The stranger was gone. Val looked around, trying to find the thug that had kidnapped her, however, she saw that the carriage outside was gone. They were up to something. The place she was in was unfamiliar, there was no memory of it in Val’s mind. Where had they taken her?
‘Hello?’ She searched the small location in the hopes that this was all a trick, that the girl was not alone in a place far from the Outpost, the place she had once called home. In two weeks, Valentin Morosa’s life changed drastically. The queen of the place she lived in had been murdered, she had become part of the Resistance, she had let a dangerous prisoner go and finally, she had been kidnapped by thugs wearing dragon masks.
There was a very faint tapping on the window of the building, a tapping that Val could just barely hear. Who or what is tapping on the window? The tapping got louder, it was a crescendo. TAP! Val looked around. TAP!TAP! She thrust her fist through the nearest window, the glass shattered and dug into her knuckles. Val winced. Blood trickled from her hand, spilling onto the marble floor. There was nobody at the window. I must be going insane then, Val thought, questioning her sanity. Val turned around and was surprised to find a familiar man staring right at her. The girl could not see the figure’s face in the shadows, but the eyes reminded her of something. A flashback of herself getting pushed down the stairs played as she looked into his eyes. The prisoner. Except, there was no dathryl in his eyes.
‘Well, well, well.’ His very voice made Val want to strangle him even more.’It seems that the bitch has survived.’ He ransacked the drawers of the room Val had awoken in. There was a sharp knife that shone in the light. The prisoner grabbed it.
‘You will not get out this time, no matter if he wants you or not. I will slit your throat and show you no mercy.’ He smiled, and with the knife, stabbed her in the gums. She could feel the metal piercing through the roof of her mouth. ‘Maybe this will teach you not to blab to the Prince of Syronia.’
Val felt a sharp pain in her mouth. Deep down, she was shivering. This man was a twisted psycho, an isana as they would say in Val’s mother tongue.
‘Please,’ She tried to hold back the pain, but that just made the prisoner put the blade in even further, Val felt it go even deeper. ‘What do you want? Is it revenge? You have already done much worse than whatever I have done to you.’
‘Stupid girl, you have no idea what you have done!’ He took the blade from her mouth and held it to her neck. ‘Because of you blabbing, there is now a penalty above my head, a target. What is worse, is that he knows I have failed. I will pay because of your survival. My life will be taken because of you!’
‘You have a chance, he is gone at the moment. I am sure that he will not do something so wicked to one of his loyal servants.’ Val tried to persuade the prisoner from killing her.
‘Where would I go? None of the countries wants a prisoner, a convict. I have to kill you, it is the only way I can stop him from unleashing his wrath!’ Val sobbed, hoping her death would be a quick one. I am fortunate to have made it this far.
‘Enough!’ A booming voice erupted from behind her. Then, the prisoner held the knife closer to Val’s neck.
‘Master, I am just about to kill her for you. Give me a second.’ The prisoner tried to slit her throat, but a strong force was stopping his hand from doing so. The leader of the thugs that had set the Emperor’s Palace on fire had stepped forward and was now staring at the both of them.
His hands clutched onto a small brown bag over someone’s head.
‘There has been a change of plan.’ The elegant voice spoke,’ The Dathryl has turned you insane, Jon. You almost killed the person that is vital to vanquishing my enemy. Put the blade down before I put you down,’ He turned to face just Val now. ‘You have finally recovered. Now, I must warn you that tonight will be noisy, for we have captured-’ He paused and took the brown bag from the person’s head, ‘The Emperor himself!’
Everyone in the building clapped apart from Val. She just stared into the eyes of the Emperor and saw all she needed to. As much as he had been wicked, he did not deserve to be tormented by these thugs.
‘Let him go.’ Val covered her mouth immediately and scolded herself. This was it. Her kidnapper would show her the meaning of pain.
‘She speaks,’ The man turned to his friends, ‘Why do you suggest such a thing? Do you know what horrible things happened because of the Emperor? 847,000 magic users were killed last year. Let me put that in perspective for your dim mind. 847,000 people are the equivalent of half of the kingdom. They suffered while he sat back and watched. Now, he can watch.’ He opened the doors of the place and took the Emperor to a small carriage. He put the man in and called for Val.
‘Would you rather stay here and perish, or come and witness the event of a lifetime?’ None of the two choices was particularly good for Val, but for her safety, she came with the masked man.
⤖
The carriage stopped. The masked man stepped out, taking Val with him. A great tower was in view from where Val was standing, which she knew as the Citadel, a place for each country to discuss the fate of the kingdom. Ten barrels of gunpowder were beside the masked man.
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‘No,’ Val told him, ‘Only he deserves this, not the other Royals, they are innocent. Please, let us just go somewhere else, like the Emperor’s Palace. We can blow that place up-’ The masked man was already gone and so were the barrels of gunpowder.
Val knocked out one of the thugs that were left to make sure she did not escape and took a dagger from his hand. She cut the Emperor free and elbowed the man operating the carriage in the face. Val put the Emperor on the back of the horse and climbed on. Oh, dear, I have not been on a horse in a very long time. She took the reins and rode to the Outpost. They would know what to do, or would they? It would be too risky to go there, she had to go somewhere the Emperor was not hated. Val knew where but did not want to say it.
‘Where are we going?’ The Emperor asked her.
‘Syronia.’ The very place disgusted Val; she had no choice. This would be all over soon, and Val could return to the Outpost and could see Aurora. She would explain what had happened, and they would be together again. If only.
Rain poured down as Val rode the black steed to the land of evil that many called Syronia. It was the home of the Empire and was always being patrolled. There were accounts from survivors of the genocides, and all of them said to never cross Syronia if you had the chance. Well, Valentin Morosa had no chance, other than to abandon the Emperor, and doing that would put a target on her head. It was the only chance that would result in no bloodshed, so Val reluctantly accepted.
Water dripped from the leaves of the forest, and on the muddy ground, which had puddles galore. The rain drenched Val’s face, making it difficult to continue riding. However, she had to get past the forest before it got dark. People that went into the forest at night had gone missing and were presumed dead, but their bodies were never found.
‘So,’ The Emperor shouted over the noise of the torrential rain,’ Have we escaped the masked man?’
‘Fortunately, although he could still blow up the Citadel. But, that would be impossible because none of the Royals are in there. The Emperor did not respond, instead, he looked solemnly at Valentin.
‘On the way to the Citadel, I- He forced me to write letters to every Royal in the kingdom, telling them to all meet me at the Citadel and got one of his thugs to send it to them. We have to warn them at once.’
‘How are we supposed to do that? Unless you have not looked around, we are in the middle of the forest at the moment. It will be too late when we reach Syronia. Every path takes at least a week, and time is one of the only things we cannot control. The only thing I can think of is a dragon, but that is all the way in Razgaroth.’
‘Wait what? There are still dragons? I thought you got rid of all of the dragons.’ Val felt a sense of prosperity. If there were still dragons, magic could still be brought back.
‘Yes, but only one dragon is left. I always knew he kept one, but when the Empire started, I knew I could not take it from him, for he was one of my greatest friends. His name is Jack Sathilyn.’
The two of them rode to the humble abode of Jack Sathilyn, not knowing what would await them. They arrived at a small lodge in Razgaroth, past the Retyl-Hern. There was a red cross on the door. Val reconsidered going into the building.
She tried the doorknob. The door was open. She opened it, and the door slammed open because of the high winds.
‘Jack?’ The Emperor asked, creeping on the wooden floorboards. Hopefully, his friend would show remorse, and let them use the dragon to ride to Syronia and bring the Empire to the Citadel, along with warning the Royals before they walked to their deaths.
A haggard man appeared in front of Val. His beard was long and grey, and there were purple rings around his eyes. So this was Jack Sathilyn.
‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ Were his first words to the pair of them. He took a bottle of whiskey from one of the cupboards, and poured it into three glasses, giving more to himself than to anyone else. ‘I stopped contact with you as soon as you started that damned empire, so that is why I never responded. After your drink, get the fuck out of my house, before my dragon burns you to a crisp.’
‘Your dragon is the reason we are here, Jack. We need it, or every Royal in the kingdom will die tomorrow. Please, do not do it for us, but for the fate of the kingdom.’ Val was interrupted.
‘Who are you? You and my enemy walk into my house asking for my dragon, to help defend the Royals of your kingdom. I do not see any point in this.’
‘The girl asked nicely, so give us the dragon and we will get out of your sight forever. Please, you were my friend.’
‘Were, and only if you do something for me in exchange. You have to free Aurora Arkov from the Fortress. Yes, I heard. She tries to break this twisted empire and you imprison her? That girl is the only hope this kingdom has!’ He drank both of their cups and sloshed the alcohol in his mouth.
‘Fine. After this is finished. But, she has to be watched. Show us the dragon, and then we will ride it to Syronia, where we will save the kingdom. After that, your dragon will be put on the first boat back to Razgaroth.’
‘Thank you.’ He got up from the wooden stool and beckoned them to go down the spiral staircase to where the dragon slept. Val held a knife in her pocket just to make sure that Jack would yield what he had promised.
Jack led them to a large room and unveiled the dragon, which was sleeping under a piece of blue, velvet cloth. Val looked into its yellow eyes and saw all the pain and destruction it's kind had experienced. She tried to put a hand on its purple scales, but it flew around the room. The dragon is frightened.
‘You scared it. Only I can touch him without making him panic like that. Do not touch the dragon, or it will incinerate you.’ He pushed the two of them to the corner of the room and tried to calm the dragon down.
Val looked at the dragon. She had never seen a real one before, for the Empire had killed almost all of them, apart from this one. Its wings were almost as big as the room, and the creature’s horns touched the raised ceiling.
‘Calm, Myras, you have no reason to be afraid. They will not hurt you, I will not let them do that. Just let them ride you to where they need to be, and then, you will be able to fly back here,’ He stroked it on its snout,’ Is that okay?’
The dragon nodded. It seemed they would be able to ride it after all. Jack fetched a saddle, and some chains and put them on the dragon for the Emperor and Val.
‘Are you not coming with us?’ The Emperor asked Jack, wondering why he was not coming with them.
‘No, I must write to Aurora to tell her where to meet me after she is freed, as you promised. If you kill my dragon, I shall kill you.’ Jack patted the dragon on the back, and Val took the reins of the metal chains.
The dragon aimed vertically and went through the ceiling, and out of the building. The two of them waved at Jack, before Myras, the dragon, headed to Syronia. Val could feel the cool breeze brush against her hair. They flew over towns and cities on the way.
‘This is brilliant!’ Val shouted, her voice echoing. The townspeople all stared up at them and the dragon in amazement. It was a sight that had not been seen since the Dios died.
They zipped through the forest, and the dragon turned upside down and looped round the trees. The crisp, orange leaves fell on Val’s face. They went above the clouds, and Val saw the stars, and they were more beautiful than ever. She felt the clouds with her hands and took some with her. This will definitely blow Aurora’s mind when she is freed.
The Emperor’s face turned a putrid green colour. He vomited from the sporadic movements of the dragon, which made him nauseous and dizzy. They dipped back down and skimmed the surface of the Stratified Sea. The dull city of Syronia was in view. Just as they were about to fly to Syronia. The dragon tilted. Val tried to cling on, but her sweaty hands made it impossible. Val fell into the Stratified Sea and plunged into the icy depths.