The Dragon Liberator: Escapee

POV: Fendrel

Soft breezes blew over the grassy fields surrounding Stone-Edge. Fendrel sat among the green blades with Frederick beside him, watching the road as his mother crested a hill not too far away.

A chorus of laughter drew Fendrel’s eyes to the great cobblestone wall separating him from the city.

The queen of Sharpdagger, who had convinced her husband to let her resume her position as the captain of the royal guard after recovering from bearing twins, was visiting the various cities and villages. She brought a few other guards with her. Fendrel had never met her before, but she seemed easy to talk to.

Something touched Fendrel’s shoulder. With a jump, Fendrel whipped his head toward the road.

Frederick tried to cover a laugh with his hands.

Fendrel’s mother pulled the boys into a hug. “Did I scare you, love?”

“No.” Fendrel hugged her back with a grin, hiding his face so she couldn’t tell he was lying.

“Okay, sure.” His mother held them out at arms’ length. “It’s so good to see you two again. I’m going to come right back out, but I need to take care of something in the city really quick. Okay?”

“Mhm.” Fendrel sat back in the grass, feeling the rough sides tickle his cheeks.

“Can I come?” Frederick stood up.

“It’s boring adult stuff, dear.” Fendrel’s mother stroked his cheek. She made her way toward Stone-Edge’s gate. “I’ll be back soon.”

When she was out of sight, Frederick nudged Fendrel with the back of his hand. “Check this out.”

Fendrel followed his brother along the wall until Frederick bent down and started scooping loose dirt out from under the wall. The hole was large enough for the two to spy through if they smushed their faces side-by-side.

The view wasn’t anything spectacular, just the back of a building, but Fendrel could make out the captain of the guard’s infectious laugh.

“Oh, hello! I know I’ve seen you here before, but it’s been a long time.” A hush fell from within the city after the captain’s greeting.

“She shouldn’t be here right now.” Fendrel sank lower to the ground at his father’s voice. “We’re sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty. She’s just passing through.”

“No, I’m not leaving yet.” The tone Fendrel’s mother used was unlike anything Fendrel had heard before. She sounded...scared.

But Mom is never scared…

“What is your name?” The captain’s metal boots sounded on the rocky streets in the city.

“Axella.”

“Axella, may I have a word with you?”

Fendrel felt uneasiness creep up inside him.

What is she talking to Mom about?

Before the conversation could continue, a shrill cry like lightning striking metal rang out from the sky.

As if out of instinct, Fendrel raised his head.

A gray spark dragon with markings too dark for its element was diving out of some cloud cover toward the city.

I don’t think that’s a friendly one. Fendrel felt himself shaking and growing closer with the ground.

A quintet of arrows soared up to meet the dragon’s flesh, crashing it to the ground, behind the wall where Fendrel could no longer see it.

“That’s strange. I’ve never seen a dragon outright attack people before.” The captain of the guard’s boots stepped a few paces.

“It must have been a rogue.” Axella’s voice was hushed. “...What did you want to speak to me about Your Highness?”

“Hold on.”

What looked like a sliver of red revealed itself from the clouds and disappeared in the blink of an eye. A second dragon’s roar followed. And again a few moments later.

“Get down!” The captain of the guard’s voice made Fendrel freeze.

Seconds later, a fire dragon covered in purple stripes spiraled from the clouds, opening his jaws to incinerate a new batch of skyward arrows.

The dragon disappeared behind the wall, screams and crunching bones following close behind. Metal clashing against scales, fire torching everything it fell on. The blue flames climbed higher until Fendrel could see their tongues on the closest houses’ roofs. Stones blackened by from the wall went flying over the boys from the rogue dragon’s tail.

Fendrel heard his mother’s voice among the chaos, but couldn’t tell what she was saying. It took Frederick pulling his arm to get him to move.

He felt heat on his back. Some of the flung stones still had fire raging on them, and it was spreading to the grass they hid in.

The boys raced toward Stone-Edge’s gates.

Crumbling stone and a menacing growl caused Fendrel to turn around.

The dragon was crawling over the hole it left in the wall, and it had caught sight of the boys. Arrows riddled its body. Pieces of cloth hung from his teeth. It was hard to tell what red was his scales and what was human blood.

Another arrow stuck in the side of his face. Snarling, the dragon turned toward his attacker. Someone’s scream was cut off.

Without thinking, Fendrel dove back in the grass and tried to cover himself in mud and the foul-smelling plants that were often seen in the field. Frederick followed his lead and they lay down, arms covering their heads.

Fendrel didn’t realize until then that he had started crying. He only became aware of his senses when rain began to pour on them, seemingly out of nowhere.

Hesitantly, Fendrel raised his head. The fire in the fields died out, but the flames in the city were resilient. After a few minutes of watching, there was only smoke and charred stone.

The dragon had gone.

“Mom?” Fendrel was afraid to raise his voice, but did so anyway.

Frederick followed his lead, calling out for Axella.

There were no replies.

<~><~><~>

Fendrel’s groggy eyes opened. He sat up and stretched. Everyone else was still asleep.

The sky began to light up.

Maybe I can go to Stone Edge while the others are sleeping. I should probably let Venom know first.

Fendrel crept over to Venom and gently nudged his snout.

Venom opened his eyes. “Hm?”

“Can we meet up at the Black-Brick Ruins? I want to return this to Stone Edge.” Fendrel took Axella’s headstone out of his bag.

The dusk dragon took a moment to respond. “Take Fog with you just in case you need healing, but don’t let her get hurt.” He yawned and went back to sleep.

Fendrel stepped toward the vapor dragon, careful of where he placed his feet. He knelt down beside Fog’s head. “Fog.”

Fog huffed and rolled over, tossing her wings over her head.

Sighing, Fendrel moved toward her head again. He snapped near her ear. “Hey. Wake up.”

“What? What happened?” Fog grumbled. “It’s still dark out.”

Fendrel lifted her wings off of her face.

Fog groaned. “It’s too early for thinking.” She brought her wings back to shield her face.

“I’m going to Stone Edge to return my mother’s headstone.” Fendrel rubbed his thumb over the scratched-on letters. “Would you come with me?”

She set her wings at her sides and her eyes lit up. “Yes, please. But why me when you can ask anyone?”

Fendrel shrugged. “Venom… he suggested you go with me.”

“Oh.” Fog stood. “That was nice of him.”

With a nod, Fendrel put the stone in his bag. He began to walk away. “We can walk faster once we’re out of earshot.”