Dragon Bound

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Chapter Four

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‘Ten years we have put up with your insolence!’ Jason sat at the rounded table, trying not to flinch. He was unsurprised when a message had been sent to him to say a council meeting had been called. It was just on noon before the king and his knights met.

The atmosphere was thick with tension. Jason could feel the eyes of almost everyone in the room. He knew putting the white dragon in the arena would rouse a reaction from his fellow knights. Only one other rider had ever done something similar and that had been with two dragon siblings that wouldn’t stop quarrelling. The two had been young but fully under Sir Rodger’s control. Lune had not.

‘You bring the high king the rarest find in centuries and your first order is to have it fight in the arena like a fucking rooster. Is this entire court a joke to you?’ Estevan roared, losing his composure completely and standing up. He was a man in his late thirties. He was immaculately dressed, his family one with old ties and old money. He had a slim face and a goatee that failed to disguise a rather weak jawline. His eyes were a milky hazel and pinched at the corners in a perpetual scowl.

‘Please .... take your sea,’ Amara commanded, her fingers linked on the tabletop. Jason risked a glance briefly in her direction. Her eyes were fixed on him, and her expression was tight. She was angry. She just wasn’t shouting yet.

‘That creature is worth more than your rank under our king,’ Kyril sneered.

‘I would think that would be for our king to decide,’ Jason replied calmly. The longer he kept his composure, the more infuriated the others became.

‘This is what happens when a child is given too much freedom,’ Estevan hissed, joining the conversation again.

‘Be careful of your wording Sir Estevan. Are you questioning my judgement of my knight?’ the Sun King asked. The room fell back into silence.

‘Forgive me sire but I am not the only one who feels that you give Sir Jason more privileges than he has earned,’ Estevan grit out. There were a few terse mutters of agreement from around the room. Jason fought the urge not to squirm in his seat. This was like staring Lune down all over again. If he showed weakness in this den of vipers, they would surely have his throat. The Sun King turned his head to Jason, the man was arrayed in robes of white and gold today. The massive headpiece the king wore was gold, bone, and copper, ornately carved into the form of a large sun disk.

‘Perhaps...’ the king drawled. Jason met the king’s gold eyed gaze tensely.

‘The method was unorthodox but if it was successful then perhaps the risk was worth the danger. What exactly was that little show supposed to achieve?’ Garret asked, his massive arms folded over his chest. He was one of the oldest knights under the king. He was also one of the calmest.

‘By winning, Damon gave me the dragon’s name,’ Jason replied.

‘His name!? You’ve had the beast for nearly a week, and you couldn’t even extract the creature’s name!?’ Kyril’s voice was full of delighted rage.

‘I was restricted in working with him due to his injuries sustained in the wilds,’ Jason growled.

‘Which you worsened by bringing him here in beast form! Then you had him fight regardless! Clearly this boy is more clueless than we have ever considered,’ Estevan sneered. Jason bristled before he could cool his own features.

‘I have earned my rank here just as you have. My methods may differ from your own, but they have proven effective.’

‘So, it would seem,’ the man hissed.

’Yes, effective on the one dragon you have ever bothered to train,’ Kyril added shrewdly. Jason’s hands balled into fists under the table, anger making him flush.

‘Enough.’ The king’s voice cut through the brewing argument.

‘Clearly my knights are at odds. I don’t like that. A weak link in my chain is one that can’t be ignored. Sir Amara.’

Amara sat up straighter in her chair, her face turning to her king. ‘Yes, my king?’

‘How long exactly did it take to train your lovely lapis filly?’ Amara frowned ever so slightly.

‘Six months to have her fully reigned in and flying in formation my king,’ she answered. Jason’s mouth opened, already knowing where this was going and not liking it.

‘Six months then. That is what I will give you in order to train this new dragon of yours. If by the end of that time the beast is still resisting then I will remove him from your care to another of my knights who may be up to the challenge,’ the king said.

This was hardly fair!

The lapis filly’s situation had been nothing like Lune’s. She was locally bred and had contact with humans from a young age even though she had never been saddled or ridden before. She was half tame already! Lune’s species hadn’t been seen for over a hundred years! He had never had contact with riders, or their magic and he had certainly never been around other tame dragons.

‘Sire-’

‘This really isn’t something for you to negotiate Jason and I wouldn’t try if I were in your position. Do so and I’ll shorten your six months to four. I will confess I was not particularly pleased with your decision myself,’ the king cut across him. Jason closed his mouth, biting down on his tongue hard enough to taste blood.

Six months.

It had taken a little over two years to fully train Damon and that was not unusual. Two years was the lower end of average for a wild dragon. Garret had wrestled with his thick-skulled dragon for four years. Four fucking years. Jason ground his teeth together. He could feel Damon’s curiosity down their shared link and for once, he was glad his dragon wasn’t with him. Damon was a wall of impatient fury. With Damon so close, Jason probably wouldn’t be able to keep his temper in check. He kept his eyes fixed on the king.

He could feel the burning lecherous grins of several of the other knights. Jason was young. Young for his rank, young for the breed of dragons he tamed, young for every aspect of wealth he had. His natural talent with magic, his intellect, sharp instincts, and aggressive spirit had enabled him to claw his way to the top. There were several knights who believed it was his father that allowed him to get to where he was. The last wish of a dying man. The implication disgusted him.

‘I will have him trained in six months Sire,’ Jason said with as much restraint as he was able. The Sun King smirked, and it was truly evil. It made something in his chest twinge, like a jack rabbit staring down a rattle snake. Sometimes Jason truly believed that man meant him harm. A true sadist.

‘Very good,’ the man purred and with a dismissive wave of a hand, the meeting was finished.

--

Damon watched his master, half in amusement, half in anger. Jason had returned to their room in a blind fury. He had kicked the heavy wooden door so hard that if Damon had been an inch closer it would have broken his nose. Jason didn’t need to say anything. His mind was an open book right then.

An open book with some very descriptive language. He knew the anger was also in part made from fear, fear of losing Lune after only just capturing him. He didn’t know if the Sun King truly intended to take Lune from them but if in six months, Lune was not to heel, then the king had the authority to do so. He watched as Jason kicked an oak chair, sending it smashing into the wall.

‘Feel better?’ Damon asked, arms crossed over his massive chest. He knew as his master turned blazing eyes on him that he certainly didn’t. He recognised the fire in that gaze and felt a familiar heat pool in his groin. Jason strode toward him, confidence, and aggression in every inch of him. Damon was ready when Jason threaded his fingers into his black hair and wrenched him down.

‘Kneel,’ Jason snarled, lips quirking. Damon grinned daringly back. Gods knew he was going to be sore by the end of tonight…

--

Lune spent a restless night alone in his stall. Damon never came back after their fight in the arena. Lune had been taken back to the stables. Jason had stayed with him, keeping him immobile whilst the medics cleaned and bound his wounds. Honestly Lune hadn’t wanted to move much anyway. After the fight he quickly started to stiffen up. With his shoulder aching he had found it hard to get comfortable even on the warm bamboo mats.

There were people too. Lune couldn’t see them, but he could hear and catch their scent. They came to his stall to peer in at him. The sensation of being watched made him deeply uneasy. After Jason had left, Lune had been given a sheep to eat and time to recover. He found to his own embarrassment that he missed Damon’s scent. It had become somewhat familiar in this alien world.

The next morning Lune woke with a jolt. Jason’s scent came to him as the stall door opened. Lune blinked weakly. The sun wasn’t up yet. What was going on?

‘What is going on is that I have been given a deadline and you are going to help me make that deadline,’ Jason announced ominously. Lune cocked his head to one side, sniffing the air. There was something spicy. It made his blood heat and heartbeat quicken. He breathed in again more deeply. The scent of musk on Jason was almost overpowering. His own scent and Damon’s…

Oh.

Jason smirked and Lune shifted with nervous embarrassment. The white dragon looked suddenly abashed. His tail swayed back and forth in agitation.

‘Come on. We have a lot of work to do,’ Jason said. He turned and the collar around Lune’s throat glowed. With an angry hiss Lune was made to follow. After poor sleep and aching muscles Lune was in a particularly foul mood. He purposely tried to drag his feet. His tail banged off stall doors or knocked over feed bins. Jason sighed as several stable hands gave them frightened if slightly annoyed looks. Lune recognised the stone round room just as he recognised the pillars with mounting dread. The memory of having his scales pulled out made him rear back against the collar, digging his claws into the floor.

‘Take it easy Lune, we aren’t giving you another physical and I won’t be locking you into the posts. Well, not unless you don’t stop acting like a complete brat,’ Jason said, his eyes on Lune swishing tail. The feathers that ran down Lune’s back were fluffed out with his distress. Jason eased the dragon forward. The posts didn’t slide in, but Jason did fix the heavy chain from the first post to Lune’s collar.

‘That’s it. Easy,’ Jason murmured, petting the scaled neck. Jason moved to grab a coil of rope and watched as Lune’s eye got wider and more distressed.

This made the rider pause and take a long slow breath. As much as Jason detested to admit it, Kyril had made a point. Jason had only really ever trained Damon. Damon and Lune had some similarities, but they weren’t the same dragon. Hobbling and rope binding had been key when he had first rained in the violent fury that was the black dragon but from what he had observed Lune was of a far more subdued nature. He was undoubtably feisty but in his fear and distress, he sought to free himself rather than attack Jason like Damon would have in his youth. Jason was going to have to change the way he went about this. He hung the coil of rope over one post and went to retrieve his grooming supplies and Damon.

Lune waited with coiling dread. The sun was creeping into the morning sky and his stomach gave a rumble of hunger. He tensed when he heard the clack of large claws on stone. Jason had returned with a bag over one shoulder, the massive black dragon following behind. The large stone room suddenly felt a little small with Damon there as well. The black dragon stretched out his neck, sniffing at Lune. Lune jumped nervously and snapped at him. Damon didn’t seem offended though. He lay down in the sun to watch.

Jason grabbed the hard-bristled brush and the rope. Lune started violently when Jason wrapped the rope around his front leg and tied a loose knot. The rider murmured to him, gently stroking his neck. The collar was blue with magic, but he would only use it if Lune really went for him. So far, the little dragon was keeping it together. With his hand on the beast’s neck Jason could feel the slight trembling.

‘It’s alright,’ he murmured. He started to brush the soft silky scales. He set to a long and thorough grooming session. He rubbed large firm lazy circles with the brush, feeling the tight muscles relaxing. Lune’s head drooped a little. The man slowly worked down his leg and back up. When he was done, he untied the rope. Lune tensed again, tail spines twitching as Jason retied the rope in a slack knot around his back leg before repeating the process.

The white dragon’s eyes were half closed. Jason had repeated the process with each leg and his tail. Lune flinched as Jason tied the rope loosely around his neck. The rider smiled, petting. He spoke often, muttering to him about how good he was doing. Hands stroked his muzzle, his eye ridges and nose horns. They scratched and rubbed until Lune was quietly purring.

By the time Jason was finished his little white dragon was laying down sleepily. He allowed himself a little self-satisfied grin. He hung the rope back up.

‘You two can stay here whilst I get us breakfast,’ Jason said, packing everything away. Damon was napping in the sun, his wings stretched out. Lune couldn’t go anywhere thanks to the chain, but he did drop his nose down to join the other in a short sleep.

Damon ordered both dragons a buck to eat and took himself a large bread roll stuffed with cheese and smoked meat. By the time he got back the stable hands had brought out the buck. Damon lumbered over and pugnaciously ripped off the back leg of the carcass. Jason rolled his eyes, long used to his dragon’s over the top violence. Lune eyed the dead buck but didn’t try to take it. Jason raised an eyebrow at his black. Play nice. Damon gave an annoyed snort but picked up the carcass and brought it over to Lune. Lune didn’t take it at first, expecting some sought of backlash. Damon grunted, put the buck down and began to eat again, shoving the meat forward with a bloody snout. Lune hesitantly took a bite. When nothing happened, he took another.

Jason was aware of Damon’s gaze. He knew what his dragon was wondering about. One of the easiest and quickest way to break in a new dragon was to force them to change into a human form. This was not without risks. Dragons had, in the past, died during the transformation. Granted, this outcome was rare, but the risk made Jason nervous. He knew he would have to make the attempt and soon. It used a lot of magic to cast the spell. The simplest way to guarantee success was to enlist the help of another powerful mage like himself. Even then…

Jason felt a prickle of unease. He knew what he needed to do and who he needed to ask, and the thought made him deeply uncomfortable. There was only one magic user more powerful than himself that would be willing to help and that would be for a price.

That individual was the Sun King and Jason knew it would cost him a pound of flesh to make that deal. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much of choice…

Lune was licking his forelegs clean of his meal. Damon was messily cleaning his own claws. Lune huffed. Clearly the larger dragon has never been taught any cleanliness. Jason gave a snort of amusement at his thought. A loud jangling made Lune look over at him. His feathers rose as he saw the bridal Jason held. He watched as Jason approached Damon. He reached out a hand and stroked the animal’s jaw. In response Damon opened his mouth and Jason put the metal bit of the bridal between the dragon’s back teeth before buckling the leather straps. Lune growled low when Jason came towards him with a second bridle. He kept his mouth firmly shut even when Jason reached out to touch his jaw. Jason shrugged and with a snap of his fingers the collar forced Lune to open his mouth.

The white dragon hissed angrily as Jason buckled the bridle on. It wasn’t a particularly good fit, but it would do for practice. He wouldn’t be able to ride Lune for quite a while. Dragons were not like horses. Aside from being far more intelligent there was a very big difference when it came to being thrown off. Horses may buck but a wild dragon will actively try and kill its ride and being thrown from five feet off the ground was a big difference to fifty feet off the ground.

No. It would do well to get Lune as used to the gear as possible before Jason even made the attempt.

The day crawled on in an uncomfortable fashion. Jason would put the bridle on Damon first, then Lune, then take them both off and start again. When the dreaded thing wasn’t strapped to his head, the rider kept it slung over his shoulder, letting the buckles jingle as he moved about. What was worse was the sandbag that Jason placed across Lune’s shoulders. It wasn’t that heavy, but Lune wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what it was for. The sandbag was there to represent something else in the future that would take its place. Lune shuddered.

Sometime around midday a massive human male in a dirty charred apron entered their circular room. The man was taller and broader than Jason with a receding hair line and a short salt and pepper beard. Even through the thick hair on the man’s arms Lune could see old burn scars. The smell of burnt cherry wood, sweat and iron was strong.

‘It’s been a while since I have had a request from you Sir Jason,’ the man said. His brown eyes moved to Lune, and he whistled low.

‘He is a sight for sore eyes.’ The man added.

Jason nodded. ‘He is. Thank you for coming Gabe. I need some proper gear for him.’

The man raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll bet. Never seen anything quite like him. His gear will have to be completely different from Damon’s,’ he murmured.

Jason nodded again. ‘I figured. What would you recommend?’

‘He is too narrow in the shoulders for any kind of proper chest plate. His wing structure is unique to. He might end up being the fastest dragon in the king’s stable, but he won’t be able to wear much armour. His feathers are going to be a problem to. We can’t just throw a regular saddle on him, it’ll rub him raw.’ Gabe said, running a careful eye over the white dragon.

‘Can you design something for him?’ Jason asked, frowning. The man gave him an incredulous look.

‘Of course, I can, who the hell do you think your talking to? I was designing saddles before you were off your mother’s tit,’ Gabe snapped tersely.

‘Hold him still. I’ll need to take some measurements,’ Gabe grunted. He pulled a long measuring tape and a grimy piece of parchment from one of his apron pockets and strolled up to Lune’s side. Lune grit his teeth as he was forced to stand stone still as the man moved around him. The tape was wrapped around his nose, his neck, shoulders, chest, legs, belly, and rump. He even had Jason open Lune’s mouth so he could measure the gap between his back teeth. Feeling thoroughly violated, Lune gave a loud snarl as Jason finally released him.

‘I think that’s enough for today,’ Jason sighed, feeling the strain of his own magic. He thanked Gabe and took Lune back to his stable. He had to duck to avoid another quill that shot from the irate dragon’s tail. Damon padded into his own stall, but Jason put up a hand to stop him.

‘You’re coming with me. We need to visit the king.’ Damon felt the shift come over him and shuddered at the involuntary feeling of his body shrinking. When he stood, human and naked in front of his master, Jason nodded and led the way to his chambers.

‘You really think this is a good idea?’ Damon asked out loud.

His rider snorted. ‘No but I really don’t have a better one. Do you?’

Damon shook his head. ‘No, but-’

Jason whipped around mid-step. ‘I won’t lose Lune to Kyril or anyone else. I can’t Damon,’ Jason spat. The dragon eyed his master for several long moments. Jason stormed off again and Damon marched after him, already dreading the meeting to come.

--

They both knelt at the king’s feet in the Sun King’s private chambers.

‘I hope you aren’t here to ask for more time. I was particularly clear on that issue.’ The king’s voice was lazy and threatening one in the same. Jason kept his head bowed as tow golden feet appeared in his lowered vision.

‘No, my king. I have come to ask a different favour.’ He kept his voice as neutral as he could, Damon still beside him.

‘Oh? And what might that be?’

‘It was you who first made mention of just how rare Lune is. To truly start working with him I must enforce the change in him. I can, of course, perform the spell on my own but his safety would benefit from your presence sire.’

Silence.

‘I am not asking this favour blindly,’ Jason whispered. Fingertips touched the locks of hair that fell passed his ears.

‘I will help you cast the spell,’ the king said finally.

‘However, I will do so on one condition,’ Jason swallowed.

‘My king?’ Jason risked a glance up and shivered at the feral look in the king’s gaze. The man was stroking Damon’s jaw. Damon glanced nervously at his rider.

‘Once the boy has adjusted to his new body you will bring him to me.’ Jason winced. ‘You think I would harm him? My own dragon? Should I be insulted by the insulation?’ the king purred.

‘Your interpretation of harm is…’

‘Oh, come now Jason. We both know despite your screams that both you and your Damon enjoyed being my personal toys. It’s no secret that you have bedded no one else aside from Damon since. Bring Lune to me and I will assess his training. Do not worry. I won’t break him.’

Jason’s mouth had gone completely dry. ‘He’s never been bred before,’ Jason croaked.

The king gave him a wicked smirk. ‘I am aware.’

Jason watched as a gorgeous gold dragon with mismatched eyes stepped into the room. The king’s personal dragon rarely spoke. Takara was the creature’s name. He was adorned in a thin sarong that barely covered his narrow hips. His nipples were pieced with gold rings and the gold collar around his neck seemed to be just a little too tight. It was hard to imagine that this dragon had once been as wild as Damon. Truly he stood absolutely no chance with a master like the Sun King. The Sun King prowled towards Takara and wound his fingers into the long blonde hair, twisting his head back. The dragon arched, back bowing beautifully.

‘Have him ready and I will attend midday tomorrow to perform the spell. Once he has been broken in, bring him to me. Perhaps I may even allow you to watch. I know Damon has been straining for a nice tight hole to sink his cock in. Honestly Jason, you really should indulge your dragon more often. It isn’t healthy for them to be so pent up.’ Jason watched as the king dipped his mouth over the gold dragon’s. The kiss went on for several long moments until Takara began to squirm from lack of air. When the mage pulled away his dragon’s cheeks were flushed.

‘Strip and get on the bed,’ he purred. Long since trained out of his embarrassment of public nudity, Takara removed his sarong and Jason got a good eye full of several dark bruises on the dragon’s hips and inner thighs.

‘Tomorrow,’ the king said as he stripped from his own clothing. Jason rose, a little shaky on his feet. The king’s smirk turned nasty, letting him know that he had seen the erection in Jason’s breaches. The knight bowed briefly and left the room, Damon close on his heel.

‘Fuck that man is intense,’ Damon hissed.

Jason just nodded.

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END

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