My Once Handsome Husband - Chapter 294

The carriage had come to a stop, unable to travel further due to the large dragon bones littering the land.  A scared-looking footman opened the door for them.  Both Duncan and Bernard hesitated, looking at one another and then out at the world beyond.

“I never thought I would have to come back here,” Duncan whispered.

“Neither did I,” said Bernard.

At last, after taking a deep breath, Duncan got out and then Bernard.  They helped Delaney out and when her feet hit the ground was surprised to find it shifted like sand.

“The fire burned all the life out of the dirt here,” Bernard said quietly, “The King gave the farmers money and told them to rebuild but they can’t.  Nothing can survive in this ground.”

“That’s why all the bones are still here,” Delaney said as she looked around, “There’s no point in the farmers clearing them because they can’t use the space anyway.  So why waste the time?”

“Exactly,” Bernard nodded.

Everyone was quiet except the horses who seemed frightened to be surrounded by so much death.  Delaney stayed close to Bernard and Duncan as they slowly spread out from the carriage, looking around.  They were both so tense Delaney thought any loud noise might make them jump.

“Something’s not right here,” Duncan said then as he gazed out at the open field of white bones on black earth, “Why are there only bones?”

“What do you mean?” Delaney asked.

“These bones have been picked clean.  Now maybe animals or other dragons ate the meat from the bones but what about the scales?  Nothing can eat the scales of a dragon.  There aren’t any scales anywhere.”

Delaney and Bernard looked around and saw what he meant.  He was right.  There wasn’t a scale on the ground anywhere.

“There’s something else,” Bernard spoke up, “The ground is littered with every kind of bone and body part but one.”

“The skulls,” Delaney said quietly, realizing it then as well, “All the skulls are gone.”

“Someone did this,” Duncan said in disgust, “Someone came and cleaned the scales from the bodies and took the heads.  Why would anyone do that?  Who would want them?”

“Wait!” Delaney squeaked, suddenly panicked, “The-The skulls are gone and that means the teeth are gone!”

Understanding dawned on the men’s faces and they both turned, looking wildly for any evidence they were wrong.

“Duncan where was the male?” Delaney demanded, her heart beginning to race, “Where was the large male when Vincent killed it?”

“O-Over there,” he said, stabbing a finger behind Delaney, “We-We lured it away and he killed it over there!”

Without waiting, Delaney lifted her skirts and began to run in the direction Duncan had pointed.  Her heart was pounding and she was pleading that they would be wrong.  She prayed that what she feared hadn’t happened.

Duncan and Bernard ran past her, all of them having to be careful and dodge the bones scattered about.  Duncan caught his foot on one and stumbled but luckily kept himself from falling.

They reached a spot where there were still a few tree trunks around and Delaney immediately knew it was the right place.  On the ground in front were bones that were exactly the same as the others behind them except for one thing.

They were at least five times the size of the others.

Delaney searched the area desperately and so did Bernard and Duncan.  They all wanted to be wrong.  They knew though that they weren’t.

Delaney felt sick and she wavered on her feet as her mind spun.  Bernard rushed to her and caught her before she could faint.

“It’s not here,” she cried, “The skull is gone!  The teeth… the teeth are gone!”

“It’s going to be alright,” Bernard tried to assure her, “You can go back and talk to the witch again.  She can come up with something else to help him.”

“There is nothing else!” Delaney shouted angrily, shoving herself away from him, “She told us… She told us she had to have a tooth from this dragon.  From  this dragon!  But we’re too late.  Someone has taken them all and now… and now…”  She fought to breathe as the realization set in what it meant that there were no teeth left.

“And now Vincent will die… My husband… The man I love… I failed him and… and now he’s going to die.”

Bernard and Duncan both stood staring at her with expressions of worry and sadness.  Neither one of them knew what to do or what to say.  There was nothing that could make this better.

Delaney sank down onto her knees on the blackened ground, surrounded by the sun-bleached dragon bones.  Her hands were trembling and she felt as if any moment she would shatter.

She had told Vincent she would save him.  She had promised him.  Helena was going to find a way.  All she had to do was bring the witch a tooth from the dragon her husband had killed.

But they were gone.  They were all gone along with her hopes.

–

Bernard, Delaney, and Duncan all sat on the blackened ground.  They were defeated and now they didn’t know what to do.  So they had simply sat and waited for their minds to process what they had discovered and tell them where to go from here.

Delaney stared at the enormous bones in front of her.  She had been looking at them long enough now that she could make out the wings and the bones that made up the long tail.  This dragon had been enormous.  Bigger than anything she had ever seen.

By the size of the body, she could imagine the size of the beast’s head.  She could imagine its long, sharp teeth and the immeasurably hot fire that would come from its mouth.

Seeing this beast made her think about her husband.  Vincent had looked at the monster and known it would most certainly kill him.  He had known that he had to kill it in order to save not just his men, his soldiers, but to save everyone in the land.

Her amazing husband had run towards the mouth of the beast knowing his chances of surviving were nearly impossible.  He plunged his sword into the monster’s mouth and didn’t let go even as its jaws came crashing down on him.

Vincent had done something unbelievable and survived.  Or at least he had thought he had.  It turned out the dragon would still kill him in the end.  It had just taken longer.

Delaney dropped her head into her hands, feeling her eyes ache to cry but not having the energy to do so.

“Hello there!”

At the sound of a voice, Bernard, Duncan, and Delaney snapped upright.  The men jumped to their feet and Bernard helped Delaney to hers.

They turned in the direction the voice had come from and saw a very wide man riding towards them on a donkey.  Duncan’s hand lowered to rest on the hilt of his sword.

“No need for that my Lord,” the fat man raised his own hands in surrender, “I simply came to see if all of you were alright.  My wife heard shouting a bit ago.”

“We’re fine,” Delaney said quietly, “Thank you.”

“Who are you?” Bernard asked, “You look familiar to me.”

“I should be,” he chuckled, “Lord Adair brought his wounded soldiers to my barn to be made stable enough to travel to the hospital.  I take it by the looks of you that you probably passed through there yourself.”

With a flash of embarrassment, Bernard tucked his arm with the lost hand behind his back.

“I do believe we’ve met yes,” he said quietly, “You’re the farmer whose home was closest to the dragon colony.  Why do you still live here?”

“Where else could I live?” he asked with a grin, “This farm has been in my family for as long as King Daniel’s family has ruled.”

“But the ground here is ruined,” Delaney said.

“It will get better my Lady.  Everything does.  Now, if the three of you aren’t needing any help then I’m going to be on my way home for my dinner.”

Hearing about food made Delaney’s stomach growl.  She was so hungry.  But there was something else more pressing on her mind at that moment.

“Wait!” she called before the man was too far away, “You can help us.  Can you… Can you tell us what happened to the dragons?  Why are there no scales or skulls?”

“Oh, that’s because a man came and he and his men took them all.  He paid me well since they were all on my land.  He brought men and wagons and spent weeks out here going through the carcasses.  And I will tell you, it wasn’t pretty.  Those dragons had been dead for some time by the time he got here.”

“Do you know who he was?” Delaney asked desperately, “Please sir do you have this man’s name?”

“I do,” he nodded, “But you won’t want to go talk to him about this my Lady.  He’s dangerous.”

“I’ll take my chances.  Now please just tell us who it was that took the skulls?”

The fat man looked at them very seriously.

“Well… It was the pirate king.”