The Soft-Hearted Prince and His Dragon

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.