The Witch (Dragon Eyes Book 1)

by Kristina Hlaváčková

  Dars was getting bored with this playful knocking about. Enjoying himself and showing off, he delivered two quick blows to Elena’s ribs and jumped aside. Elena followed him. At the last moment he parried a blow aimed at his shoulder and made for her legs, trying to trip her up. Elena jumped. Dars hit empty space. The unobstructed force of the blow turned him sideways. Still in the air, Elena used her trak as a club, hitting him over the back.

  Aaron’s right hand flew up again to indicate a second hit. Still crouched, Dars turned and swung again. Elena parried the first, second, and third blow but Dars was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. His next strike broke through her defense and hit her left shoulder. The inpact was so strong her teeth snapped together. She had to sidestep to keep from falling and had no time to raise her staff to block the next blow. He hit her four more times, showering her shoulders and sides with so much force that everything went black for a moment.

  It seemed to her as if the cheering crowd had gone silent. All she heard was the ominous swish of a trak aimed at her shoulder. She ducked and as Dars’ trak whizzed past her head, she thrust her own staff into his stomach as if it were a sword. He groaned, bent over double, and his arms dropped. Still crouched, she whipped her fighting staff behind her back and over her head, and before he could react, poked his shoulder. More of a jab rather than a full blooded hit, it was nevertheless enough for Aaron to lift his hand to indicate a fourth score. Dars lost his balance and toppled over onto his back. He kicked out with both his legs, but she was quicker. A smooth backward roll carried her beyond his reach, and back onto her feet. In one whipping motion, her brother jumped up.

  His smile was long gone. Elena was breathing laboriously. All that lay between her and her dream was just one more score. Hitting her brother once, that was all she had to do. But it was becoming more and more difficult to concentrate. Her head was buzzing, hands and arms aching, trak growing heavier, harder to control. Dars attacked, replicating her own first move, aiming for her left shoulder. He expected her to sidestep and try to block with her staff. She did not. And the blow never landed. Elena half turned right, and holding her trak left handed, whacked him flat on the back.

  The audience roared. Aaron’s hand flew up. Elena froze, standing with her trak outstretched, left leg to the fore, waiting for her brother to move. All of a sudden, somebody switched on the sound again. She heard the cheering crowd. It took quite some effort to pull her leg back under her body. She let her arms fall to her sides and turned to face her brother. Dars was dirty, disheveled, frowning, and his back was stiff. For a moment, he seemed to be considering another attack, but decided against it. He took a step back. Both of them bowed, still looking each other in the eyes. Together they bowed to the royal couple, and to the cheering crowd. Elena hurt all over. A streak of blood from a split lip ran down her chin and her head was buzzing. It took her a while to realize both her parents were descending the stairs to meet her.

  “Very good fight” said the king.

  “If you say so, father” mumbled Dars. The king squeezed his shoulder affectionately. Elena poked his aching ribs with an elbow.

  “Oh come on, big brother. If we were fighting for real, you’d kick my a… rear,” she said happily. He definitely did not share her enthusiasm and growled at her: “Next time I will!” he promised.

  “But I’ll be better and stronger next time, coz I’ll be learning to fight!” She would have jumped with glee, but that would have been far too much effort. It did not, however, stop her from hugging her brother lovingly. He snarled at her shaking her off. He was furious. His sister didn’t care. The king leaned towards her with a smile.

  “I’m proud of you!” he said, and hugged her. As mentioned earlier, King John was a huge man. His loving embrace amounted to a bear hug. Elena’s broken ribs crackled, piercing her body with pain. She groaned. Everything went black. She fainted.

  Elena went limp. Her knees went slack, her body and head lolled backwards. John caught her, lifting her into his arms. Her pale face and closed eyes frightened her mother. The queen stepped forward and touched her daughter’s forehead.

  “Take her to her room!” She commanded her husband in a tone he dared not disobey.

  2 CHAPTER

  DRAGONS

  One of the inconspicuous stones jumped and cracked, popping loudly. A farmer, who had been snoozing on the rock pile, was startled. He sprang up, eyeing the pile suspiciously. An oval stone the size of a man’s forearm skipped again. Tiny cracks broke its surface. The farmer took a few terrified steps backwards. The stone hopped again, cracking even further. A piece fell off it. A tiny, toothy, snout squeezed through the hole. The man turned on his heel and ran.

  The rock skipped a few more times. Each time it did so, a deeper and wider map of cracks showed on its surface. Opening the gap wider still, a miniature blue-green head squeezed through it. Paws with teeny talons followed the snout; wings and the rest of the body succeeded. The dragon cub could not have chosen a worse moment to hatch. He pushed out of his egg, slipped on the uneven surface of the rock pile and tumbled down, landing spread-eagled in the grass at its foot.

  For a moment, he lay still before squeaking quietly. The little dragon lifted his head, shook it twice and hiccupped. A small cloud of warm air escaped his nostrils. Clumsily, the cub tried to stand on unsteady legs. This was no easy task due to the necessity of balancing his head and tail. The head being obviously heavier than tail complicated the matter and made the diminutive dragon fall repeatedly on his snout. Finally, he managed to stand up relatively straight, winning his altercation with gravity. He stretched his webbed, translucent wings. They were still wet. Then the cub hiccupped again. He looked around and took a few uncertain steps. Stretching his neck, a long high-pitched whine escaped his throat. It sounded almost like a baby’s cry. He listened for a while, but there was no reply, so he called again.

  At least to Elena, hiding in the bushes, it sounded like a call. It seemed natural for a newborn creature to call its mother, so she decided to stay in hiding. Aaron always said that mothers guarding their young were dangerous. And dragons were said to be humungous. She had no ambition whatsoever to risk an encounter with a big angry beast. She intended to stay put. However, her timidity did not prevent her from watching the cub as it endeavored to gain control over its legs. The hatchling was obviously making progress; he toppled face first a few more times, but his balance was improving. Once again, he reproduced that whiny cry, but there was still no reply.

  From the forest, where the fainthearted farmer had disappeared, angry voices could be heard, drawing nearer. Elena listened. The dragon noticed them too and as fast as his still clumsy legs allowed darted for cover behind the rock pile. He flattened himself to the ground and lay still. For a moment, Elena lost sight of him. Four men, led by our farmer, rushed into the clearing. They were all armed with swords and shields, except for one fellow who brandished a heavy war club.

  “So, where’s the beast?” asked the man with the club. The farmer pointed to the rock pile. Their intentions were all too clear. Elena stood up and ran around the clearing to get closer to the heap and the men endangering it. Once she reached their level, she stepped out from under the trees. Occupied with hunting the little dragon, the villagers had not noticed her yet. Looking for the cub, they approached the stack spread out in a skirmish line.

  “Hold it!” Elena shouted, attempting to fortify her voice with the authoritative tone she had so often heard from her father. Surprised, they halted. She marched towards them, stopping between the men and the rocks behind which the dragon cub was hiding.

  “What?” finally managed the most aggressive one.

  “Stop!” answered Elena calmly. The men looked at each other uncertainly, wondering where the girl had come from.

  “Out of the way, kid,” ordered the one with the club, reaching out to push her with a shovel-sized hand. Elena took a step back and rested her hand on the hilt of her sword.

 
“Leave the cub alone!” She stood there, a short skinny eight-year old lass dressed in black, standing up to four grown men armed to the teeth.

  One of them laughed a harsh laugh.

  “Move, kid,” he repeated. Elena only shook her head.

  “It’s a dragon. We’re gonna get him before he grows and eats someone. Git!” he commanded. Elena shook her head again.

  “No, it’s just a cub and it can’t defend itself.” She realized it was a poor choice of words as soon as she let them out of her mouth.

  “Exactly, we’ll kill it before it’s able to defend itself. Out of the way!” he spat angrily.

  “Yeah, move girl. That little bugger ain’t gonna go screaming here, calling other dragons. We have a village close by. We don’t want his kind wandering around.” He made a step towards her. She took one more step back.

  “The other dragons are exactly why you should not kill him,” crossed her mind.

  “Every cub is bound to have its mother close by. Maybe she is on her way here. What do you think she will do if she finds out you killed her child? Dragons have an amazing sense of smell. She will track you down all the way to your village and burn it to the ground. Is that what you want?” Uncertain, the men looked at each other. This had not occurred to them. They had even forgotten that they believed dragons to be extinct.

  “With him screaming like that, it ain’t gonna make any difference. Git brat, or I’ll whip you with my belt for getting in our way,” barked the pugnacious peasant, as he stepped towards where he thought the dragon cub to be hiding. Elena drew her sword. They had pushed her so far that she was almost behind the pile now. She dared a quick sideways glance into the grass at the foot of the heap. She glimpsed a puny little dragon trying to be invisible, crouched as low as possible. He gave her a wide-eyed pleading look. Quickly, she turned her eyes back to the four men.

  “I command you to stop right there!” she tried again. Once more, there was that harsh, cruel laughter.

  “How dare you command us?!”

  “I am Princess Elena, daughter of King John and Queen Ashka, and I command you to leave immediately!” she backed her tone with a determined expression and straightened her back, trying to look dignified. Elena stood there, sword in hand, as a living shield trying not to think about how scared she really was. Shockingly, the men stopped as one.

  “What?” asked one of them, confused.

  “You heard me!” snapped she in a haughty tone of voice she had so often heard from her brothers. Gathering into a tight group, the men started arguing in low voices. Elena could not hear much, but from what she did, it was clear they were having difficulty to agree.

  What if the brat really is a princess? If she is, where’s her personal guard? And what if she isn’t? But what if she is? And what about the dragon? What if his mother really comes? And what if her mother appears? Yeah, what then? What are we gonna do? Such questions reached Elena’s ears. She dared another sideways glance at the dragon cub. He seemed a mere shadowy shape, slightly darker than the grass around him. It took her a while to distinguish his hide from the sea of green grass. The hatchling was contemplating her.

  Don’t you look at me like that! We are both in hell of a lot of trouble! she thought and was surprised to see the dragon tilt his head to one side, as if he were listening. All of a sudden, the debating group parted, and the aggressive man with the club emerged.

  “He can’t be screaming here like that! He’s got to git!” he demanded, but his confidence seemed slightly dulled. Elena gave him a look. However, her head was not even up to his belly, so it probably did not come across as threatening as she meant it to be.

  “Go back to your village. I will take him away,” she answered at last. It was not the greatest idea, but she could not think of anything better to do. The men looked at each other.

  “How do we know you won’t leave him here once we turn our backs?” peevishly asked the farmer who had witnessed the cub hatch. Elena made an offended face.

  “How dare you speak to the King’s daughter in such a tone? How dare you question the word of royal blood?” This time she took an angry step forward. At that moment, despite her small stature, she looked fierce. Without realizing it, the men took a few backward steps, before it dawned on one of them that four grown men were backing away from a small girl, and he stopped.

  “But…”

  “No buts about it! Be gone!” she ordered in a tone even her father would have been proud of.

  “But you will take him away from here?” the fourth man spoke for the first time. Elena had a feeling his heart was not in it, that the others had dragged him along, just to make up the numbers.

  “Yes!” she answered, so sure of herself they couldn’t help but believe her. What if she really was a princess after all…? Reluctantly, they turned around and walked away slowly, looking back over their shoulders. Elena waited for them to disappear into the trees before she returned her sword to her scabbard and turned to look at the dragon cub who was watching her with keen interest.

  ”That was close!” she sighed with relief. Her knees were wobbly and she felt like fleeing, wanting to be as far away from here as possible. But she could not. That would mean breaking her word and her father would not appreciate that! Giving and keeping one’s word was taken very seriously in the royal family. Promises were not a matter to be taken lightly; she dared not test her father’s patience with her, nor worse, disgrace her family.

  “We have to get out of here before they change their minds and come back with reinforcements,” she commented aloud. The Dragon looked right at her. It was almost as if he understood. It seemed to her his scales had changed color. Was she imagining it, or was the cub suddenly more visible? From up close his scales were strangely green with shimmering blue tints.

  “Don’t be scared, I won’t hurt you!” she told him, approaching him very carefully, with her hand extended as if approaching a puppy, allowing him to sniff her. The hatchling stood up, stretching its neck to pick up her scent.

  “Don’t even think about biting me! My name is Elena. I am daughter of Ashka, descendant of the Adragon, the dragon protectors. I won’t hurt you. But we have to get out of here, quick. It’s not safe here. Will you let me carry you?”

  Elena edged nearer, her hand still outstretched, feeling silly to be talking to the little creature as if he could understand her. Her fingers were shaking. The cub sniffed her hand carefully without taking his eyes off her. She was pleased he did not try to bite her fingers off. Suddenly, the dragon hiccupped and warm air puffed out of his nostrils. Instinctively, Elena jerked her hand away. The hatchling bowed his head apologetically covering his snout with front paw. Elena smiled and whistled quietly. At first, nothing happened. Then a huge black Berber warhorse emerged from the trees, its hooves thudding quietly in the grass. He trotted towards Elena, but, picking up an unfamiliar scent, he stopped nervously before reaching her. The dragon cub hissed.

  “Hey, stop it you two! Ashkent, don’t be scared, it’s just a dragon cub. We have to take him away from here; the villagers want to kill him. I know you don’t like his smell, but he is only little, he won’t hurt you.”

  Dragon cub and steed sized each other up and sniffed one another suspiciously. Elena watched them thoughtfully. Ashkent was of the Dakarian warhorses, whom the Berbers believed to carry the souls of ancient Berber warriors, so she knew he understood what she was saying, but she was not sure about the reptile.

  Carefully she picked up the cub and with Ashkent’s help sat it onto the saddle. While he was balancing there uncertainly, she swung up behind him. Cradling the little dragon in her arms, she left the reins tied around the pommel and maneuvered Ashkent with her knees as Aaron had taught her.

  “Mother says dragons live in the mountains, so that’s where we need to go. I’ve never seen a dragon before, so I hope no one will try to eat me,” worried Elena aloud. Her mother had always said dragons could communicate with humans, but never reall
y explained how.

  Though she could not be sure the hatchling comprehended, Elena kept talking to him, as if he did. Even if dragons could communicate, this was just a cub, right? And that meant he needed to learn things first, right? After all, he seemed to understand. He would not even protest when she picked him up and sat him on the saddle. And he was not trying to bite or scratch her.

  “Problem is I don’t know how to find dragons. I’ve never tried and Mother says they are hard to discover. Unless they want to be found, that is. And I can’t go too far, I have to be home before twilight or I’ll be in a whole lot of trouble. Well, far more trouble than I’m in already. I can’t take you to the castle, because your parents might come looking for you. They might set our town on fire and kill people. I can’t let that happen. But I can’t leave you out here alone, either. By gods!” she kept talking more to herself than to the dragon cub, who seemed to be listening. He squeaked quietly. She dared to rub the top of his head gingerly and was surprised to see him close his eyes, looking real snug.

  “You like that, don’t you!” she laughed.

  ◆◆◆

  While Ashkent quickly carried them towards the mountains, Elena tried to remember everything her mother had told her about dragons, and especially about how to find them. The tiny reptile snuggled up in her arms was cute, but Elena was worried. Saving him from the ruffians and her promise to take him away made her responsible for his life. She figured that leaving him alone in the mountains would be just as bad as letting the farmers kill him. Nevertheless, she was at a loss as to what she should do. On top of everything, her mother had never taught her about dragon cubs. How was she supposed to know what the little one needed or what he was capable of?

  “I wish Mother were here!” she said aloud. The hatchling made a funny noise. It was a sound similar to what Elena’s tummy made when she was hungry.