Dragon Aflame

by Leela Ash

  Nothing in what she had just been told was making much sense, but at the same time, it all felt as if it was meant to be. Bonnie had regularly dreamt of wolves and had heard her family and others around Castle Grant speak of the dangers that lurked out across the mountains and within the forests nearby. But never in her wildest dreams could she ever have thought that something like this would come to her door… And the idea of these huge men who were half human and half wolf was both exciting as it was terrifying.

  She walked to the window and looked out across the loch. The mist had rolled down the mountains and looked as if it were skating across the top of the water perfectly, laying over it like a blanket. She shivered. Something in the air was different and now she knew what.

  Trouble was coming.

  She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Her plump frame was warm from the raging fire, but even that couldn’t stop the ice from running within her. She was nervous, and yet, she had to know more.

  She quickly crossed her bed chamber to where she stored her dresses. As she slipped quickly out of her nightgown and pulled her new beautiful blue velvet robes up over her body and the swell of her breasts, she flicked her hair out of the collar and let it trail all the way down her back. She could see her reflection in the silver vase that her mother had placed on the hearth and she caught the azure blue of her eyes, which made her stop and look at herself fully for a moment.

  She had always been told how rare her beauty was, but as she stood there and studied herself in the reflection of the silver, she truly realized why she would be in more danger than any other of the daughters of the castles around the Highlands. Her hair was a deep, rich red, not orange and fiery like many of the girls of Scotland. Her skin was pale and alabaster, and her eyes were so deeply blue and striking they were enough to stop grown men in their tracks.

  Her father had always told her that he was waiting for the right man for her to marry, that she deserved the best, and with her exotic looks, she would most certainly be afforded it. But she worried now, what if he had left it too late? If she already had a husband, would it have made a difference to this clan storming through the mountains and searching for their brides to create a pure bloodline? Or would she have been taken all the same?

  She rubbed her forehead and placed a single white flower behind her ear. She had no idea what the answers to her questions may be, but she did know that she needed to speak with her parents.

  She had to find out if it was all true, once and for all.

  She swept out of her bedchamber and past the guards who instantly jumped and started to race after her.

  “M’lady,” one called. “Please, you must remain guarded.”

  “I’m hungry, good sir,” she said as she dismissed him. “Follow me if you must, but I am making my way to the main hall where I will dine with my parents.”

  She flounced off without giving them another glance, but she was still aware of them trailing her, the heavy sounds of their boots clomping and the jangling of their armor behind her.

  She continued down the darkened hallways and toward the large staircase that ran down the center of the castle. As she got to the top, she was aware of the eyes upon her from the people milling around on the floor below, but she was determined to not let them bother her as they had done the evening before. She had places to be and answers to find, and she wouldn’t stop until she got them.

  When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she heard the guards jangle down behind her and follow along another darkened hallway to the main hall. The doors were open wide and even though there were guards on either side, they did not look at her as she rushed past them and made her way into the hall.

  The long tables that were arranged around the room were filled with men and women, eating and drinking, acting more jovial than she had expected considering what had happened with Lord Drummond and the news that was quickly spreading through the castle. She could feel their eyes turn up to her as she passed, but none of them really paid her much attention, and as she reached the top table, where her parents sat with a full pic laid out before them, she put her hands on her hips and looked at them with challenge.

  “Bonnie,” her father smiled warmly, much of the anxiety he had displayed the previous evening erased from his face. “Do join us…”

  Bonnie didn’t know what was happening, but it seemed as if this day was completely different, almost as if the night before had never happened. She climbed up onto the long raised ridge where the top table was stationed and moved around the back toward her parents. As she sat down next to her mother, she looked up at her and searched her face for some sign of fear or worry, but there was none present.

  “Mother?” she asked finally. “I need to talk to you…”

  “Not now, Bonaventure,” she smiled as she ran a hand through her thick ruby hair. “Look at the feast before us, surely you must be hungry, you did not join us for last night’s meal…”

  Bonnie sighed and looked around. No one seemed concerned as they had the night before, and no one appeared to be watching her as closely as they had been. Her parents were also a lot more relaxed and she couldn’t help but think that maybe she had gotten it all wrong… And not only that, but that Ariane had lied to her.

  She felt the rage build in her belly.

  “But mother,” she continued, “I really do need to talk with you.”

  “Bonnie,” her mother said sternly, “now is not the time.”

  She raised her eyebrows and looked at her as if they had a secret between them. Her father sat on the other side of her mother, completely oblivious to their discussion, looking out across the room with a wide smile on his face.

  “Okay,” Bonnie whispered, not sure of what else to say. “I guess it can wait…”

  Although it really couldn’t.

  She sat quietly and let the servers carve up some of the suckling pig and load it on the plate in front of her. They passed her a tankard of wine and Bonnie ate slowly and with caution, the nerves still rumbling around inside of her.

  When she had finished her meal, she pushed the dish away and looked up at her mother. She was looking down at her with a pained expression in her eyes and mouthed to her silently so that they were the only two people in the world to know…

  Meet me out by the loch.

  8.

  It was dangerous in normal times for Bonnie to sneak out of the castle without a guard, but never mind doing it when there was an alert around them and their valley. She pretended to be walking to the other side of the main hall and whilst the guards who had been tailing her were engrossed in conversation, she slipped out a side door and into a small, quiet hallway.

  She kept her head down and ripped the flower from her hair, throwing it down on the ground. If anyone saw her, they would know instantly who she was, but she was determined not to draw any further attention to herself. As she walked quickly toward the end of the corridor, she could see the light up ahead. A doorway was at the end and it led to the outside. Even though it was at the back of the castle, she would be able to slip free and hopefully, work her way around the side without being seen, run quickly over the drawbridge whilst no guards were watching and find her way down to the loch.

  It was midday and most of the guards were in the main hall eating, only two were high up on the viewing point that ran around the edge of the top of the castle, and they were marching back and forth, looking out across the mountains and then in the other direction. She waited and looked up, watching them closely, waiting until the time was right…

  Her heart was pounding, she was only going to meet her mother, but she didn’t want anyone to stop her, she needed to know what was going on.

  When she realized that both of the guards were looking away from the drawbridge, she gathered her dress over her arm and made a run for it. Her chest burned as she fled across the bridge and ran as fast and as quietly as she could, taking care not to kick up any gravel or disturb the ground as
she went.

  As she ran across the wooden bridge, the end was before her and she crossed the mound and began to travel down the other side. When she reached the end, she waited, hiding to catch her breath, and then she quickly looked behind her to check that she wasn’t being followed before she started to run again, out toward the woods and the edge of the loch.

  She always loved being out in nature, and this day was no exception, even with all of the terrible rumors that were circulating the castle. As she felt the soft grass beneath her feet, she couldn’t help but smile. She had wished, so dearly, to have been out there under the stars the previous evening, this was almost as if she was being rewarded and given another chance. And it was more than making up for it.

  The mist was still rolling down the mountains and it coated the loch in the most eerie of ways. When she turned and looked behind her, she could only see the very top of the castle and she sighed with relief as she realized that there was definitely no way anyone would be able to see her now. She slowed her pace and enjoyed the walk, all the while listening for the sound of her mother coming behind her.

  She stopped when she reached the edge of the loch and waited. The silence around her, for once, seemed deafening and she felt herself becoming nervous. She couldn’t see the castle and she realized how alone she was. What had she been thinking, running down there all alone? Surely her and her mother could have spoken back at the castle.

  She was about to get up and begin walking back when she heard the distant thud of hooves, and out of the mist, she saw her mother’s horse coming toward her.

  “Mother?” she called as she squinted through the fog.

  Her mother sat astride her steed and she waved as she galloped toward her and came to a halt just meters from the water’s edge.

  “Bonnie,” she panted as she slung her leg over the edge of the horse and slipped down onto the soft ground.

  She could sense the urgency in her mother’s voice and she instantly felt herself tense up. What was happening?

  “My darling daughter,” she gasped as she took hold of her by the shoulders. “Your father,” she said with worry, “I think he’s gone mad!”

  “Mad?” Bonnie asked as she looked into her mother’s eyes and searched desperately for an answer.

  “He is in denial, he says we don’t need the help of Lord Drummond and that if there is indeed any threat, we shall face it alone. He has dismissed all of the support from our neighbors and he will not discuss the possibility of an attack! I fear for us all…”

  Bonnie thought a moment whilst she tried to take all of it in. She knew her father well, and if she was sure of anything, it was that he would never react this way to that kind of threat.

  “Are you sure mother?” she asked gently.

  “Did you not see how everyone was this morning? He’s assured them everything is going to be fine! How can we lie in times such as these?!”

  “Well…” Bonnie began, “maybe father is right. Maybe he knows we will be fine.”

  “Wolves that roam the Highlands?” her mother scoffed. “It’s the thing of nightmares and he thinks we don’t need help. How could this even be?”

  Bonnie understood what her mother was saying, but she also had faith in her father and his judgment. She shrugged her shoulders and looked to the ground.

  “I don’t know mama,” she said sadly, “but maybe we just need to have a little faith.”

  Her mother reached out, pulled Bonnie to her chest and hugged her tightly.

  “I wish I had your optimism,” she sighed. “But maybe you are right…”

  She trailed off and Bonnie could sense her grip tightening. She held on to Bonnie’s arms and shoulders with such severity that she squealed with pain.

  “Mother,” she hissed, “please.”

  But as she looked up and followed her mother’s gaze, she realized why she was clinging to her. Up on the mountainside, coming down through the mist, was an army of men… followed by a pack of giant wolves.

  9.

  The two women clung to each other in fright and Bonnie could do nothing but pray.

  “Please,” she whispered, “please don’t let them hurt us.”

  Her mother whispered her own fevered prayer as she kissed her daughter’s head, and Bonnie could hear her heart beating quickly in her chest.

  They were trapped. There was no way they could make it back to the castle in time, and running was not the kind of thing the Grant Clan would do. Even the women. They were determined to stand their ground and fight to the very end.

  As the trail of men beat a path toward them, and their wolves snarled at their sides, Bonnie closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

  If this was the end, she had to go to it with good grace and not let fear and upset crowd her mind. She had to be strong, and so did her mother.

  The wolves were bigger than any she had ever seen or known to exist, and they were all jet black with ice blue eyes. Bonnie refused to look away as they approached and she dug her heels into the soft mossy earth as they gained on them with each second. They could only have been two hundred feet away and she could feel the hot breath from the horses and smell the musky scent of men.

  “Lassies!” one of the big men on horseback called to them. “Put your arms out and kneel on the ground!”

  Bonnie looked up at her mother and her mother nodded back at her, confirming that they should do as they were told.

  As she knelt down on the moist ground, she felt a tear slip down her cheek. They had been so foolish. These men could have been waiting up the mountain, watching and hoping that someone from the castle would be silly enough to come down to the loch.

  The wolves began to circle them; Bonnie didn’t dare look up to see them properly. Ahead of her, against the ground, she could see a huge monster paw, big and black with long, sharp claws, and the sight of them made her shudder. The wolf snarled and as she let her eyes drift up to look at its face properly, she almost yelped at its huge fangs. The beast gnashed them together and curled its nose to reveal them again in warning. Bonnie looked quickly down at the ground and closed her eyes. She didn’t need to see anymore.

  “Who are these lovely ladies before us?” one of the men said as he circled them slowly on horseback.

  He looked down at them with an air of authority and Bonnie couldn’t help but stare up at him, letting her eyes plead with him for mercy. He was as Ariane had said he would be… big as a giant, muscular and masculine in more ways than she had ever known, and his red hair was bright and beautiful in the midday light. Bonnie let her gaze travel around the rest of the men, and she could not believe the similarity between them. They were all so wild and ferocious looking, but they were also incredibly handsome.

  They must be brothers, she thought as her mind began to wander, and she let herself forget about the vicious wolves around her momentarily. They must all be related… I have never seen such a resemblance. But who are they? And why do they need to attack the castles across Scotland and destroy them all? She felt the tears prick the corners of her eyes, because even though she wanted to learn as much as possible about this situation, she also wished that it didn’t exist.

  The man who was watching them, at the front of the entourage, smiled down at her when he saw her looking up to him and then he slowly began to climb off the side of his steed as to not startle the wolves. He stood looking at them for a moment and then a wide smile spread across his face.

  “Ladies,” he continued as he bowed before them. “My name is John Campbell of the roaming Highlander Clan, Clan Campbell… and we are here to save you and the rest of Castle Grant from almost certain death...”

  10.

  “Save us?” Bonnie found herself saying up to him in disbelief. “What do you mean save us? I thought you were here to rip us all to shreds and storm our castle?”

  John Campbell laughed and shook his head kindly.

  “No, my dear,” he said, “I’m afraid you’ve all been lied to in so man
y ways… It’s a good job we are here, we’ve reached you just in time.”

  Bonnie looked to her mother and she too had her mouth gaping open. John Campbell walked toward them and held out his hand for Bonnie’s mother, helping her to her feet. At the same time, another of the big, burly men climbed down from his steed and approached Bonnie. She saw his feet first, but when she let her eyes travel up his legs and muscular torso, she couldn’t help but gasp, especially when their eyes finally met.

  Although he was very similar to John Campbell in appearance, there was something about this man that was very different indeed. His eyes were intense and penetrating, and the way he held out his hand strongly toward Bonnie made her bite her bottom lip and a throb pulse through her pussy. His eyebrows were heavy on his head and his hair was a deeper, richer red than the others, it was almost brown. Bonnie felt herself blush as she slid her hand into his and let him pull her to her feet.

  “M’lady,” he said as he bowed and she felt herself smile shyly as he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a delicate kiss on it. “Alexander Campbell,” he smiled and it sent a quiver down Bonnie’s spine.

  “Bonaventure Grant.” She smiled from ear to ear and felt the blush on her cheeks spread down her neck.

  “We are here to meet with Lord Grant,” John Campbell said. “There is much to discuss about the future of the Highlands and the safety of the people in it.”

  “But,” Bonnie continued, “I thought you were here to harm us? There have been rumors running rife over the mountains for generations that a clan of men and wolves are the next clan to destroy Scotland.” She didn’t know where she was getting her nerve from, but she figured she had nothing to lose. And besides, with Alexander Campbell by her side, holding onto her hand warmly, she felt as if she could take on anything.