The Drache Princess

Chapter 4

After only a few feet into the woodland, darkness falls over them, the air is colder, and light is almost non-existent. A fog rolls all around them as they continue to walk on the unkempt path. Lara is shaking and completely frightened, as goosebumps paint her skin, she keeps her hand on Emma’s back. After a few moments of walking into the forest, many soft but high pitched roars can be heard. 

Lara continues to shake as she holds on to Emma, “Emma, I’m scared, we need to go.”

The small dinosaur continues to move forward cautiously, with Lara sticking close by. Bushes begin to rustle, the tree branches start to rub against each other as the wind blows through the forest. The sound of the high pitched roars begins to escalate. Lara starts frantically looking around paranoid. 

“Emma, please. I’m petrified. Can we leave now?” Lara says. 

Emma looks up at Lara, but continues on. They come to a large dead tree still standing. They look behind the tree and discover a small nest full of three baby raptors all crying for their mother. They’re as little as a human hand with oval shaped heads and feathers covering most of their bodies. They continue to let out high pitched cries as they all stay huddled together. Lara looks over to find the mother fifty feet away from the nest, on the ground with her throat gashed from what looks like a large bite. Emma begins comforting the baby raptors. 

Lara bends down to Emma and the raptors. “They’re so cute, we can rescue and take them home. They should be easy to tame, and any village would be happy to give them a good home.”

Emma begins to rub her head against Lara’s leg happily. Then from nowhere, a giant roar erupts from the sky, shaking the very ground they are standing on. Lara’s heart skips a beat. 

Lara looks down to Emma, “That was the dragon! He’s out hunting which means it’ll be dark soon. We need to hurry and get home.”

Lara picks up the raptors in her arms, and they begin  walking hastily out of the forest. After a few frightening minutes, which felt like an eternity to Lara, they get out of the woods. Lara takes a few steps on to lush green grass as she looks up to see two knights on horseback. One man, one woman, both wearing light leather armor with black and blue accents.

The male knight begins to speak to Lara in a somber tone, “Princess Lara, you know not to go into that dreaded forest. Neither your mother nor father would approve of this.”

Lara slowly exhales, “But Sir, these little cuties lost their mommy. They needed help.”

The two knights turn to each other sighing, as the female knight begins to speak, “If you want, Princess. I can take them to Haustier, it’s a small village known for taking care of animals. They will receive much love and support.”

Lara smiles from ear to ear, “Yes! Thank you so much.”

Lara walks up to them handing them to the female knight as she looks up to her, “You’re not going to tell my mom and dad I went into the creepy woods are you?”

The knight holding the raptors gives a slight smirk, “I will overlook it this time; however, I never want to see you anywhere near that forest again, understood?”

Lara begins jumping up and down, happy, “Yes, ma’am, I promise, and Emma also promises!”

The knight nods her head “Terrific, are you in need of escort back to the castle?

Lara shakes her head, “No, I want to enjoy the rest of my walk on this sunny day.”

The knights turn away and head west to Haustier, “Very well enjoy your walk, Princess.”

Lara, Emma, and Mr. Turtle continue walking down the road and after a little more than an hour, they reach Castle Drachen. The guards see The Princess approaching and begin to raise the gate. Lara and Emma start to skip into town with Mr. Turtle, enjoying himself as he bobs up and down with his head out in the satchel. 

Lara and Emma look all around as they walk through the courtyard. All the children that were once playing outside are now indoors. The merchants have almost entirely packed up. Some planning to stay the night inside the castle walls, others plan to travel through the darkness to their next destination. The only people not resting is the old blacksmith Timm, along with the guards, who are always ready for a fight.

Lara gets to the entrance of the center tower. She opens the door and walks inside, and down the long hall, leading to a dining room for Lara and her family to eat in private. In the center of the room is a pristine oval table made of hardwood. In the back, against the wall, is a small fireplace and a door leading to a kitchen. All around are paintings of past and present family members, along with many depictions of dragons and their role in forging the kingdom. 

Lara takes her seat at the head of the table, generally reserved for her father. Emma pops up on the chair right next to her as the tiny dinosaur begins salivating for food. Lara takes Mr. Turtle out of the small leather satchel and places him on the table right in front of her. Moments later, a young woman dressed in all white, with long blonde hair tied back behind her head, emerges from the door next to the fireplace. On her shoulder is a tray of food. The waitress grabs a plate from the serving platter and places it in front of Lara along with a knife and fork. On top of the white plate is broccoli and a large juicy steak. Lara’s mouth waters just looking at it. The server then grabs another dish from her tray and places it in front of Emma. This dish contains a large chunk of raw flesh. 

“Princess Gott, I do hope you enjoy,” the waitress says. 

Emma lowers her head and grabs one side of the flesh, then Lara quickly grabs the other and pulls it towards her with Emma pulling back. The two begin having a playful tug of war, as Mr. Turtle moves over towards the broccoli and takes a few small bites for himself. After a few seconds of their tug of war, the flesh rips in half, and Emma quickly gobbles down her half. 

Lara looks at the food and then up to the waitress, “This meat looks really weird, what kind is it?”

The server bites her bottom lip and responds, “A Wespen spy was caught inside the castle walls a few days ago… He was dealt with, and his body is being re-purposed.”

“Eww,” Lara says disgusted as she throws the human flesh back on Emma’s plate. 

Lara begins to cut into the steak as she brushes most of the broccoli towards Mr. Turtle. “Is that why mom and dad are in Hammerhai? Are we expecting a war with the savages to the south? Or is it really just trade negotiations like I’m being told?”

The waitress shrugs her shoulders. “Truthfully, I don’t know, It was my understanding they went to Hammerhai for trade negotiations, but you shouldn’t concern yourself with that. Focus on being young and having fun.”

“Having fun is my specialty!” Lara says with a broad smile, showing her white teeth. 

The waitress bows to Lara as she goes back into the kitchen. Emma’s food is all but gone, as Lara continues to gobble her steak down and Mr. Turtle has eaten all the broccoli he can. 

“Okay Emma,” Lara says, letting out a giant yawn, and stretching her arms out. “It’s been a long fun day, but I think it’s time for bed.”

Emma lets out a yawn of her own as she jumps down from her chair and scratches the back of her head with her large talon. Lara grabs Mr. Turtle and with Emma in tow, they begin walking to their room at the top of the tower. After they get up into the candlelit room, Lara sets Mr. Turtle down on the ground and changes into her pajamas. Emma curls up into a ball on her large straw bed. Lara crawls into bed and covers herself up with blankets. 

“If you need anything, don’t be scared to wake me up,” Lara says to Mr. Turtle, as she reaches over to her nightstand and extinguishes a candle with her fingers

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Elizabeth Howard