November 13

Word Count: 1943

"I am Brother Saratin from Ladona. We were heading to Gooled when we met trouble. Iber's horse got lost in the scuffle, and we've just been riding along. Quite lucky that you've brought him back to us. What's your name?" Saratin smiled at the girl. She looked slightly travel weary. Her features were kindly but Saratin could see she was slightly worn around the edges.

"My name is Mitty," the girl said, "and this is…" The man on the horse cut her off.

"Adeo. My name's Adeo." Mitty rolled her eyes at her companion and handed the reigns of Iber's horse to Saratin. "Well, then I suppose I shall have to give you back your horse," she said.

"We would be most grateful." Iber said as he took the reigns from Saratin.

"And how do you know that's really his horse?" Adeo asked.

"Really Malek, how many half charred horses and riders are there riding around in this forest. Besides, how did he know it wasn't really my horse. He didn't try to claim your horse. I shall walk. I'll be perfectly fine."

"Perhaps we should travel together. I'm sure both of us would be quite willing to take turns doubling up. This forest isn't safe to walk around in. Trust us, we've had a good example," Saratin said. He suddenly realized they'd all let their guards down. The dragons could have traveled and may at this very minute be stalking the through the trees.

"Oh, I have my own escort of sorts," she commented Saratin glanced at Malik Adeo. He wouldn't be any more a match for a dragon than Iber was. She saw his wavering stare and laughed.

"No, not him," she said. "Pylon!" For a moment, Saratin thought that a dragon had launched himself from the camouflage of the forest. It came close to running them over before gracefully stopping and dropping into a seated position next to Mitty. She absently put her hand on the huge green cat's head. After his unexpected arrival, Saratin relaxed and managed to supress the urge to run. The cat was apparently harmless, though it almost knocked Mitty over as it rubbed up against her, purring like mad.

"That's a nice… cat you have there." Iber said cautiously.

"Malek tried to kill it the first time he saw Pylon." Another glare passed over them from the silent man on the horse.

"May I pet him?" Saratin said curiously. He wanted to know what the green cat felt like.

"I suppose so. He doesn't like Malek very much, but you can see if he likes you."

Saratin reached out his hand, letting the big cat know his intent. He touched the cat's head lightly and was surprised at how the soft the bright green fur was. He stroked the cat and scratched him behind the ear. Pylon moved closer and rubbed up against his cassock. Saratin knew he'd just made a friend for like.

"I think that's a yes," Mitty said. Saratin glanced at his robe; he already had little green hairs clinging to him.

"We should probably be on our way," Iber said.

"Mitty and I will do just fine," Malek said as he held a hand out to Mitty.

"You're welcome to ride with me," Iber said as he waved towards his horse.

"I'd offer my poor horse, but I think he probably needs a break. If we weren't anxious to get out of the forest, I'd walk," Saratin said. The girl suddenly looked confused. Mitty glanced from Iber to Malek perplexed. She apparently wasn't used to making choices.

"Mitty," Malek warned sternly. Iber smiled at her her. Saratin knew whom he'd choose. Mitty obviously had similar thoughts. She smiled back at Iber and allowed him to lift her onto his horse. Malek's horse felt his anger and danced impatiently. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" he asked Mitty.

"If you don't want to join us, then you can leave me in the forest again. It'll be no trouble for me," she replied.

Iber mounted behind her. "He left you in the forest? Alone?"

"Yes," Mitty added, "and that was before Pylon found me. I was quite alone."

"That wasn't very noble of him," Iber stated.

"Well you wouldn't come along with me."

"And when am I obligated to do anything you want me to do?"

"Is he your husband?"

"No, we're no relation at all. The only thing we have in common is…"

"Mitty!" Malek cut her off. She stopped talking at once. The four sat there in silence for a moment before Saratin watered down the tension that was quickly growing unbearable. He motioned for his horse to start moving in a direction, and didn't look back to see if they were following him.

"Shall we travel now? I think it should be quite wonderful to have extra company. Would you like to hear a story? I'm a librarian you know… or I guess you didn't know. I haven't told you. Ha, that's very silly of me. I know lots of interesting stories. Poems too. I love them. I was on my way to be an assistant librarian when I met Iber. Iber is going to run his father's estate. I'll just be happy to get out of this forest. It's a lovely day… well, except for a few mishaps here and there, I think I much prefer it to being cooped up in the monastery all day. Meditation is all well and good, but sometimes a breath of fresh air and a bright sunny day can do much more in five minutes than sitting for five hours."

Saratin kept talking, thankful he could hear the footsteps of the horses following along.

Trevelyn for the first time that day was sure that Lynah had no idea where they were going. She didn't really care. Once they'd actually seen the dragon, a real dragon, capable of swallowing both of them without chewing, they'd done nothing but run. What else does one do? Those stories about knights in armor slaying dragons with a single sword were completely insane. Unbelievable. Completely unreliable. The dragon in the cave would have no problem decimating an entire army in an hour.

Trevelyn kept trying not to look back, but she wasn't succeeding. Every few minutes, she expected to see the forest on fire. She expected the dark shadow of a monstrous form to hover over their heads and swoop down upon them and with one ferocious bite devour them whole. Does it hurt much to be digested alive? The dragon would probably enjoy it. He'd listen to his stomach gurgle happily as his charcoaled maidens made it through his bowels.

She needed a plan. It was frustrating not being able to plan or scheme Lynah out of this trouble before. Trevelyn tried to tell herself they'd been in worse spots, but dragons didn't quite qualify on the correct scale of horrid events. Even if they got home they'd have an enormous quantity of problems to deal with. First of all, the king would be furious over the disappearance. That he could probably get over after a month or two. Second, the king would have been embarrassed and disgraced after planning an engagement feast for a guest of honor who did not appear which after a year or two of passing, the king might forget. Third, if they got home, and the king believed their story, they would still have a dragon to deal with. No one had been equipped for dragon hunting for over a hundred years. Surely men would die before the dragon was slain. Fourth, who one in their right mind would believe to girls had gotten lost in the forest and had run into a dragon in a cave? It was far fetched, even for Trevelyn's active imagination.

Lynah reigned her horse to a pause. She turned back towards Trevelyn who had fallen slightly behind her. "Does any of this look familiar to you?"

"They look like trees. We've been surrounded by trees all day. They don't look any different than the ones we were surrounded by an hour ago."

"Right. Just thought I'd ask." Lynah took off again. Trevelyn followed. The only good news she could think of was that the dragon hadn't seemed to follow them yet."

"It's good sign, I think."

"What is?" Lynah asked.

"That it hasn't come after us immediately. I mean, if we've lost us, how can it know where we are?"

"It has an awfully big nose. Do you think it can smell us?"

Trevelyn wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not. "How should I know?"

"Watch out!"

Trevelyn nearly ran over their ranger. Instead, she managed to read her horse, and fall off, knocking both herself and the ranger to the ground. The wind rushed out of her lungs and little stars appeared on the insides of her eyelids. For a moment she was completely afraid to move. The world was spinning and she was afraid it was all going to fall over on her.

"Are you all right?" Lynah asked as she skidded to the ground on her knees beside Trevelyn. "Can you talk? Can you feel everything? Where does it hurt?"

"I can talk if you stop talking," Trevelyn replied.

"Good, you can't be that hurt if you're cracking jokes," Lynah said as she felt Trevelyn's forehead. A shadow leaned over the two of them.

"The two of you are definitely more trouble than you're worth."

"I'm not the trouble. She is," Trevelyn said, pointing at Lynah. She was glad to find she had the use of her finger. She tested out other body parts one by one. Toes knees, elbows, shoulders - everything seemed to be in working order.

Lynah stared up at the ranger and forgot about sympathizing with her friend. Trevelyn found she could also roll her eyes. The girl was besotted. The ranger could have cared less.

"Where are the two of you supposed to be heading?"

"Home," Trevelyn said when Lynah remained quiet.

"That's quite descriptive."

"Capital City"

"You're quite a long ways from home."

"We've noticed… but we should be getting home soon. They'll be worrying about us."

"And who's they?" the ranger asked.

"The king mostly. And the queen. They're probably already furious, to have their daughter missing for so long."

"Princess?" the ranger said surprised.

"Yes," Lynah finally spoke up. "She's a princess. I'm her lady in waiting. We're quite lost and would appreciate an escort home."

It was Trevelyn's turn to be speechless. What was Lynah's game this time?

"Well it figures," the ranger muttered to himself as he held his hand out for Trevelyn. "Your highness." The title was sarcastic and without any reverence. Trevelyn accepted his hand and allowed him to help her up.

"And what is your name?" Lynah asked starry eyed.

"Lasser. Now…"

"Where are you from?"

"Here as well as anywhere. Now, Princess, you can have your own horse. I'll ride double with the maid."

He helped her back onto her horse and boosted Lynah onto her horse. He'd better not look too closely, Trevelyn thought. Lynah's horse was of obviously better quality than her own.

Just as they spurred their horses, Trevelyn remembered their bigger problem. "We saw a dragon." Lasser looked at her in surprise. She stared back.

"What kind of dragon."

"A big one," Lynah chimed in. "One as big as a house. Bigger… in a cave."

"Fine." Lasser stated as they began to ride.

"Fine?"

"Yes. From what I've heard, it's the little ones you have to worry about."