The Soft-Hearted Prince and His Dragon, Chapter 7

Synopsis

The story culminates when Dikos Mas reenter the story and kidnap Galen.

Story on Wattpad.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 8 comes out August 27, 2022.

7 - Galen

Galen opened his eyes, but the darkness around him stayed. He lay on the ground with his hands tied behind his back and a sack over his head. It smelled of dried grain. The first thought, which he noted with a bucketload of sarcasm, was that his father would be so proud of him. This was the second time in just a few weeks he had found himself waking up out of unconsciousness on the ground. What an adventure.

The other, more Galen-y part of his brain realized with terror that he didn’t feel his talisman’s soothing, throbbing presence. Someone must have taken it from him.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the anxiety flooding his whole body and think. He’d been sitting in front of the cave, waiting for Sen to return. He’d wanted to apologize for yelling and trying to push his opinions on him. Of course, it was Sen’s life, and he should respect his choices. Then he had noticed a movement to his left, but before he had managed to turn around, someone had hit him in the head.

“Hey!” he called. “Where am I?”

“Shut up,” a voice responded.

“Not so fun to not see, huh?” another voice added.

Dikos Mas, he realized in a flash. That’s bad. He anxiously listened as the voices around him receded as if the men walked a few meters away. He tried to catch at least something, but their whispers were too quiet. Bands of tightness squeezed his chest and throat, and his lower belly felt all knotted. He made another attempt to calm his body. The last thing he needed right now was to panic and do something stupid.

“Don’t move or make a noise. I’m here to help you, but if you mess this up, we could both lose our lives.”

Galen jumped at hearing a husky voice right next to him. There was a distinct tinge of fear in it. Was this another trap?

“Who are you?”

There was a pause as if the speaker hesitated to answer. “We… You… You healed my wounds under the mountain. You and the dragon saved me. The dragon’s obviously not the monster everyone claims it to be.” The man’s voice sounded strangled, and it seemed to Galen that he fought to get the words out.

“His name is Sen,” Galen muttered. It seemed Sen might have done the right thing saving this man. He still wasn’t sure he could trust him, though. He was Dikos Mas, after all. But Galen’s instincts were telling him yes. Plus, it wasn’t like he had many other options. “What do I do?” he whispered back.

“I’m gonna cut the rope, so when the time comes, you can escape.”

“Okay.”

“Your dragon’s on his way here.”

The change in the pronoun didn’t escape Galen. A Dikos Mas who called a magical creature something else than it? Either this man was serious about helping him, or it was a damn well-planned trap.

“Don’t move until you hear him approaching,” the man continued, warning him again. “Otherwise, you’ll give both of us away.”

Galen could feel pressure on his hands as the man sliced through the ropes. Then it loosened, and his hands were free. Galen resisted the urge to immediately sit up and take the sack off his head.

“I’m gonna poke you with a spear now,” the voice continued hurriedly. “I want you to yell as loud as you can.”

“Why?”

“It will give me a cover. Everyone will look around and see I’m guarding you well. Hopefully, no one will later suspect that it was me who untied you.”

Galen shrieked as loud as he could when he felt the tip of the spear press against his side. It wasn’t too difficult—he was scared to death. The distant voices stopped whispering for a moment, and Galen could hear a few of them laugh.

“Thank you,” Galen whispered. No one replied.

The other voices came back eventually. Based on how many of them Galen heard from different sides, he thought there must have been at least 15 people. That was too many to take down with a spell. He could target maybe eight or ten of them. If he stretched himself to the brim, that is.

Suddenly, his ears picked up on an approaching noise. Something big made its way through the forest, branches snapping and feet thumping on the hardened path. Is it Sen? Are they still between the trees? The idea made Galen sick. Sen would be at a disadvantage there. Galen’s stomach tightened when he realized it was his fault. Had he not sat in front of the cave… Had he paid attention…

He reacted immediately—freeing his hands from the rope and yanking the sack off his head. He blinked in the sudden light. He was right about them being in the forest. The trees grew so close here it still allowed humans to move around but would pose a problem for anyone larger.

There were about twelve men—less than he thought but still way too many. They were spread out around him, standing a few meters from each other. Some of them carried the traditional chains, and a few of them had throwing spears. With discomfort, Galen had noticed how long the blades were.

“Hey!” One of the men noticed that Galen was up and free. His shout warned the others. All heads jerked to him, and chains flew in the air.

“Kill him!”

It came from a tall man whose dark grey braid reached all the way to his lower back. Even without the command, Galen would know he’s the leader. His whole body and posture said so.

The four closest men started towards Galen. He raised his hands and cast the first spell, attempting to blind them. Nothing happened.

“What the…?” He tried again—and then noticed. Little black rocks were hanging from their necks. Talismans. No ordinary spell could go through that barrier and interact with its bearer’s body in any way. First of the men reached him. Galen closed his eyes, bracing himself against the impact of the spinning chain. Sen had told him that they had little spikes that ripped your skin. This would hurt.

For a moment, he felt like everything slowed down, and then—a big shadow landed on Galen, but no chain. He opened his eyes and saw Sen standing between him and the Dikos Mas.

Their eyes met.

Galen winced when he heard the chain hitting Sen’s side. “You shouldn’t have come,” he said desperately. “It’s a trap. I would’ve taken care of myself.” He wasn’t sure he believed his own words. He just wanted the dragon to know he didn’t want to put him in danger.

“Do you really think I’m that kind of a dragon? The one who wouldn’t come?” Sen retorted.

“You’re not a goddamn dragon. You’re a shape-shifter. A human being,” Galen spit angrily. That went well. They were arguing already.

“Why do you keep repeating it? Why is it so important to you?”

A spear flew over their heads, missing them by a few inches.

“Because—” Galen’s voice broke off as it dawned on him. He knew what to do. If he can’t control the bodies of the men, he will control his and Sen’s. He hoped he had learned enough about Sen’s physiology in the past few weeks.

“Sen!” he shouted. He paused and took a deep breath. No need to yell. He can hear you perfectly. The dragon turned his head around while smashing one of the men with his tail. “I’m gonna make us invisible.” He whispered the last sentence and prayed that Sen could indeed hear him.

“Don’t! That’s too difficult of a spell!”

He was right, of course. Modifying every single cell in someone’s body took enormous energy. But he didn’t see an alternative. “After I cast the spell, we need to run for the cavern. I will not be able to hold it for a very long time.” He raised his hands again and said the incantation while watching Sen blocking two more chains with his body and tossing one man away. Then the tumult died off as they disappeared.

Galen could see the confused faces of the men. They looked around, not understanding what had happened. Their chains were still moving.

Galen and Sen didn’t wait. Sen lowered to the ground so Galen could pull himself up, and they started towards the cavern. Slowly and carefully, Sen walked down the path of broken branches where he came from, trying to make as little noise as possible. Galen was impressed by how quiet the dragon was.

This must be the worst escape ever, Galen thought. Every cell in his body wanted to run, not stroll as if on the walk. Galen noticed Sen was bleeding in a few places.

“We shouldn’t go to the cavern. It will be the first place they go,” Sen whispered when they receded far enough.

Galen’s sight was going blurry. The spell left him feeling sick. He could feel something warm running down his nose. Wiping his face with his sleeve, he realized it was blood.

“We can’t hide in the forest,” he protested. “The spell will weaken within minutes. And you will have a better fighting chance in a spacious cavern than between the trees.”

Reaching the tunnel entrance, they heard the voices from behind them getting closer. The men seemed to set out after them already.

“It’s important for me that you remember you are a human because I want you to be a human,” Galen continued hastily.

“Is this the time, Galen?” Sen protested.

“Yes. I need you to know.”

“Okay, but why? Why do you want me to be a human so badly? Do you really need to save everyone?”

“It’s not about that…” Galen muttered. “I…” he took a deep breath. “I like you.” There was a moment of silence. “And it makes me feel all… weird. And confused. And light-headed. And suddenly I’m lost for words, and it’s just… easier to think about helping you become who you are,” his voice trailed off. “Sen,” Galen changed the topic before Sen had a chance to say anything. “There’s too many of them. In case they do follow us in the cavern…” For a moment, he had to steady himself.

A sigh came out of Sen’s throat. “Don’t worry, love. I’m gonna take care of you,” Sen whispered.

Galen smiled into the dragon’s neck. “You never called me that before.”

“And what an idiot I was.”

A warm wave rolled over Galen’s stomach. He hoped it was happiness and not one of his organs giving up on him due to all the stress.

“Does that mean you might… you…”

“Like you, too?” Sen laughed, and it warmed Galen to his toes. “Yes, I do. You’re very precious.”

Galen pressed himself against Sen’s back as they progressed through the tunnel. “There is one way to escape. You know that.”

“Galen, I can’t…”

“I know it’s scary, but it’s the only solution. If you turn into a human, we can use the boat and leave through the river tunnel. There’s only one boat. They will not be able to follow us.”

“We don’t know where the river leads, Galen. It could —”

“Yes, it could lead to many great dangers. But we both know that that’s not what you worry about.”

The tunnel opened into the cavern. “I can’t turn into a human. And definitely not in front of you,” Sen said, his voice trembling.

Galen could feel the terror dripping from Sen’s voice. He knew that many cages were mental and that Sen might never be able to open this one. The trauma went too deep. “Okay. I understand. It’s okay,” Galen patted Sen’s neck as he slid down from his back. He stayed lying on the ground, hardly able to move. The spell was gone, and so was his strength.

“You should take the boat, though,” Sen whispered. “You should—” He stopped when he saw Galen’s look.

“Okay, I’m glad we cleared this up,” Galen replied.

“Galen—”

“Forget it. I stand with you.”

When Galen heard voices entering the tunnel, he managed to push himself up. He hurried towards his bed only to learn that his money was gone, as well as his old clothes. He had hoped to keep some gold on him in case they managed to escape somehow. But Dikos Mas must have been in the cavern and taken the money after they had kidnapped him.

At least his sword was still there, semi-hidden behind one of the huge rocks by the walls. Not that it would be of any real help for him. The sword fighting lessons Sen gave him over the past few weeks didn’t achieve much. Galen was still as clumsy as ever.

He returned to Sen standing by the river bend, opposite the entrance. Looking around, Galen said goodbye to the cavern— to the books, the sparkling waterfall, and the mirrors arranged on the walls, spreading candlelight all around the place. He looked at Sen. Sen looked at him.

“Stay behind me,” Sen said. Then the Dikos Mas entered the cavern.

Galen always imagined fights to be a string of thrusts and deflects and was not prepared for the messy reality. Swept by the whirlwind of action, soon, he had no idea what was going on or who was winning. Yells were ricocheting all around them, and the smell of blood filled the air. He could feel the heat of Sen’s fire as the dragon fought for their lives. Galen saw the men hiding behind the rocks to escape it.

He managed to cast a few more spells, helping Sen put more swiftness and strength into his movements. Bodies were flying across the cavern. Galen felt sick hearing all the cracking of bones and skulls. But for every Dikos Mas thrown against the wall or hit by Sen’s fire column, two more ran into the cavern. There were many more of them than they had seen in the forest. They must have had a backup hidden somewhere.

Suddenly a man stood right in front of Galen. His chest was covered in blood and his left arm swang ungainly as if dislocated. The injuries didn’t seem to tame the man’s ferocity. Spinning a chain, he stretched his healthy arm towards Galen. More by chance than anything else, Galen managed to dodge it, once, twice. He swung his own sword. With both horror and relief, he saw how it went through the man’s chest as if it was a well-cooked roast. The comparison made him gag.

He forced himself to stop looking at the man bleeding out in front of him. How could Sen live like this? It was a nightmare. Worse than a nightmare.

He glanced at Sen. The dragon was a few meters away from him, bleeding in several places. Galen sent him some healing energy and saw one of the wounds closing off. Healing from afar wasn’t as powerful, but it would have to do. His head was spinning wildly.

He focused again and cast another healing spell on Sen, and at that moment, he saw a movement in the corner of his eyes. He didn’t turn quick enough. A chain hit his side. The pain that flooded Galen’s body was like nothing he had ever felt before. The spikes buried into his skin and pulled. A shriek filled the place, and Galen wasn’t sure if it came from him or someone else. He could see the man being tossed away, flying across the cavern. Ample light flooded the entire space again. Was it Sen’s fire? Galen wasn’t sure anymore. Someone lifted his body. He was being carried to the darkness behind the bend, where the river flew out of the cavern.

“Please,” he said, his voice weak and hard to command. “Don’t leave me. Don’t let me go on my own.”

More light. Galen’s eyes hurt, so he closed them. When he opened them for the last time, he saw a silhouette of a man and two golden eyes shining in the darkness. Then he blacked out.

“Galen,” a voice said. It seemed like it was coming through a thick mist. Galen opened his eyes and blinked. Everything came rushing back to him, too quickly for his liking—the fight, the yells, the blood. An unknown man leaned above him. His long dark hair flowed down, and his light brown skin glistened in the low light.

The eyes, Galen noticed immediately. They were two golden moons with a tinge of orange around the pupils. The most captivating eyes he’d ever seen.

“Sen?” he asked. Sen nodded, looking worried.

“Gods, you’re beautiful,” Galen sighed. With fascination, he reached out and coiled a strand of Sen’s hair around his finger. It was soft to touch, and he wished he’d have the energy to reach out even further and bury his whole hand into it. “I’d never guess you’d have long hair.”

“Well, it’s been a while since the last time I saw a barber and prevented myself from eating him,” Sen joked tensely.

A violent cough took over Galen’s body but didn’t wipe off the smile spreading across his face.

“How do you feel?” Sen asked.

“Like I swallowed a sword,” Galen admitted. His eyes closed again. The pain in his side was overwhelming, and his whole body was on fire.

“Take it easy, rest some more. We’re safe,” Sen whispered to him as Galen drifted off again.

Click here for chapter 8.