SIX
Bella awakened slowly. She became conscious in stages, her mind stuck in a thick fog and her limbs aching and tired. Her mind drifted briefly and was confused and bumbling as she tried to think of what huge piece of the puzzle she was missing. She heard noises and, for a moment, wondered if her aunt and uncle had come home from their trip early—Bella shot up. Her world tilted and vision spun as the blood rushed away from her head, and she swooned back down to the pillows.
She then remembered everything that had transpired the past day or so, and she groaned. There was no chance she was dreaming. She was stuck in some bizarre land that was actually the land of her mother’s birth. If she didn’t find a way back, she’d miss everything—school, her work at the paper, her aunt and uncle. But if she left, she’d be leaving the people in this world to a fate that she couldn’t ignore. She punched her pillows weakly. She wouldn’t give up trying to find a way home, but she’d help the people there as much as she could, she decided.
She sat up slowly once more and looked around. Various women were in her chambers going about their duties as Hildevar supervised. Bella resisted the urge to groan and lay back down onto the pillows.
“My queen!” Hildevar chirped happily, and Bella did groan.
“What is it, Hildevar?” Bella snapped nastily. She was so not a morning person.
“Our king has decreed that you are to accompany him on a trip to the Darklands, your highness.”
Bella rubbed her eyes and yawned. “The Darklands? That sounds gnarly. And kinda dangerous. Tell him I said no thanks.”
Hildevar tried hard to hide her irritation. “My queen, what the king has declared must stand.”
“And—I said no.”
“But your majesty—“
Bella swung her legs off the bed and stalked across the cold floor. A bevy of women rushed about, gathering her slippers and a gown, and tried brushing and braiding her hair as she roved angrily around.
“What are the Darklands anyway?”
Hildevar gulped. “They are in fact very dark and twisted. But you will be with Rogan and his men.”
“That’s a nope.”
“Where is the king now?”
“In his study, but my queen, you can’t go in there. It is his personal time, and he has decreed--”
Bella open the door with force and looked up and down the corridor.
“Point me in the direction,” Bella ordered, and Hildevar stammered.
Alannah, on the other hand, trotted happily beside Bella and smiled. “The king will not be happy, my queen. The morning is not his best time of day--”
“That makes two of us,” Bella grumbled.
“Perhaps we can get you a nice cup of ale this morn--” Alannah offered.
“Okay, Alannah, would YOU want to accompany me to the Darklands?”
“Um—well, no. But I mean—you have Hildevar.”
Bella threw up her hands. “Even my servants who know everything about this world don’t want to go. You know it’s bad,” she said to no one in particular. “What happened to your warrior spirit, Alannah? Frankly, I’m disappointed.”
Alannah looked incensed. “If you are insinuating that I am afraid,” Alannah huffed, “Well, I am not, my queen. I will gladly go with you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Why?” Alannah asked before Hildevar could stop her with a sharp rebuke.
“Because I’m not going, that’s why. Now, where is Rogan’s study?”
Alannah reluctantly pointed and then followed beside Bella and Hildevar as they made their way through the long hallway.
Bella followed Hildevar around a corner and up a narrow set of stairs. They rushed through another hallway and to a set of double doors.
Hildevar raised her hand. “My queen, I must caution you--”
Bella burst through the doors. “Rogan!”
Rogan was sitting behind a desk with a tray of something piping hot and a book. He looked up and frowned. The camaraderie they shared the night before had all but faded with his guarded expression and chilly disposition.
“Wife, what do you want? I am busy,” he spat, and Bella pursed her lips in anger.
“Husband,” she drawled, “I wanted you to know first-hand that I am NOT going to the Darklands.”
“And I regret to inform you that you shall. I have decreed it, so it shall be.”
“Ha!” Bella mocked, “I think not. I’m not going there. I can barely navigate this castle. No way I’m going to some place even more strange and twisted than this.”
“You will be safe. You will be with me.”
“I think I’ll take my chances here.”
“You shall not. My father wishes to meet you. And we will.”
“I have to meet your father?”
“Yes, and he is very particular about etiquette and attitude. I suggest you leave your personality here while we are away.”
Bella let out a short shriek and made to charge Rogan only to have Hildevar hold her back.
“There is nothing wrong with my personality.”
“My father will not like it. If he objects to this union, it will be quite possibly the end of our clan.”
“Is that such a bad thing?” Bella asked, and Rogan sipped his drink thoughtfully.
“I will not deign to answer that.”
“Your father sounds charming.”
“He can be. That is, if we don’t anger him. So please try to muster up a bit of decorum,” Rogan snapped, and Bella shook her head defiantly.
“Nope. I am not going. I don’t want to meet your dad--”
“You have to, Bella. This is not up for debate or discussion.”
“You are not the boss of me,” Bella told him, and he smiled.
“Actually, I am. I am king.”
“Well, I’ve got news for you. I. Am. Not. Going. Try that on for size,” Bella threw up the peace sign. “Deuces.”
“Bella, you are going and that is final!” Rogan roared. Bella turned and saw that his eyes had lit up like twin flames and a curlicue of smoke was leaking from his nose. He looked frightening and he scared Bella just a little, but she refused to be cowed.
“I don’t care what you say. I won’t go.” Bella said, and Rogan huffed. He pulled out Bella’s necklace and dangled it in front of his face. He spat out a bit of flame and curled it around his fingers. Bella was amazed he didn’t burn or that the fire didn’t spread. He was somehow controlling it as he moved it across his fingers. He held the flame over the necklace.
“Think of your poor aunt and uncle back on Earth. Think of your birthright falling prey to dragonfire,” he taunted.
Bella narrowed her eyes and growled low in her throat. She cursed low and hard and then spun on her heel. She could hear Rogan’s laughter as she stomped angrily down the hallway, Hildevar and Alannah in tow.
“You are going the wrong way,” Alannah told her, only to have Bella exclaim, “I don’t freaking care!”
Hildevar gently urged Bella the right way and told her, “I will be with you the whole time, my queen.”
“I will, too!” Alannah chimed in, and Hildevar looked over at her in surprise.
“We will both be with you,” Hildevar amended. “You will be perfectly safe.”
Bella grumbled, and they made their way to her chambers. The other servants had made short work of packing her things, and breakfast sat beneath a clear bubble on a tray.
Hildevar spoke softly, and the bubble popped. Steam rose, and Bella took in a deep breath of the fragrant food. Her stomach rumbled, and she looked about embarrassedly.
“Please, my queen,” Hildevar pleaded. “Eat. You will feel better with a full belly.”
Bella couldn’t argue and sat down to eat. She watched Hildevar and Alannah clean here and there as well as pack a few extra things.
Bella ate her fill and then sat back. “What are the Darklands like?”
Hildevar heaved a sigh and stopped her movements. “Exactly as it says. It is a dark place. Nothing grows there. The things that do feed on—well, darkness.”
“What?!” Bella exclaimed.
“The things that grow there are quite the opposite of the things we see here. Plants thrive on the two suns. The plants there thrive on the darkness. They look black and twisted; some of them are alive. It isn’t usually safe to walk through.”
“And we’re going how?”
“There is only one way through. On foot. Of course, there are some spells that can be used to fold distance and manipulate time, but we cannot fly or shift there,” Hildevar replied, and Alannah nodded.
“My mother went on a journey there with another clan long ago before I was born. They traveled on foot. It was very dangerous.”
Hildevar shot Alannah a look. “What?!” she snapped. “She should know what she is getting into!”
“She is our queen,” she told Alannah, and Alannah nodded.
“Yes, well,” Alannah continued as she folded a blanket and placed it into a carrier. “A queen should be well informed.”
Bella raised her glass. “Here, here.”
Hildevar shot Bella a look, and she giggled. Hildevar caught herself and looked away.
“No, Hildevar, that was great. Let go sometimes. I don’t mind.”
HIldevar sighed and then looked Bella square in the eye. “I can speak my mind, milady?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I have your word?”
Bella shrugged. “Sure.”
Bella felt a shiver hit her, and she looked around.
“What was that?”
Hildevar blinked. “An oath.”
Bella sighed. “OMG! What is with you guys and oaths?”
“I don’t know what that means, but oaths are valuable to our people.”
“You have my oath then.”
“I think you should just listen to Rogan. He’s a good man, and he knows what he is doing.”
“Blah, blah. Tell me something else.”
“Bella, he isn’t like the others around here. He really wants to make things better for all of us. And with you by his side, he can make that happen,” Hildevar insisted.
Bella looked over at Alannah who nodded. “I agree.”
“But I have a life! I have things to do!”
“What’s more important than saving an entire world?” Hildevar queried, and Bella was at a loss for words for a moment.
“My freedom, that’s what!”
“Rogan will treat you well. You will have the freedom you want,” Alannah told her, and Bella shook her head.
“You don’t understand. I like my life. I want to help, but—I don’t know. There are ways for me to go about it without having to leave everything behind and get married, I’m sure.”
“There is no other way. The promise is what it must be. And honestly, you’re not getting a bad lot. Rogan is--” Hildevar hesitated, “Rogan is nice on the eyes. And he’s nice on the inside too. You’re quite lucky. My future husband looks like a toad.”
Alannah giggled. “Mine, too. I am loathe to have to lay with him. But it is my duty.”
Hildevar said nothing a moment and then spoke up. “I—I love Frenrir, actually.”
Bella racked her brain, feeling as if she’d heard the name before. A lightbulb seemed to go off for her, and she smiled widely. “One of Rogan’s men?”
“Yes, but I am promised to another.”
“Why can’t you all just marry who you want?” Bella asked, and the two shrugged.
“It is how things are done,” Hildevar answered. Bella thought of this and frowned, the wheels turning in her head.
Bella sighed. “I don’t know how you all just accept things.”
Alannah shrugged. “I donna want to,” she said. “But what can be done? I am far better off here in the castle than out there, tending to a barren plot of land with many bairn I canna take care of with a husband who drinks.”
Hildevar nodded as they arranged the room. Bella chewed on her food thoughtfully.
“So, if I go with Rogan and meet his—father, what will happen?”
Hildevar stopped what she was doing and looked up at Bella. “He will bless the marriage. It is tradition.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
Hildevar looked a bit uncomfortable and looked over at Alannah who said nothing.
“He will,” Hildevar breathed.
“But what if he doesn’t?”
“It has only happened once in a dragon clan,” Alannah commented, and Hildevar’s face filled with anger.
“Remember, Hildevar, you promised you would tell me everything.”
Hildevar finished folding a delicate square of silk and sighed. “It was a very long time ago. The clan leader refused the bride of a neighboring clan. It caused war. It was a very—trying time for the clans. Some say it is why our numbers are low. The scorned bride cursed us.”
Alannah snorted. “That is a load of marx bollocks if you ask me. Our numbers are low simply because they are. Who can know the ways of the gods? Perhaps they no longer feel we serve their purpose.”
Hildevar cursed low and hard in that strange, musical language that both intrigued and mystified Bella.
“What did you just say?” Bella asked, and Hildevar blushed.
“It was—uncouth, your majesty.”
Bella smiled and dug into the rest of her meal with gusto.
“So, when do we leave for the Darklands?” Bella queried, and Hildevar gave her a confused look.
“You do not object?”
Bella shrugged and tugged a succulent piece of fruit off her fork.
“We leave in an hour’s time.”
“Rogan doesn’t play around, does he?” Bella murmured.
*
An hour later, Bella was watching with interest as servants were busily placing heavy blankets, furs and throws into ornately enclosed wagons. She was nearly sweating in the heat, as the two suns were towering high in the sky and the breeze only swept by a few times, carrying with it the promise of sweltering summer heat.
Puzzled, Bella approached Alannah who was feverishly packing gloves and hats in a bin.
“What’s the deal?” Bella asked as Alannah turned around. “It’s hot out here. It’s what? Late spring? Why do we need all that?”
Alannah dropped a pair of fur leggings into a basket and placed it into a wagon.
“Well,” she began, “The Darklands are always—cold.”
“Always?”
“Yes, my queen,” another servant chimed in. Bella had seen the woman a few times here and there. Bella had heard her referred to as Cyndra. She was an older woman, quite possibly in her late forties, and she graced Bella with a smile.
“There is snow piled high. Those who get caught in there can catch their deaths in the cold, amongst other things.”
Intrigued, Bella leaned forward. “What other things?”
Cyndra shot Alannah a look. The courtyard was a flurry of activity, and the two looked around inconspicuously. “My queen,” Cyndra said softly. “Perhaps it’s not for me to say, but—there are dangerous magic creatures in those lands. But you’ll be safe. All the wagons here have been enchanted. The men carry weapons forged with powerful spells. And Rogan himself is a master spell caster. He will protect you with his life.”
Bella chewed her lip a bit nervously and looked between the two women. “Is there anything else I should know about this place?”
Cyndra sighed. “My queen, you will be safe. But do not leave the enchanted wagons and walk a path of your own. It is—dangerous for one such as yourself.”
Bella nodded. “Thank you, Cyndra.”
Cyndra bowed politely and hurried away to her duties. Alannah smiled widely, and Bella found herself responding.
“I am a bit excited, my queen. It is like an adventure.”
Bella sighed and watched as the activity began to slow and servants began to pile into the wagons. Rogan walked about, overseeing everything, and Bella felt a presence behind her.She turned to see Hildevar, who curtsied and began to pull Bella into one of the wagons, followed by Alannah, who bounced excitedly in her seat.
The inside of the wagon was plush and luxurious. It was wide with padded seating on both sides, cushy chairs, and a soft and heavily insulated interior. Sumptuous silks and fabrics lined the area and a great circle of pillows and padding lay in the front behind the driver. Windows were cut out on both sides of the wagon, and Bella could see everyone scrambling as they neared the end of their preparations.
A small hearth sat in one corner and it all looked cozy and warm. Bella watched out one of the windows as Rogan’s men saddled their beasts and tethered them. Rogan came traipsing into the trailer where Bella sat and threw his hard body alongside. She felt an instant arc of electricity fly through her but ignored it and instead gave him a small smile.
“So, to the Darklands we go, huh? Will it take long to get there?” she asked, and he shrugged.
“Not if we go a’foldin’,” he told her, and she made a face.
“Folding?”
“We will fold the distance. It cannot be done once we reach the Darklands’ borders. It would be unwise to even try.”
Their driver strode up then, heavily muscled and heavily armed. His body was branded in tattoos that moved and writhed. He nodded respectfully to Rogan, who returned the gesture and then he took the reins.
They began to move quickly, as the beasts that pulled the wagons, though built similarly to horses from Earth, were vastly superior in speed and musculature. The landscape seemed to whizz by, and soon they were slowing, the cantering beasts going into an easy trot. The wagons lined up as they moved onto a trail in a forest. The sun was setting, and Rogan stood and moved to whisper something to their driver, who nodded. Every carriage stopped and each driver stood at attention. Rogan whispered something to the driver again, who nodded and whistled. Soon, the world around them seemed to waver, melt and then dissolve. Bella clutched the nearest pillow and watched as they all reappeared in a snow-covered plain near a frozen line of dead, dark trees.
The change in temperature was drastic. Bella shivered, and Rogan covered her with a warm blanket. She gave him a small, grateful smile as a fire began roaring in the small hearth and, after a moment, the wagon was balmy with just a little hint of chill. Bella sighed in with relief and cuddled up in the blanket against the mountain of pillows and padding. A snow storm was brewing, and fat flakes were floating about the air and were soon whipping up in a frenzy, turning the landscape a blinding white.
It was jarring to Bella to go from a warm sunny day to a wintry climate. Rogan seemed to be taking it all in stride as he strode confidently from the wagon and out to a few of the other carriages, directing and shouting instructions. Everyone else seemed a bit tense; even Alannah had ceased her chatter and was sitting, looking out of the window with a strange expression upon her face.
Bella could feel something building around them. It crackled against her senses, and Bella shifted uncomfortably and felt her breath catch in her throat. Rogan rejoined her inside and, as if pulled by some silent signal, the wagons all began to roll onto a trail carved into the dark, dense forest. The trail wound around the trees, whose skeletal branches seemed to move of their own volition. Bella felt a chill creep down her spine.
“Do we have to go in there?” Bella asked incredulously.
Rogan said nothing, and soon they were creeping into the cold, dark forest. Bella pulled herself deeper into the wagon as they rolled along. The forest is what nightmares are made of, Bella thought. She was kicking herself for agreeing to go along with Rogan. She was supposed to be finding a way out from her situation, she reminded herself. Not meeting the in-laws.
Everyone was silent as they crept along. A feeling of intense trepidation hit Bella, and she moved further back into the wagon, taking a position by the small hearth. She took a quick peek out of one of the windows and could see nothing but darkness. She squinted a bit more and made out glowing things, things that made her shiver and nearly quake with fear. After a moment, she realized that there were eyes. Eyes of creatures she couldn’t fathom, she knew, but creatures nonetheless. They glowed in the gloomy, inky darkness, and she quickly turned from the window and took up residence near Rogan once more.
She folded herself into the warm furs and blankets and found herself leaning into Rogan just a bit and then blushed when she caught herself. There was something protective coming off of him, and part of Bella wanted to revel in it. Instead, she looked out into the darkness around the driver and listened to the strange whistle of the wind through the barren trees. The snow began to come down a bit again after it had halted abruptly earlier. Now, flakes whirled in different patterns about the traveling group and Bella laid herself down gently and scooted forward so she could watch the passing landscape from the pile of pillows and blankets.
With the warmth of the wagon and the cheery light from the hearth, Bella could almost convince herself that the darkness was just some backdrop and that the creatures in the trees were figments of her imagination. However, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that they were infringing on alien territory, and the feeling persisted as the night waned on.
Bella tried distracting herself with a bit of food that Hildevar handed her, wrapped daintily in a napkin. It was a sweet dessert, and Bella swallowed it down without really tasting it, her eyes scanning the darkness around them as they moved through the wilderness. Bella strained her ears and noticed that the scampering, scattering and errant noises around them had ceased, and they were traveling in absolute silence, as if something or someone were watching them.
She could see that Rogan was tense; his body looked wound tight upon himself, his dragon eyes whirling with a kaleidoscope of colors. They traveled some distance into the depths of the forest, the wagon brushing errant tree branches and limbs, when suddenly a loud cry echoed through the forest, and the wagons all stopped at once. Bella shivered and sunk lower into the pallet of blankets. The sound echoed once more, and a shot of fear raced down Bella’s spine. She glanced over at Alannah and saw the young woman was gripping a blanket tightly in her hands, a look of apprehension washing across her face.
Hildevar was staring out of the window and straining her eyes, her shoulders tense and bunched. Something was out there, waiting. Bella wanted to ask what it was they were waiting for, but couldn’t bring herself to fill the pregnant silence with sound. Instead, she looked over at Rogan, who was staring off into the night, his face unreadable.
Rogan tapped the driver, who nodded. The sound came closer this time and seemed a mix between a loud growl and a fervent hiss. Bella peeked out from the wagon, and her eyes were resting on the black branches of the dead trees, her mind slowly picking out shapes, and then she was pulling back into the safety of the wagon. She took a chance and peeked out once more, and she could see the things clearly beneath the bright moonlight.
The creatures looked like huge crocodile-like snakes. Their red eyes pierced the darkness of the night as they circled the caravan, looking for a way in. Attracted by the calls of their brethren, more of the creatures came to inspect what was probably, for them, a tasty meal. Bella tried to slow her breathing, and she pulled herself into the circle of the hearth’s light. She gulped convulsively, and both Hildevar and Alannah flanked her, worry etched on their faces.
The creatures cried out once more, and this time, Bella sensed there was a bit of urgency to their unearthly screams. Rogan slipped out of the wagon along with their driver, and Bella found herself reaching out for him, words caught in her throat, as the strange creatures converged upon them.
Suddenly, the forest grew deathly quiet, and Bella couldn’t speak, couldn’t think for the intense and ominous feeling building within her. And then the creatures revealed an even more chilling dimension of themselves: they could fly. The first creature gave what was probably a rallying cry as it arced over the wagons and then dived down. It hit what seemed to be some kind of invisible shield that glowed blue upon the creature’s impact. The creature screamed as if hurt and then tumbled down to the ground before shaking its huge head and standing on its haunches, its gaze trained eerily on Bella.
There was a look of something knowing in its animal face, and Bella’s mind went back to the night she drove to her aunt and uncle’s and spied what she thought was a shadowy figure on the road and at the station. She shook her head clear of such thoughts. That’s impossible, she thought dismissively.
There was no way the creature from this strange land was connected to what had surely been the product of a lack of sleep and stress, Bella assured herself. And yet, the creature was still gazing at Bella with a nearly evil grin as others came to stand abreast of it. They were all looking at Bella now, and she gulped.
Rogan raised his right arm, and a ball of fire spilled out from his fingers. He was gazing with rapt attention at a circle of the creatures, their eyes glowing hard with the added light from Rogan’s flames. Rogan suddenly shot out, and the dragon’s fire rolled past the invisible shield and straight to one of the creatures who was instantly incinerated. An angry cry welled up from the rank of the creatures, and they began to pour out of the trees. Bella finally broke her silence.
“What’s happening?!” she exclaimed, and Hildevar shook her head, her body shaking with fear.
“I don’t know, my queen!”
A flock of the creatures were wheeling about the air, and Bella crept a bit more out of the wagon and looked up at the sky. She gasped. There were so many of them. A tangle of the creatures were high above them, and more than a few of them dived down, right towards the wagon where Bella was housed. Bella yelled as the creatures all flew at the shield, which held steady. A loud zap reverberated across the forest as the creatures were repelled, only for them to try again.
All of Rogan’s men were now clambering out of the wagons and issuing dragon flames of their own, incinerating as many of the creatures as they could. The creatures all seemed to be concentrating their efforts on the wagon where Bella was, and Hildevar yanked Bella away from the wagon’s opening and closed the doors, effectively sealing them inside.
“Hey!” Bella exclaimed, and Hildevar shook her head.
“You are my duty. My king and his men are doing what they can, my queen.”
Hildevar and Alannah exchanged a look and then began chanting hard, flexing their fingers and hands in slow graceful movements, prompting the air to glow with fragments of light. Runes etched onto the side glowed and were heavily lit as the two women chanted, their voices sounding musical and beautiful to Bella’s ears, in spite of her fear.
The sounds of battle outside became harsh and loud as the creatures tried hard to break the barrier. Bella looked out at one window and could see that the shield seemed to be glowing dimmer and dimmer with each progressive hit.
Bella came to a shocking realization. The shield would not hold. These creatures were not some stupid beasts trying to attack. They were systematically wearing down the shield, and it was working. The wagon suddenly rocked, and Bella screamed as she fell to the floor. Hildevar began chanting harder, with Alannah doing a bit of chanting in between.
“Ar’chadh dah….luich noch nah,” Bella picked up as Hildevar walked the length of the wagon with Alannah following behind, her hands weaving a complicated pattern in the air.
The wagon rocked once more, and Bella could hear screaming outside. She scrambled back onto her feet and flung open the doors to see that the creatures were swarming the wagons. They had broken the shield. Rogan was in the midst of a fray, swinging his sword hard.
“No, my queen!” Hildevar shrieked and pulled Bella back just as a creature swept before her, nearly pulling her away. Rogan had discarded his shirt, and huge wings with red, yellow, and orange scales were hanging from Rogan’s back, and fangs hung down from his lips. He curled his lips back from his teeth even more into a snarl as he pulled the creature away from the wagon.
Rogan wheeled up into the sky, he and the creature fiercely fighting. Bella turned to see Hildevar’s eyes glowing in a mosaic of colors, as well as Alannah’s. The wagon rocked then pitched and fell over. Bella keened and felt Alannah’s hands seeking her own. Alannah pulled Bella out of the wagon, and Hildevar followed.
Outside, it was chaos. Men and creatures were fighting, and flames lit up the cold night sky.
Bella looked over to Hildevar and then screamed as a creature grabbed her up and leaped off into the night.
“Hildevar!” Bella shouted and made to give chase. Alannah pulled her back, tears streaming down her face as she continued to chant.
“Let go of me! We have to save her!”
Bella could see Hildevar high above them. The creature was struggling to hold on to its newly-caught prey, but Hildevar was fighting back. Wings sprouted out of Hildevar’s back and ripped her dress. Glowing eyes were set against the snake-like thing, and Hildevar struck at the thing with long, deadly fangs. The creature yelled and nearly dropped her before resuming its hold. It began to fly off with a kicking, screaming Hildevar in tow.
Bella shrugged off Alannah’s hold and ran off into the forest, her legs pumping. She could hear Rogan calling behind her, but she kept her sights on Hildevar high above her. Tears were spilling down her face as she ran, determined to help the woman who had quickly become more than a teacher and a confidant. She was a friend.
Bella cursed low and hard. She came from a magical family and didn’t even know any spells, she was useless, she thought to herself as she kicked at the dead bracken and rushed over fallen logs. Hildevar was still struggling, her dress was ripped even more and she was morphing and changing into a full-blown dragon.
Bella gazed in awe a moment later as Hildevar snapped with powerful jaws at the creature above her. Her flames lit up the sky, and Bella could see that where Rogan was a fiery flame, Hildevar was a cool silver, her scales decked out in various shades of blue and iridescent gray.
Bella snapped out of her reverie and looked around. She grabbed a few rocks and launched them at the creature but to no avail. Bella was about to throw another rock when she felt something grab her leg and pull her back into the darkness of the trees. Bella cried out, her hands scrambling to find purchase on the barren ground and dirt. Whatever had her was squeezing painfully against her ankle, and Bella was suddenly flipped over. What she saw was nightmare-inducing.
A huge snake-like creature was standing over her, but it looked different than the others. It sported horns and had a humanoid appearance. It was also twice as big as the ones she had seen. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. The thing’s eyes seemed to take in her visage, and it grunted before dragging her once more along the ground.
“Stop!” Bella exclaimed and grabbed a rock as she was rushed past a line of trees. She pummeled the creature with the rock, and it stopped. It turned and growled. Bella tried to scramble away and managed to get to her feet. She stumbled through the copse of trees and through a tangle of black vines with the thing behind her in hot pursuit. Bella could still hear Hildevar roaring in the sky above her, struggling to overpower the creature as they fought and battled.
When the thing was finally close to her, close enough to pull her back into the trees, a deep feeling resonated through Bella, and she did the one thing she was born to do: she sang.
The note was sharp and crisp and rent the air. She didn’t know any spells, but an old hand at crafting her own songs and tunes. Bella wove such a song from the depths of her being, commanding the thing to not only stop, but to perish, to burn from the intensity of her fear and hatred.
Then, the thing was on fire, burning, screaming and whimpering. The creature that had a hold of Hildevar was burning, too, and it dropped the newly transformed woman and yelled in agony. Hildevar fell with a whine and then stood up on shaky legs. She huffed, and Bella approached cautiously, not having ever approached a dragon in her life. Hildevar’s eyes were glowing in a face that sported a snout and claws. Her arms and wings made Bella look miniscule in comparison to the hulking dragon before her.
The dragon that was Hildevar made a noise high in its throat, and it seemed beseeching, an entreaty seeming to spill from its maw. Bella nodded.
“If you’re trying to say let’s get the hell out of here, then yes, let’s,” Bella said and found herself being snatched up and pulled up high in the air.
Bella gasped. The wind was hitting her face, and everything below her looked so far away. Hildevar’s wings were pumping hard as she carried them back to the wagon. Bella could see Rogan and his men in deep combat, many of them, including Rogan himself, were half in transformation, wings out and beating against strong backs, fangs long and ripping into flesh, and swords flashing as they swung in high arcs through the air.
Rogan spied Bella as she was placed gently on the ground by Hildevar.
“Bella!” he yelled, an undercurrent of joy running through his voice, and Bella shivered. Something inside Bella clicked, and she felt—different for a moment, as if she were somehow seeing a best friend from a long absence or feeling the embrace of a loved one you hadn’t seen in years. Bella sighed as warmth suffused her, and then she was staring at Rogan, into his eyes. He stared back at her. Distracted, he didn’t see the big huge creature behind him, but before it could cut him down, Bella sang.
She sang about overcoming enemies, about vanquishing those who wished to do harm and protecting those who cared. And soon, the creatures were burning, thrashing in pain and dissolving into heaps of dark, sooty ash.
Bella ended her song spell in a high, throaty wail, and trails of ash laced the night sky, falling before the dragons in soft fat flakes. The dragons in the sky fell gracefully and landed before Bella. They bowed in unison, many of them transforming back to their human forms.
“Hail the queen,” they said, and Bella turned to Hildevar, who was now human and looking at her with awe and wonder. Though naked now, she too bowed.
Rogan came abreast of Bella and smiled wide. “You are truly worthy to be queen,” he said as he transformed.
He strode up, grinned, and then he kissed her.