I fight from screaming in fear as Undabouclier charges forward toward the trolls. I also fight not to throw up.
These trolls, who are easily three meters tall, have sickly green skin covered in hairy, yellow-green warts that bulge out all along their shaggy bodies. They are clothed, barely, in loincloths made of animal skins that are crudely sewn together. Long, yellow, cracked nails protrude out from their thin fingers, and match their strange rectangular shaped teeth as they open their mouths and roar at the dragons. The troll that Undabouclier is headed for has beady yellow eyes with black irises and pupils. He wipes his bulbous nose with the back of his left arm and then raises a club in his right hand, made of what looks like a tree limb that was broken down into something more wieldable.
But it’s the smell that I can’t get over. The trolls literally smell like they’re carrying rotting meat. Maybe the trolls themselves are rotting? I’m not sure, but it’s revolting.
The giant, dark blue dragon I’m on lifts his head back and breathes a geyser of water out, blasting into one of the trolls and knocking him over. Another troll is knocked aside by Astralux’s glittering, pale blue claws, the white-scaled dragon attacking with vicious fury despite her being smaller than Undabouclier.
But the one that surprises me most is Ward Mortimer. Still whistling, he jogs up to a troll. The troll lifts a large foot and kicks out at the Ward. Side-stepping the troll’s kick, Ward Mortimer then swings his pronged mace around and lands a decisive blow into the troll’s knee. The troll yelps, pulling his leg up to himself, and staggers back. Ward Mortimer slams his mace into the back of the troll’s other ankle, and down the troll falls, crashing into a tree. In the process, a number of his warts break—and to my disgust, they burst with yellow-green pus. Ward Mortimer doesn’t seem as shocked as I am about the pus, but he does dodge it, using his shield to keep it from splattering across him.
“I’m definitely taking a bath after this,” Ward Mortimer says. I can’t help but chuckle at his cheery demeanor, even as we’re beset on all sides by trolls.
As I cling to the saddle horn, Undabouclier spins and uses the strange knot at the end of his tail like a mace, bashing a troll over the head and sending him to the ground. Another troll lifts a branch that’s been shaped into a makeshift spear, and I yelp as he throws it at Undabouclier’s side. But it barely scratches his scales before falling to the ground.
“Don’t worry,” Undabouclier says, his deep voice rumbling through me. “These trolls don’t worry me.”
“Yes, because you can breathe on them,” Astralux drawls.
“Breathe at their faces!” I say to Astralux.
Astralux gives me a look. But for some reason she does as I suggest, breathing a blast of light at a troll. It sticks to his face, and he gives a screech as he tries to rub off the light.
“Ha!” Ward Mortimer ducks under a troll swiping a hand at him. “Be their guiding light, Astralux!”
A smile works its way onto Astralux’s lips as she swipes another troll back. “Don’t you mean blinding light?”
“Same difference.”
Their ease gives me confidence that despite the trolls all around us, we aren’t in a difficult position. It still doesn’t seem to be an easy battle—I can see sweat glistening on Ward Mortimer’s forehead as he blocks a troll’s club with his shield.
Then I see a troll farther back that strikes me as this group’s leader. He’s wearing unevenly hewn wooden armor strapped across his chest, arms, and legs, and I see a metal-tipped, much more refined-looking spear in his hands. He notices my gaze and his upper lip curls back, revealing (slightly) better-taken care of rectangular teeth. The troll leader lifts his spear up and back, aiming.
“Watch out!” I yell at Undabouclier.
The dragon is still stepping to the side when the metal-tipped spear comes bolting our way. Unlike the other weapons, this one does break through Undabouclier’s scales, and the dragon groans as the spear buries in-between his front left leg shoulder and his neck. I hear Ward Mortimer give a grunt of pain.
“Undabouclier?” Astralux asks, her tone worried. “Are you alright?”
Undabouclier staggers back from the trolls in front of him, favoring his left leg. “It’s not the worst I’ve—”
Just as I realize that there is a chain attached to the end of the spear, the troll leader jerks the chain, and Undabouclier gives a yelp as he’s pulled off-balance. The dragon is big and heavy enough that he manages to stay upright, but I can see blood oozing readily out of his wound now.
“Undabouclier!” Ward Mortimer turns and runs toward his bonded dragon. “You need to get that spear out of you!”
The massive dragon turns his head to the side, perhaps to bite the spear. But a troll throws himself at Undabouclier’s face, and I jump in surprise as another troll jumps on his tail. They were waiting for this. The troll leader pulls at the chain again, and Undabouclier starts to teeter.
Shaking from head to foot, I rise in the saddle and awkwardly clamber along his lower neck to where I can see the spear better. Bracing myself, I lift my hand and blast fire at the spear. It smolders but doesn’t set on fire. I hear a number of trolls yelp in surprise.
Taking a breath of air as I feel the use of magic draining me, I summon the energy once again and blast fire. At last, flames linger on the wood of the spear.
“What are you doing?!” Astralux exclaims. “Attack the trolls!”
“No, no, that’s a good idea! Keep it up, Estelle!” Ward Mortimer slams his shield into a troll’s shin that’s trying to push Undabouclier over. He’s forced to retreat as another troll reaches out to grab him.
Undabouclier, growling, lashes out and bites at a troll that’s trying to get under his neck. The troll screams as Undabouclier’s teeth close in, and I see green blood ooze out. But grosser still, Undabouclier broke some of the warts on this troll, and the pus splashes over Undabouclier’s face, neck, and onto my outer shirt. The putrid smell fills my nostrils, so nauseating that I retch all along Undabouclier’s shoulder. Nothing in all my medical work with Mom prepared me for this horrid smell. Groaning, I force my stomach to stop heaving, lift my hand, and blast more fire at the spear, speeding up the burning process. I hear the wood crackle.
The troll leader, who has been nearing, sneers at me and pulls at the chain. Despite my work the spear holds, and Undabouclier gives a yelp before falling to a crouch on his left front leg. The sudden drop throws me to the side, and I fall with an “Oomph” onto the trampled ground below.
“Undabouclier, hang in there, you’re doing great,” Ward Mortimer says. He and Astralux are working hard to keep the trolls off Undabouclier.
Hearing the crack of wood splitting, I look up to see that the troll leader had tried to pull Undabouclier down again—and the fire had finally weakened the wood enough that it snaps free. The trolls stare in shock.
Undabouclier chuckles. “Now try and get me down, you vile creatures!” Lifting his head back, he breathes in a sweep, knocking back a number of trolls. Then he stands with a groan, still favoring his left front leg, but he’s at least up.
The troll leader hesitates. Then he takes a step back and gives a shout. I don’t understand what was said, but the trolls all look to their leader before slinking back, watching us warily.
“That’s right,” Ward Mortimer says. “Be gone with you!”
I look up to see the troll leader glaring at us. He mutters something and then turns, gesturing for the other trolls to follow him. They don’t even stop for their wounded and unconscious fellow trolls, but hurry after their leader, disappearing through the forest trees.
“Let’s get out of here, they might be getting reinforcements,” Ward Mortimer says. “Can you walk friend?”
“Oh yeah, it wasn’t too deep. Just was in a good spot to pull me down.” Undabouclier limps a couple of times before his stride evens out. “Thanks, Estelle, for getting that chain free.”
I want to speak, but I’m so sick that I can only nod. I manage to my feet and then cling to Astralux’s leg when she comes to me.
“Estelle?” Astralux’s dark blue eyes narrow onto something on me. “You better take off your shirt.”
I look down to see that I still have pus on my outer shirt. I shed this and hold the shirt away from me. To my surprise, Astralux lifts a paw and begins waving it at me. Fanning my face, I realize, as I get a bit of air. I pant and shudder as my body starts to convulse again.
“You poor thing, you were sick,” Ward Mortimer says. He must have seen the remains of my lunch on Undabouclier’s shoulder. He comes over with a cloth that’s moist with water and rubs this over my face. “Troll pus is the worst. Did you get any in your mouth?”
I gag and then stop myself from vomiting a second time. “No,” I manage to say.
“Good,” Astralux says. “It’s particularly bad for humans. Even bonded humans.”
“Makes you pretty sick,” Ward Mortimer agrees. “Last time I got some of that stuff in a wound, I was holed up for two weeks.”
Finding some ounce of strength, I manage to walk while leaning on Astralux. Staying in this area isn’t going to make me feel better, and once we make some distance away I inhale deeply, glad to be leaving the terrible smells behind. “I’m sorry,” I say to Undabouclier.
The dragon gives me a puzzled look. “Whatever for?”
“For throwing up on your shoulder.”
Undabouclier chuckles. He breathes on his shoulder, cleaning his scales off. “There. No harm done.” Then he leans his head closer to me. He breathes a “puff” of mist into my face, which is surprisingly cool and refreshing.
I wipe my face with my arm and exhale noisily. “Thank you!”
“Of course. I’m happy to help a nice young lady like yourself.”
I smile, still feeling shaky from the battle and the nauseating smell. Astralux is watching me, but I’m not sure what she’s looking for. Maybe I’m going too slow. I push myself a little more, clenching my teeth.
“I can’t even imagine being newly bonded and smelling that,” Ward Mortimer remarks. “You have a stomach of steel.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I say. “I was sick!”
“Once, despite getting that nasty pus on you, and you kept going,” Ward Mortimer says. “The first time I fought trolls after being bonded, I threw up…well, honestly, quite a bit. I forget now.”
“Five times,” Undabouclier says, a smile in his voice. “Twice actually on me.”
“See?” Ward Mortimer says as I manage a weak chuckle. “You did great.”
Astralux beams proudly. “You might not be trained in fighting, but you really are a warrior at heart.”
I ponder Astralux’s comment as we make our way through the forest. I’ve never wanted to be a warrior. I was trained to be a healer. But within a week’s span, I’ve now been in multiple fights.
Ariadna, I’m not sure how I feel about this direction my life is taking, but I don’t know what I can do to stop it.
Tamara Rivers 
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