Border Crossing

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"You're late." Baralai Fairchild despised the rain, almost as much as he despised mages. He was waiting at one of the bridges that crossed the river that in turn divided the two largest kingdoms in their land. It was the same bridge where he had waited countless times. Templar or no, gold was gold, and this gold also got rid of troublesome mages.
"You want the gold or not?" A black clad man snarled as he jumped down gracefully from his equally black steed.
Baralai muttered something rather unbecoming of a Templar, then held a gloved hand out. "Gold first, then the cargo. Try anything..." He words were cut off as the mage he was transporting broke free of his restraints. It all happened so quickly that he didn't see the flash of lightning and the proud Templar was crashing into the raging river below.
Six months. It had been six months and the fallen Templar still woke in a cold sweat after dreaming of that night. The mage had rendered him immobile, though wide awake when he had plunged into the river, his heavy armour weighing him down until a pig farmer had dragged him from the river several miles away. It had taken months to get back to health and pay back the farmer for his kindness. In that time word had gotten out that Fairchild the Templar was a deserter.

Alice Gormanghast was scowling into the mirror. She hated this world she had been born into, even now as her maid pulled tightly on the laces of her dress she thought of nothing but a way to escape. Her brother's were all war heroes, famous to everyone in the kingdom for their brave deeds and triumph in defeating several of the dragons. But Alice... All she was known for was to be the prize her father handed over to the man he deemed brave enough to end the war altogether. She was the proverbial Princess in the tower, useful only for luring in prospective suitors. The young brunette didn't even realise her rose coloured lips were quirked into a slight smile 'if only they knew'. Indeed, her father would have a literal heart attack if he knew his prized daughter had secretly been learning how to shoot a bow and handle a sword. She lost herself for hours at an end in books that told of the thieves guild, and their mysterious leader who was sometimes known to have a higher moral code than the knights of their kingdom.

Blackbeard seemed to show little reaction. While it would indeed be sad to lose the boy, he knew someone else who would care more. "That's yer grand plan to find and bring home yer sister? By killin' the man she loves?" He snorted. "Guess her brothers are all alike, that's jus' what Kane did to her too."

"The elf is being sent from the castle." Auron finally admitted. "By order of your king." He added, finally sliding out from under the table. "What she does before that time is my business, not yours."

Richard raised an eyebrow but did little else. "It's a shame that he is a son of yours. A true man would never have let his son pay for his own sins." He sighed heavily. "I see it will be just another filthy pirate execution. A waste of my time." 

Like everyone else, the cook was dwarfed by the towering man. She cowered in front of him. "F-forgive me." She stuttered, turning to make a quick exit.

"Glad we agree on something." Blackbeard replied, his face still rather expressionless. "Ain't go no other family for yer to be tryin' to blackmail me with, boy."

Auron's shoulders began to shake before he suddenly erupted into booms of full blown laughter. It would be atsrange sound for anyone else in the castle to hear.

"I don't blackmail, pirate. It's a disgusting habit. Not something that's useful to anyone." Richard said, steepling his fingers. "Someone must pay for your crimes. And seeing as you're still useful, it won't be you. Who better than the last of your bloodline? Perhaps this time you will learn a lesson?" The prince didn't wait for Blackbeard to speak, he was already turning toward Marisol. "How are we coming with the mirror?" 

The odd sound brought Yena out from under the table and sent the cook into the hall, screaming in terror. "What's so funny?" The slender elf asked. "You scared that woman half to death."

Marisol had been listening closely to the exchange as she worked. She didn't agree with what Richard was going to do, but couldn't tell him so. "I found it, sire." She breathed. "It... is with the mermaids." She knew Richard wasn't going to like that news. No man like to even speak of those creatures, let alone seek them out.

"That's exactly it!" Auron exclaimed, resting a large hand on Yena's slender shoulder. "I didn't even have to do anything!"

Blue eyes slid over to BlackBerry and narrowed significantly. "So that's you're secret." He pushed to his feet and stomed to the door, barking orders at his men to begin torturing Garrik.

Yena gave him a strange look. "Hasn't this happened before?" She asked quietly.

Blackbeard and Marsol's gazes met for a brief moment, both understanding that the second Richard laid a finger on Garrik was the second he became the pirate Queen's number one enemy.

"Well... not because I laughed!" Auron exclaimed. "Usually I have to you know..." He made a rather comical snarling face with his hands up in the motion of fake claws.

Richard was not a cruel man by any means. But he knew there was no other way to break Blackbeard. Unlike his mahe, he had no idea that it would being about the wrath of his sister. 

At long last Yena smiled at him, unable to help herself. The expression was genuine and delighted. The laughter that followed was light hearted and warm.

"You're really going to punish the boy?" Marisol asked Richard gently when she caught up with him. "He can't help who his father is, and he is only caught up in all of this because of who he is to your sister."

This only caused Auron's lips to stretch into a beaming smile of their own. He had never heard laughter quite like Yena's. He was still smiling as he watched her, simply reaching out and touching her smooth cheek with his rough fingers.

"Who is he to her?" Richard asked with a frown. He was getting the idea that there was more to his sister than he'd first believed. "How would she know a pirate?"

Yena stopped laughing at his touch, his cool fingers surprising her. Theread was that feeling again. That burning sensation that told her she couldn't live without this man. It took all her energy to remember he was not her mate and didn't want to be either.

"You really are clueless, aren't you?" Marisol asked with a roll of her eyes. "You've heard the stories of the pirate ship, the bloody rose, haven't you?" She added. "Of it's female captain who most men either bow down to out of fear, or infatuation?"

Auron was fighting it too. Kane had the large man believing everything that was said about him; that no woman could love a mountain.

"That's not my sister. Alice was far too timid for something like that." Richard said, shaking his head. "You never met her. How would you know?"

Yena leaned close to Auron and pressed her lips to his. The feeling was too much. She couldn't ignore it anymore. She needed another taste of him. The one was not enough.

"The whole kingdom knows she confronted your brother when he took the throne. She gifted him with a severed head. Yes... meek indeed." Marisol snorted. "I saw it when I was searching for the mirror. Alice is the pirate Queen now, Richard. As I said, are you so sure you wish to find her?"

Auron was glad Yena had made the first move, he wasn't sure how much longer he could deny what it was he wanted. The large man pushed everything off the kitchen table and gave Yena's pert behind a firm squeeze as he lifted her up and sat her on top of it.

"I will believe it when I see it." Richard snorted, pausing to look up at the dark clouds that were again filling the sky. "And what in the bloody hell is wrong with the weather here?" 

Yena slid her fingers through her lover's hair, her eyes locked on his face. He was so different from Bear. He held her like she was a breakable thing, like she was the only thing that mattered. She was certain it wouldn't last.

Marisol didn't tell Richard any more. She didn't think he would believe her anyway. "Perhaps you have somehow angered the sea king, heavens knows you're good at that." She added the last part only quietly.

Auron pushed Yena's dress aside slightly and brushed his lips to her bare shoulder. Kane would surely have his head if he knew his general had no intention of letting this dragon slip away.

Richard stood for a long while, watching the storm gain intensity. "This isn't connected with the sea." The edges of the storm were red, the middle golden. "It seems more like passion to me...Damn  it all.  We néed to find those dragons. My brother is behind this..." not for the first time the prince felt a little overwhelmed by what he had returned to. He had been expecting a hero's welcome not another battle to fight.

Yeah closed her eyes and gave a soft moan. She didn't want this to end but she knew sooner or later the gods would spit on her happiness. It would probably only take until he remembered what she had done to those wolves.

Marisol was watching the crimson sky with a sad expression before she simply closed her eyes. She could all but taste the desire in the wind. It was a reminder of her own unrequited love for her prince, and how it was the price she paid for him freeing her from slavery. "The sooner we find the mermaids, the sooner we find your sister, and she can take you to your brother. Then you will no longer need me."

Auron's was peeling Yena's dress off her other shoulder now, pulling it very slowly even further down. His slow action were for the young dragon's benefit; he wanted her to have the choice to stop him if it wasn't what she wanted.

"Are you planning to leave me?" Richard asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose. His head was beginning to pound. At the moment he wanted little more than to lay down and take the moonlight haired mage with him. 

Again the storm went ignored by those who created it. Yena dug her nails into her lover's back. She moaned his name, all but begging this moment to never end.

"You have it backwards... Sire." Marisol breathed. "Once you win this war, the crown will be yours, and you will be expected to marry another royal. No doubt there will then be little use for your pet mage." She added softly, pausing to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "You will have an entire palace of mages to assist you."

Several people had come to the kitchen, though only as far as the door when they saw what was happening atop the large oak table. If any of them glanced at the shadows cast on the stone wall, they would almost swear they saw a set of leathery wings protruding from the large man's back.

"You really haven't been to my father's lands before, have you?" Richard asked, his icy eyes crinkling into a smile. "Magic is forbidden here. All mages are executed the moment they are discovered."

Yena didn't know what to say to Auron. She was silent in his arms as he carried her back to his rooms. She was going over the moment he tossed her out the window.

"All the more reason for me to not be here." Marisol whispered sadly. "You can't change generations of tradition overnight."

Auron was rather worried by Yena's silence as he gently set her down on his bed. "Did I... Go too far?" He found himself breathing.

Richard sighed. "You yourself said my brother has filled the castle with demons. You think he's not using magic?" His smile was gone in a moment and he was once again rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

Yena's crimson eyes swept over Auron for what seemed like the hundredth time. She didn't know what to make of him. He'd been such a brute when she first arrived. It was almost as if he cared now because his king didn't want him to.

Marisol hated to be the one to make Richard look this way. "Forgive me, sire.' She breathed. "It's been a long day, would you like me to draw you a bath while we sail into Mermaid shores?"

When Yena didn't answer, Auron nodded his head in what he believed was understanding. "There are clothes in the wardrobe for you." He breathed, thinking he had indeed crossed a line with her that night. The large man was already turned away and heading for the door.

"I'm fine. Now is not the time for rest." Richard said, leaning against the railing. "Besides, you still need to break the mirror. You don't have time for me."

The misunderstanding was on both sides and it would again lead to Yena's escape from the castle. She was fleeing through the lands and into the mud of the forest beyond. She had to leave before Auron trapped her in the mountain side again. After all, he'd gotten what he wanted from her. He said himself he would make her suffer for the death of the wolves.

Marisol felt the sting of those words all too easily. It was a clear declaration that she would only ever be useful to do the prince's bidding. "As you wish... Your highness." She breathed, bowing to her 'master' before heading below deck to remove herself from Richard as far as possible.

Auron had always believed he was the last of his kind. The wolves had been his family, that much was true, but he knew he wasn't one of them, not really. It was this which left him with conflicted feelings now as he stood on the battlement watching Yena flee into the forest beyond.

Richard gave another soft sigh and closed his eyes. Marisol had no idea what she did to him. She would also never understand that he couldn't allow her to get close. Hed grown up seeing what had happened to the women who loved his father. All of them had been hurt in one way or another. None more than Alice's mother. He'd heard all along that he was the spitting image of his father. If that were so, he couldn't trust himself not to hurt the ones he loved. It was in his blood afterall. Best to stay away and keep everyone at a distance. 

Yena stopped to breathe in the storm heavy air. She would miss the sight of the blue eyed monster until it was right on top of her, tossing her into a nearby tree with enough force to leave her gasping in agony. The shadow was stronger than those she'd dealt with in her past. This monster was dragging up magic from the fade. 
"You didn't bring the right one!" It hissed. "Stupid mud dweller! You are worthless!" It added, grabbing a handful of her hair.

Marisol was sat in the brig where Garrik was being kept. She couldn't express just how disappointed she was that Richard planed to kill this man. He was the most innocent of all on board. As far as the mage knew, his only crime was loving Richard's sister, something she believed was more dangerous than Richard seemed to think loving him was.

Auron was still atop the castle, silently berating himself for being so foolish as to let his guard down. What had he been thinking? This was the creature who had slaughtered his family, so why was it now he had had a taste of her he could think of nothing more than keeping her all for himself?

Garrik was chained to the floor, forced to kneel with his forehead all but touching the splintered wood. "Your prince will not break me." The first mate promised, swearing this through bloody teeth. "Tell him to end it. I want to be with her." He turned his head toward the soft sound of someone shifting in their seat. He could not see them through swollen eyes but he knew they were there.

Somewhere below the creature was tearing at Yena, chuckling when she made a pitiful attempt to defend herself. She shifted the ground itself and had it try to swallow him. He'd forgotten how powerful she was. It was enough to have him fading out and appearing before her, thrusting a hand in her chest. This was it. The moment he'd been waiting for. He didn't expect her to scream but he chuckled, yanking her forward to lick her ear. "Scream for me, little piglet. There is no one to hear you or care."

"I don't know what's gotten into him." Marisol confessed softly as she came to kneel before Garrik, holding a cup of water up to his bloodied lips. "Richard is usually full of compassion, what he is doing to you is just cruel." She agreed. "But just hold on a little longer... I know how to find his sister, you can see her again. You have my word."

Something much larger than Yena swooped out of the sky. It struck her attacker with enough force to send him crashing clear through the trunks of several trees. This wasn't the wolf form who had saved her last time. The dragon came land beside the tiny woman, dwarfing her even more as it's tail curled around, blocking her from the other creature's view. Massive wings caused a gust of wind before their leathery span folded along it's back.

"He killed her." Garrik groaned, the cool water burning his throat. "She died on Blackbeard's ship. I just...want to be with her..." he knew he sounded weak but he didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. His world was shattered. 

Yena didn't know what to make of this. She could do nothing but stare at the massive beast towering over her. She used one hand to balance herself on it and the other to hold against her still aching chest. The familiar warmth slid through her and she closed her eyes, feeling sage enough to let her body sag against the dragon's tail.