The Dragon's Love

Chapter 4

-Laelia-

“My lady, you should rest a little,” Libelle said.

I looked at her and smiled. She was my friend, no matter how we had met and what kind of relationship we started with. She was my friend. I slowly shook my head, as she looked at me with concerned eyes.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

I was exhausted. For three days I hadn’t slept. I had just watched over Samuel, watching his chest rise and fall, rise and fall. I had not eaten too worried about him, and what he might tell us once he woke up.

“My lady …”

“Please call me Laelia,” I said.

Kayda was right beside Libelle, and they both looked at me shocked, as they heard my words. They glanced at each other, most likely fearing it was the lack of sleep that had me talking.

“Please. I am no longer a princess. I am just me. Call me Laelia.”

They both looked almost scared. I understood. It had probably been made very clear to the two of them, that calling people other things than my lady, my lord, maybe even master, was wrong, and it could be punished. So, if they refused, I would not hold it against them, though I hoped we one day could remove the lady and slave barrier that was between us.

“The girls are right. You are not helping your brother by not taking care of yourself,” the healer said, breaking the silence.

Again, I shook my head.

“Not until he is awake, I will get some sleep.”

“That could be days. He has been cut very deeply.”

“Then I will wait,” I said.

The healer looked at me concerned but could not argue. I had made my decision, but even if I was determined to stay awake, I at some point found myself slowly drifting into darkness. I had been sitting on the floor, leaning my arms on the bed by Samuel’s head, and suddenly my own had fallen to the mattress below.

“Laelia?”

I was awoken in the middle of the night by a hoarse and deep voice. I blinked open my eyes to see my brother looking back at me with his sky-blue ones.

“Samuel!”

I quickly sat up, looking him over before I looked around the room. No one was here but us. Was I dreaming? It could be. I would not be surprised. Since Ashes left, I had had very clear dreams of him returning to me. I could even feel the warmth from his touch, as I woke up and the tears were still running down my face.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

His face and his upper body, that showed, were covered in sweat. One of his arms had been put into a sling, and he had clear bruises and small cuts around his body.

“Bad,” he whispered.

“You will be okay. You will get through this.”

“Laelia,” he said.

His eyes were wild, as if he couldn’t believe he was really seeing me. I felt the same way. I couldn’t believe I was seeing him again. I was so certain they had all been killed, searching for Tylon, Ladon, Mayla and Sivanna. I placed my hand on his face, and it seemed to calm him a little.

“Shh, you should get some more rest,” I told him.

“They knew we were coming,” he said.

I was not surprised. Of course, if they had caught Tylon they knew Ashes would be back, and if not, they were certain he would come for their younger brother.

“It’s okay, you are here now. You are safe.”

“I-I don’t know if the rest are dead …”

“We will find out. Right now, you need to sleep.”

“They will kill them, Laelia … In one way or another,” he said, his voice desperate. “We cannot let them die. We cannot!”

It was the fever. I was certain. He didn’t really believe I was there. Poor Samuel. I had never seen him like this. Vulnerable almost. Sad. He always seemed so strong and fierce. This was nothing like him.

“It’s okay. We will save them,” I said.

My words seemed to calm him, yet I hadn’t even thought much about what I was saying. Would we? How? Samuel could not lift a sword. His right arm was the one that had been cut. Liam could fight, of course, but he was only one man. We needed more …

Samuel slowly closed his eyes, while mumbling,

“Good … Go save them … Go find them.”

Then he fell into a deep sleep again, but his words were still echoing in my mind. Go save them. Could I? I had never lifted a sword … except that one time Tylon and I were ambushed by runaway slaves. But I had never before shot with a bow either. I smiled, as an idea came to me. He could teach me.

I got up from the cold floor. It was still dark, but I was too worked up to go to sleep. I needed to find Rathilion. I stormed out of the room where my brother was lying and went down dark hallways filled with pictures painted on the walls, telling stories I had never heard about.

I knew where his room was, and I was locked on the location. I stopped in front of two white doors with dark blue emeralds carved into the marble. I knocked on the door. Waiting impatiently. Nothing. I knocked again, only to hear a female’s voice behind the doors … I was apparently interrupting, but I had come this far and would not be turned away, until he had promised me to teach me how to fight.

“Rathilion!” I called.

There was some mumbling behind the doors again, before suddenly one of them opened a little. A young female elf, holding a dress to her naked body sneaked passed me, and smiled a little. I smiled back at her, finding it all a bit funny. Then I turned to the doors and looked directly into a naked and hard chest. My eyes went up the pale skin until they met his light green eyes. He was only covered from the waist down in a long linen cloth that had been tied on the side of his hip.

“Do you not sleep, queen of dragons?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I told you to stop calling me that,” I warned. “And I don’t believe you were sleeping either.”

That made him smile, but he did not comment on what I had said.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

“You taught me to use a bow.”

He nodded slowly, intrigued by where I was going.

“Can you teach me to fight with a sword as well?”

“I can,” he said. “The question is, should I?”

I shook my head, not wanting to play games.

“My brother came back, half dead. He said they took the others. Not sure if they are dead or alive. I need to go find them. If they are alive … I want to free them.”

Rathilion looked almost worried at me because of my words and shook his head.

“You will be running directly into their hands. They will get what they want.”

“We will make a plan. I can sneak in the same way we snuck out, or find a different way, dressed as a slave, maybe.”

He suddenly took one of my hands. It tried pulling it back, but he held onto it tightly.

“With hands like these?” he asked. “Hands that have never seen hard work.”

I groaned, frustrated and, with a hard pull, finally got my hands back.

“I cannot just sit and wait anymore. I know it is insane. That is why I need your help.”

He placed a hand on the door and tapped a finger against it, thinking over my words. He did not seem happy about what I was suggesting. I understood. It was a crazy plan. There were a hundred ways I could fail and very few ways I could succeed, but I could not just sit on my a** anymore. I had done it too many times, watching others get hurt. I needed to be the strong one this time. I needed to be the one who went on a dangerous mission, not knowing if she would come back.

“I taught you how to use the bow because you seemed like you needed a way to get all that anger out, not because I wanted to send you directly into a trap.”

“How do you know it is a trap?”

He shook his head at me, not understanding why I would ask such a question.

“Your husband is alive,” he said. “Most likely your brothers as well.”

“How do you know?”

He sighed deeply.

“Because they know you will come looking. They might even have let Samuel go so he could tell you what had happened. You are running into a trap.”

I crossed my arms. Maybe it was true, but what was the alternative? Sitting here? Rotting away. No, I was done waiting. I was done feeling useless. I was going to free them.

“Will you teach me or not?”

He smiled a little at the fire showing in me.

“Ask me in the morning.”

He then closed his door. Did everyone think I was being crazy because of sleep deprivation? I groaned and turned around.

“Fine,” I whispered. “If he wants me to ask him in the morning, then I will ask him in the morning. I will not change my mind.”