In Which I Make a Mistake

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I lied on Naji's back, barely able to keep my eyes open. I didn't expect to be flying for this long. I don't even know where I'm going, for the Gods' sake! It must have been my childish impulse that got too excited to use my brain. I don't know how to get back home. I would ask for directions, but Naji could scare people.

I sat up and braided my dark brown hair so I could find something to do.

"Naji," I wearied, "I'm bored."

The dragon grunted. We've been flying for hours and all I've seen was trees. I was hungry and thirsty and bored.

Then a new scent filled the air. I looked around to see where it was coming from. My eyes widened with shock as I spotted a village. But screams and cries echoed around. Fire smoldered on the buildings. Something about it seemed too familiar for my likings.

"Naji..." I said, "Take us down."

Naji looked at me in confusion.

"Hurry!" I commanded. The dragon grunted in frustration, then swooped down to the ground. Quickly, I dismounted, then studied the scene. Naji and I were covered by the trees.

There were armored men on horses on all sides of the village.

"Take the women and the gold." A man suited in armor ordered, "We want it all."

I gritted my teeth. They were filthy thieves.

"We don't have that much gold." A man in a grey tunic said, stepping forward. "If you take the little bit we have, we won't be able to survive the next winter."

The thief laughed. "If I and my men don't have the gold," He said, "there'll be no one to survive the next winter."

The man in the grey tunic stepped back, clearly taken aback by the threat.

I looked at Naji, who was staring hungrily at the lead thief. Maybe he would throw the thief off a cliff instead of me.

I unsheathed a sword from Naji's saddle.

"Let's go show these people where they stand." I said. I wasn't the greatest fighter, but I had Naji. I sent a prayer to the Gods that I wouldn't die here or make things worse.

I stepped forward. "Hey!" I yelled towards the thieves. Funny... the blood on my tunic from the doe made me look more threatening.

Everyone turned their heads to see the disturbance. For once in my life, all the attention was on me. I wasn't used to being looked at. My breath grew heavy and shaky.

"L-leave them alone." I stammered, then looked at Naji, who was blending in with the forest.

The thief laughed. "A little girl." He said. "How threatening."

The other thieves erupted in laughter, although I didn't really see what was so funny.

"Alright." I said. "You've had your laugh. Now I can have mine." It was pretty big talk for someone who wouldn't really get too far in a fight, but I wasn't about to mention that. 

A glimmer of light caught the corner of my eye. My gaze drifted to where I saw the light. A thief knocked an arrow and was pulling back the string. Based on the angle of the arrow, I could tell he was aiming for me. Before I had time to react, an arrow soared through the air right towards me, but before it hit me, a flash of blue knocked it away. I heard the eruption of gasps, then I saw Naji. 

He turned and looked at me, the arrow on the ground. He must have knocked it away with his tail. I smiled, then dropped my sword and wrapped my arms around the dragon in a warm embrace. Naji purred in delight. 

"Alright," I whispered so only Naji could hear, "I guess we fight."

Naji nodded, then looked at the archer. He shot out a burst of fire at the archer, taking him down.  

I picked my sword back up. 

"If you value your lives." I told the bandits, "You will leave now." 

None of the thieves moved. I cursed under my breath. 

"Fine." I said, walking forward and keeping a close eye on any possible archers. 

"Charge!" A thief raged. All the thieves there, on horses or not, ran towards Naji and I. I was beginning to regret my choices. 

I ran towards the thieves, stabbing and slashing, jumping and ducking. They had the advantage of number, but I had a dragon. Whenever a thief got too close, Naji took care of them, grabbing the thief by the arms and throwing him into the trees. Or blowing blasts of fire and slashing with his razor sharp claws. 

I heard a cry from in the distance. I looked to where the villagers. A thief grabbed someone's hand and was running away with her hand and a sack probably filled with gold. A boy next to the girl tried to pull her back, but the thief knocked him to the ground. The thief jumped onto a horse and pulled the girl up. I knocked down a thief, then ran after them. But there was no way I would be able to outrun a horse, and I didn't know any of the horses here. They would never let me ride them.

I still ran as fast as possible. Then a horse zoomed past me. On top of the horse was the same boy who tried to get the girl back. I ran as fast as possible to catch up, but I was only falling behind them.

Then I heard a screech. I turned my head and saw a thief stab his blade into Naji's back. Crimson dripped from his blade. I screamed, then ran to my dragon. Naji bursted into the air, then flapped his wings hardly, everyone shooting back. I covered my face as dirt flew at me. The villagers gid behind houses to avoid the winds. The thieves flew in all different directions.

"Naji!" I cried, running to him. He stopped flapping, then flew to me. His screech was desperate and scared. All I felt was a sharp pain in my back. Naji grabbed something behind me, then threw it. It took me a minute to realize I was just stabbed.

I put my hand on my back. When I looked at my hand, I saw sticky crimson dripping down my hand. My face twisted with fear. I have never bled like this. I felt the world collapse in on me. I blinked away tears from the crushing pain. I dropped to my knees, my legs unable to hold my weight.

The thieves were beginning to recover. I looked up weakly. One of the thieves walked over to me.

"You've been very annoying." He said. All I felt was a sharp pain in my head, then everything faded to black. 

Hello! How do you like the story so far?
I'm planning on making a schedule. I will update this every Monday and Thursday.
That's all! Bye!