chapter two : the open road
The open road welcomed Arianna, enveloping her and welcoming her with peace and joy.
The sunset danced through the sky, shining on Arianna's sword and armor. Even Cirrus was a magnificent shade of red and gold. Traveling was the best part of Arianna's job, that much was true. The world which Arianna lived was the most beautiful place in the universe.
Cirrus set off at a gallop, though he soon slowed to a steady canter. The wind whipped through Arianna's hair, throwing it around her face and creating a mane of black hair around her beautiful face. Ah, the joy of the open road!
"This is nice, Cirrus," Arianna sighed, admiring the gold purses on her belt. They hung there without fear of being stolen, for Arianna's sword hung just beside them. Theives and villains would not dare touch Arianna or her gold.
Cirrus whinnied in response to his companion, thundering along the trail and bounding over fallen logs and trees. He tossed his forelock out of his eyes, and Arianna retreated into deep thought.
Silence filled the air. The only sound were muffled whimpers, but those were soon silenced by the soft hands.
The child lay, shuddering and very ill, on nothing more than a small pallete, meant for the birthing of lambs. The mother crouched over her, tears flowing freely down her face, her hands pressing the cool cloth on the dying girl's forhead. At least she could be comfortable in her last minutes alive.
The woman did not know what she had done to deserve this. It was as though all life had turned against her in this one fateful hour, when she had returned from her travels and training to find her husband dead and her little girl almost gone. It was all she could do not to lay down beside the small child and die as well, out of sorrow and greif.
If one can imagine the feeling of having one's own heart torn from their chest, that was the feeling that Arianna experienced. As three shuddering breaths left the little girl's lungs, she fell limp, and she felt no more pain.
Arianna let out a scream, a scream of anguish and agony, a scream that told the story of her love for the girl, and the way she had gone off to learn the art of fighting so that she could make money for her family. She would have done anything to get the little child out of the servents' quarters.
But the girl was no longer in the servents' quarters. Arianna didn't know where she was, but only that the happy child would be in a good place. Her soul would live on for eternity, in peace.
It was selfish for her to weep. But she wept bitterly, wailing and sobbing, for the little girl had been all she had.
Lying down beside the tiny pallete, and grasping one small hand, Arianna closed her eyes, and quietly lay there, feeling the little fingers grow cold.
Two dark brown eyes snapped open, and their owner found them to be filled with tears. Wiping them, Arianna sat up, forcing the dreams and memories away. They could be saved for another time.
But the memories would not leave. Arianna remembered the way she had gotten three times as many chores from her master after the death of her family. She had worked all day, then gone to training at night, learning swordsmanship and other fighting techniques. She had heard of the fabled dragonslayers, and they were the peasent's only chance.
She began neglecting her duties to study and train. She read every volume she could, and every scroll, about dragons. She learned of their ways, and was soon the most knowledgable servant in the town, about dragons.
But masters did not want servants who were knowledgable. They wanted servants who worked. Arianna was sent away, but she didn't care. She had made enough money to buy a horse and a sword, and she rode away in search of the Dragonslayer Headquarters.
And the rest was history. Arianna had been attacked by dragonslayer guards, and she had slain both of them with one hand behind her back. Another, who had remained hidden, had run back to his master and told him of the dirty, ferocious woman that was attacking their fortress. Expecting to find an army, the man found only Arianna, blood dripping from her sword and a firey glint in her eyes.
She had been accepted into training instantly. She had proved her worth against the guards, who were the fiercest and strongest in the land. She learned how to combat dragons, and she fought with an amazing grace that could only come from the female race. She fought with emotion and power.
She soon went into business, and found with a fair amount of pleasure that dragonslaying paid well. Too well. It was ridiculously easy for one such as Arianna to kill a dragon, but it was considered an amazing feat by those less skilled. She lived in a calibur above everyone else, for she knew the truth behind the noble knights. They were not any better than anyone else; they just received the proper training.
The fierce warrior Arianna Trapfoot soon gained a great amount of recognition among her peers, and she became the most sought-after slayer for the most difficult of challenges. Even fellow dragonslayers had come to her for help and assistance. She was indeed a celebrity among the people of her country.
But now she was nothing more than a rider and a traveler. The only thing to bother her where she was right then were dreams and memories, and those could easily be swept away by the wind flying through her hair on the open road.
The ride took Arianna far along the trail leading to the birthplace of dragonslaying. The town was called Point Slay, for obvious reasons. It had been erected around one massive fortress, that fortress being the Dragonslayer Headquarters.
Arianna felt her entire body relax as Cirrus galloped down the familiar streets. She passed her own home, and waved at the little hut, a warm feeling in her chest.
But she continued her ride. She was headed for the fortress itself, to check in with her superiors. She was eager for a new assignment.
She tethered Cirrus at the gate, and, kissing the equine on the muzzle, she jogged up to the massive wooden doors, and leaned against them, rapping with a gloved fist on the worn surface.
"Hello?" Arianna shouted after a minute. "Open up!"
The doors swung open, revealing a rather sheepish man. He had a suave goatee, with the end carefully curled. He wore robes that must have cost a small fortune, with gold tassles and a fur collar. His face, though embarrassed, was smiling broadly.
"Why, if it isn't miss Arianna!" he said, bowing sarcastically as he laughed. "Warm greetings to you!"
"Oh, stop it," Arianna laughed. "You are...just...Gianni."
"Indeed," Gianni smiled, leading his friend into the massive entry hall of the fortress. The stained glass windows high up the stone wall depicted magnificent scenes, with dragons crying for mercy as their rivals, the dragonslayers, destroyed them. Arianna smiled. The images brought back memories of her own battles, and she could not help but see herself in those ancient slayers, immortalized in glass.
"What is happening that I should know about?" Arianna asked as she looked around, everything looking like she had left it months ago. "Anything new?"
Gianni smiled. "We're...redecorating. Come," he said, clasping Arianna's hand and pulling her to a hall and trying to keep her running as she doubled over in laughter.
It was a relief for Arianna to see Gianni. He had been her training partner many years ago, when she had just arrived at the fortress. He had instantly become her friend, his boyish charm pulling Arianna out of her deep hole of sorrow. She found it easiest to laugh when he was in her presence, and he made her feel happy inside like only one's closest friends can.
Soon, the pair arrived in a large chamber. It was the old study hall, where Arianna and Gianni had received so much of their training. It looked similar, except that one of the windows was missing. Instead, there were men standing on a platform up by the opening, creating a new masterpiece that made Arianna gasp.
"It's...it's
me!" Arianna gasped in disbelief. "Why am I up there? How...who...what...?"
Gianni smiled in amusement. "Our greatest slayers are immortalized in glass," he said, beaming. "You will be an inspiration to many young female slayers in the future, Arianna, and they will train under your watching eye."
Arianna gasped, unable to speak. The honor and dignity she felt were indescribable. She was close to tears, but she didn't cry. She never cried.
"It's so beautiful," she repeated, smiling a watery smile. "Thank you, Gianni."
"Well, it wasn't
my idea," Gianni muttered, blushing. With that, Arianna gave him a playful kiss on the cheek, and dashed back down the hallway, leaving Gianna standing, rather stunned, in the training room.
Her dignity returned as she continued along the countless hallways of the fortress. Arianna just felt goofy around Gianni, but she was calm now, and eager to learn what was in store for her and Cirrus.
She soon arrived at the audience hall. It was also used as an office for Arianna's superiors, and dragonslayers went there to receive their next assignments.
Much of the dragonslayer's guild was about a carefully defined heiarchy. There were the overlords, who gave orders to the lords, who gave orders to the gold slayers, who gave orders to the regular dragonslayers. Though it was frequently said that Arianna should be made an overlord, she chose to remain a dragonslayer. The overlords were never out on the road, so Arianna saw no point in that duty.
Stepping quietly into the room, she saw a man sitting at a desk before her. He was frowning and studying a sheet of parchment, scrawled with writing. He glanced up when he heard Arianna's footsteps, and smiled slightly.
"Vos," Arianna said respectfully, bowing slightly. Vos returned the bow with a slight nod.
"Miss Trapfoot," Vos said, his voice demanding authority, "I have a task for you."
"Yes?" Arianna asked quickly.
"You must go to Yoni," he said. "They apparently have a rather large brute, and he sounds like the type you are best at fighting. If you find anything interesting there, remember, bring it back. There's always a use for such things."
Bowing slightly, Arianna stated that she accepted the task. She had often defended Yoni, as they were rather prone to harrassment by dragons. She exited the room, her heart pounding with the excitement she got as she set off on another quest.
She rode Cirrus down the streets for a while, and passed her hut. She stopped, yawning, and realized that she would not be able to go on without some decent rest. She tethered Cirrus to a post outside her hut, and kissed him goodnight before entering her home.
She hung
Dragonsbane on a peg by the door, and looked fondly at her one-room hut. She had a round wooden table with one chair, and a cozy pallete pushed over against the far corner. She had various trinkets she'd collected on her travels displayed throughout the hut. The only reason she didn't have a larger home was that she was rather attatched to this little place, and she didn't like the thought of leaving it.
Yawning again, Arianna pulled off her heavy armor and tunic, and crawled into bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders. She closed her eyes, not giving a second thought to her job at Yoni, and not coming close to realizing that, over the next few days, her life would change entirely.
