Dragon Tamer: 26. Change of Plans (again) (Patreon)

The walk back to the glen and the eggs seem to take a lot longer than it had going back.

I didn’t say much to my dragons. I wasn’t sure what to say.

For her part, Arcee was a mix of defiant and chagrined. On one hand, she had gotten herself a pretty good new form. Unfortunately, I didn’t know if it would hold up against a Void Dragon. I would have to ask Sienna and Jane, but the sick sinking feeling in my stomach told me the answer.

What was I going to do? These were championship rules which meant that if Arcee lost… She would go right back into creepy Todd’s hands.

Maybe I should cut and run.

The fight was tomorrow. Did I have enough time to get away? With three heavy ass eggs in tow?

Tiberius looked up at me with big, concerned eyes.

I could tell that he knew I was worried. Though, I didn’t think he knew exactly why.

I smiled back down and him, but felt my lower lip trembling.

There was one good piece of news when we made it back to the glen. Sienna and Jane sat in front of the three eggs, playing some kind of game with marbles where the dragons moved made the shots, not the people. Everyone looked relaxed and happy. There had been no more attacks.

Jane stood first, brushing off her pretty the skirt of her pretty dress as she did. “How did you fair?”

“Why do you look like you’re about to be sick?” Sienna asked, dour and observant as ever.

“Because I might be,” I muttered.

“She didn’t get a new form?” Jane asked

I shook my head. “No, the Bone Dragon came back.”

It took a few seconds, but then Sienna groaned, and Jane covered her mouth in horror.

“Don’t tell me,” Sienna said.

“Yup, she has a brand new Bone Dragon form.”

As if to punctuate my words, Arcee popped into her brand-new shape. Her bones rattled together as she checked over her eggs, nudging them one by one as if to check for cracks.

I looked at my two friends who stared back at me, grim.

“She’s not gonna hold up against avoid Dragon, will she?”

“No,” Sienna said, bluntly.

But Jean had another opinion “She’s a scrappy dragon, Harmony. You never know. Championships are won and lost on the strength of luck, and skill. There’s more than just a positive matchup.”

“Well, good thing I have Tiberius’s luck stat.” I looked around at the nest of eggs. "Should I just grab these and take off?"

"That would be a really bad idea," Jane said.

At her side, Sienna nodded sadly.

"Why?" I asked. "Would they put out a warrant for my arrest or something?"

"I don't know what a warrant is," Jane said.

Sienna had already gotten past that. "People talk and this is a traveling championship circuit. Also, Todd had a witness who could back his claim that you ran off after challenging him to a duel. It's... just not done. If people found out, merchants would refuse to do business with you because you would be considered untrustworthy."

"So, it's like having a crappy credit score," I said.

The two girls exchanged a glance and seemed to mutually decide to move past that.

"You are highly recognizable," Jane continued. "It's not as if there are that many travelers with fennec dragon companions."

"And Arcee," Sienna continued. "You'll need to use a cart to safely move her eggs. Carts are expensive. You'll have to rent one and taking off with it will be stealing."

"And then someone would put a warrant out on me," I muttered. "Or whatever it is in this world. Okay. Okay, I get it. Looks like I'm going to have to fight." I looked at Arcee who had gone back to adjusting her eggs again. "It's Void Dragon or bust."

***

I didn't sleep well that night. Every time I closed my eyes, dreams played behind my eyelids. Everything from me losing to watching Arcee be taken back into Todd's tender loving care -- which was essentially dragon slavery -- to me arriving at the championship arena without any pants on.

Typical anxiety dragons.

The only thing that made me feel better was that Todd didn't know about Arcee's eggs and was unlikely to find out right away. After all, the guy didn't even bond with the dragon deep enough to learn she was a Mimic or a female.

Dragons were just a commodity to him.

So, if the worst-case scenario happened, I could run back here and find a way to hide the dragon eggs.

Technically, that was a legally dark gray area if not completely illegal. Especially if Arcee belonged to Todd, so would her eggs. But when I mentioned that last night, Jane and Sienna didn't put up a fuss about it. They knew what was on the line.

When I woke up the next morning, it was dueling day.

The town was on its final day of the festival and celebrations were going in full swing.

I marched into town with Arcee on my shoulder in her green House Dragon form... feeling like I was walking to my funeral.

People were happy and bright and bubbly all around me and I felt completely disconnected from them all.

Tiberius bumped my leg every once in a while, looking up at me with big eyes. He knew something was bothering me and wanted to offer his support... though I doubted he grasped the nuances of what was going on.

Dragons were smart. Maybe even chimpanzee or dolphin smart... Probably sentient, though I didn't know what the rules were for that. But I don't think they got the whole complex social cause and effect thing.

Jane and Sienna said they'd meet right outside the ticket booths to the arena. Every morning, new listings went up and I'd see when my fight was scheduled.

This was also the day that all locals were encouraged to fight the circuit champions -- meaning there was going to be a lot of heavy betting going on.

I knew that the professionals had been underplaying their exhibition matches. So, a lot of locals were going to be stomped by dragons more powerful than they'd led on.

Hopefully, none of them had been foolish to play for pink slips, like me.

Snap out of it! I told myself.

I knew I had to pull myself out of this funk. If I went in thinking that I was going to lose, that was exactly what was going to happen.

I had fought a lot on my Monster Dueling games. Including matchups with bigger and better creatures than my monsters. I had been able to pull those off.

... Except those had been video games and this was real life with real stakes.

The video games had real stakes though. I used the winnings and the monsters I'd won to pay for extra food and, eventually, my bills.

This was no different and I had to go in with a winner's mindset.

Arcee and I were bonded with a gold crystal which gave her the potential for more special attacks. She might come in clutch at the last moment, shounen anime style. More than that, Arcee was a canny, experienced fighter. And the fact that I'd be going in with a Mimic instead of Tiberius was going to be one hell of a surprise. If Todd had trained his borrowed Void Dragon at all, it would be to defeat Tiberius.

Yeah. I just had to believe in myself. I could do this.

... Right?

I saw my friends waiting for me at the ticket booth. Jane greeted me with a smile, and to my surprise, a hug.

Even Sienna didn't seem as dour as usual. My heart flickered with hope.

"Did Creepy Todd forfeit the match or something?"

"No," Jane said, smashing my newly born hope. "But you guys are scheduled as the third match in. That means you don't have long to wait."

"How many matches are scheduled for today?"

"Twenty."

Seemed like a lot. But I expected the professionals to curb stomp the locals. They'd probably went by fast.

I nodded and looked to Arcee who sat on my shoulder. "All right, big girl. Are you ready to show them what we're made of?"

Arcee chirped happily and bumped her muzzle against my cheek. Then, unexpectedly she launched herself in the air and started dancing with the other high-flying House Dragons who'd collected in a massive flock.

They were a common species in the village. Shielding my eyes, I caught flashes of brown hide up there. Jane's Commodore had joined the fun.

"You'll be fine," Sienna said, catching my disquiet. "Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I'm good." Once this was all over, I'd either have a raging appetite... or I'd be sick to my stomach.

Either way, eating right now was not a good idea.

"Let's take our seats then." Jane produced three tickets she'd already purchased for us.

Because it was Jane, they were good seats. Neither placed too high to be able to see or down low where an errant magical blast might hit the crowds. There were barriers that were supposed to protect against that sort of thing, but it wasn't exactly unheard of, either.

The first fight of the day was set to begin. I found I couldn't concentrate. I was twitchy, bouncing the knee of my good leg as the first competitors came into the arena.

It was a local against one of the professionals. And as I suspected, it was over in less than two minutes. The professional won, handily.

The second fight was a little more interesting, if only because I knew the local. It was the ticket counter lady I'd met the other day. The one with the swamp dragon.

She was up against the Sharp Wing.

And... Yeah. She lost.

At least her Swamp Dragon made the professional work for it. Its method was to stay rooted in place flat against the ground and spit jets of water out at its opponent. The Sharp Wing had to use incredible aerial acrobatics to avoid the high-impact water blasts. That was all the more impressive considering it had to stay within the arena boundaries.

Eventually, the Swamp Dragon had deflated to look... kinda flat. Its water ran dry, and it didn't seem to have another backup special attack on hand.

The Sharp Wing moved in with its first special attack -- a wind blade that struck out quick and hard.

The Swamp Dragon suffered a cut across its back. It cried out and the match was called. A healing dragon swept in at once.

The ticket counter girl unlinked from her dragon and briefly slumped over the trainer's podium before she rushed to her dragon's side. She cradled his massive, ugly head in her hands and talked lowly to him as he received the soothing healing.

Within a few moments, the cut was sealed, and the Swamp Dragon was staggering to its feet again.

I felt bad. She was a caring tamer and had been led to believe that she and her dragon had a chance.

At the same time... they'd done well. Both had their heads held up high as they left the arena and the crowd cheered them on.

Now it was my turn.

I had three minutes to get to the tamer's podium and link in.

I stood up, feeling like both my legs -- especially the bad one -- were wobbly. Fear flashed through me. What if they failed me completely and I couldn't make it to the podium in time? I'd scratch out and the victory would automatically go to Todd. I looked up to the sky to try to spot Arcee among the glittering flying mass.

"Arcee!" I called, lifting my arm out for her to land on.

Abruptly, Tiberius rammed into my good leg hard enough to buckle it.

My other leg couldn't support my weight alone and I fell back down to my seat with an 'Oomph'.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

Tiberius jumped lightly into my lap and reached to place his paws on either side of my shoulder. He had grown a lot over the last few days, going from a cat-sized creature to just about double that. His ears looked like they'd taken on extra length.

Ducking his head, he butted my chin. Then he pulled back to look straight into my eyes.

"What is he doing?" Sienna asked.

"I think he's trying to tell me something."

"Harmony, you have to get to the podium. You only have a couple of minutes," Jane fretted.

She was right and I tried to get up, but Tiberius refused to budge.

He 'meeped' urgently, turned to look to the arena, and then back at me again. Almost as if he was trying to make a connection. Almost as if...

It hit me in a flash.

"No, I'm fighting with Arcee. We planned this out."

Even though she would be weak against the Void Dragon's null magic...

Down below, Todd was taking his place at his podium. A massive black and blue beast was being corralled into the arena.

Tiberius 'meeped' again, more urgently. Then he head-butted me hard.

"Ow! Tiberius, you don't understand what you're asking. If we lose..."

I stopped.

I was still going into this with a defeatist mindset. Though I tried to talk myself up, deep in my heart I fully expected to lose Arcee.

No wonder she hadn't come to my call.

But... I couldn't risk Tiberius.

So don't, I thought. I just need to win. Tiberius wanted to fight. And Arcee... she has eggs to protect.

I had a deeper connection with Tiberius than I did with the Mimic.

"Are you sure?" I asked Tiberius.

Tiberius meeped again, urgently.

Jane put a hand on my shoulder. "Harmony, you have to go."

I nodded coming to a decision.

Finally, Arcee flipped down out of the air to flap in front of me. She looked poised and ready.

"It's okay, Arcee," I said. "Tiberius and I got this."

Tiberius gave a sound like a cheer. He jumped off to let me stand and practically strutted his way down to the arena.

He was right. We were going to kick ass.