The Dragon Slayer and The Lady

by D. R. Rosier

  He frowned as she stood up, did she think he’d let her go alone?

  She grinned a little wider, “The red dragon did save you, she was watching her mate, waiting for him, and protected him. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I thought you wouldn’t believe me even with the bond, so I’m showing you instead.”

  He was thoroughly confused, at least until she leapt up into the air and shimmered, grew, and transformed into a large red dragon with shiny scales the exact same color as her hair... The beast, his love, turned her head and looked down at him before shooting out across the tree tops toward Creekshire keep. He kept staring way past the time she’d long disappeared, as his mind tried to catch up.

  The woman he loved, had dreamed of, had mated… was a dragon. He took the time to clean up the camp, get more wood, wash up in a nearby stream, and make some lunch while she was gone, he had some questions for her whenever she got back, a lot of questions. The wound even made sense, her right wing was torn by the blue, so it was on her shoulder blade when she transformed back. In hindsight, it was kind of obvious, he’d even found her in the direction she’d flown away in while bleeding. Still, it all felt a little surreal to him.

  Chapter 6

  It was a while later when a large bag fell out of the sky, followed by a shifting dragon that landed lightly on her feet. She smiled tentatively, and seemed to relax when she saw his visage wasn’t upset, or angry.

  He’d been giving it all a lot of thought.

  “The queen, the princess?”

  She looked nervous but nodded.

  He grunted, and walked over to give her a welcoming kiss and hug, then he gave her a moment to pull on some riding clothes. She’d been naked after all.

  “You’re wound is gone?”

  She smiled shyly and nodded, “The transformations heal a lot of damage. If I didn’t heal during a transformation, I’d have bled out long before you found me. I was just really weak from blood loss, but managed to transform as I started to fall out of the sky yesterday afternoon.”

  He grunted, and didn’t really want to think about that possibility.

  “So let me ask, why do dragons go crazy. I mean, I know it’s only some of them right, so what does it?”

  She bit her lip and he took her hand and led her to the fire. They started to eat what he’d prepared earlier, and he let her answer in her own time. Eventually she started to speak, and he loved the soft cadence of her calm voice, although her hard angry voice was kind of sexy too, he just didn’t have plans to ever mention that to her, lest she change it.

  “Dragons are female. All of us. And we only give birth in our human form, and only after finding our mate, and bonding. Our bonded and tied magic is an integral part of all that. You feel the bond strongly right? I’m not only yours, I’m a part of you now, does that makes sense Derig?”

  He nodded slowly, “Yes.”

  She sighed, “So it’s rare, but it does happen where a mate hates dragons so much, they lash out and reject the bond, and their mate. A dragon’s bonded mate keeps us… in balance. Our dragon and human sides. Of course, the other way to lose that bond is if our mate dies. So that’s where the insane dragons come from mostly, those that found, and then lost their bonds.”

  He frowned, “Does it always happen?”

  She shook our head, “Not always, some of us will fight it, but fighting as you know takes intense focus and force of will. But at the same time a dragon lost her bond, she’d feel the loss of despair, and grief from losing her mate. Not a great combination obviously. It’s very hard to focus or even care when you lose your reason for living. It’s easier to just… give into it, let the pain be swept away by the draconic anger and bloodlust. There are also those that choose to suicide before succumbing. It is rare for a dragon to live long or sane after losing their mate.”

  He nodded, “And male children from these unions?”

  She shrugged, “You. Mages.”

  He choked on a bite of food and coughed for a moment, “What?”

  She grinned, as she apparently enjoyed the fact that she’d startled him, “There is no such thing as human magic. Human mages, the really strong ones and some weaker ones, are born to a dragon human mated couple. The really weak mages, that mostly become street magicians, or… Knights, usually have a grandmother, or maybe a great grandmother that was a dragon.”

  He frowned, “Wait, does that mean every female mage… is a dragon.”

  She sighed, “I had to pick a smart one. Please don’t tell anyone any of this. Not even Lance figured that one out. But yes, the full-fledged strong mage woman in the kingdom are all dragons. Obviously third generation woman children do not have to be dragons. Say we had a son, a powerful mage, then he married a human, and they had a daughter. That daughter would be a weak magic user, but not a dragon. Still dragon magic though, just not enough to make her fully draconic. Only female dragons can birth dragons.”

  His mind turned, he was a weak mage, but not as weak as most knights… which probably meant… crap.

  He asked, “What happens to the human males in the reverse situation, if a dragon mate dies on them. You are a part of me after all.”

  She looked sad for a moment, “The same thing, except of course, a man can’t do nearly as much damage.”

  He frowned and shook his head in disagreement, “My father went insane for months after my mother died, and when he recovered he turned into a major ass. I’d say he’s done just as much damage if not more than a rampaging dragon to other lives, it’s just more acceptable for him to do so because he’s a noble and has a right under law to do as he damned well pleases. I’m not a strong mage, but I’m not as weak as most knights. Fuck, is my sister a dragon?”

  She peered at him with a little hurt in her eyes, “Does it matter?”

  He growled, “No, I didn’t mean it that way, it just took me off guard. She has long golden blonde hair though, and brown eyes. Plus, she’s going to be forced to marry in about two seasons, what happens if you marry someone that isn’t your mate?”

  She shrugged, “She won’t conceive, the bond magic is a big part of conception for us, and he’ll eventually put her aside freeing her to search for her mate. If he gets too rough with her, well if she’s a golden dragon she can protect herself just fine. It isn’t a perfect system obviously, for instance if you were married I’d have to become your mistress. Dragons don’t really like that though, I don’t share, so all those barmaids you were fucking in every town across Aeralon, no more. You. Are. Mine,” she growled ominously.

  He tilted his head, “How did you know… You’ve been stalking me!”

  She grinned innocently, and to his disbelief managed to pull of the look. Even knowing she was a huge red dragon, right now she was a small petite sweet and sexy woman that he’d die to protect, kill to protect.

  She said softly, “I wouldn’t say that, just keeping an eye on what’s mine, and a good thing too or you’d be a popsicle in a crazy bitch blue’s stomach. Don’t be too upset, remember I didn’t get to play around at all, I’m just yours, and wouldn’t have it any other way my love.”

  He softened at that, she was right, and he couldn’t blame her for what she’d done. Now that he had the bond, sleeping with those others didn’t really appeal anymore anyway. He was hers, heart and soul. The only thing he would miss from his trysts would be their friendship.

  He asked curiously, “So why not come out. Why not tell everyone the truth, we can… figure out something.”

  She shook her head, “You feel the bond, we’d never allow harm to come to each other. It’s very rare to find a mate so lost in prejudice that they’d reject their partner. But then, outside of human mates, you’d have some people that would want to keep a tally of us all, maybe put guards on us, to kill us if our mate ever died. Actually, that really isn’t such a bad idea. I’d rather that than become a monster, and I couldn’t live without you anyway.

  “But that wouldn’t actually happen. Most peo
ple would cry out that it’s not worth the risk at all. That all dragons should be hunted down and destroyed, even the sane ones, because sooner or later they’ll lose it and try to burn down a village. Even if it didn’t become law, people would fear any woman followed by a soldier or soldiers, then we’d be attacked in the streets by the truly violent percent of the population.”

  He frowned, and he could see what she meant. No dragon was truly safe, except perhaps the ones that hadn’t found a mate yet. If they never bonded they’d never lose it.

  “Is it possible my sister doesn’t know what she is? My mother died in childbirth, and she’s only fifteen.”

  She shook her head, “No, she’d have transformed at thirteen, maybe even sooner. Chances are one of the other nobles that visited filled her in, otherwise that would have been messy.”

  He nodded, that made sense, he wondered what other nobles were dragons. His first rather pointed thought was probably all the ones that weren’t insipid. Although to be fair, that could all just be an act for some of them. After all, Stephanie had been unassuming and humble as a lady’s maid, and that was not who his mate was at all. She had fire, and passion, and… he gave up that line of thought before he had to take her again.

  He frowned, “I’m going to have to introduce you to my father, and… it’s going to be ugly.”

  She shrugged, “You explained all that well enough earlier, if not specifically to our marriage.”

  He shook his head, she had no idea… He smiled and she squealed when he pulled her onto his lap, and then kissed her softly but quite thoroughly. She really was beautiful, and she was his… everything. He decided travelling could wait a bit, and laid her out on the blanket. The tender look of love in her eyes as she reached for him was his entire world in that moment...

  Chapter 7

  It was fairly late in the evening when they reached the village that had been attacked by the blue dragon. They’d kept finding a reason not to depart that morning, although eventually they came to the conclusion they couldn’t live in that very forest glade for the rest of their lives, the real world called so they got moving.

  He wasn’t exactly in a bad mood, just annoyed by the standards of their kingdom. Something that had never bothered him before.

  She’d been riding all day holding him from behind, and he’d worked up quite an appetite for her again with her plastered like that against his back. But they needed to observe the niceties, they shouldn’t be sharing a bed together until they were married. And an inn… he was sure there’d be spies in it, and if word got back to his father that she wasn’t a virgin, even if by his hand, her reputation would be ruined. The idea of someone treating her as less, or as spoiled goods, angered him.

  He knew she wasn’t very happy right now either, because he’d argued against a secret rendezvous in the night when she’d suggested it, because it just wasn’t worth the risk. They’d have all their lives together for that. Yet, his bond to her made the idea of sleeping in separate rooms feel very wrong.

  No, it was bad enough that they were travelling without an escort of some kind.

  He helped her down by the stables, then dismounted and led his horse into the stables.

  The stable boy bowed, “My lord.”

  He pulled out a three copper coins, “Hay and oats, take good care of him.”

  The boy took the coins and bowed again before taking charge of his mount.

  He took a deep breath and she took his arm as they walked toward and into the inn. Of course, he’d forgotten to tell her what the villagers believed. So when he walked in and they all cheered him and brought him drinks, it was a little embarrassing. It was actually a little amusing as well, because it had been the short slip of a woman sitting across from him that had killed the blue, and none of them would ever believe it.

  It was also the first time he’d been with her in public since they’d… bonded. He could feel her through the bond, but she was acting like a completely different person. She was demure and looked to him whenever someone asked her something, as if seeking approval. It was quite surreal, because he knew her shyness was just an act.

  He hadn’t really understood before, it had been explained, and he understood it intellectually. But he hadn’t really felt it until he could see it. She had to hide, not be herself, in order to fit into human expectations of a lady. She was… acting bland, much like most of the female nobility. Which made him wonder again, just how many dragons were there in the nobility?

  He wouldn’t complain though, or even judge them hiding. After all, wasn’t he doing the exact same thing by portraying a rake and womanizer in public?

  That was another thing, Cara was subtle about it, but she kept looking at him questioningly, as if asking if they’d be sharing a bed tonight. The answer was no of course, but that didn’t detract from the awkwardness of it. He squirmed a bit when Stephanie gave him a private harsh look when she picked up on it. The look seemed to say, so you were fucking that wench when I was bleeding out in the forest?

  Maybe that was just his guilt talking, but that’s how he felt.

  Not that he should really feel guilty, it was expected by the customs of his society, but he couldn’t help but see it through his mate’s eyes. If she’d been fucking barmen all across Aeralon, he’d be very busy hunting them all down right now.

  When they retired for the night, it took him a while to fall asleep despite the hot bath he’d taken. He could feel her in the next room, and he wasn’t sanguine about the separation…

  In the morning they had breakfast, and he purchased a second horse for Stephanie to ride. It was somewhat of a relief when she returned to her normal self as soon as they’d left the town behind. He supposed it was something he needed to get used to. Demure in public, and a fiery thing in private. She also wasn’t mad at him at all. He knew she had a very short temper, but he obviously didn’t know what triggered it, outside of lying that is. Either way, it should make life exciting.

  “We should… I was thinking of going the rest of the way home since there isn’t much farther to go once we hit the village, but we should stop at the inn by the keep and go there early in the morning tomorrow instead.”

  She tilted her head in question, “Why?”

  He frowned, “This isn’t going to be easy, I’ll most likely be homeless after my conversation with my father, I’d like to have a lot of daylight left to travel a good distance away. I know I’m not going to want to spend the night there and the closest town isn’t much better that way.”

  She shook her head, “You really don’t think he’ll approve?”

  He laughed without humor, “No, you’re landless, so it doesn’t get him anything except another mouth to feed under his roof. He will most likely tell me to play around a few more years and try for Tressa Tor, Kristina’s younger sister.”

  Her mouth dropped open, “But she’s six!”

  He nodded and shrugged, “She won’t be in ten years.”

  She glared and he laughed with humor this time, “It’s not my idea. It’s just she’s the oldest peer that would give my father any advantage that either isn’t married or hasn’t already turned down a match.”

  She scowled but he could tell she wasn’t angry with him, “That’s messed up.”

  He nodded in agreement, “Don’t worry though, I’m sure I can get someone to accept my fealty before our titles are stripped. I’m more worried about my sister than anything else. She might be a dragon, assuming I’m right that is, but she can’t bite off heads.”

  She snickered, “No… they taste really bad anyway.”

  He whipped his head to the side and looked at her, but she was giggling. He realized he could feel that she was joking, and laughed with her when the startled feeling faded.

  He shook his head, “Sorry, life won’t be easy at first, then we’ll have to find a place to live. Don’t get me wrong, I have the coins, and I’ll still get a small stipend as a knight of the crown, but… it won’t be ins
ide a keep.”

  She snorted, “I don’t care about that, I was just fine in that meadow. Okay… I’d have missed my dresses. But I can wear dresses in a house. Village or country?”

  He shrugged, “Probably a small estate in the country. But close enough to a town. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but what if we went to Creekshire first? You’d want to be near the princess right, aren’t you still friends?”

  She smiled at him and asked with faux awe, “You really do love me don’t you.”

  He rolled his eyes, “A little bit, you know. Mostly.”

  She snickered, “Sorry, but I know how much you hate…”

  He shook his head interrupting her, “I don’t actually, he hates me. I just… like to push his buttons because it’s so easy. Ironically, he really gets along with my father well.”

  She sighed, “Would you mind if I told Lara…”

  He shrugged, “It wouldn’t change anything, there’s no proof of real wrongdoing, just cutthroat politics and manipulation. He had nothing to do with the Duke’s family dying, he’s just taking advantage of it. He’s ruined a few lives in the process, but that isn’t illegal either, not for the baron of Clearwyn. Still, I wouldn’t mind if my father missed out on being a duke, so it probably couldn’t hurt.”

  She made a considering sound and said, “I love you, so please don’t apologize again, you are all that I want, and a manor in the country is hardly a failure.”

  He grunted, but nodded agreement. He actually knew he wasn’t a failure. He’d managed not to turn into a bitter asshole, treated the commoner women he’d slept with in the past with consideration, at least outside of public, and continued to do his best. But, he’d also grown up being berated for his failures to forward his father’s ambition, and that did have an impact, even if it didn’t make sense.

  She asked, “So…we’ll probably have to get separate rooms then huh? It will also give you a chance to change your relationship with Jetta and Lia.”