A Tale of Dragons

Chapter 12

You could travel with us for a while. You have a sharp mind and I've got a few things you could do while you're with the caravan."

"I appreciate it Uncle Garth, but no. I would barely pull my own weight and I really don't want to freeload. I need to figure out what to do with my life." Alana thought for a moment then added, "Are there any orphanages near here?"

He chuckled. "Not that I know of, why?"

She shook her head. "Just something that Ethan said."

"You could always go home little one."

"The staff grove and my house have been destroyed."

"That's not the home I was referring to." Garth said quietly.

"Oh." Alana replied. "You know that's not a good idea."

He nodded. "I'm just saying you could consider it. And you should tell your husband about it too."

Alana sighed. "There's no reason he needs to know. Besides, everybody always changes how they treat me when they find out and Ethan... well, I like things the way they are."

"Okay."

Outside the window, Alana could hear a commotion. She turned to her uncle. "Did something happen?"

Garth nodded. "The Bank owner's children were kidnapped about an hour ago. The news is all over town. He's so concerned he has already put out a contract bounty for their safe return."

"Contract bounty?" Alana asked.

"It's a stronger version of a regular bounty." He said. "He's contractually obligated to pay and the person who saves them is contractually obligated to accept the reward."

"Oh." Alana looked out the window and found herself wishing she could help them, but didn't see how. She looked over at Ethan and wondered what he would do.

"He will probably wake this evening or early tomorrow morning." Garth said.

"We have some time then." Alana smiled. "So what's new with your family?"

* * *

Ethan was pretty sure he was dreaming.

He was in the middle of a large battlefield covered in the bodies of dead soldiers. They were all wearing dark armor with the image of a stylized dragon on the chest piece. The stench was unbelievable. The foul odor of decaying bodies mixed with the congealed blood and excrement rose to the heavens, acting as a beacon for the vultures circling overhead.

All around the battlefield, small fires were burning and thick smoke rose into the air. It was daytime, but the clouds were so thick it was impossible to see the sky. The smoke, combined with the light from the fires, bathed the entire battlefield in a red hue.

A black dragon stood in front of him. The dragon's scales glinted in the firelight and his teeth looked like they could rip through steel. He was holding a wicked-looking mace in one hand and a kite shield in the other. Crouched in a predatory stance, his muscles were primed and his eyes spoke only of pain and death.

Ethan was holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, but he felt woefully ill-equipped to fight this ebony beast. Ethan could feel the magic rolling off his opponent in waves. The sheer amount of power was staggering. Ethan held the black dragon's gaze. If looks could kill, he would've died on the spot.

Without warning, the black dragon charged.

Ethan brought up his shield to defend himself, but was barely in time to block the blow. The black dragon moved faster than anything Ethan had ever seen, and he knew he was hopelessly outmatched. In a few seconds, he had lost his spear, his shield was broken and he had been knocked to the ground and pinned there. The black dragon raised his mace high above his head, and brought it whistling down at Ethan's face.

"Aaa!" He screamed.

He was ripped from the dream back into the real world a split second before the mace landed. Ethan flipped into a low crouch and growled, primed and ready for a fight.

"Well, he's awake anyway." Said Alana laughing.

It took Ethan a few seconds to get his bearings. He was in a small room with two beds. The style reminded him of an English Tudor style home, simply furnished with a rough wooden table and a few dried stumps for chairs. Alana and Garthildur were sitting at the table talking. Or rather it looked like they had been talking. Right now they were both staring at him with almost identical amused expressions.

Ethan slowly relaxed. "Sorry, I was... Sorry."

"It's okay." Alana said. "I needed a heart attack anyway."

He chuckled. "My pleasure."

Garthildur gave Alana a look. She turned slightly pink, but ignored him.

"What had you so riled up?" she asked.

"Bad dream." Ethan related his dream to them. Garthildur leaned back in his seat and made a thoughtful sound.

"There are rumors that Lord Delmar works with a black dragon." Alana said. "Some even say the black dragon gave him part of his power."

"Great, a lord and a dragon." Ethan looked at her. "Don't we just have the best luck?"

She nodded and then turned to Garthildur. "Do you know anything that could help?"

"I'll ask around with some of my contacts." He replied as he rose. "The room is paid up for the rest of the week. But I've already tarried too long and the caravan needs to leave before daybreak or I'll break a few appointments. Best of luck to you Alana dragon-bride."

Alana got to her feet and hugged him. Garthildur nodded respectfully to Ethan, and then he left.

"Dragon-bride?" Ethan asked when Garthildur had left.

"You heard that?" Alana asked, her cheeks slightly more pink than he was used to seeing. "We shared deep mana and bonded, which in the Elven culture means we're married."

Ethan grimaced. "I was happy to save your life, but I wasn't planning to get hitched."

"Unfortunately, Elven culture is pretty clear on that point and Uncle Garth already told the rest of the camp. I have a bit of a name for making a good magical staff, and my family..." She shook her head. "Gossip follows them like ugly follows an ogre. So basically, this will be spread across the Elven realms faster than the falcon dives."

"So, we're married?" out of habit, Ethan ran his hand over his head where his hair used to be as he considered the idea. "I mean you're nice and you saved my life, plus you're not exactly hard on the eyes, but..."

Alana c****d her head to one side. "Hard on the eyes?"

"It's slang from my world." He hesitated before continuing. "It means you... It means you're attractive."

"Oh." She smiled after a moment. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, are we married?"

"Maybe?"

"Maybe?" Ethan repeated. It seemed just a few hours ago that his fiancé had left him for his best friend and stolen the business he spent his whole adult life building. He liked Alana, but he wasn't ready for trying that kind of relationship again so soon.

"Perhaps, it depends on who you ask." She said. "Any elf will definitely say yes and if we were both Elves, the answer would definitely be yes. However, you're not an elf and there were no vows, so many of the other cultures aren't as clear. They do recognize Elven weddings though. Not that I want to, of course, but I suppose we could consider ourselves married."

"No offense, but I'm not sure I want to be married to you." Ethan said. He wasn't sure, but he thought a flicker of disappointment crossed her face for the briefest moment.

He quickly added, "I mean, you're a great girl and all that, but we've only know each other for... What? Two days? Three days?"

"Just over a week." She said, working it out. "We were recovering for almost that long."

"Right. Well, I just meant we don't know each other very well yet, right?"

"I agree." She nodded, though she didn't seem perfectly sincere. "No offense, but I don't want to be tied to you for the rest of my life just because I saved your life."

"Ditto." Ethan said.

There was a moment of awkward silence before he asked, "So what now?"

"I don't know." Alana said. "I had my life pretty well planned out until Hermair burned down my farm."

"My life was also well planned out until recently too, so I know the feeling." He nodded.

They were both quiet for a moment. Ethan noticed something in the silence. In the back of his mind, he could feel a little trepidation mixed with excitement. It was a small and subtle thing that he probably would've missed if they weren't both silent. He didn't feel that way, but he could feel those emotion were present somehow.

"Hmm." Ethan grunted.

"What?"

"I just felt a little..." He c****d his head to one side. "Were you feeling a little nervous mixed with some excitement a few seconds ago?"

Alana narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Because I felt those emotions, but they weren't coming from me." Ethan replied. "They were sort of vague and nebulous. Like they were there, but weren't there at the same time."

"Illuminar save us." Alana sighed and put her head in her hands. "It's our bond."

"I wondered. Who's Illuminar?"

"You don't know of God in your world?" Her mouth fell open like such a thing was beyond comprehension.

"Of course we do, we just have a different name for him." Ethan replied, and then to change the subject, added, "Can you sense what I'm feeling?"

Alana closed her eyes for a moment before answering. "Curious and slightly concerned?"

"Pretty much." Ethan said. "So this bond thing is real then."

Alana nodded.

"Is there any way to break it?"