I Guess I'm a Dragon Now (Part 1)

Wrong Desicion

Surrounded by two armies with one being even larger than the frost troll horde had been, Ergen was regretting his decision in helping Rae yet again as he looked at both the humans and the... new people around him that looked like they were about to fight each other. He was supposed to be focusing on his own survival, after all, and being caught in the middle of a war just because he was weak against a girl's tears didn't seem like a very good reason to die.

"Commander Sera of Ligan, I presume?" A commanding voice called out from the larger army, and suddenly a man riding what looked like a horse covered in spines emerged from the army as he moved forward to speak. "My name is Farell Ike, king of the elven people and father to the woman tied to the dragon's back. You are surrounded and cannot resist us, so I demand that you return my daughter to me."

"I apologize, but I wasn't aware that the elves had a king." The commander of the humans replied. "It was to my understanding that the elves and humans were allies under the banner of King Emric."

"Emric is no king of ours, not anymore!" Farell replied angrily. "Not only does he demand my daughters as payment to shelter us when we still served him, but then we even found evidence that he hired slavers to target our people while we were fleeing! I ask you, what kind of king sacrifices his own people for nothing but greed?! Don't even try to defend him, Commander! I also know that your orders are to kill Sheera if the frost trolls defiled her so that Emric can demand my youngest daughter. Deny it if you can!"

"I..." Sera looked troubled, and Ergen couldn't believe how evil the human king sounded. After this girl had almost been sacrificed by the frost trolls, now she was about to be executed by her would-be rescuers.

"Run to the elves!" Rae whispered in an urgent tone in Ergen's ears, and he couldn't say that he blamed her as he felt that he needed to get his passengers away from these people. And so, Ergen immediately began jogging forward, knocking over a pair of assassins in his path before he escaped from the humans and started walking towards the elves. A large group of the humans attempted to chase after him, but they all stopped as Ergen neared the larger army's lines.

"My orders... are to ensure that Princess Sheera is delivered to King Emric at all costs." Sera sounded as if she were gritting her teeth as she announced her duty.

"And I'm telling you that my deal with King Emric is cancelled." Farell replied as he and a group of his fellow elves moved forward and Ergen felt the wooden bindings surrounding him loosen. They seemed to fall off by themselves as Rae unraveled her magic and eventually Sheera fell off of Ergen's back into the waiting arms of her people. "So what will you do now, Commander? Will you throw away your troop's lives in an attempt to appease the tyrant that you follow, or will you walk away and allow your men to return to their families?"

Looking back at the humans, Ergen wondered just how the woman would answer, though nothing but silence reigned over the mountains as everyone waited for her. And after several minutes of anticipation, Ergen started to wonder if she was even going to answer at all before she suddenly drew her sword. Though instead of ordering a suicidal attack, Sera threw her sword down in the snow in front of her, afterwards looking at it with a sad expression.

"There is no possible way that we can complete our mission now." Sera announced. "I ask that you spare my men."

"None will be harmed as long as you do not try to stop us. The demon king isn't at war with Ligan. Not yet." Farell replied, making some sort of hand sign above his head and his troops immediately started moving back towards where they came. "However, I will remember the crimes that Emric has inflicted upon my people, and I swear that I'll make him pay for them some day!"

With that, the elves took Sheera and retreated along with all of the other members of the army while Ergen prepared to leave himself. He'd already involved himself to much in his opinion, and he started to unfold his wings so that he could fly away before he suddenly found that he couldn't. Speeding in the snow around him, Ergen didn't see the beastkin soldiers around him before it was to late as they threw thick and tar-covered ropes over his wings. He didn't know why they were attacking him, but Ergen wasn't about to be killed without a fight as he reached out with his head and snapped his jaws over one of the larger beastkin, seeming to bite the man in half before his tail connected to another of the soldiers behind him. However, several of the beastkin managed to slid through the snow underneath him, managing to secure the binding of his wings before several four-meter-tall giants started pulling on the ropes to aide their faster comrades. Suddenly, Ergen knew that he wasn't going to win in a battle of strength as more and more giants moved to hold him down, and Ergen released the last of the frost breath that he'd been saving at his aggressors, though they must have seen this coming as his attack was blocked by one of those accursed magic barriers.

"Stop! What are you doing?! He helped us!" Ergen heard Rae scream from somewhere, though her voice was drowned out by his enraged roar as he quickly jumped towards the giants that had been pulling on the ropes restraining him, catching them off guard and shattering the magic barrier around them before he sank his fangs into one of the giant's necks. Rotating his head so that his sharp fangs would rip the man's arteries open, Ergen moved onto the next giant, who managed to get it's giant arm up in time to defend itself before Ergen bit onto it. Though, it couldn't stop his claws as Ergen aimed for the man's throat. Unfortunately he never managed to land a decisive blow on the giant as even more started tackling him, using their immense gathered weight to pin Ergen's body to the ground as he felt more and more ropes being tied around him.

While Ergen struggled in vain to get free of the people attempting to capture him, he glared now at Farell as a group of elves gathered around his head. And more than anything, he wanted to send a stream of frost at them, though even if there weren't three giants holding his jaws closed, he knew that he couldn't as he'd completely used up whatever created that ability.

"I know what you willingly risked to save my daughter, and I can't thank you enough." Farell said sadly as he looked into Ergen's glaring eyes with a very depressed looking Rae on his shoulder. "However... I have my orders as well, and I'm afraid that I must do this. But don't worry, I will make certain that you are not harmed and that your pain is as small as possible. Now sleep, and please do not resist."

As soon as Farell was finished speaking, one of the elves accompanying him handed him a leather bag. And as soon as he obtained it, Farell reached inside and grabbed a handful of some kind of powder before blowing it directly onto Ergen's snout, making him let out a strained cough as he didn't want to breathe the powder in yet was unable to help himself as his jaws were still being held closed. Slowly, Ergen's vision started blurring before it began to fade into black entirely. And with a final thought, Ergen knew that he'd made the wrong decision in ever helping the fairy to begin with.