Young Writers Society

I recommend you to read the prologue and the earlier chapters first if you're new; Prologue

Lea could not believe it. How could her father do such thing? She sat in a comfortable leather chair in front of a worn desk. In front of her, some old books and scrolls lied all over the wood. Her eyes stared empty at the message.

Never happening.

From behind her, a groaning sounded in her ears. Lea hurried over to a big bed lying in the middle of the room. Jacob lied in the bed, covered by some woollen carpets.

His mouth moved, but only one word slipped his tongue. “Water,” he whispered with a hoarse voice.

She grabbed a mug of water and handed it over. He almost spilt out all the water, as he threw himself over it and drank it all up in one single gulp.

He swallowed deeply before exhaling. ‘’What happened? It feels like someone hit me in the stomach with an arrow,’’ he mumbled to her, holding his hand to the back of his head.

‘’Uhm... It’s a long story. There are people from the east all over the west, wanting those who may befriend the dragon dead. Most likely, someone had poisoned your drink, or the man who served you it had it poisoned,’’ she explained to him.

‘’Poisioned!?’’ he nearly shouted at her.

‘’Jacob, calm down. It's nothing to wo-’’ she started.

‘’Calm down? It was right before I died! And you expect me to be calm?"

She started biting her lip. "Just drink this, and you'll be all right!" Lea handed over another mug, filled with a green liquid.

Yes, he had been poisoned, but was it really necessary to get that mad at me?

Jacob studied its contents and took a small slurp of it. He stuck his tongue out in disgust.

She waited a while, hoping the mixture had calmed him down a bit. ‘’Do you remember anything from what happened earlier?’’

‘’The poison? No.’’

He doesn’t remember…

‘’So you don’t remember anything of what happened before you passed out?’’

‘’No… The only thing I remember is walking past a smith.’’

Jacob took a sip of the mixture, before gulping down the last of it. Lea went back over to the desk, and studied the message once again. She decided to avoid the message and burn it. There was a fireplace in the room, giving away a cosy crackling. If there was one thing she loved, it was when the hearth crackled. To be honest, it had to be one of the most relaxing sounds she knew about.

Fire was truly beautiful. She loved watching its flickering orange flames devouring the pieces of wood. Water was beautiful as well, with its clear, blue colour, but fire was the one element for her.

There were many different types of flames out there, the ones she had seen were only the common ones which everyone had seen: orange, yellow and blue. Red was the usual colour of dragonfire, which explained why she had never seen it. Purple was the strongest one, but rare colours as green and light blue flames has existed.

Jacob pushed himself in a seating-position with his hands. “Look, Lea, I don’t know if I’m able to this. I mean, befriending a dragon! That’s just… Madness.”

He had to! Not only for her sake, but for the sake of Asgard as well.

She turned towards Jacob. “Jacob, there is something I haven’t quite told you yet…” blurted out of her. “I am…”

“You are what?” he asked impatiently.

“I am the king’s daughter. The Princess of Asgard,” she said to him.

It seems like he was shocked by the fact, considering the look on his face.

A pause went by, before he finally spoke up, “Explains your little errand earlier.”

“Pardon me, I had to lie. There are people all over the city here who want anyone who might stop him or her dead. I tried to remain low, for the sake of both of us. This may be your only way back to where you came from.

"If Asgard won’t receive any help, it will fall. After Asgard, the northern and southern kingdoms will fall as well. Trust me, the dragon is wiser than you think, and she will be able to help you if you knock some sense into her,” Lea explained.

“Is it the only way Asgard can survive?”

“If the other kingdoms wont’t help us, yes. We don’t know how big the forces in the east are, so we don’t even know our chances to win.”

"Why wouldn't they help Asgard, if their lives depend on it as well?"

"Well, Asgard isn't exactly a kingdom with strong connections to other ones. I was bethrothed to the oldest prince of Grim Batol, but later on, the court thought it would be better to marry me off to the Prince of Burumstone.

Jacob gave away a little sigh. “What if the dragon burns me alive? What would even stop her from doing that?”

“Just... I know she won't, okay? Dragons are wise creatures. They know when something is right or not. It's difficult to understand, I just need you to trust me on this one.”

Telling by his skeptical look on his face, it did not seem like this would end well. As Lea were about to give up on the whole thing, Jacob answered her, “All right. I trust you."

“How are you feeling now?”

“Better. I think the effect has set place now,” he responded as he dragged himself out of the bed.

“Great. We should start planning now, we have no time to lose.”

She flipped her dark brown hair over her shoulder, sat down by the desk and dug forth a dusty scroll from the pile of old books and writings. Her hands untied the binding, to reveal a map of the realm. It was a detailed one, showing the frozen lakes and haunted forests in the north to the green vales and the many rivers in the south.

Jacob walked over to her, and decided to stand behind her. He was so close to her could hear his breath. Goose flesh spread up over her arm.

“All right, here is Asgard,” she said pointing at the eastside of the map. “High up in north lies Burumstone Castle, and between it and Asgard is a place called Grim Batol. To the west of Grim Batol you can find the ruins of Runeterra.” Her finger slid across the paper over to a blue stripe. This is Deadwater.

“In-between these three places; there is a mountain, occupied by the dragon. I will ride with you as long as I can follow you. The dragon refuses to listen to any descendants of Asgard. You must somehow sneak through the lands of Grim Batol, and get to the mountain.

“You will need to sneak up on her, without she finding out. Then, you will have to convince her to listen to you.” She looked behind her and right at him.

“Shouldn't you stay here? It would be dangerous for a woman out in the wild.”

“Oh, spare me. I learned how to fight during my long stay at Kings Hill. Now, are you sure you want to do this?”

His brown eyes scanned through the map, and then focused at Lea. “If it’s the last option, then yes, I am sure. When will we ride out, my princess?” he joked. Or at least, she thought he joked.

Hot blood streamed to her cheeks and revealed a red colour. “When the sun is high,” she said. “And there is no need to call me your princess.”

He walked over to the bed again, and poured more water into the mug. His voice was soft, and gave her this strange, but comfortable feeling. “But you are one, are you not?”