TAKEN BY THE DRAGON KING

Unexpected Saviour

***

Elena

My breathing came in quick gasps as I tried my best not to cry. Nothing was going right, everything was wrong.

I didn’t know how I was supposed to save Dracul. I had gotten him into this mess, and I had no idea how I was supposed to get him out.

The chill in the air was getting worse now, and I shivered without my coat. Dracul’s skin was starting to cool too, and I felt the pressure of my responsibility land squarely on my shoulders.

I needed to get us out. There was no one else, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I looked around, but only the fallen dragons lay around us.

They didn’t seem to be dead, just knocked out, and I knew that I needed to move before they work up. Dracul was out of it right now and he was in no condition to fight.

And there was no way I could fight off five dragons. Dracul had been able to do it, but even he had gotten hurt.

There was no way I had any chance of surviving something like that. No way. I bit my lip and looked around frantically.

Could I navigate by the stars?

Could I make my way back by the moon?

Maybe I could drag Dracul in the right direction. It felt hopeless and I buried my head in my hands, trying to think of a way out of this mess. I came up with nothing but blanks.

“I won’t leave you.” I whispered softly to Dracul.

I had no way of getting him to safety, but I wasn’t going to abandon him. I’d stay with him and if we died, it would be together.

I wouldn’t just leave him to fend for himself. Not when he had risked everything to save me. Not when he was the only reason, I was still alive anyway.

I shuddered and buried my head against his chest. I remembered the feeling of his hands in my hair, tugging at my body and leaving me breathless. I remembered how my body had hummed with pleasure beneath his touch.

I shivered, the emotions were keen and intense in my chest. I wanted to crawl under his skin. I wanted to feel him inside of me one last time before we both perished out here.

But he wasn’t awake. So instead, I leaned over and pressed my lips to his. I kissed him, on the freezing forest floor, both of us covered in blood I kissed him as my life depended on it, running my fingers gently through his matted hair.

I kissed him because it was all I could do. It was all that I wanted. It was what I needed.

I needed him. I wanted him. I wanted more.

But I knew, with an increasingly heavy heart, that we might never leave this forest.

So, I held him, pressing his body gently to mine, lending him my warmth, kissing his skin, and letting him know I was here.

I wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t moving away. I wasn’t leaving him alone.

“Dracul, are you out here? My Lord?”

A voice cut through the forest and I felt a jolting move through my body. I pushed myself up a little bit, shielding Dracul before my brain caught up.

They knew Dracul. They addressed him with respect.

I know that voice.

“Gulliver?” I said, my throat closing up with emotion, “Gulliver, over here!”

I was shaking, the shock starting to kick in. Gulliver was here. Gulliver was here and that meant that we had a chance. That meant that maybe, just maybe, Dracul had a chance at being saved.

Gulliver was a magician. They knew potions. Medicine. We had a chance.

“Elena?” He said, his voice tilting in confusion. He wasn’t far away.

“Over here, hurry! Dracul’s hurt!” I said, my voice breaking on the last word.

He was hurt badly. I didn’t know what to do and the stress started to get to me, seeping into my skin and leaving me feeling dizzy and ill.

“Hurt?”

Gulliver pushed through the undergrowth, his silhouette coming into View.

He stared for a second, “My Lord.” His words left in a rush, like all the air had drained from his body in a rush.

“Hurry, please.” I said, my voice choking up.

“He was here, out here, because of me. And these guys attacked, and he took them all down, but he got hurt and I can’t move him.”

It all left me in a rush, my hands shaking violently as I smoothed back his hair.

“Alright, Elena.” Gulliver said and his voice was calm,

“I need you to move.

I will lift him, and you will follow me. Quickly. Do you understand?

I nodded quickly, stumbling back. I didn’t want to leave Dracul’s side, but there was no way I could lift him.

Gulliver moved into my place and lifted Dracul into his arms. He was a slender man, but the strength of the dragons was evident when he lifted Dracul like it was nothing…

“Quickly,” Gulliver said.

His tone was not unkind, but it was hurried.

He was worried, I could sense that in the line of his shoulders, in the way that he picked Dracul up, in the way that he stared straight ahead, his brow furrowed with concern.

We walked through the forest in silence, Gulliver moving quickly enough that I had to Jog to keep up with him.

My body was still shaking, but I ignored it. I was going into shock, but I didn’t care. Dracul was in danger.

Gulliver had found us and that was all that mattered.

I shivered, “How did you find us?” I whispered as we made our way out of the trees.

“Lord Dracul was… agitated… when he came to speak with me.” Gulliver said slowly.

I swallowed the ache in my chest and nodded.

“I was concerned, and I went to discuss… options, with him…” He said after another moment, “When he was not in his room, I went looking.”

He glanced at me, “Then I followed the smell of blood.”

I shuddered at his words, nodding quickly. “Thank you.” I said.

If he hadn’t followed us, if he hadn’t found us, we would still be stuck right now, and Dracul would have no hope.

Gulliver hurried forward and I gasped in relief as we reached the edge of the forest. His room was just ahead and Gulliver wasted no time in heading straight there.

As the lights of the building flooded Dracul, I felt my heart skip a beat. The fabric of my coat was soaked in blood and he was pale.

His features were more relaxed as if he had slipped deeper into the point of no return. I held back a sob. It wouldn’t help anyone.

I followed Gulliver into his room. “Clear my table!” He said to me and I nodded, hurrying to the large table in the middle of the room.

I gathered the paperwork up into my arms and dumped them on the nearest surface. I grabbed bottles and containers and quickly stacked them elsewhere.

It felt impossibly hard to keep my hands steady. They trembled as I hurried to clear enough of space. The moment it was ready, Gulliver set Dracul on top of the table and angled the lights towards him.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I felt faint at the sight of all the blood.

“What can I do?” I said, my voice coming in shuddering gasps.

“Grab water, bandages, whatever else you can find. The supplies are to my left.” Gulliver said quickly, his voice hurried, but calm. I nodded and rushed to where a large collection of supplies was.

Gulliver was muttering beneath his breath and I heard the snip of fabric being cut away. I shuddered and hoped I didn’t have to see the injury close up.

I didn’t know if I would be able to cope with it.

Luckily, it was covered up when I headed back. Gulliver grabbed the water and I turned away as he cleaned and dried the area.

He applied something that smelt like medicine before he bandaged Dracul back up and cleaned off more of his skin.

I didn’t know much, but I guessed it was to prevent infection. It didn’t take Gulliver long, but it felt like the the longest period of time in my life.

When he was finished, Gulliver had Dracul Wrapped up, cleaned up, and quiet. His brow no longer furrowed in pain and his breathing was shallow and even. I shuddered as I stared at him.

My stomach twisted and I thought I was going to be sick. I didn’t know what came next. I didn’t know how things were going to turn out.

And it scared me more than I had words to say.

I cleared my throat, found my courage, and whispered the words that had been plaguing me since I held Dracul in the forest.

“Is he going to be okay?”