"Hey, what are you doing down here?"
"I'm really sorry sir, I got lost after the ceremony." She used the best innocent voice she could muster, hoping her small frame and childish face would make her pass for a clueless kid.
Luckily, the man didn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed. He just kept looking at her without moving. She put her head down and climbed the stairs, mapping out the situation. A glint of gold on the man's waist. A greasy floor. A man prone to violence.
"Wait a second!"
She looked into the man's eyes, that were now filled with anger. He must have finally realized that is she was there, looking at the keys in his waist, she had seen their dirty secret. She couldn't dwell on saving the baby now, she had to escape first. No good could come from both of them being trapped. The man was twice her size, and a few steps above her on the stairs, so she had little to work on.
Mustering all her courage, she punched his nuts as hard as she could. They were directly in front of her, but she had no idea how to carry a punch. By the time her fist reached her target, it had the momentum of a garden snail. The man groaned a bit, probably more out of surprise than actual pain.
Then, as expected, he reached for her neck. Ahri adjusted her position, and as he stepped forward to get her, she stepped on his tunic. His momentum was halted, and his pivot foot slipped on the greasy surface of the stairs. Ahri glued herself to the wall while the man's hands grasped the air in front of him, Gravity finally did what she couldn't, and knocked him out with a loud hollow sound as his head met stone.
God, that was close. Her hands reached for the keys hanging from the man's waist and she stopped for a moment to look at the dragon. Too many guards outside, she'd never sneak her out unseen. She needed time, she thought as she sprinted towards the nave, and she'd get it.
There were a few knights guarding the private parts of the Cathedral were paying attention to the mass of people before them, so they missed the small girl stepping into the crowd.
Ahri left the Cathedral after a couple of minutes of being squeezed by the devout worshippers and ran the familiar streets of Lightbridge until she reached the flowery little house on the fringes of the town
"Mother, I'm back," she announced.
"Shoes," Eleanor's loud voice resonated from her small office. Taking off her footwear when she got home was a weird habit her mother had instilled in her since childhood. She never understood how her mother knew exactly when she forgot to do it, like today.
"I'll be out again. I just need to grab a few things." She went to the kitchen, that was just as cramped as the rest of the house, and tossed a few items inside her bag. What was adequate food for a small dragon?
"What happened?" Her mother came out of the office to meet her. "Did you go see the Ceremony?"
Ahri nodded; her throat suddenly too constricted to spill the words. What she had seen today was despicable, and her anger was yet to be subsided.
"I need something to treat a wound. Maybe aloe and chamomile." She was thinking out loud as she strode into her mother's office to get what she needed.
The place was a mess, as always. Different herbs grew from vases of all shapes and sizes, and pots of various colors of the spectrum stood on shelves with no sort of identification. The desk had an insane number of vials, and if she so much as raised her voice in the place it would probably set off a chain reaction of broken glass.
"Ahri, what are you doing? Are you hurt?"
"It's not for me, Mother. I need to go back, you don't have to wait up." She was almost done collecting the items she needed. "Do you think I should bring Valerian roots?"
"Ok, enough." Eleanor never raised her voice, but fire coursed through her words regardless of the volume. That made the girl stop in her tracks and look up to her mother. "You will not leave this house until you explain what is happening."
Ahri sighed, but she knew there was no point arguing there. Eleanor was an overall permissive mother, but in the few moments she decided to exercise her authority, it was always best to comply.
"You will not believe me if I told you." How could she even begin to explain that there was a baby dragon being kept under St. Hollots?
"Try me," she replied with crossed arms.
"I wanted to see what they were using to heal people, I thought maybe you could use it in the shop. So I climbed the southern wall and got in through the sacristy."
"Jesus Christ Ahri, you could have gotten hurt! You are too curious for your own good."
"I wasn't curious, it would be good for business."
Eleanor just gave her a pointed stare. Ok, maybe she was curious to know what they were doing to heal all those people instantly. But who wouldn't be? People couldn't honestly believe it was a miracle!
But then, her mother's stance changed as if she was struck by a lightening. Her eyes widened, and she froze on the spot. The only sign she was not magically turned into a statue was her eyes, moving from one side to the other as if trying to make sense of her surroundings.
"Ahri… what did you find?"
Eleanor's expression was too knowing. Her mother was always a rather secretive person, which was an almost base requirement for a healer in a town that condemned unholy cure. But Ahri always thought she could see right through her mystery. Now she just stood there, waiting for an answer she somehow already knew.
"A dragon. Young, and hurt." To her inconceivable confession, her mother simply nodded. "Mother, did you know?"
"Yes." Ahri took two steps back, trying to make sense out of those words.
"And you did nothing? They are hurting it!"
"She."
"What?"
"It is a girl. Leah. And don't you dare say I did nothing. You have no idea how many times I tried to find her. Now sit, we need to talk."
Ahri blinked a few times, trying to keep up with the sudden change. The baby dragon had a name, and her mother knew about it. She was angry, worried, and most of all desperate to free that little creature with eyes filled with pain. Leah.
"I can't sit, I need to go back to help her."
Eleanor walked towards the living room, and Ahri quickly assessed her odds. If her mother had information on the dragon, the best course of action would be to collect it and sort out the next steps.
Her mother took a few books that were taking over the couch and stacked them on the already cramped center table. Ahri thought they'd fall from the weird weight distribution, but of course they didn't. If she wasn't a healer, her mother could have been an architect. They sat facing each other before Eleanor broke the silence.
"Ahri, where is she?"
"In a cell in the crypts. Did you know they were alive? The dragons?"
Her eyes shone with an unknown expression, and for a moment Ahri thought she'd tell her something important.
"Yes, I knew," she simply answered. "Do you think there's a way to get her out? Maybe you can bring a bag and climb back down…" She could see the engines turning in her head. Despite her blatant curiosity about the story behind that knowledge, Ahri had more important things in mind.
"I got the key, but I still don't know if I can get her out today. She's too heavy to carry. I thought of at least treating her wounds if I can't break her free."
"Where did you get the key, Ahri? Someone saw you?" This time her voice was high pitched and utterly scared. The girl didn't have to answer. "Jesus Christ, I need to get you out of here!"
"I know it's bad, but the baby is more important now."
"Jesus, Ahri, do you think you are hard to track? A young girl with white hair. How long do you think it'll take for them to come knocking at our door? Even if you get Leah out, where will you take her?"
She was right, of course. Ahri had dismissed the encounter from earlier, but her oddly colored hair was by far one of the rarest features in the Kingdom. A miscalculation from her part, and it would cost her.
"You need to get her out today. It's the only way." Eleanor's words were final, and there was a savage determination in her eyes. Ahri had no idea how she'd get it done yet, but her mind would give her the answer. It always did. Even if she had to burn the whole thing down, she'd find a way.