Dragon Riders of Etrea 2—Chapter 18

When the next sunrise came, Henrik began his preparations. Dried meat, hardtack, a few loaves of crusty bread, and of course a small sack of beans on Rasud’s insistence. He even snuck some carrots in there, and a few apples.

Along with that, Henrik had to pack plenty of water, although if things grew dire he could simply head north and melt snow. Spare clothes, blankets, Tobias’s small cookpot, and his bow and arrow rounded out the majority of his things.

“I’m really going to miss you,” Anslie said, holding Henrik tightly later that morning.

“You as well,” Henrik said, kissing the top of her head.

“I can’t believe after all that, I have to go two or three weeks without sex,” Anslie said after a moment.

Henrik laughed. “We’ll make up for it when I get back. I promise.”

“I hope you’re ready to please three women,” she said. “You’re going to have to do that, you know. And the more you bond with us, the stronger you’ll become. Plus, you’ll be able to better communicate with us.”

Henrik nodded. “Sounds like I have my work cut out for me,” he said with a smile. He finally released her, then walked to the corner of her small cottage, where his sword leaned in the corner. The sword always filled him with a mix of emotions, but he kept a tight rein on them.

“Wear that as often as possible,” Anslie said. “I mean, not in bed with me, but wear it the rest of the day. It’ll help you with Calduin.”

Henrik grabbed the sword and began fastening the belt around his waist. “Think I’ll need it for Isobel?” He shot Anslie a grin, but she wasn’t smiling.

“Maybe,” she said. “Isobel is a fiery thing. Be on your toes around her.”

“You make it sound like she might stab me,” Henrik said. 

Anslie didn’t respond.

Henrik laughed. “Well, good thing I’m armed, then.”

He bundled his cloak—Anslie’s cloak, really—under his arm and left the cottage, with Anslie following close behind.

“Ah, that time has come, I see,” Rasud said when they drew closer to the garden. The witchman was sitting beneath an apple tree, which had become his favorite place. Shel sat between his knees, smiling softly as Rasud rubbed her shoulders.

“You two are adorable,” Anslie said.

“Why thank you,” Rasud replied. “I’ve been working on my hair lately. I’m glad to see my efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.”

Henrik laughed. “Ah, I’m going to miss your bad jokes, Rasud. Oh, that reminds me. I need a book. Anything to help with the boredom of sitting in a saddle all day.”

“I might have something you’d enjoy. Go check my saddlebags. Uh, the right one,” Rasud said. “I brought a few small books with me, things I found in Selfoss. They might interest you. Just one, though; I need something to read as well.”

Henrik turned and went back toward the cottage while Anslie patted his horse on the neck. Much of their belongings were stored in a small room at the front of Anslie’s small home. Henrik found Rasud’s saddlebags, then began rummaging through them. 

The sacks filled with gold coins immediately caught his attention, but he would have no use for that where he was going. For one of the first times in his life, he looked past the gold to more important things. 

Three small books were gently packed in the right saddlebag. Henrik grabbed one at random and checked the cover.

Myths and Fables of Etrea.

He checked the other two books but after scanning a few pages determined that they were dry and boring, so he kept this one in his hand. After buckling the saddlebag, he left Anslie’s cottage.

Once back outside, he went straight to his horse. The small book was gently packed away, where it wouldn’t be damaged by other things. Then, he held Anslie tightly.

“I love you, Henrik,” she said quietly against his shoulder.

“I love you too,” he replied. It warmed his heart to say that. He believed that he was finally beginning to truly understand what love really was and how it felt.

“That’s good,” Anslie said. “I guess I’m doing something right.”

It took Henrik a moment to remember she could sense his thoughts at times. That would certainly take a while to get used to. He tried to send feelings of love and warmth to Anslie, and she responded by tightening her hug.

Henrik kissed her on the forehead, then finally pulled away. He wanted to make the trip as quickly as possible, so he needed to get moving.

“Try not to burn the place down while I’m gone,” Henrik said to Rasud.

The witchman looked over at Anslie’s cottage. “It’s mostly stone, so we should be safe. As long as Shel doesn’t try any cooking.”

“Hey,” she said, turning around.

Rasud just laughed. Shel gave Henrik a warm smile, then turned back so Rasud could continue rubbing her shoulders. Well, at least she seemed to be softening a bit, after being around Rasud. 

“No use putting it off any longer,” Henrik said. He grabbed onto the pommel of his saddle and pulled himself up. Once settled, he turned his horse toward the exit. “I’ll see you all in a few weeks.”

“Calduin is going to miss you,” Anslie said.

“I know. I’ll make sure to talk to him on my way out.”

Henrik slowly crossed the valley and went through the narrow passage in the mountain. Once in front of the dragon cave, he sent calm feelings toward Calduin, who immediately came forward. Fortunately, the calmness seemed to hold. Calduin had a bad habit of spooking horses when he grew excited.

“I have to go away for a few weeks,” he told the small dragon. Sadness and irritation came from Calduin in rolling waves. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, but I have to do this. I promise I’m coming back, okay?”

The small dragon dipped his head. Henrik felt a surge of affection come from him, although a bit of sadness lingered. He was a sensitive little thing.

“Ah, okay,” Henrik said, sliding down from his saddle. He took a step toward Calduin and dropped to a knee. “Just watch the claws.”

The dragon excitedly ran toward him and nearly tackled him. His long neck rested on Henrik’s shoulder, with his head rubbing against the back of Henrik’s. Henrik laughed and rubbed the small dragon, at least as much as he could with the spiky scales that projected along his spine. Like the rest of him, those grew larger every day.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?” Henrik pulled away and the two met eyes. “Well, I’ll be damned,” Henrik said.

Calduin had been born with almost solid black eyes, just faintly reminiscent of Henrik’s dark brown ones. Now, Henrik looked into dark brown eyes surrounded by white, almost a reflection of his own. The nearly-human eyes in the dragon’s head was rather unsettling to witness.

“Seems our bond is growing,” he said, patting the dragon on the shoulder. And that was a good thing; he felt he was well on the way to keeping Calduin as a peaceful animal.

Desires radiated from Calduin. He wanted to go hunting with Henrik, and he wanted to fly. He flapped his wings a few times, nearly lifting himself from the ground. 

“Soon,” Henrik said. “And not long after that, you’ll have to start carrying my heavy ass.”

He avoided telling the dragon that he would be fighting Emyss in the future. He just tried to remember that Anslie had said snow dragons grew very quickly when they were young, as a matter of survival.

Henrik climbed back into his saddle and looked down at the dragon. Considering what his future held, he almost told the little dragon he loved him. With a laugh, he simply sent feelings of affection through their bond. That felt better than telling a dragon he loved him.

Calduin was a sponge for affection. He nearly danced in place out of sheer happiness. His tail waved from side to side.

After a moment, Henrik sent a message of gratitude to Tossyth. She was curled up in her cave with her head resting on her tail, her large blue eyes focused on Henrik. She replied with feelings of approval.

While his focus was usually on Calduin, he always tried to remember the mother. And not only because she could eat him in a single bite. He needed all the dragons on his side.

“Alright, boy, let’s go,” Henrik said to his horse. The Duke tossed his head and they set off.

They slowly made their way down the sloping path, walking carefully to avoid stones. Henrik felt all too familiar with this path, now. He just hoped Isobel lived somewhere as beautiful as Anslie. And eventually, he’d have to win over Meriel as well.

“Three women. Well, at least I won’t have to worry about being cold at night, right boy? What would you do with three mares?” Henrik asked his horse. 

The Duke turned his head slightly so he could see Henrik, then snorted.

“Yeah, I have a feeling I know what you’d do,” Henrik said, patting the horse’s neck. “I should do plenty of the same thing. Anslie says the more we’re together, the stronger our bond is. That’ll help me hold onto my mind.”

The Duke didn’t say anything to that. Of course he didn’t. He was an animal.

“Why do I keep talking to a horse?” Henrik asked.