A Dragon’s Tale

Alana couldn't decide whether she was having the saddest or happiest dream of her life. She was in bed, covered by blankets, and snuggled up against Ethan. His arms were around her and he was holding her like he never wanted to let her go. There was a fire crackling merrily somewhere in the room and the flames were casting a soft romantic glow.

She sighed contentedly as Ethan stroked her hair and told her all about the vault. He described the gold, silver, and precious stones in detail. She knew it was a dragon's love of gold talking, but she loved the longing in his voice when he wished she could to join him in the vault. That sounded more like her Ethan.

That's when she remembered he wasn't 'her Ethan' anymore.

Alana felt tears well up in her eyes and she forcibly yanked herself out of the dream, waking up in her new bed and covered in a cold sweat. She pulled the covers closer but there was no Ethan in bed with her to keep her warm and cozy.

She mentally kicked herself.

There was absolutely no reason at all that she should be this besotted with someone she had known for less than two weeks. She peeked at their bond and saw he was feeling disoriented and surprised. She could only guess that he had just woken up in the vault. The vault he had so lovingly described in her dream.

She finally decided that she needed to move on, not that she knew how. It was nearly dawn and she needed to get ready for her first day as an enchanter for Lord Borden.

She sighed.

She had just finished dressing when a massive tsunami of anger and rage flooded over her bond with Ethan. Fury didn't even begin to describe the ferocity of the wrath Ethan was currently experiencing. Every positive emotion she associated with their bond was instantly gone, completely replaced by this blind rage.

Moments later, Alana heard the unmistakable sound of a dragon's roar echoing from the direction of The Bank's vault. It was scary the first time she heard it, but Ethan had roared because she had been hurt. The second time was because Rachel attacked her. That time she had felt the rage, but it had been motivated by a protective urge for her, so she found it almost endearing rather than scary.

This time it was different.

Despite being quite far away, the sound plus the emotions surging over their bond made it truly terrifying. For the first time, Alana actually felt a little scared of Ethan.

Outside the window, the usual sounds of conversation and merriment had abruptly ceased. It seemed the whole town had stopped at the terrifying -- though distant -- sound of Ethan's roar. Moments later, the alarm bell began ringing. Alana looked out the window and saw dozens of bank guards rushing to the ballistae set around The Bank's vault entrance.

Alana was halfway to the door before she remembered that Ethan was probably in The Bank's vault and therefore she didn't have a prayer of reaching him. She took a deep breath and went back to getting ready for the day.

A couple minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Alana said.

The door opened and Lord Borden walked in. "We seem to be having some trouble with our young dragon."

"What's wrong?" Alana asked.

"He won't leave the vault and won't let anyone near it either." He replied. "I suspected this might happen, and believe you are the only one who can convince him to leave peacefully."

"Why me?"

"Your bond." He said. "Unless I'm much mistaken, he will treat you as he would treat the gold, so you should be safe."

Alana hovered indecisively for a few moments, not sure of how to respond. "What makes you think I can do anything?"

Lord Borden continued. "I know of your parentage Lady Alana; your true parentage."

She covered her mouth. "How could you possibly...?"

"I own The Bank." He said simply. "One does not achieve such a position by being uninformed. I assume your birth parents ensured you were trained for diplomacy?"

She nodded.

"Then please use that training to help Ethan. If he can't be convinced to leave the vault, I will have to send guards in to force him out. I would prefer to avoid harm coming to either side, and I think you are the best chance to avoid bloodshed."

She didn't need to be asked twice. "Okay, lead on."

On the way, Lord Borden told her of the traps in the vault. He also impressed upon her the importance of staying in the main walkway to avoid them. She promised she would be careful.

Five minutes later, she found herself descending the elevator into the vault. As the cage bottomed out, she saw Ethan. His disguise gem was still activated, but she could see right through it. He was in a low crouch in the vault holding a spear with murder in his eyes. Gone were the kind and friendly eyes of her Ethan--

No, he wasn't 'her Ethan' anymore she reminded herself.

When he saw her he relaxed, smiled, and lowered his spear. "Alana. You're here."

"You needed help, so..." Alana trailed off as she noticed the vault. Its resemblance to his description was uncanny. After a second look, she realized it looked exactly as Ethan described it in her dream. Exactly, without even a single discrepancy.

"Help?" Ethan said. "What kind of help?"

Alana took a step out of the elevator and Ethan tensed up again and half raised his spear.

"Ethan, I'm not going to hurt you." She sighed. "So, would you please lower the spear?"

Ethan considered for a moment before lowering the spear. There was definitely something wrong with him. His eyes -- so full of kindness and caring before -- had become pools of jealousy and anger. She took a few steps closer. With every step, she saw Ethan grip his spear tighter. However, he didn't raise it again, which was a good sign.

"Ethan, what's made you so tense?" she asked. She had reached the entrance to the vault but didn't think going further was wise just yet.

"They wanted to take my gold." Ethan said it as if that was the worst crime imaginable... except it didn't sound like Ethan at all. It sounded more like Drousin -- more like a dragon.

His eyes gleamed like a madman. "Just look at it. Can you feel the power? Can you feel the magic flowing off it? It's mine. It belongs to me and I'll slaughter every godless son of a bitch who tries to take it from me!"

He looked at her as if in accusation, then raised his spear slightly to emphasize that she was included in those he might slaughter if she tried to take the gold away. The primal gleam in his eyes was as far from his usual kindness as possible.

"May I come closer?"

Then the dragon took over again and his face was very suspicious. "Why?"

"Please?" Alana asked.

It was a simple request without deception or ulterior motive. She missed him and wanted to be near him again. Even him marrying Beth bothered her less than him leaving. He seemed taken aback for a moment. For one brief second, her Ethan was back. He narrowed his eyes. Alana smiled at him and his suspicion faltered for a moment.

"Do you remember that ride you gave me on your back? The one where we stopped and looked at the stars?"

He nodded.

Alana took a step forward. "I told you how I felt, but do you know why I felt that way?"

Ethan shook his head.

She took another step. "It's because you help people Ethan. It's what you do. You risked your life to save me several times. You rescued Beth and Charles because you wanted to help them. I liked that guy-- I like that guy."

Ethan opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. He seemed to be fighting an internal war with himself.

Alana took another step forward. She was only a few feet from him now. "Remember that person Ethan. That's who you really are."

"I..." Ethan started to say, but didn't seem to be able to form coherent words.

"I know you Ethan." Alana said. "You took this job to save me just as much as to save yourself, if not more. You just wanted to be near Lord Borden's gold and--"

The moment Alana suggested that the gold belonged to someone else, a mask of pure rage and hate covered Ethan's face. She saw too late that Ethan's dragon nature had fully taken over.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted as his face twisted into a mask of rage.

This wasn't Ethan.

This was the dragon.

He raised his spear and lunged forward, the tip pointed straight at her heart... but the spear's tip stopped just short of her breast. She could feel the tip just brushing her dress.

She stood her ground.

He was breathing heavily, which came out as a series of noises that were halfway between a grunt and a snarl. He seemed to be fighting with himself, and the turmoil coming over their bond was proof.

Just two weeks ago, if someone had told her a dragon could restrain itself around gold like this, she wouldn't have believed him. After all her conversations with Drousin, she didn't think one could. Yet Ethan was doing it.

She smiled.

When she did, the dragon blinked several times as if to clear its head.

"Alana?" Ethan looked at the spear pointing at her, and then dropped it like it was a poisonous snake. "What's... what's wrong with me?"

"Gold Ethan; it's the gold."

"My gold." The dragon hissed.

"It's not your gold."

Ethan disappeared, replaced by the dragon as it raised a clawed hand as if to maul her. She locked eyes with him and stood her ground. His hand faltered, still raised high for a strike. Slowly, he lowered his hand and began stalking around her, circling like the seagoing sharks she'd often heard of.

"Ethan, you can't stay here forever."

"Why not!" the dragon snapped.

"It's not your gold."

The dragon was clearly irate, yet didn't seem able to hurt her. He stepped right into her personal space, which was rather intimidating considering he was nearly twice her size. Cold fury was written in his eyes, but he made no move to hurt her. She took a step back and he continued to advance, so she took another couple steps back.

It wasn't until she felt a tiny bit of pressure -- that felt like a thin cord or wire -- on the back of her leg that she realized her mistake.

She had stepped off the main walkway.

THWANG!!!

Her shoulder exploded in pain.

The dragon's eyes bulged, clearly as shocked as she was. She looked down to see a crossbow bolt sticking through her shoulder. If she wasn't so short, it would've gone through her heart. She started to feel a little lightheaded as blood ran from the wound.

She collapsed forward and Ethan -- not the dragon, but Ethan -- caught her.

"Are you okay!?"

She felt a little loopy, dreamy, and sleepy. "I'm better now." She said as he held her in his arms. He was holding her; her Ethan was holding her. Well, not quite 'her Ethan', but at the moment, she wasn't too concerned. In fact, she wasn't concerned about anything.

That was her last thought before the world faded to black.

* * *

Beth had been up and reading for almost an hour when she had heard Ethan roar. She had dressed as fast as possible and ran out the door towards the vault. She got to the steps just in time to see her father escort Alana inside, but the guards hadn't let her go any further than the bottom of the stairs. Denied access, she had paced outside for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, her father came down the steps.

"What's going on Daddy?" Beth asked. "Is Ethan okay?"

Lord Borden glanced around to make sure no one was near before answering. "He was reluctant to leave the vault. I believe Alana should be able to persuade him otherwise."

"But why Alana and not me." Beth asked. "I'm his betrothed."

"They have... history." Lord Borden replied, though she got the impression he wasn't telling her something.

"Now, I have business to attend to." He said, then he swept past her toward The Bank's main building in town.

Beth paced for another few minutes before she heard a commotion at The Bank entrance. Ethan came running down the steps carrying Alana in his arms. The left side of her dress was streaked with blood, and a crossbow bolt was sticking out of her shoulder. She was also white as a sheet and clearly unconscious.

"Where's the nearest doctor?" Ethan shouted as he took the steps two at a time.

"Follow me." Beth yelled and turned towards the local healer's building. Two minutes later they burst through its door. The entryway wasn't large, but it led into a large two-story courtyard. Lining the courtyard on both levels were numbered doors for patients and in the center of the courtyard was a large stone fountain

"Madam Hygea, we need help!" Beth shouted.

Moments later, an elderly elf glided into the entryway. Her hair was white with age and her skin wrinkled, but despite that she still maintained a youthful air. Her eyes shone bright and she wore simple white robes adorned with Illuminar's emblem of a sun. Her gaze locked onto Alana the moment she entered the room.

"Bring her in here, boy." The elderly elf said and led the way into a long rectangular room with evenly spaced beds lining both sides.

"Put her here." She ordered, indicating a bed, and Ethan set her down tenderly.

"Balsom, get in here and bring the cutters!" She yelled.

Moment later, a strapping young man came in with a tool that looked like crude bolt cutters. Madam Hygea, pulled Alana up while Balsom deftly cut the bolt's wooden shaft.

"Three, two, one, now." Madam Hygea said.

Balsom pulled the bolt out just as Madam Hygea started quickly but calmly pouring magic into the wound. There was a tense few seconds while the elderly elf worked. Beth waited with bated breath and could feel Ethan doing the same beside her.

What if something happened to her?

She didn't even want to entertain the thought, but the wood elf looked so pale. Her normally tanned face was white as a sheet and there was so much blood on her dress.

She looked at Ethan, but he only had eyes for the injured wood elf. He was staring unblinking at her and seemed to be muttering under his breath. She wasn't sure, but it sounded like he was praying for her. Finally, Madam Hygea removed her hands from the wound and sat up.

"She's lost a lot of blood, but she will recover."

"Can't you do something about the blood?" Ethan asked.

"I'm afraid not." Madam Hygea replied. "I can mend flesh, bone, and sinew easily enough; but you can't create something out of nothing. The most powerful mage alive couldn't conjure a single drop of blood."

"What about a transfusion? You must have donors."

"Transfusion? What nonsense are you talking, boy?"

"I just meant... nevermind. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not now." Madam Hygea said. "A blind mage could see you two are bonded, though how your bond is so strong at your age is beyond me. She may wish to speak with you when she wakes."

"You and Alana are bonded?" Beth felt her jaw drop; her betrothed was bonded to another woman!?

"Yeah." Ethan replied, but he went silent for several seconds at the look on Beth's face. "I thought you knew."

"I most certainly did not know!" Beth said, a little louder than she intended. "When my father finds out he's going to... to..." She didn't know what, but she knew he would be furious.

"He already knows." He replied.

"What!" Beth almost shouted.

"Enough." Madam Hygea said. She didn't raise her voice and she didn't sound mad or upset. However, her voice suddenly radiated a power that allowed no disagreement or argument. Beth suspected it was magic, but whatever it was, it burned her anger out almost instantly.

"This is a place of healing, Lady Borden." Madam Hygea said. "The boy can stay because he's bonded, but if you cause a commotion or disruption in any way, I will send you home. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Beth replied, feeling a little sheepish at her outburst.

"Now, I'm going to get some rest." Madam Hygea stood up and turned to Beth and Ethan before she left. "I suggest you two talk this out like civilized adults."

Beth took a deep breath -- ignoring the fact that her father betrothed her to a man who was already bonded -- and then turned to Ethan. "How did this happen?"

Ethan gave her the whole, unabridged story of how he and Alana had bonded.

"I'm sorry for my outburst." Beth said when he finished. She could feel her cheeks getting a little warm as her embarrassment burned them.

"It's okay." Ethan said. "Considering what I just did, I have no room to judge anyone."

"What happened?" Beth asked, and he told her what happened in the vault.

"It wasn't your fault." She said when he finished.

"I'm the reason she was there in the first place, and I backed her off the walkway so the arrows triggered, so yeah I'm the reason she got shot."

"It still isn't your fault." She said because she couldn't think of something else to say.

He didn't respond.

She couldn't come up with anything else to say, so she sat down next to Ethan and laid her head on his shoulder. He seemed startled at first but didn't make any attempt to move her. After a moment, he relaxed slightly at her touch and put his arm around her.

"I need to respect her wishes." He said after a few minutes.

"What do you mean?"

"She asked me to leave her alone." He replied. "To give her some space and distance so our bond could weaken."

"I don't think bonds work like that Ethan. Bonds might stop getting stronger, but they don't go away."

"She thought if I bonded with you it might break the bond." Ethan said.

"Maybe, but I doubt it." Beth replied. "I've never heard of a bond being broken that way. I suppose it might, but it just seems more likely to create a second bond.

"I suppose two bonds would be better than not bonding with my wife, right?"

She nodded. "I'd rather it break your bond with her, but..." Beth trailed off.

She really didn't want her husband bonded to another woman, even if it was someone as nice as Alana. The wood elf was one of the nicest people Beth had ever met. Though, if he had to be bonded to someone else, she couldn't think of anyone better.

Not that she was thrilled with the idea.