Dream of Me/Believe in Me

resistance through the wood. She would reach Hawkforte before dark. She would wrangle her way upon a merchant ship bound for Normandy. She would findThurlow there and together they would make a new life far from the loathsome threat that hung over her were she foolish enough to remain in England.
    And that, for anyone who cared, was
truth.
    There was silence in her mind and in the wood, as though nature itself stilled before her blind determination. She drank it in, nodded once and hurried on. It did not occur to her to glance back or even train her hearing in that direction. Not that it mattered. Had she done so, she would have perceived nothing. The Dragon moved over the land like smoke, fathomless and irresistible.
    He caught up with the lad scarcely an hour after the first sign of movement. It would have been quicker but he'd hung back awhile, making sure he hadn't been spotted and waiting for the right moment to take him by surprise. He intended to make this quick and get it done with before the boy could hurt himself struggling. After that there would be time for the customary courtesies.
    And so it would have been but for one of those vagaries of nature that can never be anticipated. A family of grouse was at home in the underbrush. Dragon's sudden passing roused the parents to protective fury. The male flew from the nest batting his wings and squawking furiously. The female arched her neck, stretched out her wings protectively, and hurled her own dire threats.
    The clamor was answered by a slew of other birds who lifted into the air, cackling, cawing, hooting, shrieking and scolding until the hitherto tranquil wood fairly rang with their outrage. The noise penetrated even the fog of Rycca's fatigue and made her look round in surprise.
    Surprise that turned swiftly to shock.
    The handsomest man she had ever seen.
    A shiver of disbelief rippled through Rycca. She did not linger to contemplate the stranger's sudden reappearance or her own absurd thoughts. Instead, she turned and ran with all the desperate speed her weary body could muster.
    Dragon followed swiftly. He saw no reason to let the boy exhaust himself any further. Best he face what he rightly had coming and be done with it. Then they would settle the matter of why he was alone and where he was heading. Dragon would see him safely there whether his destination be Hawkforte or not, and whether the lad wanted the company or not. Not mere protectiveness alone dictated that he do so. There was also the matter of curiosity. He sensed a story behind the lad's solitary journey, and if there was one thing Dragon loved, it was a good story. Indeed, people claimed he had a collection of them to rival that of any skald or bard. There were even some who said Dragon should have been one of that happy fraternity, traveling from manor to manor proclaiming the great tales of the age. Fate had called him to a different life, that of warrior and leader. So be it. He still enjoyed those evenings spent round the fire when the ale flowed freely and he held an audience spellbound in the magic of his words.
    The lad truly was desperate, Dragon realized suddenly, for he was moving far more quickly than he should have been after the miles he had already covered. With a shake of his head, Dragon closed the distance between them. The boy had strength and stamina, there was no doubt of that, but Dragon was a man full grown, trained to hardship and war, at the peak of his powers. His legs were steel, rippling with muscle, devouring ground. He ran without effort, moving easily over every obstacle, remorseless and inescapable.
    The boy seemed to realize that suddenly as he darted a glance over his shoulder. Dragon was so near that he could see the shock in eyes so wide and thick-fringed they must surely provoke teasing. A sudden, dark thought flashed through his mind. Perhaps the boy had a particular reason for taking such desperate measures to escape. A memory rose sharply despite its being long years old. Little more than a child, torn from his home by theravages of war, Dragon had set sail upon the world's seas in the company of his older brother. In the hold of a ship, at night, a man … Even now, Dragon grimaced in disgust. He had fought and fiercely so, but alone he would not have escaped. It was Wolf, already big for his age and with the skill that would make him one of the most renowned warriors of their day, who had saved him. Striking with savage intent, he gutted the