The Hearts of Dragons (Closed for DarkWarrioress)

[Lucian_Devine]

Lucian offered up a small smile to Zarya when she thanked him, but his gaze lowered from hers and turned away as she spoke of the demon and his father. She sounded sure of herself, which was a little reassuring, but even if the demon was defeated, and his father freed from it's corruption, that still might not absolve him in the eyes of his people. He did truly want to believe her, but as they'd discussed previously, faith wasn't his strong suit. Still, he'd listened to everything she had to say, lifted his gaze again when she mentioned that they should sleep, and nodded.

The pair prepared for bed in companionable silence, unrolling their blankets, setting the fire, laying their weapons nearby in case of a predator attack, and finally nestling into their blankets.

Lucian's mind was still preoccupied with his own thoughts, but when he heard her bid him goodnight, he turned once more towards her, a small smile on his lips. "Good night, Miss Zarya."

Sleep took it's time coming for Lucian that night, but not because of the change in locale or feeling less safe than he had in the village. It was because of the parts of the story he'd left out in his recounting to Zarya. It was true that he'd been ignorant of his father's true intentions when he led the assault on the green dragon, but he'd still ended up helping his father all the same. He tossed and turned all night, and even during the tiny bits of sleep that he was able to get weren't peaceful. He kept seeing the demon in his dreams, making his heart race, his body sweat, and eventually wake up before repeating the cycle all over again.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Morning came early and Zarya was already making up their breakfast. She was frowning deep in thought about last night. For some reason, Lucian couldn’t settle into sleep. Something was bothering him, but what it could be, she had no idea. The prince, she knew, was troubled about his father and his father’s men. Rightly so, but for some reason she couldn’t fathom, there was more to it than that. There was no way she could force him to confide in her and so, she would bide her time. There was one thing she could ask him about and she was determined to do so before they broke camp and left this cave. Glancing at the still sleeping prince, Zarya stepped into the jungle around them, searching the trees. She found what she was looking for and cut down a few of the fruit, making sure to leave many still hanging. She reentered the cave and began peeling and slicing up the sweet fruit to accompany their small breakfast.

Zaya was almost sure that Prince Lucian traveled with some enormous guilt. What part he had played before realizing what his father was up to, must be a heavy burden. What son doesn’t believe in his father until his father proves, beyond a shadow of doubt, he does not deserve his son’s loyalty? Zarya was not one to judge. Everyone made mistakes. If they learned from them, so much the better. In any case, she was here because her queen asked it of her and perhaps just a little because she was starting to like the prince as a person.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

When Lucian woke up the final time, he was genuinely surprised to see that Zarya wasn't in her blanket. He wouldn't have believed that he'd be able to sleep deep enough, with all the tossing and turning that he'd done, to miss her getting up and heading outside. He was tempted to go to the cave entrance and look out for her, or possibly call to her, but when he saw that her weapons were gone as well, he figured that she'd gone of her own free will. So he chose instead to just sit up, lift his hands to his face, and try to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Lucian's patience was rewarded by the reappearance of Zarya, complete with a small bounty of fruit that she'd obviously picked from around the cave. He watched her start to peel it the first piece of fruit before he decided to rise to his feet, letting his blanket slide off of his cloaked form. He offered up a small smile in her direction before now walking towards the cave entrance. The light was dim outside, with an array of colors painting the sky above the Eastern tree line, clearly telling him that the sun had indeed risen, even if it hadn't quite made it past the tree line yet.

"Would that I could forget everything and stay in this beautiful forest of yours." Lucian said as he leaned against one side of the entrance, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Zarya was just climbing up the hill when she heard Lucien. As she came into view, she saw he was enjoying the early morning light.

“I would say there’s nothing stopping you, Prince Lucien but I know you will have responsibilities of your own to see to, eventually. For now…”

She dropped the small branch of bananas at his feet and moved past him to set the rabbit she had caught over the fire. As she squatted down and was spitting her catch, she continued talking.

“Enjoy what we have been given. I have a feeling we are going to wish for times like these in days to come.”

She didn’t know how she knew this but because of where they were headed, the road was bound to be long arduous. Zarya also knew that the prince did not sleep well but in fits. The small cave had been riddled with unspoken tension and perhaps anxiety that did not go unnoticed nor unfelt by her. He could hardly hide his tossing and turning. After a pause of time she softly asked.

“What is bothering you, Prince Lucien?”

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Though he said nothing in response to Zarya's words, Lucian's gaze did turn to follow her as she entered the cave, pausing with her as she dropped the branch of bananas at his feet before following her graceful movements towards the fire, setting a rabbit she'd caught over it. He was in the process of bending down to grab a banana off of the branch when he heard her question. His hand froze in midair, hovering over the bananas as his gaze lifted from them to look at her. His eyes flicked back and forth as he considered it, considered her, and considered his answer.

"I helped him...my father..." Lucian started as his gaze turned away from hers in shame. His back straightened as his gaze turned to look out of the entrance of the cave as he leaned against one side of it. "...not knowingly of course, but I helped him all the same." He paused for a long time then, debating just how much to tell Zarya. "He sent the ten people he trusted most to accompany the armies, including my brother..." As he spoke, his hands had slowly lifted, moving to the ties of his cloak. He undid the one at his waist first, then then the one at his neck. "...and me..." He finished as he leaned forward, lifted his hands, and brushed the cloak from his shoulders. As fate would have it, the sun crested the trees at that exact moment. It's light hit his armor and reflected off of every scale, making them shine like emeralds.

"We were given tools for a ritual that would bind the dragon's magic, and potions that could be thrown to bind it's wings. A dragon is still a dragon though, and I led one-thousand men into a dragon's lair. Each bite killed half a dozen men, each claw a dozen. It's tail killed two dozen with each swipe, and it's breath..." Lucian slowly shook his head. "I walked out with one-quarter of my men...one-quarter." He paused again, swallowing hard as his head slowly shook from side to side.

"My father groomed my brother to fight, to lead, and to rule. I was...ignored on the best days...hated on most, and loathed on the rest. If I weren't an heir to be married off for a political alliance, he would have smothered me in my cradle." Lucian's head finally lifted and turned towards Zarya then, his blue eyes filled not with hate, but sadness. "My brother was the only one that supported me picking up the sword and learning to fight." He walked back towards the fire, leaving his cloak on the ground where it had fallen, and lowered himself to his knees across from her, with his sheathed blade before him on the ground. "Everyone figured that either the training itself, or the physical exertion of the maneuvers would kill me."

Lucian's right hand lowered to reverently trace along the scabbard of his sword, barely touching it as it glided along it's surface, and even the handle of his sword itself. Only when he reached the tip of the handle did his hand reverse it's course and glide up the handle once more. His left hand moved to touch the scabbard as his right hand inched closer to the top. His touches grew more prominent as they moved, finally becoming full grips when he reached the top of the handle. His left hand pulled backwards on the scabbard as his right hand drew the mithril blade from it's home. The blueish-colored blade almost shone in the small cave. "This was a gift from my brother when I graduated and become a full-fledged Warblade. He had two swords made from a large chunk of mithril, exactly two swords, one for each of us. He was my only ally growing up, the one person I could always count on for support. If there was one other person I would have with us in all of this with, it would have been him." His gaze lifted from his sword to find Zarya's once more. "Unfortunately though, he was also the one person standing with my father and the demon when they spoke about the temples, the elementals, and the champions."

 

[DarkWarrioress]

"I helped him...my father..."

That made Zarya’s hands stop turning the spitted rabbit over the fire. She heard his tone of voice as he spoke and he wasn’t pleased with himself. As Lucian continued to speak, she went back to roasting their breakfast but not and then her eyes followed him as she listened. Zarya didn’t interrupt him as she felt he had a need to explain himself.

His chest armor. Dragon scales! Her fingers tightened on the spit before she forced them to relax. They. Killed. A. Dragon. Anger roiled in her gut. She never wanted to fight one. There were too few left in this world. Dragons had their time in this world and it felt like those times were coming to an end. Just like magic. Those things still existed, but they were vanishing into the mists of long ago. The look on Lucian’s face. The men he had lost. Indeed, a step price to pay for a dragon’s death. And for what? Power?

His sword was magnificent. Absolutely gorgeous, if one could call a weapon of destruction, gorgeous. Zarya searched her mind and couldn’t find a better word, however. Then there was his beloved brother. The brother he must ultimately come up against. There didn’t seem any other way and she wondered how Lucian would choose. His brother or saving the world?

“Prince Lucian, set your guilt aside. There will come a time for you to deal with it but that time is not now. As for the men you have lost, that was a terrible shame. Each man went into battle knowing they could lose their lives, they made a choice to stand with you, out of loyalty, out of duty, who knows for sure. What you must understand now is, that time is past. We, you, cannot change it. All we can do is face the future and the decisions we must make. How we respond to those decisions, will speak to our natures as a person. Let us hope our decisions are wise as well as brave.”

Zarya was quiet then. She felt she had spoken far too much as it was. However, the prince was feeling lost and guilty, she had hoped to lift him up out of that for nothing good came of being in that state of mind.

“And it seems our breakfast is ready. Will you bring me our plates, please?”

Something as simple as that brought her back to herself. Maybe it would for him too.

 

[Lucian_Devine]

Lucian nodded his head at Zarya's words, even if he couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. When she asked for the plates though, he gladly set his sword and scabbard down, got up, retrieved them, and brought them to her, holding one in each hand as she prepared to dish up the meal she'd cooked.

"I do truly wish that it was that simple..." Lucian mused aloud. "...and if it were just the men that suffered, I might be able to. It's just so hard for me to wonder how many might have survived if I had fought better or been a better commander. The only saving grace for me in regards to them, is that they at least died believing that it was for the greater good. The same can't be said for their friends and family though..." His gaze turned longingly towards the entrance of the cave once more. "...so many wives lost their husbands, children lost their fathers, and friends lost other friends."

When Lucian did finally manage to lift his gaze, he searched for Zarya's once more. "I could never remember all those faces. So I use this armor as my penance, wearing it as a perpetual reminder of what I've done and what I'm fighting for. That is why I almost never take it off. I will either die in these scales, or see this world saved from the demon I helped unleash. Then, and only then, will I retire it.

With his food in hand, Lucian moved back towards his side of the fire, sat down, and started to eat, letting out a low groan and closing his eyes as he took his first bite of the hot and fresh meal she'd prepared, because for all of his worries, he was still trying to enjoy the little things in life, and delicious food was one of them.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Zarya started to dish up their meal as Lucian held their plates.

"I do truly wish that it was that simple... and if it were just the men that suffered, I might be able to. It's just so hard for me to wonder how many might have survived if I had fought better or been a better commander. The only saving grace for me in regard to them, is that they at least died believing that it was for the greater good. The same can't be said for their friends and family though..."

“Prince Lucian,” she began setting aside her cooking utensils and took her plate from him, motioning him to join her not far from their fire. “You are but one man. A human one. Why do you continuously thrash yourself for the deeds of other men? Yes, you led them, but they went willingly, deceived or not. You cannot carry the grief of others upon your shoulders. Remember them and the sacrifice they made? Yes. beating yourself up over it? No. Mourn their loss and sacrifice then move on. They would not want you to dwell on their fate. They would want you to let them go.”

She reached across the space between them and laid a gentle hand on his leg.

“You need not have a penance, Prince Lucian. Free them from their still earth-bound ties by defeating your father and that demon who controls him. There is one thing I wish you to know before we go any further. I will not kill a dragon. There are too little left in this world as it is. I will fight for them. They are older than we can understand, and they are intelligent. If I have to kill your father to save one, I will.”

She looked directly at him. Her eyes serious. Whatever else they encountered, she could and would slay but not the remaining dragons. It was her queen’s final command to her and one she would have insured without royal command.

“Your penance, Prince Lucian, is not in that armor you wear but in your heart. You will never forget those men, even if you cannot and will not remember every face. Perhaps there is forgiveness for a father who wants a better world, but it is something that cannot be controlled by a demon because they only have only their own selfish ambition.”

Zarya stopped speaking and picked at her meal. Sometimes, to her own ear she sounded like she was being a know-it-all and she did not mean for it to come out that way. They were simply words from her heart. Words formed from time, experience and she knew, at this time, it was to try and ease the burden Lucian put on himself. It was more than any warrior should have to bear.