~Tabitha’s P.O.V~

The rain thundered down over our heads as we plodded along, desperately using whatever we could to stay dry. It was a miserable day, to say the least. The sky was clouded as far as the eye could see, which wasn’t very far really. The rain had blocked out most of everything, even the tops of the mountains surrounding us were hazy. It was too dangerous to fly in this weather, so everyone remained on the ground.

Blu and Tyron walked beside me. They didn’t seem to mind the rain too much, water simply running off their scales in small rivets. Tyron seemed to feel the cold and wet a little bit, but Blu was almost enjoying it. He shook himself a little, accidently spraying some water over the nearby travelers, not that they noticed. We were all wet enough as it was.

“To be honest, this rain feels like a good bath. Didn't have time to clean myself up lately.” Blu giggled. “Feels good to be clean.”

Tyron snorted, “I prefer a good sun bath then this.”

“At least you’re naturally waterproof,” I muttered from under my cloak.

Rain didn’t bother me as much as some other people. While hunting in the forests near Lysia I often had to deal with a downpour, but at least there I had some shelter. In the mountains there was nothing but rock.

“I hope they decide to join us,” Aaron said, his horse plodding along beside us, “I don’t know how long they would last if they didn’t.”

“I doubt they will,” Blu said, his voice a little quieter, “I doubt they'll join cause I sorta killed the mayor in a fit of rage.”

“After they tried to kill you first,” I said.

“True, but I still feel guilty about it. After ten years of not killing another sentient being, I took my first human life.”

Tyron nuzzled him, “Don't be upset. They tried to kill you because they refused to listen to reason. If anything, they deserved it.”

Blu didn’t respond. He probably didn’t agree.

The mountains ahead of us suddenly fell away, revealing the forest I had known for my whole life. I smiled slightly. It was good to see it again. In the distance, through the rain I could see the dull lights of Lysia burning bright. It was a sight that gave far more relief than it should have. Garagain hadn’t found the town. It was safe.

We began to move into it and down onto the well known path that lead into the town. It wasn’t a long road, at least not as long as the ones that we had been travelling down, but with the rain and the idea that rest was not far, the final hour of walking seemed like an eternity. Alas, eventually we reached the gates.

It was quite evident that there had been battles fort against the walls in the recent weeks. There were a number of broken arrows and left over pieces of armour strewn around the grass, as well as a smouldering pile of burnt remains off to one side. It seemed like they had been attacked, but only by a raiding party.

“Halt! Who goes there?” shouted a voice from the walls.

Aaron was about to speak until another guardsmen started shouting, “My name is Aaron, prince of Teleran. My company and I are exhausted after weeks of travel. We would ask that you would allow us rest for a couple of days.”

The guard on the wall was about to reply when a voice shouted from the forest to a right.

“Dragon! It's a dragon! Two of them!”

The battlements were almost instantly swarmed by soldiers of all sorts. Bows were drawn, spears wedged between cracks and swords and shields raised. If we wanted to we could probably brute force our way in, our numbers were far greater than there’s, but I was a little surprised at how quickly they managed to prepare ourselves.

The was a rustle of movement as we looked to the top of the wall and saw a man dressed in the royal colours move to the fore. It was the new mayor of Lysia. He was a lot younger than his predecessor, more rugged as well, with a square jawline and broad shoulders. He looked more like a warrior than a ruler.

In the forest surrounding us more soldiers emerged. The soldiers from Teleran drew their own swords and shields, standing in front of the civilians, tense and waiting for the order. Blu and Tyron were silent, standing still and watching for threats. I could see guilt in my brother’s eyes, but also a small amount of anger. I took my own bow off my back and flexed my shoulders. For a moment, everything was silent.

“All humans step away from the dragons, they are wanted criminals of Lysia,” The young mayor spoke.

Nobody moved. There was a murmuring amongst the crowd of people, and it warmed my heart a little to see them staying steadfast to the dragons. At least some respected and welcomed them.

“Mr. Mayor, I'm Prince Aaron,” said Aaron, stepping his horse forward, “These two dragons have been of great help, defending us from the forces of Garagain as much as they can. Even risking their lives to do so. As such, the king gave them an official pardon on all and any crimes committed in Teleran.”

“My prince, I mean no disrespect, but I have no inclination to believe you,” said the mayor, “For all we know those dragons have you all under a spell, and are waiting for the right time to strike. And either way, I have heard that Teleran has been destroyed by the demon hordes running rampant through the country, which means Lysia is no longer under the rule of that empire.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes and I gritted my teeth. That was a bold claim indeed, seeing as we outnumbered them two to one, and that wasn’t counting the crowd of civilians that were travelling with us. I stepped forward, whipping the hood off my head and looking up through the rain toward them.

“Those dragons did not do anything wrong!” I yelled out, surprising the mayor, “It was you who dragged Blu in there and attempted to have him executed. You who forced him to protect himself! If you had just left him alone, then nothing would have happened to Lysia!”

The mayor was a little surprised at my sudden outburst, “And who might you be?”

“Tabitha,” I replied.

This caused a hesitation in some of the guards. They knew me. I had been a popular figure with them, constantly leaving the town to hunt in the woods, sometimes for days at a time. I even knew some of them quite well, well enough to call them friends, though I’m not so sure anymore with what happened prior to me leaving.

“You’re the girl that my predecessor tasked with killing the dragon, are you not?” claimed the new mayor.

I nodded my head, “But I didn’t go through with it obviously. He’s my brother after all.”

“Yes… he said you were under some delusion that that was the case,” he sighed before turning to Aaron again, “If you give the dragons up to us, then we will let you and your company inside our walls, but if you refuse we will be forced to turn you away.”

~Aaron’s P.O.V~

I gritted my teeth. This was going nowhere fast. I looked back at the travelers behind me. We needed rest, a good one. The hard weeks of travel thus far had only been because I had pushed to reach Lysia as quickly as possible, knowing that once we were there we would be able to have a decent sleep before continuing again. We needed to refresh our supplies, tend to our wounded, sleep. We couldn’t do that while on the road.

“Aaron,” said Blu quietly, “I can hand myself in, if it means that the rest of you will be able to enter.”

“No Blu,” I responded instantly, “They’ll kill you, and as good as a rest would be at the moment I know that I would much rather skip that then lose one of our most valuable assets.”

He blinked in surprise, hesitating, “Well than what could we do?”

I thought for a moment, before turning back to the mayor, “Mr. Mayor, would you mind if we had a private meeting, to come up with a compromise? These dragons have proven themselves invaluable to us, and we cannot give them up to the slaughter.”

The mayor hesitated, studying us for a moment, “Very well. But you, and you alone.”

The gates in front of us opened slightly and I urged my horse forward, after ordering my guards to stay put. The rain was beginning to fall more heavily now, with thunder and lightning clapping in the distance. A warm, dry bed would be very welcome indeed. I just hoped that my idea worked.

As I entered the town I noticed that many of the buildings seemed to be under construction. Wood was being replaced by large granite stone blocks, making their walls thicker and heavier. Though construction had stopped because of the rain, I was surprised at how quickly everything was being replaced.

A number of soldiers met me on the other side, all watching with narrowed eyes and tense expression, hands on their weapons. I knew if I wanted to I could easily escape. I was at my strongest when it was raining.

Keeping myself alert, I swung off my horse. One of the men gestured for me to follow and led me into a nearby building. It looked like a tavern, with tables spread almost randomly around an empty space and a counter to the back with barrels of some sort of drink stacked up behind it. There was a massive fireplace burning in the corner of the room. The wooden floors weren’t the cleanest I had been to, but compared to a lot of town taverns they were rather well kept.

I shrugged off my large waterproof coat and hung it on a hanger near the door. There was no one else in the tavern. Probably because they had all been called to the walls when we had come. This was a town ready for battle at a moment’s notice. The man lead me to a table and had me sit down, before leaving me alone in the room.

A couple of minutes passed and I began wondering whether this was all a hoax. I prepared to get up and leave when the door banged open and the mayor walked in. He had his own jacket hung on the hook next to mine before walking over to the table and sitting down. A couple of men followed him and stood at the door to watch over the meeting. I relaxed back into the chair and looked across at the man in front of me.

He had wet mattered blond hair that would usually be quite neat. Hard brown eyes took in every detail, and a small scar ran across the edge of his chin. He was a broadly shouldered man, with thick arms and calloused hands. His demeanour was the complete opposite to his fancily adorned royal embroidery and the jeweled sword hand at his side.

“So tell me,” he began with a rough voice that matched his build, “Why do you not want to give up that horrible beast?”

“You mean Blu?” I replied with a sigh, “Because....

“Don't call that beast that name! That thing killed my best friend!” he cut me off, slamming his fist against the table, “Blu and I were the best of friends. We hunted together, sparred together. We looked out for each other. Then he was taken away by that wretched beast!”

I blinked in surprise, “You mean you were friends with Blu? Before he transformed?”

The mayor hesitated, “Transformed?”

“Yes. Ten years ago Blu was a human boy, around ten years old. He was hunting in the woods and happened upon an amulet that he broke, releasing the spirit of an ancient dragoness. The two combined and well… he became a dragon.”

“You’re lying!” he hissed, “That dragon killed him! He must have you under some sort of spell to believe that.”

“If he was a bloodthirsty monster, he would've killed us all already.”

“I think it’s best if you talk with him. At least get his perspective of events.”

“I will not hold a conversation with that thing.”

I narrowed my eyes, “What is your name?”

He hesitated, “I am called Eric Broadsword.”

“Well, Mayor Broadsword, I will have you know that I am a very powerful mage. No mentally manipulative spell would have any effect on me. In fact, if anyone’s going to be using that type of magic it will be me. There is no danger from the dragons, or any of the other creatures around. They are loyal to me, and me loyal to them. That dragon you hate so much, is that friend you have missed for so long. Believe me or not. But the people outside need shelter, rest and provisions, and we will not survive much longer at the rate we are going. I cannot have them continue as they are, and am willing to do almost anything to keep them safe. If you refuse to see the possibility of something so obvious, then I may be forced to take more extreme measures to keep my people safe. And trust me, we have greater power than any of the beasts you have faced so far.”

He growled a little, and hesitated “You just want me and that thing to talk? That about right?”

I nodded my head.

He rapped his fingers on the table a couple of times before suddenly standing up, “Very well. I will talk to the beast, and I will make my own decision at whether or not he is who you say he is.”

I nodded my head and got up myself, “That is all I ask.”