Chapter 15
Isolde I had not returned to the castle in days. I removed my saddle bag and let Incendio run free. He did not want to leave at first, but a fierce smack on his hindquarters angered him enough to run into the woods and most likely, back to the stables. He was a smart horse, and I knew if he chose to find his way back, he could.
The search parties were looking for me. One had been through this way already, but I stayed high in the trees. Since I had just bathed in the brook, the hounds could not find my scent. I wondered how long they would look, and how hard. Raelan was probably relieved, although I’m sure he acted full of sorrow and grief around my mother. I had found some nuts and berries in the wood. Not enough to hold my hunger, but until I could determine my next move, it was the best I could do.
There was some comfort in having freedom. I was happy I dressed in my riding clothes the morning I had left, but it was strangely unsettling to have to wear the same garments every day. Now with hunger and a need for supplies, I understood the plight of the poor and was embarrassed by how spoiled I had become at court.
Sharpening a stick with the dagger I kept in my saddle bag, I attempted a spear. If I could fish today that would be very helpful with my diet. Unfortunately, I did not have fire to cook my meal should I be lucky enough to catch it. I didn’t even know how to cook a fish, but one step at a time.
I sat off the edge of the rock for what seemed like hours, trouser legs rolled up, boots discarded and toes in the water. I would have enjoyed the activity if my stomach wasn’t rumbling so much. Finally, a pale green fish swam past my legs. “I’m sorry about this.” With one hand, I used my powers to hold the water against the rock. The fish remained locked in his liquid prison. Taking a breath, I plunged the spear straight through, pinning the fish between the point and the rock. It squirmed and flipped its head and tail, but I held on tight until it went slack. Pulling the spear out of the water, I looked at the dead fish in disbelief. I had caught and killed my supper!
I laughed out loud, my happiness bouncing off of the trees. Now, how to cook it? I looked up to the sky, wishing I could steal a flame from the burning sun, and that’s when I saw it: a winged creature, black, streaking through the sky. It rose and fell, dipping and soaring. It didn’t move like a bird, and despite how small it appeared above, I feared it would be massive should it fall to the ground.
As if my mind had summoned it, the bird began to fly lower, providing me with a clearer view. No…this was no bird. The creature did not possess a beak, nor were its wings covered in feathers. They were a massive stretch of leather. I had seen wings like that before. Nailed to the wall of the throne room. My eyes took in the figure approaching the meadow I now resided in, but my mind refused to believe it.
A dragon.
The figure lowered its hind legs and tail so that I might get a clearer vision of him. His arms were outstretched and attached to his wings, his back legs thick and powerful, and head to tail he was covered in thousands of thick scales. He had seen me, and I, too frozen by fear to flee, remained inside the water. It was coming in for a landing, its huge green eyes locked on me, his prey. When his hind legs touched the grass, I felt the ground shake and had to hold the rock for support. The creature folded his wings and tucked his head down low, looking at me curiously. His mighty head had long, thick spikes of black that shot out like an unruly mane of protection. If I weren’t so terrified of the beast, I would have relished the fact that he seemed oddly familiar. The dragon continued to look at me and snorted. The sound was like the scream of steam escaping a boiling kettle.
Realizing I still held the fish and the spear in my grasp, I tossed it to him as an offering.
He sniffed at my pathetic gift and eyed me with caution, then opening his jaw, he shot a blaze of orange fire, coating the fish in his flame. Even a few feet away, I could feel the waves of heat coming off of his breath. When he closed his mouth, he looked at the charred fish, which was now more dust than a meal, and then back at me. He blinked his green eyes and cocked his head to the side, then he opened his jaw again. Fearing I would be his next roasting, I wrapped myself up in a whirlwind of protective water. My eyes were shut tight, so scared was I, not knowing how I would ever escape the dragon’s clutches. But when I opened one eye to take a peek through the water, I saw the most extraordinary thing.
The dragon had laid down on his belly and folded in his wings. He had wrapped his tail around his body and tucked his head under his wing, allowing only his green eyes to stay on me. He seemed more feline than reptilian, and I released the water, returning it to the brook, for at that moment, I honestly did not believe he would harm me.
Still, a dragon cannot be trusted, and fully aware he could boil me alive by heating the brook, I stepped out of the water. The dragon remained still, like a statue. Terrified, I walked cautiously over to a rock Lorcan used to always sit on and crouched behind it to get a better look at the creature.
His gaze followed my movements, but other than that, he remained stoic. I dared not run, but I was too scared to approach him any closer, either. My heart was beating hard and fast, and I wondered if he could hear my fear…smell the very sweat that now beaded at my brow. The dragon lifted his head slowly and sniffed at the air, his nostrils flaring in and out. I prayed he was done showing me his fire tricks. He must have caught the scent of my saddle bag for he looked over to it resting a few yards away and gave it a whack with his tail. Out rolled my cloak, the dagger, and what remained of my food supply. Nuts, berries, and two apples.
The dragon lifted himself but did not stand to full height. Instead, he backed away, his head low. If it didn’t seem so strange, I would say he was trying not to frighten me. Slowly, I slipped out from behind the rock and sat on it to see what he would do. I sat as still as possible. I dared not even draw a breath, too nervous that the slightest movement of my hair would unleash the beast. He found the treasures in my bag and sniffed at the apple. Then he began rolling it gently, with his snout, over to me. He didn’t stop until the apple rested at my feet, and his head was in line with my lap. He was close enough to touch. And part of me did want to touch him. To stretch my hand and stroke his scales and know if he truly stood before me, or if I had merely conjured him from the longing of my childhood.
He snorted and tapped the apple again with his snout, his gaze on me the whole time. I looked at the apple and back at the dragon, who blinked his green eyes at me.
Green eyes.
They were his exact shade of green, down to the golden flecks. I stared deep into those eyes, wanting to believe in the impossible. Hadn’t apples become our unofficial way of communicating?
“Lorcan?” I asked, although it seemed impossible.
The dragon closed his eyes and placed his massive head in my lap. With trembling fingers, I reached forward and carefully stroked the top of his head in between the spikes. He nuzzled against my lap like one of the cats in the castle and then rolled his eyes up to meet my gaze.
“Is it you?”
The dragon gave a guttural sound reminiscent of a purr. I found myself stroking him with less apprehension. Again, he nuzzled against my lap.
“How is this even possible?”
Lorcan did not respond but rather removed his head from my lap and laid his body flat against the grass. He eyed me hopefully. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear he wanted me to ride him.
Did he?
Stepping off of the rock, I ran my hand across his black scales. They were hard but smooth. “Should I mount you?”
The dragon turned his head and gave me a rather surprised look. I clamped my hand to my mouth.
“Forgive me, you know what I meant.”
The dragon snorted again and laid his head down so I might grab onto his spikes and climb up onto his neck. Sliding my leg around his neck felt…natural. As much as I should have been afraid, I wasn’t. Leaning forward, I nestled my body against the back of his head. He was warm and soothing to lie against. I was able to rest my elbows on two of his spikes then wrapped my hands tight against the thickest ones that shot forth from his head like a crown. This was insanity, but I wanted it more than anything.
Slowly, Lorcan pushed himself up, balancing on his hind legs, but he kept his torso low. I squeezed my eyes shut. I was already in awe at how high I was in this new position, and I knew what he was about to do next. Opening my eyes, I realized he was waiting for me to give the signal.
“All right, Lorcan. Time to fly.”
Extending his massive wings, he pushed off of the ground and shot straight into the sky. I felt like a cannonball launched into the heavens. All I saw was a blue sky. I looked down, but the world I knew was too small to be real. It felt like what we had left behind was the dream, and this…this magic was where we were meant to exist.
“Higher!” I laughed. Lorcan flapped his wings and shot even further toward the heavens. Then he swooped down, and I felt the strangest, yet most wonderful sensation in my belly as the wind entangled itself in my hair. Every part of me felt alive, as though I had been living in some vast sleep and finally, someone had released me from the slumber.
I could see the faint hint of the kingdom below. It was nothing more than a model. A child’s toy. Surely, all my problems could not fit in that insignificant little world. Lorcan turned and headed out over the Salted Sea. When it was clear that there were no ships about, he dipped low and glided over the water. The salty mist sprayed over us, it was refreshing and beautiful. Unhooking my hands, I wrapped my left arm tightly around his neck but leaned over, allowing my right to dip into the water. The liquid danced in my hand, and I flicked it into the air where it arched, catching the rays of the sun and shining a rainbow for Lorcan to dive under.
Over and over I created the colors, and he never missed a target. I returned my hands to the spikes on his head and rested my cheek against his scales. “Let’s go back to the meadow, there’s so much to talk about.”
Lorcan turned back up to the sky and headed to our brook. I had so many questions, I just hoped he would be able to give me answers. Then again, he had seen me raise a shield of water around myself. There was much that needed to be explained.
From both of us.