6 Chapter 6: Last Minute

PREVIOUSLY:

They open their mouths, both revealing fiery glows from their throats.

I'm going to die!

I shut my eyes and turn my head to the side, wincing as I prepare myself for the pain.

NOW:

Squeezing my eyes shut, I press the back of my head hard against the wood. I can feel the heat of the gas transforming into the fire in their throats even as I press myself as far back as possible.

Oh, gods. Oh, gods. I'm going to die. I'm going to die!

I breathe heavily, shaking my head slightly with my eyes squeezed shut.

I never got to join the army. I never got to make my father proud. I never found a wife. Never found true happiness.

What have I done with my life exactly? Steal from the armoury because my father wouldn't give me a sword. Sneak around the forest at night, hoping to train. Hang out with my only friend; Thyra, doing absolutely Nothing important and worthwhile.

The heat becomes more intense…they were about to fire. Judging by the amount of time it's taken them, they're shooting to kill.

"Alright, dragons." I murmur, keeping my eyes firmly shut. "Do your worst."

They seem to oblige, as the sound of gas cuts off, before a different sound surfaces.

I prepare myself for the pain.

But it never comes.

Warily, I peek open my eyes. In front of me stands Thyra, her sword arm extended out. The dragons we're backing away, one had blood dripping down its face.

"Thyra…" I murmur. She holds her sword out in defence and sneaks a quick glance at me, grinning.

I shuffle to a crouching position, taking in the situation as the dragons snarl and hiss at her.

"Well, are you going to grab your sword and help me or what?" She pipes up teasingly. I blink in surprise.

"Oh. Right." I mutter sheepishly, glancing at her before my gaze lands on my discarded sword. I dash forward to make a grab for it, feeling much safer once it's within my grasp.

I edge my way to Thyra's side, setting a comforting hand on her right shoulder. "Together?" I ask my long time friend. She smiles at me, nodding.

"Together."

So we rush forward with battle cries, swinging our swords at the dragons. My sword makes contact with the one on the right, hitting its chest, but doesn't go deep. Thyra lunges at the other to the left.

My dragon roars at me, opening its mouth to fire at me, but I tuck and roll out of the way, landing a lunch to its jaw in the process. It stumbles back slightly, I swing my sword at it again. This time it dodges, swiping at me with its talons in retaliation. I raise my sword to block the attack, ignoring the searing pain in my side as I duck out of the way of its wings.

"The others?" I ask Thyra as we fight side by side.

"Fending off the other dragon, and finding help." She responds, and I clutch a glimpse of her kicking her dragon right in the face. It stumbled back, snarling at the feisty girl.

"Speaking of help…how did you find me?" I ask her, swinging my sword at my dragon. It flicks it's tail towards me, knocking me off my feet, but Thyra pulls me up, knocking my dragon back at the same time.

"Oh, you're never hard to find." Thyra laughs. "But, I'll say this: you move fast!"

My dragon fires again, and I duck, grabbing Thyra by the arm and dragging her down with me so the fireball doesn't hit her either. She nods at me in thanks.

I jump up, slamming my sword into my dragon's leg. It lunges towards me, but I jump back, using excellent footwork. I must say, I've been paying attention during my Father's training sessions…even if I'm not part of it.

I lean to the side, throwing my weight my left leg, and twist my right leg up with force. It collides with my dragon's neck, making it choke on its own flame. As soon as my foot is back on the ground, I twist around and thrust my sword at the dragon. Despite its breath knocked out of it, it ducks out of the way, struggling slightly on its two legs.

"How long are we going to do this, by the way?" I ask breathlessly, twisting to the side to avoid the dragon's wing.

"I haven't really thought ahead," Thyra replies sheepishly. My dragon barrels towards me, and I barely have enough time to twist to the side. Its horn nicks me in the side, and I scream through clenched teeth as pain jolts through the wound I already had. The dragon takes notice of my weak spot, pushing its horn in deeper, before I muster the strength to gran it's horn and push back against it. The dragon throws all it's weight into its head, making me restless as I struggle against it and the pain taking over my body.

My legs shake under me, eventually giving way, so I slide to the ground. From this point of view, as the dragon adjust its head to comply with my new height, I get a clear view of its legs and stomach. Thinking quickly, I swing my sword up and under it. I feel it sink into its stomach. The dragon strikes loudly, and the pressure against my side is released as it shuffles back.

I pant, drawing my sword in front of me defensively and pushing myself to stand. I glance at Thyra, seeing her clashing her sword against her dragon's outstretched talon, again and again, effectively pushing it back.

I turn to my dragon just as it opens its mouth to fire at me. I tuck and roll go the side, but the dragon moves it's head so the fire follows me.

Oh, no.

Needing a new solution, I rack my head for an idea. One comes to mind, but it's stupid and reckless. Regardless, I go with it, rolling between the dragon's legs and under its body. I jam my sword up into its thick wing membrane, and it howls in anger, jumping back before I can do more damage to it. It flexes its wing, as if testing for stability, before roaring loudly, and leaping at me. I wasn't expecting this, so it, unfortunately, pins me against the ground, knocking the breath out of me.

Scowling, I throw my legs up, colliding with its stomach harshly. I take the split second of weakness to thrust my sword up into its wing again. This time it leaps back, keeping its wing away from me as it nurses it slightly. It glares at me with chilling slit eyes, before spreading its wings and taking to the sky slightly unsteadily.

Right at this moment, shouts ring out. Painting, I look to my left, to see Thyra raising her sword above her head to block her dragon from clawing her. She seems to be struggling against the weight, and just as I move to help her, a whistle goes through the sir, before an arrow buries itself into the dragon's neck. I follow the direction of where the arrow came from, to see several members of the army approaching, shooting war cries with their weapons raised. Another arrow whizzes towards the dragon, and it backs up to avoid it. It takes in the approaching soldiers warily. Seemingly realising it is outnumbered, it takes off into the air after the other dragon. A few more arrows are fired at the dragons, embedding in their scales. The one I was fighting retaliates by diving down and firing a stream of red hot fire at the men and women.

They all effectively split up to avoid the fire, or raise shields to deflect it. I slump to the ground by Thyra, chest heaving as I fight for sir. She smiles at me.

"Told you my plan would work."

I furrow my eyebrows at her just as the soldiers approach us. "No, you didn't."

She throws her head back in a laugh, just as the men and women stop in front of us.