, I do not think he will. And that is ok. My job was to study dragons, and I will continue to do that, just not with him. Now, I am going to bed. I will see you all later." She gave them each a small smile, then went straight to her room, where she planned to cry herself to sleep.

Sal and Torsten just stood there watching her walk away. Never had Sal felt so helpless as he did now seeing Ella's sweet face devastated and crushed. The glint in her eyes was gone in just that single act of hate from Ragnar's mouth. Sal knew she was crying, he heard her before she even made the turn down the hall, and it made his dragon roar with anger.

Ella was part of this weyr now, and his dragon wanted to protect her as he would any one of the other people on these grounds. Dragon or not, she did belong here, and he wanted to tell her that, but she would not believe him now. Or maybe ever.

"Well, that did not go well." Torsten broke the silence. "No, it did not." Sal ran his hand through his hair as he stood with Torsten on the patio. "What do we do?" Torsten asked, clearly shaken by the experience too.

"Nothing we can do. If he is rejecting her, then he will die because there are no more options." "Think we could talk to him tomorrow?" Torsten sounded as concerned as Sal felt, but he knew, either way, if this went wrong, he might lose them both.

"I have no clue. I am angry at him, but not just for what he said, but for how he scared her. I could smell her fear, something I never expected from her." "Me too, yet she stood there facing him down. That must mean something, right? I am no expert, but I saw the way he stopped charging when he saw her. He seemed torn." For the first time, Torsten seemed vulnerable and young to Sal. He did not understand all the ways of the ancients yet, but with time he would, and Sal knew he would make a great protector for his family.

"He is fighting his own self, and sadly, we have to let him figure it out. He does not know what the other voice is, and it is driving him mad. He must learn to listen to it, not fight it, before anything else can be done. And I honestly don't know if he will have enough time." Sal knew if his friend could not find his way out of his own mind, he would not last another week. This was the worst case, and it was heart wrenching.

"Thank you for being there for her tonight." Sal turned to Torsten. "I never thought twice. You are right, she is part of our clan now. I respect her and will care for her as one of our own." "You are a good man Torsten. You will make a fine protector one day." Sal laid his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"How long will you wait?" Torsten looked down. "Wait for what?" "To claim her. I can smell it on you. You want her." "I will never make that move. She was not brought here for me." "If he rejects her, then she is free to be with another." "It will never be me. She will always remind me of my failure, of the loss of my best friend, and she deserves better than that. Hell, she deserves better than any of us." Sal felt a sadness he could not fight any longer. His heart was literally breaking in half for her.

Sal looked back over the lawn and exhaled. "If I had known her before, I would have never let Allan bring her here. She should have had a full life with her own kind. Instead, she will always be a prisoner here, never free to leave. And that is the saddest part of this entire mess."

"Sal, I am not wise like you, but I think, given time, Ella could be happy here. The forest, the flowers, and a family to watch over her. That is what she wants more than anything. She told me that earlier when we were out here. She said she was happy here."

"Thank you for telling me that. I do hope that she will find happiness someday." "Maybe we can do something nice for her, show her that the rest of us still care." Torsten offered. Sal knew it was a long shot, but maybe Torsten had a point. It might work to show her they were not all angry aggressive creatures.

They talked for a few more minutes, then he headed in to find Allan, making sure to stop outside Ella's door. He could hear her soft sobs from inside and he laid a hand on the door. If only he was not chosen to protect her. His hand fell from the door and he moved on, even though he did not want to leave, he had to.