Oath of Vengeance

There weren't always dragons in the valley. At least, that is what Papa said. Naanji couldn't imagine it without them. She was crouched high up in a tree, one hand on the branch above, the other on her bow. From here she could see almost all of Nilahiin. It sprawled through the valley, enveloping the river Lil. The wooden buildings all looked remarkably similar, blending in with the rainforest. The unison between the town and the forest was ruined by the huge red flags that were littered throughout Nilahiin. They signified the presence of the Empire, who had become known, due to an infamous but no doubt mythical faction of the military, as the dragons. Naanji didn't believe the rumours about the factions powers, but many did. She did believe in the power of the Empire however, and she still found it hard to believe that Papa had seen the valley without their presence. To her, they were part of the valley, just like the trees, the river and the rain.

Black clouds were starting to cover the valley, which, along with the setting sun, were plunging Nilahiin into darkness. The forest was starting to come to life around Naanji. Leaves rustled, birds chirped and hooted and in the distance, something was howling. The hairs on her arms were rising. Naanji smiled to herself. No matter how much time she spent out here, she was always struck with a feeling of complete awe. The branch below her started swaying as a breeze picked up, a sign the rain was coming. Better get home.

She climbed down, dropping the last few feet, landing in a crouch. Standing up straight, she pulled her bow over her back and tightened her ponytail. Once she made sure the rabbit at her hip was secured, she started to move. She could follow the trail mindlessly now, if you could even call it a trail. Everyone else would just see overgrown forest, whereas she saw a path. Naanji was proud of herself for becoming so familiar with the forest. Even though she enjoyed getting out of the town to the freedom the forest gave her, she also felt an obligation to get out here. She had become quite skilled with her bow and could, more often than not, kill something to add to supper. The rabbit she had caught would be a welcome addition to the broth Ma was making. Khai would be pleased. Despite only being five, he had quite the appetite and rabbit was his favourite. Her little brother always asked to come out here with her but she hadn't let him yet. Another year maybe. She squinted as the darkness grew thicker. Normally, the curfew warning would have been blown by now, she realised. Surely she hadn't missed it. She never had before. But what if she had? Nope. No way. She had heard the horn from much further out before. There was no way she wouldn't have heard-

There it is.

The horn rang through the forest. It was unmistakable. As if she thought she hadn't heard that! She smiled to herself. The horn faded, and she waited for the second blow. She kept up her jog, her feet pattering along the forest floor. The curfew warning was always two blows of the horn, signalling that the locals had thirty minutes to return home. The end of the thirty minutes was confirmed by a singular blow. Naanji kept going, still waiting for the second blow. It didn't normally take this long. She quickened her pace. Where was the second blow? Could she have missed the curfew warning? There was no way, the horn was so loud! At least a minute had passed since the blow which could only mean one thing. Naanji was out after curfew.

She sprinted through the forest, almost falling multiple times. The curfew was strongly enforced by the soldiers. Naanji had seen the punishment before, the Gilar family a few years ago, the soldiers-

No, Naanji!

She couldn't think about that, not now. She needed to get home. She was getting close to the edge of the forest now, the flickering light from the town was visible through the treeline. She burst out of the trees into a trail between two huts, breathing heavily. She had reached Nilahiin, but she still needed to cross the river to get home. The rain had started now, just lightly. Without breaking her stride, she darted in and out of the streets and trails of the town. The mud was starting to soften in the increasing rainfall, splattering all over her lower legs. Curfew checks would be in full flow, so she would have to watch out for patrolling soldiers. The rain would help, as the noise of her footsteps would be masked. She came up behind a hut and paused in the shadows, convinced she could hear something. There was a rattling knock that made Naanji gasp. She heard a door open, it sounded close... it was the hut she was hiding behind!

"Curfew check.. you know the drill," a man said.

"Yes, please... they're both here," a woman replied, her voice faltering slightly.

"I should have you and two boys. Come to the door lads," there was creaking from inside the hut. "Lovely. All in order. Bye now." The door shut, and the soldier- No, soldiers! There were two of them, Naanji realised. They shuffled further down the street, "I'm fucking soaked... pain in the arse these checks..." his voice faded, so Naanji ran in the opposite direction. Her tunic was wet through now and clung to her skin. She came up behind another hut and peered round the corner. There was the north bridge, with no one stationed on it! After looking both ways, she ran to the bridge and took the steps two at a time. The wood was wet which, combined with the mud on her boots, was enough to make her slip. She fell back onto the steps, smacking her left temple. A crack pierced the air as she rolled back to the bottom. She lay in the mud looking up at the sky, feeling dazed. As she rolled onto her hands and knees, she saw blood drip into the mud below her. She felt the left side of her head and saw her hand was covered in blood. It started to throb, but she knew couldn't stay here, she needed to get home, out of the sight of any patrol. Pulling herself up on the steps, she noticed her bow in the mud. It had snapped. No! Not her bow. She needed that bow! As she dropped to the floor, her injury forgotten, she picked it up, but it was cleanly snapped, no way to fix-

"Oi! What are you doing!"

Naanji looked up. A soldier was jogging towards her. He must have heard her fall. Standing up, she flung her bow into the river below and ran up the steps for a second time. This time, she climbed them no problem and without looking back, she ran across the bridge and jumped from the top of the steps at the other side, landing in a roll. She turned right straight away, so that the soldier wouldn't see her if he looked from the bridge. Hiding in the darkness behind a hut, she peeked back out at the bridge. The soldier was standing in the middle, looking for her, but he must not have seen where she went. Her head was throbbing, and she had to wipe her left eye clean, blood and rain blurring her vision. She could also taste blood. Had she bit her cheek when she fell? Or was the blood from her head running into her mouth? She didn't know, and she didn't have the time to find out. The soldiers would now know that someone was out past curfew and they would be looking. She started moving again, much more laboured than before. Everything seemed blurry, but was that the rain in her eyes, or was she dazed from her fall? She kept moving, stumbling through the mud, before colliding with the side of a hut. She tumbled to the floor again, but got straight back up this time.

Just keep moving.

Her head was swimming, she could barely see straight, but something caught in her nostrils. Smoke. She sniffed again, deeper. There was no mistaking it. What if... no, please no. It would all be my fault...

Her vision got even worse as tears filled her eyes. She came up next to a building and rounded the corner to look down her street. There, in front of her, where her home should be, was a fire.

"Noooo!" Naanji screamed, as she started to run towards the fire. What she would do when she got there, she didn't know. There were people stood around, but she couldn't make out anything about them. Some started to shout as she ran past, but she didn't know what they said. The smell of burning wood filled her nostrils. In front of her, orange swirled in her vision, mixed with the red of her blood and the black of the sky beyond. Someone grabbed her around the waist. She fought, trying to get out of their grip, but they were too strong.

"No.. please," Naanji started to sob, "please..."

"Don't be stupid, girl," they said "you don't want to get yourself killed as well."

"Please... I need to-"

Naanji was knocked onto her back, splashing in the mud, and something pressed down on her chest. She was winded and couldn't see at all, tears, blood and rain ruining her vision. She wiped her eyes to look up at whoever had stopped her. She could just about make out the person stood over her... No. It can't be...

Tattoos swirled across every inch skin, and his eyes looked... yellow. He pressed down even harder with his foot, pushing her into the mud before crouching over her and gripping her jaw. His skin was cold and coarse on her chin. He gripped hard, making her head felt like it might explode. She sucked in breaths in between sobs as he looked down at her.

"You're lucky I was too impatient for you to get back," his voice was low and rough, almost inhuman. Naanji squirmed, but he just gripped harder. She felt dazed, the pain in her head fading, her eyes swimming again, threatening to close. He slapped her. The pain screamed back, her eyes opening wide, vision returning. The man crouched over her was unmistakable. He was a dragon. "I want you to know that this was your fault, the fire. You missed the curfew and the punishment, as you know, is up to our, well, my discretion," Naanji had both hands on his wrist, trying to weaken his grip on her face. She had little strength left, and he didn't even budge. "Now, since you missed the show, and the show was your doing, it is only fair that you get a taste, I think," he smiled down at her, bearing his sharp, pointed teeth. She tried fighting him, fear giving her a new burst of energy, but he held her with ease, one knee pressing down on her chest. He grabbed her ponytail at the tie and forced her left cheek into the mud. She spluttered as she inhaled the mud. It covered the left side of her head, forcing her eye closed. The pain in her head became almost unbearable. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his mouth open wide and deep in his throat, a glow appeared. As it grew brighter, she realised the rumours were true. Flames erupted from his throat. Naanji screamed.