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Chapter 8: In freedom I willingly flee.

Mistica laid on the ground of her pen. It had been a full day since Katrin was flogged and she had fainted right in front of her. She had been constantly guarded by several guards who all pointed their pikes at her face. Not that Mistica felt the need to growl or threaten them any more. She just felt deflated after Katrin left her vision. She never wanted to get her hurt and now, the metallic scent of Katrin's blood was in Mistica's noise and she could not get rid of it how much she wanted it to.

After Amberheart saw, Katrin carried to the infirmary to gaze at Mistica again. “So you are going to listen from now on, dragon?” The lieutenant asked with a stern voice.

“My name is Mistica, use it.”

“No, I will not. I have played your little game dragon. Listen to you, gave you more compassion than I would do with most dragons. Yet you didn't listen and you didn't behave.”

Amberheart received a threatening growl from Mistica. “So you think that just because you are nice to a slave, the slave will happily do your bidding, even trough they are just a slave and have no free will. You are delusional, Lieutenant, delusional to think that I will ever be really tame.”

“Well, you better be. If you want to see your rider again, think about it, dragon. Else we have better use for you at the breeding grounds... or in your case, mutant, perhaps the king would like a dragon steak.”

Mistica gazed at Amberheart, her eyes turned to slits. What could she do? It was not like she could become any more angry at her. She was already boiling with anger at every single human who kept her captive. And yet, all this anger filled her with a hollow distress that was harrowing. Mistica eventually backed down. Her hunger to fight had been lost for today.

“Good dragon, you for once made the right choice,” Lieutenant Amberheart remarked when she saw Mistica's stance shift. “Just a shame you did not make that one earlier. Then I wouldn't have to punish your rider. "

Mistica curled up and closed her eyes, wanting this day to be over. She has lost this battle, and it felt horrible. Even trough she closed her eyes, she could not fall asleep. Her mind raced with options and thoughts of the day and what do to next. Did she really have a plan yet? She had to wait for her wing to heal to flee successfully, but what if she did not have the time to flee?

The snow was falling outside of the stables. Again, that damned cold had settled in over her body. She could feel a minor source of heat pressed against her own scales. When she lifted her wing and looked, she saw the small human form of Katrin pressed against the smooth scales of her belly. She was shivering, also feeling the cold. Why was she here? Pressed against her?

When Katrin looked up, Mistica could see she was crying blood and her eyes were filled with overwhelming despair. The blood stained Mistica's otherwise black belly scales. Every so often, the blood turned into a red swirl, tainting her black scaled hide.

“Why you did not behave?” she whispered. “Do you hate me?”

“NO!” Mistica wanted to cry out, but again, her tongue was not responding. Against she could feel the overwhelming loneliness closing into her. She did not hate Katrin, she just wanted the freedom of all this pain and hate.

In the distance, she could hear familiar wing beats. It sounded like Fera, but still Mistica could not shout. Not that she had to. The sand golden dragoness came into the stables and looked at Mistica in her pen, all tied up. She gazed at Mistica with disapproval painted all over her scales.

“I thought you loved me” Fera said, Mistica wanted so shout she loved Fera.

“I guess you don't really love anyone and only hurt people,” Fera came closer to Mistica. sniffing and looking at the human. “Just look at what you did to the poor human, all alone. Cold. Reminds me of someone, doesn't it? Do you want to come with me, little one? I can heat you up. I will take care of you. "

Mistica could not help but to watch as Katrin was taken in by Fera. As soon as Fera covered Katrin with a wing, the two of them disappeared with the rest of the stable, leaving Mistica alone and on her own in the icy darkness. She could again feel the heat crawling up her scales now everyone was gone.

She could hear that voice from Derick coming at her again. “Are you ready to submit? Ready to behave? Or perhaps we should let you freeze.”

Mistica woke up, her nest a mess, her bounds had duck into her sides while she slept. Slowly she opened her eyes to see the guards were no longer there, instead a stableboy who had the door of her pen open while he was putting down fresh hay for her to lie on. When he noticed her being awake, he force and looked directly into her eyes. She could smell his fear before his face, discoloured with white horror.

Moments later, he regained control of her body and ran off, shouting for the guards, who came rushing in moments later, lances pointing at Mistica. Demanding what she had done to scare the stable-boy. Leaving Mistica in a state of confused while she tried to phrase together what she dreamt about and now she was again confronted with hostility.

Well, if they wanted hostility, they could get it. She growled deeply, vibrating the wooden blanks that made up the floor of her pen. The Guards took defensive stands, doing whatever they feel right to keep the dragon contained within her pen.

Mistica's anger stare off was interrupted by a single thought, a thought that was not hers to think, nor it was the mental voices of any other dragons. They stopped talking to her after she bit the leg of that 'doctor' anyway.

“Fuck you dad” rang in her head. Was that Katrin? Was she awake? It was always so hard to extract those thoughts of Katrin from Mistica's own thoughts. The humans mental capability where so under developed that Mistica doubted she could ever really communicate or if it really was Katrin she was talking to. So far, Katrin had never responded, so why this time would be any different? Though she felt that guilt creeping into her soul. She had to talk to Katrin. It was her actions that made her end up in the infirmary.

“Katrin, are you awake?” Mistica pushed through the haze that surrounded any mental connection with her rider. When Katrin was right in front of her or against her flank, Mistica could speak to Katrin as easy as she could speak to any other Dragon or speak vocal draconic. But this distance made it feel like she was pushing through honey just to reach Katrin.

She did not really expect Katrin to answer. After all, she hadn't answered before and slowly the time was thinking by. No reply and not even a sign Katrin was really thinking anything, well-thinking anything, with powerful emotions behind it.

“Mistica?” was another 'thought' that had entered Mistica's mind, okay this one was certainly not Mistica's thoughts. This must be Katrin, right?

“Yes, it's me, Katrin. You are alright” Mistica slowly became hopeful that perhaps they finally had a way to talk to each other over some distance. Perhaps when they could constantly talk, she could confine Katrin to escape with her, or Katrin to set her free. But would she do that after all Mistica had caused her the pain and suffering Mistica heard from her pen?

“Pain... I am in pain.”

It was the confirmation Mistica was searching for that what she was doing was not semi random thoughts she interpreted as communication. Katrin's mental voice just felt weak and slow. Perhaps that was the effects of whatever they did to her.

“I could hear your screams from my place, Katrin. I don't know if I ever can make it up to you. I'm aware that you see me as the one who has taken you captive, but I never wanted you to be hurt, not like this.” Mistica begged, hoping to repair some of the trust and friendship she must have damaged.

“I forgive you on one condition. Take me with you when you are free.” Mistica felt a wave of relief flushing over her body. She did not hate her, well, not more than she hated being captive at least.

“Accepted, I will” Mistica wanted to say more to Katrin, but the connection slowed down and get muddles with her own thoughts. Before she knew it, Katrin was gone from her mind and she was left alone again. At least this time, time, it knew that someday, she would be free and Katrin would help her with this. She only had to wait for her wing to heal and the right moment to escape.

“Mistica” Lieutenant Amberheart appeared into view, souring Mistica's mood once again. She used her name this time ago, but her presence would no doubt spell disaster for her.

“I have had a talk about your recent behaviour and for once me and Derick agree on something.”

Oh no, Mistica thought when she heard the name fall. She braced herself in every form possible against what was about to happen. It was good too, because soon she would smell the stench of that egg breaker before Derick appeared in her vision.

“That is why I talked to my friends in the business and we have decided you can be put to better use on the breeding grounds. Despite your mutations, your smaller size can work to our advantage, dragon.” Derick spoke with a strange grin on his face.

“I will murder you all” Mistica spoke draconic again, of course Derick punished her for that but it just felt good to have something she could speak that she still felt dragon with. With all the chains on her body, the stable-boys and the guards that were now surrounding her to prepare her for transport. Being pulled and pushed like she was felt hardly draconic at all, instead she felt like some kind of item, to be sold and traded. It made her stomach feel upset. The carriage that was put in front of her to lie on did not help her feeling. The carriage still smelled after her, meaning this was the one she was carried into this camp on.

“Katrin” Mistica tried to call out to her rider once again, but no reply. Not even the thick honey like mental connection she normally felt when talking to Katrin over a longer distance. She must have been sleeping or otherwise incapacitated.

“Don't be wishing for goodbyes, dragon,” Derick said while the two of them with a group of hunters passed by the infirmary on the way out. “The nurses told me she was out cold, something with extreme amounts of pain on her back because of a flogging. You wouldn't know why your ex rider was flogged a hundred times, do you?”

Mistica growled at Derick in response.

“Oh, you know!? Well, you can count yourself lucky. Soon you don't have to worry about riders and behaving ever again. You just have to worry about eating, sleeping and getting mounted by any dragon we tell you to be mounted by. You are going to give us lots of dragonets that will serve us.”

Mistica struggled against the heavy chain net that held her down and against the bed of the carriage. She did not want to dignify Derick with a reaction, yet even her growls were confirmation for Derick that she indeed was listening to what he told her. And she would be lying to herself if she said that it wasn't getting to her.

She tried to remain silent while they moved out of the city and into the wild again. Mistica now needed a new plan, one hand she luckily couldn't hurt Katrin any more with any of her escape plans. She could go wild, even get killed in her escape with no worries. She still had a broken wing, and she did not know when it was healed and how she could remove the sticks from her wing when it was healed. Her wing had to be in working order for her to have any realistic chance of fleeing the hunters. The chained net was effective in keeping her in place. What would she get on the breeding grounds? Perhaps she was less well restrained? that would be easier to escape from. But then, what about Katrin? Mistica made a promise to get her free as well. Should she go back for Katrin, not knowing where that was and doubtfully be hunted down again? Mistica took a deep breath. Well, it had no use in worrying about that at all now. She needed a new plan, and she had all the way to where ever those breeding grounds were to think about it.

It has been at least two days since Mistica has been strapped down on this card. While the first day they moved quickly among hardened roads and down flat terrain, they now went up the foot of a mountain and it slowed them down to a crawl. She did not know where she was going, but at this pace, she guessed her wing would have been healed by the time they arrived. What was more worrying for her was that the air felt slightly colder each day. She wondered if it was a cold front that would warm up soon, or if it was the incoming autumn that approaching.

Mistica could hear something above them, the beating of wings. Were they close to the breeding grounds? Where are they allowed to fly around there? What would stop them from escaping? Or was this another dragon rider keeping track of them from the sky?

Then suddenly a blur of green and a hunter was gone into the sky. Moments later, the hunter fallen down onto the ground, his armour mashed to bits from the impact and the scent of blood filling the surrounding air. commotion started among the hunters as they not yet realised what was going on, but noticed the murder of one of their friends. They did not have time to react when a green dragon breath fire down on them. Mistica was pleased about the flames that heated her cold scales for a bit.

Wait, was that Lorkor? Yes, and he had a saddle on his back. Mistica looked around at what was happening and trying to see who was sitting in the saddle on Lorkor's back. It was not when Lorkor landed for a moment and set someone off that Mistica realised what was going on.

“Mistica” She heard Katrin call before she could see or smell her rider. The voice filled her heart with more joy than she would dare to actually admit to herself.

“Katrin! What by the ancients are you doing here? You were in the infirmary. Aren't you in pain?”

“Oh, it hurts like hell, but I couldn't leave you to be shipped off to the breeding grounds.” Katrin called to her, from the sound of her voice Mistica could hear her caused closer. Not that she could See Katrin yet, she was behind her range of motion that the heavy metal net allowed her. Soon Mistica felt the heavy chain net moving and the weight becoming less. Whatever Katrin was doing, it was helping, and she was getting free with every single moment. Now, with her worries of freedom solved, she gazed up on the only humans who had always stopped her freedom and had caused her to be in this situation. Her eyes fixed on Derick, who was running around trying to make scene of this situation by shouting orders and trying to throw spears at the Green dragon who was breathing fire down at the hunters and did a good job in fighting for a hatchling.

“You” Derick had spun around to gaze at Katrin, while she undid the last of the pins that hold the net that mistica was held in place with down. It was now or never and Mistica felt empowered when, for the first time in a few months, she stood up without issue, unrestrained since the day she was captured.

“what you are doing to do, beast? You can't breathe fire!” Mistica's eyes traced every movement Derick made. How he jumped on the ground, how he readied his sword. Oh, the anger that boiled with in mistica to think of this man. And now she could strike back.

“I will take your head for this heresy, Endora.”

No, you don't Mistica did not quite know what she felt, but she wanted to protect Katrin and it made her open her maw and roar loudly. Soon she felt something coming from her neck and a strange feeling in her mouth of something constricting, something she never felt before. With her own amazement, she watched herself not spitting fire, but a black goo that smelt like stomach juices and bile. She looked perplexed at Derick. Half of his face was covered in the black good and part of his arms and legs, too. It took a few moments for everyone to realise what was going on.

First was a sissling sound, then Mistica could smell a chemical feeling that she only smelled of some leather tanners before. Last, she heard Derick's cries of pain as the goo was burning into his skin. Other hunters joined into the cries when they tried to help Derick and get rid of the goo that was eating his flesh a life.

Katrin looked slightly horrified and amazed at the same time. She looked up at Mistica and poked the scales in her neck. “Can you fly?”

Mistica's mind was going into overdrive and she was thinking fast to see what the options for her were. “No, but I will run. Climb on my back. Lorkor! follow us!”

When she felt Katrin secured on her back, Mistica wasted no time and ran into the woods. Hopefully, no dragons. She did not know how Katrina and Lorkor got free, but she did not care. Mistica had her rider back and was now free. She ran between the trees and jumped to avoid obstacles. Checking occasionally that Katrin still had a good grip and Lorkor was on their tail.

She could feel the effects of so many days being immobile and tied down. She was not quite going the speed she was used to and her legs were hurting from the exercise and sudden spurt of energy. Going further and further into the forest, she diminished the light and caused the trees to produce permanent shade.

She could heart Katrin ask “Mistica... What was that?” her voice was hard to understand between her own pants for air, the noise of running and the distance between Katrin on her back and Mistica head that was pointed out as far forwards as she could during her run.

“What was what?”

“That spit, that I don’t know what it was. Magical death spit.” Katrin replied. Mistica nearly tripped on misjudging a step when Katrin mentioned Magical death spit.

“Oh, come on, can we not call it Magical death spit, please?”

“Okay, if not that, what then? I mean, what even was that?” Katrin called back, a question Mistica did not really have an answer to. She felt odd about the entire ordeal and, focusing on that feeling, she did not really have any comparison with any other feeling, too.

“I don't know, Katrin, I don't know. This is something I've never been able to accomplish before. I just was worried and well, it came without me wanting. It felt like... a magical spit. "

Mistica could feel Katrin laughing on her back before the sound was loud enough for her to hear.

“Okay, so I doomed myself by freeing a dragon who I only know a few weeks who has suddenly magical death spit… and we have another dragon on our tail who helped me. Can the day be any more absurd?”

Mistica pondered Katrin's statement. Perhaps she could help with the feeling of doom. After all, why would freedom be doom for anyone? Instinctively, she let out a low hum like she would do when placing herself at Fera's flank.

,”Oh, and you proved to me you are not my Captor....you are a friend”

Katrin did not respond, but Mistica felt her hand move to her neck and gently stroke her scales in response to her words. They kept their silence for a while until Mistica slowed down. She had not eaten ever since she was tied down on the carriage and now was feeling her hunger overpowering her ability to run. She stopped in a small hidden clearing between the trees that gave way to a pond that was fed by a small waterfall from a cliff that was just over twice Mistica's own size.

First Mistica looked up in the sky. The trees still covered most of the shores of the lake, making their spot relatively hidden away from any curious dragons. Mistica laid herself flat on the ground to allow Katrin to step off. Katrin, when she hit the ground, nearly collapsed to her knees. She had lost all the strength in her legs and knees from maintaining her grip on Mistica's back.

Lorkor was fast enough with his head to catch Katrin and give her some support so she did not fell on the ground and injure herself.

“Thanks Lorkor.” She said, petting his snout a bit. “I think that is the last time I ride a dragon bareback.”

Mistica hummed a bit and stretched her back like a cat when the weight was removed.

“I need to eat. I have not had food for a while and I think you need food too, Katrin.”

“Oh, oh!” Lorkor jumped up. “Can I hunt! I never hunted before!”

Mistica shook her head at him. “I will hunt, no offense, but between the three of us, I am the one with the experience of hunting.” When she saw the sadness on Lorkor's green scaled face, she added, “When we have more time and are safer, I will teach you to hunt. If you want to be part of my tribe, all dragons of my tribe will teach you to hunt. Fera and I could be your caretaker.”

Lorkor's face light up a bit and coiled around Katrin, surrounding her rider with warmth.

“Care taker? I don't like that term,” Lorkor explained. “It's what the humans in the hatchery called themselves. But they did not take care at all.”

Mistica thought for a bit. “Well then, see me as your mother for now, since you are still a hatchling.”

Fera will kill me when she finds out she suddenly is a mother. Mistica mused to herself. She would cross that bridge when she got there. For now, Lorkor looked happy and was practically purring like a cat. Mistica sniffed the air, trying to get a scent trail going where the prey might be. They must have all darted away when she noticed two dragons running at full speed. It might be difficult to track them down and hunt them down without flight.

“Now, you two be kind,” she said before darting off, leaving Katrin and Lorkor alone. It felt wrong deep within her to leave the two alone again, especially after getting Katrin back after being tied up and shipped to the breeding grounds. Right now, food was more important. Whatever wrongness she felt, she could address when she had some food in her system.

It was nice to be hunting again, to have her blood rushing through her system as she made herself small against the forest floor and sniffed out the scent of her prey. It was a small group of deer. The scents were fresh, and the footprints were newly made. They must have been through here only a few minutes ago. They were not running. That was good. Mistica hidden herself behind a small hill and listened through the usual sound of bristling leaves and the sound of birds.

Suddenly, she could hear the grazing of deer on the other side of the hill. Good grazing meant less of them would pay attention. She just had to make sure she would not be spotted. There was always one paying attention. She edged her black head over the crest of the hill to gaze along the forest floor. Feeling the wind blowing towards her face.

Good, downwind, that meant the deer could not be alerted by her scent. Mistica shifted slowly to get into a more optimal position to pounce. The door where clustered in a close group, though one deer was looking towards her. The deer was alert for something, it must have heart something. It was now all about distance, Mistica estimated it was about her own body length between her and the outermost three deer.

Three deer would be good, would be enough for her, Lorkor and some for her rider. Mistica tensed up moments before unleashing herself and leaping from her hiding. As expected, the alert deer startled and let out a loud bleat to alert the others in the herd. But for the three that were nearest to the black dragoness, the warning was too late. Two were grabbed by Mistica's powerful clawed paws and the third and middle one was trapped in her jaws.

The three deer bleated and startled in distress, Mistica made quick work to ease their distress by snapping each of their necks with her powerful yaws. Their limb breathless, body laying motionless on the ground.

“May your death feed my tribe for another day and may the circle be continued forever more,” Mistica recited a little draconic passage before taking the three deer in the maw and carrying her prey back to Lorkor and Katrin. She was salivating to taste some of the deer's blood in her maw. She must resist the urge to eat the deer whole right there and then, It would be unfair to expect Lorkor and Katrin to share prey, Katrin was Mistica's responsibility, and she knew for sure that if she ate one deer, she would eat the other too.

With a wide grin, Mistica entered the opening where Lorkor and Katrin were.

“Lunch has been served!” She called out happily. “Anyone want deer?”

Katrin looked up, surprised, standing up from her spot against Lorkor's flank. “Oh, uhm” she wondered a bit “I just wonder, how would I eat?”

Mistica pondered for a bit, dropping the deer off near to Katrin and Lorkor. She pushed one of the dead deer towards Lorkor with her snout. “Eat,” she said in draconic to the green hatchling. He obeyed by taking the deer between his maw.

“I have an idea. I saw mother do this for father a fair bit of times. Katrin, can you search for a good pile of wood and a flat stone? I will prepare the meat for you.”

Katrin stood up with a nod. "I think I have a feeling what you are going to do,” she said before going into the forest to search for wood.

“Oh, and Katrin, please don't strive too far.”

“Yes, mum!” Katrin called back with a jab before disappearing between the trees. Mistica dragged one deer to the water and started by first dipping a front paw into the water to clean it.

“What are you doing, Mistica?” Lorkor asked curious, he was about to bite into his meal but stopped observing Mistica.

“Preparing my rider's meal,” Mistica replied. When her claw was clean, she pierced the deer's flank and cut through the flesh. She sliced to allow the claw in and slice between the skin and flesh of the deer carcass. It was not a clean work by any means. Blood dripped on her claws from the flesh of the deer and bits of flesh stuck to the hide. When Katrin came back with the wood, Mistica had liberated a hump of flesh the size of Katrin's forearm from the deer. She dragged the carcass and the meat back to the place and dug a small hole with her other, not a clean paw.

“Now in here” she pointed “Add a good layer of wood” she instructed Katrin how to pile the wood in a small tower and place the flat stone above the wood and leaning on the edges of the pit.

“Okay now, Lorkor, could you please light this for us?”

Lorkor did as he was told, and soon the fire was heating the stone nicely. Mistica waited till the stone was hot to place the meat on it. It sizzled as it cooked.

“And now we wait,” she proclaimed before finally digging herself into her own meal, eating the cut op deer first with skin and bone.