Libelle stood in the entry hall listening through the front doors to the men outside her house. They were hurriedly talking about the catastrophe in Edinburgh and their excitement about meeting the dragon slayer for the first time. From what she had gathered listening to their banter, it sounded like an elder dragon had come out of the mountains to feast on the flocks. It was rare for these dragons to travel into the cities, so it was obviously older, wiser, and stronger than the common fire lizard. Their scales were harder to pierce and their breath more deadly.
She had come across several on her travels, and most were able to be spoken to if they were calm enough. She had convinced more than one to leave the settlements be, while others she had risked her life to bring down, the battles always long and exhausting.
She shifted on her feet, the heavy armor rattling as it adjusted more comfortably over her body. She was hung over, her head was pounding and felt like a stone block had replaced the head on her shoulders. The beaming sunlight sneaking through the windows and into the house threatened her with blindness.
Curses. How was she supposed to fight like this? Perhaps she should just send Gaalin. No. He couldn't handle an elder by himself.
"Damn beasty," she grumbled to herself in regards to the dragon.
"Ah, I'm now a beasty am I?" Gaalin chuckled as he entered the foyer, slinging a long, well-crafted bow over his shoulder.
"No, you've always been a beasty." Libelle stepped back as he crossed in front of her to the door. "It's days like today that you're more of a beasty than the ones that breathe fire."
He chuckled, "You wouldn't be saying that if you had not drank so much of that ale."
"Hush. Fetch my horse." She would not have any of his harassment. Not now anyways.
Her retainer only chuckled and grinned as he stepped closer to her, and in an intentionally clumsy way, he put her helm over her head. She gave him a foul grin, and he smiled back at her, treating her piss-poor mood in a gentle and playful manner. Her icy eyes continued to glare at him through the narrow gaps in her helm.
"Are you ready for the excitement then?"
"Excitement, you say?" She went to reach for the door when Gaalin stepped in front of her and placed his hand on the knob. He smiled for her, and she was the only person he would ever smile for.
"Yes, excitement. Can't you hear that chitter-chatter of theirs? They want to meet the dragon slayer, even a hung-over one."
She growled at him as he laughed and opened the door wide. A sudden swarm of light blinded them both before their eyes adjusted, and there stood the two Edinburgh guards, not panting as hard as they had been when Gaalin left them the first time. They stood frozen in place as Libelle walked out of the door and straight past them without even acknowledging their presence.
Gaalin was quick on her heels, silently signaling the guards to follow as they walked to the stable. Gaalin rushed past her and opened one of the stall doors to one of the several horses they kept. Out stepped a fine-boned creature, one with dusty black legs and an amber-brown coat covered by a grey wool blanket. It stepped high, its shod hooves clicking on the ground as Gaalin pulled the blanket from its back. One of the guards approached the horse, attempting to secure the delicate creature by its halter.
The horse screeched and reared up at the man, pinning its ears and opening its mouth to snap at his hands. Gaalin scowled at the guard. "It's not recommended to touch this nasty creature. He barely tolerates me."
He lightly but quickly brushed down its coat as Libelle approached her imported stallion. Brought over from a warmer country, her steed was bred for speed and stamina. Not built like the work horses this land was so proud of. The horse was just as tall, not as strong, but could cover more ground in a shorter time.
She handed her horse an apple that he happily snatched from her hand, then pinned its ears back and kicked a hind leg at Gaalin as he approached with a saddle.
"Tend to that chestnut mare over there," Gaalin snapped at the guards as he avoided the horse's hard foot.
The two guards rushed to the second stall and swung open the gate. Gaalin's large and sturdy mare nickered as she walked out, and the two guards were at its side where they rapidly brushed the horse down and began to tack it up. The horse was well trained, taking the bit swiftly between its teeth and hardly flinching as the girth was tightened around its underbelly. Unlike other people's horses.
Gaalin handed his lord the horse's reins, and she merely looked down at the fine leather. "You said the dragon was attacking Edinburgh?"
The tallest guard again spoke while standing to attention. "Yes, sir, it came from the south. It attacked the farms and started to kill the livestock, and it was focusing its breath at the main gates when we rode here."
Gaalin looked back at his lord who was still inspecting the tack seemingly without a care. He gestured towards the guards' horses, and they ran towards their already exhausted steeds. They mounted the steeds who each grunted under the new weight of their rider. Gaalin leaped onto the back of the mare and once again looked to his lord.
"My lord, we should take the eastern roads. We can reach Edinburgh faster."
"We should take the mountain pass," she responded.
"My lord, the horses may not make that trip. That path is nothing but steep slopes, and currently, time is of the essence."
"It's all right, you take the eastern roads. I'll take the mountain pass and assess the damage."
Both guards appeared puzzled as they looked between themselves, their exhausted mounts, the manservant, and a seemingly mad dragon slayer.
"Pardon my rudeness, slayer, but unless you can fly, you will not reach Edinburgh in time if you take the mountain pass."
The other guard piped in, "Yes, how will you reach it in time? If there is time...we may be too late now."
Libelle chuckled and looked at the men from behind her helm. "I have my ways." She held the reins tighter in her hand before stepping up into the stirrup and swinging herself into the saddle. "Go now, meet me there when you can."
The guards didn't budge, even as Gaalin urged his horse away from her side. His mount slowly walked towards the clearing in the yard that would lead him to the closest road.
"But...but slayer. You cannot fly, can you?"
"No, but he can."
Her stallion snorted, pawing at the frozen ground. His breath fogged with each exhale as she felt him tensing beneath her. His muscles were quivering with anticipation, and his legs danced about.
"I don't mean to argue, slayer, but that horse of yours looks like it will break over that pass. It is not sturdy like the drafts," one guard said timidly, lowering his eyes when Gaalin gave him a chilling glare.
Libelle ignored him. Loosening her grip on the reins, the horse moved off into a long-striding trot. Its feet extended far out in front of its body as she turned it into a circle to warm up its muscles. "Gaalin, get your ass moving."
Gaalin chuckled, "Yes, my lord."
He and his mount continued down the steep hill beside the house. The guards took only one more moment to stare before urging their horses into a trot to catch up with Gaalin. They stared wide-eyed as her horse let out another shrill whinny, reared up high on its hind legs and bolted away like an arrow let loose from the string of a bow.
The duo rushed past them, down the sloped hill next to the house, and past the stone-paved path. Yes, the paved path would be for smoother traveling, but it would take her too far out of the way of her destination. She flew through the tree line before her horse leapt from a ledge where the grassy soil ended and turned into a sharp slope littered with rocks and gravel. The stallion's feet stayed tucked under its body for an eternity before it finally extended its hooves, caught its weight and launched itself further down the incline, swiftly and gracefully gliding down the hillside.
"We best hurry up now. Unless we wish to miss the fight," Gaalin stated coldly as his lord moved further from his sight.