My eyes opened to darkness, my body thrumming with a sudden wave of panic. I was back in the King's dungeon; my escape had been nothing but a dream. Before I could assess my surroundings, I heard the soft murmur of voices.
"She healed herself! They would want to be here to find out who she is and just what she can do. Don't you think that takes priority over nurturing her? If she can help us, we’ll find out when Conor gets back, not under some stupid attempt to befriend her."
The male's voice had my heart beating in fear. I had healed myself? Shit! The need to get out of there overwhelmed me. Who knew what they’d try to do if I stuck around? I looked around and saw my rucksack on the floor by the door. I grabbed it and changed into my clothes and shoes as quick as I could, ignoring the fact they had dressed me in a man’s clothes while I slept. I needed to get out of there before the two of them noticed I was awake.
I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten here, the unfamiliar tent only adding to my confusion. Let me try to think…what was I doing before I lost consciousness?
One moment I was trying to force myself to vomit, and the next I woke up in this new place. There was something that nagged the back of my mind though, something important.
The woman responded, her authority clear in the regal way she spoke. "Joel, please trust me on this. She's important. I feel it in every fiber of my being. Did you not see the way those men looked at her? Never have they shown an interest in a female before. And, if she has power, then the guys can see it when they get back. Their mission is just as important as she is. I’d bet my life on it."
"You're making a huge mistake. She should be in shackles, not allowed to roam our camp. Especially when we know nothing about her. You jeopardize all of us with your lax security measures."
I heard the man stomp off and knew that was my chance. I dragged my knife down the back of the tent, leaving a slit big enough for me to squeeze through and made a run for it. My mind struggled to make sense of my surroundings, but still I ran, ignoring the shouts to stop. The sea of canvas tents confused me, making me feel like my hope was lost when I saw a path leading straight back to the forest. My body chose that moment to fail me. The ground came up to meet me, but halted when a pair of arms caught me.
Brown eyes, radiating strength and power looked down at me. A fierce woman was holding me, smiling down at me in sympathy before I passed out from exhaustion.
“Who are you?” I asked the woman who looked so like me that I’d been convinced she was, her image was like looking in a mirror if it wasn’t for the age difference. The woman was significantly older than me, maybe thirty years or so.
Her face softened, an expression of regret so strong in her blue-grey eyes, that it saddened me. “It doesn’t matter who I am. You’ll find out soon enough.”
The feeling of a cool cloth pressed against my head woke me from my dream. I jolted up, immediately on alert when those brown eyes came into view. The woman was sitting above me, gently wiping my forehead to keep my fever down.
She gently pushed me back down on the plush furs with a kind smile. "Easy there. You've had a rough couple of days, and your body hasn't quite recovered.” She reached behind her and grabbed a plate of food, the smell of freshly cooked meat stirring my stomach. “I thought you might be hungry, so I had the healer fetch you some food.”
There were no fruits or berries, just meat which was a little strange. I was so used to a balanced diet at home that the thought of eating only meat made me feel ill. But I knew I needed to keep up my strength which was the only reason I ate it. At least, that’s what I told myself.
"Thank you," I said politely, not wanting to cause offense. After all, these people obviously saved me from death.
After my stomach had been filled, I put the plate to the side and began to study the strange woman. Her jet-black hair was braided and thrown off to one side. Her arms showed muscles I was used to seeing on the men who trained for the royal guard, while her eyes, those brown eyes, held a wealth of knowledge and a soul so deep that I couldn't help but be mesmerized. Her face had miniscule scars covering every inch as if someone had gotten a knife and marred it intentionally.
"Who are you?" I blurted out, curiosity getting the better of me.
She grinned at me; the expression softened the subtle scars around her eyes revealing a hidden beauty. "I'm Alyse. I take care of this camp while our leaders are away on missions. They found you, almost dead, and gave the command for us to return you to health just before they left. Beyond that, we have no idea what to do with you."
Mission? Leaders? Camp? Oh, this must be the camp those two strangers were talking about that night. "And, what is this camp?"
Alyse shifted on the bed, her eyes showing a kindness that had me relaxing a little. "What do you know about rogue shifters?" she asked; her words sent tension through me.
What could I say? Was it another trap? That’s what I came to believe my meeting with those three dragons was, a trap. Why else would they have gotten away so easily? Another of the King’s cruel jokes to have people turn on me if I admitted the truth. Well, I was done playing his games!
"Rogues object to the King’s rule. They are tired of the way he runs things and want to overthrow him. The King doesn't tolerate consorting with rogues.” I paused before adding with a little snark. “If you work for the King, tell him I’m done with his games.”
She smirked at me, eyes lit up with mirth. "I don’t work for the King, so you can relax. What you think is only half true. Rogues want the King dead, but not for the reason you've been told. The King is not our rightful one. He killed the true rightful King fifty years ago and has controlled our kind ever since. He does what he likes, when he likes, with no backlash.
“Rogues are the shifters and humans alike who banded together for one cause. To dethrone him and put someone there who is more suited for such a task."
"Like who?" I didn’t mean for my voice to sound so full of skepticism, but in my opinion, power corrupted. Look at the King. People used to speak of his kindness, but what I endured was no kindness. Who was to say the next King wouldn't be just as evil, just as sadistic? Then again, a new King would have to rule after I'd killed the King, and I doubted I’d be around long enough to see who that is. Once I killed him, those loyal to him would surely arrange for me to be killed quickly.
"Never you mind. We have a plan, and a backup plan and yet another plan if that doesn't work. For now, tell me your story. Who are you and how did you come to be near our camp?"
I hesitated, unsure if I should reveal everything before deciding, Screw it. What have I really got to lose? "I helped a dragon after it hurt itself. The King's men saw and took me into custody claiming I was aiding a rogue dragon, though I had no clue that’s what he was. All I saw was a dragon in pain and felt I had to help. Somehow, I’m not sure how, I healed his wounds, and he took off. That was all. Though that didn't stop the King from keeping me locked away for days, whipping me, starving me, and killing my mother because I couldn't tell him what I didn't know.” My anguish was so strong I almost didn’t continue my story, but I pushed through, needing to get everything off my chest and trusting that Alyse wouldn’t judge me for it. “After my mother's burial, I ran. I knew if I had stuck around, he would have killed me. The past couple of weeks I’ve been living in the forest, feeding off what the land has to offer when I stupidly ate what I thought were just berries. Unfortunately for me, they were holly. I tried to make myself throw them up, but I must have ingested more than I anticipated. I'm guessing you found me after I passed out?"
She offered me a knowing smirk. "A few friends of mine found you passed out and barely alive. Unfortunately, they had to leave, but they'll be back soon, so you can meet them then. You've actually been unconscious for days.” She frowned, a crease of concern across her forehead. “We thought we were going to lose you there for a while, but then you started to murmur in your sleep, saying ‘I have to get back’ before glowing a brilliant white light. When it dissipated, you were completely healed. How did you do that?" she asked me, her head tilted in blatant curiosity.
I shrugged my shoulders, avoiding eye contact and choosing to stare blankly at my hands instead. "Honestly, I’m not sure how I did it. It's never happened before. I guess I’m just a freak of nature," I told her.
"Well with us, that doesn't matter. We're a mix of dragons from each clan plus humans who were rejected for not being able to shift. There are over two hundred of us living here in peace. We tend to move around a lot, but for now, this place is home.” She paused, looking down at me with a stern expression. “I'm willing to offer you a place with us. All that I ask is that you do your part to contribute to the whole. We have a variety of day to day jobs, and we all take part, even the children. If you can't do that, well then you can move on. I would like to mention though, we may be able to help you control some of your healing powers. One of the humans among us has heard of such tales among the dragons and has offered to share his wisdom."
I thought over her offer, and an idea popped into my mind. If they were truly a rogue camp, then they would have warriors or fighters among them. They could teach me to fight. And the fact of the matter was, I’d need all the help I could get if I wanted to take on the King by myself and survive.
With my mind made up, I put up a mask of determination. "I'll stay, but I want to learn how to fight. I’ll do any other jobs you wish me to, just as long as I learn how to protect myself. I don't ever want to be that weak in front of the King again."
My heart was more than determined to keep myself from such heartache again. I wouldn’t let myself become prey to the King again.
She pursed her lips, looking ready to argue, but must have seen the determination in my eyes because she dropped her head in defeat. "Very well. I’ll train you to defend yourself, but if our leaders come back and decide you must stop, you’ll have to accept that. They do what’s best for the camp, and they may decide that your skills will be better used elsewhere. Now, how about a tour?"
She climbed to her feet, offering me a hand, and I took it shakily, unsure of how steady my feet would be. Surprisingly, I stood without an issue and let go of her hand, stretching out my limbs. All my joints were far too stiff from being still for so long. Alyse opened the flap of the tent, letting me go first to bask in the warmth of the sunlight.
All around me, beige tents of varying shapes and sizes were littered across a vast field. I hadn't realize just how big it was out there. Then again, running in fear of your life makes you lose sight of the little things happening around you.
Alyse walked us around, pointing out each section of tents to me. There was a section for healing, fighters, families, the sick and injured, and even prisoners. I was glad not to be placed there because if I had, I may have lost my shit to an extreme level. Instead, she pointed out a massive tent on the edge of the forest and told me I would have a tent near there. My closest neighbors would be the healers.
Dragons from each clan co-mingled among the people, and it left me reeling. Hearing about it was one thing, seeing it was a whole other story.
This was exactly what our kind should be like. Sitting around peacefully, enjoying each other’s company, not fighting over petty disputes that could be solved with real leadership.
Alyse led me to the back of the tents where two dozen steers grazed in a small fenced-off paddocked area. How did they all survive on so little? She said there were over two hundred people here. Shouldn't that require way more than two dozen cattle?
Alyse laughed at the look of confusion on my face. "I can tell by your expression, you’re a little confused by our eating arrangements. Unlike the King, we have found a way to sustain ourselves off the land. We still eat meat daily, but we no longer need it at every meal. Those who are still new to our lifestyle have trouble with this, but we encourage hunting in the wild rather than using our stock. We do however, use the herd when one of us has been injured, to enhance healing."
Raised in the clan, we’re told we have to eat meat with every meal if we want to remain strong. It would be a refreshing change not to have to rely on meat at every meal, not that I actually did back in the village. But still, maybe we would be able to sustain ourselves more and make food go further among our clans.
Alyse led me to my tent near the back of the tepee. It was small, but had a few furnishings that made it comfortable. A bed area was placed up against the wall with furs laid out to soften the hard ground. Then there was a basin by the flap of the door filled with water for washing along with some herbal oils to perfume the water with. Beside it rested a small shovel, and I immediately grimaced knowing there wasn’t any internal plumbing. What I wouldn't have given for a flushing toilet right about then.
"I know it's not much, but it will keep you safe. The huge tent just across the path? That's our leaders’. They're currently away, but they'll be back in a week's time, and I’m sure they'll want you close to them, so they can keep an eye on you until they know they can trust you."
"So, you don't trust me?" I asked Alyse, feeling hurt. I had thought I might have made a friend in her.
"It's not that I don't trust you, I do. My gut tells me you’re going to be needed around here, but our leaders...well, let’s just say they've been known to have trust issues."
I’m not sure how much I liked that, knowing I’d be near the leaders of this rogue group. After all they must have done something pretty memorable for the rest of the camp to follow them with blind trust. I planned to do some digging to find out just who they were and what got them to rise to such infamous positions.
Alyse left me to settle in, and I sat on the pile of furs, my arms wrapped around my knees as I thought about what to do next. She was letting me stay, to train and help where I could, but I couldn’t help the doubt about the leaders she spoke of; would they be just as vicious as the King? If they knew I helped rogues, would they be okay with it because they were rogues themselves? Were the very rogues I saved in this camp? How hard could it be to meet a blue dragon among a clan of rogues made up of golds, reds, and purples?