Dragon's Tears

A few hours later, a howl awoke Serenica with a fright. She sat up and looked around.

I must of fell asleep. She thought to herself as she looked around the camp sight. A breath escaped her body as she saw her sister sleeping on the ground nearby. Edward and Ralph slept heavily near the wagon.

The campfire was dimmed and nearly out, so she tossed a few more logs on to the fire. Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her body tensed. She looked around the camp sight.

Somethings really not right here. She thought.

The extra logs caused the campfire to brighten and she looked around for whatever it was that gave her this feeling of dread. Orange circles in the distance caught her attention and she narrowed her eyes, to try to determine what It was. A muffled growl filled her ears and she instantly recognized what was stalking them all.

“Wolves!” she screamed, which caused everyone to jolt up in an instant. Serenica grabbed her bow and quiver and began to line arrows up for the shot. She released her first arrow, but judging by the sound, she had missed her target. In a panic, she continued to fire at the shadows.

The wolves continued to draw closer and could now be seen under the light of the fire. She gasped in horror when she realized at least seven wolves surrounded them. The music that filled the air from the vibrations of Ralph and Edward’s bow strings being plucked from behind her signified the two men were also up and firing on the wolves with their bows. Yelps of pain confirmed that they were hitting the wolves; however, the determined beasts were not stopping their charge.

The wolves were fully visible by this point, and Serenica realized that there were only three left. The rest had been injured, killed, or fled the area. She frantically scanned the area with her eyes as panic filled her body.

“Adrianna,” she yelled in fear knowing that she couldn’t find her sister.

“I’m here Serene!”.

Serenica’s eyes followed the voice and finally located her sister, who was hiding under the wagon, in fear. Serenica sighed in relief and turned back to face the wolves.

As she turned back to face the wolves she was slammed to the ground and a searing pain ripped through her shoulder. She tried to escape the wolfs sharp teeth but couldn’t move under the weight of its body.

The screams coming from her sister filled her ears and caused Serenica to panic. She knew that she couldn’t break the wolfs grasp on her shoulder, but she may be able to use her strength to push the animal’s head away. Grasping the snout, she screamed out in anger as she pushed its face off of her body. Thankfully, it broke his grip on her shoulder but didn’t deter him from going down for another bite. Noticing a nearby stick lying on the ground, Serenica grabbed it, and with all her strength, she jammed it into the wolf’s jaws to prevent it from biting any deeper. She then reached for the knife that she had previously thrown on the ground. Once she managed to get a firm grip on the handle, she swung the knife, and it planted firmly into the wolf’s head. A yelp of agony came from the creature as it fell limply onto her body. Tiredness engulfed her as she pushed the lifeless mass of fur off of her and slid out from under it.

“Serenica, are you okay?” Adrianna asked as she hurriedly crawled out from under the wagon and crawled to her sister. “Let me see your shoulder!”

Serenica took a deep breath of relief and looked around. Everyone was still alive. They attempted to retrieve their arrows and clean up the campsite. A sharp pain emitted from the bite mark on her shoulder when her sister yanked it closer so she could look at it.

“Ooooowww!” Serenica yelled angrily. “I am fine, Adri; it is only a small bite, nothing to worry about.”

Adrianna looked at her sister and rolled her eyes, knowing that the bite mark on her sister was no minor issue. She quickly grabbed some powder out of her pack and some bandages and began to work on her sister’s bite. “You are going to need to be stitched, Serene,” Adrianna informed her as she pulled out a needle and stuck it into the fire to help with disinfecting.

“It’s not that deep,” Serenica remarked as she rolled her eyes.

“Adrianna is right. You need stitches, and we need to find you a new outfit, or you may show the men of Estme much more than you want. So while she is stitching that up, I will see what we have for you girls,” Edward said sternly.

Serenica looked down at her dress and covered herself in embarrassment. The fight with the wolf had shred the top of the dress nearly in half and her undergarments were clearly visible. What was remaining of the fabric was dyed red with the blood that was spilling out of her arm.

“Edward and Ralph, that’s not necessary. You two have done so much more for us than we deserve,” Serenica replied gratefully.

“Nonsense, stubborn girl, if you hadn’t screamed wolf and woken us up, we would probably be dead right now. Giving you clothes to protect your dignity is the least we can do. Let your sister patch you up and you get some more sleep, we will figure the rest out tomorrow. Oh, and drink this; it will help with the pain.”

Ralph threw her a leather pouch filled with liquid. She unscrewed the top and took a swig. She grimaced at the tart drink that descended her throat and instantly recognized it.

“This is Felinan wine? Are you two from Felin?” Serenica asked warily.

Edward nodded in affirmation of Serenica’s question. “We are in the middle of securing trade with Estme, so we had to travel there. Where are you from?”

“Our parents roamed a lot. Our dad just got a job in Estme, so I guess you could say we are now from Estme,” Serenica lied. She then made the mental note that they needed to determine a good back story because their true story would eventually get them captured and sent to Felin.

“We will get you home, girls. In the meantime, sleep as much as you can before tomorrow. We still have a lot of walking to do before we reach Estme,” Edward said as he lay back on the ground and closed his eyes.

“I’ll stand watch for the rest of the night, Ralph informed them as he stood to his feet and walked towards the edge of the camp.

Serenica looked at her sister, who was tying off the thread for her stitches. “You are all done; get some sleep, Serene,” Adrianna said as she put her stuff away and lay down on the ground.

Serenica slowly lay on the ground and looked at the moon. The moon filled the surrounding sky with light as the stars blinked brightly around it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep.