The Bond

THE BOND

“NO!”

“What did you say to me?”

My father swung his gaze towards me, anger writ large across his features.  

“NO! I will not kill because you told me to. This animal is no danger to us.”

I pointed to the prostrate animal lying motionless on the ground.

Anger radiated from my father. Barely able to control himself, he strode towards me, slapped the sword in my hand, pushed me toward the unmoving beast.  

“We are dragon slayers! We slay dragons!” He shoved me again. “Now slay the dragon!”

“No! I will not kill a defenceless animal because ‘it is what we do’!”

I threw down the sword, and turned to face him.

“By God, Daughter, you will slay that monster, or you will no longer be welcome in my home!”

I was stunned. Not so much be the threat of being shunned by my family, but by how adamant I was — how strongly I felt that the killing of the dragon was not necessary.

I live in a patriarchy — a father’s word is law. Children do not disobey their fathers. Wives do not disobey their husbands. And depending on your status in society, you would not disobey my father — he was a powerful man. But, here I stood, defying my father, refusing to kill a dragon. 

I took a deep breath. “Then I am no longer welcome in your home.”

Rage radiated off of him. I stood my ground.

“Then I will dispatch this monster myself!”

I stooped to grab the sword by my feet, swivelled towards my father, arm extended, sword tip at his throat.

“You. … Will. ...  Not!”

Anger turned to shock. Then quickly returned to anger.

“How dare you! You will pay for this treason against me. I. Am. Your. Father!”

“No, you are not. No longer. You are now just a man willing to kill for the sake of killing!”

“You, Daughter, will know that well before long. Mark my words, you will pay for this disloyalty!”

He turned and stalked away from me, leaving me alone with an injured dragon.

When my father, Phineas, proposed that I accompany him on this hunt, I tried to demure. But he would have none of it. I was the youngest of five children. Three girls and two boys. My elder brother, Hick, had died. He had tripped and fallen on his own arrow. My other brother, Bernard, was a monk. My two sisters were married, with children of their own. I was a late-in-life baby, arriving long after my mother thought she would have any more children. And I was my father’s last hope at continuing the legacy as dragon slayer.

Not only was I the youngest, but I was also the best hunter. My sisters and my brother could all hunt, but I was better. I was faster, surer, more agile and astute. That was why my father decided — with no input from me — that I would be the dragon slayer, the one to maintain our family’s status in the land. 

I did not want that responsibility. I freely admit that I am not sure what I want, but it wasn’t the weight of familial pride to continue an activity I find repulsive — killing animals, not for food or safety, but because that is what our family has always done. There had not been a dragon attack in my lifetime — so why were we doing it? No one could answer that question. My father maintained that it was because we killed dragons they were reluctant to attack. I disagreed. … And here we were.

I looked down at the dragon. She was young, and she had been injured. I didn’t know what to do. I had turned my own life upside down for this creature, but I didn’t have the slightest idea what my next step should be.

I squatted beside the animal.

One amber eye opened, fixing me with its gaze.

“I owe you my life!”

I shrieked, and jumped back, unconsciously thrusting the sword forward.

“You’re not going to slay me now, are you, after disavowing your father when he wanted you to do just this thing?”

I looked at the sword, and lowered it.  

“You can talk?”

The amber eye blinked.

“Yes. I can talk. And you hear me.”

I looked at her. She lay unmoving. Only her eye was alive. I paused. Only her eye was moving? Not her lips.

“How did you talk?” I squeaked. As terrified as I was, I needed to know the answer.

Her eye blinked.  

“We have a bond — a bond that is only between you and me. An unbreakable bond.”

I looked around frantically. There was no one else in the forest. The birds and small animals the only other inhabitants.

“Why can I hear you when you don’t talk aloud?”

Blink.

“It is our bond.”

“But I am talking aloud.”

“You don’t have to.”

Blink.

“Just think your questions towards me.”

I shook my head.

“That is foolishness!” I said. “I cannot think at you.”

“Can’t you?” Blink. “Try.”

“How?”

“Shut your eyes, concentrate on me, and think of a question.”

I did as she said. I shut my eyes, and thought of her.

“What … is … your … name?”

I opened one of my eyes and looked at her.

“Landra. I am Landra.”

“I did it!” I said out loud.

“Yes,” said Landra.  

I sobered, looking at her prone form.

“You’re hurt,” I said, using my words. “What happened?”

Blink

“Two days ago, your father shot me with an arrow.  I was able to fly away, but my wing was damaged. He has been searching for me ever since.”

“Can you move?” I asked, squatting down again.

“I can. But it is painful. I can’t fly, so I pretended to be dead, in hopes that your father would believe me slain.”

She slowly lifted her head, rolled from her side to a crouching position. I took a step backwards. She was so much larger than she seemed when laying prone. Her right wing was folded compactly on her back, but her left wing jutted awkwardly away from her body.  

I took a step forward and examined her injured wing. I found my father’s bolt. It had pierced her wing, and had embedded in her shoulder. The injury was angry and red.

“We need to remove the arrow,” I said, shifting my glance to her face. “It looks infected. We have to get it out before it inflames your entire wing.”

Landra nodded.

“I can’t fly.”

“Can you walk?”

“Yes.”

“I know a cave …”

It was almost dark by the time we made it to the cave. I didn’t think that anyone would find us there. The cave was tucked deep into the forest, it’s entrance partially covered by foliage. I had found it on my ramblings in the forest. Being the youngest of five, I was left on my own quite a bit, and I spent many days exploring, much to my mother’s chagrin.  

We entered the cave. Landra was considerably larger than me, but the cave was big enough to house us both. Her injured wing made entry tricky, but we managed without causing her too much pain.

I got up to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to find wood for a fire.”

I returned with an armful of wood and kindling. After I finished setting the fire, I started looking around the floor of the cave.

“What are you looking for?”

“A flint. Or two sharp stones. I need to be able to create a spark to start the fire. It is going to be cold tonight, and I need warmth. Plus, I need to clean your wound after I take out the arrow.”

She lifted one of her brows, looking at me.

“What?” I asked. 

“You know that I’m a dragon, right?”

“Yes. Of course I do. But you are an injured dragon. And, I’m a human who needs warmth, or I die.”

“But I’m a dragon,” said Landra.

“I know! But—”

Then it occurred to me. She was a dragon — a fire breathing dragon.

She sparked the flames and I fed in the branches and logs until we had a roaring fire.

I took my knife out, moving the blade slowly over the fire. I cleaned the blade off on the hem of my jumper, and looked at Landra.

“I need you to lie down on your stomach. I’m going to walk between your wing and your body. I’ll cut the arrow shaft as close to your wing as possible, removing the feathers. That way I can slide if through your wing with no more damage. Then I can remove the tip from your shoulder.” I paused. “It’s going to hurt.”

“I’ll be fine.”

I walked back to where the arrow was jutting out of Landra’s shoulder. I took a big breath.

“Okay, here we go.”

As gently as possible I used my knife to saw through the shaft as close to the tip as possible. Landra stayed perfectly still, making no noise.

“Okay, Landra, the shaft is removed. There’s a hole in your wing but it is now free.”

I walked to the fire to reclean my knife, sneaking a glance at Landra. Her eyes were closed, her breathing regular.

“I am fine,” she said.  

I didn’t know how she knew I was going to ask. But instead of questioning her, I concentrated on the task at hand, and returned to her side.

I examined the arrow head buried in her shoulder.

“It looks like I am going to have to cut the tip out. Your scales have grown over the entry wound, so to remove it, I’m going to have to cut your scales.”

“You won’t be able to do that. My scales are my armour. You are going to have to break them off to remove the arrow head.”

“How can I do that?” I knew that dragon scales were strong. “How did the arrow get in there in the first place?” I thought for a moment. “I’ll just reverse the way it entered.”

I examined the wound. The arrow had managed to slip under the scale and lodge itself in Landra’s flesh.

I raised my knife.

“If I just put the knife down the side of the arrow head and use the tip of the knife to lift it out …” I said more to myself than to Landra.  

I worked my blade into the wound, catching the bottom of the tip, and gently pulling upward.  

“There. You are free of the arrow.”  

I looked at the arrow head. It was a brutal weapon, with four razor-sharp blades, made only to inflict the most damage.  I looked back at the wound. Green blood oozed down her side.

“Landra, you’re bleeding. I need to clean the wound, then pack it.”

She said nothing.

I walked toward her head.

“Landra?” I said. “Landra? Can you hear me?”

She said nothing. A small stream of smoke trickled from her nostrils.

“I’ll be fine,” I heard in my head. “Please just stop the bleeding.

I had a deer skin of water, and ripping my undershirt, I soaked the cloth. I squirted water directly on the wound, and used the cloth to pack the wound. The blood flow slowed, then stopped.

“Now we wait,” I said.

Landra did not move for the entire night. I checked on her regularly, but what was I looking for? Did she have a fever? How can you tell with a fire breathing dragon?  

I dozed off and on until morning.

“Landra? How do you feel?”

Her amber eyes opened. She flexed her wings, filling the cave.

“I am considerably better, thanks to you.”

I smiled. “And your shoulder?”

She raised up her shoulders, lifting her folded wings above her head.

“As good as new.” She looked at me, smiling, I think. “Thanks to you.”  She tilted her head. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Myla. It means Warrior.”

“And saviour.”

My stomach rumbled. It had been a day since I had eaten. I had an apple, some cheese, and a loaf of bread. Unpacking, I offered half to Landra.

“I know it’s not much, but it is all I have.”

She smiled her dragon smile. “No. I eat meat. I need to hunt.”  

She made to get up, wobbled, and sat back down again.

“You need to rest. I will hunt for you,” I said, sheathing my knife, and inserting my sword into my scabbard. “I am a very good hunter.”

I headed out of the cave, watching the ground for signs of any animals in the area around the cave. I saw few signs of any animals, and all the foot prints led away from the cave. Probably because there was a dragon nearby.

Then I saw the human footprints.

I stilled, letting my eyes unscramble the puzzle before me. There were two people. Male. One heavier than the other. They were tracking … tracking … tracking Landra and me.

Oh dear! I hadn’t considered that anyone would try to seek us out. I had only been worried about getting Landra into the cave, out of the elements.  

I turned on my heel, and started to run back to the cave.

“Stop right there, Daughter!” said a voice behind me.

I froze mid-stride. Father.

“I said that you would rue the day you defied me.”

I heard his footsteps come up from behind me. I turned slowly to look.

There my father was, looking smug, a sneer painting his face. My sister Olive’s husband, Roy, with him, looking just as smug.

“It took us less than a day to find you,” said my father.

Roy laughed. “Because she is just a girl. She is no better than the weakest man!”

My father looked at Roy, suddenly sober.

“Do not underestimate her, Roy. She drew her sword on me, and I believe she meant to do me harm.” He pointed at my scabbard. “Relieve her of her weapon.”

Roy moved towards me. I jumped back, and pulled me sword pointing it at both men.

“You said I was banished. I am banished. I am of no concern to you!” 

“You disrespected me, Daughter, and you must pay the price!”

“What is the price, Father? What do you think I deserve as punishment because I wouldn’t kill the dragon?”

“You will die in the dragon’s place.”

“You mean to kill me because I didn’t follow your instructions?” I was incredulous.

“Yes. You chose a dragon over your own blood. Now you must die!”

Roy drew his sword, and took a step towards me.

“There are two of us, and one of you,” he said. “How do you expect to fight us both at the same time? Drop your sword, and we will kill you quickly.”

“You will not!” I said. “I am younger and faster than both of you!”

My bravado was false. I was frightened. I couldn’t fight both men alone.  

“Drop to the ground, now!” said Landra, in my head.

I did as she said, because I trusted her.

She swooped in, silently, grabbing each man with one of her claws, and swooped upward. Father and Roy both screamed, flailing their arms, their weapons falling to the ground.

“Bring them back, Landra.”

She swooped around and dropped to the ground. They thumped down, hitting the earth like two sacks of potatoes.

Neither man said anything.

“We are showing you mercy. More mercy than you would have shown either of us.”

I pointed me sword in towards them.

“If I ever see either one of you again, I will not show such mercy. I will run you through with my sword. Then I will give you to the dragon to eat. Do you understand?”

Neither man spoke, instead, just nodding their heads.

“And, if I hear of you killing another dragon, I will recruit all the dragons in the land, and we will lay waste to your town, destroying all the homes, killing all the livestock, setting fire to all your fields.” I looked at my father. “Do you understand and agree to these terms, Father? You are not longer Phineas The Dragon Slayer. You will never kill another dragon, or I will personally come and kill you. Do you understand?”

My father blanched.

“Do you understand?” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“You do believe me, don’t you, Father? That I will hunt you down and kill you?”

“I do,” he said, not looking at me.

“Then leave. I never want to lay eyes on either of you again.”

I waved them off with my sword. They limped away, bloody and bruised, disappearing into the forest.

“Thank you,” I said, thinking my thoughts towards Landra. “You saved my life.”

Landra snorted, smoke escaping from her nostrils. “I just did what you did for me. We are now bonded for life.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”