The flower people scattered as I ran toward the rock May was resting on, and once I reached it I swiftly hit the knife out of the creature's hand that stood at the altar with my sword. The flower fell back gripping his hand in pain, and I picked May up gently. Once I touched her, her stem wrapped around my fingers and I raised my gaze to see the flower I had cut run away.
I scoffed as I turned around and walked through the now-abandoned camp. "Cowards." I returned my sword to its holder and shielded May with my other hand as I walked. As I passed by the tree that held the cages, the ogre spoke down to me. "Hey, you're not just going to leave me here, are ya?" I stopped to look up at him. "That cage is made of wood. Get out yourself."
His face held worry as he placed his hands on the bars and struggled to break them. "But it be some strong wood." I closed my eyes in exasperation and picked up a rock from the ground in front of me. "I can't believe I ever considered you a threat." I then threw the rock at the vine that held up the cage and it snapped upon impact.
The ogre yelled as he fell to the ground, and the cage started to quickly roll away. "Ahhhh!" Once he was out of sight I continued to walk into the thicker part of the forest. As I walked, I studied May to make sure she was alright. It appeared like she still had all of her petals and leaves, and there were no visible scratches. I didn't feel too relieved, considering how easy it is to damage her.
I looked around at the forest we were walking through to see if I could spot anything familiar. "I wonder how far we are from where we were kidnapped. It doesn't matter. We kept running into trouble there anyway." Suddenly, a blue bird swooped down from out of nowhere and swiped May from my hands. "Hey! Give that back!" I shouted.
I started to chase after the bird as it carried May in the grip of its feet. I ran quickly through the bumpy terrain and kept my eye on the bird so I wouldn't lose it. After a few minutes, it flew over a ravine, making me stop running before I went over the edge. I tried to think of something quickly before the bird got too far away. I turned and saw a tree that had fallen over the ravine that could be used as a bridge and rushed over to it.
I jumped onto the log and ran across as my eyes searched for the bird. I then misstepped and fell off of the trunk. "Ah!" I quickly grabbed hold of the trunk before I fell to my death, and moved my other hand to grab it as well. "Again with the cliffs?!" I pulled myself back around the top of the log and made it to the other side of the ravine. I looked up at the trees around me, searching for the bird, but now there was nothing to be seen.
I searched more hurriedly while trying to find it, but I couldn't see it anywhere. My gaze fell in anger and worry, but that quickly went away once I saw May on the ground a short distance away. "May!" Her bud was almost closed completely and I could only assume it was from stress. I started to run to her but stopped when I noticed she wasn't alone. Someone else was with her, a man with black hair and red eyes was sitting beside her. He only wore torn black material around his waist, and I had no idea what species he was.
He had dark spikes sticking out of his spine, and his skin blended into black scales further down his body. Long red scales that spread to either side of his chest fell down to his stomach and the front of his neck like the belly of a dragon. His arms and legs were completely covered in black scales and he had dark talons at the end of each finger and toe.
He also had a long tail that continued the row of spikes on his back to the tip of his tail as they became smaller. His hair was thick and mostly pointed up other than the front that fell over his forehead, but despite his horrific features, his face was surprisingly gentle. His face was pale and slowly blended to black before his scales, and the pupils of his eyes were slits like that of a dragon as well.
He slowly held his hands out to May to pick her up, gently. Once he held her in his hands he stroked her petals with the safe side of his claw. "It's alright, little one. Don't be afraid. I've got you sweet rose, everything's okay now." She started to bloom again to his soft voice, and once my surprise passed I hurried over to them. "Hey! Give her back to me now!"
He looked up at me with surprise. "Prince Dedrin?" I groaned. "Of course, you know who I am. Who and what the hell are you and why did you steal my rose?" The man smiled a little as he continued to calm May with his fingers. "If you're referring to the bird, then I had no part in that. I assume it set her here to make a nest and left to get some more material. I apologize, for I did not know that she was yours." He then stood up and handed her to me. May's stem wrapped around my fingers again and she bloomed fully once she was back in my hand. "She would be safer in your hands than in mine."
I realized that whoever this thing was knew about the spell. I raised an eyebrow. "And my other questions?" The man's smile didn't fade as he continued to speak. "My name is Razerous. I am a dragon. Or, was a dragon anyway. I was cursed to be brought halfway between dragon and human. Now, I look like this. I never would've guessed when I woke up this morning that I would meet two others who share curses like me."
I gave him a confused look. "Two?" Razerous's smile faded and his eyes avoided me as he answered. "Oh. I, I met someone else earlier today with a curse. That's what I meant by that." I was suspicious of his indecisive tone but decided not to pay it any mind. "So, you know of the rose spell?" Razerous nodded. "You're lucky she didn't get harmed after she was taken by the bird. Not many people make it this far. But, if anyone can save her I know you will. The rest of us aren't so lucky."
His eyes became melancholy and I couldn't help my curiosity. "What's the cure to your curse?" Razerous seemed surprised that I asked and smiled, sadly. "There is none. Sometimes I wish that I was cursed to be a human, that way if I had to leave my dragon friends and family I could at least fit in somewhere. I suppose the good part about this would be the monsters that lurk at night don't come near me. Even they shudder at my appearance."