I Became Part of the Dragon's Hoard Chapter 16: Death is Impossible

Emary’s father stared down at her from his position inside of their tree. The old elf sighed and shook his head.

"I cannot allow a search party to be ford for this. Even if you’ve co all the way here yourself, one will not be granted."

Emary released her own deep breath. "I guess it really is impossible then..."

Golomir shook his head and waved his hand. "It’s not exactly impossible. Under official rules, I cannot allow such a thing to happen. If we scattered a large search party into human lands, then King Crassius would likely think we’re preparing an attack. My scouts have already reported the situation. Their kingdom is amassing an army in preparation."

Emary’s eyes widened. "Is he mad? Does he not rember what happened with the frost dragon?"

Golomir laughed and scoffed. "Rember what happened with the frost dragon? Humans can’t even rember their own history from previous generations. They don’t have the sa life spans that we do. Any attempts to dissuade them will only result in them becoming angry towards us."

"I see...Then what did you an about my mission? How can I achieve what I want?"

The elderly elf smiled and pointed his old staff towards so other nearby elves that Emary had not even noticed. They ca from the shadows of the room and into the light. Their black hair changed to a fine blue color, matching many of the tree leaves seen around the forest. Each of them wore tight-fitting royal blue attire, and they all knelt simultaneously.

Golomir smiled. "I cannot allow you to go on your own and do sothing so dangerous, so I got the best infiltrators in all of Freyline."

"Why would you..."

The man put his hand up, stopping her question. "Why would I not? You’re my daughter, too. And sneaking into the territory of a dragon is no easy task. I’ve already prepared everything, knowing full well that you would go alone if I didn’t do anything."

Emary prostrated herself before her father and thanked him profusely. He was right. If Emary hadn’t gotten any escorts, she’d have sneaked into that mountain herself.

"Don’t look so worried," Golomir said, "that dragon is not an unreasonable one. There are records of her conversing with our elves, and there is a history of her fighting along side us. Though, all of the details of that have been sworn to secrecy by our elders. However, I was able to get her na. Valericae, The Eternal Red."

"Eternal? What does that title an?"

"Dragons do not have surnas. They adopt a title often based on their characteristics or achievents. It is said that the greater the title, the greater the dragon in question. For lower dragons, which can still reign over elves, they will take titles like ’blazing fire’ or ’crashing waves’. In all of the world, there are only 3 dragons who’ve taken ’eternal’ as part of their na. Valericae, The Eternal Red; Malkavis, The Eternal Black; and Qomrephe, The Eternal White."

Emary took a deep breath and nodded in understanding. "In that case, I will exercise as much caution, and I will try not to aggravate her. But Father, King Crassius already marches. He has blood in his eyes."

"And his quest will fail. This is why I send you. You know the best about those lands, so you will be able to make the best judgnt. Whatever you do, I will support you fully, and these guards will make sure you return to safe."

"Feylon con mare, Father. May the spirits be with you."

"And you as well, now hurry!"

Emary gave a salute and took off towards the tree’s exit. She leapt onto a nearby tree branch, and the others followed suit.

Below them, the forest was such a peaceful place. The ground spirits painted a small light above the forest floor, and the air spirits carried with them the calming winds. It was normally sothing that would have cald Emary’s heart over her long life, but she couldn’t help feeling more restless than ever.

"Princess?" One of the guard won interrupted her thoughts.

Emary looked back at the figure of the small woman with a slight smile. "It’s nothing. We need to hurry to the border."

The small guard nodded. The tiny visible piece of her neck showed off a bit of her blue tattoo in the sunlight. It was a long tree with branches sprouting towards her chin. An age old proof for mbers that would serve as the guards of elven royalty. The rest of the woman was nearly completely covered.

They leapt from blue tree to blue tree, yet Emary’s heart couldn’t help wonder how a certain cat was doing.

///

Valerie bent down and planted a kiss on her cat’s lips. Though Bery reciprocated, she couldn’t help noticing the strange look in her dragon’s eyes. She gazed at sothing far off in the distance. Sowhere that Bery couldn’t see.

The dragon smiled down at her. "We should head back to the castle soon. It looks like it might be ti to prepare for guests."

"Guests?"

Valerie laughed. "Not real guests. You can think of them as..."

Bery shook her head. "I think I understand. You don’t need to say anymore."

The cat looked between her dragon and the mass of people off in the distance. To her it looked like a huge blob, but she understood that the dragon had much better senses. Bery knew that a lot of things in this world simply went over her head, including dragons. But this was sothing different.

She could sense the discomfort in Valerie’s voice. She could feel the pulsing of her heart when she pressed against her. It was a feeling not so alien to Bery and sothing she was surprised and relieved to sense in Valerie.

The kitten spoke in a small voice. "You’re afraid?"

Valerie’s expression went blank for only a mont, but she answered soon after. "Of course, I am afraid. I am not afraid of a bunch of humans coming to pound on my castle door. I am not scared of anything that they could do to , but when I think of what might happen to you..."

The dragon pulled Bery closer, causing the kitten’s face to turn bright red. "When I think of what might happen to you, I get crazy thoughts. If anything ever happened to you, I think not even all of the lives of this kingdom would be enough compensation."

Bery’s eyes widened. She already knew that the dragon was infatuated with her, but to the extent that she would cause the deaths of an entire kingdom. It made her both scared and aroused at the sa ti. She never had soone that cared so deeply about her.

"I guess I better not ever die then."

The dragon nodded in confirmation. "That’s right, you aren’t allowed to die."