The Last Dragon Rider (Book 1 of Rider Series)

Chapter 5

The sound of barking filled the cave, causing me to pause in my stitching up a pair of worn pants. The barking stopped before there was a sound of scratching as if something big was trying to get into the cave.

Silently, I placed my work down and picked up my bow and an arrow. I was silent as I waited for whatever it was to come into the small hole or a signal that let me know that it was safe to get out. I strung the bow and knocked an arrow as I waited for whichever one because I wanted to be prepared to defend myself.

A single bark and a neigh told me that it was my companions that were out there, but I didn't understand as to why they were early.

"Rowa?" I asked, relaxing my stance. Caution filled the air, and I couldn't help but wonder as to why I had never sensed it before. My whole body grew tense as I thought that someone had found out about me and was going to jail. "What is it? You two are early."

My Dire Wolf dog hybrid whined at the entrance to the hole. She scratched at the entrance again, knocking some dirt into the hole. She was too big to fit down the hole which made it impossible for her to get me.

"Ok, ok," I said, putting the arrow back into my quiver. "Don't knock dirt down here. I don't want to anger whoever owns this place." I grabbed the quiver and placed it on my back. I grabbed my satchel as well before going up the hole.

My Dire Wolf dog hybrid stared at me when I got out of the hole and whined. She barked and nudged me towards my War Horse, getting rather impatient. Worry filled her gray eyes, and I was sure that she knew something bad had happened.

"Ok, ok," I said, pushing her head away. I hopped onto my horse and nudged him. "Let's go, Ren," I said, causing the horse to snort and start to run. I held onto his mane as he ran and prayed that I wouldn't be late.

***

Laughter filled the air, causing me to halt my horse. "Come on now," someone, a male, said. "How do you like being hanged?"

"Not good," another male said. "Can you please let me down?" he asked. "I don't even know why I am here."

"You aren't supposed to be out here, Young Prince," one sneered. "Aren't you supposed to be in the gated kingdom? No one is allowed out, remember?"

Silently, I got off of my horse and walked forward, knowing that it would be better for me to leave them hidden. I strung my bow before pulling an arrow out of my quiver, my movements softer than the air around me. I kept silent, letting the forest itself keep me hidden.

"The guards will find me," the Prince said. Uncertainty filled his voice, and I could tell that he didn't think that they would.

Laughter filled the air when he said that, and I could tell that there were more than six men there. "Oh, the forest will not allow them to find you," the same one that talked before said. "No one can help you, now."

"I can," I said, stepping out from behind the tree. I cocked my bow and pointed it towards the supposed leader. I was a bit shocked to see that they were fat, short men, but I made sure that they couldn't tell. I had heard of Dwarves before but have never seen them until now.

All of them stopped and stared at me. They were very much shocked that I was there and didn't hear me come towards them. "Who are you?" the leader asked. He pointed his ax at me, narrowing his eyes. Anger filled his eyes because I had interrupted his "fun". "How'd you get here?"

"I rode a horse," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "I am Marinie of the Southern Isles." I nodded my head to the prince. "His kingdom."

"Then why are you out here, Little Girl?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me and baring his teeth at me like a wolf. "I thought the kingdom did not let peasants out into the forest, especially girls."

"They don't," the Prince, Caspian, said. He looked at me, his blue eyes filled with hope. He was swinging back and forth from the trap he had gotten himself into, and his hands were tied in front of him. "But, I am glad you are here. Please, help me."

The leader dwarf moved closer to the prince, causing me to pull on the string some more. "Come any closer, and I will cut his throat," he warned, narrowing his eyes at me. "And put away that bow of yours."

I bit back a snort and rolled my eyes. I knew that he would attack me the moment I did put my bow away, and that would be bad for the Prince and I. "Not going to happen," I said, causing him to move the ax closer to his throat. "And, you are not going to cut his throat, so I suggest that you move away from him."

All but one laughed at what I said. The one that didn't laugh was too busy studying me, causing me to feel uncomfortable. Amusement filled his brown eyes, and I couldn't help but wonder what was so interesting.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked, pointing the arrow at him. I could tell that he was older than the rest and was ranked higher than the others. I could, also, tell that I had offended the others for pointing an arrow at him because of the fact that everyone pointed their weapons at me.

The old Dwarf, an Elder, smiled and bowed his head in respect, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "Pardon me," he said, speaking for the first time. He gestured for them to lower their weapons, and they did but with great hesitance. "Please do tell, what are your parents' names, more importantly, your father's?"

I loosened my grip on my bow, still keeping an eye on the others that had threatened me. "What for, Shara?" I asked, using the Dwarfish tongue for the word elder. "You know as well as I that my family could be punished."

The Prince shrugged, giving us a look. For someone that had been hanging upside down for a while, he was in somewhat good spirits. "I won't tell my father," he promised. "Please, do tell this man who your father is." He grimaced. "I would really much like to come down now."

I glanced at him, hesitating. I didn't know if I could trust the prince, but I knew that it would be the best option because I couldn't think of anything else that would not lead to a fight. I took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing a bit more."Merist," I said, praying that I wouldn't cause my family any more grief. "Merist Oswald of the Hargen Tribe."