Dragon's Fire

"Are you alright?" the rogue asked her.

"What do you think?!" she replied. "I just spent who knows how many months in a dungeon, and you ask me if I'm alright! But for the moment, I'll be fine. Now, get out of here, before the guards discover we're missing, and you get caught."

"I'm not leaving until you're safe, too," the young rogue replied. "Can you travel? Or will I need to carry you?"

"Well, let's see if you're going to have to carry me, or if I'll be able to provide the transportation."

Talon raised up on one elbow and whistled. The young rogue looked concerned, and exclaimed, "What are you doing?!"

"Don't worry," came the reply, as Talon watched the woods carefully.

"What..." the young rogue heard slight crashing noises coming from the brush, as a horse trotted out of the trees and came over to Talon, whickering and nuzzling the weak rogue.

"Yeah, I know, girl, you missed me. I missed you, too. But I'm alright now."

The young rogue just looked quizzically at Talon and the horse and then shook his head. "I suppose that's one of the things that cause people to be so amazed by you, isn't it, Talon?"

Talon looked up sharply. "How did you..."

"Because you're why I was in that particular dungeon, Talon. A group of us heard about your problem, and figured you could use some help."

"And who might "us" be?" Talon asked suspiciously.

"Oh, just a few of the more avid of your supporters."

Talon laughed. "I should have known." She reached up and stroked the horse's neck, as Blaze continued to rub her head against the rogue. Talon looked at the young rogue. "So, you know my name. Do I get to know yours?"

The young rogue shrugged. "Do you need to?"

"Not really, I guess." Talon shrugged. "Can you ride bareback?"

"Not very well," the young rogue admitted.

"Well, then you'll learn fast. Blaze, down." The young rogue watched in amazement as the horse kneeled next to Talon so that Talon could mount. "Getting on?" Talon asked.

"Yeah," the young rogue suited action to words as he climbed onto Blaze's back behind Talon.

"Blaze, up." The horse got to her feet and began walking away from the castle. "Where to?" Talon asked.

"Town. Doesn't matter which."

vOkay. Ready for some speed?"

Before the young rogue could reply, Talon nudged her heels into Blaze and the horse began to canter.

After a day's travel, they reached Talon's destination. The medium-sized town was one of her favorite places to escape to when she needed a break, mostly because she owned a house just outside the city. "Come back to my house for a while," Talon told the young rogue.

"No, I need to be on my way." With that, the young rogue slid off of Blaze's back and melted into the trees. Talon shrugged and continued on to her house, where she spent several weeks recovering from her ordeal.