“Princess!”
“Belen, he is such a kind dwarf; he is sharing his drink with me,” Elora said with a smile; her peaceful voice took over the room for a moment. “His name is Bixbin. He and his clan are here to slay a Dragon …or so I am told.”
“Did you say Dragon?” asked Alexandros.
“Yes,” she answered. “My new friend told me that a Dragon has been causing some trouble in the village. So the villagers hired these noble warriors to face the creature, but apparently they became side-tracked when they saw the tavern.”
Alexandros asked the dwarf, “Is this true? Is there a Dragon in the area?”
Bixbin stood from the chair and answered. “Of course, and we are here to stop it!” The dwarf had a booming deep voice. Bixbin was the youngest of the group, even though he was about to reach the age of thirty. He stood about four-foot-four and was round and stumpy with a thick long luscious brown beard that hid his mouth. His nose was fat and round; his eyebrows were thick and dark; his eyes were a light grey. He wore big black boots; his armor was dark silver. He carried a large hammer with a sharp horn at the top. Bixbin’s arms were muscular and toned from carrying the mighty hammer. He also wore a helmet with two long antlers, the tips sharpened.
“We are here to slay the Dragon!” Bixbin shouted, causing all the dwarves in the room to chant and raise their drinks.
Alexandros rolled his eyes and turned to Raphael, only to find that the dwarves had him tied down and were pouring drinks down his throat.
“Alexandros…get them off!” he yelled with a struggled as they poured drinks in his mouth and laughed.
“Come on, centaur. Have some fun. Drink! Drink!” The dwarves cheered.
Alexandros drew his sword and stomped his foot incredibly hard. “That is enough! I want everyone in this tavern to leave at once!” His voice echoed throughout the room. He grabbed one of the dwarves that held down Raphael and hurled him out of the tavern.
The drunken looks on the dwarves turned to fierce expressions.
“You should not make yourself an enemy wanderer; we are not to be taken lightly,” an older dwarf snarled.
“Release my friend and go…”
The dwarves released Raphael and began to leave the tavern. “Come Bixbin!”
“I must join my companions now, my lady, farewell,” Bixbin said to Elora.
With the dwarves gone the room seemed much larger. Elora helped the young boy put the chairs and tables back into place while Alexandros untied Raphael.
“You allowed dwarves to tie you down…?”
“Of course not…they seemed to have ambushed me…” Raphael paused. “Yes, that is what happened.”
“Hmmm…how odd since they stood directly in front of you.” Said Alexandros sarcastically.
Raphael fixed himself and walked off to help Elora. After a while the tavern was in top shape again. The young boy gave them the directions to the village inn as gratitude. The rain still fell hard outside, but they decided to make a run for the inn, being just a few homes away. They burst in upon arrival, only to find that the dwarves had also decided to stay there. Alexandros gave the dwarves a stern look. The innkeeper stepped behind his cramped desk and declared there would be no fighting and gave Alexandros a room down the hall from the dwarves.
As the night went on, the rain still continued to fall. Alexandros stood in front of the inn not caring that he was getting drenched. The night was extremely silent, but for the rain pounding the ground. The village was dark since no torches would stay lit; the darkness consumed the village, with nothing really visible…until he saw a strange golden mystical glow.
Alexandros soon realized a figure—it walked without touching the ground, and the rain fell around it. He followed the figure to the edge of the village. The glowing figure made its way into the dark rainy forest. Alexandros glanced back then after taking a deep breath he began to walk into the forest and follow the glowing figure. The woods were incredibly dark; his only source of light was the glowing aura. Rain fell from the treetops, the muddy ground was difficult to walk in but he had to; he had to know what it was. The aura was hypnotizing. He followed the glowing light until it stopped at the center of the forest. The rain fell hard around them as the glowing light faded, revealing a woman.
“I am the oracle,” she said with an eerie and haunting voice.
Her eyes were dark, her gown black and flowing; long, straight black hair flowed down her back. Her face was as white as snow and porcelain-like; when she moved, it seemed she was everywhere at once.
“Is vengeance what you seek?” she asked, her voice echoing off the trees.
Alexandros stepped back as she grew closer; he did not want to show fear.
“Is vengeance what you seek, Belen Alexandros?”
How did she know my name?
“Yes…” he finally said. She drifted, circling all around him as he stood in the center of the forest.
“What you seek you shall find; if one’s not careful it will be blind,” her ghostly voice whispered to him; her mouth never moved when she spoke.
“My vengeance will never be in vain!”
“Never allow hate to cloud your judgment, Belen.”
Alexandros began to speak when she whooshed in front of him, placing her hand gently on his mouth.
She whispered to him, “Seek out the Dragon; he is not how they say he is…”
“The Dragon?”
“Yes…the Dragon. Choose great allies for they shall help guide you in the end…Belen Alexandros.” She cleared a path in the woods for him, and just as ghostly as she had appeared she vanished.
Alexandros stood lost in confusion. Should he seek out this Dragon that the young lad in the tavern said was evil and causing trouble? The thoughts rattled him, but he chose to follow her request. Her magic filled his path; the air filled with tiny floating golden orbs that sparkled down the path. The lights guided him to the Dragon’s lair; his narrow path began to widen as he grew closer to the cave’s entrance. He approached it but did not enter. He could not understand why he was to seek out this creature. Dragons were evil vicious monsters that hunted and preyed upon any being that happen to fall victim to them, and now he was to actually go seek one out? He took a deep breath, drew his sword, and slowly made his way into the cave.
The cave was dark and freezing. For several minutes he waited for his eyes to adjust to the surrounding darkness. He paced himself slowly as he walked through the cave until a white light came into view. The cave became colder than ever; he turned to noticed that ice crystals highlighted the caves walls and ceiling, clear as water they formed down with sharp pointed tips…it was a magnificent, enchanting sight. After a moment he began to hear what he thought was the crying of a small child, he then walked into a clearing in the cave. The cave was filled with the sound of crying, —crying full of sorrow. He followed the sound until he came upon its source…the Dragon.
The Dragon sat in front of a small pond in the clearing of the cave that was beginning to freeze up, and it stared at its reflection.
“Can you see it?” The Dragon asked in almost a childlike manner. Alexandros stepped closer. “Can you see it?”
“See what?” Alexandros answered in a gentle voice.
The Dragon began to cry again. “Can you see the evil the villagers speak of?”
At that moment Alexandros knew there was no evil in this Dragon. It was beautiful and peaceful. The Dragon was all white, so white you could barely notice its scales; it had a black mane that started from the center of its head and traveled down its back going all the way to the tip of its tail. It had four long black horns on its head. Its eyes were light purple; its talons were not as sharp as they should have been, and its wings were large with the inner lining of light purple. But the Dragon was not huge; he stood only eight feet tall.
“Why do they hate me? They never even speak to me.” The Dragon said while weeping.
Alexandros put away his sword. “They s
ay you are evil,” he said softly.
“But they do not even know me. When I leave my cave, the villagers hit me with stones and scream the most horrible things at me…so now I am trapped in this tomb with nowhere to go.”
Alexandros was saddened for this poor creature, and he now knew why the oracle requested him to seek the Dragon. It was to be rescued and saved from this place he was trapped in and maybe to even join him. He gently placed his hand under the Dragon’s chin and slowly lifted his head. More tears fell from the Dragon’s purple eyes.
“You will come with me,” said Alexandros.
“Why are you being so kind, human?” The Dragon asked.
“…Because it is what you deserve.”
CHAPTER V
VILLAGE IN FLAMES
EARLIER THAT EVENING…
The rain continued to fall hard over the BueHoov village. Back at the inn, Princess Elora had watched Alexandros follow the golden light into the woods. Her heart began to race. Where is he going? After all she had been through; he had made her feel safe. Elora had never been on her own. If it had not been for Alexandros, she would have lost her life that night in the woods, and from the moment she saw him walk off, she knew she had uncontrollable growing feelings for him.
She paced the cramped round inn room, worried. Raphael, on the other hand, was in the hall bickering with the dwarves. The dwarves had taken their drunken party from the tavern to their room, and they were extremely loud. While Raphael argued with the dwarves, Elora stared out the window into the woods. Just then Raphael came in yelling into the hall once more at the Dwarves.
“If I must come out and tell you one more time!” cried Raphael.
Princess Elora turned to him as he slammed the door. She watched him make a fool of himself as he bickered with the Dwarves. “Why did those dwarves have to choose this very inn? I have never had to deal with such madness in my village,” he said, frustrated.
“Maybe if you were to ask them nicely the dwarves would lower their voices,” she said.
“My lady, if it were that simple, do you not think I would have tried?”
“Well, let us see then centaur prince.”
Elora made her way down the long narrow stone hall. The third floor hall was long and dimly lit; only two rooms were on this floor, and they were down the hall from one another. As Elora walked slowly towards the dwarves’ room, she heard the sound of thunder echo through the hall, making her walk a bit faster, guided by the light from three small fire-lit lanterns hung from the walls. She knocked twice before Bixbin answered the door.
“Oh, princess it is you,” Bixbin said, surprised. “We thought it was the pony returning for seconds.” Bixbin said with a mighty laugh.
Elora slightly smiled at his joke. Bixbin welcomed her into their room.
Their room was much larger than hers. Theirs was square and messy. The dwarves loafed around and drank, but once they saw the princess they jumped up to their feet and were perfect gentlemen.
“What may we do for you, my lady?” Bixbin asked. “Do you need for us to run that pony out to the barn?” He added with another great laugh.
Elora ran her fingers through her long dark hair; the dwarves glared deeply at her.
“Well, I do not wish to be a bother…but if it is all right with you, I would appreciate if you would to keep the noise down just a little.”
A small look of disappointment grew on Bixbin’s face. “It would have been easier to beat up the pony, but very well my lady, we shall try to keep the noise down…for you.” Bixbin answered politely.
With that taken care of, Princess Elora wished the dwarves a goodnight and returned to her room. She opened the door with a proud look upon her face; she glanced around the dark room only to find Raphael glaring outside the window.
“You see,” she said with a smile. “A kind word goes a long way. All you had to do was ask nicely.”
Raphael just stared out the window; he stood frozen staring outside. For several seconds there was an eerie silence…
“Raphael…” Elora whispered nervously.
When Raphael said nothing, she went towards the window and she peered out and was horrified at what she saw…. the goblin horde marching into the village.
Three mountain trolls carrying giant clubs accompanied the goblins. The mountain trolls were huge, sluggish creatures that were terribly ugly; they had hunched backs and were lean; they stood extremely tall, reaching twelve feet high, towering over all. The trolls roared into the village, tearing the homes down and destroying everything that stood in their path.
The goblins barged into the tavern and dragged out the young teen boy; they dropped him to his knees and said in their ghoulish voice, “Barbarious sends his regards…”
The boy looked on in horror as the goblins pierced him with their rusted old swords and bloodied up the ground.
The mountain trolls kicked and smashed the homes all around them. Limbs flew to the ground as the trolls fed upon the villages. The goblins chanted “Barbarious! Barbarious! Barbarious!” With their gurgling voices.
The dwarves, weapons fully drawn, began to battle ferociously with the horde. The dwarves used their most powerful hammers to smash the goblins as if they were nothing…but then the mountain trolls approached.
“We have to get out of here,” Raphael said to Elora.
Tears ran down her beautiful pale face. “We are trapped, Raphael. We have nowhere to run…we are trapped here.” Just the sight of the goblins made her freeze in terror. “Where is Belen…?”
Raphael could see the fear in her eyes, but just then Bixbin kicked open their door.
“Get out now!” He screamed.
Raphael pulled Elora by her arm, but before they could escape…the room exploded.
CHAPTER VI
VILLAGE IN
FLAMES II
DRAGONS WERE THOUGHT to have existed from the beginning of Earth, legendary creatures, beautiful, intelligent, and rarely seen. Most people think Dragons are evil, but like most tall tales, it cannot be proven. Dragons possess a great deal of magic in their blood; it can grant you supreme power…that is, of course, if you can retrieve some.
Alexandros stood in front of the Dragon and felt the pain and heartache the world had given to the dragon.
“I have given my trust to humans before, and it is all ended in vain. The human race cannot be trusted,” the Dragon said, his voice shaking.
Alexandros sat next to the Dragon and for several minutes they said nothing. The Dragon continued to cry.
“We will leave this village my friend, and never look back,” Alexandros whispered to the Dragon and at the moment Alexandros whispered the word “friend” the Dragon turned its head toward Alexandros and stopped crying. In the many centuries the Dragon had lived it had almost always been alone. About three centuries ago the Dragon’s clan was killed by a horde of barbarians. The only survivor of its clan, the Dragon hid away in caves never staying in one place for too long. Alexandros put his hand on the Dragon’s icy shoulder.
“My name is Belen Alexandros, son of the great Mabruk Alexandros. The villagers are set on ending you…but it is something I will not allow. So will you come with me?”
The cold cave gave little comfort to Alexandros; his limbs were beginning to numb. The Dragon thought hard about this decision; the idea of never having to be alone filled the Dragon’s mind, and with that thought he answered. “Human, it would be an honor to travel with you.”
Alexandros felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders as he realized he might have gained an amazing ally and also a dear friend.
“Since we are going to be traveling together, I wish for you to know my name. I am called Winston,” the Dragon said proudly.
A strong look of confusion filled Alexandros’ face as he stopped and turned to the Dragon. “Your name is Winston?”
“Yes it is,” Winston replied. “It was given to me by… well me.”
“I guess…we all must have a
name…Winston.”
Alexandros made his way out of the cave, and Winston followed along joyfully.
“Human…” said Winston. “Will your friends be my friends?”
Alexandros placed his hand on the Dragon’s shoulder. “Please, call me Belen or Alexandros. And as for my friends… I am positive they will accept you; they are noble and kind so, yes, they will be your friends as well.”
Alexandros prayed that the Princess Elora and the centaur Raphael would welcome the Dragon, but for now the main concern was to get the Dragon out of BueHoov.
The cave began to warm up; it seemed they were almost out. In the distance Alexandros heard the peaceful sound of the falling rain and felt a soft cool rainy breeze. After a few more minutes they exited the cave; the hard rain continued to fall.
In the distance, in the direction of the village, they saw flames.
Flames so strong that not even the hard summer rain could put them out; flames so high they towered over the tall forest trees. A flash of his own village filled his head, and all he could think of was…not again.
Alexandros stood frozen in place as he stared at the orange flames, his muscles tensed up and his heart pounded as he ran with the speed of a falcon to BueHoov. Winston soared over him in the midnight rain-filled air, creating a powerful wind; then he swooped down, grabbed Alexandros with his hind claws, and lifted him gently into the air.
The village was completely destroyed, homes were burned down, and others were in flames as the villagers tried desperately to put them out. The warrior dwarves had fended off the goblin horde to an extent, and goblins lay broken and battered on the muddy ground. The dwarves had managed to kill one of the mountain trolls, but tragically three of their dwarf brothers were slain, and the surviving group sat and deeply mourned their fallen comrades. In the distance the dwarves saw the dragon soaring towards BueHoov, but they were so drained of energy from battle, they could not even hold up their swords let alone stand.
The Legend of Alexandros: Belen Page 4