DragonBane

Chapter 1 - Meetings & Mischief

DragonBane

Chapter 1 - Meetings & Mischief

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Thump.

Thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

With each thump, an arrowhead buried itself deep into the circled red wood of the bulls eye, sometimes splitting another arrow in half. This was the case with the last batch of arrows. The first one landed with a satisfying thunk in the middle of the centre red circle, and the next one split the first clean in half and replaced its spot in the centre. The third followed much the same as the second, leaving two split arrows and three intact ones.

Alex lowered her bow and sighed, "What a waste of perfectly good arrows."

She strapped her bow across her back and picked her way through the grassy meadow to her target, propped up and slightly crooked in the middle of the clearing surrounded by a ring of tall, dense trees. If she craned her neck high enough, Alex could just see the tallest tower of the castle over the treetops, the castle holding the rulers over the kingdom of Blackwell. It's tall, bricked towers are giant-worthy pillars that are huge enough to be seen from a far distance from the actual structure. When Alex was a little girl, twirling around in her frilly princess dresses, her tiny brain was awed by the massive towers. But now she just sees it as a symbol of her fathers massive pride, strutting off his treasure like a bird showing its feathers. That pride of his is one day going to get him killed.

The arrowheads were in almost to the wood, making it difficult to get them out. But with a few good tugs, the arrows landed in her awaiting hand. She stuck the intact arrows back in the quiver over her shoulder and tossed the split arrows into the grass, too broken to be repaired. She looked up at the brilliant blue sky over head and saw that with surprise that the sun was already starting its decent down to earth. She best be getting back before her fathers meeting with the king of RiverWood started.

She wouldn't want to miss a chance at hearing the going-ons in her lovely neighbouring kingdom.

Bringing her fingers to her mouth, Alex let out a shrill whistle.

The ground shuddered underfoot as a grey-flecked white mare cantered into the meadow, her saddle bouncing in rhythm with her graceful strides. She slowed to a light trot when she neared Alex and whined in greeting, giving her white mane a irritated shake.

"Nice to see you, too, Tempest," Alex chides the mare, running her hand down her soft flank, "Now take me to the castle."

The edgy mare didn't need to be told twice. Once Alex was on her back, bow slung over her shoulders alongside her quiver, Tempest took off at a gallop through the forest. The horse skillfully maneuvered her way between the thick trees and jumping over the fallen logs, not stopping for something as silly as a boulder in the path.

Fortunately, the majority of the branches were high enough from the ground that they almost never came into contact with the horse or her rider, giving Alex a almost-perfect view of the undergrowth around her. The tree trunks were mostly too big and therefore blocked half of her view, but she still caught flashes of the thriving forest. The greens of foliage and the browns of dirt and the shimmering blues of the occasional river or pool blended together beautifully into a mosaic of colours, each as impressive as the next. Once, she even caught sight of a pony-sized grizzly bear, poking its head in a bush of blackberries. Assuming by its size, Alex bet that it was a few months since it left its mothers den, adjusting to life on its own. Unlike most princess, she didn't fear the bear. She was fascinated by it. Sadly, it disappeared a couple heartbeats later as Tempest rode on. A scene she will most likely not witness again.