Dawning Skye

390 The Conscience Of A Dragon(Part One)

***CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE AND SLIGHT VIOLENCE***

After Zazzy’s feet had touched the ground, she had immediately walked over to her little house. People were cheering for her, but she ignored them all. After wiping the dried mud off, she had crawled inside, and curled into a ball with her back to the doorway.

Skye and Tidas were worried for their scaly bairn, but became surrounded by people when they tried to follow after her. Highlanders and the few RMC members that had stayed behind bombarded them with questions about the battle and Richard. Before they could get to Zazzy, they were ushered inside of the bunkers to celebrate..

The entire city had been decked out with victory banners, flowers, and other random decorations for the returning troops. Richard was the reason that the Highlanders couldn’t use the majority of their territory. Every time they established an outpost or village; he destroyed it, and killed the people inhabiting it.

With the Monster of the North gone, they could expand to the farthest reaches of their kingdom. The northern tundra regions had barely been explored. It was theorized that lost cities lay underneath the miles of ice, as well as evidence of how their planet had changed over the centuries.

Both Skye and Gavin had read about it in the ancient tomes, and understood the general principles of carbon-dating. They were both very interested in finding out how long ago the world had first frozen over, and what people were lived like right as their world changed.

Skye had told Amara, Murdoc, Gavin, and Petrie about the two worlds colliding in her dream a while ago. It was hard for Gavin to believe at first, but he rationalized it as a part of Skye’s abilities as the Catalyst. Murdoc laughed and said that ‘human stupidity never changes’, which everyone agreed with.

Amara was the hardest to convince, but she was no fool, either. The ancient tomes had to come from somewhere, and they were most definitely created my a far more intelligent civilization than their own.. ‘Just like our ancestors that made the bunkers in the first place..’

As people discussed the possible lands, animals, and riches that lay beyond the north, Skye was half-tempted to tell them that she had seen another, unknown continent in her dream, but kept her mouth shut. Only the four Highlanders knew of her vision-like dreams, and she preferred to keep it that way.

.....

Not many would understand how Skye knew what she did, and even fewer would believe her if she told them. Instead of having people question her sanity, Skye opted for keeping quiet about it.

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The decorations were nice, but what had distracted Skye from going straight to Zazzy was the parade of food offered to her. Every dish that she had seen in the Highlands was offered to her, Tidas, and the rest of the returning soldiers. If her magic wouldn’t have been so low, then she would’ve gone straight to her despondent dragon.

Every kind of hot and cold salad, stew, and soup imaginable were offered. Chicken, beef, elk, lamb, and a whole-roasted pig were also available to choose from. As well as a variety of breads and spreads.

Skye asked Murdoc if Zazzy was to receive any of the bounty, and he replied with a cocky grin; “Of course she’s got a special meal comin’ ta her!”

Tidas stood up as Skye sighed in relief, and asked; “What did you give to her?”

Murdoc’s grin widened; “A massive bear.. She was likin’ roastin’em herself fer a bit, but I dunno if she’ll be in the mood fer it tonight. Seemed a bit off earlier..”

Skye nodded as she swallowed the bite in her mouth; “Aye, tis why Ima headin’ ta see her as soon as I’ve gotten enough food in me belly.”

“I’m going, too. I’m worried about her mental state right now.. She might’ve been too sweet for battle,” Tidas added.

Murdoc scoffed; “She may be sweet, and smart, but she’s still a dragon. What could she possibly feel upset about?”

Skye narrowed her eyes on him; “Zazzy is not only intelligent, but she feels more deeply fer life than most humans care ta think on. I know she blames herself fer the soldiers that were killed while she was possessed by the Dark and Ether magic..”

“That’s why Ima shovelin’. I may need me magic if she tries ta fly away or the like,” Skye ripped into a piece of bread right as she finished speaking.

Murdoc averted his eyes a moment, then huffed before saying; “Ima sorry fer me words. She didna do anythin’ wrong. Tis why I didna think of it..”

As Murdoc apologized to Skye, Tidas heard a few of the Reinbolt men making snide comments about Skye and Murdoc’s ‘love of the beast’. He was ready to write it off as pointless bravado, but then one of them said that ‘it wouldn’t be a problem for much longer’.

Tidas whipped his head around, but didn’t see the other dozen or so Reinbolt men that had survived the battle. And to top it off: some of the Moonstone men were missing..

That was when one of them tapped Tidas on his shoulder. He was out of breath, and looked like he could fall over at any time. Skye and Murdoc immediately stopped talking, and Amara and Gavin paused their show of affection to listen in.

The moment the lad had caught a lungful of air, he huffed out; “Soldiers.. Trying ta kill.. Zazzy! HELP! Please help!”

Before the young man could even drop to his knees in exhaustion, Tidas, Skye, and Murdoc were nearly across the room. Amara stayed back for a split second to make sure that the young Moonstone soldier was alright, then took off after the others. Praying that Zazzy wasn’t hurt at all..

‘Skye and Tidas will kill’em before we can even ask what happened!’

************

After most of the humans had gone inside, a few of the familiar Highlanders that often fed and played with Zazzy were trying to get her to come out. They had brought her a massive bear to roast and eat, but she wasn’t budging..

“Oi! Come on, ye sweet beastie! We got yer favorite! Ye canna go turnin’ down Bear, now can ye?! Angus! Why do ye think she’s bein’ so surly wit us?”

The other man looked to him with an irate expression; “How the bloody hell should I know?! Let’s just leave the carcass here, and go. She’ll eat when she gets hungry enough. Let’s just get back, Wallace!”

The stocky Highlander grinned broadly at him; “Then help me coax her outta her hole, ya bawbag!”

As the two started to bicker, a group of men approached from the bunker much slower than normal. A few even looked a little surprised to see them outside. Wallace didn’t think much of it at first because they were all southerners. But when a bunch of them started to put their hands on the hilts of their swords..

Wallace’s face turned impassive as he stared at the nearing men and asked; “What business ye got ta be comin’ out here? Instead of enjoyin’ the celebration inside?”

Some of the men exchanged cocky looks, but a few more were not-so-obviously flanking directions. Both Wallace and Angus had caught it, but didn’t let on as Wallace repeated himself in a slightly more curt tone.

Two of the Reinbolt soldiers took the lead. One had medium-length brown hair with a short, but sticky build. The other was tall with a similar hair color and length, and just as built as the first. Based on the cut of their jaw and the common swirl of their ears, it was obvious that they were brothers.

Wallace and Angus turned to have their backs to Zazzy as the taller man spoke; “Good day to you.. My name is Eric, and this be my brother Shane. We’ve just come to look at the monster that got away today. Before we celebrate the dead one.”

Zazzy curled into her ball tighter at the man’s words, which irritated Wallace. He’d watched the fight from the rear guard, and knew that Zazzy hadn’t been in her right mind. As the dozen or so men inched closer, the shorter one spoke..

“We can take over the bestie’s care if you two would like ta go back to the party. The food smells mighty temptin’. Even from out here..”

The one named Shane stopped and stood in front of Wallace as he finished with; “It be best if you two went inside now..”

The two exchanged a small glance accompanied by a shrug.. then Wallace decked Shane right in his nose. A sickening crunch was heard upon impact, then he hit the ground. A deafening silence fell before the men pounced on the two Highlanders.

Neither had their weapons, but quickly acquired some swords as a handful of greenhorns rushed in. Wallace and Angus made quick work of them, then waited for the five veterans to attack. As they stood with small cuts and devilish smiles on their faces, Zazzy stirred within her tiny house..

As she dragged her massive body out, the Reinbolt and few Moonstone men backed up several paces. She was much bigger up close than they had anticipated, but the determination in their eyes showed that their minds were still set on revenge. As they braced themselves for an epic fight, Zazzy folded her legs under herself.

At first, they thought that she was getting ready to charge them, but when she plopped down on the grass, confusion spread. It grew as she stretched her neck out, then laid flat on the ground in between the two Highlanders, and the attackers.

Shane was still unconscious on the ground, but Eric stared down the monster before him with a searing hatred in his eyes.. Until he looked in Zazzy’s..

With her head slightly tilted, he could see the large tear drop slide down her cheek as she offered her head to him. The immense sadness and grief he saw reflected tugged at his heart to the point of making him hesitant. As he internally struggled to swing his sword, a young, frightened Moonstone soldier took off towards the bunker..

As Eric held his sword above his head, Wallace asked; “Do ya understand why yer hesitatin’? What ye see in her?”

Eric shook his head as several other soldiers became locked on Zazzy’s pain-filled expression. They didn’t expect her to have human-like emotions like remorse, even though they were aware of how intelligent she was. As the soldiers started to become divided and frantic, Wallace spoke up..

“I see in her what I see in all soldiers after they’ve been in a real battle fer the first time.. Grief, remorse, pain.. Ye know she didna do it by choice, ya?”

Eric shook his head; “I didn’t see anyone else ‘getting possessed’, and attacking my friends!”

Angus scoffed; “That’s cause no one else is a fuckin’ Dragon, ya bampot!”