Whispers Of A Dragon

A Slave To A Master

First light came quicker than Kaida had hoped. Her usual smile at the first rays of light now replaced with a heaviness deep within her soul.

She would miss her parents but she couldn't bring herself to forgive them for what they had done or not done.

And the bitterness in her soul wouldn't let her see a wink of sleep either.

Late in the night, her mother came and slept by her side trying to comfort her but she refused to be comforted. Her dear mother's presence merely reminded her of how lonely her life would be from now on. She instead curled up in a ball and focused on the misery awaiting her life, while tears fell freely from her eyes.

She took a deep breath and sighed as she stood in front of her parent's little village house. The sun was shining brightly as always, but instead of getting her usual flood of hope, gloom had taken root in its place.

She was not ready to leave her beloved home. To leave Taedel, her little peaceful village that had been a huge part of her life since the first day she snuck out of her parent's house. Even though thought to be poor by many, to Kaida, Taedel held such rich beauty that could never compare to many of the places she had visited.

She sighed heavily as she took a step towards her awaiting carriage while the ache in her heart intensified.

"Kaida, will you look at your father?" Her father pleaded one more time, but her eyes stayed rooted to the ground. The hurt in his voice and her mother's anguished wailing was enough for her broken heart. She did not want to add the obvious pain that would shine through their eyes too.

"Goodbye father." She took a few more steps towards the carriage, the pain in her heart intensifying a thousand fold. But a step later, she was pulled back into a very familiar embrace and this time she couldn't fight her tears or the longing to feel her parent's affection one last time.

"My sunshine." Her father's voice broke her heart even more. And only then did she realize that aside from all the hurt and betrayal, she was scared too. Without her parent's love, the world scared her to bits.

"I'll pray to the universe to keep my Lily safe and flourishing no matter where you go."

More tears fell from Kaida's eyes at her mother's blessing. The woman always believed there had to be some good in everything and if today was any other day she would have disagreed and argued over it with her. But instead, she melted into her mother's warm embrace and prayed that she would see her again. But something deep within her seemed to speak otherwise and she hugged her tightly, fearing it being the last time.

"We haven't got all day." The royal soldier from the night before sneered, his impatience making him stomp his feet in anger.

And only the tight squeezing of her hand by her father kept Kaida from glaring at the impatient man.

"Go on." Her father urged her on, a pained look spread on his face and before more tears could escape her sore eyes, Kaida stepped away and headed towards the carriage that was heavily guarded by royal soldiers on either side. If she didn't know better she would have thought herself royalty with all this security lavished on her.

She dragged the hood of her cloak right over her head, the only thing she was permitted to carry besides the clothes she wore on her back. According to the royal messenger or court lady, clothes would be provided for her at the palace. Which she knew was nothing more than those hideous attires the servants wore while they attended to the royal family. They were not hideous in a fashion sense, but because they served as an identity of their status.

She just believed that no one needed to be branded in any way, which is what those attires were.

"Goodbye little sister." Kaliyah's voice made Kaida face her former home one last time.

The queen of Taedel, as Kaida called her, stood in the small doorway to their tiny home. Her long hair framed her face perfectly and as always Kaliyah's emotions were perfectly hidden behind her perfect smile.

Kaida forced a smile too and walked up to the waiting carriage, leaving behind everyone that mattered to her. There was turmoil in her heart but she guessed this was what it meant to be bound to the crown. To be owned by another. A slave to a master.

"So what do you think the princes are like?" A young maiden in the carriage asked as Kaida entered and immediately Kaida knew she was not befriending anyone in there. She was never one to talk about boys like this, especially those of royal descent. But the two lavishly dressed maidens seemed only too excited about people they had not even met. While she hated her position, Kaida didn't see becoming a prince's concubine as a better option either. So she really didn't get why these two were excited, when their lives would most likely end in s.lavery of fulfilling an individual's desires.

Even in Taedel, while every girl in her little village spent their time dreaming of being chosen by one of the princes, Kaida stayed away from anything remotely royal.

"Come in my dear." A friendly voice spoke. The court lady she met earlier was sitting opposite the two young ladies and was smiling at her.

"It's going to be a long and tiresome journey, we better get going." The older lady said as she patted the space beside her.

Kaida walked over quietly.

"I believe we haven't been properly introduced. My name is Britha. I'm charged with making sure you young ladies have little to no discomfort on your journey." The woman kept on smiling but Kaida was too anguished to even force a smile, so she just sat there quietly and listened to the woman do all the introductions.

And just as she thought, the two girls were indeed on their way to the palace too. According to Britha, if any of the princes were happy with them, they would end up being chosen as concubines.

Kaida looked away from Britha and the overly excited girls. Nothing about their story interested her as she could not understand why their lives being reduced to a life of s.lavery did not bother them. She instead got lost in thoughts of her own. Forgetting about her present and future troubles, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She hoped the bumpy ride would eventually tire her enough to sleep. And soon enough, and to her surprise she began drifting to the land of nothingness.

****

"I have waited for you, light of my life."

Kaida opened her eyes in haste at the sound of that voice. She hoped to lay her eyes on whoever that voice belonged to, but nothing was there except scales. Shiny dark scales. As dark as the midnight skies and as large as a man's palm covered the surprisingly warm wall that Kaida was tracing with her bare fingers. They seemed to call out to her and each time she let go, she swore the wall whined somehow.

"What exactly are you?" She spoke to the wall, but nothing came. And when she looked around, she was engulfed in a fire and yet she was not consumed. A flight of stairs was now way below her feet and neither did she recall walking up on it.

"Where am I?"

****

"Wake up child." A very frantic Britha tapped Kaida on her cheeks urgently. And when she came to her senses the sound of clanging metal had her heart racing instantly.

"Are we under attack?" Kaida craned her neck to the little window in their carriage and she was greeted by a bloody sight as one of the royal soldiers was struck down by another royal soldier?

"Why are the soldiers fighting each other?" She asked, frowning at Britha.

"Those are not royal soldiers. They may be dressed like our royal sentries but they are definitely not ours. We have been infiltrated." The woman replied too calmly for Kaida.

"Then how do we know who is on our side?" She asked frantically when she realized the gravity of the fight going on outside. She had never been so close to a fight before and knowing she couldn't tell friend from foe left her panicked.

"We don't." Britha stated matter of factly. "Where is that damn armour?" Britha cursed next as she quickly rummaged through a chest of gowns.

"I don't think a change of clothes is what we need right now." Kaida tugged at the woman as the horses pulling their carriage neighed loudly and the carriage almost toppled over. All Kaida could think about was a way of escape. Neither did she bother about wanting to know why they were being attacked.

The fact that the attackers went to great lengths to hide themselves among the royal guards made her realize that whatever they were after must have been too important to them. And she didn't intend on staying to find that out either.

"Here, you can put this on." Britha turned to her after finding whatever she was looking for.

"I said I don't need a change of clothes." Kaida looked at the woman incredulously.

"There is no time to waste child." Britha handed her a soldier's uniform and Kaida frowned at her still.

"There is no time to explain, just put the damn thing on." The woman instructed urgently, the fear in her eyes made Kaida to quickly throw off her cloak and slip into the slightly heavy body armour. It smelled fresh at least and Kaida was grateful. She wasn't about to endure any man's smell of sweat, even though danger was lurking outside the tiny carriage.

"Where are the girls?" Kaida turned to Britha when she realized that it was just the two of them left in the carriage.

"They escaped a moment ago." Britha replied as she turned away to look out of the tiny window to the carriage. But Kaida didn't miss the sadness in her voice.

"You need to go." Britha pushed her towards the entrance to the carriage and handed her a dagger.

"What about you?" Kaida eyed the sharp blade while her hands trembled. She didn't even know how to use the damn thing.

"I'll be fine. Now run!" Britha pushed her out of the carriage not giving her a chance to ask any more questions. And once she found herself out of the carriage and in the face of a very gruesome sight, her legs simply refused to work. She was stuck in her spot as her eyes took in the bloody sight in front of her. The once orderly band of soldiers was now scattered all around her, their swords drawn and fighting for their lives.

"Run!"

Britha's voice snapped her out of her nightmare and her legs sprang into action as she dashed for the nearest cover in the dense forest. She ran as fast as she could in the armour while tears poured freely from her eyes. She didn't know why, but she felt a great sense of loss even though she barely knew any of those people.

After running for a while and with the clanging of swords fading behind her, she came to an abrupt stop. Her chest was heaving, not from the running but from the fear that now gripped her when she realized that she had no idea of her whereabouts. She had no idea for how long she had been sleeping, but the forest no longer looked like that of Taedel. She craned her neck to her left and right but still nothing seemed even remotely familiar.

She was lost, and with no knowledge of what the hell happened to their caravan she had no idea which way to turn. For all she knew, whoever had attacked them could have surrounded them too.

"Witch, is she the one or not?!" A scary voice bellowed in the thicket and Kaida dropped down in the bushes to keep herself hidden. She was scared witless.

"We don't have all day, witch! Will you make up your mind already? Is she or is she not the Whisperer?"

"The whisperer? They are looking for me?" A bolt of panic suddenly hit Kaida while her heart hammered like drums in her chest. Her first instinct was to hide. The sight of blood was still so fresh in her mind and she didn't intend to add hers to the list.

"How did they know to find me? Is that what this attack is all about?" Kaida wondered as she decided to peek at whoever was speaking. She was still scared but she needed to know something, anything about whoever that was, especially that now she knew they were after her.

No one was supposed to know who she was. That's the way it had been ever since she was little and even after the royal family found out about her gift. It was the only way to keep her safe. The only way her parents got to raise her. So she wondered how the two people in front of her knew who they were looking for exactly.

"We have been infiltrated." Britha's words made her reach for her dagger, ready to defend herself.

"Is she the one?" The scary voice bellowed once more and Kaida craned her neck in its direction. She found not two but three individuals. A soldier putting on the familiar royal armour, a cloaked figure that was very well hidden and... her eyes widened when she noticed one of the maidens she rode with in the carriage being held by her throat.

And Kaida was even more confused when she noticed the maiden dressed in a very identical cloak that Britha asked her to discard a while ago.

"No!" Her hands flew to her mouth as everything dawned on her. The sadness in Britha's voice back in the carriage when she said the maidens had escaped.

"Where they a distraction? Did Britha know about the attack?" Kaida held her chest tightly as those questions ripped through her. The poor girls thought they were headed to meet their prince charming and yet they were only there for a purpose so dark it left Kaida unable to breathe.

"No, she is not my Lord." The cloaked figure answered, bringing Kaida out of her thoughts.

"But you said…"

"I know what I said." The cloaked figure snapped. "She is not the one. We have been deceived. These were nothing but a distraction. But I know the one we seek is right here. I can sense her aura as strongly as I can sense her fear." The cloaked figure craned their neck in Kaida's direction while a piercing scream escaped the maiden beside her.

Kaida's insides melted and fear coursed through her veins as she beheld the lifeless body of the girl that was full of life a moment ago crumble to the grassy floor.

"I cannot stay here." She thought to herself before jumping up and heading in the opposite direction. She had probably given her position away to the witch and soldier that were searching for her, but she knew she just had to. The witch would have probably spotted her anyway. Something about her eyes seemed to peek into Kaida's soul even when she was very well hidden behind the bushes.

"Get her!" Someone shouted after her and Kaida prayed to the gods to give her strength in her tiny legs. But that prayer seemed to go nowhere and with the soldier's armour weighing heavily on her she knew it was just a matter of time before she was caught.

And soon enough, the sound of heavy boots hammering the hard forest floor sounded nearer than her own little feet, sending her into total panic. The approaching beings sounded like a whole army was now after her and no matter how much she ran, she knew she was no match for them.

A few more steps and she was swept off her feet, not by someone but by something and she screamed for dear life.

She had no idea what the beast was except for its large flapping wings and terrible growl that kept her screaming and struggling to get out of its hold. For a moment she thought she would end up being the beasts dinner until she felt herself falling to the ground. She had slipped out of the oversized armour much to her relief and she landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"Here you are!"

She got yanked roughly from the forest floor by very calloused hands. It turned out her escape from the flying beast only landed her in the hands of another beast.

"Let me go!" She screamed on top of her lungs but her attacker merely laughed and looked at her like she was a trophy from a hunt.

"It's been a long wait of centuries for one of your kind." The mean soldier broke out in laughter as he dragged her on the prickly ground.

And with no armour to protect her, her skin tore up in so many places she ended up crying.

Everything had become too much for her to bear in just a blink of an eye. After leaving her home, she didn't think her misery would come so soon. Just hours ago she was a happy girl, but now her world had descended into chaos without warning before she even got to the palace.

She prayed some more to the gods to save her. And this time around, her answer seemed immediate as loud screams tore through the already noisy crowd of soldiers that had surrounded her after her capture.

Clanging metal filled her ears once more as a whole new battle began raging right in front of her eyes. Only this time, it wasn't a battle between soldiers but a whole army battling one man.

She caught sight of the magnificent warrior the moment he flew off his horse and landed gracefully with his two shiny swords pinning their victims to the ground.

"How can one kill with so much grace?" She looked on in awe as the lone shirtless soldier struck down everyone in his path so effortlessly. He was headed her way, clearing his path of soldiers like he were cutting down fresh grass and Kaida couldn't help but be mesmerized.

A scream escaped her mouth the next moment though when she felt herself being dragged the opposite direction by the same calloused hands. Her attacker was fleeing and no matter how much she struggled in his hands, the man that was obviously larger than her still held on. Dragging her on the forest floor without a care for her battered body and for a moment she lost all hope of her nightmare ending.

But suddenly everything stopped. And when she looked up to the person that was dragging her, their hands were on their throat as a deep dark red liquid dripped through their fingers. And before Kaida could figure out what had happened, they fell dead on the ground with a loud thud.

It took her a moment to realize that the forest was quiet once more with only the wind rustling in the trees.

"Pesky pests!"

Someone mumbled from her side and she turned fully to them and by God were they a sight to behold.

Tales spoke of a knight in shining armour but in front of her stood a knight in a shining torso. He bent down to retrieve his dagger from the dead body beside her.

She gulped at the bulging muscles that were glistening in the blazing sun,totally forgetting the sound of clashing metal that surrounded her a moment ago or the pain from her wounds.

"Come." The warrior said, his hand stretched out to her while his bare, bloody and sweaty chest moved up and down with every breath he took. His face was still concealed by his helmet so Kaida couldn't very well lay her eyes on her saviour.

"We have been infiltrated." Kaida moved back at the memory of Britha's words. And when the warrior quirked an eyebrow, she fumbled with her tattered clothes. He may have saved her and she was grateful, but she had no intention to trust him blindly. And while she didn't have a choice either, she still looked up at him questioningly.

"How do I know to trust you?" She eyed the strong hand that was stretched out to her.

"You don't."