chapter 34

Salem was horrified. He ran to her as fast as he could go. He looked down at her then leaned closer to the dragon. He could tell that she was still breathing, a very good sign. Pandora had landed in a small bush, not far from them.

"Salem, are you okay?" She called out.

"Yes I'm over here this way, with Kadrid." he yelled back to her.

Pandora immideatley ran over to him, then saw the poor dragon.

"Is she going to be okay?" The sorceress asked, worried.

"I don't know." Salem replied in a sorrowful tone.

"Kadrid? Kadrid wake up." The sorceress spoke with fear in her sweet voice.

"This is completly my fault." He spoke, almost numb by the circumstances.

"How is this your fault?" She asked, confused by his guilt.

"I let her fly too much, I was selfish for wanting to get home sooner." He replied.

"We're all tired and ready to get back." She reminded him.

"Thank you for being so understanding. I adore that about you."

"You're very welcome. All we can do is hope." She told him.

Then a sly smile spread across his face. Pandora recognized that devilish look.

"What is it?What are you thinking?" She asked, needing to know what he was planning to do.

"A potion for her." The warlock replied.

He then fetched the magical bag and began to rummage through it with desperation. After a long detailed search he found it. Salem opened the bottle with one hand and then Kadrid's mouth with the other. He poured the bottles yellow liquid into the mouth of the dragon. Pandora waited with him, they both feared for the winged beast. Salem sat there at a loss. He looked as though not just his body but his very spirit had gone completley numb. After a good twenty minutes and no improvement from the dragon, Pandora gave him an empathetic look.

"Salem are you going to be okay?"

"I don't think so." He replied as he stroked the dragon's cheek.

"I'm sure she'll wake soon."

"I hope you're right. I'll never ever forgive myself if something happens to her."

"I know that and i'm sure she'll wake soon, you'll see. For now just be with her, that's all you can do." Pandora reassured him with a gentleness only a woman could give.

Salem nodded to her. He knew she was right. He was glad to have met her. She was a good hearted kind soul.

" Could it be taking a while because she's a dragon and not a person?" She asked with intent curiosity.

He started to giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"You are too intelligent for your own good." He replied.

As soon as he had uttered those words, the dragon slowly began batting her large thick eyelashes, coming out of the state of unconsciousness. Salem and Pandora couldn't believe it, she was waking up. The both of them had felt a powerful sense of relief.

"What happened? Why are you staring at me like that?" Kadrid asked half awake, in more of a mumbled speech pattern.

"You crash landed, I think you knocked yourself out." The warlock explained as he hugged her tightly.

"That would explain why my head hurts so much." She told him, sounding more like her old self again.

"Are you able to stand up?" He asked.

Immediatley the dragon rose to her feet,.

"No broken bones or blurred vision?"

"Nothing like that just a whopper of a headache." She told him.

"Good I'm relieved that you're okay." He admitted to her.

"I'm a big girl. You can stop worrying over me now." She protested.

"I'll always worry about you. You know that."

"Yes, I know." She replied to him.

"I think we had better go on foot for the time being." He suggested.

The dragon rolled her eyes, but followed along with it, without a fuss. The three of them walked along the forest, making good time until they came to a clearing. Once they reached the other side of it they saw a small village. They tried to make their way through the village quickly without raising too much suspision. Some of the children of the village, no bigger than twelve year olds, noticed the medium sized dragon with the sparkle in her eyes. They were cautious but still waved hello to her. Kadrid didn't care much for all this walking, but she did love to meet new and interesting creatures and see the villages full of people tending to their daily routines, working and visiting with their friends and neighbors. It gave her something to focus on other than her aching paws from walking miles on end, especially during this journey. After this quest she planned on not walking anywhere for a while. She always did like to scan the forest for some of the creatures that dwelled within, like the pixie trolls, elf gnomes and the occasional gargoyle. The forest they had been walking through had a few diffrent creatures. Most she'd seen before. They had passed a family of little dwaves and gnomes, then another ten miles a few faries and nature sprites had whipped past them in flight, softly giggling as they flew around her. Kadrid enjoyed seeing them up close. It was a great way to pass the time on such a long and rough journey. It was another thirty five miles on foot before they saw anyone else.

G