Captured By The Dragon
Episode 14

Patara

He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like I was a wild animal that needed to be contained. I screamed and beat on his back as he carried me out into the night as fast as he could. “Where are you taking me?”

He said nothing, nor did he react to my resistance. If I had to bet, I would even say that he was smirking at the sounds of my screams.

I caught sight of soldiers saluting him as we passed them. I wanted to spit on their faces and beat on them too. I was tired of being the helpless girl that got controlled by the biggest man in the room.

He carried me into a strange, dank building down the path from his house. It looked like a small prison from the outside. He pulled me back over his shoulder and held me tightly against his chest.

“Do you know what’s in there?” He asked against my ear. Disgust filled my stomach as he shoved me inside before I could even answer.

It was pitch black inside and smelled like animal shit. The second I took a step in, a low growl echoed against the wall as if it was a warning from a giant animal. Dylan forced me further in, even when my feet wanted me to run.

Loud, wet chewing sounds surrounded me the more I went in. I finally saw a set of bars in the dimly lit corner of the room. Some… some big lump was chained in the cell with a long stick thing that actually looked like a leg.

The closer I got, I realized it was a wolf-like creature chewing into a human arm. The scent of b***d hit me at once and I almost doubled over just to vomit all over Dylan’s shoes.

“See that arm?” Dylan whispered in my ear. He ran his fingers lightly across my neck and every part of me recoiled in disgust. “That arm belonged to the old man that tried to buy you.”

My eyes snapped up to him. “What…?”

Dylan smiled. A wide smile that told me he was proud of himself even if no one else was. “That’s right, princess. That arm belonged to the Snake King.”

Slowly, I turned back to look at the bloody piles around the wolf. He must have eaten all of him… I didn’t know whether to be relieved or disgusted

“That man loved little human girls. The younger, the better. He would use them up until they were either too old or too used and throw them to his men to destroy like leftover meat.”

“You’re all sick monsters!” I screamed. The wolf lifted his deadly gaze to me and I tried to keep in my cries.

“Ay,” Dylan raised his hands in defense. “Don’t lump me in with that sicko. No one here would do a thing like that. Cindy is safe, she’s hanging out with Erik. He swore to protect her and I know he would never touch a kid like that.”

I said nothing as I watched him pace the small area. “It’s lucky he agreed to take care of her. If he let her go and be out there alone, she would have been eaten or taken by rouges. And trust me, you never want to be taken by a rogue. They treat women worse than anyone else in this land—and that’s saying something.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and wiped my tears with the back of my hand. What kind of place was this? Hell?

No, it was starting to seem much worse than hell.

When my mother used to tell cautionary tales, I never heard one this bad. This kind of reality was only suited for nightmares.

This world was made of nightmares, I was sure of it.

My mind couldn’t wrap around it no matter how hard I tried. Before I knew it, the world went dark all over again.

Dylan

I caught her just as she was falling. Her head fell hard against my shoulder as I lifted her up into my arms. Perhaps I had scared her a bit too much, now she was unconscious again.

She had to know who she was dealing with. She had to know the kind of world this was and that there was no chance for her to escape unless she wanted to fall into more dangerous hands.

I carried her to her own room this time and put her in bed. She sighed softly as I wrapped the covers around her body. I touched her small face lightly before I went to shower the last few days off my body.

By the time I came back to check on her, she was awake.

She hugged her legs to her chest tightly and watched me with an intensity that almost rooted me to the spot. I could practically feel the fear radiating off her, just out of reach.

I crossed the room silently and sat at the edge of the bed, far enough away from her.

“I’m sorry I scared you.” I said as gently as I could. Patara looked down at her hands as I spoke. “I only wanted you to understand.”

“I—I don’t feel safe here.” Patara said in a small voice. “Not in this world, or in this house. I feel like I will be killed at any moment.”

“You’re safe in this house, I guarantee you that.” I said sternly. “Nothing would touch you here. Everyone knows that this is my territory.”

Her wide, watery eyes pierced through my chest when she looked up at me. I stood and held out my hand. “Come with me, I’ll show you around the house. It is your home now, after all.”

She hesitated. I could see it in every breath she took before she finally nodded and accepted my hand. One day she wouldn’t cower from me, she would embrace even the most vicious side of me.

I pulled her out of bed and led her out of the room. Everyone else in the house was fast asleep, not even the cook or maids were up around this time.

“I know it’s a dark house and it may look frightening, but it’s home.”

Patara looked at me curiously as she followed me down the long halls. I showed her the bed rooms that looked similar to all the rest. I showed her the bathrooms, living rooms, offices and kitchens. I even showed her the library and I didn’t expect her face to brighten as much as it did at all the books.

I finally led her to a sitting room that looked out into the garden during the day time. She sat gracefully by the fire and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“You’re free to move around the house, I only ask that you don’t go outside. It’s not safe out there for a human no matter what time of day.”

Patara stared into the fire for a long moment before she turned her wide brown eyes on me. She lowered her head lightly in understanding and I knew it was all I was going to get for the night.

At least she was finally seeming to warm up to the idea of forever with me.