"GENA!!!" Bella cried at the top of her lungs as she and her dragon were still pinned to the ground.
Mourtas turned his eyes to her, then grinned. "Oh, don't worry," he said as Zickarys dropped Gena's head, which dropped limply to the ground. "We will take good care of you."
Bella sneered, "you.. piece of shit.. just wait till Dagon finds out about this!!!"
"Yet he isn't even here. Does that not speak volumes in of itself?" Mourtas shrugged.
Bella froze. 'Not… even here..' she thought. 'Did.. Dagon run away..? No… he never would have done that… there is no way, right..?'
"It seems your almighty Dragon King is little more than a coward." Mourtas sighed. "Truly is too bad. And now, because of his cowardice, not only is Gena dead, but you will all be captured."
The sky was still black, churning and shifting ceaselessly with thousands of drakes and dragons. On the horizon, Bella could see the soldiers marching into view.
"This little rebellion of yours.." Mourtas said, "has come to an end."
"Mourtas! Please.. I'm begging you… save my dear Abyss, won't you…?" Myru said desperately, crawling to Zickarys's feet.
Mourtas glared down at the woman. "Why would I ever do such a thing? You are a threat to me, a waste of space. I have no interest in letting you live, woman. You aren't even in your senses. I mean, what Queen…" Mourtas grinned madly then, "would leave her King to die?"
Myru froze, eyes wide. Her composure became more relaxed now, as though she had given up on everything and went numb. "Elmond… are you saying.. he's.."
"In your blind obsession with death, war and conflict, you forgot what mattered most to you in this world. And now because of it, you've lost everything." Mourtas spoke coldly. "Zickarys, send her to join her dear beloved."
As Zickarys moved his head around to face Myru, the woman didn't even move to avoid the dragon or run away. It was as if the life had already been ripped out of her and all that was left was a hollow husk.
Zickarys's jaws opened, and as they moved to the woman's head, she turned back to face Bella, and her lips formed the words "I'm sorry" just before her head was bitten clean off.
Mourtas snorted. "Wench."
— — —
A few hours after defeating the black armored dragon, the beast had reanimated as it woke up. It was alert and didn't seem to know where it was at first, but Elmond approached it and placed a hand on it's snout, attempting to calm it.
"Calm yourself, dragon. You are safe now." Elmond spoke.
The dragon looked at the man, giving a low tone growl. Elmond was not a Dragon Kin, thus meaning he could not understand the dragon's speech even if he wanted to.
"I removed the black armor from you. And… I intend to bring down the black empire that this land has become." Elmond's eyes narrowed as he thought of Mourtas.
"I was hoping you could join me." He said, turning to face the dragon once again.
The dragon gave a low hum.
Elmond had no idea what the dragon had meant, and in that moment, as many before, he only but slightly wished he were born a Dragon Kin and not a human.
He pulled his hand away from the dragon. "If you don't wish to risk your life in this war, then you can leave at any time. The exit is right there." He pointed up at the ceiling. Then he smiled at the dragon. "You are free now."
He then turned away and walked to his throne. He had to prepare a speech for his kingdom… one that would compel the already influenced and corrupted people that the Dragonic races are not, in fact, evil. Meaning he had to make a perfect speech. Or else he'd be dethroned in a coup d'état.
As Elmond sat, placing his sword at his side, he was surprised to see the dragon was still there. The dragon reminded Elmond of a stone statue, the horns, the gray, rough scales, the spikes along his back and arms, the wings that looked as though they shouldn't be able to move, and a tail that ended in a spiral of a dozen spikes. He could only assume it was an earth dragon.
"You can go, you are not obligated to stay here." Elmond spoke.
The dragon gave a slight growl.
"I freed you of my own will. You are not endowed to serve me because of it. Your life is your own to lead now."
The dragon snorted, shaking its head. Then it began strolling towards Elmond, one claw tacking on the marble floor after another, until it ascended the staircase up to Elmond's throne. The dragon slowly strode to the side of the throne, closing its eyes as it passed Elmond, then it curled around the throne and lay down beside him, it's head over it's talons.
Elmond blinked in surprise. The dragon actually chose to stay. He smiled happily. He then gently placed a hand on the dragon's head.
"To new friends."