Aelwen kept her eyes focused on Gerel, hoping her expression could convey the kind of deep trouble she was in. He nodded slightly, his face darkening. He ducked, slipping into the crowd and out of sight.

Aelwen breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was some hope she'd get out of here.

After the crowd had gotten over its initial shock, several members of the throng of terrified people screamed at the circus members, telling them that this was a horrible, risky idea.\

"That thing will escape and slaughter us! Or it'll call on its brethren to attack the village! What were you thinking!?" One particularly loud voice called.

A few of the village guards rose from the benches, drawing their swords and approaching the cage. Their eyes plainly displayed their intent to kill. But before they could reach the cage, a magical green barrier appeared, cutting off the performance area from the audience. The guards pounded at it, demanding to be let through. Their demands were not answered.

The magician swept between the crowd and the cage, his staff glowing brightly with the same sickly green. He bowed, the light mustache on his face twisting upwards along his smiling lip. "Calm down, dear audience! I, the great Kriem, will again show you wonders beyond your imagination, as I do to this dragon what many of you would have loved to do to the ones that attacked your homes and cities!"

The shadows of several dragons passed over the performance ring. The crowd waited in silence for them to get out of hearing distance, and then continued their protesting.

Kriem stepped to the side, waving his glorious cape. "I have protected this village by casting an invisibility spell over it. Thus, I would ask in exchange for you to allow me to continue with my performance." He eyed the drawn swords the guards held. They continued to stand defiantly. Kriem sighed.

"Well, I'll continue anyway, even if I am being treated quite rudely." He turned his back to the audience, facing Aelwen with squared shoulders and not a trace of fear on his face. "Over the past week, dragons like this one have been terrorizing the countryside after mysteriously appearing on the eastern edge of the land. Now they have traveled all the way across the continent to kill our queen and slaughter our people. I think it is time for us to fight back, even in a small way, no?"

The crowd members murmured among themselves.

Kriem flung his staff above his head, the jeweled wood spinning dramatically through the air before planting itself in the ground. The painted eyes blinked absurdly quickly, short beams of light shooting out of them as they opened. One of them hit the giant lock on the cage, melting it instantly. The door creaked open slowly. Aelwen froze.

The crowd held its collective breath. Aelwen spotted Gerel slinking silently around the edge of the circus.

With a thunderous crack, the wand sent a bolt of lightning directly at Aelwen's tail. She screamed and leapt out of the cage. However, to the audience her altered scream came out as a terrifying roar, the crowd lurching back in response like a wave over shore.

Aelwen stumbled over her chains, smashing to the ground and giving another "roar." Dust rose into the air, moved by the young dragon's twisting form. The staff flashed again, blinking eyes syncing with the magic words leaking from Kriem's mouth. The chains dissolved, turning into silver dust and mixing with the dirt in the air. As soon as they did, Aelwen rushed for the forest, which was only past a few buildings. But she was stopped by the greenish magical shield surrounding the performance area. She slammed into it, even clawing at it with all of her strength, but it would not break or even crack.

She whipped her head around, facing the smiling magician and the crowd. There was no escape in sight. Her only chance was to stall and wait for Gerel to do something. She prowled along the edge of the shield like a tiger pacing around her cage. The question was how to stall.

"Do not worry, dear audience! I am safe! After all, are we not humans? Residents of Cainia? We are powerful and faithful to Cainen! Thus, we will conquer all dragons, just as I will conquer this one!" Kriem declared. "Let this inspire us all to fight back!"

Kriem stood before his wand, waiting for Aelwen to lunge at him. She didn't. She simply sat, glaring at him coldly. She refused to indulge in giving him what he wanted.

Degon, who stood just outside the barrier, gave a signal to Kriem. The magician nodded in return. A staff-eye blinked, a tongue of flame striking Aelwen in the forehead.

She expected a burst of pain, but none came. Instead, Her vision clouded over, her mind growing foggy. Her thoughts dimmed, her consciousness falling into a dark red haze. It was hard for her to think clearly, if at all.

What... happen...?

I... can't...

Can't....

Her muscles contracted, tightening up and making her involuntarily pose her haunches into a cat-like crouch, as if she was about to pounce. A deep, guttural group emanated from her throat.

It was then that the spark of rage ignited. A hot flash of anger burned through her, though she did not know where it came from. She retreated into a primal state, yowling and glaring at the magician as her eyes glowed a dangerous purple. Sharp pricks ran along her spine.

Kill... Kill... Kill...

With strength never used before, the wild red dragon leapt at Kriem. Her claws were aimed directly at his throat, their deathly sharp tips cutting through the air with lethal force. As they were inches from his exposed flesh, Kriem let forth a booming magical command. The wand heated up, painted eyes glaring at the dragon and releasing an angry burst of flame. The fire burst onto the dragon, which made her slam back into a part of the shield.

She got up, red scales on the side of her neck smoldering slightly. She gave another feral roar before resting on muscular haunches, launching across the performance area in another attempt to maul Kriem. He cast a whirlwind spell, lifting the dragon up into the air before sending her crashing down onto the packed earth.

She was still. Breath came out in huffing wheezes. The crowd members were on the edge of their seats.

The wand summoned vines lined with thorns, which wrapped themselves around the dragon's paws, tail, neck, and wings, securing them to the ground. The dragon struggled, biting, clawing, and tearing at the vines. But they kept regrowing, eventually causing her to almost stop moving altogether. The soft membranes of her wings were punctured by the vines in several places, causing crimson blood to spill onto the thorns and vine-littered ground. The blood seemed to make the deathly plants stronger. They thickened and procured more spikes with every drop.

Members of the crowd began to realize what was happening. A few of them cheered, laughing and ogling at the sight of a dragon overcome by a magician. Perhaps there was hope to defeat them after all.

A wicked-sharp blade of ice manifested itself at the very top of the staff. Strange glowing runes were etched into the sides. Slowly, the knife floated into Kriem's hand. He gripped it tightly. More cheers thundered in time with Kriem's steps as he methodically made his way towards the writhing dragon. More light pulsed from the runes. He raised the knife above the dragon's chest as his toes brushed against her bloody scales.

Degon pounded against the magical shield. "KRIEM! You're not supposed to kill the thing! We need it! What are you doing!?"

Kriem continued looking at the dragon, his lined face betraying his exhaustion from using so much magic. "In the name of High God Cainen, I give this sacrifice. Let this offering garner us your blessing and lead us to defeating the foul beasts that taint this land." He glanced at Degon. "And let this also set to rest the troubled spirits of Degon's family. May they be avenged and live forever on with Cainen in paradise."

Degon stopped pounding on the shield, his face a mixture of bewilderment and devastation.

The crowd was pounding the feet and clapping their hands, rabid faces eager for the sight of vengeful death. The smell of fresh blood filled them with an unleashed barbarity. The dragon's eyes widened, animalistic eyes bored into Kriem's.

The sudden sound of a splintering crack caused the howling to stop.

Standing in the middle of the performance ring, stood Gerel. His hand gripped the eyed staff. It was broken in two.

Everyone was silent, regarding the strange boy in utter shock.

Gerel threw the pieces of the wand to the ground, the painted gemstones falling off the broken wood like leaves from a fall tree.

The knife in Kriem's hands shattered and dissolved. As did the shield and the vines.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BOY!?" Kriem screamed before collapsing to his knees, taking in haggard breaths.

Gerel rushed toward the dragon, his expression withdrawn and stoic. The dragon lashed out at him, but as he placed a hand on her head, she stopped as if frozen. Gerel whispered a few words, his eyes closed and other hand to his heart. All traces of fury melted from the dragon's face, turning back into the terrified face of Aelwen. A yellow mist escaped from her mouth, traveling in a quiet hush towards the sky...

Aelwen and Gerel shared gazes.

The crowd roared, guards raising their spears and villagers picking up stones. Screams of "Kill the dragon!" and "Kill the dragon boy!" rumbled through the circus.

Gerel lept onto Aelwen's back. "RUN!" he yelled. Aelwen obeyed.

She made an adrenalin-charged dash for the woods, which were not too far away. Gerel turned and cast spells at the charging people, using small shields to deflect arrows and stones. Aelwen looked back in confusion. How is he doing that without a wand!? She thought in absolute bewilderment. But she didn't have time to wonder about that now, and continued to run past circus tents, surprised acrobats, and dwarves plastered with clown paint.

Just as they were in the homestretch to the forest --Aelwen's legs and wings feeling like they were on fire--, Aelwen felt a jolt along her back, and heard loud scream. She ran even faster, her heart beating at a mile a minute.

As the two passed underneath the thick branches of forest trees, a booming cracking sound, similar to that of the breaking shield, came from the sky. Several fractures appeared, floating over the village. And then, the invisible spell guarding the village broke down, its source of power destroyed. The villagers ran around in a panic, no longer paying attention to the escapees.

Dragons roared from above, spotting the untouched village and diving towards it. Towers of flame seared into wooden buildings. Wails and shrieks of people of all ages blended with the snapping of dragon teeth into a cacophony of destruction.

The forest burned as the boy and the dragon disappeared into the darkness. A hulking figure watched them, her scarf blowing in the smoky breeze.

...

Aelwen stopped in a shallow pond, gently setting herself down in the cool water. She used her front paws to spread her wings out, letting them soak and washing them off.

She turned her head to see Gerel limply spread across her back, his head propped against her neck. He clutched as his thigh... where a long arrow was stuck through.

Aelwen gasped. "Gerel!? GEREL!?" She cried, slightly nudging him with her snout.

He coughed, gritting his teeth. "Get... the purple stuff... out of my bag... NOW!", He said, his hands shaking as they gripped his thigh.

Aelwen gently let him slide off of her back and into the pond. She carefully rummaged through his backpack, procuring the jar of purple slime and a roll of bandages. Gerel snatched them away and took a knife from a back pocket. He swiftly cut off the tip of the arrow that peeked out through the back of the thigh. He next smudged the purple stuff around the arrow shaft on both openings.

"Aelwen... I need you to pull out the shaft... hurry..." he said, his jaw quivering.

After a moment of hesitation, Aelwen gripped the end of the arrow with her jaws. Gerel's face grimaced in anticipation. With a swift motion, Aelwen brought her head up, ripping out the wooden shaft and spitting it out into the water. Gerel gave a high-pitched scream, scaring off a few curious birds.

He ripped off a bandage, wrapping it around the leg and securing down the purple jelly. He huddled into a ball, head tucked down. Aelwen could hear him mumbling cusses to himself. A lot of them.

Aelwen lay beside him, letting him lean on her side. She exhaled, looking at her own wounds that were still bleeding quite a bit... and felt very faint. She'd lost a lot of blood.

Her eyes fluttering, she willingly felt herself accept the deep embrace of unconsciousness.