The Useless Degree | Page 43

“Kill them!” Vincent shouted.

“He’s controlling the dragon,” Ven noticed.

“What? How?”

“See that insignia on its neck? As long as it’s there, the dragon is a slave.” Faye dove out of the way as a wall of fire suddenly shot towards her, and then got an idea. “You still with me, you three?” she asked, and from the folds of her clothes the three fairies appeared.

“Yes!” they said together.

“I need you to do a favor for me, attack the dragon’s insignia.” Instantaneously, the three flew from the cage and, dodging flying flames, sent forth a beam of light that shattered the magical attachment. The dragon paused for a moment, turned towards the platform, and then roared, fire discharging at Vincent’s guards before they could react. Vincent reached for his crossbow, firing at the dragon in rapid succession, bolts hitting it on its neck, body and wing. Despite this, it continued, landing on the platform, the dragon’s weight breaking the platform into pieces.

“No!” Vincent shouted as the dragon turned its head to face him, eating him in one bite. Then, it crashed into a wall, piercing through it and soaring free into the sky.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Faye commented.

“Yes, but how are we going to get out of this cage?” Ven asked.

“Leave that to me. Sora, if you will,” Faye commanded. One of the fairies stuck their small hand into the cage lock, shook it around for a while, and the door lifted free.

The two scrambled out and exited through the dragon sized hole in the wall. Outside, Locke was waiting for them, as were many of the other elves. They were all dressed in full armor regalia. “Well done, little one,” he said to Faye.

“I thought you weren’t going to fight,” Faye said. “Yet here you are all dressed up for battle.

“For some crazy reason,” Dorek said. “We decided that you were right, Faye. We should stand up and fight for what is right.”

“Prince Llewellyn,” Locke addressed Ven.

“What?” Faye shouted, surprised. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“I thought you wouldn’t be my friend if I did,” Ven said. He straightened up to appear taller and more in control. “My people, I regret to inform you that the King and Queen, my beloved parents, are dead, killed by Vincent himself. But now, thanks to Miss Faye’s quick wit and determination, the tables have been turned, for I am still alive, which means the ancient Elvin bloodline still thrives. I may be young, but with some guidance, I am sure I can lead us from these dark slums and into happiness once again.”

There was a lot of cheering, but Ven, Prince Llewellyn, quieted them, continuing with, “With Vincent dead, we have lost our primary enemy. Now we can finally make peace with our fellow humans.”

He turned to look at Faye and speaking in a softer voice said, “Faye, if you are willing, I would like you to be our emissary to show your fellow humans that we are an equal race and capable of being great friends and allies. With you, they will see that this is true. So, what’s your answer?”

“I’ll do it,” Faye responded.

Elves cheered and Locke approached Faye, saying, “My wife and I have long been discussing something, Faye, and we have come to the agreement that you need good strong parents to look up to and you don’t have any. Therefore, I would like to adopt you and become your father; my wife will be your mother.”

“Thank you, Father,” Faye said, very pleased. Locke placed an arm around his new daughter and led her away from the mumble jumble of the present politics.

“Wait!” Ven shouted, chasing after them. Faye turned around to face him and he placed a and on each side of her face, leaning in for a long kiss.

They would live happily ever after.

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