The Dragon King

Chapter Eleven

Meadowpeak

Levi gripped the bars and placed his face up against them as the darkness of clouds, thunder, and lightening encircled the castle before them.

"In case you're wondering," Jacob began, "That is not a storm. A dark curse befalls this castle."

Levi turned his attention to the left as Elyssa crawled up beside him and looked up at the stone work.

"Don't worry," Cinderella spoke up. "The curse is the least bit of your worries."

Levi flinched as a rain drop fell into his eye. Even if this was a curse, there was still a storm coming. Would Cinderella leave them out here in the down pour?

The two hoped off the front of the cart. Cinderella heading toward the giant door of the castle, and Jacob fumbled with a key in the lock to the cage.

Was this his chance? Could he overpower Jacob so the two of them could run away? What other choice did he have? Sit here and allow Cinderella to pass him over to Snow? That couldn't happen.

He slowly inched his way in front of Elyssa, his brow furrowed. "Stay behind me," he whispered.

As the cage door swung open, Levi leapt forward colliding into Jacob and toppling him to the ground. "Elyssa, run!"

He didn't turn to see if she had made it out. He was too busy punching, holding Jacob's hands back, and fighting off his opponents claws that threatened to tear at his skin.

A loud crack pierced the dark and something unexpectedly wrapped itself around his upper arm. It burned and pulled causing him to cry out in pain. He felt a tug on his arm making the pain worse as he tumbled to his back. Whatever that burning was had let go and he curled over as he clenched at his arm, a warm liquid oozing through his fingers.

"Nice try, but you're going to need a little more then that to escape."

He looked to see Cinderella gripping Elyssa's arm twisted against her back. Even in the dark he could see her pained face.

Beside Cinderella stood a woman who was a little shorter, but in the dark he couldn't make out who she was. All he knew was that in her right hand she held a whip with her elbow resting on her hip like she was posing.

"Unfortunately for you," Cinderella continued as she shoved Elyssa toward the castle. "You'll be the one to pay for his actions."

Heat rose in his cheeks as he watched that monster drag his friend away. She'll bare the consequences? He slowly pushed himself to his elbows, the pain in his arm being unbearable. "Leave her alone! She did nothing wrong!"

He stood to his feet and took one step toward Elyssa when this other woman stepped in his path. "Move out of my way!"

She smirked. "Don't be ridiculous." Her accent was unmistakable. "You couldn't hurt me if you tried."

Levi balled his hands into fists and raised a hand to prove her wrong when something hard slammed into him from the side of his head.

He lost his balance, slammed his head against the side of the cart, and landed with a thud on the ground losing consciousness.

Levi squinted his eyes feeling a massive headache in between his eyes. He slowly opened his eyes seeing everything around him fuzzy. What had happened?

He slowly rolled himself up, pain erupting on his left upper arm. He cried out as he gripped his arm. To his surprised, it had been bandaged. He breathed heavily as he looked around, a faintly glowing candle was the only source of light.