Ch 17 RESCUED

It had been five days since the army took Kestra with them. Keldo was hoping his daughter was safe when he awoke suddenly to the sound of roaring. When he looked left, he noticed the two dragons creating the noise. A slight movement of the cot alerted him to Celia's startled wakefulness. He took her hand, his touch warm and firm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Seeing her smile, he rose from the cot and went to Sylvaria.

"Boaoen, what is it?" Celia's inquiry came as Keldo worked to calm the young dragon.

"Celia, listen closely, can't you hear that?" Boaoen growled, a low rumble vibrating in his chest.

"It's too loud to hear anything when you roar like that." Celia shot back. She saw that Keldo had finally soothed Sylvaria.

With Boaoen's roar ceasing, the sounds of battle reached Celia and Keldo.

"Tell us where they are being held." A voice ordered. Keldo immediately recognized it. Shadow was here.

"Never." A Morvaie shouted. "You elves are pathetic. Saving your king and queen is a waste of your time. You should direct your attention towards the threat now present in your homeland. Enslaving and killing your friends, destroying your homes, and having such a good time doing it, right before your beloved princess's eyes.

"From what I heard, the Dark One is enjoying breaking her spirit a little more every day. She is quite lovely and young, isn't she? I heard he is planning on marrying her, or at least having his fun with her. It would be a shame if he destroyed her beautiful body and personality, all because you pathetic elves won't give up Melderan without a fight."

"Shut up. I will ask you again, where are they?" Shadow ordered.

"You might as well kill me, Elf, because I will never tell you." The Morvaie shot back.

With another roar, Boaoen and Sylvaria tried to draw Shadow to them using the sound. After a few minutes, they heard footsteps. Down the corridor, Celia noticed a figure quickly approaching. Once the form was where she could see, she couldn't help but cry. Shadow had found them.

"Sorry, we are late, your Majesties." Shadow, his voice heavy with regret, apologizes, the harsh scrape of the cell's lock echoing in the silence as he moves towards Boaoen.

"Better late than never, my friend." Keldo tells him, following Celia and Sylvaria out.

As Shadow looked towards Boaoen, a heavy silence hung in the air before he unlocked the cell, the click echoing in the stillness, and took a hesitant step back. Sylvaria dashed past him, her heart pounding with happiness, to embrace her father tightly. Unwilling to disrupt the dragons, Shadow still knew they had to get going.

"Sylvaria. We need to hurry." As he spoke, Shadow picked up the keys he'd dropped.

"What is holding you here, Dad?" Sylvaria asks when Boaoen didn't follow them.

"A cursed chain." Sadly, Boaoen replied.

"I will not leave without you. Now, where is the chain placed?" With a purposeful stride, Sylvaria approached Boaoen, her request unmistakable.

"My rear left leg." Boaoen replies. "I've tried to break it before, but to no prevail. You need to go, Sylvaria."

"Let me try, Dad." Sylvaria whispered.

A hush fell over the room as Sylvaria intensely studied the intricate chain, its links catching the light. She coaxed a small, intensely cold blue flame to lick at the chain, slowly warming the metal. A sharp snapping sound echoed as the chain shattered, sending a deadly spray of shrapnel that sent everyone scrambling for cover. "Let's go." Sylvaria orders, already on her way. Quickly, everyone dashed after her, still surprised.

"What was that?" Boaoen asks once he caught up with his daughter.

"I'm not sure. Something within me overcame everything else. I'm unsure of how to describe it." Sylvaria replies.

"I think I know." Keldo grinned. "The golden dragon's flames of ice will let the world know the liberator's spirit has awoken. Sylvaria is the golden dragon in the prophecy, Boaoen. If she can achieve that, there's no telling what else could happen. If she is currently developing it, Kestra might do the same."

"We can talk about all of this later. But right now, I'm afraid we have to get all of you someplace safe." Shadow interrupted.

"What are you going to do, Shadow?" Celia asks once they exited the mountain.

"I'm going to head back to Melderan. I will send for you after we save our people and rescue Princess Kestra. It will not be safe until then." Shadow replied.

"It's not exactly safe here, either, Shadow." Keldo tells him. "We cannot stay in Morvaie territory." Shadow knew the King was right. Morvaie territory was as dangerous as Melderan was.

"You can come to the Blackened Mountains with Sylvaria and me." Boaoen answers.

"That is a perfect idea, Boaoen." Celia declares. "It will be safe enough there, yet close enough to Melderan that Shadow could retrieve us easily."

"That is the best option we have, your Majesties." Shadow stated. "I will go to the Blackened Mountains once Melderan is safe."