Dragon Days Chapter 1
Chapter 1
It comes a time in every tavern boy's life where you contemplate the meaning of life. Usually, that time is now. When the lazy fuck who owns the taverns looks you straight in your eyes and tells you to clean the "PIT!" I imagine telling him there's no way in all 7 hells that I'd degrade myself by going to the outhouse, scooping out traveler's shit for him because he was too cheap to move the outhouse. I imagine telling him I quit and running off with one of the bands of mercenaries who were going off to rob fucker's like him blind.
I had quite the imagination.
Because shortly after, here I am, hauling shit from the outhouse into the fields...with a smile on my face. Nair was hot this time of year and the mix of sweat and shit wasn't at all ideal. See the thing about me is that I didn't have much when it came to pride. Maybe it had to do with the fact that my family died when I was really young and I'd spent the first half of my life begging for food and the second half of my life serving it with a side of "boy ass" when the mercenaries coming through got too drunk and couldn't make it down the road to brothel. I wasn't an idiot. Castor, the tavern owner, did it on purpose. Usually, after a good pounding, he'd scream at them, "Don't drag your armor on the stairs. The buckles gauge the wood!" right before he got some extra money on the side. Soon, I think I was posted on the goddam welcome sign. `Castor's Tavern: good ale and good boy ass.'
Truth-be-told, I'd rather be riding on one of those mercenaries' dicks than hauling away their shit, any day. Mercenaries may have been a bit filthy. They dragged in all types of blood-stained clothing and mud on their boots and they spit in your hole before they fucked, but a lot of them really knew what they were doing back there. I guess they had a lot of experience.
I should be thanking Castor though because if it wasn't for Castor I wouldn't have been in the field. I wouldn't have looked up and seen the sky blotted out.
"Shit!"
I thought it was daytime but almost immediately it seems to turn into night. I'm sitting there in the middle of cleaning shit and thinking that it's about to rain when I hear the crackling of thunder. But this is no rain. And that is no thunder.
Dr---dr---dragon!
I fall on my ass. My eyes look up and see it overhead. The black dragon is a large, thickly-built creature with a massive chest and a long, sinuous neck. From its throat, it in inhales this deep sound, exhales black smoke, that makes me imagine what an active volcano would sound like, only with lava brewing right underneath its tongue. Its hide is a rich, lustrous black with large scales that are supple yet hard as a rock. A shimmered jewel toned crest made of peaked dragon bone spikes runs from its head and down its back, and bristles as the beast flies overhead. Its fangs shine a coppery-red, and deep inside its mouth, a constant sulfurous light emits a faint glow. It has a cruel, almost callous look to its serpentine grey eyes. It looks at me.
It fucking sees me!
"This way!" a voice states.
I don't see where the voice is coming from. It echoes like a grainy, etched out afterthought through my earlobes. I'm so in shock as I look up in the skies as this immense titan minimizes the sun.
That's when I see the hand grab me, pulling me up. My legs are too fragile and the person assisting me seems to realize that. That's why he scoops me up like a fucking newborn babe. I've never been big. I was 17 years old but so short that the other tavern boy named Tuti, who was 13, had me by a few inches. It takes nothing for this stranger to sweep me off my feet.
Before I know it we are indoors. We're in a local barn. I feel this heaviness in my throat when I'm placed down.
"You were just going to sit there, huh?" he asks, "Look up at it like you're watching a juggling show. You do know dragons burn right? As in fire---right? As in, get the fuck up and run when you see one of them. Genius."
He looks more amused than worried as he looks down at me. I look up at my savior and I'm shocked. He has to be one of the most interesting looking people I've seen in my life. His skin is pale white. His hair is jet black like obsidian rocks in the moonlight. He has on a unique style of clothing that I'd never seen. It's all black fitted with a bit of light black armor. A cloak covers the majority of it. His face is amazing. He has this defined jaw structure and these grey eyes that seem to bore right into me.
"Dragon..."
It's the only thing I can think of even when he sweeps aside his obsidian black hair.
"Not any dragon. That was Black Dread. One of the most ancient creatures living. Some say the Dread dragon was born of magma from the pits of the world and when it first rose a huge crevice separated the Earth. Legend has it the Great Crevice south of here was that very same hole..."
He said nodding so sure and confident in what he's saying. He's certain the story will impress. I'd seen people talk like him before. Mercenaries told dragon stories to break the ice in the tavern. Most of the times I thought they made them up. Castor's special punch tended to do that to people. That wasn't the case here though. I watch as he looks at the window. I wonder if he still sees the dragon but I can't tell by how calm he is. I'm assuming this isn't the first time he's seen one. He isn't afraid. Not like I am. Not even close.
"You a mercenary?"
"Something like that," he grunts, "You a shit carrier?"
I shrug. No point in getting embarrassed now. I'd probably smelled like the stuff. I'm surprised he's still standing so close to me.
"Something like that," I respond turning back to the window and managing to get up just for a second, "What's it doing here ?"
"The Black Dread?"
"No, the wagon full of shit. Of course the fucking dragon."
"No need to get snippy. I'm your savior, remember. You owe me, shit-carrier," he asks, "Where is here anyway?"
"You're right outside of Nair city..." I manage to say.
"Nair? Never been. Heard about it. Stupid name."
"It's supposedly named after one of the ruling families," I state.
"One shit hole city after the next. You should know about shit holes though," he gives me a wink, "You from here?"
He's not the nicest guy but he did save my life after all. He had a point in that. I knew what dragons were capable of first hand.
"Call it a shit hole all you like. The guy I'd work for would be pissed, but not me. Not waving any goddam flags. I'm not from here. I'm from the Wilds."
His eyes intensify on me. It's the strangest, sexiest look someone has ever given me. For a moment I think that he is some sort of tiger and I am his prey. I feel this warm feeling all around me.
"I should have been able to tell. I've had a long journey. I'm not thinking correctly," he states, "It's just...the Wilds were burnt. Destroyed...
I nod, "A decade ago."
"You were THERE?" he asks.
He raises an eye. He seems more interested in my fuckin story than he was about the fucking dragon outside. The way he leans in almost as though he's mesmerized by me. I'd never really told this story before. Everyone sort of assumed I was from the Wilds and they knew about the Burning of the Wilds. No one really talked about it though. The people in the wilds were seen as native. They were well...they were wild. That's what Castor says at least. He says I came from savages. I didn't know enough to argue so I'd always just shrug it off.
I nod, "I became an orphan that day. The only thing I have of them is my name. My father, my mother, and my older brother all died. It's the only other time I saw a dragon. It was just as big as the one today. Thousands of others died as well. Everyone burned. Everyone in the Wilds...except for me."
"You're the sole survivor?" he states, "The last Wild. That's why you have that beautiful color."
He's referring to my skin tone. I'm black. No one has my skin tone in Nair and Nair is known to have browner skin complexions. There were some people who got really dark in Nair especially when the Southern heat hit them. There was only one place that was more south then Nair. It was the Wilds. I'm from there. Hence my skin tone. It's the darkest of chocolates but has a glow to it. It's a golden glow. The mercenaries said I looked exotic. They'd come to Castor to get a taste of Nair's dark delicacy. But no one had ever called me beautiful. No one had ever looked at me the way this man was looking at me now.
"It's OK," I state.
For some reason, me telling him I was from the Wilds seem to change everything. He sits next to me. If I do smell like shit he doesn't notice or doesn't care. He looks at me hard.
Does it start getting awkward, "What? You're staring..."
"It's just...uh...I don't do this often but I'd like to offer an apology. I should apologize for calling you a shit carrier," he states.
"That's what I am."
"You're so much more," he tells me as though he hadn't rescued me from a field while I was hauling shit, "I can see it now. I can see it in your eyes. I didn't see it before."
I shrugged not really wanting to argue with this guy. He was handsome but he was also intimidating looking. I mean he was tall, lean and very strong looking. I'd seen mercenaries from the North come to Nair. You can always tell because their skin was a lot fairer than the locals here in the South. They'd always had that Northern accent too where they pronounced every syllable as though some little angel professor was on their shoulder grading them. This man had an accent too but it's different. An accent I'd never heard. I can tell by the way he curls his `S' when he keeps saying the word "see".
He's breathing heavy as he looks at me.
"Is the dragon gone?" I ask.
"Dragon---oh yeah, right. No, it's around here somewhere, no doubt. Every decade wild dragons prowl the Earth. It's when they are most active. This is the Dread's mating season, no doubt."
It's almost as though he forgets why we were hiding out in the barn in the first place. He's looking in my eyes in a way that almost makes me stop breathing. I was a good looking guy and because of my unique skin tone I'd drawn attention but usually, it wasn't this kind of attention. Usually, they weren't looking at my face either. They were looking at my ass in those tight pants Castor made me wear.
"Dragon's fuck?"
He looks over at me and laughs, "So you aren't pretending. You don't know? Well, yes dragons do fuck."
"I suppose everyone needs love."
He raises an eyebrow, "I never mentioned love. What made you bring that up?"
I shrug, "I just assume it would be lonely. Being ancient, rising from the magma, having people run and hide from you everywhere you go. Look at me. I'm terrified of dragons. Almost pissed my pants. Still...I could imagine it's a lonely existence. I don't think a fuck would do it for them. They'd want more. I should shut the fuck up? Huh? God---I get to talking and---"
"No. I like it," he cuts me off, "I like seeing your lips move. What's your name?"
"I'm Nikolai. Nikolai Glabber."
He smiles.
"You're a romantic Nikolai Glabber."
I'd never thought of it like that. I know he was referring to what I said about dragons wanting love but I also feel like he had a point. I was a romantic. I guess when the drunken guys back at Castor's wanted stories I always told them the romantic ones. I guess I was a romantic. This guy had a way of building up my ego.
"I'm not a shit carrier——I'm a romantic. Who woulda thunk?"
"Kiss me."
"What?"
"Kiss me..."
I'd never had someone kiss me before. This whole time I'd been giving ass away like an appetizer to Castor's guests but I'd never actually been kissed before. Out of nowhere he leans over without asking me again and plants his lips on mine. I press my lips back on his. Before I know it our tongues curl up in one another.
I almost feel light headed when he lays me down. I'm in some barrel of hay and it's getting everywhere but I don't care. He removes me out of my clothes without me even realizing it. It's almost as though my clothes disappear. That's how smooth this guy was. I was used to guys bending me over in the back of the tavern, pulling their trousers below their hairy asses and spitting. There was none of that right now. True, I was getting fucked in a tavern but I might as well have been a prince by how this guy was treating me. He's so gentle. He makes love to my neck to the point that I don't know his dick is out until it's inside of me.
He's fucking me missionary. My legs are wrapped around his thin waist. My fingers climb his back slowly until I get up to his neck. I push him down. The entire time he's kissing me.
"I'm about..."
He was about to cum.
"Pull out."
I'd never had someone cum inside of me. I'd always been adverse to that. This was different though. When I try to push him out of me he locks himself in between my legs. He hugs me close. He puts his mouth up against mine.
And then he cums INSIDE. The warmth of his seed fills my body.
"You're mine, Nicholas Glabber. You're mine."
~
I wake up in hay and realize he's gone. It's as though he was here one minute and gone the next. The only reminder of the stranger who saved my life from the dragon is my wet ass from where he came inside of me. I should have been offended by it but I had to admit I liked the idea of someone claiming me, even if he was gone by the next day. I was accustomed to guys using me and leaving the next day. I'd never felt bad about it before so I assume this was more of the same.
"What took you so long?" Castor ask when I get back in the tavern.
The tavern was basically an alehouse, served mostly with the purpose of getting drunk. Castor's tavern wasn't even the best alehouse in Nair. I doubt it even made the top ten. Still, you would think we'd stepped into a goddam palace by how he ordered me around this place. The amount of filth on the floors was always noticeable, as all kinds of horse crap and mud collect in rushes and food that is dropped in small quantities become difficult to locate and tend to rot. I didn't get to completely clean out the outhouse, so I knew a chamber pot would have to be used today and I could only imagine the fallout of 20 men shitting in the same bucket.
It was early in the day but a handful of Castor's regulars were already here, already drunk and already eyeing me from the corner of their eyes.
"I lost track of things."
"Lost track of things?" Castor asks giving me a weird look, "Nic, what the hell is the matter with you? Did the shit grow legs and start running away? How the hell do you lose shit?"
"Not now Castor. There was a dragon. I almost became toast."
"You didn't see no goddam dragon. Liar. And you know there is no way your black ass is getting any blacker," Tuti states.
Tuti is the tavern boy that works at the tavern with me. No one wants Tuti because he looks like something I was scooping up from the outhouse. I grab him and punch him in the side of the neck. He might have been taller than me but he was a goddamn wimp.
"I saw a dragon," I argue.
"What the fuck would a dragon be doing in Nair?" Castor asks, "Most of the tamed dragons live in the Capital."
"It wasn't a tamed dragon. This was a wild dragon."
I want to explain how it's mating season and everything the stranger in the barn had talked to me about but Castor would ask how I knew all that. Then I'd have to explain that while I was supposed to be hauling shit, I was out getting banged and bred by a stranger in a barn. I don't think Castor would have cared about the banging part. He would have been more concerned with why he didn't get a couple copper coins out of this stranger for `talent management'.
"He's lying," Tuti continues to irritate, "I hear they did that a lot in the Wilds...before The Nightmare Dragon killed all of them."
They are looking at me as though I'm some sort of liar. They are looking at me as though I am making this shit up. I know I wasn't. I'd seen what I'd seen and if it wasn't for the stranger with the gray eyes I probably would be dragon roast right about now.
It's then in the moment that I am doubted, at the moment when they are looking at me like I'm some lying Wild that we hear Thunder ring through the skies. Not just any normal thunder either.
"It's a storm?" Castor questions, "There were just bright skies."
"That's no normal Thunder," I explain, "It's a Thunder of Dragons."
We empty the tavern and notice we aren't the only ones. Nair was a huge city and we sat right at the edge of it. Many people called it the Capital of the South. The streets swarm with people. There are more people than I could possibly know. Sure enough, I see dragons in the sky but there were no regular dragons. The dragons fly together in V-formation. But as they begin to land at the city's square the massive crowds literally have a chorus of awes. Everyone is just as shocked and afraid as I was. But these dragons had something different than the dragon I saw earlier did not have.
They had riders.
From my area, Tuti pushes past me but I still manage to look past him and see the creatures. The Dragons are all these large reptilian creatures covered with jewel-like scales which sparkle in every color of the rainbow. These seem unphased by the hot Nair sun even though their riders seem a bit irritated. They have these large leathery bat-like wings sprouting from their shoulders. They all have long serpentine necks and bony triangular heads. Their claws are nearly as long as their teeth and just as deadly looking. A row of spikes protrudes from their neck, down their backs and all the way down their long flexible tails. I'm staring hard at their massive tails when I feel someone sneak up behind me.
"If the front end of the dragon doesn't kill you the back end might."
I jump when I hear it and I'm surprised to see the stranger.
"How'd you find me?" I ask.
"What?"
He probably can't hear me due to the massive crowd making such a big scene. I don't blame them. I lean in close to the stranger who saved me back at the barn.
"How'd you find me?"
He shrugs, "I looked."
Interesting. Why would he care enough to look for me?
"Well, you came to Nair just in time. We've never had Dragonriders come down."
"I've seen them before. Nothing really fancy. I'm not impressed."
"Are you kidding?"
I look back over at the dragon riders. They all had a uniform on that consisted of an Imperial helmet with scooped neck guards and brass trims. On their bodies, they had scale armor resembling feathers, a tunic, a skirt of leather straps that was wrapped around the waist and a cloak fastened at only one shoulder. Even though the dragons came in many colors the dragon riders all had the same white and gold uniforms on to show that they were clearly of one united front.
I count four of them but it might as well be a whole invading army by how people were reacting.
"Representatives from the Dragonov Empire. Ridiculous really."
"The Emperor's down there?"
"No," the stranger responds, "He wouldn't come all the way down to Nair. But don't think their presence here isn't important. The Dragonov Empire rules everything including Nair. 12 families around a roundtable with the Emperor at the top. Like a clock. Ridiculous that that's all it takes to conquer the world."
Everyone knew of the empire. Nair was just a pin under the Empire's dominion.
"The Nair family must be there then?" I ask.
He smiles at me, "Yes. The Nair Paramour Knight is down there no doubt with his squire who he is training to take his place. Don't tell me you are going to start getting star struck like the rest of these idiots."
I am intrigued and terrified all at the same time. The dragons were tamed. I watch how they do exactly what their riders tell them to do. They might as well have been house pets by how their riders are treating them. They are no threat.
"No...I'm not interested."
"Really?"
He seems surprised as though he was only calling my bluff but expected me to be out here with the crowd waiting to get a closer look at the dragon-like everyone else. The truth was though I remembered one thing and one thing only.
"A dragon killed my family."
~
The tavern is bustling throughout the day. Everyone is coming in with stories of the dragons. I trade the stories they tell me with stories of the wild dragon that I'd seen earlier in the day. Castor isn't calling my story bullshit. He's actually insisting I tell everyone I was the first person to see the sign of all this recent dragon activity.
"Dragon days," I am telling one table struggling to push away as one of the guys grabs my hand, "These are dragon days now."
I notice when my hand is grabbed that I'm getting some unusual stares. Luckily my regulars don't notice it but I do. The stranger sits at the table. The one that saved my life. He doesn't order anything and no one is bothering him. They just ignore him. I'm assuming everyone is more interested in the dragon riders than anyone else at this point.
"Did Tuti get your order?"
He shakes his head, "Nah. I didn't come here to drink."
"Then why'd you come?" I ask.
"To look at you," the stranger responds.
He was going to get me in trouble. I knew it but for some reason, I love the way he stares at me as though I'm the only one in the world that matters. A part of me is happy Tuti kept walking past the stranger and ignoring him. Sometimes I felt lonely. Like those dragons. I felt like I would have loved nothing more than to have that romantic fantasy. But the truth was I was just a romantic. Things like that didn't happen to people like me.
"Nik!"
It's Castor.
"I'll be right back," I state.
"I'll be waiting," he responds with a smile and a squint. He pushes back his long black jet hair over his shoulders. The man has this sexiness about him. It's the same ease when he saved my life. There is something dangerous about him. Something sexy and dangerous.
I walk over to Castor.
"Quick change into these," Castor tells me in the back.
I take a look at what Castor is handing me.
"Castor...you have to be joking. I can't fit those."
I think he literally took a knife to some trousers to barely cover half of my ass. I had what Castor called a "Wild ass". I'm assuming he was saying this from the experience he had with Wild girls before the entire race of people were incinerated. All I knew is my ass was much too large and shapely to fit in what he was trying to get me to wear.
"I'm so serious."
"Why?"
"Look."
Castor can hardly breathe. I'd never seen him so excited in my entire life. He points and I realize that someone is walking into the tavern. The reaction they are getting is similar to Castor's. It's the dragon riders. Of course, they haven't brought the dragons into the tavern but they come with their weapons. Huge weapons that look like they were worth half of Nair. Halberds, maces, and swords are fastened or secured somehow to the belts. The tavern is so fucking quiet when they walk in that you could hear a fucking pin drop.
Everyone seems so impressed, everyone except my stranger. He turns away from them and just seems irritated by their entire presence. They walk past him as though he doesn't exist to sit at the table right next to his.
Castor spares no expense. He dusts off the best wine that he has. I had once seen him smack Tuti so hard that he cried for two hours straight when he tried to steal from Castor's special wine cellar. He waits till I change into his skimpy outfit and throws me out there watching eagerly from the kitchen to make sure that I impressed our powerful and dignified visitors.
"Wine anyone?" I ask.
There are two men and two women. One man is older and the woman is also older. The younger boy and girl are about my age and seem to have slightly different uniforms than the older. I pour wine for all four of them and watch as the older man ogles me.
"A Wild..." he states, "I haven't seen one of you in years. You making a comeback?"
He's saying it like I was some outspent musician or something.
"More like barely holding on..." I smile.
He laughs, "Funny. You're definitely a Wild. Look at that ass. Will you Maxim? Maxim---go ahead. Don't be shy boy! Look at that ass."
The younger dragon-rider seems a bit shy. He gives me a slight smile and seems to be completely swallowed by the personality of the older gentleman. I have to admit the younger one was attractive though. So fucking attractive. He has a kind face and almost innocent but the innocence seems to be only in the face. I look at his body and even through the armor I can tell that he has a better body than any man I'd ever seen. The older man is definitely vociferous. He's handsome. Both him and the younger are. They were the kind of men who looked like they could tame dragons. They look as though they could be related. They have darker skin than the women. Bronze skin. It lets me know that they were native to Nair. I definitely recognize the face of the older but from where?
"Enjoy the wine and please don't hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can offer," I state bending over on the table making sure that my ass is making a statement especially to the men at the table.
Most of the men in Nair tended to be open sexually and dragon-rider or not, these men had definitely originated from this city.
"I don't like the way the younger one is looking at you?" a voice whispers in my ear.
I'm in shock as the stranger gets up from his table and walks over. He quickly says it and stands not too far away from me clearly making this very uncomfortable for me. I look back in the kitchen. This stranger is going to get me whipped by Castor. For some reason though Castor is stuck right on the Dragonriders.
"Sorry about that?" I state, "Would you like more entertainment?"
"Unfortunately we can't touch but we can definitely look. What do you say, Maxim? I won't tell your dragon if you don't..." the older man says.
The younger man was definitely doing that. He was looking. His eyes are glued to me and he gives another nervous smile.
"You're embarrassing your squire, Paramour Pike," The woman states with them states.
"I'm teaching him the job."
"We didn't come here for local whores. Nor did we come here for Nair piss."
I watch as the older woman pushes the drink on the floor. When she does it the girl sitting next to her barely reacts. She barely says anything at all. It's rude but then again this was a tavern. I knew damn sure that Castor must have been embarrassed that his pride and joy was being referred to as piss.
"Pike," I state, "You are the ruling family of Nair."
No wonder everyone was so quiet in the bar. Pike Nair was responsible for making the laws in Nair. He was literally the governor of the city. I remember going to Townsquare and seeing a large statue of him being resurrected...dragon and all.
"Paramour Pike," he corrects me, "I am a dragon mate. This is my squire and my nephew..."
"Maximillian Nair," he jumps up.
This handsome boy Maximillian seems eager to shake my hand and smiles hard. Really hard. It's cute. I don't think I've ever made someone nervous before.
"If he touches you again, I'll break his hand," a voice states.
I turn and notice it's the stranger. My heart is racing hoping that Maxim didn't hear what the stranger said and luckily he doesn't. He continues shaking my hand more interested in me than what some random guy is saying in a bar.
"I'm sorry about my confusion with the titles. Are you Paramour Maximilian?" I ask.
He shakes his head, "Not a paramour yet. Not completely. Squires have to train for the title of Paramour and Mistress. This is Mistress Raisa and her squire Natasha."
I didn't know how to greet them. Were they considered royalty? To be safe I bow to the ladies. The younger lady offers a nod but the older lady doesn't even seem the slightest bit interested in greeting me.
Clearly, Raisa wasn't the kindest soul. The look she gives me is cold.
"If you didn't come for the wine, then why did you come?" I ask.
"We're looking for a dragon, a wild dragon."
"Do you mean to tame him?"
There is laughter from the dragon riders...even the younger girl Natasha who seemed to be somewhere else mentally. I guess they are all laughing at my ignorance.
"That's not how taming a dragon works. There is a reason that Dragonriders are called Paramours for men and Mistresses for women. The dragon chooses its rider. It chooses it's lover and seals the deal through the act of lovemaking."
I want to ask a stupid question again but I look back at the corner. The stranger is highly irritated with me having this conversation with Maxim and Castor is even more highly irritated that I'm not sucking this guy's dick in the back by now. It seems as though everyone in this damn tavern is watching our conversation. I know what Castor expects and I know what the stranger probably thinks Maxim wants but the way Maxim is talking to me is almost like he just wants to have a conversation.
So I am the idiot who has to ask the idiot question.
"How big does your dick have to be to fuck a dragon?" I ask him.
I look down, clearly wondering how the hell it is this guy mounted that immense creature to fuck it. More laughter.
"They are mocking you," the stranger states.
"Maybe I deserve to be mocked," I respond.
"Huh?" Maxim asks surprised, "Who are you talking to?"
I turn away from the stranger not wanting to make a scene.
"Nevermind. You don't have to answer that question."
"No, I want to. The way the dragons have sexual intercourse with humans isn't what you think..."
I feel like Mistress Raisa sitting at the table is getting more and more irritated at the conversation. She's probably wondering why the hell a dragon rider is explaining anything to the likes of me. She has a point. I was embarrassing myself and embarrassing Castor.
"It's OK. I'll get more wine."
That's when he reaches out and grabs me.
"I warned you that if he touched you again, there's going to be an issue!" the stranger yells, "You're mine!"
The way that he yells is shocking. It's almost frightening but that isn't what is most surprising. I turn at that moment and there is the sound of a dragon in the distance. It's overhead. The dragon's roar is something that is so full and terrible that the dragon riders all jump up from their tables.
Everyone is concerned about the dragon's roar except for Maxim. He's looking at me with a look of concern when I turn to the stranger.
"I'm sorry about my friend," I state.
"Your friend?" he asks.
He seems really confused. I'm confused even more though. DIdn't he hear the stranger's threat? I turn at that moment trying to look for the stranger but he wasn't there. He had said it loud and clear. He was irritated by Maxim touching me.
"The Black Dread dragon is here," Paramour Pike announces.
Maxim looks over at me, "I'll be back."
"Where are you going? There's a wild dragon out there..."
"That's why we're here," he explains, "We need to capture him and bring him back to the Capital to restrain him before he causes any trouble."
"You'll come back?" I ask Maxim.
I don't know why I care. I mean he was handsome and sweet and he had these soft eyes that made me melt a little bit. I watch as he licks his lips at the offer.
"I can't..." he explains, "My dragon wouldn't like that..."
Strange. Did he just turn me down? The look in his eyes says it all. He was interested in me. I'd work at Castor's long enough to know when a guy liked me and this guy was definitely attracted to me. It was easy to tell.
What the fuck was he talking about? What about him coming back wouldn't his dragon-like?
"No time for a chat, Maxim. We ride..." Paramour Pike instructs his squire.
"I'm sorry about my rude friend," I tell Maxim, "If you can I'd like to see you again...before you leave back for the capital."
Maxim seems nervous. He looks around anxiously as though looking for someone or something. Then he nods secretly and says, "I'll try to sneak away..."
Sneak away?
Sneak away from who?
"Wait," Raisa states.
"We have no time to wait. The Black Dread is over Nair," Paramour Pike states, "I understand you are foreign Mistress, but this city is under my protection."
"The Black Dread came out of hiding for a reason," she states before turning to me, "You. Who were you just talking to when you said your friend."
She's looking at me.
"He was here just a minute ago," I state.
"Who was?" she asks.
I'm confused. The stranger was tall and rather striking. I knew Mistress Raisa was a foreigner but this guy was kind of hard to miss.
"The stranger," I state, "He's not really my friend...but...I...he was just here."
There are the sounds of the Black Dread out but for some reason, the dragon riders all seem more concerned with me being confused at that moment. Even Pike who was so ready to leave has stopped dead in his track and is looking at me like I have three heads.
"Impossible..." he whispers.
What was? What was impossible?
"I'm sorry about my idiot worker. Did he say something to upset you all? He wasn't trained, right? He's a wild, you know?" Castor barges out of the kitchen, "Savages..."
He grabs my arm to remove me. I'm irritated.
"I'm not making this up. My friend was just here and was upset about Maxim touching me, is all. Why would I make that up? Did no one else think that was rude?"
"Ignore him," Castor states.
Castor is grabbing me by my wrist. He's squeezing my wrist rather hard. I can tell I'd embarrassed him. I don't understand how. I've never been so confused in my life. One minute the stranger I had sex within the barn was here and the next minute he wasn't. But they were acting as though no one saw him at all. They were acting as though I had some imaginary friend or something.
"Release him," Raisa instructs Castor.
"It's OK---" Castor states continuing to drag me off, "He has always been a little slow."
He doesn't get far. I watch as Raisa leaps across the bar. She is like some sort of dancer as she glides towards Castor, sweeping the floor with her knee and swings her leg out, tripping him to the ground. It happens so fast that I barely see it. Mistress Raisa has a glaive at his throat before he manages to get back up. I'm shocked because I'd never seen anyone move so fast. Not even the mercenaries when they got into the bar fights.
"Release him."
Maxim is looking at me differently now. He's still interested but for some reason, he looks a bit frightened instead of nervous.
"Don't hurt him," I tell Raisa.
"Who were you talking to?" she repeats, "I won't ask again, Wild."
"Just..." I state, "A guy I met. I had sex with him earlier today. It was no one. Nothing big. Just a romp. He was here a minute ago and disappeared, is all."
Pause. They are staring hard.
"Who are you boy?"
"Nikolai."
"Nikolai, what?" Paramour Pike states.
"Nikolai Glabber," I state.
Things change at that moment. I swear I hear Natasha gasp. Raisa grabs me instead. She grabs me and brings me out of the tavern. At this point, everyone had come out again. This isn't the same look of awe when the tamed dragons were overhead. People were out in the streets but they were running in fear. The wild dragon that I'd seen earlier was overhead and it circles around us over and over and over again.
Raisa throws me onto the street. The other Dragonriders surround her. I don't know what about my last name seemed to trigger this aggression. I look over at Maxim hoping that he'd help but he sinks behind Paramour Pike seeming helpless to intervene.
"Call your dragon," she states.
"Excuse me?" I ask.
"Call your dragon!" she states, "NOW before it burns down this entire city."
She points her weapon at me. The look that she has in her eyes lets me know she's willing to use it. She's willing to fucking kill me and I can see it in her eyes. She has no concerns of ending me right now if need be. I knew that much. I could tell.
"I don't know what you're talking about?"
The dragon overhead has started shooting flames out of his mouth. People are screaming. Panic is going over.
All of a sudden I get a flashback.
The flames coming out reminds me of when I was just a kid. I remember all of a sudden seeing my mother screaming. I remember her looking at me and then looking at my brother. My father had gone out to try to stop the flames. Our entire hut was on fire. She tries to grab both me and my older brother but we're too heavy. She keeps falling. She keeps coughing. I'm not helping her. I'm stuck.
I sit.
And that's when she chooses my brother over me. She chooses my brother and runs out. My entire hut comes crashing down on me and when I wake up everything has been burnt to a cinder. Nothing remains of the Wilds.
This is what the dragons are capable of.
Raisa thrusts her glaive forward to kill me for some reason but before she can get to it, she's blocked. I'm shocked, but not as shocked as she is. It's Maxim. He's jumped out in front of her weapon and blocked it with a golden sword. He knocks Raisa's glaive to the ground.
"Pike control your squire," Mistress Raisa roars spitting angrily.
"He doesn't understand," Maxim states, "Killing him won't help."
"Maxim's right. Stand down Raisa," Paramour Pike argues.
Raisa gives me a look, "Deal with him before I do."
Maxim grabs me. He is calm. He has a look of concern in his eyes, "You have to call your dragon. Say his name. When you say it, we won't understand. It'll sound like gibberish to us but say his real name out loud and he'll come to you."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I really don't..."
I wasn't lying to him. I wanted to do whatever the fuck he wanted. I didn't want the dragon overhead burning down Nair! I didn't want a spear to the heart by this crazy bitch Raisa! I just wanted this entire fucking day to end.
"They come to you in the form of a human. The dragon. Dragon's can detach their souls and come to you in human form. That's how we become dragon mates. That's how we make love to them. That's how you become a dragon rider. It came to you."
"Who?"
"The Black Dread."
Maxim points up at the skies. The dragon overhead. He was looking at me like I was to blame for the dragon about to burn down this entire fucking city.
"He wants you to say my name," a voice responds.
I turn. Sure enough, the stranger is there. He's standing over me.
"What name?" I ask.
"He's here?" Maxim asks.
"You can't see him?"
I look back over at the stranger. All of this shit happening and he was as calm as ever. Nothing was phasing him. Not even in the slightest.
"Ask him for his name. Ask him for his name. Make him come to you. Tame him! GET HIS NAME! Become the dragon rider!" Maxim is screaming in full blown panic.
Everyone's panicking. Everyone but the stranger. I look back over at the stranger.
Could it be?
Could it be he was really the dragon's soul?
"What's your name?" I ask.
I look over at the Stranger. He comes to me. He puts his hand on me. I feel him. I feel the skin up against my skin. They can't see him but I knew he was there with me. I knew he was there and he had claimed me as his lover. This rage was because of my interaction with Maxim. He was jealous and terrible. And he wanted me all for himself.
"My name is Ouroboros..." he states, "Call me. I'll come to you. You are mine and I am yours, Nikolas of the Glabber Wilds. Forever.."
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