Chapter Seventy Three

'Maybe we should try and walk past it,' I thought trying to send my thoughts to the lion.

"That would be wise sir, but look at the pile of carcasses that it is going to eat next after the one it is eating now," Megalion one said. Thankfully that had worked. I looked a little to the right of the dragon and noticed there were a few more dead animals strewn on the ground next to it, but that wasn't what the lion was looking at. It was the soldier in armour who lay there unconscious.

'Is he dead?' I sent my thought even though it was answered almost immediately.

"It's Sir David, and he's still breathing. What's going on here?" Anthony whispered, his voice filled with horror. The dragon stopped its hacking at its food and sniffed the air whilst its ears twitched. Anthony covered his mouth having noticed he was the reason the dragon had just paused its meal.

"Maybe there is some hope that… no never mind," Megalion One had begun and was stopped in his tracks when the dragon turned to face us directly. This beast easily towered over the lion and was almost twice its size. That was saying something since the lion itself was three times taller than me and that was just to get to its back. "I can fight for you," Megalion Two said the lion getting down in a position ready to pounce. I placed my hand on its side.

"I would prefer it if we could avoid needless fighting. Besides, I am the one who said I would get you guys out of here, didn't I?" I gave him a pat before I watched ahead and stood a few metres in front of the lion.

"You're an odd bunch," a thunderous voice rumbled within my mind, "you must be the royal I have heard of considering you are hanging about with the megalion."

"Yes, that would be me," I said.

"Then you also know that it is only you who has the ability to leave this forest," the dragon said.

"I have heard a rumour that goes like that," I said. The dragon abandoned the carcass and started circling me.

"Ridiculous, why are you lying to these innocent souls? There is nothing you can do to get them out of here," the dragon said.

"Are you also stuck here?" I asked the dragon.

"Ridiculous, unlike these poor souls, I know my place and I know I can't get out of here," the dragon said.

"What makes you so sure you can't get out of here? Nothing should be that impossible," I said.

"It appears you are naive. Let me help you along and snuff out these miserable souls that you have lied to," the dragon said stalking the boy and the Megalion.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said.

"Oh, that sounds like brave talk coming from a Royal who doesn't even have a Skewerer," he said.

"How many new words does this world have?" I asked prompting the dragon to turn to me. I was deathly aware of how calm I was yet this was a situation which I knew wasn't looking quite good for me.

"Just how much don't you know about this place?" the dragon asked me.

"Not much really. The moment the queen saw me, she decided I should be thrown here," I said.

The dragon stopped stalking the others and walked back to its meal. I could barely hold my laughter in when I saw Anthony. The boy was shaking uncontrollably while on the other hand, Megalion looked calmer than I thought he ought to have been. The dragon was more than twice as big as him and almost thrice his size. I had thought Megalion was the biggest creature I was going to see here, but I guess I was wrong. Taking the dragon's size into mind, I was now curious more than ever to know how hunting so many animals was even possible for it in this dense forest. I knew that when it was day, you could hardly tell except for the very small stray rays of the sun that managed to reach the ground. They weren't enough to provide any kind of light, but they were enough for one to know that the sun was out.

"I believe you," the dragon said, its voice completely void of all the malice it held before and for the first time I noticed it sounded somewhat female.

I turned to it in shock, "Why? That was too fast," I asked.

"There is something about the two Royals that you should know. They cannot be attacked by creatures of the realm with which they rule. The malice just dies down immediately. That is why I believe you. You also have the power to command that which you rule, although I am sure you will use that one sparingly as all the other Royals tend to do," the dragon explained.

"It's okay guys. The dragon won't harm you," I called out to the other two who were still frozen to the spot where we were when we first saw the dragon. It was all too weird, they showed no signs of even running away. They slowly came closer although they still remained weary of the dragon.

"What's your name dragon?" I asked the dragon.

"Dera," she replied.

"Sir, can you talk to the dragon the same way you do with the Megalion?" Anthony asked.

"Yes,"I said walking to the pile of carcasses on the dragon's menu and picked up the unconscious soldier, David. I placed him against a tree such that he was in a sitting position. Anthony came over to us, "Let me."

I gave him his space and he got to giving the man all the necessary first aid he needed. "Where did you learn how to do that?" I asked him.

"A squire is taught a lot of things before they can let him even wield a skewerer," he said to me.

"I have been meaning to ask, what is a skewerer?" I asked.

"The weapons you saw all the soldiers carrying. They are the official weapons used in Serif. They are also one of the only few ways anyone can hope to control the elements," he said.

"That doesn't make sense," I said.

"I don't know the details, but I'm sure you will learn about it when you leave the forest," he said.

I left him to tend to David mentally noting the choice of words he had used. '…..when you leave the forest,' not even Anthony hoped to escape the Royal path with me. Was it really that impractical? I made my way back to the dragon to check on whether it also belonged here or not.

"Do you also want to find a way out of the forest?" I asked.

"I'm not as gullible as the others you are hauling along with you, royal. It's not very honourable to give people false hope you know," Dera said.

"No, it's not that. It's not false hope. I will get everyone out of here," I said. At the moment, I wanted to know how it is that no one had ever got out of this place other than the Royals. If I could find that out, then maybe I could also find out how it is that I could get them out of here.

"Don't count me among the ones going with you on this wild goose chase," Dera said.

"Dera, you're coming with us. At least do it for the fun of watching me fail. And if by some miracle I manage to pull it off, then you will be able to leave this place," I said.

"You make a good point," the dragon replied, "gather wood to make a fireplace."

I dis as I told and walked away from the small clearing to find wood. Megalion followed me for no known reason, though it was good to have the company. "Are you feeling okay, your majesty?"

Megalion one's voice sounded in my head while I gathered wood. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

There was silence before the beast replied, "Nevermind, it's probably my eyes playing tricks on me," he replied.

We finally got back to the small clearing and I set the firewood a distance from the pile of carcasses and the dragon. I was still trying to ignore the fact that I could see in so much darkness. Ever since I came to this world, I have been doing things I didn't find it possible. Running so fast, strength to jump really high with just as much precision. Now here I was acting like it was broad daylight in a pitch black forest. My vision was spectacular, and not just that, but I could see really far as well if I focused. I looked back at my internal clock and noticed that not only was I losing time, but the clocks of Armensia and earth had begun moving faster. I knew it had to do with the way this place was dampening my powers, but again that didn't explain the enhanced abilities.