Chapter 34: Dragon to the rescue
"You were using children to sell the fruits, which were meant for the lord!" The guard yelled, and the other one unsheathed his sword. "This is a crime."
"But, I was going to pay them," Elias protested. Yet, the guard, who had his sword out, pointed it at him.
"I knew that we shouldn't have let you, a mere beast, inside Crystargar. You had one job, and that was to supply the lord and mayor with strawberries. And what did you do? Sold it to just about anyone, swindling them of their money!" Lysander looked at the guard, who had his sword drawn.
This was bad. He was too small, to tangle with a fully grown man. More than that, he was too small to fight. Now, more than ever, he missed Paul, who had to stay outside in the forest. The pup was big enough now, to at least buy them time to escape. Or, it might have ended up stabbed, and then Lysander wouldn't have forgiven himself.
"Come with us, all three of you. You are to face a trial," the other guard said. Erin's hands reached out, and he gripped Lysander's. The blonde's eyes were wide. He had just wanted to help, he had fun. Did he do bad? Will he be spanked again?
"We didn't do anything bad," Erin said, his voice wavering, water pooling into his eyes. "We are just orphans, who came in here to sell herbs."
"Orphans? Then your place is in the orphanage," the guard said. Yet, his gaze softened, when he took in Erin's coloring. In his mind, this must be a noble's child, who was down on his luck. The other child could be disfigured, but no less noble. Suddenly, the anger the guard felt at the satyr multiplied.
"Why didn't you let these two children go to the orphanage? Did you kidnap them? Brainwashed them with magic?" He asked the satyr.
"No, we just became traveling companions. We all live in the frontier," Elias tried to explain. Suddenly, the guard who had his sword out moved closer to Elias, and hit him with the hilt of the sword over the head.
"Don't lie, beast. For the crime of kidnapping, we will have your head. Robert, take the children to the orphanage. I will make sure this beast gets to the executioner's block," the guard said.
"Bad!" Erin said, as he began to heave. "You are awful, evil, men!"
Mana enveloped him, and his skin began to turn into scales. Lysander tried to touch the boy, but his skin was too hot for him to get a grip.
"Bad!" Erin yelled again, his eyes blazing. "Only a judge gets to say, who dies!"
"Just what is this boy?" The guard who had hit Elias backed away. The crowd also began to back away, sensing trouble.
"A dragon shifter," Lysander said quickly. "He is as big as a mountain, he is! If you don't let us go back home, he will burn the whole of Crystargar!"
"A dragon? Here?" People panicked, and nearly trampled on each other, in their haste, to get away. Even the two guards ran.
"Come now, boys, let us be off," Elias said, not disturbed at the fact that Erin's skin was smoking. He knew more about dragon shifters, than these townsfolk. More than that, judging by how small Erin was, he was certain, that he could only take the form of a drake.
The three ran off, with Erin still smoking. He was so angry, he did turn into a drake, just when they exited through the gates. Lysander didn't know if the guards had noticed, so he made Erin run before both Elias and he, so they could cover him with their bodies.
When they passed the gates of the frontier, the three finally stopped.
Erin roared, smoke rising from his maw.
"My boy, please calm down," Elias said, as he knelt before Erin. "Don't let the bigots win. You are better than this."
Erin heard a bark, and saw that Paul had followed them, even without them asking him to. The wolf pup came to him, and licked Erin's nose, which was quite cool.
Erin was still angry, and wanted to burn down something. Yet, he also knew that he was safe now. Little by little, he began to shift back into a human.
"Well, Crystargar won't soon welcome us back," Elias said, looking back in the direction of the town. "What a shame. They made the best mead there."
"A bunch of baddies!" Erin yelled, his fists balled.
"That is not fair, Rin. The people who wanted to eat strawberries were nice, weren't they? They even gave us some coins," Lysander said. It just won't do, if Erin began to place every person in Crystargar in the same group, as the two guards.
"I suppose," Erin said. Then, his bottom lip quivered. "I couldn't get you a present, and now we can never go back."
"Oh, you will have plenty of chances to go back, mark my words," Elias said. "Besides, there are more towns, than Crystargar."
"Yeah, but the herbal shop that trades with me is in Crystargar," Lysander lamented. Elias sighed.
"The lord is not the nicest, the mayor is helpless before him. Boys, you better not set a foot in Crystargar, in the coming three-five years," Elias told them, and then looked at the coin pouch he had collected. "Let me walk you back to your home. The forest can be dangerous."
"We will be fine," Lysander said. After all, between Erin's dragon powers, and Lysander's dagger, they had pretty good chances of making it through back to the hut.
"Will we see you again, Eli?" Erin asked, holding up a hand for the satyr to shake.
"Do you see the fork in the road? The one leading east?" Elias asked, and the two boys nodded. "Just follow the road to my hut, and I will treat you to strawberries, when we see each other next."
With a wave, the satyr skipped along the road. The boys took the other fork in the road, and headed home. Yet, Erin couldn't shake the feeling, that this was not over. For some reason, he felt fear rise in his chest.
Chapter 34: Dragon to the rescue
"You were using children to sell the fruits, which were meant for the lord!" The guard yelled, and the other one unsheathed his sword. "This is a crime."
"But, I was going to pay them," Elias protested. Yet, the guard, who had his sword out, pointed it at him.
"I knew that we shouldn't have let you, a mere beast, inside Crystargar. You had one job, and that was to supply the lord and mayor with strawberries. And what did you do? Sold it to just about anyone, swindling them of their money!" Lysander looked at the guard, who had his sword drawn.
This was bad. He was too small, to tangle with a fully grown man. More than that, he was too small to fight. Now, more than ever, he missed Paul, who had to stay outside in the forest. The pup was big enough now, to at least buy them time to escape. Or, it might have ended up stabbed, and then Lysander wouldn't have forgiven himself.
"Come with us, all three of you. You are to face a trial," the other guard said. Erin's hands reached out, and he gripped Lysander's. The blonde's eyes were wide. He had just wanted to help, he had fun. Did he do bad? Will he be spanked again?
"We didn't do anything bad," Erin said, his voice wavering, water pooling into his eyes. "We are just orphans, who came in here to sell herbs."
"Orphans? Then your place is in the orphanage," the guard said. Yet, his gaze softened, when he took in Erin's coloring. In his mind, this must be a noble's child, who was down on his luck. The other child could be disfigured, but no less noble. Suddenly, the anger the guard felt at the satyr multiplied.
"Why didn't you let these two children go to the orphanage? Did you kidnap them? Brainwashed them with magic?" He asked the satyr.
"No, we just became traveling companions. We all live in the frontier," Elias tried to explain. Suddenly, the guard who had his sword out moved closer to Elias, and hit him with the hilt of the sword over the head.
"Don't lie, beast. For the crime of kidnapping, we will have your head. Robert, take the children to the orphanage. I will make sure this beast gets to the executioner's block," the guard said.
"Bad!" Erin said, as he began to heave. "You are awful, evil, men!"
Mana enveloped him, and his skin began to turn into scales. Lysander tried to touch the boy, but his skin was too hot for him to get a grip.
"Bad!" Erin yelled again, his eyes blazing. "Only a judge gets to say, who dies!"
"Just what is this boy?" The guard who had hit Elias backed away. The crowd also began to back away, sensing trouble.
"A dragon shifter," Lysander said quickly. "He is as big as a mountain, he is! If you don't let us go back home, he will burn the whole of Crystargar!"
"A dragon? Here?" People panicked, and nearly trampled on each other, in their haste, to get away. Even the two guards ran.
"Come now, boys, let us be off," Elias said, not disturbed at the fact that Erin's skin was smoking. He knew more about dragon shifters, than these townsfolk. More than that, judging by how small Erin was, he was certain, that he could only take the form of a drake.
The three ran off, with Erin still smoking. He was so angry, he did turn into a drake, just when they exited through the gates. Lysander didn't know if the guards had noticed, so he made Erin run before both Elias and he, so they could cover him with their bodies.
When they passed the gates of the frontier, the three finally stopped.
Erin roared, smoke rising from his maw.
"My boy, please calm down," Elias said, as he knelt before Erin. "Don't let the bigots win. You are better than this."
Erin heard a bark, and saw that Paul had followed them, even without them asking him to. The wolf pup came to him, and licked Erin's nose, which was quite cool.
Erin was still angry, and wanted to burn down something. Yet, he also knew that he was safe now. Little by little, he began to shift back into a human.
"Well, Crystargar won't soon welcome us back," Elias said, looking back in the direction of the town. "What a shame. They made the best mead there."
"A bunch of baddies!" Erin yelled, his fists balled.
"That is not fair, Rin. The people who wanted to eat strawberries were nice, weren't they? They even gave us some coins," Lysander said. It just won't do, if Erin began to place every person in Crystargar in the same group, as the two guards.
"I suppose," Erin said. Then, his bottom lip quivered. "I couldn't get you a present, and now we can never go back."
"Oh, you will have plenty of chances to go back, mark my words," Elias said. "Besides, there are more towns, than Crystargar."
"Yeah, but the herbal shop that trades with me is in Crystargar," Lysander lamented. Elias sighed.
"The lord is not the nicest, the mayor is helpless before him. Boys, you better not set a foot in Crystargar, in the coming three-five years," Elias told them, and then looked at the coin pouch he had collected. "Let me walk you back to your home. The forest can be dangerous."
"We will be fine," Lysander said. After all, between Erin's dragon powers, and Lysander's dagger, they had pretty good chances of making it through back to the hut.
"Will we see you again, Eli?" Erin asked, holding up a hand for the satyr to shake.
"Do you see the fork in the road? The one leading east?" Elias asked, and the two boys nodded. "Just follow the road to my hut, and I will treat you to strawberries, when we see each other next."
With a wave, the satyr skipped along the road. The boys took the other fork in the road, and headed home. Yet, Erin couldn't shake the feeling, that this was not over. For some reason, he felt fear rise in his chest.
