Page 45 of The Dragon Maiden

A brief look of worry passed over Lord Hiram’s features, but it was gone so quickly that I barely had time to register the expression. I knew what I had seen, and my anxiety only grew. This wise Dragon Lord was just as worried as I was, and the thought gave me no comfort.

“He is fine. He took two very capable Dragon Lords with him when he left,” he said with a false confidence. I could see past the façade. “I’m sure they have everything under control.”

“But what is taking so long? Lord Dracul said it should only take a few days,” I said.

“Lord Dracul probably got caught up talking with friends he hasn’t seen in a long time,” Lord Hiram said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. I could hear the lie in his voice. “Don’t worry. Just go about things as usual, Valora. He’ll turn up soon enough and you’ll see that all this worrying has been for naught.” He looked to the door, an obvious cue that the conversation was over.

I bowed low. “Thank you, my Lord, for your kind words,” I said before leaving, the knot of worry only growing.

For the next few hours, I stayed in Lord Dracul’s chambers, organizing his potion ingredients for what felt like the thousandth time. My hands shook, and I eventually had to stop or risk breaking the bottles containing the ingredients. My duties for the day were over and I was at a loss for what to do. I was unwilling to go back to the Maiden cavern just yet, not wanting to deal with the prickly silence. The Lords’ departure and absence had made the whole cave uneasy, and the longer they were gone, the more the uneasiness grew. I could not stand to be in a room with the others just yet, having to quell my own fears and worries so as not to alarm them. Not to mention, Lord Hiram’s words had done little to comfort me. It was obvious he was worried, too, which meant something had to be wrong.

* * *

Once more, I decided to go to the entrance of the cave to resume my vigil. Before the sun set, rain began to fall from the skies, limiting my vision. Suddenly, over the sound of the rain, I began to hear the beat of wings and my heart quickened as two dragons flew back, a third supported between them. My heart sped up as they approached, recognizing the middle one as Dracul, his head slumped as he was carried through the air. At last, he was back, but from the looks of things, he was not in good shape.

Moving out of the way, I followed Lord Firenze and Lord Verhorn as they hastily flew in and pulled Dracul to his quarters. They set him gently on the floor before stepping aside for me. With the three of them in their dragon forms, there was now very little space left in the cavern.

“Can you fix him?” Lord Verhorn asked, his eyes bright with worry.

I stepped around him to assess the damage and gasped in shock. “What happened?” I asked quietly, taking in the sight in front of me. Never had I ever imagined seeing anything like this in my life.

Dracul was bleeding heavily, one of his wings ripped almost all the way to the bone. There were other cuts and scrapes along his body, one even across his eye.

He opened the uninjured one and stared at me. “Things got a little out of hand,” he explained, smiling slightly at his joke. The smile quickly disappeared as he grimaced in pain, letting out a groan.

At the sight of his pain, I was spurred into action. “I’m going to need a lot of towels, warm water, healing herbs, a needle and thread for the wing,” I ordered, pushing up my sleeves.

I rushed to the potions area in the back of the cavern to grab the supplies I would need while the two other Lords summoned their Maidens to assemble the other items. The women immediately disappeared after delivering the supplies. I could see by their faces they did not like seeing the High Dragon Lord in such a state. Lord Firenze and Lord Verhorn stayed to observe my work, while Lords Hiram, Noxus, and Lorka were summoned. The rest of the Lords transformed to their human forms to allow more space in the cave. Dracul was the only one who remained as a dragon.

I thoroughly cleaned the big wounds I could see, the ones that would become infected if I did not tend to them right away, covering them with the healing herbs and bandages. I was grateful to lean on the experience I had gained spending time by Dracul’s side, learning the practical properties and uses of various herbs.

At last, I turned my attention to the wing, feeling overwhelmed by the need to stitch it. It was such a vital part to a dragon. From the looks of the injury, I was unsure if Dracul would ever be able to fly again.

“I’m going to do the best I can to patch it up,” I told Dracul, his eyes trained on me the whole time. “Your other wounds should heal just fine. Your wing on the other hand… I can sew it up, but there will be a scar, and I’m not sure if you’ll be able to fly with it.”

“As long as you can get it to the scarred state, I can fix it the rest of the way,” Dracul said, grimacing at the pain. “Just do what you have to do.”

“It’s going to hurt a lot. You can’t move,” I warned, taking the sterilized needle in hand and beginning to thread it. “Promise?” I asked when he did not respond.

“Promise,” he grunted.

I took a deep breath. “Here we go,” I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else. I started at the beginning of the injury, at the base of the wing, and began to sew the wound shut.

Dracul closed his eyes in pain and growled his disapproval.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, continuing to make small, even stitches. “But it needs to be done.”

Slowly, agonizingly, I stitched the wound closed, focusing on the task at hand and forcing myself to ignore Dracul’s rumblings of pain. After what felt like hours, I finished, tying off the thread and wiping my brow. I placed more herbs along the seam to help the wound heal faster, hoping all would be well.

“Done,” I said triumphantly.

Dracul craned his neck to view my handiwork. “Not bad,” he said. He looked at the other Dragon Lords. “You may go now,” he dismissed them. “Firenze and Verhorn, get your wounds checked out as well.”

I had not noticed that the other two were injured. They had scrapes and cuts along their faces and bodies, but it seemed as though Dracul had taken the brunt of whatever attack they had been through.

After the Lords left, I began to gather the supplies and started to clean myself off.

Dracul shifted behind me. “Valora?” he asked, his voice quiet. “Thank you for your help.” He smiled, though I could see the pain in his eyes.

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