Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The loud swoosh followed by the thwack of steel against wood was a violent sound that gave Grace so much comfort.

Stripped of most of her armor, but still wearing a number of layers to protect against the creeping autumn cold, Grace channeled all of her strength and focus into her blade, slashing her sword against a lifeless dummy, Grace was intent on doing more than giving it a few cut marks as divots. A few more good hits and it would be reduced to smithereens.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Grace remembered that there were other training members of the Guard at their own respective places. Some also worked with swords and other single handhelds, others using Warhammers or bows to aim at targets. She wasn’t alone by any means, but her training tactics were always the most brutal. Every moment that sword was in her hand, it was do or die, even if she was just killing time in the training courtyard.

That gained her a few stares from people confused why she was so intense, but she was fine taking some judgmental stares over an unprepared state of readiness. When it comes to dragons, looters, or armies, there was no such thing as being over prepared, and with each heavy swing, Grace knew it would all be worth it to make sure she could protect her princess with confidence.

Shuffling a few steps backward, Grace then charged forward and swung her arms down as hard as she could, watching the poor training dummy split in two as a result. In the aftermath, Grace gasped to regain her breath, allowing the reality of her current world to sink back in. The adrenaline and urgent-ness of the false battlefield she had presented herself was nothing more than a whisper on the back of her head when she flicked some hair out of her forehead, and looked around at the entire courtyard, which had now gone still and silent to look at her.

“ What? ”

Most of the stares returned back to their regular training, pretending not to notice Grace’s heated stance in front of her own training dummy. She returned a few of the remaining stares from the other soldiers distracted by her explosion.

Grace opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by another one, “What are you looking at?”

At the head of the training grounds, up a small flight of stairs that leads back into the castle, was Sarah Connor. She stood with a more casual outfit, metal plates on her shoulders, elbows, and a patch of her chest covered, the rest was a clean cotton shirt that looked rather comfortable, “I’m not seeing any of you fighting with that kind of fire, and the last time I checked, we need that to protect ourselves from dragons.”

A few of the soldiers muttered between themselves, but otherwise, Sarah went uncontested. She trained her attention down to Grace, “Come with me, you’re requested by the princess.”

Out of breath, Grace looked at all the other soldiers, now looking right back at her, instead now their expressions held more jealousy and tension. Grace sheathed her sword, wiping her eyebrow with her sleeve, and walking past all of the following eyes. 

Once Grace got within a few feet of Sarah, the older woman spun around, and began walking back to the castle. Grace quickened her feet to catch up, then looked down at Sarah, “What’s this all about?”

“Not sure,” Sarah said, but by the way she seemed rather irritated, Grace assumed that she did. That, or it was one of Sarah’s typical moody patches. Both were plausible options.

The two of them were silent as they entered the castle and escaped the subtle chilly wind that Grace didn’t fully recognize until she was out of it.

Grace was intent on being silent the whole walk if she had to be, but that silence was soon broken, "You're always in that damn courtyard," Sarah said, as the two of them turned a corner, passing a maid rushing by in a hurry."

"It helps me clear my head," Grace said, a feeble attempt to defend herself, knowing that at the same time her right hand rested on her sword's holster; always waiting, always ready.

"We should tell the King to move your bed out there," Sarah said, "then you'd really be at home."

Grace bristled, "I'm doing just fine, thanks."

"Then why do you never spend any time in that room? Sunrise to sunset you're somewhere in the Courtyards, then you spend even more time finding yourself anywhere else in the castle."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm the head of the King's personal guard," Sarah said, "I know things."

"Well, don't worry about it. I'm fine."

It was then that Sarah stopped in her tracks, extending an arm to force Grace to a halt beside her. They had left a particularly narrow hallway and were now in a small room that acted as a crossroads to many different points of the castle. Turning around would bring them back to the training courtyards where they started, going left would bring them to the library, right would be the barracks, and straight forward was a staircase that led up to the rest of the castle's amenities.

"It's my job to worry about things," Sarah said, "I'm now your boss. You work under me, that was part of your oath."

"My oath was to protect the princess with my life," Grace snapped back, "and as far as I'm concerned, spending all of my free time in the training grounds is the best way to spend it."

"Maybe not the best way," Sarah said, a bit more quiet than before, as if she was contemplating something.

Grace caught on to it, a bit irritated at this point, "What are you talking about?"

Sarah looked up at Grace, keeping her stoic composure despite how much she had to crane her neck just to look the warrior in the eyes. Her jaw clenched, baring her teeth as a glint went through her own eyes. For a moment, Grace thought she was trying to show off the glow in her eyes, but they both knew that didn't intimidate Grace anymore. It no longer held weight.

Their stare-off was interrupted by footsteps coming down from the left hall. A gentle yet sure sound that Grace recognized instantly. She had memorized those exact footsteps, and turned to face her Princess, giving the two ladies a confused look.

"My lady," Grace said, bending down to a knee. The moment her bone hit the floor, she rose back up again, a respectful yet brief greeting.

Dani made a face, "There's no need for that, Grace."

Sarah cleared her throat, hands intertwined in front of her stomach, "We were just on our way."

"Yet here I find you staring at each other," Dani said, "like an old married couple wasting time."

"Your dress is beautiful," Grace said, disregarding the conversation at hand. She'd barely been paying attention anyway. Instead she was focused on the way Dani's silk fell down from her body, partially grazing the stone flooring beneath them. The whitish-pink color worked as a wonderful contrast with her skin, making her the center of Grace's very narrow tunnel vision. The off topic comment gained her a look from both of them.

While Grace's compliment didn't go unappreciated, Dani chose to not acknowledge it, "We're waiting for you two, and it's a busy day, so hurry up why don't you?"

"We?" Grace asked, before getting shoved forward by Sarah, who looked like she knew exactly who 'we' was. Before she could control it, Grace's hand fell back down to her sword's hilt, squeezing the metal as hard as she could, ready to strike.

It's just like that dream. It's exactly like that dream. The one when-

"Grace. It's good to see you," Carl's calming voice released all the tension in her muscles. She was okay. The dream was still a fantasy.

"Carl," Grace nodded, "what brings you here?" Sarah’s general discontent made sense now, given her… history with the Blacksmith. After closing the door behind them, Sarah excused herself to the corner of the room, skulking.

The library shelves looked coated in dust from how little this room gets visitors. Come to think of it, Grace wasn't sure if she had ever been in the library. If she had, it was too long ago for her to even remember. That, or she was a bit more focused on the reason she was there, rather than the location itself.

In front of Carl were two books. One had a deep crimson red cover, with yellowed pages and scrawlings of beastly dragons spewing fire beside paragraphs of words with letters too small for Grace to make out from where she was standing. The other book had a black cover, with intricate designs covering the leather in shapes of fire and ancient symbols that Grace recognized, but couldn't fully place. Grace took a few steps forwards, placing the pads of her fingers on the wooden table just a few inches from the book, attempting to read its contents upside down.

Despite her odd angle, Grace could tell that the words weren't English, or even Spanish, from her limited knowledge of it. In fact, she couldn't tell what language it was. The words had a shape and structure like she hadn't seen very often, yet it felt so similar...

"I need your help," Carl said.

"Mine?" Grace said, confused beyond herself, "what could I possibly help you with?

Carl placed one of his large hands on the red book, then spun it around to face her properly, "translating this book."

"I don't..." Grace squinted to get a better look, then it hit her. The book was in Drannonan. She had only seen it written very few times in her life, as the species of Dru'unan was a bit too endangered to be taking part in a lively literature scene, but the language was unmistakable. Grace bent down to get a closer look, getting a few certain words at random glances. Fire, chills, dragon, breath... 

Looking up at Carl, Grace scrambled to think of something to say. After a moment, in which Carl waited with inhuman patience, Grace just said, "Where did you find this?"

The answer was obvious, she knew that, but it just didn't make any sense.

Carl answered her question anyway, "This library holds very important documents, even from before this Kingdom was formed into what it is. There's a lot of interesting things to find if you look close enough. A lot of secrets hidden behind these cobwebs."

Dani's interest was piqued. She looked up at Carl, giving him a contemplative look while his focus was set on Grace, then she looked back at the rows upon rows of books behind them.

"I'll do what I can, okay?" Grace said, picking up the book as gently as she could with her stature. Speaking the language was a natural thing for Grace. It was hard to explain to other people, but she just knew it, like the knowledge was implanted in her brain and she could retrieve it without even thinking about it, but reading and writing seemed like it was going to be something completely different.

Grace tracked her index finger along the page, digging into the back of her brain to try and uncover anything she could. A few words came into focus here and there, but most of it was lost on her, just scribbles without a meaning.

Sighing, Grace lowered the book, "Carl... I don't know. Most of this is gibberish to me."

While Sarah's expression changed to show a deep level of impatience, Carl was unreadable entirely, not too dissimilar to the words on these pages. He raised a hand to comb the fuzz of white hair growing along his chin, and in the silence of it, Grace just kept talking.

"I mean, what am I even looking for, anyway?" She asked, "are there keywords I should be looking for? What is this?"

"I believe," Carl said, "that this is the explanation for your recent physical ailments."

Her fire breathing. Grace looked down at the book. If that was true, then this was like a medical book for other Dru'unans, like Grace. Of course. Grace knew there had to be some sort of medical records, or anatomy book, or something from the time of the Dru'unans, but she never knew where to start. The library was a really smart idea, but there was something that didn't make sense.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't," Carl admitted, "not really. But we have to start somewhere, don't we?"

It was weird for Carl to be so casual about his own limited knowledge, and that was enough for Grace to lend him some of her trust. She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she said, "Okay, I'll do what I can to try and figure this out."

Carl nodded, "Good." Yet he didn't move. He stood still, waiting with his ever eternal patience.

Grace didn't understand what he was doing, but when she did, she scrambled to explain herself, "Oh, uh it may take a little bit. I don't think I can figure this out right away."

The change in Carl's expression was microscopic, but it was enough for Grace to see his disappointment, "Right. Well, once you've figured it out, let us know and we can continue from there."

Before Grace gave her confirmation, Sarah turned and excused herself from her room, she had her fix of people she didn't like for the day. Meanwhile, Dani was also gone. Grace hadn't seen her walk by and out of the room, yet she wasn't anywhere to be seen, either. Grace's natural worry began to spike, but she hadn't been made aware of any distress during the conversation, and things were rather quiet now, so she didn't find it worth worrying about. Yet.

"I will, thanks, Carl."

The man gave a gentle bow of his head, then excused himself, leaving Grace alone in the library in just moments. She looked down at the book, shutting it with one hand, unflinching when the ancient pages shot dust in her face as a result. Closing her eyes, Grace dropped the tension in her arm, and walked out of the library with limp arms, defeated.

The echo of the library door closing behind Grace when she left the allergen infested room was the only sound in the little crossroad room she found herself back in. First, she looked at the lone hallway that would bring her back to where she found herself this morning, but the weight of the book in her hand gave Grace the reminder that she couldn't walk back out before taking a trip to her room, no matter how much she didn't want to. It was a nice room, but too much stood in the way of Grace being able to accept it as her own now.

Grace turned and walked over to the far right corridor, on her way to the Knight's barracks when she came face to face with the last person she wanted to see.

"Ah, Grace. Good afternoon," the King said, his gentle composure raising every red flag in Grace's mind, yet she attempted to hide her inner turmoil.

"Your highness," Grace said, "what are you doing down here?" It wasn't often that Grace saw the King anywhere other than the castle's main floor. He was most often in his room, or the ballroom, maybe even planning his kingdom's defenses in the War Room. Down here he looked a little... ghostly. This lighting was unnatural, giving him a dark complexion that gave Grace chills.

"Can't I wander the halls of my own castle?" His words were a bit accusatory, but his tone was so kind, gentle, and fake. The practiced tone that any royal figure has. Everyone except for Dani.

"N-no," Grace said, in a panic, "I mean yes , of course you can, your highness, I didn't mean it like that." She realized then that she hadn't bowed to him yet. The last thing she wanted to do was drop down in front of this man, but that was basically her job now, so she dropped to a knee, bowing to her King almost against her own will.

It's just like that dream. Just like the dream. Just like the dream.

"Stand up Harper," The King said, an airy laughter to his voice, "there's no need for that."

When she rose, Grace noticed the King's vision focused itself on the sword at Grace's hip. Instinctively she let her limp arm fall over it, attempting to obstruct his vision. She didn't like the implication she saw in his eyes.

"Out training, were you?" He asked, his voice now unreadable.

"I was, yes."

The King hummed, catching a glimpse of the book in her other hand, too. Then he nodded, "Right. I shouldn't keep you long, then. Keep up the hard work."

"Always, your highness," Grace said, then slunk past him the moment she saw her opening. Her heart felt squeezed, panicked, watched. There was something about that man that didn't seem right. Her mind knew it... but no one else seemed to.

Grace couldn’t calm down until the King was far out of view. She turned a few corners and breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the dark stone corridor that led to her room. A hot, seeping liquid started crawling down Grace’s throat by the time she reached her own room, and no matter how many times she cleared her throat, it just wouldn’t go away.

When the pressure became too much, Grace coughed into her hand, then immediately regretted it as the excruciating heat sent a shock through her system that caused Grace to drop the book in her other hand. Thanks to her blood, the hot magma in her hand wouldn’t burn a hole through her flesh, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel the pain of the heat.

“Grrah… fuck.” Grace shook out her limp hand, trying to get the fresh magma off of her skin as much as possible, then began to lick her palm to soothe the pain as much as possible. Realizing how stupid she must have looked, Grace spun around and surveyed the area to make sure no one could see this episode unfolding. There was no one around.

Grace knelt down and picked up the dropped book, tucking it under her armpit as she walked to her room, still licking her palm, appreciating the soothing feeling it brought her. By the time Grace found her room, she was feeling good enough to remove her hand from her mouth, wipe her palm on the gentle fabric of her pants, then twist open the doorknob of her barracks.

Acting as fast as she could, Grace crossed the room in a few strides, sliding the book on to a half empty section of her bookshelf, then turned around to leave. However, before she could make it out the door, her bed entered the line of sight, and stopped her in her tracks.

A gnawing feeling wormed around in Grace’s stomach, causing uneasy dreams and foggy memories to pick at the corners of her brain. She shivered, trying to shake out the feeling from her body, but it didn’t work as well as she wanted it to. Instead, Grace shut her eyes, letting the heat building in her chest to flow out through deep breaths in, and out. With a growl, Grace forced herself to shake the feeling off, and rush towards the door.

But her path was blocked.

“Hey,” Dani said, leaning against the stone doorframe, “what’s wrong?”

Grace stood with her eyes wide for a moment, trying to piece together how Dani got there. She must have just shown up, because Grace didn’t see her in the hallway just moments ago, unless her eyes just skipped over the princess in her distress.

“Nothing, I’m just heading out.”

“Well, don’t you want to get started on that book?” Dani asked, tilting her head downwards.

“Yeah, in a bit.”

Dani now looked suspicious, “Where are you going so fast?”

“What do you mean?”

“You should really get started on that book,” Dani said, “because you’re not getting any better, and it may have the answers as to why.”

So Dani did see that episode in the hallway… “Look, I will. I just need some fresh air. I’m just going to-”

“The training grounds?” Dani cut her off, accusatory.

“-get a drink,” Grace said, a bit irritated. So what if she trained so often? That was basically her job.

“Isn’t it a bit too early for that?”

“Pfft,” Grace huffed, “never too early for that.”

“It’s noon.”

“It’s past noon,” 

“How far past noon is good enough for you?” Dani asked.

Grace considered what time it was, then clicked her tongue, “Thirty-five minutes.”

Dani frowned, “Grace, stop being dismissive. You have to tell me what’s going on”

That was enough to put Grace over the edge. The boiling spread to her blood as she lowered herself to get right in Dani’s face, “Last time I checked, you’re not my mother. I don’t have to tell you anything .”

With a shove, Grace pushed past Dani, and stomped down the hall, not bothering to check and see if Dani was following. What this was inside of her, was beginning to eat her up, and if Grace couldn’t figure out a way to get past it.

It may consume her completely

Chapter Text

“Ugh, this fucking book,” Grace slammed shut the old book, once again blasting her face with an old dust smell that triggered a sneeze that almost knocked her out of her chair. Luckily, she was all alone in the mess hall, which wasn’t abnormal at this time of night. Grace just wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and stared at the book’s closed cover in the dim, flickering candle light. Maybe if she gave it enough of a death glare, it would all become clear to her…

Yeah, maybe not.

Instead, Grace just sighed, standing up before tucking the book under her left armpit, and grabbing the candle saucer to light her way. Most of the time, Grace was in the mess hall when it was early enough outside for the windows to be an efficient light source. Now, at this late hour with her candlelight, Grace had to rely on her unnatural perception to guide her out of the hall. No one had told her that the mess hall was off limits after dining hours, so Grace didn't mind occupying it, but it was a bit odd that she never saw anyone lurking there after hours. It was a pretty great place to gather focus, Grace found.

Meh, it was probably better that way, she thought to herself, Grace liked the solitude. However, at this point, Grace was running out of steam. She already couldn’t read a majority of the words, but focusing on the ones she did to find any clues was becoming difficult in her raised state of exhaustion.

Grace’s next choice was to go to her room and get some sleep but… just the thought made a weird rumble swirl and fester in her stomach. Not the kind of rumble that came with a belly full of mead, or even a lack of anything in the stomach, but it was something else entirely. Something Grace couldn’t pinpoint.

So, for now, sleeping was a no-go. None of the taverns were even open at this hour, so fleeing until that rumble subsided wasn’t an option. The only thing Grace could think to do was stuff her nose back into a book and forget the thoughts tormenting her. This one was proving to be a dead end, though.

As she walked further from the mess hall, Grace remembered the library. If Carl found this book in there, surely there may be something else in there to help. The likelihood of Carl missing a detail was slim to none, but Grace decided to entertain the idea, out of a lack of alternatives. Grace made her way down the dank stairway, helped by the lit torches on the walls for guard scouts to help see in the darkness.

She hadn’t seen any of those scouts yet, somehow, but if Grace did she was sure she could find any sort of excuse. There wasn’t any sort of curfew in the castle, but everyone there was naturally on edge, for obvious reasons of course, so Grace wanted to do everything she could to avoid the ruthless questioning of the other guard members, especially Sarah, about why she was wandering around so late.

Once Grace left the stairway, she was left to rely on the light of her small candlelight again. She peeked her head out, sniffing for any kind of indicator that her heightened senses could pick up, but she didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary, so she continued down the hall, listening to her quiet footsteps on the stone floor as she did.

When Grace reached the library door, she was shocked to see the flicker of a light under the door. Her heart jumped into her throat, disturbing her already twisting stomach as it did, while she reached for the door handle. She had left her sword back in her room, but there was a small dagger in her belt loop that could be used if she needed it.

Grace leaned into the room, looking back and forth, helped by the light of a few torches  already lit and attached to the stone walls. Right off the bat, Grace couldn’t see anything, and the dust and old stink from the relatively unused room overwhelmed her senses, making it difficult to detect anyone hiding within.

She knew that the likelihood of someone dangerous being in the castle library was really low, but those thoughts just picked at the back of her brain. She couldn’t just ignore what her dreams had been telling her. She knew that they meant something.

A rather human-like sigh startled Grace, and reminded her of her current objective. She slipped in through the cracked open door, closing it behind her as quiet as she could. Moving forward, Grace moved with feather light footsteps, placing her handle on the nearby table to make sure she didn’t have a light beacon attached to her. The amount of torch light there was already could drown out the wimpy light of her candle, but Grace decided it was better safe than sorry.

The sound of gentle breathing and page flipping grew closer, until Grace stood flush against the end of a bookshelf, having pinpointed the sound to down that row. She took a deep breath, then turned the corner in a flash, to see none other than a startled Dani.

“ Puta madre . Grace, what the hell?” Dani looked like she was seconds away from a  heart attack, holding her hand to her chest, “don’t jump out at me like that. What are you even doing here?”

Grace’s face twisted to a frown, “What are you doing here?” She came off a bit too defensive, when she was actually more confused about it all. The princess was tucked into a corner, a small pile of books stacked up next to her knee, which was tucked into her chest. Dani was a girl who had her fair share of books in her room, sure, but to be out this late hidden in the library? Grace had never known that part of her.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Dani said, a bit defeated.

Realizing how tense she was, Grace lowered her defenses, dropping her shoulders and approaching Dani, “Yeah, me too.”

Dani looked up at Grace, who was now standing right next to her. She gave a loose smile, attempting to comfort Grace, then patted the floor next to her, an invitation that Grace took happily. Once she lowered herself on the stone ground with a hefty oof, Grace looked over at the book Dani was holding in her hands, but the smaller woman slammed it shut before Grace could read anything on the pages. When Grace gave her a confused look, Dani answered simply with, “Eh, nothing worth reading about.”

Grace knew it was a lie, but she didn’t really care. She wasn’t there to police Dani’s reading habits. In fact, she wasn’t even there for Dani at all, but it certainly was a welcome surprise.

“Why can’t you sleep?” Grace asked, before she was asked the question herself.

Dani looked down at the closed book, puffing out air from her nose, “Just… a lot of excitement, you know? With you now my Knight, and your conditions, my father beginning to go into lockdown mode from all the dragon sightings recently, I can’t help but feel like life as we know it is changing.”

That was… heavy. Grace was silent for a long moment to take it all in.

“What about you?” Dani asked, shuffling her body so she could rest her head on Grace’s shoulder.

“Uh, same.” Grace had a small feeling in the back of her brain that there was something Dani wasn’t telling her, but she supposed it was only fair for the both of them to be hiding something, and not just one.

Dani took a deep breath in, like she was about to say something, but Grace decided to butt in while she had the chance, “I’m sorry. For snapping at you this afternoon, that is.”

The warm weight of Dani’s head lifted off of Grace’s shoulder as Dani repositioned herself to look at Grace. Despite how much she wanted to avoid that look, Grace turned to look at Dani, their faces just centimeters apart, “I was mad, I will admit,” Dani said, continuing to lean her whole body weight against Grace, “but I understand now. Everything that happened… it can’t be easy for you to adjust to this kind of change.”

That didn’t help, Grace knew that. It was something that was at least partially true that she could lean on, “But I’m a Knight. I can’t be weighed down by such emotions.”

Dani moved a hand to place it on Grace’s cheek, “You’re human, Grace. You can’t help these things.”

The heat on her cheek was lovely, but a sad smile still grew on Grace’s face, “We both know that’s not true.”

“ Hey ,” Dani redirected her hand to Grace’s cheek, commanding her to face Dani head on, “I don’t care what else in your blood, or what it makes you. You are human despite those things. You’re human enough for me.”

The words that Grace had always wanted to hear brought tears to her eyes. Before Dani could see any of those tears, Grace lunged in for a kiss. The room was getting hot from the torch light, but it wasn’t anywhere as hot as the place where Dani and Grace met, burning with an unparalleled heat that Grace had only ever felt around her princess.

A fire in her flickered, and Grace readjusted herself to shove Dani’s pile of books away, hearing them shuffle to the floor as she slid Dani underneath her, leaning a fair, but not painful, weight down on Dani as she heated up their kiss.

Grace shuffled, letting out a small moan as Dani readjusted herself to press her knee right into Grace’s crotch, she was starting to lose her senses at this point. With roaming hands, Grace reached under Dani’s shirt to run it against Dani’s unbelievably smooth skin. The affirmative sound she got in return goaded Grace on, and she pushed her hand upwards, bringing Dani’s shirt with her.

Dani gasped, breaking their kiss to look Grace in the eye. Grace was hoping in this light that the redness and swelling wasn’t visible.

“Grace, not here.”

Intent on changing Dani’s mind, Grace dipped her head down to plant a kiss in the crook of Dani’s neck, “Why not?” She said, lifting her head just above the skin; her lips still brushed along it.

“Because someone could see ,” Dani said, looking a bit serious.

“No one comes in here,” Grace said, giving Dani’s neck another kiss.

Dani sighed, a sound mixed in with a moan, “But the scouts will hear.”

“Not if I keep you quiet,” Grace kissed Dani’s lips this time, silencing any other worries Dani had, and within moments, Dani had forgotten her worries, wrapping herself around Grace and grabbing handfuls of Grace’s shirt.

Grace was wearing too many clothes, so she straddled her knees on each side of Dani’s hips, and sat herself up to pull off her shirt, staring down at Dani the whole time. The princess watched her Knight undress, reaching up to touch Grace’s bare stomach as soon as she had the opportunity.

Her muscles quivered under the taut skin as Dani explored it with the pads of her fingers, rediscovering a territory she knew so well. While that was great, Grace was beginning to get more hungry for a distraction from her mind, so she bent down and recaptured Dani’s lips in hers. The library floor was cold on her knees, while Dani’s skin and the hot air made her sweat. Everything was getting hotter and hotter as Grace’s lips traveled down to Dani’s jaw, then back to her neck, the princess’ moan in Grace’s ear causing shivers to wrack her spine, only to be soothed by the heat of the air and Dani’s skin, and oh it was getting hot, hot, hot…

Hot. Hot! Grace felt like she was on fire, and no longer in the good way. Just in time, Grace rolled off of Dani, and threw up a steaming hot liquid onto the stone floor. It wasn’t a lot, just a few droplets, but it was enough to make the heat on her face feel hotter than anything else.

“Grace!” Dani reached over, placing her hand on Grace’s bare shoulder. Embarrassed, the Knight shrugged that hand away, heaving into the ground in an attempt to goad out whatever was left of her vomit, but that seemed like it was all of it.

Dani’s hand went right back to where it was, despite Grace’s previous attempts, “Hey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Grace said, her words struggling to push past her heavy breaths as she began to steady herself, careful not to jostle anything else out of her stomach. With each heavy breath, the heat in her body began to subside until it was less than a dull burn, but the sweat soaking her skin still persisted.

“What happened?” Dani asked, changing her own position to better coddle Grace.

Grace shook her head, “I don’t…” she didn’t know what happened, “I’m okay, I promise.”

She could feel Dani’s eyes stare at her for several beats, before looking down at the small pile of sizzling fluid. Embarrassed, Grace reached out and placed her palm on top of the liquid, grinding it into the stone and dirt until it became as harmless as normal person puke. The burning sensation made her hiss through her teeth, but she came out unscathed by the end of it.

“Let’s get you dressed,” Dani said, reaching out for Grace’s shirt. 

There was a large part of Grace that wanted to protest, to continue what they had started right then and there, but she knew that the moment had been long gone, ruined by another one of her episodes, so she merely nodded and worked with Dani to replace her shirt.

Grace’s movements were sluggish, partially from exhaustion, and also partially from the still lingering feeling of nausea rolling through her muscles. She couldn’t bring herself to look Dani in the eyes, so she rose to her feet along with Dani, pretending to be interested in the countless books stacking the shelves while Dani picked up the small pile of books she had collected.

“I’m sorry,” Grace said again, feeling it was necessary

Dani’s forgiving smile was always a comfort, “No worries, Grace.  Let’s get you off to bed.”

Grace nodded, a bit disappointed but also reeling in how tired she finally realized she was. With her boot, Grace ground in the very small amount of fluid she barfed up into the ground, making it mix and blend in with the dirt under the material.

Allowing the Princess to go first, Grace sulked behind her as they left the aisle. It wasn’t until they reached the long table in front of the library door that Grace spotted her mysterious book, and remembered her purpose.

“Oh, shit.”

Dani spun around, startled, “What is it?”

“I actually came here for something,” Grace rubbed the back of her itchy neck with one hand, and reached over Dani’s torso with the other to grab her book and present it, “I’m lost with this thing. I was hoping maybe I could find something in here that Carl missed to help me.”

“Something that Carl missed?” Dani asked, “that’s unlikely.”

“I know.” Grace said, defeated, “but I’m kind of out of options here.”

Dani rubbed her lips together, thinking about it, “Do you need some help?”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Maybe I can help,” Dani said, putting her books down, “you go to bed, I’ll take a look.”

“I’m fine,” Grace said.

“You threw up.”

“Yeah, a minute ago.” Grace said, “I’m fine now. You won’t be able to find it without me.”

Dani thought about it some more, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

Reaching over, Dani grabbed Grace’s candle and handed it to her, “Then let’s find your book, yeah?”

Chapter Text

“Find anything yet?” Grace called out in the general direction to where Dani probably was.

“Nope,” Grace heard Dani call back, “you?”

“Nada.”

Dani huffed, probably at Grace’s flippant pronunciation of her language, but went back to searching. Before the two of them knew it, night had turned into day, but not that they knew that, because the library had no windows. Almost as if it was a repurposed dungeon… not even meant to be seen.

They had spent the whole night tearing the place apart, searching for even a sliver of a clue around there, and having short naps curled up together in various corners of the room.

Grace sighed, wiping some sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand while squatting down in front of a small bookshelf at the end of the furthest row of shelves. It felt like she had already looked at every single book in the room, grabbing them, skimming them, then eventually placing them back on the shelf when she deemed them useless.

Distantly, Grace heard Dani  try to muffle a yawn with her hand, but Grace’s sensitive ears picked up on the sound. Right then, Grace realized how exhausted Dani must have been. Sure they had a few short naps, but they sure weren’t comfortable, and it wasn’t nearly enough sleep for a normal person to function properly.

“Why don’t you get some sleep?” Grace said, “I’ll keep looking. Not much more ground left to cover.”

Dani shook her head, “No, I’m okay. You’re right after all, not much left to do.”

That wasn’t quite the answer Grace was looking for. She frowned, “Won’t your father be looking for you? I can’t imagine the Princess could be gone for this long without raising any awareness.” For a moment, Grace wasn’t sure why she was trying too hard to kick Dani out, but then it occurred to her that Grace didn’t want Dani to be any more involved in Grace’s dragon-blooded business. She never liked Dani's curiosity or understanding of what she is, solely because she didn’t like being it herself , but now there was Dani, digging up information with her.

Oh yeah, and there was also the guilt of keeping Dani up this much, but Grace figured the first part weighed on her just a bit more.

It looked as though Dani was bothered by Grace’s attempt to ward her off, but continued in spite of that, “I doubt it. He’s probably more worried about finding a suitable wife for Diego.”

Grace felt a pit grow in her stomach, “Sheesh. Seriously?”

“Yep.” Dani’s shoulders lowered in defeat, “that’s what Kings do. They pawn off their kids to strangers to make themselves more powerful.”

“But… not you, right?”

Dani sighed, and so did Grace. Neither of them continued to speak on the subject. 

After she finished, Dani stood up from the shelf she was investigating, and stepped away. However, as she did so, she tripped. 

Grace’s instincts kicked in, and mixed with her heightened reflexes, she was able to just barely catch Dani before she fell to the ground. She lunged forward, placing one hand between Dani’s shoulder blades, and the other wrapped around her legs, then Grace pulled herself up, interrupting Dani’s fall, and giving her a thorough inspection.

“Are you okay?” Grace asked, looking for any scrapes or signs of distress, “what happened?”
“I’m okay, Grace.” The Princess sounded out of breath, processing the very quick series of events that just occurred.

Grace then maneuvered herself to set Dani on her feet, then rise up with her. It wasn’t until they were both standing that the floor was a very flat, uncalloused surface. The possibility of tripping on it was next to none. Dani also looked rather curious, looking down at the floor where she tripped.

“That was weird, right?” Dani asked. Grace nodded in return, but didn’t feel the need to repeat the statement.

The two of them knelt down where Dani had tripped, and as Grace slid her fingers along the piece of flooring. It felt… hollow? Grace wasn’t sure, but it felt unnatural. She looked up at Dani, who returned the gaze, while her fingers were dug into a chunk of the flooring, which looked unnaturally raised compared to the rest.

They both nodded, and Dani tried to pull up the flooring, not really succeeding that much, but once Grace’s sturdy fingers helped the cause, the six inch thick false floor panel began to move. While she leant all her power to lifting up the hunk of rock, Grace’s mind began to piece things together.

Once the two of them had fully removed the slab, Grace dragged it aside, just enough to see what it was covering: a small, book-sized hole hidden underground. Both women stared down at their new discovery, baffled by it. They both looked to one another, silently coming to an agreement on what they were seeing.

“How long has this been here?” Dani asked, as if Grace would somehow know the answer. Meanwhile, Grace ran her fingers along the inner ledge of the hole, feeling something other other than just dirt and moss.

“This was sealed shut by someone.” Grace said.

“Well, clearly,” Dani agreed, “because someone would have also placed the book in here.”

“Why?” Grace asked her own question, feeling equally confused.

Delicately, Dani lifted two stacked books from the hole, using her sleeve to rub off a sizable amount of dirt and dust from their covers. Grace, however, continued to examine the adhesive that kept the small stash hidden away. It wasn’t like any conventional adhesive she had ever seen, like the ones used to build houses and general infrastructure. She scratched at it until a brittle chunk broke up, then brought it close to her face and took a few whiffs. 

Despite how old it seemed, there was still a strong scent emanating from the piece of adhesive; a scent that Grace didn’t like. It wasn’t herbal, or earthy like construction adhesive was. This smelled foul, almost like the breath or blood of a wretched beast…

“Uh… Grace?” Dani said, prompting Grace to drop the ancient brittle piece, and focus on the more important part of their discovery. Dani’s hands gently held one of the two books, while the other was placed just by Dani’s knees, the unusual material of it catching Grace’s eye. Almost like some kind of leather? From where she knelt, Grace couldn’t quite figure it out.

Flipping the open book in her hand around, Dani said, “Look at this.” 

She hadn’t even made it past the very first page, yet that was all she needed to see. Grace squinted, trying to see what Dani was so worried about underneath all the stains of the highly aged paper. When she finally saw the ink on the paper, Grace didn’t believe her eyes.

It was a symbol, written in a bluish black ink. A dragon, curled up with its tail caught in it’s own gnarly maw, sharp wings spread up above it’s head. There was no way to mistake it. Grace had seen this symbol only once before, but she knew its origins just as much as anyone else.

“That’s impossible,” Grace said, taking the book from Dani’s offering hands with an unintentional greediness. “It can’t be.”

“How else can you explain it?” Dani asked.

“There has to be a way.”

“There isn’t.” Dani said, “we all know that. Anything marked by that symbol was created in response to-”

“The Inquisition.” Grace finished, rubbing her thumb on the print to make sure it was real, “I know. But all of these artifacts were destroyed soon after it was resolved. We were told there was nothing left.”

“There shouldn ’ t be anything left.” Dani said, “it was all purged.”

“And yet…” Grace cradled the book like it was a newborn, “an in-tact artifact from the Inquisition. Here. Hidden in our library.”

Grace flipped open another page of the book, reading what secrets were so important that they had been preserved from the purge. Flipping through the ancient pages, Grace skimmed the contents of the book for anything she could find that may be useful. However, she found herself in a weird spot, because she could only read half the words. The others felt... familiar, but she couldn't make them out. Meanwhile, the words she did know made little sense; unconnected fragments tied together for an unknown reason. Grace chewed the inside of her cheek while she tried to solve the problem, but it just wasn't coming to her, until-

"Grace..." Dani said, causing Grace's attention to be torn from her book, and instead focused on the one that Dani had in her hands. The woman's expression was something of... disbelief? Confusion, maybe?

"Dani, what is it?" Grace asked.

In turn, Dani flipped her book around, just like she had with the one Grace was now holding, to show her the pages she was on. Squinting, Grace could make out that it was quite similar to hers, except now she knew neither of the languages written in the book.

Well... she knew Spanish. She knew what it was, but she couldn't speak or write it, despite Dani's numerous offerings to teach her, and the fact that over half the population spoke it regularly, Grace never had the talent for deciding to speak other languages. Other than Dranonnan, of course, but that was a different case, as she didn't have to learn to speak the language, but was rather given the ability to simply know it without having to think too hard.

Just that thought made something rattle in Grace's brain. She looked a bit closer at the mysterious language, noting that she'd never seen that kind of dialect written before. It was neither of the provincial languages, nor did she recognize it as any of the foreign languages she had seen from travelers. The whole thing seemed to her like it may have been a...

"It's a dictionary." Dani said, filling in the blank spots in Grace's mind, "to the dragon language."

Grace placed her book down on the ground, staring at it as if it was alive, "Mine too..." Her nose wrinkled, bothered by something, "but that makes no sense. No regular human can speak the language. Their vocal chords are unfit for it. That would be impossible."

"Maybe they attempted to train themselves?" Dani asked.

"Well then they would have been rather disappointed," Grace said, "because it can't happen. There's no way they could build this comprehensive of a dictionary with how far that would have realistically gotten."

Dani placed the book on the ground for both of them to see while she scratched her chin, "Then... maybe they were trying to use it to communicate with dragons?"

"Dragons can't write. They don't have hands."

With a sharp, but silent nod, Dani realized her mistake was that obvious, and didn't offer up any more solutions. As far as both of them were aware, there weren't any; at least none that anyone alive would know. Except... maybe the person who hid these here, but that was a question that was beyond answer at that point. The crusted over adhesive that seemed as though it was molding had been set in there many, many years ago. Long before Dani and Grace walked the earth. It seemed very unlikely, though, that none of the royalty knew about it. This was their castle after all, you'd think that they would know every single nook and cranny hidden within its walls.

If Dani didn't know, that would surely mean her brother didn't, however that didn't rule out the case of her father. Dani loves that man, to bits even, but Grace got a bad smell up her nose every time he so much as entered a room. She was sure he would know about it. Whether that was from intentional secrecy, or some sort of forgetfulness, was yet to be known, but Grace knew to keep her little conspiracy to herself as to not risk upsetting her Princess. Could Grace really be blamed, though? You have enough bad run-ins with a guy, and your opinion of him isn't all that high.

"Should we go get Carl?" Dani asked, and Grace gave a feverish nod. Dani was barely back on her feet when she said, "and Sarah too?"

"Your funeral," Grace said, shrugging the question off as she slid the slab back into place, keeping their new found discoveries away from their cage.

***

When Grace very clearly didn't say "yes," that was because she meant a no, but didn't want to argue about it.

As she stood next to Sarah's whose breath smelled like raw meat and dog saliva, Grace regretted her unwillingness to step up to Dani. Meanwhile, Carl inspected the two books, while the other three waited around for him to make some kind of verdict.

Neither Dani or Grace knew why they were waiting - the two of them were certain that they knew it was a dictionary, but it was always the right decision. Grace had a habit of calling him a walking library, which was the most accurate description that anyone had given him before. Sometimes, Sarah called him some sort of mechanism. Emotionless, calm, silent;  he seemed inanimate most of the time. Grace couldn’t deny that it also gave her the creeps from time to time.

“This seems to be a translation device,” Carl said, “much like the two of you have discovered already.”

Dani breathed a miniscule sigh of relief, where Sarah groaned, “No shit big guy. What else would it be?”

Carl gave a patient, yet glaring look at Sarah, while the peacekeeper Dani piped in, “That doesn’t really matter right now, does it?”

Everyone turned to her, eager to know what she was leading on to. Grace raised her chin, looking at the books in her peripheral vision. Something about it still stunk . She figured that if she wanted to get to the bottom of why the books were hidden, and who did it, she would have to follow that trail all on her own.

“These books are old, their purposes served long ago-” Dani started, but a sharp interjection from Sarah had her point ending short.

“We don’t know that.” Sarah said, “We don't know anything about these books. Even the one who speaks the damn language can’t tell us a thing about it.”

“Sarah-” Dani went back into her deescalating stance, but it was Grace this time who interrupted her.

“Don’t talk about shit you don’t know,” Grace said, her tone dark, “because you have no idea the magnitude of the assumptions you’re making.”

This tended to happen to Sarah. As the Howler Moon approached it’s time to rise, the old woman got irritable, angry, and downright beastly. It was a phenomenon that seemed to only affect the undead, making them restless, and less able to control the thing that cowered inside them. Grace, however, wasn’t affected by the moon. Dru’unans aren’t considered undead, though they are generally clumped into the ‘beast category,’ at least in Grace’s school of thought, but her temper and urges remained where they stood when it was approaching the monthly night of the Howler Moon’s Reign.

When Sarah was just about to fire back, Carl placed his unnaturally large hand on the table, creating a loud thud that startled everyone in the room. Once the tension began to clear, Carl spoke in his monotone, calculated voice, “I believe I know what Daniella was trying to say before she was… interrupted.”

The group’s interest was gathered once again.

Carl began without a beat, “While the use of these books is currently unknown; it is not the main priority we have with them.”

“Then what is?” Grace asked, crossing her arms with a slouch.

Moving his hand, Carl placed it on the third book. The mysterious book that started this search in the first place. Overwhelmed with the sudden realization of it all, Grace piped up, “We can translate the first book you found.”

“Exactly,” Carl said, then looked to Dani, who nodded in confirmation. That guy made Grace’s spine crawl, much like everyone else did, but unlike the King, Grace felt like his shadiness made him a strong ally.

“Well,” Dani leaned forward, placing her hands on the table, much smaller compared to Carl’s massive mits, “I think we should get started then, don’t you?”

Grace nodded, looking at Sarah, who grumbled, which was really just her version of a yes.

They devised a strategy to more efficiently decode the ancient book… with the other ancient books. First, Dani would point out duplicate words between the two books, Grace would say the words, bridging the connection in her mind, then Carl would place the words one after the other on a page. Finally, Carl, Dani, and Grace worked together to put the words in order. Meanwhile, Sarah brooded in the corner, watching over them like a guardian. A very unhelpful one at that.

A sick feeling curled in Grace’s stomach as her eyes wandered over the dranonnan words, her tongue speaking the words of the thing she hated so much. Not to mention, she could feel Dani’s eyes on her as she said each word, sounding nothing more than a snarl. She felt like more of a beast than she ever had before, especially with the way Dani’s gaze made Grace feel like her monster had been turned inside out.

As the last of their research pieced together, Grace nearly refused to be the one that read the final draft. Instead, she allowed Carl to read aloud the rough English transcript they had spent the last hour or so trying to hard to create:

“Dru’unans are the only species in the animal kingdom that undergo two sets of puberties. The first is a typical human puberty when they reach the age of sexual maturity, and the second is what’s known as a “ dra’ya grough” (dragon growth) when they reach the age of a dragon’s sexual maturity.

           These “dragon growths” can come in two different forms, depending on which kind of Dru’unan you are. Fra’yu’gah (flame spitter) or Fro’yu’gah (frost spitter.) Despite this, the two different kinds of puberties have a number of similarities.

            For one, they both experience the growth of a small, fluid sack behind each tonsil. Though, for flame spitters, that fluid is what ignites into flame when spat, and for frost spitters, that fluid freezes before it leaves the mouth, causing ice shards to come out instead.” Carl read aloud, unflinching; while at the same time Grace got more and more tense with each word, her ears starting to ring. At the back of her mind, Grace could feel Dani’s hand enclosing hers, but her mind was so far gone that she couldn’t react.

          And yet, it continued. “The two puberties also experience the same of the following symptoms:

Fever

Chills

Chest pain

Throat pain

Increased appetite 

Dry mouth 

Temporary scaling of the skin

Itching and rashes

           Symptoms exclusive to flame spitters:

Hot flashes 

Smoke breath

Coughing up magma

Bursts of uncontrollable anger

           Symptoms exclusive to frost spitters:

Cold flashes

Frost breath 

Pale skin

Frostbite

            Seeing as a human’s body was never intended to develop the same features as dragons, they experience a much more intense puberty, despite the powers they gain from their mixed blood. The more intense variations of these symptoms should only last the first six months. Dragon puberty as a total will last approximately one year, as their bodies grow remarkably fast, especially Dru’unans and their superhuman abilities.”

No one spoke after he finished. The sound of flickering flames and quiet breaths were all that filled the room while someone, anyone, dared to say something on whatever the fuck they just heard.

“You expect me to believe that bullshit?” Sarah asked, pushing off the wall she had made herself comfortable leaning against. “A dragon puberty? You can’t be serious.”

“Like it or not, the description matches much of Grace’s behavior lately,” Dani said, “which gives it enough merit for us to believe it.”

“Like hell it does,” Sarah continued, “the translation was clearly fucked up. I can deal with what I am, and the idea that some kind of dragon curse makes that one ” Sarah gestured to an unmoving Grace, “super strong and able to spout nonsense, but puberty? Actually growing pieces of dragon anatomy inside of her? Get real.”

“ Sarah ,” Dani’s bark was starting to come out, with her hand squeezing tighter as she shouted, “that’s enough. Get a hold of yourself, okay? This isn’t you.”

“Of course this is me,” Sarah’s voice sounded like gravel, “You just don’t like that…”

Ringing. A loud rigging made itself louder and louder in Grace’s ears until it was the only thing she could hear. Nothing existed other than the ringing, and the shock running through her blood. This disease was going to get worse. She hadn’t even seen the end of it. All of her worst fears and horrible night terrors were real; actualized in front of her.

The monster was only going to keep growing in her. Maybe one day, it would replace her entirely.

“Grace? Hey, Grace!” Dani shook her Knight’s shoulder until the taller woman snapped out of her daze, looking back down at her.

“Huh?” Grace asked, rolling her jaw as the ringing started to fade.

“Are you okay?” Dani asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I…” Don’t want this thing anymore, Grace thought to herself. I desperately want Sarah to be right, but I know she can’t be. I hate what this is doing to me and I want it gone. I just want to be normal, and to be yours. I can’t deal with the pain of knowing I’m this… thing. The people of old said I’m a blessing, but I know my existence is more of a curse. “I’m, uh…”

Several loud thumps landed on the library door, before it swung open. One of the Guard soldiers gasped and heaved, blood soaking the better part of his right arm. Grace could see some of his muscle exposed.

His breaths came out in wheezes, but he still managed to speak with what limited breath he had left in him, “Dragon! A dragon has attacked the keep!”

Grace’s body froze as Dani looked at her, and she returned the same one in kind. Sarah started muttering something about having a day off, then unsheathed her war axe, “No time like the present, ladies. We’ve got a dragon to shred.”

Moving her hand down to the hilt of her sword, still buried in its sheath, Grace took a few deep breaths. She was ready to spill the blood of the monsters that plagued her existence.

Chapter Text

By the time they had left the armory, it was already chaos. Massive, hungry flames licked along the grass and walls as a massive beast stood perched on top of the castle’s primary keep. A running soldier caught the dragon’s keen attention, causing it to roar before breathing a dazzling display of sparks at the man. It struck him on impact, clinging to his armor and frying him in a split second. His body slumped to the ground without a word, small whispers of smoke rising from his fresh corpse.

Grace’s blood froze in horror.

Any average fire breather she could handle, no problem, no sweat. Nimbus dragons, however, were a challenge. Not to mention how extraordinary it was to see one this far down.

“How can it spit its lightning?” Dani asked, shouting over the chaos. She, unlike everyone else, had actually read Grace’s dragon compendium, and knew that Nimbus dragons lived in the skies. The moisture of the clouds and atmosphere was what allowed them to use their lightning breath. It was unheard of to see a Nimbus dragon this far down, and breathing sparks.

Noticing Dani’s nervous stare shift to her direction, Grace began to question everything she thought she knew about the beasts she was counted on to know so much about. Scared, yet defeated, Grace said, “I… I don’t know…”

“Not knowing ain’t going to cut it this time,” Sarah said, “What do you know right now?”

Grace tried to wrack her brain for something, anything that could help in this situation as the beast resisted most of the archers’ firing, and stood immune to any sword attack on its perch of falling stone. She watched as arrows hit its legs, and how it responded with a roar and a bolt of lightning aimed right at the archers, most of which managed to dodge out of the way before they got fried like their friends.

When the dragon let out a roar, flapping its wings to disarm the stunned soldiers, and also fuel the spreading flames for the sheer heat of the electricity it breathed, Grace’s mind lit up.

“The wings!” Grace shouted as loud as she could, “Everyone, shoot the wings!”

Due to spending most of their lives in the air, Nimbus dragons had very strong wings. It was their most vital, powerful, and weak spot. Removing the Nimbus dragon’s ability to fly was the best way to take it down.

Sarah responded immediately, pulling her crossbow from its holster on her back, and loading a bolt into it. Meanwhile, Carl took off, mace in hand, to aid fallen and injured soldiers. Grace removed her sword from the sheath on her hip, analyzing any way she could sneak up on the dragon, as she was useless without her sword.

“Grace,” Dani said, grabbing the warrior’s arm and pulling her back, “what do I do?”

Looking down at Dani, Grace said, in a grave tone, “Nothing. Go back inside. Get as far away as you can. And hide.”

A flash of emotions rushed through Dani’s face, all of them seeming to conflict with each other. She stood still for just a moment, but then she took a step forward, being stopped almost instantly by Grace’s fast reflexes, “No. I want to stand here and fight.”

“You can’t,” Grace said, keeping herself as a firm barrier between Dani and the chaos behind them.

“I need to,” Dani was getting angrier, her accent becoming thicker, “this is my home too. I want to protect it.”

“You’re too important,” Grace said, standing her ground too, “we can’t lose you in a battle so trivial. I can’t lose you.”

“You’re important too,” Dani said, “your life is what keeps us all safe.”

A loud roar, the crackle of lightning; Grace became more and more restless to stop the chaos behind her, “But at least I am capable of actually fighting on the field. You are nothing but a sitting duck!”

Both of them went silent, Dani reeling in a stunned silence. Grace pushed out a sigh between partially parted lips, but their pause couldn’t last long. Another crackle of fierce lightning broke their tension to pieces. While Sarah was loading another bolt into her weapon, Grace placed a hand on her shoulder, “Bring her inside.”

Sarah looked at her, then fired the bolt without looking in its direction. Sure enough, it hit the dragon right in the side where she had intended it to, “No time. I need to be out here too.”

Grace grit her teeth, “It wasn’t a request.” She held on to a struggling Dani, unflinching against Dani’s desperate punches and tugs to free herself, “you can join us back out here when you’re done.”

“But-”

“This concerns the safety of your princess,” Grace said, standing her ground more firm than she ever had, “it’s the most important priority.”

Sarah thought it over, then grumbled and grabbed Dani’s other arm, “Come on kid, let’s get you out of here.”
Grace released her grip on the princess as Sarah began to haul her away. She didn’t look back as she heard Dani cry, “No, Grace, please! I don’t want you getting hurt because of me again!” Instead, she closed her eyes, breathing in a deep sigh before unsheathing her sword, and glaring down her enemy.

“I won’t,” Grace said to herself, then charged forward.

The very air screamed in protest as Grace’s sword sliced through it, following her as she ran towards the battle. She dodged fallen soldiers, pieces of rubble, and burning grass as she made her way to the beastly adversary that had just noticed her arrival to the scene.

“ Then’goh was wondering when he would see your appearance, ” the dragon spoke in its tongue, before firing a shot of electricity that Grace only barely managed to avoid with all of her limbs still intact.

“ Come down here and face me, coward! ” Grace replied, skidding in the dirt to avoid a head-on collision with the keep wall. She darted her eyes back and forth before the dragon could reply, looking for a way up had he neglected her oh so tempting offer.

“ Why would Then’goh leave the perch his wings allow him to access?” The cowardice of his kind wasn’t lost in his bloodline, apparently. All that time hiding and cowering in the clouds meant they kept themselves comfortably out of reach of combat. Not only did that mean that attacks such as these were a rarity, but they were also hard to win when the opposing force was too wimpy to actually fight.

Grace gritted her teeth, losing patience by the second, “ Because I asked you. Nicely.”

“ Well then allow Then’goh to ask his own question ,” the beast countered, “ after all, it is very important .”

Acutely aware of the stillness that had befallen the battlefield, Grace couldn’t tell if she was being played or not. All aggressing soldiers lowered their weapons, watching the exchange of foreign tongue with baffled expressions.

“ Get on with it then. ” Grace wanted to just get this finished, now , but she humored the beast with the lack of a better option.

“ Then’goh would like a word with the girl who awaits her turn on the throne, ” The dragon said, “ she holds great importance. May you bring her to Then’goh? ”

“ I’d rather die, ” Grace said, as would all of us. You’ll never get her. ”

“Then Then’goh will fight his way there all on his own. ”

Grace gnashed her teeth then sheathed her sword and leapt on to the wall of the keep, using the cracks in the walls and the unnatural strength of her fingers to start climbing the wall. The perched archers took her aggression as a sign to resume their offenses.

Then’goh began charging a jolt of lightning to fire at Grace, before an arrow hit him strikingly close to his right eye. The beat reeled back, roaring in pain before refocusing his attacks in the area where the arrow was fired. His mouth begins to open, little crackles of electricity bouncing between his teeth, but Grace was so close. Just a few more leaps and she could start hacking and slashing to her heart’s content.

His roar turned more high pitched as the electricity formed into a ball, and the archers began abandoning their posts in an attempt to save themselves from his aggressions, but that was when Grace reached up one last time, digging her nails into the rock so she could keep ahold of the surface.

With a heave of strength, Grace flung herself upward, just barely planting her feet on the ground before slashing at the dragon’s foot with her sword. The impact startled him, causing the released ball of lightning to instead fling up harmlessly into the sky when his head jerked upwards.

“ Grrah! You animal.” Then’goh said, kicking up the injured foot, which Grace just barely managed to dodge. However, while she was distracted trying not to get kicked, she didn’t notice the beast swinging its head at her. By the time she noticed, it was too late, and all she could do was brace herself for impact. His thick-skulled head slammed into Grace’s metal breastplate, hurting far less than Grace would have expected, thanks to Carl’s handiwork, which gave her a chance to wrap her arms around one of the horns on his head.

It wasn’t until she was flying through the air, attached to Then’goh’s head that she realized she was missing a sword. She must have dropped it as a result of the shock. The uncertainty lasted mere seconds, as Grace shifted her play to adapt. Not having her sword was a problem she couldn't afford, but that had never stopped her before.

Then’goh’s head whipped around, a desperate attempt to throw his attacker from it, but Grace’s grip around his horn was iron-tight. This wasn’t the first time she was swinging from a wild Dragon’s head like the rider of an untamed bull, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. Not with her profession. Well… that would mean she was getting paid to do what she did. Yeah, only in her dreams.

As Grace held on for dear life, swinging through the air as the crazed beast tried to throw her off, she muttered to herself, "I have to... stop... ending up... in this situation." If she had a bronze coin for the amount of times she ended up swinging around on a wild dragon's head, well... she would have five bronze coins. It's not a lot, sure, but it's too crazy of a thing to happen five times to any other person.

One was more determined to shuck her off than any one before it, flailing its neck so hard, she was shocked that it didn't break its neck doing so. As Grace held on for dear life, swinging through the air as the crazed beast tried to throw her off, she muttered to herself, "I have to... stop... ending up... in this situation." If she had a bronze coin for the amount of times she ended up swinging around on a wild dragon's head, well... she would have five bronze coins. It's not a lot, sure, but it's too crazy of a thing to happen five times to any other person.

One was more determined to shuck her off than any one before it, flailing so hard, she was shocked that it didn't break its neck doing so. Despite the struggle, Grace kept her arms wrapped around the one horn, her body flying up only to smack back down between its eyes. If it wasn't for the thick-plated armor covering her body, she would have had the wind knocked out of her long ago. She had to think of a way to get off of this thing safely before she broke every bone in her body and Dani never let her leave the castle.

An arrow sinking into Then'goh's neck elicited a roar of pain as he reared his head up, almost flinging Grace over the Keep and landing her on the other side of the castle walls. She let out her own shout as she struggled to keep her grip on him, and when he swung his head back down to retaliate, she stuck out her feet and landed her left heel right in his eye. The squelch and pop of the organ made Grace feel sick to her stomach, but the feeling didn't last too long before her eardrums almost ruptured from the sound of Then'goh's horrible screech as he lifted himself up on his hind two legs, reaching his neck up in the heavens to writhe in pain.

The grand movement, mixed with Grace's already compromised reaction time, caused her to let go of his horn just as she reached the peak of his ascent. Grace cried out the second she found herself exposed to loose air, flailing and desperately reaching back in an attempt to grab his horn. Her fingers brushed the base of his horn, but she managed to grip the tip of it right before she was doomed to fall.

"Gotcha... gotcha..." Grace said, mostly to herself, as she hung from his horn. Then'goh was still standing on his back legs, head pointed high with his massive hand pawing over his face to instinctively try and block it from any more damage. 

After recovering from the shock of what would probably be certain doom, Grace decided it wasn't really a great idea to be dangling from the horn of a crazed beast. She used all of her strength to start pulling herself up, wrapping her legs around his neck to stay in place. She had to use all her strength to keep herself on, even digging her heels into the side of his thick neck until he slammed back down on his four legs, one of which broke the side of the Keep wall and sent an avalanche of rocks tumbling down on a few medics who had rushed in to help wounded soldiers.

Grace grabbed the other horn with her left hand, holding both of them like reigns, and jerking sideways. To her surprise, Then'goh followed through, his head turning in that direction with a heavy growl.

Smirking to herself, Grace knew how she could take advantage of this. She jerked to the left again and held on for dear life as the dragon followed with very little hope to stop her. His whole body pulled to the side with the movement, whipping his tail just over the heads of the East Wall's archers, who had run out of arrows long ago and simply watched while they waited for instructions to flee and restock their arrows.

She then had to panic and regain control of the wild dragon, tugging back on his horns thinking that would stop him. It, in fact, made things worse. Pulling so hard on his horns made the dragon stumble backwards, eventually slipping and falling off of the keep entirely. Grace could hear the shout coming from her throat as she began to fall to the ground, clutching to the dragon that would certainly land on top of her and flatten her like a blacksmith's blade. She waited until just the right time, then launched herself as far away as she could right before the dragon slammed down onto its back. While its landing shook the ground like an earthquake, Grace managed to hit the ground at just the angle she wanted, allowing her to absorb all the shock and spread it harmlessly through her with a roll.

It took a few seconds for Grace to regain her breath, panting while she bent down, hands on her knees. The dust settled, but the ragged breaths of the beast behind her let Grace know that the job wasn't quite done yet. She turned, facing the half-dead dragon heaving on the ground. His legs twitched, like he was mustering up the strength to get back on his feet, but he just couldn't.

Grace walked towards him, resting her boot on his neck, " Stay down. "

" I heard... all about... " Then'goh began, but was interrupted by a sound that Grace could only describe as a dragon's cough, "you before. The legendary Dru'unan had returned to walk the earth again... but that was pathetic. "

Pressed, Grace pushed her foot down harder on his neck, " Yet here I stand, above you The victor. "

" Victor of what ?" He said, blood dripping from his mouth, " that pathetic fighting style...? The dragons have arisen... and they come for your Magic One's blood... "

" What the hell does that-? "

Then'goh continued speaking as though she hadn't interrupted, " And if you can't fight like a warrior... your luck won't keep you alive long. Or her . "

" Watch it ," Grace said, reaching for the dagger on her hip. Against a healthy dragon, it did nothing more than distract the beast, but in this state, she could easily carve his last breath from his lungs, " I knew what I was doing. "

" For your sake, " Then'goh was running out of his last breaths, and fast, " I hope not. You are inexperienced. Young. If you continue to fight like this... the dragons will have her... and tear her to shreds. "

With a flash of anger, and boiling heat bubbling in her throat, Grace heaved the dagger up above her head, poised to shut this thing up for good. But before she could bring it down, an arrow flew right past her, and sunk itself in the dragon's throat, stealing the last few moments he had left.

Grace turned to see Sarah, her extended arm holding the crossbow that had fired the killing blow. After a pause to ensure the beast was dead, Sarah lowered her arm. Looking back at the dragon's limp corpse, Grace swallowed a molten glob of saliva, hoping not to throw up any magma again. She hated that last time.

"I had that," Grace said, sheathing her dagger and wiping her sweaty palms on a small flap of crimson fabric peeking out from her waistband.

Sarah raised an eyebrow, "And yet... you stood around for a chat."

"It was an important chat," Grace defended, half caught up on what he had said. Inexperienced. Arisen. Magic One. None of it made too much sense. Except for one thing. He was right about Grace.

Despite all the years she had put into training, she hadn't mastered combat against a dragon. All of her victories were just flukes. Lucky, last minute victories that she only secured because she had the biggest fighting chance out of everyone else in the kingdom. That fight didn't go the way she wanted it to, and it was a miracle that she didn't fail every time she messed up. And Tur'huk? She should have died fighting him, but it was luck that his horn didn't pierce her heart.

"Y'okay, kid?" Sarah asked, a lot closer than she was just seconds ago. Grace blinked, realizing that she had been spacing out to stress and mull over the beast's dying words. Her hands felt sweaty again, throat throbbing with a burning pain, so she coughed into her hand and turned away from the dragon's corpse.

"I have to talk to Dani," Grace said, walking away without letting Sarah get another word in. Each footstep went faster and faster until she was sprinting down the halls, words running over and over in her mind.

He was right. She wasn’t ready. They were coming for Dani. All of them. And she wasn’t ready. Grace knew she needed to warn Dani; protect her like she had sworn to do.

But first, she needed to find out what the fuck a Magic One was.