A Dragon’s Tale

Hailey slipped through the crowd, barely disturbing a single garment even though the crowd pressed in on all sides. Her stealth was made easier by the dim lighting. The red-orange hue of sunset had given way to the dark blue/gray of twilight. She had the knife under her robes, and she clutched it tightly to her chest.

"You can do this. You can do this." She said to herself for the millionth time.

She knew she could do this.

A quick excuse to Alana and she had bought herself a few hours of time before the Argo left. She had noticed Rachel watching her, and was extremely grateful that Ethan had unwittingly distracted her. If all went according to plan, The Arena Champion -- her former master -- would be dead and she would be back on the Argo before anyone suspected a thing. With a little luck, they would be far outside the city before anyone found the body.

"You can do this, you can do this."

That bastard was finally going to pay for... for...

Hailey pushed her grief to the back of her mind and tried to focus on the task at hand. She wasn't doing anything wrong; it couldn't be wrong. Not after everything he'd done. She knew his servants would sing her praises if they knew she'd killed him.

No one that evil deserved to live.

She was just delivering justice, she told herself. This wasn't revenge for that bastard taking everyone and everything from her. She wasn't seeking vengeance because that would be wrong. No, she was merely correcting a karmic oversight. It was right; it was just.

But still...

Hailey could feel tears forming at the corners of her eyes and she wiped them away. She didn't know who she was crying for. It wasn't for him, and it wasn't for her loss. Maybe she was crying for herself?

"You can do this, you can do this." She chanted to herself over and over again as if to convince herself that she could.

Step by step she came closer to his mansion. The house of horrors where she'd spent the worst years of her life. The things that had happened there...

She shivered

"You can do this, you can do this."

Round and round she went with herself as the walk got longer and the sun got lower. Before she knew it, twilight had given way to semi-darkness and she was within a hundred yards of that bastard's mansion.

Cold sweat was running down her back. She constantly had to slow her breathing to stop herself from hyperventilating. Her palms had long since become an advertisement for antiperspirant. She had to wipe them on her shirt so much that there was actually a damp spot from doing so.

She stood there, mere yards from the mansion walls.

It looked almost like the keep of a castle. There was a large central building that was five stories tall. The entire building was surrounded by a twelve-foot wall meant to keep the peasants out. Of course, Hailey had found a way around that wall ages ago.

The central building was richly furnished, both inside and out. The windows had gold inlay and the balconies were all of expensive white marble. She knew the bastard's room was on the third floor, the corner near the arena. It wasn't the highest room, but it had a great view and a large wrap-around balcony.

She waited a little longer until night had fallen; it was certainly dark enough for what she had planned. She knew every one of the guards by name. She knew their schedules, their vices, their pastimes, their habits; everything. She had been casing this place for years waiting for the right opportunity.

She couldn't waste it.

This was it, the moment she'd been waiting for.

Suddenly, she was short of breath. She took several long, deep, calming breaths. She tried to remember what she'd learned from her yoga classes, what she'd learned from Jason about breathing deeply and slowly.

God, she missed him.

Hailey felt tears stream down her cheeks. She looked up at the mansion and remembered why she was here. Her hand drifted down to the scar on her stomach.

"You can do this, you can do this." She repeated again.

Her whole body was covered in cold sweat. It took almost a minute for her to get her hands dry enough to scale the walls. She thrust her knife into her belt and took a deep breath.

It was time.

She took a running start at the wall and jumped. She pushed off the wall to get an extra bit of height, which was just enough to catch the thin rope she'd tied there long ago for this purpose which she had used to return from the Arena countless times. Mere seconds later, she was looking over the top of the wall into the kitchen courtyard.

The courtyard was clear as the slaves had already drawn all the water for the evening. She was thankful she no longer counted herself among them.

The guards were -- as usual -- not paying any attention to anything happening inside the courtyard. They were too busy hitting on the maids who'd come to bring them dinner. She could hear her friend Vienne flirting with one of them as usual. She kept hoping one of the guards would buy her freedom from their master and marry her.

Hailey waited until no one was looking, then hoisted herself up on top of the wall and ran along it to where it met the main building. She flattened herself against the wall, trusting to the darkness and the guards' general laziness to protect her.

Now that she was in action, she felt better. There was that rush of adrenaline from the job that she hadn't realized she missed. The thrill of penetrating security which the owners thought was impregnable was just as intoxicating as ever. This time though, her goal wasn't cash or jewels; it was something far more meaningful.

She stole along the wall, balancing on the two-inch wide stone trim as if it was a sidewalk. Less than a minute later, she jumped up and grabbed the lower ledge of the third-floor balcony.

Seconds later, she stood upright on the bastard's balcony with a knife in her hands. As usual, the lanterns and candles in the room weren't lit. The Bastard always went to bed at sundown because he said he preferred only to be conscious in Illuminar's light. What a pretentious asshole. She'd read the Book of Light one day because she was bored. She was sure Illuminar was one step short of striking him with lightning for his sins.

Since their God wasn't doing His job, she figured she would pick up the slack.

Hailey stole into the room barely making a sound. Even in the dim light, she could see it was still ornately furnished. The tapestries on the walls were full of red, purple, and gold thread. All of the candlesticks and sconces were made of gold. Plus, the sculptures and paintings in the room were commissions from the most expensive artists in Arcanum.

When she looked toward the bed, her lips curled in disgust.

Chained to the foot of the bed was a girl who looked like Hailey felt. She was dressed in a tattered and ripped dress that was clearly beyond repair. She had tried to arrange it to cover herself, but the dress was too far gone to fully protect her modesty.

Her eyes were red and the trail of tears that flowed from them had made a wet spot on the carpet. The bits of exposed skin Hailey could see were covered with red marks and even a few minor cuts, probably from a whip of some kind. Without the pain and anguish on her face, the girl would've been very beautiful.

Hailey put her finger to her lips, then stole over to her. The girl didn't make a sound as Hailey pulled out a bit of metal she'd stolen long ago and used it to pick the crude lock on the girl's manacle. It popped open after a few seconds of work.

"Get out of here." Hailey mouthed as she pointed at the door.

A look of complete terror flooded the girl's face and she shook her head violently, looking toward where her master lay sleeping. Hailey pulled out her knife, motioned toward the sleeping Bastard, and then mimed a throat being cut. The girl nodded, then stood up and slipped out of the room through the unlocked door to the hallway.

Hailey turned toward The Bastard.

She raised the knife and took a few steps toward the head of the bed. He was sleeping there peacefully, like he actually deserved rest. Like he hadn't just done unspeakable things to that girl, just as he'd done the same to countless others before her. Hailey thought of Jason, and then touched the scar on her stomach again.

Tears filled her eyes. Her hand shook uncontrollably and her entire body was suddenly drenched in cold sweat again. She was here; finally. She was inches away from the Bastard who...

Hailey blinked several times, fighting back tears.

He needed to suffer.

It was time.

* * *

Ethan fingered the small leather braid concealed in his hand. Rachel had helped him pick out some suitable leather strips and showed him how to braid them together. It was a four-strand braid and looked a little like chain when finished. Then Rachel had taught him a spell to join the ends of the leather together to make them a single continuous braid that -- hopefully -- would soon be fastened around Alana's wrist.

The sun was almost set when Ethan and Rachel returned to the Argo. The sky was a beautiful mosaic of reds, oranges, pinks and purples. He couldn't have picked more romantic mood lighting if he tried.

Ethan and Rachel made a beeline for the quarterdeck and -- as agreed -- Rachel asked Anthiel to leave the ship's wheel for a few minutes.

*Hey, could you come up to the quarterdeck?* Ethan asked Alana telepathically.

*Sure,* Alana replied. *What were you and Rachel talking about?*

*You'll see.*

When Alana made it up to the quarterdeck, Ethan held out his hand in invitation for her to take it. She gave him an odd look and hesitated a moment before doing so. Ethan smiled then led her to the rear of the quarterdeck. It was as private as possible without losing the romantic setting sun. Once there, he turned and looked her in the eye. She smiled at him, and the sight just about took his breath away.

"You are easily the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Ethan said with complete honesty.

She blushed.

He reached a finger out and tucked her chocolate-brown hair behind one of her pointy ears. He let his finger brush the tip of her ear, which elicited a soft, barely audible sigh from her. The skin of her ears was so smooth and her hair so soft and silky.

She smiled at him.

It was a coy, slightly confused, but contented smile. Her cheeks had the cutest little dimples and her lips were perfect; not too large, not too small, but full and with a natural touch of red.

Surely, if God decided to create the perfect woman, it would've been Alana.

"Alana, you are the best woman I've ever met. I've put you through more pain that anyone should ever have to endure, and yet you've stayed with me through all of it."

His eyes got slightly moist as he continued. "After what happened with my fiancée, I never thought I'd find someone I could truly trust, but I trust you implicitly. In the short time I've known you, you've added more joy and happiness to my life than I ever thought possible. You're my northern star, my true companion and even if I could make it through this life without you, I wouldn't want to."

He got down on one knee, which was surprisingly difficult given the hock-joint arrangement of his hind legs. He opened his hand so she could see the braid therein concealed. She gave a sharp intake of breath and covered her mouth. Her face was a mask of shock and surprise.

Ethan took a deep breath. "Alana Tarihowen, will join your soul with mine as the strands of this braid are joined? Will you marry me?"

(End of chapter 10)

Note: This chapter began on day 46 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms and ended on day 47.