Dragon's Tears

Serenica opened her eyes and looked around; the cave was still pitch black, and the smell of mold drifted to her nose. If it weren’t for the sun that cascaded through the mouth of the cave, anyone could have easily mistaken the time of day for nighttime. Tiredness overwhelmed her body as she pulled herself to her feet. “Adrianna?” She asked with caution. There was no response from her sister, which panicked Serenica. She hurriedly jumped to her feet and walked through the pitch black toward the cave exit. Her sister sitting on a tree stump a short distance from the cave, tears streamed down Adrianna’s face as she released her emotions. “Adri?” Serenica probed as she pulled her sister close.

“I can’t believe they are gone, Serene. What are we going to do?” Adrianna asked, as sobs filled her body causing her to gasp desperately for breath. Her body began shaking in fear? Anger? And Serenica knew that she needed to stay strong for her sister.

“We will think of something, Adri,” Serenica promised.

“Serenica, how do you do it? Last night, we lost everyone, and Tristan turned around and went back willingly. We don’t know if he’s dead or alive. That’s your best friend! How are you managing to stay so composed?” Adrianna asked as she ran her hand through her short blonde hair and then wiped her eyes.

Serenica winced and looked at her hands. She took a few deep breaths and then looked up at her sister. “Truthfully, I lost my fiancé last night, not just my best friend. So I am not holding it together as well as you think I am. I am literally two seconds from losing my mind, but I know Mom and Dad wouldn’t want me to sit in the cave and dwell in self-pity. Mom gave me a job to do, and I need to do it.”

Adrianna’s eyes grew wide as she looked down and noticed the silver ring on Serenica’s finger. She knew that was something she hadn’t been wearing the previous day. “Oh, Vigidias, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry, Serene,” she exclaimed as she wrapped her sister up in a hug.

Serenica shook her head and returned her sisters hug. For the first time since the previous night she let the tears fall willingly. Neither of the girls said a word, they just held each other as their tears fell and the realization hit them that they only had each other.Serenica pulled away holding on to her sister’s shoulders, with tears streaming, she looked solemn. “We need to get moving, it’s only a matter of time before they come looking for us.”

Adrianna sniffed and looked at her hands as she shook her head in realization. “I understand, but I’d like to at least bury Mom, Dad, and Tristan. Even if we don’t have their bodies, I don’t want to leave without sending them to Vigidas’s side,” she said silently.

With an earnest nod, Serenica stood to her feet and helped her sister to hers.

Arm in arm, the sisters walked to a clearing in the woods and created a simple memorial of rocks and twigs for their parents and Tristan. There, they said their goodbyes and prayed to the Goddess Vigidias for their families’ safe passage into the afterlife. Once they finished their goodbyes, Serenica looked at her sister. “Maybe we should start walking to Estme; hopefully, on the way, I will be able to find something to kill for lunch. We have over two days of walking ahead of us, so rushing is impossible. We must also keep ourselves alert for potential Felin soldiers who didn’t return to Felin after attacking Ashbourne.”

Adrianna nodded, wiped her eyes, and stood to her feet. She followed her sister closely as they walked in the direction of the eastern waterfront city of Estme. The girls started their walk through the woods. As they continued their journey, they looked around for any animals or houses where they could stop and possibly ask for food. However, there was nothing but woods as far as the eye could see. Serenica scrutinized her surroundings, but she couldn’t even find a trail of any animal they could kill. Fall was nearing its end, and winter was arriving. Most of the animals had begun their winter hibernation due to the frigid weather that was filling the sky from the nearby mountains and cliffs. With a solemn expression, the girls maintained their same pace for a few more hours until the sun started to set. “We need to look for a place to sleep; we will continue tomorrow. Sorry, we are going to have to skip food today.” Serenica whispered guiltily.

“I understand don’t worry about it, I’m not that hungry anyway,” Adrianna whispered.

Serenica looked at her sister and raised her eyebrow. Adrianna was a terrible liar, and she frowned knowing that specific response was only to make her feel less guilty about not being able to hunt dinner.

The girls continued walking through the forest. The shadows of the trees gave an eerie feeling that spooked both of them silent. They continued to focus their senses on their surroundings in an effort to find some place to spend the night when Adrianna suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“What is it Adri?” Serenica whispered in curiosity.

Adrianna said nothing, and she pointed to an orange glow in the distance. “Could that be a campfire?” She questioned.

“If it is, we need to be extremely careful, we have no idea who or what is around that fire and if they are bandits or Felin soldiers we need to be prepared to run. If by some chance Vigidias has determined we have had enough suffering over the past day, and they are travelers, we may be able to join them for additional protection.”

“We can’t just say that we are the only remaining Ashbournians alive and are fleeing to Estme to track down some purple stone from a child’s tale Serene,” Adrianna rebutted. “We have no idea if these people are working for Felin.”

“I know I’ll think of something. Whatever I do just play along,” she ordered.

Adrianna nodded and turned to look at the fire. Her stomach tightened at the potential danger they were in and fear filled her body. She felt like she wanted to run in the other direction but she looked at her sister a few feet ahead of her and relaxed a bit. She knew that her sister would be there to protect her and as long as she listened to Serenica, everything would be ok.

Serenica looked at the glowing light in the distance, and a small bit of hope filled her. She shrugged her shoulders and slowly began to softly walk towards the light. The closer they got, the more anxious Serenica felt. She held her breath as the numerous scenarios filled her head; she knew her options were not good. They could approach the fire, and it could be bandits, the Felin army, or even orcs. Serenica knew that they could leave the fire and head in the other direction. However, the smell of the cooked food that wafted in her direction caused her stomach to growl loudly. The sound of her stomach and her watering mouth triggered her to throw caution out the window. She turned and looked at her sister sternly. “Stay behind me; do not try to go ahead; and stay invisible.”

The look of fear that came from Adrianna confirmed that she would listen to her sister’s orders. Serenica lowered her body and quietly crept through the woods to get a little closer to the source of the smell. The sluggishness of her steps was causing the anticipation of what was to come to overwhelm her as the smell got sharper. Finally, the campfire came into view, and she noticed two older men sitting around and joking with each other. She gestured for her sister to stay out of sight and stood to her feet, adjusted her dress, grabbed her bow, and approached the men. “Good evening, gentlemen; it’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

The men jumped out of their seats and pulled their weapons. They looked at the young girl who so bravely approached them and looked over at her with hesitation. “It sure is. What takes you to our camp?” One of the men asked cautiously.

“I mean no harm to you or your camp. We are just traveling through the woods on our way to Estme. I stumbled across your campfire and wanted to check it out,” she replied as she slowly pulled her bow back onto her shoulder.

“The woods are a dangerous place for women. There are bandits, wolves, and who knows what else out here? Would you like to join us tonight? We are heading to Estme ourselves tomorrow for a trade deal. We could use the company if you don’t mind putting that bow to use for protection.” The other man suggested it to her with a small smile.

“I’d like that very much. Although I have my sister with me, would she be allowed to stay also?” Serenica asked cautiously.

“The more, the merrier,” the man replied.

She signaled for her sister to join them by the fire and turned to the men with a huge smile. “Thank you so much. I am Serenica, and this is Adrianna.”

“Welcome to our camp,” the man replied. He was a plump man with gray hair and glasses; his white shirt was covered with mud, and his face was sunburnt from the long days in the sun. “I am Ralph, and this is my partner, Edward.” The girls waved with a smile and looked over at Edward. He was much younger than Ralph. His skinny frame was lost in the oversized white shirt and pants that he wore. He had combed his black hair neatly, and his oversized glasses often fell to the top of his nose.

“Feel free to have a seat; we have brought plenty to eat with us on our travels. In fact, we have plenty of game left over. Would you both like some?” Ralph asked as he looked over the two girls in curiosity.

“Yes, please, may we, Mr. Ralph?” Adrianna asked with a pitiful look.

“Of course, I wouldn’t have offered if you weren’t allowed,” Ralph said with a chuckle. He grabbed two plates from the wagon they were pulling and put some meat and a few vegetables on a plate for the girls. “What takes you two out this late at night, anyway? Did you run away from home?” Ralph asked with suspicion laced in his voice.

Serenica tensed and looked at her sister nervously. Before she could think she opened her mouth and replied. “No, sir, we are on our way to meet our family in Estme. We just got a little lost earlier and just stumbled upon this path,” She instantly relaxed as she was almost impressed her how easily that lie slipped out, and she gave herself a mental pat on the back.

Ralph nodded and handed them a plate. The girls grabbed the game by the handful and stuffed it into their mouths.

Edward and Ralph stared in surprise at the two girls who looked like little chipmunks with their cheeks stuffed to the brim with game. They looked at each other curiously and then back at the girls. “Girls, slow down! I’m not going to take it from you.” Ralph chuckled as he handed them a water pouch. They both blushed in embarrassment, but continued to eat everything they had on their plate and even asked for seconds.

“What takes you guys out in the woods?” Serenica asked in between portions of her dinner.

“We are traders, coming to work out a deal with Estme,” Ralph answered.

“Oh,” Serenica responded cautiously.

Once dinner was completed, they volunteered to take the remaining scraps and dump them in the woods away from the campsite. Serenica and Adrianna clutched their scrap bucket tightly and once they knew they were far enough away from the camp they turned to each other.

“I think we should just go now; I don’t trust them.” Serenica stated as she dumped the contents of the bucket to the ground.

“We can’t, these men have fed us and they are giving us a place to sleep for the night,” Adrianna pleaded. “we have nowhere else to go and I don’t think I can do much more walking Serene!”

“There is something about them that makes me weary Adri, but we can stay one night and see what happens. I’ll just stay up and keep watch,” Serenica reasoned.

“You’re the best Serene!” Adrianna squealed throwing her arms around her sister. “We should get back to Edward and Ralph; I need to sleep.”

Serenica clutched the bucket and walked back towards the camp. The girls closed in and heard the men were deep in conversation. “We should let them stay till Estme,” Ralph stated as Edward smacked him and turned towards the girls.

Clearing his throat Edward looked at them. “Welcome back, get comfortable and get some sleep. Morning comes much quicker than you’d think.”

“Thank you, Adrianna said with a small smile as she laid down and closed her eyes.

“I’ll keep watch,” Serenica stated as the men nodded in recognition.

She leaned her head against the tree and took out the dagger she kept in her boot. She angrily started to scrape a nearby branch to a point.

So much death, so much destruction. Why did it happen to Ashbourne? What could the poor farmers and villagers possibly have done to angered Felin to the point of killing them all. Could Mom be telling the truth?

Memories of the sounds of the screaming filled her head and the look of determination in Tristan’s blue eyes filled her mind. She stopped scraping the branch and exhaled deeply.

“Tristan, I’m sorry for leaving you behind,” she whispered as she flung her knife on the ground next to her and looked up towards the sky. She closed her eyes as the tears began to fall.