• The Knight, Dragon, and Refugee


    "Thief!" The red haired girl darted around the corner, clutching the book to her chest. She didn't dare to look back. She didn't want to see how far behind the guards were. She just kept running, her breath decreasing rapidly as she did. She ducked and dodged, run under, sprinted over, tumbled across, and stumbled over the city streets and innocent bystanders that were being shoved and pushed away from her trail.

    She gasped for breath, her heart racing inside her. She looked up, spotting the shop sign. A smiled danced onto her lips. 'Just a few more steps' she celebrated. At this point, she dared. She dared to look back. The guards were hot on her tail. Her eyes widened, a look of shock replacing the smile. She ran quicker.

    "Halt thief!" screamed one of the voices. The voice she knew all too well. She finally reached the shop and scurried inside, ducking behind the counter, clutching the book to her small frame. She tried to gasp for breath silently as the bell of the door sounded. Everything stopped. The slow sound of footsteps nearing made her heart jump.

    Suddenly, the large lizard man stepped out from behind the counter, covering his cloak over the young girl. "Ah, Sir Aaron. What can I do you for?" he asked, his voice low and deep, bellowing like God. The red haired thief peered out from underneath the cloak, staring up at the guard.

    Sir Aaron. His ebony hair falling in his face. His golden eyes glowering around the small book shoppe. He grunted a bit and sighed. "Sorry to bother you Mr. Ladrinor. That little rat is running about again." came his soothing voice. "I swear, she gets harder to catch every day." grumbled the knight. The old lizard man gave a chuckle.

    "Aye, but she is a fine one." The knight didn't agree, but merely gave a low chuckle himself. Everything fell silent for a moment. The refugee looked up. The knight's eyes were lost in a distant memory. An urging question. The old lizard knew the question. "No boy. She is dead. Why can ye not accept that?" he questioned, beginning to polish off an old trinket.

    "You know very well why Orzark." Silence again. The bell of the door rang again and the knight was gone. The young girl came from under the lizard's cloak and sat herself on the counter. The thief looked down, her eyes resting upon the book, but lost in thought.

    ""Orzark? Why does Aaron search for her so longingly?" she asked. She was rewarded with a chuckle of amusement. Kira cocked her head to the side. "I'm serious Orzark! Why does he search for her even though she will never come back?" she asked again. The old lizard man just chuckled and sighed.

    "Aye. Because she was something to him. Something very special." Kira's eyes softened and she looked back to where the knight was before. A long lost memory playing in her head.