Master of Dragons, Part 1 (complete)

She blushed heavily, covering her chest with her free arm. Her dragon, such a good girl, jumped from behind her and shielded her nether regions from either man’s gaze. The little dragon opened her wings and crouched, hiding as much of her nude body as possible. The carriage had stopped, yet her world still spun.

Why was she not covered? Was she nude all this time? She blushed harder, her body heating in response. The smell of smoke made her blink. A small sizzling sound was heard, making her look down. The cloth around her abdomen was burning up, small embers floating. She blinked, the wood under her also smelled like it was starting to burn. The lines across her chest and arms seemed to glow with a tinge of red flashing.

What was going on?

“Verrine,” Averil’s soft voice spoke. She looked up as two women appeared from behind Athelstan’s frame. Averil’s apple green eyes were wide, her hand on her brother’s arm. The other woman was not someone she had met before. She had hair green as pine, eyes to match her hair, and skin the colour of bronze. It must have been Aria. “You need to get back onto the bed before you start a fire, please?” She looked at what Averil called a bed. It looked like a sheet woven from dragon scales of all colours and sizes, placed on top of hay and wool. “Its the only thing fireproof in here, please.” Averil pleaded, albeit softly.

She looked at the doctor, who was still glaring, arms now crossed. The sound of sizzling got louder from around her. How dare he touch her while she was unconscious? Had he touched her before? Did he touch any other helpless woman? If it wasn’t for the extra energy from her dragon, would he have gone farther?

The doctors gaze went down her body once more, and stopped at her breasts. A raw growl broke from her parched throat as she stood, no longer caring if they saw her naked. She reached for her sword, weak hands gripping the hilt. She lifted it, then rested the flat of the blade on her shoulder as she took a step towards the doctor. The man paled, his beady eyes bulging.

“I am sorry!” The doctor pleaded, dropping to his knees and cupping his hands in front of him. Any colour left in his face drained, and his eyes watered. “I thought I would be doing you a favour-” He begged, dropping his gaze to her feet where her dragon sat. “Since- since no man could want such a hideous woman-” he stopped when she stumbled slightly from weakness. A small grin worked its way onto his lips. “I could take you as my wife-" He pleaded again. “The wife of a doctor is a-" She lunged forward with the blade. It sunk into the wood next to him, and she hovered above him with a sneer.

“Leave.” She hissed. The man whimpered, nodded, and ran out. The spot where he was moments before was soaked with urine. Coward. She growled, wiggling her blade from the wood. She was weak. So weak.

He deserved to die.

“Please... Put down the blade, Verrine..?” It was Aria. She had crept into the carriage and now had both hands open and outstretched. It was a sign of peace. Averil was still outside, looking very confused. Athelstan however, had no expression.

She dropped the blade, and stepped onto the bed of dragon scales. The last of the cloth around her had burnt off, and there were now marks of her body, and feet burnt into the wood.

...Why? She felt normal. Perhaps heated from what just happened-

“Verrine.” It was Aria's huskier voice that caught her attention. She watched as Aria knelt down a few feet away from her, hands still open and outstretched. “Why did you try harm the Doctor?” Aria asked, watching her. She searched the woman’s face, not finding any false worry. The woman was genuine.

“He t-touched my ass.” She growled. The only regret she had was not killing him. She should have at least chopped his hand off. “I do believe he planned more.” She could only imagine what could have happened.

Aria tried her best to hide her look of horror, but she knew it all to well. “I am sorry.” Aria paused, then stopped. There were no other words that could be spoken.

“If I see him again...” She took a breath, before looking to her sword. “I will kill him.” She said, tone low. She had to fight the sneer at the look of horror of the other woman’s face. She quickly regretted it as the woman backed off. Instead, she turned to look at the imprints of her feet in the wood instead. She didn’t mean to be so bitter; her quarrel was with the Doctor, not Aria.

“I understand.” Aria backed up, eyeing her warily. “I will be right back, I need to go check on the... Somebody.” Aria tried to smile, but it ended up in more of a grimace.

She exited. Averil was still standing at the entrance, her eyes wide with worry. Athelstan however, was gone.

“Are you okay..?” Averil asked, her voice quivering slightly.

How kind.

She tried to force a smile at the girl. “I will be.” She tried to make her tone light, despite the heavy thoughts. She still had a lot to process and work through.