Stargazer, Chapter 5

Chapter Five



The next morning they woke up completely surrounded by fog. The air around them was thick and damp; Serena had woken up shivering and soaked. Somewhere beside her, Jade stretched and got up. Serena followed. The fog was so thick Serena could hardly see what was in front of her. All she could see of Jade was a large outline, and glowing turquoise eyes.

"A perfect day." Serena heard Jade say from within the mist. "The fog will hide us, but not for long. We must hurry." Jade began to move towards the faint light of the village.

"But what about my magic?" Serena asked, running after her.

"It will have to wait." Jade called back. "We do not have the time, follow me."

Serena was disappointed, but she still followed Jade by placing a hand on the dragon's large back leg to be sure they would not separate. She had been looking forward to learning how to use magic ever since Jade had mentioned it. But if Jade did not have time to teach her, then she must be patient and wait.

Serena could feel the muscles in Jade's leg ripple under the scales with every step she took. Such a great creature, She thought. So wild, so majestic, so free, so ...

"Serena." Jade's voice interrupted her thoughts. "In less than a half hour we must separate. You will go into the village alone and I will hide a safe distance away, but not so far that I cannot help you if you are trapped.

"Last night I came up with a plan to disguise yourself. If anyone asks, you will tell them that your name is Aneres, and you are travelling with your father to go visit a sick relative in a nearby village. Understand?"

Serena nodded, but then remembered Jade couldn't see her through the fog. "Yes." She answered.

They spent the rest of their walk in silence. Serena went over Jade's plan in her head, trying to remember all off it, should she have to repeat it.

The time for them to part came sooner than Serena wanted it to. She hated to have to separate from Jade. In the short time they had been together, she had begun to feel a strong connection with her. They said a quick farewell to each other and then parted.

“Don’t let anybody follow you.” Jade growled. She then spread her massive wings and flew away. Serena watched as Jade's large body was absorbed by the fog. She then put on the hood to her tattered cloak and entered the village.

Serena followed the thin stone path between two dark houses towards where the centre of the village should be. As she walked, the fog began to disappear and she could see more clearly.

The village did not seem as bright and happy as she thought it would be. The houses that she saw had windows that were shut tight, some were even boarded up. Some houses had roofs that were fallen in, yet she sensed a presence still lived there. How sad, she thought, quickening her pace. Ever since King Terron had taken the throne, the island had spun into a depression, but Serena had never known the severity of it.

A dim light ahead grew brighter, and Serena soon found herself in the village centre, if it could be called one. The people there walked around with their heads down, and only a few paused to notice Serena, then they continued on their way. There was no music, no laughter, no children running about. The only voices came from those who were talking at the shops, which lined the circle of the village centre. They talked so low that Serena could not hear a word of what was being said.

She walked among the gloomy people, looking for a shop that may provide her with a suitable weapon. The villagers moved aside quietly to let her pass. She was beginning to get creeped out by their strange behaviour. Everyone had stopped talking now, so the only noise came from the crumbling fountain in the centre of everything.

Serena soon found the place she was looking for and walked up to the shop. The owner was busy in the back, sharpening a small dagger. Serena waited patiently. She observed the rusty swords hanging on the walls, and knew that no one had bought anything from this shop for quite some time.

The owner had been taking longer than Serena had expected, so she cleared her throat to announce her presence. The owner looked up with dull eyes, and walked over to where she stood.

"And how may I help a young lady like you?" His voice was rough like sandpaper, and he stared at Serena with a curious look upon his face. He seemed to be in his mid forties, he was slightly overweight and barely had any hair on his head. On his chin, however, a beard was starting to form.

"I would like to buy a weapon." She answered casually. She tried to keep a straight face so it wouldn't give away the fear building up inside her. She had never spoken to anyone outside of the Palace before. She kept thinking the man could see through her and would report her to the King. He stared at her curiously for a moment longer, then opened his mouth to speak,

"Why, I must ask, do you need a weapon?" Serena's heart began to pound harder. Calm down. She told herself, remember what Jade told you. She breathed deeply to calm herself.

" I am travelling with my father to a nearby village to see a sick relative." She felt this did not explain why she needed a weapon, so she continued. " He is weak with old age, and has told me he would rest easier if I had a weapon to defend myself."

To owner seemed to believe her, for he was nodding in agreement. "Ay, and he is right. Have you heard of the dragon that has escaped?"

Jade's words flashed in Serena's mind. Find out as much as you can about the King's plans and actions. Playing along, she shook her head no.

"Ah, well I pity whoever may cross its path. It supposedly escaped from the Palace where it has been held captive for all these years to prevent it from destroying the island. Few have seen it since, but they say it is a ferocious creature and any who encounter it is surely doomed. Imagine that, a dragon on the loose! I hear it has already killed a human, a young girl such as yourself. Better be careful, wouldn't want anything to happen to a pretty girl like you." He winked as he said his last sentence, sending shivers down Serena's spine.

She had to control herself from protesting and saying that Jade wasn't even close to that description. But if she said anything, they would become suspicious. At least everyone believed that the girl who had been seen escaping with the dragon was dead. That meant she was free to roam with others without fear of being noticed.

"I'm sorry." He said, "I seem to have gotten off topic. It's been so long since anyone has come through this village that I'll take any opportunity I get to speak to a new face. Wat'cha lookin' for?"

"Uh..." Serena hadn't thought about it. Jade hadn't specified which weapon she would need, only that she needed a weapon. She didn't know if she had the strength to wield a sword, what other options were there?

The owner of the shop seemed to read her thoughts. "You seem to fragile to handle a sword, why not try a bow?" With those words, he walked into the darkness of the house behind the shop and returned shortly with a wooden bow.

It wasn't the most graceful of all bows, but as soon as she saw it, Serena knew it was the weapon she was looking for. The owner handed it to her, and she held it in her hands. It was light enough so she could wear it on her back and pull it out easily to use it when necessary, yet strong enough should someone try to break it. Jade would be pleased with her selection.

"I'll take it!" She said, pulling a handful of coins out of her maroon sack and placing it before the owner. His eyes lit up when he saw the amount she was offering. She knew no one had been to his shop in so long that he would take the coins without questioning why she had so much.

He did as she expected. Then, without a word reached under a shelf and pulled out three arrows. "You'll need these." He said. Serena thanked him and left. She was glad he had not become too suspicious of her.

News of Jade's escape had certainly travelled fast. The King must have twisted the truth to make her seem more dangerous than she actually was. But nobody knew Jade as much as Serena, and Serena still did not know much about her. But she knew enough to know that Jade was not a destructive sort of dragon. Lies. That's all the King ever told.

She walked through the village centre with the bow strung across her back and the three arrows in her hand. She was about to leave when her stomach growled. She remembered it had been days since she had eaten last, and she was beginning to grow weak because of it. She turned around and headed for the inn, hoping they had a meal they could provide for her. Jade wouldn't mind waiting a while longer.

Serena opened the creaky door and entered. Almost immediately the smell of cooked meat and fresh bread consumed her. Her mouth began to water and her stomach growled louder than before. She ran to the owner of the inn and demanded food.

At first, the owner protested, saying she could only get a meal if she bought a room for the night. But when Serena placed several coins on the table - more than a meal was worth - the owner didn't complain. She went back into the kitchen and returned in a few moments with a plate of food.

The plate hadn't even been placed on the table before Serena jumped up and grabbed the bread off the plate. The owner gave her a strange look as she stuffed the bread in her mouth, but left the plate on the table and walked away, taking the coins with her.

Serena finished quickly, she did not want to keep Jade waiting. But Jade must understand that Serena had to eat as well. She was human, and did not doubt that Jade may forget that she could not survive without food for as long as a dragon.

She left the inn without saying another word to the owner and stepped onto the stone street. She intended to go straight to Jade, when something caught her eye. It was movement. Something had moved between the houses.

She stopped. Nobody else in the village seemed to notice anything. It couldn't have been a villager she saw - this she just knew. She had a feeling she was being watched.

Then she saw it. It was a cloaked figure, similar to the one in her first vision, and it was looking straight at her. Although she could not see the person's face, she knew it was looking at her. She started walking slowly, keeping her eyes on the figure. Should she pull out her bow? No, she did not know how to use it yet.

The figure stared for a while longer, then brushed away a piece of dark hair from its face and turned away, disappearing among the houses. When it turned, Serena saw the symbol of a Black Raven stitched into the back of its cloak. The Black Raven was the symbol of the King, so that meant the mysterious cloaked person was one of the King's men. They had found her.

Serena began running through the houses. How could they have found her and Jade so soon? Fear pushed her to run faster than she had ever ran before. She had to warn Jade.

As she neared the edge of the village, the fog began to grow thick again and she couldn't see. "Jade!" She called out once she was beyond the houses. Almost immediately, she heard the sound of wings as Jade dropped from the sky, through the fog and landed loudly in front of Serena. "What's wrong?" She growled.

Serena took a few deep breaths to calm down, then rapidly told Jade what she had seen. When she was done, Jade threw her head back in frustration and gave a mighty screeching roar. Serena covered her ears until Jade was done.

"Get on my back. Once more, we must hurry." She growled. Once Serena was on her back, Jade launched herself into the air. Her giant wings unfurled and worked hard to push them higher.

"We're flying?" Serena called out. Jade did not respond, nor did she start to descend. Don't look down, don't look down ... Serena told herself. She kept her eyes closed so she didn't see how high up they were.

Then the head of an arrow shot through the feathers of Jade's right wing. She screeched in pain. The first arrow was followed by several others that pierced her wings and soft underside. Jade continued to screech in pain as she spiralled toward the ground with great speed. Serena held on tight as she neared the ground.

Jade collided with the dirt, sending rocks and grass flying in all directions. Serena was thrown from her back and landed on the ground several feet from Jade's body. She tried to get up to go to Jade, but her body was in too much pain and would not allow it. So she was forced to lie helplessly and watch what happened next.

Out from the fog, several men on horses appeared. When Jade came into their view, the horses whined and would not get any closer. The men dismounted and tried to calm their steeds. Jade gave a weak warning growl, but the men only laughed. It pained Serena to see such a magnificent creature brought to nothing.

As a last attempt, Jade tried to spit blue fire at the King's men, but the flames barely escaped her mouth because she was so weak. Jade made no attempt to escape as the men tied her legs together. They had been captured.

As the men tied up Jade, one approached Serena. She tried to glare at him, but it must have been pathetic because he only smiled. Serena struggled to keep him away, but soon gave into the pain that came with every movement she made.

“You can’t do this!” She cried.

The man leaned in closer, laughing silently to himself.

“Yes, I can.”

Then it went black.