The Dragons of Rhelawen

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

The morning air was cool when I awoke, and I sat up to check on the lamp. It was there, unmoved, as was my sword and fairy dust. I sat up, and tried to focus through the morning light. Finnegan stood against the same tree as he had the night before, a lit fire beneath him.

"Why did you not take the lamp?" I asked him.

"Why would I? My end of the bargain is not yet fulfilled, princess." He responded, and I frowned. Common thieves usually stole, not faithfully kept their bargains.

"You are not a common thief, are you?" I asked, frowning. I could not figure out this man. He was not a thief, yet he broke into my chambers to take a worthless piece of metal.

Finnegan shifted positions so he was not leaning against the tree. "I am not. I was simply desperate. And I do apologize, my lady, for attempting to take the lamp by force."

I stood up, a frown still plastered on my face. "Who are you, then?"

At my question, he smiled, and I knew he would not disclose any information to me. "Who are any of us, really?"

"Honestly, Finnegan. I know nothing about you, and it has been nearly three days. No last name, no occupations or hobbies, not a speck of a back- story." I grabbed my bag and started walking down the trail. He stomped out the fire, and then hurried to catch up with me. "You are simply a mystery."

"I am aware, princess. You will learn in due time." He stated cryptically. "I know how desperate you are to hear the sweet, juicy secrets I have, Cordy."

I rolled my eyes, another very princess- like expression. He was back to being himself. I should not have expected a legitimate answer from him.

The trees meandered by as we continued walking. Birds were awakening, and started singing the sounds of nature. My stomach rumbled yet again, adding to the glorious sounds of nature.

"We will find food soon, my lady," he chuckled. "Merely as soon as we climb over the mountain."

I nodded and noticed the mountain wasn't that far. It looked enormous, but I assumed it was only my perspective.

We finally reached the base, after a long while of walking. It still looked enormous, and I was feeling weaker and weaker. I needed a meal soon enough, before I fainted.

I forced myself to focus on the climb. It would be a long ways up, and I noticed the meager amount of trees. There would be no shade on the way up. Also, the trail consisted completely of rocks, making for a difficult trail to traverse.

Finnegan ran in front of me and climbed the first rock in order to hold his hand out to me. I grabbed it thankfully, glad for the help. It felt as if hardly any time had passed before we were at the top.

A large, deserted stone cave sat at the very top of the mountain. I walked into it, Finnegan following.

"Are you in the mood for a rest, princess?" He said, walking to the entrance. I nodded, and we walked inside.

Immediately as we were inside, I knew we were not alone. "Finnegan," I whispered, grabbing his arm and bringing it close to me. At this, I noticed his expression- shadowed from the half- lit cave- looking rather suggestive at me grabbing his arm. I shoved his arm away in disgust, but resumed whispering. "We should not be here: we are not alone."

"Stay here, my lady," He whispered back and stepped deeper into the darkness. Immediately after he did so, the cave was brightly lit with a weak blaze of fire. I only had a second to process what had happened, but after I did, I leapt close to the source, sword ahead of me.

"Finnegan, it is a dragon!" I yelled, and he raced to my side.

"Cordy, it is alright. It will not do any harm; you must not harm it!" He promised, standing in front of me, trying to calm me down. "Relax, princess. The dragon is obviously sick."

"Do you not understand how dragons manipulate you? It is putting you under its spell. We can not risk letting it free: all dragons are evil!" I lashed back, stepping closer towards the beast. Another flame lit the dim room, and I observed the position of it, for where to strike it. The eyes or heart were best and quickest.

"Cordelia! Listen to me." He grabbed both of my arms, gently, I noticed. "It has not done anything to hurt you. Would you put an innocent to death?" Finnegan pleaded to me, of course having no effect.

"My mother was taken by a dragon! They are not innocents!" I demanded to him, who looked surprised.

"I am sorry, Cordy, I truly am. But the actions of one should not interfere with the fatal decisions that you decide of another. This one is ill! It will hardly live much longer."

"Finnegan," I dropped my sword and looked sternly into his eyes. "Your family has never been destroyed by a dragon! You could not possibly understand."

"My lady, what if it has? Nonetheless, it is my deepest wish for this dragon to keep its life." Finnegan responded. The dragon stirred from behind him, and I could tell it was looking at him with its large eyes, a perfect position to strike.

I dodged Finnegan and ran around him, striking the dragon quickly and mercilessly. As I did so, I heard Finnegan's cry of "No!!" behind me. The damage was done, however, and the dragon let out a great cry before dropping, almost, on the floor. It would die soon enough.

"What have you done, Cordelia?" Finnegan demanded, staring at the dragons remains in horror. He put his hand over his mouth and I assumed it would be a good time to back out of the cave.

The light blinded me as I stepped out, but I could make out Finnegan running after me. He was not mad, more of a sad or disappointed.

"Have you no humanity?" He asked me, his eyes begging me to tell him I did not actually kill it. How could he be so emotionally attached to such a beast?

"You were the very person who told me to show no mercy, yet you show it yourself! You can not blame me, for dragons are not innocent. Why do you have such an affinity for the beasts?" I defended myself.

"I show innocents mercy! You have wrongfully taken an innocent's life." Finnegan did not shout, but stated in such a way that made me almost regret my killing of the dragon. Dragons are the enemy, Cordelia, I reminded myself.

I pulled my sword out automatically and held it out in front of me. I remembered how Finnegan had his own sword, but other than the first day we met, I had never seen him draw it. Even now, I realized it still hung from his leather belt.

I lowered my own sword, feeling a bit too violent. "Can we forget about this for now?"

Finnegan was not cruel, I learned so far through my journey. However, there were so many things I did not yet understand about him.

"Alright, Cordy," He responded, yet not with the same sincerity as before. I did not regret my decision, but could not help but let his response affect me.

I reminded myself that the dragon that took my mother did not feel bad, and I should not, either. I did, which was another way one shows weakness in battle. I could not be weak, but I could not be the heartless person the king had turned into, either.

Finnegan started walking down the mountain, his posture straight like before but there was no easy- going gait I was used to seeing. I followed, my own posture defeated. Over the last few minutes, I had forgotten about my hunger, but it came back.

I did not want my mother to be dead. Even more so, I did not want to be just like the king with his merciless executions and unjust laws. Most of all, I could not stand the look on Finnegan's face after I had killed it.

I stopped walking and grabbed the fairy dust chain on my neck. It had about a fourth left. If I hurried, maybe my plan would work. "Wait!" I shouted to Finnegan and turned around before he could respond. Running up the hill, I took the chain off my neck and uncorked the bottle.

Why are you going to do this? I asked myself. But, I realized, Finnegan was correct. I had no right to kill an innocent dragon. My hate for them would not disappear, but I did not wish for that particular one to die. I reached the door and ran to the dragon inside.

"If you hurt anyone at all, I will not hesitate to kill you." I threatened it and poured the fairy dust on the animal. Within seconds, it regained consciousness, and gave me a small bray in what I assumed to say thanks.

"I still and will never trust your kind," I warned it again, then left the stone cave. Finnegan swiftly walked inside, and I assumed he was going to check on the dragon and make sure it was alright. With no point in staying, I started to walk down the side of the mountain.

Finnegan caught up with me half way to the bottom. "Thank you, Cordy. Truly." He looked extremely relieved, although on the contrast, I knew the monster would not stay innocent much longer.

We made it to the bottom of the mountain just as the midday sun started to burn brightly. True to Finnegan's word, a small inn was nestled in between a small forest. I sighed gratefully, for I felt as if I might collapse from lack of food.

We walked closer, me stumbling frequently. "Are you okay, my lady?" Finnegan asked me, and I nodded slightly, trying to conserve energy. He grabbed my arm to make sure I did not fall, in a gentlemanly fashion, but I was too weak to comment.

The inn came quickly and we walked to the dining hall where he sat me down, then asked for a meal. I drifted out of consciousness, however was able to hear snippets of the conversation. Finnegan had no gold to pay with, so he conversed with someone- I as assumed him to be the owner- and explained the situation. I heard some arguing, but eventually Finnegan returned with two bowls of soup.

He fed me some of the soup, and after I gained some strength, I took the spoon from him and ate the rest. I was still famished after it was over, but at least I was able to think clearly.

The room I sat in was mostly wood, with wooden support beams holding up the roof. All I could think about was how a dragon could easily kill all the civilians inside.

"Thank you very much, Finnegan." I thanked him and he nodded.

"Anything for my dear princess," He started. "I should be thanking you, for your actions on the mountain. Also, I would like to apologize for shouting."

"No, it is alright. You were correct; it was innocent after all." I half- lied. We both stood up and I felt extremely relieved that my strength was back. I walked to the front room, Finnegan at my side. I asked if there were two free rooms, or if we could work for them. Fortunately for us, the person at the front desk was extremely kind, and showed us to two rooms we could stay in during the night for free.

"Thank you very much," I told the man. Finnegan added his thanks, and the man nodded and left. Even though it was only mid afternoon, we both agreed to go to our respective rooms and pass out early.

I walked inside the room and sat on the bed. Taking off the empty fairy dust necklace, I put it in my satchel and in turn put the satchel on the study desk. As usual, I kept the sword at my side, before immediately clocking out, wondering if I had made the right decision earlier that day.

I felt a familiar sense of déjà vu that night when I awoke yet again to the sound of the bed chambers being broken into. This time, however, I could tell it was a large group, and they were entering through the door. I jumped out of bed, rather thankful I was not wearing night clothes.

"Show me the lamp!" A large man, probably their leader, said. I analyzed him: he was rather over weight, so I simply needed to knock him over. About ten others stood behind him. This was an easy challenge; I could take them all out in minutes-- hopefully. The first man charged at me, sword in the air. I blocked his blow and kicked him squarely in the chest, causing him to fall over, just as I had hoped. 

The next two men came at me at once, and I blocked their simultaneous strike. The one on the right was much too tall, practically too tall to stay upright. I knocked him out of the way immediately, and then started jousting with one on the left. It took me a while to figure out his weakness, but I realized he was horribly weak and untrained. His blocks were pure luck, so I struck low when he expected high.

After he was on the ground, four more thugs stepped forward. I heard more commotion from the other room and realized Finnegan was rushing in to my room, sword drawn. I heaved a sigh of relief and started the back and forth volley with the four thugs, easily striking out one. Finnegan took the three behind the ones I was dealing with, and from what I could see, he did it swiftly and effectively, knocking them out but not killing them.

I finished off the three, and they fell to the floor. I stepped over the unconscious bodies and grabbed the satchel. "We should head out, now." I commented, feeling exhausted but still afraid more might come. The lamp was indeed still in the bag.

"As you wish, Cordy." He announced, stepping out the door, and I followed. The wooden- covered hallways seemed large and ominous, but we walked through them quickly. I noticed through a window how the first lights of dawn were appearing in the sky.

I spent enough time looking out the window, Finnegan looking too, to not notice another thug coming up behind me. I swung my sword in front of me, but the goon had the advantage: the element of surprise. I was not quite into the fight, but I noticed his fatal move as he struck.

The sword seemed to move through molasses- aiming directly for my neck-- but I was moving through heated sugar. I tried to block, and from beside me, Finnegan was thinking quickly enough to try to shove the man out of the way. However, the man became surprise and the blade aimed more towards my stomach. Trying to regain his position, he jerked forward through the air and stabbed me directly in my stomach.

I recoiled back, not feeling the pain until seconds later, until it became all I could focus upon. Trying to keep conscious, I watched Finnegan dodge left and right, pushing the man back, and eventually out the window. Through the blurred vision, I watched as Finnegan ran towards me and picked me up, but everything became dark.