Stolen Heir

4

    About two more years had passed since then, that child was a little taller and stronger than before. Drago had told him that he should be about ten or eleven now. Age was something Vikings kept track of, yet he never understood why. He had learned a lot since his stay with Drago, yet he still held dragon instincts. He was a smart kid, dangerously smart according to Drago. To prevent any mistakes Drago forbid him from leaving the room without permission. He hated it. He wanted to go outside, he missed the dragons. Drago slowly grew more and more mean towards him, he felt the change. He sensed something but couldn't quite put his mind to what it was. Currently he laid in his bed, focusing to calm his breathing as Drago worked behind him. A gut feeling told him to escape. Something he could hear.

    Soon, the sound of paper being put away made his heart skip. He gripped the blanket in his fists and waited until the lights were put out, the door opening then shutting. He waited for some time before slowly turning his head, peering into the empty room behind him, then he got up. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, beating loudly as he approached the door. He green eyes stared at the handle in the darkness before reaching out and carefully turning it. Luckily it wasn't locked and opened easily. He peered his head out and looked around, no one in sight. Carefully, he closed the door and snuck through the tightest passages. His clothes were dark luckily, which helped him hide under the night sky.

    He wanted to find dragons, he knew they were here. Suddenly he shivered and looked off in a direction, a large figure perched itself on a cliff near the many ships that were anchored in the area. That figure quietly called out, seeming to look in his direction. The sound he was familiar with, this made him smile as goosebumps covered his arms upon hearing a third call. Carefully yet quickly, he made his way towards the end of the ship, staring down at the water. He grumbled as he looked around before spotting a spear, he used it to zip across the chains connecting the other ships to the one he was on. He landed softly on the next ship, hearing the purr of a dragon, he looked at a large metal ball. The boy studied it for some time before cranking a lever, climbing to jump in. Inside he found a familiar Nadder, who stared at him with slitted eyes.

    The boy got low to the ground and approached slowly, reaching out his hand. The dragon sniffed him, it's pupils widened and purred back. He smiled as he carefully and quietly removed the restrains, letting the dragon lose. He lost focus of going home and instead helped many dragons escape their metal prisons. Soon he realized what this was and that Drago was not the friend he thought. He grumbled as he cleared one ship after another before someone noticed. He was spotted, then he quickly made his wad through the back ways of the ship. Each ship was the same layout, which he could navigate easily. Then he heard a familiar call, which reminded him of his goal. Quickly he darted off in the direction he saw him last, his four-winged friend. His true father figure. Soon he spotted him and smiled as he booked it to the edge of a ship, only to feel a burning sensation on his leg.

    "Well what do we have here?" Drago's voiced asked out loud, the child hit the floor with a thud as the arrow in his leg stung. He groaned at this and glared up at him.

    "You tricked me." He said to Drago, anger filled his face as the man smiled down at him.

    "I didn't trick you. I taught you. But it seems I wasn't... strict enough." He said, a whip in hand. The boy shuddered at the sight of it, having seen what that thing does to people.

     "It won't matter what you do to me, I've sent plenty free." He retorted, "I'd rather die then let you have them."

    "I won't kill you now." He replied with a chuckle, "I want to teach a lesson first. Your last one." He finished before bringing the whip down and striking him. It wasn't hard enough that it cut skin, however the stinging pain still hurt. No other person dared go near them, they stayed very clear of them as Drago beat the child mercilessly. He had a few good skin broken whip marks on his back and side before suddenly the ship caught fire. Drago looked up at the dragons that filled the sky and set ships on fire one after another.

    "What is this?!" He yelled as a Stormcutter landed in front of him, sniffing down at the boy who looked weakly back up at him. The child made a sort of purr sound from his throat and the Stormcutter's pupils displayed happiness, then anger upon looking at Drago. The boy got one last look at the man in front of him before he was scooped up and taken yet again. This time he knew why. He was finally going home. His body burned in pain as he curled up in the Stormcutter's claws, whining softly at the dragon who flew as fast as possible. Eventually they landed on a random island, being set down carefully.

    The Stormcutter looked down at the child with a worried expression, his breathing was growing fainter by the second. The dragon whined before roaring out loudly, frantically looking around as if calling for help. Soon a few dragons had appeared, Buffalords. They moved over quickly to the boy on the ground, the Stormcutter growled at them and they shrunk back. Until one boldly approached and carefully licked at the wounds, the bleeding soon stopped. The Stormcutter purred at this and sniffed at the boy, nudging his head. Upon feeling the boys breath the Stormcutter seemed to have sighed in relief, purring at the Buffalord who helped. They purred back and quickly moved away as their uncontrollable fire could possible be the end of them.

    The Stormcutter carefully picked him up and continued its flight, joining the other dragons back to their nest. The flight was long and cold again, but this time it was worse. The cold stung at his wounds which made him shiver, the Stormcutter quickly dove into their sanctuary and placed him down on the rocks, dragons moving over sniffing at him. Upon smelling his blood they chirped, happy to have his return but worried at the blood. Some approached and opened their mouths, still fire soon surrounded him to warm him. This seemed to have helped, the saliva from the Buffalord helped his wounds very quickly. The Bewilderbeast grumbled at them as he stared down at the boy, glancing at the Stormcutter.

    The boy groaned softly as he attempted to move, panting softly as he was slowly able to breathe again. The Bewilderbeast purred at this as the Stormcutter scooped him up to take him to his bed. He stared down at the boy who slept uncomfortably, whining softly as he curled his tail around him.

~•~

A few weeks had gone by since then, the boy seemed to have healed perfectly and was happy to be home. He was welcomed by the Bewilderbeast again, in which he seemed happy to have their human back. The Stormcutter seemed guilty, having had trouble getting to him without getting him killed. The child didn't mind and happily curled up in the Stormcutter's wings. Smiling softly as he lay there. He learned so much and realized what the dragons couldn't prove for him.

"If I talk you can understand me right?" He asked looking up at the Stormcutter who nodded and looked down at him. He smiled at the dragon happily.

"I know im just now back but I need... stuff." He said looking up at the dragon, who nodded in return. He stood and stretched as the child stared at his movements.

"You understand what I need right?" He asked, the Stormcutter shook its head and leaned down, gaining a child on its back. The Stormcutter took the boy to some sunken and burned ships to acquire anything he'd need. Many dragons had came to help bring things back, as he knew he'd need a lot. He managed to get any salvageable utensils and weapons, as well as any supplies that was abandoned.

While his stay with Drago wasn't the best, he learned a lot. Too much actually. He knows how to craft and was very smart. He also learned out to fight and cook with different things. He learned to read and write, as well as draw. Anything like this helps from any ship. Soon, they brought back an entire haul for him. This time they managed to actually get back home the same day they left.