At first, I thought I was dead. But then came the pain of a throbbing headache which only worsened as I thought of it. My stomach churned as I harshly swayed against a coarse surface, I was warm but then cold. The constant shift in everything around me caused a feeling of dread to surface. Maybe I had died.

It wasn't until I heard the waves lapping against the sand did I remember where I was. The previous events came tumbling forward like a wheel rolling down a hill, spinning out of control until it finally crashed. I then realized how hopelessly stupid I was.

I coughed through a mouthful of sand and saltwater, continuing to clean the grit from my dry mouth.

Out of curiosity, my eyes periodically wandered to my closed palms, debating whether or not I should assess the damage done to them. Finally clearing the sand from my mouth did I sit up and slowly open my hands, my mind also opening up to what they might reveal.

Interestingly enough, my hands were fine. There were no burn marks or healing wounds, or even scarred flesh. They looked to be as normal as how they did in the beginning.

Was it all a dream? A terrible nightmare?

Shaking my head in disbelief, I pushed myself up, stumbling over my two left feet as I made my way over to the brown bag that unfortunately was rough under my skin, dried salt coating the material. I made sure I still had supplies in my bag before hoisting the strap over my shoulder and made my way towards the tree line and away from the nauseating push and pull of the ocean.

Images so vivid circulated through my mind as I stared into the shadowed undergrowth. But, I couldn't be certain they happened. The only thing that would relinquish my growing curiosity would be to venture back to where my memories would take me.

"No fear," I whispered, finding my way through the forest. Every slight twitch of the forest had my heart stuttering in a rapid spiral of dread and tension.

Eventually, I broke through the cover of the forest and stumbled into the same open ground with the filled cages scattered about it. I drew a blank. Although this proved that I wasn't imagining things, it still didn't make me feel any better.

A sharp clang ran through the air, shocking me from my concerns. My eyes critically scanned the area.

Having realized that it was still broad daylight and there was a possibility of being spotted by the hunters, I stumbled back against a pile of fallen crates, hiding myself the best that I could.

I scanned my surroundings, unintentionally formulating a plan. It seemed as though the clearing was scrambled around, nothing held much order.

My eyes locked onto the cage I encountered last night, but this time a new dragon was confined within it. I approached the still conscious dragon, its flaming amber eyes locked onto my form instantly. The dragon's mouth, wings, and legs were tightly bound, eliminating its escape.

Its struggles against the tight fabric sent a pang of remorse through me. Where they rubbed against its beautiful, dark green scales were worn marks that cracked and bled.

I tried calming the dragon, the racket it was making would surely cause unwanted attention. My voice was hushed into a soothing whisper as a form to calm its nerves, yet the dragon squirmed the closer I got. The racket caused was slightly alarming. So, I changed tactics.

The gap between the dragon and myself was cleared instantly, my hands locked around the metal bars and I stared deeply into its amber eyes.

"Listen here, you overgrown reptile, if you want to get out of here then you're going to have to cease the racket, alright?" I wasn't sure if dragons could understand our language, but it was worth a shot. It stopped momentarily to fully look at me, into my eyes. I showed no fear towards it, yet, with the strength and intensity of the dragon's eyes, it almost felt like it was peering into my soul.

With one final huff, it put its head down and watched me closely as I sought to find the keys I had aimlessly thrown into the trees in my frantic escape the night before. It didn't take long, because ironically enough, they were dangling from the stub on the tree I had broken the branch from.

I paused and thought about the odd placement. I knew for a fact that my aim was absolutely terrible, even if it was accidental, there was no way the keys could have managed to get around such a small target.

My eyes widened in realization. They were intentionally placed there. Someone knew I was here and they knew that I would come back. I walked straight into a trap without even realizing it. Of course someone would have figured it out.

Someone yelled, startling me enough to have my stumble over my feet and fall to the ground. I quickly scooted back into the coverage of the forest, hoping the shadows cast by the sun were enough to hide my figure.

"I told you, sir, it wasn't me!" A grown man wailed, the same drunken man who I had hit over the head with a tree branch.

A group of men came into sight. They were all staring at the dragon in the cage.

"So explain to me then," the man who seemed to be in charge grabbed the other by his shirt and glared intimidatingly into the man's face, "just how the dragon managed to break out of the cage by using your keys to open the lock?"

Everyone seemed to wait for an answer. Even I did, and I was the one who broke the dragon out in the first place.

"I-I-I..." He seemed to not have an answer that was fitting to the other man's likings. Before I realized what was happening, the intimidating man grabbed a dagger from his belt and jammed it into the man's throat.

I clamped a hand over my mouth, nearly missing the scream that threatened to escape from my lungs. He was still alive. His body fought against the ropes that were dragging him towards his death, but the wound was too fatal and he was left to drown in his own blood.

The man leaned down to wipe the blood from his dagger onto the man's clothes. As he stood up, his cold and terrifying eyes caught the attention of every man standing before him. "We cannot have traitors amongst us. I told you from the beginning, you dishonor my trust, I disembody your limbs."

I couldn't wash the horrible sight from my mind. Every moment I closed my eyes, his lifeless ones would stare back. They turned to a glassy, pale green faster than I anticipated, and I watched as he died. I watched and all I could think was thank the gods that wasn't me.

In my selfishness, I could only feel revolt, but then what would all of my efforts be for if I were to be dead?

Slowly, I picked myself up, having to lean against a tree for support. My head spun and my stomach heaved. I had watched animals be slaughtered, skinned, cooked, and eaten. But seeing the death of a human was a whole new experience.

The keys were still perched on the broken branch, moving slightly with the strong winds that tasted of the sea. The eerie noise drifted with the wind, anyone could easily hear the racket. Without a moment's hesitation, my hands were wrapped around the keys. I looked around before making my way towards the green reptile, it had remained quiet throughout the entire ordeal.

"Alright now," I hear the satisfying click of the lock opening, "we're in business." I placed the keys down on the ground as I entered the cage, its amber eyes watched me carefully. Shivers went down my spine.

The ropes were tied with such intricate knots, it almost seemed to be an impossible task to untie them. My fingers dug into the knots anyway, not yet ready to admit defeat. Although the only thing I was doing was causing pain to myself, I wasn't going to give up on saving this creature's life. I ripped my hands away from the ropes, looking at my raw fingers.

I nearly slapped myself because of my stupidity. I had a knife. The ropes harshly snapped away as the pressure was cut from them. The dragon soon realized the decrease in pressure and started to squirm, all I could do was cut the ropes faster. As the last rope snapped free the dragon leaped up and out of the cage opening, its tail coming millimetres to hitting me in the face. I watched as the beast stretched out its wings, testing out their mobility. The green scales dazzled in the sunlight, it reminded me of home, where my mother had wind charms with stained glass hanging in the trees behind the house. I always stared at the magical object in the setting sun, enjoying the last minutes of the sun before the moon began its lonesome cries over the lands of Pontheugh.

I choked on my tightening throat. I wondered how my mother was doing, my father, my brothers, and Oliver. They had been so proud of me when I was chosen by the stone, and now look where that got me. I wouldn't be able to face them, I can only imagine the looks of disappointment, I would be laughed at, scorned. A building heat erupted in my pocket, the stone sensing my emotions. I thought about throwing the damn thing into the forest and forgetting about everything I came out here to do. To admit defeat and return home.

The dragon made a sound that was close to a yelp, like when a dog was hurt and took flight. I looked at what had scared it off and froze when I saw that the leader of the hunters was walking in my direction. I tried to scramble away but realized with a sinking feeling I was trapped in the cage with the open door pointed right at him.

The man stopped just in front of the open cage, his eyes scoring over my body, looking to be calculating the events that recently happened.

"Looks like I killed the wrong person." I nearly puked at his words. In that moment I forgot how to formulate words. "I'll take these." He picked up the keys where I had left them on the ground outside of the cage. I felt the panic stab my chest. He closed the cage, locked it, and walked away, whistling a tune while swinging the keys around his finger.

I realized my mouth had fallen open. I wondered what had just happened. I thought he was going to kill me, rip my own arm off and slap me in the face with it and say "stop hitting yourself". Or maybe he was saving that for later, letting my paranoia increase until I'm driven mad.

My throat became dry and I couldn't swallow. The fear of coughing to clear my throat was greater than my discomfort, I feared to make any noise at the moment.

The clearing had grown silent, even the breeze ruffling the treetops had stilled, holding its breath in anticipation, just as I was doing.

As the day went on I watched the men pile a few more dragons into some empty cages, their wings and legs bound tightly together with rope. They rolled a barrel to a cage with a light blue dragon inside of it. Intrigued, I watched as they scooped a clear liquid out of the barrel and threw it onto the dragon. Its mouth was muzzled but its screams were still loud enough for me to hear. I winced upon hearing its pain.

It occurred to me that the clear liquid must have been what was coating the red dragon and what had burned my hands. I inspected them closely, no burn marks, no scars. I looked up again at the dragon to see it lay motionless in its cage. The only indication of it being alive was the slight movement coming from its stomach, its breathing was unnaturally fast.

The metal door rattled. I looked up to see a woman with a nasty scar running across the right side of her face. She wore an eyepatch so I could only assume what it looked like underneath.

"The captain invites you to dine with him." She rattles the keys in front of my face. "If you don't behave I've been ordered to cut your head off and place it on a stake."

Gulping, I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

I walked beside the girl, gauging her build. She was muscular, far more than me. I'd say she was a couple of years older than I was. She looked nimble and she had a sword strapped by her side. I was on her blind side, maybe if I could catch her by surprise I could somehow manage to escape.

"I know what you're thinking, and it will end badly for you." She hadn't even looked in my direction.

I sighed, looking back towards the dragons in cages. "What is that clear liquid you're putting onto the dragons?"

She sent a glare towards me, I didn't bother asking her anything else. Amongst a small cluster of tents lay a larger tent that had a hazy yellow glow filtering out of the opening. She stopped me at the entrance, gave me a look before saying, "it's Rin toxin."

My eyes widened. Before I could ask her more she walked away, leaving me to wonder how I wasn't dead.