A young girl shuddered, as she heard yet another scream of pain. One that was quickly silenced with a gurgle. Another person had died to the monstrous beasts attacking their wagon train. In her soul, she wept for them, but she dared not make a sound herself. She knew everyone in the train, the guards, and the maids. It hurt deeply to know that people she had known most of her life were out there dying. Some of them had even been her friends, but she knew them all. She had laughed, and cried with them. Shared some of her best and worst moments with them.  And here she was hiding all alone in a secret compartment, but it had not been her choice to be here, and she was not going to make a sound. They had chosen to lock her in here to protect her, and she did not want their sacrifices to be in vain.

Suddenly all was quiet, and then there were a few howls from the Vorlaks out there, and she knew they were all dead. There were too many out there for anyone to have actually survived. Not against fifty Vorlaks anyway. A single Vorlak was a deadly foe, but an unheard of pack? That was not something that simple guards and maids could fight off. Maybe if she had thought to bring some elite knights or a mage things would be different, but she had not. As for running away, well that was out of the question. Vorlaks were fast, and they had superb senses. The only reason she was still alive, was because this compartment was magically enchanted. Only voices could pass through from the inside, but she could hear everything out there. Even if she could not see what was happening out there. 

She waited in the silence, broken only by the occasional sound of tearing flesh or a growl. She even heard a few yelps, and as she sat there with only her own thoughts for company, she wondered if there was anything she could have done differently to prevent this tragedy. Deep down she already knew the answer. There was no way she could have known this was going to happen, and Vorlaks had never formed packs before. Soon her thoughts drifted to wondering if she would even survive this herself. Although she was beginning to think she was not going to. A part of her just wanted them to find her, so that she could join her friends in the afterlife.

However, as if the world disagreed with that thought, a sudden crack of thunder broke her train of thought the moment she wished to die. Pained yelps followed the crack of thunder, and soon the sound of fighting broke out. The hiss of arrows rang out, and something yelped. Fierce growls and snarls followed. Then she heard another crack of thunder, followed by a pained yelp. A mighty howl soon followed, and she was already forming a picture of what was going on.

It seemed a group of adventurers had found her, and were out there fighting the Vorlaks. Even better one of them was a mage by the sound of it. A strong lightning mage to be specific, and since she wasn’t hearing any chanting to go with the spells that meant he or she had mastered those spells and had a good command of the element. Relief spread through her as she came to the realization that she just might get through this. Even when so many people that she had known a long time, some of which she even considered to be her friends had died. With that realization, the pain hit her full force, and she finally couldn’t stop herself anymore. She began to cry. Quietly at first, but soon she was wailing in pain, as her tears flowed freely.

She knew it was unsightly, but she could not bring herself to care. Not about her station, nor the fact that she could be heard. Not even the risk of her being seen mattered to her. Long mournful grieving wails left her body. With each wail, her heart felt lighter, and the faces of her dead travel companions flashed through her mind one by each. Each time, deep down she said goodbye to them. She didn’t even realize that the battle had stopped while she was crying, and as she cried she began to pray for the souls of her departed companions.

The young woman didn’t know how long she spent crying, but by the time she stopped and became aware of her surroundings again, she found she was no longer locked in the compartment. Instead, she was wrapped in a blanket, and was settled half in the lap of another girl roughly the same size as her. Said girl was gently stroking her hair, and had been speaking calming phrases to her. She had not caught what she was saying, but the tone and intent had gotten through to her. Realizing that she had allowed people to see her in such a state, she flushed with embarrassment and quickly separated herself.

Looking around she noticed that she was in the middle of a camp near the edge of the former battlefield. Her broken wagons had been moved to the edge of the road. A couple of young men were busy digging holes on the top of a hill nearby, and not far from them were the piled bodies of her dead companions. Thankfully she could not see there faces, but she felt the pain resurface. Through sheer force of will, she pushed it to the side. She had vented enough, and she could not stand the thought of breaking down in front of strangers again.

Speaking of strangers, she began to study the strangers that had rescued her. Tending the campfire were a pair of identical twins. One was busy stroking the flames, while the other was tending to the pot standing above the flame. It appeared that she was cooking the midday meal while her sister helped. They both wore a lovely set of leather huntress’s armor that complimented their modest figures, and had bows. She honestly couldn’t see how someone would tell them apart, but she was a bit jealous of their vibrant red hair. Not to mention their larger busts.

 Glancing next to her she appraised the girl, whose lap she had been in. Almost instantly she had to suppress another surge of jealousy. The girl was just a little shorter than her, but her gaze was locked on her rack. She had a large full bust, the kind that the young woman wished she herself had. Not the measly A cup she had been stuck with. The other girl was dressed in the robes of a mage, and she recognized the clan colors and even the small clan symbol on the robe. The robes marked the girl as a High Mage of the Contrey clan. Even more to be jealous over was how vibrant her long black hair was. No wait, it was actually dark brown, it was just so dark that it looked black thanks to the light. She just wished her own hair had more color like the other girls did. 

Moving her gaze away from the cute mage girl, she noticed another girl emerge from the tree line, and was immediately jealous of how confident in her figure she looked to be. The new girl was young like the rest of them, but was entirely naked. It seemed she was confident enough in her body that she didn’t care that others could see it. Honestly, she wanted a body like that and she admired the way her exotic features made it look even better. She had a lovely well-proportioned set of boobs, a great curve to her body. The vibrant scales gave her the qualities of an exotic beauty and her hair looked lovely and well maintained. The young woman could just imagine the long line of suitors the woman must get. Her gaze also noticed the wings and her tail. Giving off the impression of a humanoid dragon.

The dragon lady noticed her gaze and came over before settling on a nearby log. She smiled cutely, and for some reason, the young woman wanted to strip and ravish the girl in front of her. Even though she did not normally swing that way. Although she did occasionally see girls that she wanted in that fashion before. An urge she often ignored because of her station. Then the lady spoke, and she felt like she was melting, “Feeling better?”

She nodded, and the lady continued, “My name is Aurora, the young woman next to you is Arlie Contrey, and the two twins over there are Rose and Lily. Rose is the one doing the cooking, and Lily is just helping out. As for the boys, the stupid one is called Thron, and the other is Horon. May I ask your name?”

She realized she had not yet introduced herself, and replied, “But of course.” she paused briefly to smooth out her dress, and felt the need to stand. With a flair of formality and a curtesy, “I am Emila of the Grey family. I am sorry that you had to see me in such a state. I must also thank you for rescuing me from those foul monsters” Glancing at the hill with the bodies, she continued, “Even if it wasn’t in time to save my companions.”

Looking around she noticed the eyes of everyone in earshot widened. Well everyone except the dragon lady, she had a knowing smirk instead. It seemed that even though she had deliberately left off her station and titles that these people knew the significance of her family name. While the Dragon lady seemed to have already known who she was. A fact she found surprising considering Emila was certain she would have remembered a meeting with someone so distinctive and exotic. Her mind once again focusing on the fact that the dragon lady was naked, and she wished not for the first time that she could have that kind of confidence in her own body. But she didn’t like her own long white hair, nor was she proud of her A cups. She wasn’t fat, but she wasn’t toned either. Not to mention, she didn’t get outside enough to form a decent tale. As such her skin was rather pale, and she felt like her thighs and butt were just a little too big. Emila just could not see her own beauty and lacked confidence in her own body.

Her brief bought of self-loathing and jealousy was suddenly broken by the dragon lady speaking again. She was once again enchanted by the voice, and listened raptly.