Strength

Kirra sat at a small table in the back of the tavern at the Golden Dragon inn located in a little town called Ceunon. She was dressed in a black traveling clothes and breeches. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible she kept her light blue eyes down and concentrated on eating her food. Her long, fiery hair was kept braided and out of the way. Even though the hood of her cloak was up she still heard a million different conversations and boisterous laughter buzzing in her ears. The smell of pipe smoke, wood, sweaty men and drinks was almost stifling. Most of the folks were at the bar but a few were sitting at the tables. One fellow in particular made her nervous. A lone man, dressed in black like her was sitting in the corner booth with a plate of barely touched food. The hood of his cloak was drawn over his face and he seemed to be watching everything that went on in the room. More than once she felt like the stranger was watching her. She kept her hood pulled up and absentmindedly itched the gedwëy ignasia on her right palm.

Kirra, being a farm girl, wasn’t very comfortable in a place like this but she needed a good meal and this was as good a place as any to find one. She wouldn’t even be in this town had she not needed the supplies she’d bought earlier that day. For safety’s sake she’d stashed them upstairs in the room she had rented for the night since it was too dark to leave the city and not raise suspicions.

*I don’t like you being so far away,* came the voice of her beloved blue dragon Thrúd in her mind.

*I don’t like it either but I have no choice. The guards closed the gates to the city in the evenings and I can’t risk getting caught climbing over the wall with all of my supplies,* she replied.

*I understand but you know how I worry.*

*Yes I know. I will leave first thing when the gates open.*

*You’d better or I shall fly in and get you. Consequences be damned!*

*Knowing you, you’d do it too,* Kirra chuckled.

*Yes well, you should finish up soon and go to bed.*

Kirra sighed. *You’re right. I will see you tomorrow. I love you.*

*I love you too, little one. Be safe.*

*I will.*

With that she felt Thrúd withdraw from her mind. She quickly finished her food. Just as she was getting up a huge stumbled backwards into her causing her to fall over knocking her hood off.

“Watch it!” the big man snarled as he turned around. She was officially angry. Kirra stood up.

“You watch it! You ran into me, bub,” she snarled back.

“How dare you talk like that to me you impudent little wrench,” he struck her across the face.

“I dare you to strike me again, coward,” Kirra balled up her small hands and went to strike him back when a black mass stepped in her way. It was the stranger that had been sitting in the corner.

“Please forgive my sister. She’s a fool sometimes and she doesn’t know her place,” the stranger said.

“Step aside and I’ll teach her her place,” the big man said with a nasty grin.

“She’s promised to someone and I must deliver her unharmed,” the stranger replied.

“Fine, she looks like too much trouble for tonight anyway,” the big man said before staggering off to join the rest of his friends.

“You come with me,” the stranger said dangerously. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her up stairs and into the first door on the right, which happened to be her room. He removed his hood and looked around the room.

“Get your hand off me,” she snarled jerking out of his grasp. “Who are you and why did you help me?”

“If you were trying to attract trouble you sure know how to pick it,” he replied.

It was only now that she got a good look at him. He was very handsome with longish black or dark brown hair and hard, blue-grey eyes. She noticed the hilt of a dagger sticking out of one of his boots. He was taller than her and looked to be about her age.

“That wasn’t an answer to my question.”

“Well if you don’t know who I am on sight I have no intention of telling you my name. As for the second part of your question what was I supposed to do? Let a green Rider like you get yourself in a mess of trouble? Then your dragon would come flying in to your aid and there would be no end to grief. Ha! Not likely,” he replied.

Alarm and fear shot through her. “How…did you know?”

“You’re too obvious. A young woman traveling by herself, trying too hard to be inconspicuous. Down stairs you kept glancing at you right hand, which you keep hidden by gloves. That, I would guess is the hand with your gedwëy ignasia. You also stared off into space for the same amount of time it takes to have a short conversation. Those are just a few examples but you get the idea,” he said looking at her with a bored expression.

“How do you know all these things?” she asked.

“That is none of your concern,” he replied peeking out of the door.

“Actually I think it is since I have no idea who you are and I’m not about to trust you,” Kirra was getting very aggravated with this mystery man.

“Well if you want to get out of here alive I suggest you get over it,” he growled back. He crossed the room and looked out of the window. “We need to get out of here before someone tells the troll down at the bar that we were bluffing.”

That was when she noticed he was wearing gloves. That’s when it came to her. Kirra took two quick steps up to him, grabbed the stranger’s left hand and jerked off his glove.

“What are you doing?!” he snarled jerking his hand back but it was too late. Kirra had already seen the shiny, silver make in the middle of his hand.

“You’re a Rider too!” she gasped. That’s when she realized who he was. The man standing before her was Murtagh Morzansson. She wasn’t going to say anything until they were out because she did need his help.

“I told you, it’s none of your concern!” he growled at her getting in her face.

“I’m sorry, I had to know,” she replied taking a step back. Antagonizing him wouldn’t help her in the least.

He sighed, still somewhat aggravated. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”