Chapter 122: Moonlit Encounter (1/2)

”Quick! She went this way!” The guard shouted as he ran past the hollowed tree Andrea was hiding in. She waited until the rest of the group had passed before slipping away into the evening darkness.

Although she felt a pang of guilt about escaping from her longtime bodyguard Jordan, she was glad to be rid of the others.

Ostensibly for her protection, she had grown increasingly stifled by the detail from the University Guard. Finally, when she caught one of the guardsmen ogling her when he thought she wasn't looking, she decided she'd give them the slip.

Escaping her guards had proven easy enough, but losing them was a bit more difficult. After dinner, she had expressed the desire to go for a walk, and pushed past their objections to force the issue. While they were moving through a slightly wooded area near the division between the dormitories and central campus, she made her move.

Summoning a thick cloud of sand, Andrea ducked into the wood line while the guards were distracted. Unfortunately, they were surprisingly well trained, and once the cloud had subsided, the quickly started catching up.

She led them into a slightly wild patch of trees in the north east corner of the Magic Department's grounds, eventually succeeding in evading them entirely by hiding in a dead, hollowed out tree. Once clear of pursuit she made her way to one of the outbuildings that served as practice rooms for the department's Elemental Mages.

It had been deemed necessary to isolate the volatile group on the far eastern side of campus to avoid any unseemly.....explosions.

The building was locked, as expected. Sighing, she walked around it until she found an oddly shaped boulder. It was strangely regular, with a slit carved into it, but looked comfortable enough, so she sat on it. She was starting to regret her impulsive behavior.

The thrill of her escape had worn off, and she couldn't help but consider the ramifications of the act. Andrea was acting childishly, or worse, foolishly. Running away wouldn't accomplish anything besides aggravating her protectors. More than likely, they would use this as an excuse to limit her freedom even further in an effort to keep her 'safe.'

She sighed again, and looked up towards the starry sky while listening to the chirping of nocturnal insects. The crescent moon rested picturesquely on the horizon, providing a little light to the world below.

[At least it's a pleasant night.] She thought.

Suddenly, the insects went silent, as a massive creature moved through the trees nearby, crushing underbrush and snapping branches. She could see its vague outline in the darkness of the night, and its sheer size left her feeling cold. Holding as still as she could manage, she waited with heart hammering until the thing had passed.

[What was that?] She could still hear it moving towards the wall surrounding the University. Now that the danger seemed to have receded, she found her curiosity acting up.

[There's no way a monster that size got past the University's defenses without triggering some kind of an alarm…..unless…]

Unless there was a traitor inside the University that allowed it in.

Andrea's mouth felt dry. She felt she needed to investigate. Who knew what sort of nefarious deeds would be committed if she just pretended like she didn't see anything. Indeed, it was her duty as a member of the royal family to get to the bottom of this.

She crept along, following the creature's obvious path. Hopefully, she could remain unseen until she'd gotten a clear idea of what was going on.

After a while, the creature broke into a clearing and stopped. So sudden was the change that Andrea nearly followed it out into the open space.

Thinking quickly, she dodged behind a nearby tree. From her hiding spot, she could hear the quiet murmur of a male voice somewhere on the other side of the creature, the tone solemn and little sorrowful. Curious, she peaked out at the scene.

A massive reptilian creature was sitting hunched over in the center of the clearing. A pair of membranous wings were held loosely to its scaled flanks. With a start she realized she was looking at a dragon. One that seemed to be conversing with some humanoid figure she could only see the legs of.

”What….what is this?” She spoke unconsciously before slapping a hand over her mouth in panic.

The dragon whipped its head around and delivered an intense glare in her direction, its baleful red eyes glowing malevolently in the night. It rose to its full height, wings splayed and ready to pounce.

Fear overwhelmed her all at once, and she felt her legs give out from underneath her. Wracking her brains, she frantically tried to think of something, anything, she could do to stop the beast before it attacked.

”That's enough, Red.” A male voice called. In response to the command, the dragon relaxed visibly and settled down on to its haunches, tail curling around its forelegs.

A human was standing by the creature, wearing a deep crimson cloak with hood raised. For a moment, Andrea thought the man's face was bathed in shadow, but she realized he was wearing a mask of the purest black, which covered everything, including his eyes. She'd never seen someone look so suspicious.

The cloaked man stepped forward, placing himself between her and the dragon. ”So, what is a princess doing out here by herself, at this time of night?”

Her mind blanked for a moment, completely unready for the sudden change in circumstances. With an effort, she regained her feet, ”What I am doing is my own business. Besides, I'm not the suspicious one here. What are you doing with this…..dragon?” She trailed off a little bit, still feeling awed by the majestic creature now staring down at her in an arrogantly dismissive manner. ”Why shouldn't I summon the guard right now?”

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