This commission was drawn by TheOwlette! I'll add a link when she posts it. She's done just a lovely job here on a pretty complex scene, with all the unhappy anthros and one big bound dragon all put in a room together! Ashar's gear looks good, especially his muzzle, and I just love that expression on his face. Even in a mess like this he can keep a smile on his face, although this one looks a little nervous, considering the situation! Read on for the story I put together about how he got himself into this tight spot:

[quote]Flying was [i]so[/i] much faster than walking.

Ashar had plenty of time to reflect on this. He spent so much time in the air, dashing from one place to the next; more than that, how much faster he could be was half the reason he flew so much. Anthros would pay him good money to carry messages far faster than they could deliver them on their own, and the dragon enjoyed the work. He got to explore new places, meet new people, see new things, and spend the money on pretty treasures and tasty cooked meals, and even see just how happy they were when they got important letters so soon after they were written!

But it was especially on his mind today, as clumsy mittened paws and rattling chains accompanied his steps. He'd been hobbling along for hours, surrounded by anthros with spears and tugged along by a collar and chain, wings strapped down tight to his back to keep him on the ground when he could have flown the distance in a matter of minutes. A war had broken out between anthro kingdoms, and one of them had immediately recognized the strategic advantage offered by having him carry messages back and forth between the capital and their armies in the field. They had paid him very well to deliver commands and intelligence--but their enemy had noticed the frequent presence of a dragon nearby, and after flying off to hunt and rest after a front-line delivery they'd tracked him down and captured him. Being jabbed out of sleep by spears and shouts and threats had not been a pleasant awakening, but Ashar wasn't much of a fighter, and with that many of them already surrounding and leveling their weapons at his neck he'd thought it best to surrender and see what they wanted.

A lot of walking, apparently, but the route they'd led him on had transformed over the course of their night-long walk from unmarked winding trail to narrow path to a broad packed-dirt road, rutted by the passage of countless wagons, and now in the dawn light he could see buildings up ahead with walls rising beyond them. Red and yellow banners flew above the gray stone, heralding the presence of the Thennese army his customers had been fighting. "Finally getting somewhere. Is this where we're heading?" They'd fit a snug cage muzzle over his jaws to stop him from biting, but he could still speak through it.

Not that his escort had shown any interest in talking back, or even saying much among themselves; they had barely spoken even to each other, it seemed to him, aside from occasional soft commands. "Quiet, dragon," said the one holding his leash, giving the chain a little jerk, though Ashar's greater size limited the gesture's effect. But even as he did, there were shouts from the walls ahead, and soon the gates opened and more of the canines came running out to meet them.

"At last," said one of them, who wore heavy plate armor rather than the leather and mail that protected his escort. "His Grace is in the main hall waiting for you. Have you questioned him?"

Ashar's head perked, far more interested in the first bit than the second. "Grace? You're taking me to your king? You know if you'd just told me that your king himself was interested in hiring me I would have flown right over, we could have been here [i]hours[/i] a-- ow!" He flinched away when one of them jabbed him behind the foreleg, swinging his head around to give the dog an unhappy look before the collar tugged him forward again.

The armored one looked amused, but the band who'd caught him did not. They resumed their march to the wall and through the gate--Ashar had to crouch to fit through--which led to the grounds of a good-sized castle. "No, we have not," said the best-dressed of his captors, evidently the leader. "If the King is interested, he can question him himself. Maybe the traitorous beast will respect him a bit more than us. We did take this off him, though," he said, and at his gesturing a couple of them showed the newcomer his courier harness.

"Anything inside?"

"No letters, but we did find 200 Hyren. It's all still there, but we were thinking it might make a good reward; foreign coin is still coin."

"Excuse me, that's [i]mine."[/i] Even tied up and surrounded, even a typically laid back friendly dragon like Ashar would growl when someone suggested taking [i]his[/i] treasure from him! He just got jabbed a couple more times for it, which still hurt even though his scales were thick enough there to keep them from drawing blood without putting some more force into it. He stumbled as they went up the stairs to the heavy carved doors of the castle proper; steps were challenging enough with his limbs freed, and mittened and hobbled presented him even more difficulty.

"His Grace will decide that," said the armored one, though whether he was speaking to Ashar or to the leader of the band was unclear. Then main doors swung open, and Ashar squeezed through them, the nearly as impressive doors on the other side of the chamber, and found himself before the King of Thenna, Edward the Second.

His clothes and his cape were all in fine soft fur, the crown on his head shone gold in a way that immediately grabbed the dragon's greedy eye, and his own natural coat was pure white. He sat brooding on a throne that seemed a little short for him, perhaps belonging to the lord who owned this particular castle, and looked down his snout at Ashar and his guards as they entered. The canines all stopped and bowed low, and while Ashar wasn't about to prostrate himself--he was a dragon, after all--he did dip his head respectfully, and waited for the King to speak first. He'd met enough Hyressian nobility to know all rulers craved their precedence, though at least this one was apparently comfortable enough with his position that he didn't have a herald there to proclaim some long list of titles in introduction.

One of them dumped his courier satchel on the carpet before the King, so that some of the money he'd been paid spilled out onto the floor. The King eyed it for a little while, then swept his gaze over the assembled soldiers and finally said, "so this is the dragon who has been aiding the Hyressians. He doesn't seem to have given you much trouble."

"I would never harm a potential customer," Ashar jumped in, before any of them could respond. There were enough sharp objects and serious expressions around him that he wanted to make clear as soon as possible that he didn't mean them any harm! "It's bad for business. And who would ever hire me, if I scared my clients away?" Speaking up earned him a prod on the flank, but nobody else said anything right away, and the king glared at him but didn't speak, so he went on. "It's an honor to meet you, by the way, King Edward. I hope I'm appropriately dressed; nobody told me I'd be meeting royalty." He gave his hobbles a pointed tug and smiled disarmingly to accompany the joke, but either the muzzle hid it or nobody else was in the mood to lighten up at all.

"You're an impertinent creature," said the King, "but if you're going to speak, you might as well at least say something useful. What's in the letters you've been delivering for the Hyressians?"

Ashar didn't want to betray the equines he'd been doing so much work for; not only were they good customers, he was friends with a few of them, and didn't want to put them in danger. But this at least he could answer honestly and he snorted: "I don't read the letters I deliver, it's bad practice. I don't know what they said." When his frown deepened he added, "they were all sealed anyway."

"Hm." King Edward thought for a short time, then gestured at the open bag on the floor. "And they paid you well to say so."

"They paid me my standard rate for quick delivery of letters," he said carefully, trying still to emphasize that this was just a business to him. "Was I supposed to offer a customer my services for free?"

The King lifted an eyebrow for a moment. "Captain, I don't suppose there were any letters in his bag?"

"No, just the money, your Grace," said the one holding his leash. "200 Hyren."

His frown returned. "Paid you very well indeed. Bought more than just delivery services, have they?"

"Of course. I provide a unique service; I can deliver letters far more quickly than even mounted couriers, and I've never failed a delivery or had a letter intercepted." Ashar would have spread his wings if he could to make the point; instead they only could only twitch inside the tight sacks strapped over them, and he huffed to himself. "I'm [i]the[/i] fastest and [i]the[/i] most reliable, so I can charge a premium for my services. I keep a couple advertising flyers in there with my rates, assuming your men didn't toss them." He gave his satchel a little nudge with his nose.

"So you [i]could[/i] work for someone else."

Ashar's smile broadened, and he relaxed a little. "Yes. The Hyressians have been keeping me busy, but it's hard to turn down a loyal customer, especially when they always pay up front. This is the first time in a while I wasn't given a response to deliver, so I've got an opportunity to look for new clients..." He looked hopefully at the King.

"Hmm. That would certainly be useful. [i]If[/i] you are trustworthy."

"I think my reputation speaks for itself," Ashar said, unable to keep the smug smile off his snout despite the muzzle and other restraints. "Just have your men untie me, and I'll be glad to fly something for you."

The King leaned forward just a little, tapping a hand on the arm of the chair. "Tell me this, then, dragon, to prove it to me. Where is the Hyressian army?"

The way he'd asked it left Ashar little choice but to answer, but since his information was half a day old by now and he knew Lord Mychel had marched the instant he'd made his delivery, it didn't feel like he was putting them in danger by telling. "Twenty miles South from where your men met me." When his ears splayed, he added, "like I said. I fly fast."

"I'm sure you will. Captain, turn him over to Sir Ivan and tell him to fit him with a saddle; I'll have places for him to go once he's ready. And tell him a bridle is recommended, unless he wants his ears chatted off by the dragon's smug prattling."

"At once, your Grace," said the captain, yanking on the chain.

Ashar kept his paws planted, looking at the King. He wasn't about to bring up his fee when he got the feeling there was a chance he might not have left the room with his life, but it didn't sound like they meant to untie anything but his wings, and even then only with one of them on his back! "But--"

"Dismissed." The King stood and swept out of the room, and Ashar had no choice but to follow the dogs back outside; he couldn't hope to fight back muzzled, shackled, and without the use of his claws. But if they didn't untie him... How was he going to get himself out of this mess?[/quote]