He ran. Not away from Maple. Not to his boss to report failure to give Tiger over to the Sovereign. And definitely not just to give up. He ran with Maple. Away from his boss and to his responsibility... he hoped. He was not sure it was a safe choice. But when she grabbed his arm, he had no choice but to follow. Though he did not know if to trust her.

Tiger jumped onto and held on to Truths back. Tightly. Almost enough to draw blood. Maybe it did, but Truth was too panicked to care. Likely he was a little faster than Tiger and they needed to get out fast. No matter if a stange potentially dangerous dragon came into their lives suddenly and unannounced.

“Is this why we weren’t able to go to the park earlier?” Tiger asked.

“Yes,” Truth responded. He didn’t like lying, but he had to, lest he quite literally lose his head.

“OH MY GOODNESS!” Tiger hollered, realizing what was happening. “WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING?”

“Run now. Ask later,” said Maple as she redouble her speed.

They did not fly because if they did, they would surely inhale more smoke and quite literally fan the flames.

Truth felt guilty. He knew he should’ve tried to bring Tiger to Jaguar after the assasinasion. But then Jaguar might have brought both he and Tiger to The Master, or worse, The Sovereign. If the latter happened… it would not be pretty.

SHIIIEEEK!

A screech plunged through Truth’s head. He quickened to keep apace with Maple.

BOOM!

Then a not-so-far-off explosion.

Then a closer one.

Closer.

Clo-

A building collapsed nearby. Truth decided not to think about whether there had been a family inside, though he had heard screams.

Truth decided to just fly and not worry about what crap might happen. Tiger jump off his back and flew. Maple joined them shortly after. It seemed to take her a moment because she was ahead of them and did not notice their absence.

As he flew, the little death and destruction was sobering. Not that Truth had not experienced it before, but this showed how cruel fate and the ‘chess master’ can be. Not by dragon or griffin evil, but just by their lots and fate.

When they neared and landed by a small hill, Maple led them into a cave, down some tunnels, and into a cavern. Before she did so she opened a trap door and let them head in before her.

When she closed the door, the sounds of chaos were a little more quiet and distant now. The cavern was grey. Very grey and indifferent to their situation. But it was a little brighter when Maple had lit a few torches.

Truth coughed, expelling some of the residual smoke in his lungs. “Everyone,” he said, coughing “everyone okay?”

They all just coughed. They were too shocked by what happened. Maple was the least shocked. Something was up.

Peaceful was not the word to describe the cavern. Because there was still noise from the outside and coughing from his companions. Breathing heavily, Truth walked a few steps and then plopped down on the dirt-covered stone. It was cold. Cold in the sense that something was afoot. A piece was moved into place, ready to capture and placed so that there was little anyone could do about it.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

***

He woke up what seemed to be a few hours later. Maple somehow had a book. Where did that come from? She also had a torch to keep her company as she read her book. It was otherwise dark in the cave. Very dark.

“Oh! You’re awake,” Maple said. “Tiger fell asleep a bit ago...”

“Kurfrumpleshnuk,” Truth mumbled.

“You good? Are you just tired after the fire?”

Truth just goggled at her, his groggy mind not fully comprehending what she had asked. Maple stared at him. And kept staring. Oh, she’s waiting for me to say something…

“Nphrooby.”

“Can you talk?” Maple then walked toward him and promptly slapped him. It seemed to snap him out.

“OUCH!” He yelped. “Why did you do that?”

“Because you were still asleep.” She responded. “And you seem to have forgotten the fire. The fire that ALMOST KILLED US.”

He didn’t like her tone of voice. The slapping was just fine, but her tone…“Oh. That fire. How did I forget about that? Did Jaguar send you? Or–”

“The Sovereign sent me… he wanted Tiger to be… dealt with,” Maple replied. “Not necessarily killed. But…”

“Oh my goodness,” Truth cut her off. “Why didn’t you tell me that? And, why is the Sovereign talking to you? And why does he want the King dead as a first move? I mean, he would need to die, but first thing?”

“My father is one of his advisors. He told me to speak with the Sovereign. And then I got my orders.” Her voice had fear in it.”I at least was in his throneroom. I did not see his face, thankfully. And I dare not question the Sovereign’s actions, lest I lose my head.”

This was quite strange that this seemingly normal dragon would be working for a practically all-powerful being? It was possible she was lying. It was normal for people of the Providence Fjord. But usually they did not lie to each other.

“Is Maple even your real name?” Truth asked. He did not know if he could trust her. She seemed to work for the Sovereign. But was she forced to? Like him? He never knew who to trust nowadays. You couldn’t trust anyone in this line of business. Nor could you ever not.

“Ye–yeah. I know it is hard to trust, but–”

Is she planning something? What were her orders? Truth squinted at Maple. “As of now, I cannot trust you, Maple.”

“Look, if you don’t you may–”

“I DON’T GIVE A–” Truth took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Look It's hard to trust anyone. So I may listen to you, but maybe not follow.”

He was sure it was the right thing to say. Ok. that was a lie. He was very unsure if it was the right thing to say. He doubted he should trust her, but also doubted his own judgment.

“That’s the best I’m getting now, isn’t it?” Maple said.

Truth just ignored her. For that was the best thing to do now. He felt a little guilty. Especially after she saved his life. But that did not make it any easier. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tiger yawn, get up, and stretch. My my did he look tired.

“Where is the restroom?” Tiger asked.

“Just down that tunnel, make a right, then you will see a hole,” Maple said pointing towards a passaged. She also handed Tiger a torch.

Truth sighed. Loudly. Very loudly. Just to spite Maple. He didn’t hate her. No. not by a long shot. But he didn’t want to put faith in her yet. That would be too much.

Lying down once again, Truth let his mind wander and ponder. He noted that they were close to the entrance and that anyone else could come in at any minute and do horriffic deeds. And also, why did he do all these things? He was forced to, but he had the choice not to… but something other than threats had driven him to his decision. What? He knew not.

As Tiger went to the toilet hole, humming, Truth got up once again and found a small stream with fish inside it. He grabbed a fish with his mouth, walked over to Tiger (who had come back from the toilet hole), and plopped down right in front of him. Tiger ate it in two bites. Big bites. Truth rubbed his forehead. Not knowing what else to do. He slept. He dreamt of his friends and family, now dead. Gone. They were gone.

His dream turned to pictures of the bloodied corpses of his siblings. And the pain. Oh, the PAIN. He wished to numb the pain. But that would mean putting his life on the line by defying his superiors. Something that would do more harm than good. No. He would one day seek revenge on the Sovereign for killing his family. That was for sure. He would seek revenge.

But revenge was a bad thing right? Or was it justice…

His sleep was not restful… he was too rested from his previous nap after the fire. This was a sort of half slumber half conscious train of thought as he remembered his family and friends from ages past… If there was an afterlife… would he see them? Also if there was an afterlife, would he make it? Even after his deeds? Or perhaps he was not going to be judged on his own merit, but rather another’s merit.