Dragon Blade [Book 2]

Chapter 1

A/N: Most of you already know the story as to why Dragon Heir won't be edited, and why I'll just be continuing where I left off in this book instead of re-writing it. Be warned, expect a writing shift starting on chapter 6. My writing style has changed and matured since I last wrote this story, so please keep that in mind when reading. Chapters 1-5 is the old draft and contains a lot of mistakes.

Also, remember, Moons=Nights.

Chapter 1

Gem Higa © 2012

Faint lights seeped through the cracks of the damaged prison cell interior, where she had attempted to burn through on the first day. She had blasted the cell with as much firepower that could be mustered, but concluded that she was completely trapped. There was nothing worse than being left in solitary confinement, completely alone. Several men were placed outside to block the entrance of the small isolated space. Four heavy well-fortified walls kept her contained, as Leiv’s mind began drifting from the emptiness that the silent room deviously offered.

Chains and manacles hung loosely on a wooden shaft protruding from the front wall. Hours had turned into days, and the lines of time were beginning to blur, making it harder to tell how long the imprisonment had become.

The room contained no furnishings, save a rickety bed stuffed with straw and piled with dust, which she was currently occupying. Each leg creaked as she twisted and turned profusely, trying but miserably failing to drift off into slumber. For nights she had tried to fall asleep, but it was no use. The several events that led up to her imprisonment outweighed her need to rest.

Horrendous thoughts would fill the spaces in her mind, wondering and imagining what horrible incidents were transpiring with not only her companions, but the barbarians as well. Most of their kind were just and fair, as a good number of them were also made up of innocent women and children.

These imagined ideas enraged her, making Leiv feel utterly useless. Hinges creaked as a dim luminescence shined through an open gap. A guard pushed in a bowl filled with gruel past the bottom access hatch of the cell’s door. Her aching muscles complained as she stood and walked over to the slop. Peeling her eyes off the disgusting meal, Leiv looked to the door’s peephole and noticed a pair of eyes watching her with interest.

“What?” She spat. The long days stretched her patience until there was nothing left to pull. The stranger quickly retreated and shut the wooden cover to the hole, leaving her blanketed in gloom once again. Damn guards.

Chunky liquid fell from her spoon as she tried scooping up the mess they falsely called porridge. It was mostly made of thick liquid mixed with pieces of almost rotting vegetables. Looking into the bowl, her appetite instantly evaporated. The sole reason she had endured the vile meal for so long was to prevent her strength from diminishing. Fighting with an empty stomach would only give her a disadvantage. But the way things were going, she knew escaping this fate-forsaken place would need a true miracle.

Her stomach growled at the thought of real hearty food. The way the savory pieces of spice powdered lamb as she swallowed it and filled her stomach to the brim. Stop thinking about food. Her eyes fluttered close as her mouth salivated on images of freshly baked bread coming out of the oven. Be quiet, now is not the time to be thinking about this.

Forcing the pictures and feelings to recede, she lay back onto the old bed and stared up at nothing in particular. There was one window far above, about the width of a palm. It was the only remaining connection in the quiet space to the outside world. Clangs of armored sentries filled the lone room as they passed every few minutes, while some peered into her prison with watchful, but inquisitive gazes.