The Dracones

I wake up and feel numb. I remember everything. What was said and what wasn’t. I squeeze my eyes shut. I was a fool to think I could have made a difference. Even the man who had kidnapped me didn’t think I could make it.

I open my eyes to stare at the wooden ceiling. My stomach growls, demanding food. My stomach does feel hollow, but I don’t feel hungry. In fact, I feel a little sick. Pressure starts to build. Make that a lot of sick. I lean over the bed and dry heave for what has to be the longest time before laying back on my back.

I roll to my side and force myself to sit up. I feel a hand on my shoulder, making me look up. My eyes widen while a smile hits my face. “Ivan.” His hair is pulled back, a dark scruff has settled over his dirty face. Bruises mark his face in a story while cuts hint toward horror. “You look like shit.”

He laughs, pulling me into a hug. I yelp when pain flares in my shoulder, but he just squeezes tighter. “I’m so glad you’re back Kit.”

I stiffen. How did he know I’m back? I decide to relax and hold him. About a minute later he still hasn’t let me go. “Ivan?” I ask, but that only makes him hold me tighter. I can’t breathe and my body might just shatter with all this pressure building on split nerves. “Ivan, who told you I was here?”

Finally, he lets go, making me gasp as my battered sides expand. He looks me over. He looks dead tired, even his eyes have lost their spark. “The Coyotes. I overheard them talking, saying that Ivan is heading to Niphi City. Since I was nowhere near Niphi City, I decided to head here. Only I ran into that bastard that had kidnapped you and I fought him.” He looks down. “But he got away.” Ivan takes my hand. “What happened Kit? How did you escape?”

I blush, knowing what I’m about to say will sound insane. “The man’s name is Trayvon. He took me to a city called Morningswood in the south. He brought me here when my suffering of dragon’s blood poisoning became nearly fatal.” I rub my face, feeling rough cloth around my hands. I look at them. My swelling has gone down drastically. The cloth is clean, so I unwrap it. A long and jagged scar cuts across my palm, and another match on the right hand as well. I squeeze my hands and stretch them, wincing occasionally as my skin begins to stretch.

Ivan takes my hand and rubs a callused finger over the scar. “Where did you get this Kit?” I look at him. He’s just staring at them but there is pain in his eyes.

I hesitate when I recognize guilt in them. “I’ll tell you if you promise not to do anything stupid.”

He snaps his head up, looking me dead in the eye. “Stupid?” He chuckles a little madly. “No, I’ll do more than that Kit. I’ll kill him.” He squeezes my hand. “For what he’s done to you.”

I give him a confused look. “Know before you speak Ivan. I did this to myself.” Shock coursed through his face. I quickly explained while I dressed under the sheet, realizing now that I’m completely naked. I stood up and nearly fell over as my vision blanked. Ivan caught me while I tried to get my head settled.

“Are you okay?” Ivan asks since I refuse to sit.

“Perfect.” I shake my head, my vision clearing. “Just a little lightheaded.” I don’t let go when he does. My legs are shaking and feel incredibly weak.

Ivan seems to understand this and starts supporting most of my weight. “Let’s go for a walk Kit. I’ll tell you what has happened since you’ve been gone.”

I smile, staring at the wooden floor. I’m a little frustrated. I’ve never been this weak before, and I’m ready to go slap Trayvon upside the head because of that. I’m being forced to stay put by my own body. “That would be nice.”

Ivan and I have to duck when we enter the kitchen, the ceiling coming to my bent neck. Garenth’s kitchen is small, as is the rest of his house. I can see dust on top of his small wooden cabinets. Garenth is resting on his table, slouched over it completely in a deep slumber. His chairs are so tiny.

Ivan opens the door for me, making me bury my face into his chest in the blinding light. Slowly I let my eyes adjust to the surrounding scene. The sun is rising, bringing to life this forest-invaded area. Dew brings smells of familiarity and calms me quite a bit. Birds chirp around this lone house while horses walk around freely, grazing the grassed area. I smile, feeling more at home as rounds of deja vu attack my senses.

Ivan starts me off slowly, allowing me to decide when we move. When I took the first step he started talking. “Okay Kit, I’ll start off with that night. After I woke up, I was tied up in the back of a big wagon inside some straw. I only woke up because one of those blasted pigs sat on me.” I laugh, gaining a smile from Ivan.

He’s all grins as he takes in my smile. “It gets better. I fell out of the wagon when I jumped up. I fell right on my ass, right into a puddle of mud.” I grin as I slow our pace, my legs protesting wildly. “The man I was with was a bounty hunter. He tried to fight me but I, being the fantastic human being that I am, overpowered the poor fool. I soon found out that we had been separated and the bounty hunter didn’t know where you had been taken. He only knew that the red-headed kid gave him the creeps and he seemed to be obsessed with you.”

Ivan hesitates at this point. “I told Melanie and explained everything to her.”

I groan. “You just had to tell her that I had been kidnapped, didn’t you?” She is going to go insane until she knows that I am okay.

Ivan chuckles nervously. “Yeah. She just about went insane. At first, she was horrified and started crying so hard she couldn’t breathe. Then when I told her I was going after you she became insistent that I stay. She couldn’t handle it if she lost me as well.” He stops talking for a minute. “We got married, Kit.”

“What?” I ask in disbelief, taking in his masked face. I’m happy for him of course, but I am upset that I had missed it.

He grimaces. “She’s also pregnant.”

“What?” I ask again. I’m missing everything here. Stupid Trayvon.

Ivan looks at me. “She was so upset and felt so lonely, she pushed the wedding date up Kit. She didn’t want to risk losing me.”

I smack him playfully, then smile at him. “I’m glad Ivan. You two will be really happy together. But what are you doing here when you should be with your pregnant wife?”

He grins. “We were in Marida when we heard the news of my location. She sent me ahead to see what this is about. I sent for her when I found out it was you here. She’ll be here any moment.”

I shake my head. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Garenth said for a little over a week. He’s kept you sedated because of your injuries. Your wounds were healing faster than he thought they would. He said you have an incredible regenerating rate.”

I whistle. “I did miss a lot.” And I missed my chance to kill Trayvon for ditching me.

“Any who, on with the tale.” Ivan picks up his pace so I will start moving faster. At this point, my breathing is labored, but my legs are feeling better. “Moira was pissed when she heard about your capture. She called in all her contacts, even with the Trix’s. Not one of them could give us details on your captor, only that he was from the south. Even her contacts from the south could pull up nothing. Eventually, she labeled you as dead, so your contract is up. Prince Derrick, of all people, was the first to rise up and volunteer for a search party when he heard of your disappearance; but Moira declined.

“What really angered Moira, is that Princess Mytheena came out and told everyone what you looked like. Your picture is posted all over the north, offering a reward to anyone with information about you. She even confessed that it was you who had rescued her from Rylarth; which removed the price from my head, but now it’s on yours. Once he learned that you may be in the South, he spread the word down there too. So now you have a price on your head in two countries, which is more than I can say for myself.”

Ivan grins at me. “And since my partner is now labeled dead, I am now free to do as I wish. Melanie and I are opening up a shop in Marida, that’s why we were there. Of course, I now have to change my name. What do you think of Eric?”

I smile as I shake my head. “How about Ian? It won’t be that much of a change.”

He considered it. “No, I like Eric better. Besides, it won’t be that hard to figure out Ivan from Ian, you just have to lose the V.”

I laugh, feeling a little more relaxed. “Well, I’m glad everything worked out for you.” I wince when I trip on a rock and start falling forward.

Ivan caught me, laughing while I straightened. “I don’t remember you being this graceful.”

I roll my eyes. “Ha ha.” I deadpan.

“So, what about you, Kit? What happened to you besides almost getting eaten alive by dragons?”

I was about to open my mouth when a horse started coming up the drive. Melanie nearly jumped off the horse’s back right when her eyes landed on me. Her red hair is being blown back as she shields her face from the raised sun. I can see her wide green eyes from here. Her pale skin matches my own, only there is a stardust ray of freckles across her cheeks. Her black Morgan comes to a stop, and she is immediately off of it. She runs over and tackles me as hard as she can, slamming me into Ivan’s chest. It’s a miracle that Ivan stayed standing.

Melanie is crying violently as she hugs me. I can’t breathe and my entire body is begging me to let her go. “Never do this to me again.” She growls at me and squeezes me tighter.

“It’s not like I intended this.” I gasp, trying to locate my lungs. “I’m seeing stars, Melanie,” I say when my oxygen is finally used up.

She lets go and looks me over. Being three inches taller than me she gets to see the whole picture. “Why are you in pants?”

I laugh. “It’s what they wear in the south, Mel. I only had the clothes I was wearing, and they didn’t last long.”

She raises an eyebrow. She’s so close I can see the gold flakes in her eyes. “And why is that?”

I sigh. “Come inside and I’ll tell you the story. Ivan, you’re still going to need to help me.”

Melanie immediately grabs my other side to help. Ivan explains why his assistance is required. “She’s been here for a little over a week, Mel.”

“Why didn’t you send for me sooner?” She snaps at him and me.

Ivan sighs. “I just got here yesterday. She just woke up today. Garenth kept her sedated because of her injuries. They were pretty severe.” That just makes Melanie look me over again and holds me closer.

When we get inside Ivan helps me sit in one of the ridiculously small chairs. Only half of my butt fits on it and my legs are to my chest. I tell all three of them the tale. Garenth woke up when we walked in. Garenth has me eat while I talk since it has been so long. My stomach couldn’t be happier at this point. I have to force myself to slow down so that I do not get sick.

The day lapsed into night. Ivan and Melanie are both tired and are sleeping. I’m tired but my mind is still wide awake. I wander outside, resting against the porch. I lean over it and stare at the trees. The moon highlights the trees, giving them a slight hint of silver. I can faintly make out deer. They’re weary of this house, but they do not fear it enough to remain in complete hiding.

I think about Trayvon’s confessions to Freiah. I’m his obsession. Not me personally but breaking me. He wants to mold me into another version of him. Was he raised into the Dracones’ life? Did he have no choice but to follow? Or did something horrifying happen that forced him to shutdown any emotional bondage? That I am sure of, but Dawn help me find someone who could shed some light on this. I had tried asking Freiah. All she would tell me is that she didn’t know and that Trayvon isn’t originally from Morningswood. They found him nearly dead in the woods. The only reason they found him is because Gracial connected with him, picturing her rider before Nylarth’s partner passed on. It’s rare when this happens. It means he was chosen by the Gods for this life. When his life was in danger, they made his presence and reason known. Gracial wouldn’t tell me more when I asked her about this, and she hasn’t told anyone else. Just like Alienis holds my secrets.

I sigh. I miss Alienis and his cocky, patient attitude. I can still feel his presence in my mind. He is ignoring me. All he will tell me is that he is under orders to cease communication from me, by order of Trayvon. He doesn’t know why Trayvon is doing this, but he trusts him. He believes there is a reason for Trayvon’s methods, even if they’re this strange.

Why did Trayvon leave me behind? Was it for my safety? It can’t be that he believes he will break me. If several near-death experiences in less than an hour didn’t break me, then he surely won’t. Will he? I do seem weak there. I can barely stand my ground there. I’m less sure of myself and find myself constantly taken off guard. I know what I am doing here. There is nothing stopping me. I no longer am forced to work for the Wolves, though I am still considered one of them. If Moira were to find out that I am still alive, my contract would still be up. It was due for renewal the day after Maycrest.

Trayvon wouldn’t leave me if he thought it wouldn’t help me. Maybe he thought this is better for me. I could barely keep up in his world. I’m ahead in my world. I can keep up and fight with little worry. I know what lies here. But I want to go back. I want to fight and live in a world that holds surprises. However, I guess, since I’m free to live my life, I should stick with what I know, and what I can do. I just don’t want to, but I’m still weak. I don’t need to decide right this minute.

A week later my body is almost back to normal. My shoulder still hurts, but it’s better than where it was a week ago. I’ve talked Ivan and Melanie into leaving me, though they want me to go to Marida with them. I declined, claiming shopkeeping is not the life for me, nor is city life. They left yesterday, right after Ivan told me where I could find my horse, Miny. Garenth has offered to let me stay as long as I like but I need to be going. Something is driving me to leave, though I don’t know where.

Garenth comes out and finds me sitting on his porch in one of his ridiculously small chairs. He leans against the door frame, smoking his pipe. “What are you thinking about Kit?”

I sigh. He can always tell when someone is near, even without making a sound. “What is waiting for me. Nothing seems to want me, and nothing calls for me. Though my mind might just be a little jarred since it’s free to choose something to do for once.”

He chuckles. “That can take some getting used to.” He takes a long drag from his pipe before speaking, smoke coming out of his mouth like a shaman. “Why don’t you return to your friend?”

I scoff. “He left me, Garenth. He does not want me near him. He believes he’ll hurt me. That I am injured because of him.”

Garenth considers this. “Well, isn’t he? If he had not taken you from your home Kit, you would not have suffered from dragon’s blood. You also would not have been nearly killed. Never would you have ridden a dragon or made this friend you call Freiah. Alienis would never have been placed as your charge. You would still be with the Wolves, fighting for what is right in our lands.”

I sigh. “Even if he had not taken me, Garenth, I would still be labeled a Dracones. Trayvon didn’t choose me for this life. I was chosen by the Dracones before me.”

“Then why don’t you return and fight for your dragons Kit? They need you there.”

I laugh. “They were doing fine before I got there Garenth. From what everyone there believes, Trayvon is a god that can do no wrong, and he’s the finest guardian over the dragons that they have ever had.” I shake my head. “But I want to go back. I want to fight for them, even if I am constantly getting underfoot and hurt there. I feel at home there.”

Garenth groans. “Why couldn’t you have just told Trayvon that?”