It was too hard to think of an attack with the dragon following my every move. Even with Shadow Step it would only lose track of me for a second and then it was back on the offensive. If only I could stop it from attacking so accurately.
Then the answer hit me as I jumped in the air to avoid a swing of the dragon golem's tail. The golem turned its head toward me to shoot fire and I used Shadow Step, only this time I didn't dodge to the side, I went straight for the head. I stopped just in front of the head and jumped on top of it. I jumped at the same time flame burst from its mouth. Still, I wasn't fast enough, and it melted the rubber off the bottom of my shoes. I felt a quick tinge of grief over my shoes' demise. I'd never changed out of my beginner's clothing as I couldn't find armor that suited me. These shoes had been with me since the beginning and now I'd need to get new ones.
Or kill myself.
Seriously. If I re-spawned, my beginner's clothing would restore, but I took pride in the fact that I hadn't died once and killing myself for something so petty seemed idiotic.
The dragon golem growled and tried to throw me from its muzzle, but I'd had plenty of practice staying on a moving dragon. I pulled both my arms back and thrust them forward into the dragon's eyes. I couldn't reach the brain, but I could blind it.
The dragon bucked its head back and threw me into the air. I activated my wings only for a moment to soar over the dragon and land far enough away that I could be safe and think.
The dragon was now on a rampage. It couldn't see where I was, and its blood lust had grown as its anger turned to pure hatred. It was throwing fire every direction and swinging its tail like a large battering ram, crushing the arena stands surrounding it. The dwarf who'd told me how to fight the dragon was waiting on the opposite side of the arena from the dragon with a pike in hand. He was looking at me, waiting for the signal letting him know I needed his help.
I shook my head at him and he got the message. This was my training and I'd have to do this on my own or I wouldn't learn anything. Besides, if I died I'd simply be reborn. He wouldn't.
Still, my time was running out. If I couldn't kill this thing soon it would completely destroy the arena. The dragon raised its head high to scream to the heavens in fury. That's when the idea came to me. I had a Shadow Arts technique I could use to destroy the dragon. By itself it wouldn't work, but if I used it with my wings it would be simple. At least, I hoped it would. I just had to wait for the dragon to lift its head again.
I activated my wings once again and crouched down ready to use Shadow Step with my blades held out to my sides like the resting blades of a helicopter. The dragon rose its head once again to bellow and I shot forward like a bullet. Using my wings and Shadow Step together allowed me to surpass the farthest distance I'd ever moved in a single step and also shot me into the air like a fighter jet on a battleship.
My body angled upward, using my wings to guide me to the beast's neck. When I was about to collide with his neck, I thrust my wings to stop my forward momentum and began flapping to stay level with the base of its neck. Then I twisted my body at the waist, preparing to spin my body using Shadow Spin, an attack that lets my body spin at around ninety to one hundred rotations per second. I rose my wings as high as I could so that they would act like a glider and began to spin.
The roar of pain from the dragon lasted one brief second. I spun in a fury as my blades cut into its throat. As it was made of earth, there was no blood, only mud flying everywhere as I continued to spin. I made small corrections with my wings to direct my movement as my spinning created an air current that kept me floating. I spun halfway around the neck before stopping briefly to switch the direction of my spin. Spinning the other way, I finished my circle around the dragon golem's neck and it fell silent. The only sound was the thump as its head crashed into the ground and crumbled to a small hill of loose dirt.
The dwarf who'd helped me was running toward me, cheering. I looked around for Garoth, but only saw his back briefly as he fled through one of the colosseum archways that were the only entrances and exits.
“That was incredible!” The dwarf was shouting as he slowed to a walk only a few feet away from me. “I've never seen anyone use such a small weapon to defeat a dragon single-handed. I'd say your training is now over. Now you know the basics of how to kill a dragon. Additional strategies are something you'll have to come up with on your own since you'll need to use different strategies than we would with our pikes.”
He saw me looking at the archway where Garoth had disappeared and added, “Don't worry about Garoth. We've had our suspicions for a while that he was part of the anti-queen movement and his actions just now confirmed things. Once we report what happened to Queen Isabelle, a force will be sent out to capture and imprison him.”
“What do you mean, ‘you've had your suspicions?’ Did you use me as bait today?”
The dwarf gave me an abashed shrug and said, “Yes and no. The queen didn't want to, but the counsel of advisers, who are loyal to her, argued that with you as the leading example of the relationships she is trying to develop, you would be a primary target for the usurpers. Whether we attempted to use you as bait or not they would eventually attack you to try to destroy the queen's plans without attacking her directly. Although opposed to the plan, the queen agreed only on the condition that we would have extra guards to protect you in the event of an attack. That's why, for the last two months, we've had guards hidden around you to protect you in case they did attack you. We've been watching over both you and Queen Isabelle like hawks since the first usurpers were discovered.
“There were five guards stationed around the arena just a moment ago, but they've already left in search of Garoth. I was also assigned to protect you. The only reasons I didn't step in to help you just now were because you told me not to and because you still needed to learn how to fight a dragon, but if Garoth had tried to attack you at the same time as the dragon golem, I would have stepped in to attack Garoth directly.
“I hope there are no hard feelings. It was never Queen Isabelle's intention to put you in danger. She considers you a close personal friend.”
I thought carefully about all he'd told me before giving him my reply.
“It doesn't matter. I understand the reasons for it and I'm grateful that she's had guards assigned to protect me. I'm not angry about it. I just wish she'd have told me.”
His eyes were sincere as he apologized, “I'm sorry for the secrecy, but there were reasons. Queen Isabelle wanted you to be free to come and go whenever you pleased. She was hoping that interaction with other dwarves would show them that you weren't a threat and that they had nothing to worry about. If you were surrounded by guards who followed you around in the open, many would take that not as a sign of us protecting you, but as a sign of us protecting others from you, and it would be harder to form relationships with others in the future.”
“It's alright,” I insisted. “We should just put all this behind us. It doesn't matter to me. We should go explain what happened today to Queen Isabelle, but before that, we haven't been properly introduced. My name is Valkyrie. I am also known as the White Avenger.”
“My name is Reynard. I am one of the queen's personal bodyguards. If you don't mind me asking, why do they call you the White Avenger?”
As we walked toward the palace, I told Reynard more about the people who are coming from my reality into this one and how the Avengers were created by myself, Richard, William, and Aurora to protect the innocent, whether they were from this reality or mine, from monsters and from people from my world who held no regard for this dimension's life and killed indiscriminately. I told him that to people from my world this was nothing but a game and so most of them felt no shame in killing this world's residents. I explained how people from my world can't be killed in this world as these bodies are fake and our real bodies are still in our reality. If we die, a new body is created for us inst
antly as if nothing happened. Since we are reborn so easily, many don't bother to think about how when they kill a being from this world that being won't be reborn.
I told him how even I'd entered this world thinking of this reality as just a game, but how after spending one day in this reality I fell in love with this world and its people and came to realize it was just as real as my own. At times, I even felt more like this was where I really belonged and the real me in my reality was simply a dream.
I told him all this and so much more. By the time we'd reached the palace, he'd learned everything about my time in this world except for my encounter with Bartholomew. He kept asking me more questions and I kept speaking. It was a relief to finally have another dwarf who seemed genuinely interested in me. It may have all been an act, just a way to gather information about me since he was one of the queen's bodyguards, but I didn't care. I couldn't sense any ill intentions from him and it was a relief to talk about what had happened to me to someone.
Every time I recounted my story to another person, I felt like the weight of sorrow over losing Lesley, and my guilt over what others from my world had done to this world in the last three months, seemed to ease a little more.
When we reached Queen Isabelle we recounted the story of today's training to her. Reynard and I would fill in any gaps, giving different perspectives on the events, leaving nothing out. Isabelle preferred to have the complete truth, even if it meant a long and detailed telling.
When we finished, Isabelle told me to stay in the palace until the cover of night so as to avoid the usurpers. They knew that my training was over now. They were running out of time to attack me, so they might attack at any moment. Then she told me something I hadn't expected which put me into a temporary state of shock.
“Valkyrie,” she practically ordered. “I think it's about time you told Reynard the truth about how you came over Tetherwood to arrive here. I know that you requested it be a secret between the two of us, but since the situation has grown grave, I am going to have Reynard escort you through the kingdom tonight and to the edge of Tetherwood for your protection. He'll find out tonight anyway and I would rather he knew ahead of time so as not to provoke any unnecessary fighting.”
She could see the fear of betrayal in my eyes as I shifted my gaze from her to Reynard and back again. I felt like a cat cornered by a pack of dogs. I could see the curiosity in Reynard's eyes and the silent plea for forgiveness in Isabelle's. I could tell that she hadn't meant any harm, but that she was simply worried about my safety. I took a deep breath to steady myself, swallowed hard, and nodded.
I told Reynard about Bartholomew.
Betrayal
Reynard listened to my story in silence. I told him how I'd met Bartholomew and that I occasionally went and talked to him on the outskirts of Tetherwood. I even told him what Bartholomew had said to me last night about learning how to slay a dragon and about the dragon's arrogance in their superiority. When I finished, he stood motionless for a moment before speaking.
“I suspected as much,” he admitted. “When you first arrived, I questioned whether your magic was strong enough to allow you to fly such a long distance over Tetherwood, but my duty was simply to protect you and not to question. I'm grateful that you told me the truth.
“I worried about your intentions at first, but you've been here over two months and neither you nor Bartholomew have done anything to harm our people. I happen to be one of the dwarves who agrees with Queen Isabelle about ending our feud with the dragons. Based on what you've just told me, we wouldn't be able to forge an alliance with the dragons, but as the dragons don't leave their mountains, it would be easy to stop the violence by staying clear of Dragon Peaks.
“You have a unique gift, Valkyrie. The fact that you were able to forge friendships with goblins, dwarves, a dragon, and Aurora Eventide is enough to convince me. You have the ability to change a person's heart. In the course of only a few hours today you've managed to create a new friend in me as well. I will guide you to Tetherwood and I will not harm Bartholomew. You have my word as a royal bodyguard and as a friend.”
I gave Isabelle and Reynard a warm hug and whispered in each of their ears. “Thank you.”
My discussion with Reynard and Queen Isabelle had lasted a long time, having recounted everything that had happened in the last few months in as much detail as possible. It was almost time for me to switch back to sleep mode. I excused myself and waited in my chambers until Reynard would come to get me. I used the seven hours until nightfall to continue practicing my magical control and to think about all that had happened today.
Around an hour before nightfall in the SRU I logged off to go through my morning routine and switch back to active mode. With my hair still slightly damp from my shower and my stomach now full, I laid down and logged back in to see Bartholomew and tell him my crazy plan to enter Tetherwood.
A knock on my door told me that it was time to go. Reynard was wearing all black leather armor and was heavily armed. He didn't have one of those large dragon hunter pikes which was reassuring. My white outfit would stand out in the darkness, so he gave me a black tunic to cover up with.
We never spoke a word to each other as he guided me out of the palace through a secret passageway that only the royalty and the royal bodyguards knew about. We circled around the city, staying as close to the outskirts as we could to avoid people. It took a lot longer than usual to reach the outskirts of Tetherwood, but it was necessary. Garoth knew the path I normally took to Tetherwood as he'd spied on me enough.
When we reached the edge of Tetherwood where I normally met Bartholomew a rustle from the darkness alerted us to another presence. A dwarf in the same black garb had been sitting against a tree and arose at our arrival. Reynard drew his sword, prepared to fight, when the figure lowered its hood.
Queen Isabelle stood in front of us with a grin on her face. She was unarmed and carried only a lavishly decorated box in her arms.
“I'm sorry to startle you,” she whispered. Like us, she was still worried about the possibility of attack. “With all the commotion today, I never got the chance to give you your going away gift.” She proffered the box toward me. “And I really wanted to get a chance to meet Bartholomew. I snuck out of the palace about an hour before you left and made my way here to wait for you.”
Isabelle walked up to us and opened the box. Inside was the most beautiful conical ponytail holder that I'd ever seen. It was about eight inches long, made from white gold, and encrusted with dozens of diamonds and pearls.
The box was just as elegant as the jewelry. I felt like I was looking at the crown jewels of England. It was pure gold with red velvet felt lining. The lid of the box had a small stone of every precious gem in this world including a chrystavite gem in the center. The box was a little over a foot long, about a foot wide, and about eight inches high, but the inside was slightly smaller with the soft cushioning on the top and bottom.
“I had the hair piece specially made for you. It took over a month and was just finished yesterday. I was afraid it wouldn't be done by the time you left. It's enchanted with a protection spell, a shield that protects your back from physical attacks so that no one can attack you from behind. The only thing it doesn't protect against is attack spells, but with your magical training you should be able to sense whenever someone behind you is casting a spell.”
I thanked Isabelle and removed my conical ponytail holder. Isabelle helped me put the new holder in my hair, then stood admiring the way it looked for a moment.
“That's not all,” she added. “The box is also part of your present. This box is something that is given to only the best gem and jewelry craftsmen in the dwarven kingdom. I spoke with all of the craftsmen who helped teach you and they all agreed that you are among the greatest craftsmen they've ever seen. This is your badge of honor in jewelry and gemstone crafting. It is enchanted with alchemist magic. You c
an set any ordinary stone inside the box, close the lid, and press the gemstone that you desire on the lid. It takes about a day for the transformation to complete, but when it is done you have a new gemstone in the box.
“Mostly, the box is used to create chrystavite since it's so rare, but it can also be used to create large gemstones of any kind since it is difficult to find gemstones any larger than an inch in diameter. With this, you can create gemstones up to a foot long and ten inches in width.”
I accepted the box and put it in my enchanted purse to make sure that I wouldn't lose it. I gave Queen Isabelle a deep hug of appreciation and kissed her on the forehead.
“Thank you for everything, Isabelle.” I had tears in my eyes and my voice sounded harsh from fighting back the crying fit that was trying to escape. “I think it's about time you met Bartholomew. Are you ready? And you, Reynard?”
They both nodded anxiously.
Rustling from the trees told me that Bartholomew had arrived. He stood at the end of the trees in his almost-human form and looked on in suspicion.
I waved him over with a smile. “It's alright, Bartholomew. These are my friends. They won't hurt you. They just want to meet you.”
Even if he distrusted them, he trusted me with his life. Taking my word for truth without question, he walked up to us confidently.
“It's a pleasure to meet you both,” Bartholomew told them as he placed one leg in front of the other, crouched down with his arms at his side, and lifted back up to a standing position. It was the strangest bow I'd ever seen. It reminded me of a horse bowing at a circus or a dog bowing in front of his master, waiting to play or be petted.
“Valkyrie has told me a lot about her time with your people. She told me of the friendships she'd gained with some of the dwarves, particularly you, Queen Isabelle, as well as the worries she felt regarding the way the rest of the dwarves treated her and how her training was going. Rest assured, though, that she never revealed any of your training methods or anything that was meant to be secret to me.”
Virtual Me- Valkyrie Page 11