How could this happen? How could this be happening? How?
It couldn't be, that was the only answer. It couldn't be. This was all a dream, some crazy fantasy dreamed up after that glass of wine. There was no other explanation for this. He was walking through the woods for the Gods' sakes! Walking through the woods, alone. No guards, to carriage, nothing.
But Anton was no fool, and despite wanting to believe it with all his heart, this was not a dream. He replayed the past two days in his mind, trying to convince himself that this wasn't happening.
It had been a nice evening, and he had drank a glass of wine as he prepared for tomorrows trip. He was going to be meeting with a merchant, but the situation had been quite unsatisfactory, he wouldn't be able to have the meeting at his estate and would have to meet with the merchant at the other man's estate, due to complications with the merchant's health. So the next morning he set out in a heavily guarded carriage for the merchant's house. They had arrived in good time and the meeting had gone smoothly, for Anton at least, and he got what he had wanted from the merchant. It had gone so well, in fact, that their supposedly week-long stay was cut down to only a day. They had left the man's estate, and that's when the trouble started.
Bandits. Lots of them.
Anton's guards were overwhelmed, and Anton knew he had no choice but to make a run for it or suffer whatever fate the bandits wanted for him. The problem was, he was not very good at running. He was nearly killed as he fled, but somehow, in the confusion of the battle, had been able to escape, and he was now roaming an unfamiliar forest, alone.
And no one at his estate would expect a thing. Since he didn't stay at the merchant's estate for as long as he thought he would, and the trip took over a week by carriage, his estate wouldn't be expecting him for over two weeks, and by that time anything could have happened to him.
He had been walking for hours, but to the noble it felt like days, weeks. He wasn't he din't want to go back the way he came, who knows where the bandits were? But he knew Draconi Forest was huge, and he had no idea how to survive anywhere other than a house. Perhaps he should take his chances with the bandits? They probably had raided the carriage and taken off by now, for fear of being caught on the main road.
Yes, he woudl turn around, go back the way he had come, find the main road again and get a ride back to his estate, or at least to a nearby town. Anton turned around, and then he realized he had no idea which way he had come. His head nearly exploded from the frustration and shock right there, but he tried to take a deep breath, though his lungs didn't seem to be working correctly.
It took a full five minutes for him to get back into control and start walking again, in the direction he thought he had come from. Several hours later he knew he had chosen the wrong direction, and by the time night fell, he was exhausted. His once-fine clothes were torn and dirty, and his feet felt as though they were about to fall off, not to mention the strange feeling in his stomach. It took him a few hours to realize what it was. Hunger. Something he couldn't ever recall feeling before now. He walked until he couldn't anymore, and he fell asleep at the base of the tree. By some miraculous luck, he made it through the night without some creature coming upon him, and he started walking again the next day. Then he found a trail.
Thank the Gods.
He traveled along it all day, exhaustion dragging him down with every step. Then a shadow passed over him. He looked up to see a dragon flying above him. He started to run.
But he knew he couldn't outrun a dragon. Then it landed in front of him, and he saw the young woman sitting on the dragon's back. She drew her sword and Anton drew himself up, mustering every last bit of composure he had left. When she asked for his name he narrowed his eyes.
"Anton Delaware III," he said, managing to keep his composure from slipping. "What is your purpose here?"