Tracie and Kitson have been friends since they were young children. Now, Kit has a secret he wants to share with Tracie but it could put their lives in danger. Does she trust him enough?
“We are definitely going to get caught,” Tracie muttered. “My aunt will be giving me extra chores for weeks.”
“Relax, no one knows we’re out here.” Kitson pushed a branch out of his way, holding it to let her pass before letting it spring back. “We’re almost there. Trust me, it’s worth it.”
“Trust is a hard thing to give you, Kit,” she grumbled. “How many times have you said that to me? More importantly, how many times have you promised nothing will go wrong and yet I’m always in trouble for it later?”
She saw his teeth flash in a wide grin in the dim light of the stars filtering through the sparse trees. “And you still follow along with me anyway. What does that say about you?”
“That my trust is misplaced.”
He dramatically clutched his heart. “Oh, sweet Tracie, how you wound this faithful gentleman.”
“Gentleman?” she scoffed. “Name one time you’ve held a door open for me.”
“I held that branch back there,” he replied indignantly. “I could have let it smack into your face.”
“Yeah, but you’re too scared of what I’d do to you if you let that happen! It doesn’t count if you’re simply afraid of the consequences.”
“Fine, so we’ve established that I am not a gentleman,” he sighed. “But I don’t steer you wrong all the time.”
“Just mostly.”
“Well, not this time,” he said. “This time, you’ll never believe what I’ve found.” He paused by a large tree. “Trace. You need to promise that you won’t tell anyone about this. It must remain completely secret. I’m only telling you because you’re my best friend and I need help.”
Tracie nodded, surprised. She’d never seen Kitson act so strangely. He was usually fun-loving and easy-going. In fact, before now, she would have said Kit was the last person to trust with a secret. It seemed her childhood friend had changed as he grew into an adult.
“I promise, Kit. I swear I will keep your secret and never breathe a word of it to anyone.”
“Let’s hope my trust is not misplaced,” he said wryly.
Tracie punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Hey! I’d like to hear you try to name a time when I led you astray or got you into trouble!”
He laughed. “I’m kidding, Trace. I trust you with all my heart.” His blue eyes seemed to shine with warmth in the twilight. She had to duck her head and hope that the night was dark enough to hide her blush.
“Let’s just go,” she mumbled. “What’s this secret of yours?”
“It’s not far, a few yards away.” His warm hand closed around hers, tugging her gently. “This way.”
She’d held his hand many times during their childhood, but it had never felt like this. Ever since Kit had lost his childish looks, Tracie had been unable to ignore how handsome her friend had become. From the glances the other village girls gave him, they’d noticed as well. He’d never shown them much interest, but she still felt pangs of jealousy whenever they fawned over him or flirted with him at the village tavern. She had fought her feelings at first, refusing to believe it, but over the last month, she had to admit to herself she had fallen completely in love with him.
Now if only he would show more interest in her than just as a cherished friend.
“We’re here.” He pulled her out into a clearing.
The moon bathed the short grass in a silvery glow. It almost looked like there was a silver halo surrounding the creature in the centre of the clearing. Looking closer, she tried to identify the small, curled up bundle.
“Shh, don’t startle her. She didn’t like me much when I first found her,” Kit whispered. He fished in a pocket for a piece of dried meat. “This is her favourite.” He placed the meat in Tracie’s hand, then made a cooing noise.
A bundle shifted, a small reptilian face peeking out from underneath a bat-like wing. The creature trilled in response, her nose lifting as the scent of the dried meat reached her. She unfolded herself and Tracie gasped, stumbling back. She was stopped by Kit’s arms closing around her.
“Easy, Tracie.”
“It’s a … she’s a …” She shook her head. “Impossible! You found a dragon!”
The small dragon tilted her head and watched them, eyes wandering back to the food in her hand.
Kit propelled her forwards slowly. “Yes, and she’s hungry. She’s gentle enough, just hold the meat out for her.”
Tracie tried to keep her hand from shaking as she held it out for the creature. The dragon delicately took the offered meat and began tearing it into small pieces.
“She likes you. It took me a week to get her to take food from my hand,” Kit said, sitting next to the dragon.
“How did you find her? What is she doing here?” Tracie looked around fearfully. “How have the mages not found her?”
Kit shrugged, tugging her down beside him. “I don’t know. But she needs your help, Trace. She’s hurt. Her wing seems to be injured and I don’t know how to fix it.” His eyes were pleading. “You’re so good with the animals on the farm and I know the villagers sometimes bring you their pets to heal. Please, can you do something for her?”
Biting her lip, Tracie examined the wing as best she could in the darkness. The left wing did seem to hang and an odd angle and dragged across the ground whenever the dragon moved.
“If anyone ever discovered that we were harbouring a dragon, we would be in more than just trouble,” she whispered. “You know the laws about them.”
“I know, but I can’t let her suffer. Please. Help her.”
At one point, she may have been able to refuse him, but the way he was looking at her now, it was impossible to say no and let him down.
“Okay. I’ll help.”
This one was over 1,000 words!! Got carried away with the story! 🙂
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