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Author: Sassenach Story: Dragon Riders Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: WIP Reviews: 5 Words: 62,735
After the incident near the paddock, Charlie found himself in his cabin contemplating just what happened. He was sure he’d done the right thing in refusing Maggie’s advances. He just couldn’t shake the feeling he had when he’d met eyes with Jade. At first he’d felt a surge of panic like he’d been caught doing something very shameful. Then he felt worried, and he wasn’t sure why. What did he have to worry about? He wondered if Jade had overhead the entire exchange between Maggie and him. He also wondered what was going through her mind. It bothered him that she took off the way she did, but he supposed that it was better than trying to explain just what had happened. Throwing himself roughly onto his cot, he rolled over onto his side and gritted his teeth. He was frustrated in more ways than one. He didn’t know what to do about Jade and he was dead sure he needed an ice cold shower. Maggie wasn’t first on Charlie’s list, but he wasn’t dead. He wanted to scream when there was a knock at his door. “What?” he called out aggravated by the interruption of his solitude. Jared peered through the doorway and asked, “Charlie, I just wanted to know if I should send that order out for updated gear?” “Yes, Jared,” Charlie muttered from his cot, with his backside still facing the doorway. Jared looked around the room for a moment. “Did the ministry official leave already?” “Yes, hopefully by now she’s on a train to London,” Charlie answered. “Great, so we passed right?” Jared asked. Charlie gritted his teeth. He desperately wished that Jared would just disappear from his doorway. “Yes, Jared, we passed. If we hadn’t, I would be packing right about now.” “Good point, so I’ll just let you…get back to what you were doing,” Jared mumbled realizing Charlie’s disposition. The door shut quietly behind him. Charlie rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes and groaned. He closed his eyes and decided that he was going to wipe the events of the day out of his mind. ~@~ Jade was relieved several days later to see that Charlie was acting normal around her. She was sure that he was going to be angry at her or feel embarrassed about what had transpired. Instead, he acted as if nothing had ever happened. As Jade pulled on her gear she spotted Dayton across the way grinning at her. Since their suspensions they had avoided each other. She ignored his probing stare and finished getting ready. When she approached the paddock gate she was stopped by Charlie and Jared. They were rounding everyone up. When the group was quiet Charlie began to speak. “I have some very bad news. We were just sent letters from the ministry stating that a pack of dragons have been stolen from other camps. We are to be on the look out for these dragons. It is the ministry’s suspicion that Death Eaters are the source of this problem. “If we spot these dragons we are to engage them. The ministry wants them retrieved at all costs. In the enemy’s hands these dragons are a deadly weapon,” Charlie stated with a grim expression. “What exactly are we supposed to do if we spot them?” Mac asked. “Use defensive spells and attempt to knock the rider off the dragon. The ministry orders us to stop them any way we can. If that means harming the dragons than that’s what we have to do,” Jared replied. Everyone began to murmur their opposition to such actions, but Charlie raised his hands to the crowd in a placating gesture. “Please understand that in the coming war we will not want to face a foe that rides dragons. Imagine the destruction these beasts could create if used wrongly. I know how you all feel for these creatures, but we have no other choice.” Later that night when she retired from her shift, Jade was glad that she hadn’t spotted any strange dragons flying toward her. She was sure she didn’t want to really fight anyone on dragon back. ~@~ The rest of the week everyone was more on edge ready to attack anything flying in the air. Brendan had accidentally stunned a large bird that flew too close to him. Jade was busy pulling her gear out of her locker ready for her second shift of the day when she heard shouting from the paddock. Haphazardly she pulled on her dragon hide jacket and hastily grabbed her gloves before slamming her locker closed. She ran down to the paddock just as Charlie approached Jared. “What’s going on?” Charlie asked over the shouting. “Someone’s spotted the dragons flying from the east,” Jared answered. “All riders are gearing up for an attack.” Jade interrupted their conversation. “What do we do?” she asked. “We engage,” Jared answered turning to leave. Jade’s eyes widened, but she was determined. She too turned to leave when she felt someone grab her arm and hold her back. She turned to find Charlie with his hand wrapped around her arm with a look of warning. “What is it?” she asked. “Jade, I’m not sure you should go out there,” he said tightly. She looked at him fiercely. “Don’t start, Weasley,” she replied through clenched teeth. “I don’t need this right now.” “Fine,” he relented releasing her arm slowly. “Just remember, Jade, I can tell you not to go.” “You’d better not,” she retorted. “Be careful, that’s all,” Charlie stated. “I will,” she answered before turning to find Costel. ~@~ As they left the paddock far below, Jade tried to quell the uneasiness in her stomach. She had the strangest feeling that everything was about to go terribly wrong. Even her hands trembled slightly as she held the reigns. In the distance she could see dark masses flying through the clouds. Pulling her wand from its holster at her hip, she readied herself for a battle. All the techniques and spells she’d learned during training came seeping into her mind. As she flew toward the sinister shapes ahead, she was flanked by several other dragons. She noticed Brendan atop of the dragon nearest to her. His eyes were set on the skies before them with a determined look on his face. This was war, and she desperately hoped she was ready for it. In an instant, Jade found herself in the center of a hurricane of dragons swirling around each other. Spells were fired from all directions and shouts could be heard over the raging winds. Jade managed to aim a disarming spell at the rider who was currently attacking her dragon. A bright light flashed and she watched as the rider clothed in black fell from the saddle. She turned to watch the other riders fighting and noticed that they were winning the war. It was then that she spotted a pair of dragons retreating towards the mountains. Knowing what she had to do, she began to follow. It was hard to fire a spell at a moving object when you were flying and even harder to do so at such a high speed. When she did, her spell misfired and flew past them. The riders noticed and turned to meet in battle. A green bolt hurtled past Jade as she urged Costel into a barrel roll. Before she could catch her bearings another bright light flew toward her. It brushed her left arm and she felt a searing pain. Costel roared furiously and spat a ball of fire towards the closest dragon sending it five hundred feet back. Glancing down at her arm she realized she was bleeding from a long gash. It was then that another dragon swooped down toward them, its rider firing a barrage of spells in the enemy’s direction. One of the intruders went down, but the second was fighting back with a vengeance. Jade tried to join in the fight and as she plunged downward the rider turned and fired a spell at her. She thought it had missed, but realized she was wrong when she heard a snapping sound. Tipping in her seat, Jade desperately grabbed at Costel’s back. Her hands slipped over the hard scales and she began to slide down the right side of Costel’s back. Her saddle was badly damaged. “Jade, hold on!” she heard a familiar voice yell out to her, but she was too busy trying to stay in the saddle to see who it was. Costel jerked underneath her, feeling her weight shifting on his back uncomfortably. “No,” she murmured glancing down toward the mountainside knowing what was to come. Desperately she tried to grab at Costel’s haunches praying that the saddle would hold just a while longer until the other rider could help her. Costel’s movements became jerkier and his flying pattern became erratic. Knowing what she had to do, she reached down toward the saddle belt and hooked a finger in the buckle. If she didn’t release herself from Costel’s back they were going to crash and she could be crushed. With one swift movement the saddle released her and her legs slipped away from Costel’s back. She then let go and braced herself for a very hard landing. She only knew one cushioning spell, but was sure it wasn’t going to entirely break her fall. Wind and snow whipped across her face as the ground rushed up to meet her. She cried out the spell just before the impact. Jade hit the snowy mountain on her side and felt extreme pain shoot up her arm. The cushioning spell hadn’t been enough to entirely protect her. She rolled down the mountain and came to a complete stop face down in the snow before blacking out from the impact. ~@~ Charlie watched in horror as Jade plummeted through the sky and disappeared into the wind-borne snow. He turned his attention to the rider attacking him and quickly disarmed the Death Eater, freeing the dragon from his captor. Charlie then directed his dragon toward Jade and hoped that she had survived the fall. Once they landed on the mountainside, Charlie burned a message into his saddle and sent his dragon off for help. He had to find Jade before she froze to death on the mountain and he couldn’t keep the dragon with him for long. Charlie ran down the mountainside and tried to search for her through the blinding snow. The wind whipped across him as he made his way downward. In the distance he spotted a dark form on the ground. He ran toward it and found Jade lying face first in the snow. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of her. Carefully, he turned her over and checked for a pulse. He’d never felt so relieved in his life when he felt the rhythmic beating of her heart in her throat. “Thank Merlin,” he sighed in relief. Pulling out his wand he pointed it down at her chest and murmured, “Enervate.” She stirred and groaned as her eyes fluttered open. “Charlie,” she muttered. “It’s okay, you’re safe now,” he said. “Are you alright?” “I…I think my arm is broken,” she said as she sat up and attempted to move it. Charlie reached over and felt her arm. He stopped just above the shoulder and muttered to himself. “You’ve dislocated your arm,” he informed her. They both stood to their feet and Jade looked around. “What are we going to do?” she asked. Before Charlie could answer the ground began to shake. Jade looked to Charlie with wide eyes before Charlie shouted, “Avalanche!” A wave of powdery white snow rolled down the mountain toward them and Charlie pushed Jade to run forward. They ran toward a cliff in the mountain and stopped short. Charlie motioned toward a cleft behind a large rock and they both ducked behind it. The snow exploded behind them and rushed forward. Jade was knocked from her sitting position by the impact and slipped toward the edge of the mountain. Charlie whipped out a hand and caught her arm just as she went over the side. Jade screamed in agony as her dislocated arm popped back into place. After a few minutes, the flow of the snow stopped and Charlie pulled her back up. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she embarrassedly wiped at them. “Are you okay?” he asked. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t reach your other arm.” “It’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s better that then falling thousands of feet to my death.” “We should try to find shelter,” Charlie said standing up. For what seemed like hours they roamed the mountainside in hopes of finding a place to stay the night. Jade found that it was getting hard for her to breath from the altitude and she was having coughing fits. On top of that she was freezing to the core. “Charlie…I…I don’t think I can go on for much longer…” she stuttered through chattering teeth. He reached back toward her and pulled her into his chest, rubbing her arms. “You have to,” he said. “I’m not letting us die on this mountain.” She nodded her head against his chest and pulled away in search of some distance. Although his touch warmed her up, she wasn’t sure it was in the right way. Charlie guided them further up the mountain. It was dark when they found the cave on the side of the mountain. “I’m going to search the cave for anything to burn and try to start a fire. Why don’t you try to get warm?” Charlie suggested as he lit his wand and ventured deeper into the cave. Jade lit her own wand and explored the cave walls. There were animal symbols painted on the walls depicting a hunting ceremony. She found a spot on the floor and pulled her legs into her chest. Her clothes were damp and there was a chilly wind spilling in through the mouth of the cave. When Charlie returned he had enough materials to start a small fire. He urged Jade to sit next to it while he searched his pack for supplies. “Well, I have a water canteen, poison antidote, and a couple of granola bars.” He tried to smile as he stuffed them back into the pack and slid toward Jade. Her hands were poised above the flames in attempts to warm them. She glanced over at Charlie and smiled. “It could be a lot worse,” she said. “I wasn’t sure you’d make it through that fall,” Charlie stated as his eyes drifted back toward the flames. “I was fine,” she mumbled. “You taught me, so don’t worry-” she said before breaking off into a fit of violent coughing. Charlie frowned and peered at her inspecting. “Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked. She shrugged. “I just think I inhaled a little too much snow.” “Try to rest,” Charlie suggested. “I’m sure they’ll come looking for us as soon as they can.” Jade nodded her head before lying down near the fire. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, blocking out all thoughts of freefalling thousands of feet in the air. ~@~ Charlie watched Jade most of the night. Her sleep was fitful and she continued to cough. When she woke the next morning he noticed the flush look on her face. Something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what. “Try to eat some of this,” Charlie said handing her one of the granola bars. She gratefully took it and bit into it. She frowned and gagged. “It tastes awful,” she muttered swallowing hard. “It’s good for you,” Charlie replied with a grin. She rolled her eyes. “So, I suppose anything good for me is going to taste like dirt.” Charlie laughed as he began to chew on his own bar. “This is a lot better than the alternatives.” “And what are those?” she asked glancing over at him. “Eating bugs,” he answered. She grimaced and looked glumly at the food bar in her hand. “I think I’d rather this.” Jade pushed away from the fire and stood up to stretch. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to pull off her jacket. She simply felt too hot. “You’d better keep that on,” Charlie said from his seat on the floor. “I can’t,” she stated. “I’m practically sweating to death.” “You’re getting sick,” he said knowingly. She peered down at him. “I am not.” “You have a fever, Jade. You’re sweating and you’ve been coughing since yesterday.” Narrowing her eyes, she pulled her jacket on and sat down. “I’m fine.” Charlie decided that he wasn’t going to pursue an argument with her. They were stuck in a cave together and they had to survive. Who knew when a rescue party would come to get them? Hours later, Jade initiated a conversation. “When do you think they’ll come?” “It could be a few days,” Charlie answered honestly. “For now we have to conserve our supplies.” She nodded her head, her eyes darkening as she stared intently into the fire. “No one would miss me,” she said quietly. “Huh,” Charlie murmured. “No one would miss me if I died out here,” she clarified. Charlie frowned, thinking that she was wrong. “That can’t be right. There has to be someone who would miss you.” She shook her head. “I have no family. I’ve been an orphan since I was twelve and my one aunt is so distant I don’t even know her.” Charlie ran a hand through his hair. This was all new for him. He’d never been able to get a single shred of personal information from her. “I think my family would be heart broken. I know my mum would. She has this ridiculous idea that we’ll forever be her babies.” Jade half smiled. “It must be nice coming from a big family.” “I like it,” Charlie admitted. Sure there were times when he hated having so many siblings to look after or who bothered him, but deep down he loved every single one of them. “I think you’re wrong, Jade. There are people who would miss you.” She looked up at him asking, “Yeah, who?” “Well, for starters I know for a fact that Mac and Brendan adore you. They’ve practically adopted you as a little sister.” He fiddled with his wand before murmuring, “I’d miss you too.” She laughed. “No, you wouldn’t.” He looked up at her with a brow raised. “You think so?” “I drive you insane, Charlie. Heaven knows you drive me insane. I’m probably the biggest thorn in your side.” “Yeah,” he thought, “but the thorn is only a part of the rose.” Then it struck him. Jade was becoming more and more a part of his life that he wasn’t sure he could live without. Sure, at times she infuriated him but he enjoyed being around her. He enjoyed the smell of her hair or watching her laugh. She yawned and lay down. “You won’t miss me a bit,” she mumbled through a yawn, closing her eyes. “I’d miss you more than you’d know,” he whispered, but Jade was already asleep. ~@~ Jade muttered in her sleep and rolled over. Charlie popped up from his sleeping position and stopped her from rolling into the fire. As he turned her over he felt his hands burn on her flesh. Her face was pale and her brow was moist. “Jade,” he whispered lightly shaking her.
“Jade, you’ve got to wake up,” he said with more force. She began coughing and rolled over to her side mumbling, “It’s too hot.” “I know,” Charlie said. “You have a high fever.” “So thirsty…” Jade croaked after a few minutes. Charlie pressed the water canteen to her lips and urged her to drink. He then tried to feed her small bits of a granola bar. “Jade, please try to eat some more. You have to keep your strength up,” he pleaded with her. She shook her head as she fought to contain another bout of coughing. When she removed her hand, Charlie noticed a speck of red near her thumb. He pulled her hand toward him and wiped at her thumb. “Merlin, you’re coughing up blood, Jade.” Jade’s eyes flew open and she shivered violently. “I’m cold, Charlie. So cold…” she chattered. Charlie pulled her into him and propped her against his chest. He didn’t know what to do. Jade was getting worse with every day and he was sure that soon she’d be in real danger. “You’ve got to stay strong for me, okay? I need you to eat and try to rest,” he said soothingly. She nodded her head against his chest. “Okay,” she croaked. “I’m going to take care of you, Jade. You are not going to leave me on this mountain by myself. Do you hear me?” he asked pushing her away so she could look into his eyes. “Yes,” she mumbled. He pressed her back to his chest and rubbed her backside. Although she was shivering, her body felt like a furnace against him. Within minutes she was sleeping, and Charlie maneuvered her limp body so that she lay on her back with her head in his lap. He brushed wispy dark locks of hair away from her face and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. She was so hot. Charlie leaned back against the wall closing his eyes. He prayed that someone would come and find them soon. He wasn’t sure how much more time Jade had.
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