As Frost stole the dragon egg from the evil King, she rolled the dice of fate in her mind.
Lightning flickered across the dark clouds above and rain soaked through her tattered leathers. Frost clutched her warm but fragile cargo close to her chest. If she could just follow the path up and over the mountains, she – and more importantly – the little one inside would be safe. Her childhood friend, Red, had ensured she escaped the palace unseen; repayment for all the times she stood up to bullies on Red’s behalf. And the resistance’s secret base was so close.
No abusive parents for you, little dragon, Frost wanted to promise the hatchling. You won’t go through what I went through.
But then three figures appeared on the ridge of the peak: one enormous guard, the King, garbed in pale gold robes with patches resembling flames that danced in the wind. And next to him… Frost’s guts churned at the slightly upturned lips and playful brown eyes of Red.
“I should’ve known you were a weasel, Red.” Frost yanked her sword from its sheath.
Her former friend smirked as she approached. “You were always so kind to me, Frost.” Red jutted a thumb at the gold-cloaked king behind her. “But he pays me.”
The traitor’s first strike knocked Frost dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. As the thief struggled for purchase on the slippery stones, Red struck again and Frost’s sword flew from her hand and over the cliffside.
Despite her loss, Frost found it in herself to laugh. “But I already knew your weakness for gold, Red.” She reached for a dagger in her boot. “That’s why I came prepared with-!”
Her dagger was barely out of its sheath before a swat from Red’s blade sent her backup weapon skittering away.
Frost blinked, her smile frozen on her face as she processed her sudden disarming. “Oh,” she got out before the enormous guard seized her.
The egg slipped from her arms as the male guard wrestled Frost to the ground, but Red caught it with deft hands.
As Frost struggled to keep her face up and away from the rain-slicked stones, she could only watch as the traitor carried the red and gold egg up to the gold-robed figure. The traitor kneeled, holding up the egg, and the King plucked it from her with one hand.
The King squinted at the egg through the downpour, his free hand clutching an umbrella to protect him from the rain. “How many times is this thing going to get stolen from my palace?” He glared down at Frost. “You’d think throwing the heads of the past four wannabe thieves off my palace walls would make it clear that egg is off limits.”
Frost made herself smirk up at him. “We’ll try as many times as it takes until you realize you’re not worthy of the egg.”
The King scoffed. “If I weren’t worthy, then why’d that pompous old fart of a wizard bequeath it to me? Why did he prophesize that whoever held the egg when it hatched would rule the land for a thousand years?”
“Notice he didn’t say ‘you’ specifically.”
“It matters little,” the King said. “Why should I put my faith in some baby dragon about whether I’ll rule or not?”
“I’d rather put my faith in him than you any day!”
“Right, because your faith has been placed ‘so’ carefully.” The King cast a meaningful glance at Red, who shrugged unrepentantly. The King tapped lightly on the eggshell with an ungodly long fingernail. “Hello?” he called. “Is there a dragon of destiny in there? Ready to come out and decide if this little thief’s trust was misplaced?”
Frost’s grin faded completely. “Leave him alone!”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about this.” The King crossed over to the edge of the cliff. “I don’t buy this wizard’s words. Why should I put my faith in some little creature? People can be as unpredictable as the weather above, after all…” Thunder boomed almost in response, another flash of lightning illuminating his cruel face as he held the egg out over open air. “Why should I put my faith in complete strangers when I shouldn’t trust my own allies?”
“You wouldn’t!” Frost writhed against her captor, forcing Red to run to his side to hold her down. “Y-You can’t! It’s just a baby!”
“One that doesn’t deserve your trust,” the King dismissed. “Any more than it deserves mine.”
The egg began to slip through his fingers, the shadows below slithering like a serpent, eager to swallow the egg whole.
A cry of dismay and horror surged up Frost’s throat. But before it could be released… a woman in pitch-black leathers shot from the shadows and crashed into the King at high speed.
The egg spun dizzily in the air, arching over the woman as she tumbled over the king and skidded on her back towards Frost and her captors.
Frost’s scream caught in her throat as the egg landed in the newcomer’s hands, only to be released again as the egg squirted free from the woman’s grip.
The stranger juggled the egg with yelps and squeaks as she slid closer and closer.
Red rushed forward to try and snatch the egg away. The muscular guard’s grip loosened as he prepared to help. Taking advantage, Frost wrenched her arms free of her large captor and seized Red’s leg.
At the same time, electric green eyes flashed in Red’s direction before… Frost’s jaw dropped as the girl revealed bare feet, the toes clutching a dagger each. She spun and… Frost’s jaw tried to drop further. Did she just throw daggers with her feet?!
One weapon sunk into Red’s neck, and the traitor pitched backward off the cliff, her sword clattering before Frost. The other dagger flew over Frost’s head, and she felt the grip of her muscular captor finally go slack.
As Frost pulled herself to all fours, her savior finally gained a solid grip on the egg. Spinning into her slide like an elaborate dancer, she twirled on her head before smoothly regaining her feet, the balls of her bare feet hanging off the edge of the cliffside before she hopped back into place.
“Now really, good sir,” the stranger chastised the King as he scrambled to his feet. “I know omelets are delicious, but surely you can use a better egg than this.”
The King seethed at her, his face a blotchy purple wad of rage. Seizing his umbrella, he lowered it to reveal a spearhead above the canopy. He leveled it at the two women.
In her mind, Frost saw herself once again rolling the dice of fate as she snatched up Red’s sword. “Get the egg to safety! I’ll hold him off!”
“Okie-dokie,” the strange woman chirped cheerfully as Frost rushed the King. “And alley-oop.”
Briefly, Frost feared the girl had backflipped off the edge, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the King.
But in her moment of doubt, the king closed the distance with alarming speed.
She slashed at his spear, missed… and gasped as his point found her chest.
“You lost, thief,” the King gloated, backing her to the edge where Red had fallen. “When we find your friend…”
Frost choked a laugh. “Joke’s on you. I don’t even know her.”
The purple on his face faded for a moment, and he raised an eyebrow. “You make a habit of putting your faith in those who don’t deserve it?”
Frost coughed up blood, but found it in herself to smile. “Whether friend or stranger… putting faith in anyone is a gamble.” She held her head high. “Consider me a gambling addict.”
The King’s eyebrow lowered to a furrowed brow under half-lidded eyes. “I’d rather consider you dead.”
His boot lashed out from under his robes, and the next thing Frost knew, she was falling with the rain, the mountain path fading away into the distance.
Yet, Frost didn’t scream. Why would she? The King didn’t need to know her final moments were those of fear.
Especially when she still had something to hope for.
That stranger – that wonderfully kooky stranger – had saved the egg. Thanks to her, the egg could hatch for someone who deserved to be King.
Of course, a voice like the King whispered in her mind, that stranger could do something else with it. Something bad.
But Frost refused to let her last thoughts be those of doubt. Putting faith in anyone is a gamble … and there’s always a chance that a gamble will pay off.
So, with the ground racing up to meet her, Frost opened her arms wide, ready to embrace the heavens or hells.
And in her mind’s eye, she rolled the dice of fate one last time.