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ot wanting to be caught going through the back or side doors, I decided to go in through the cellar. I heaved the heavy wooden doors open with a groan and slipped inside. I fumbled around in the dark until I found the light switch. Once the lights flickered on, I went back and shut the doors. Then I stumbled up the metal steps and into the hall, grabbing a dust cloth on the way.
“And just what do you think you’re doing down there?” Kohan’s voice commanded from behind. I froze, turning slowly to face him, and threw on an emotionless expression.
“I was just dusting, sir,” I said swiftly, holding up the rag.
“Haven’t you heard me calling you for the last five minutes?” he bellowed.
“Well, no, sir,” I said uneasily. With that Kohan’s heavy arm came crashing down on my head. I stumbled back into the wall, stars dancing in front of my face, and pain ricocheting inside my skull.
Instinctively, I threw my scrawny arms out in front of me for protection. Blow after blow came into contact with my body, each one getting harder to block. I felt a trail of warm blood start to cascade down my cheek and bruises start to form on my limbs and face. A final hit smacked into me and I tumbled to the floor. Satisfied, Kohan smiled and stormed away, leaving me on the floor, unconscious.
It was the next morning before I awoke. Stiff and sore from yesterday’s beatings, I lifted myself off the floor where I’d apparently slept last night. I looked around to see if anyone was there, dried blood flaking off my skin. Finding no one, I staggered into the downstairs bathroom.
It was a small room with white walls embroidered with gold trimmings. A cream coloured toilet in the left corner, a paler shaded sink, and a round mirror were the only large items in the room. The only other things were a silver towel rack dressed with peach towels and the toilet paper roll next to the toilet.
I closed and locked the door behind me, not wanting anyone (especially Kohan) to walk in there. I slammed against the sink, my balance a little off from having just woken up. Gazing into the mirror, I examined my injuries. I had a black eye, busted lip, bruises all over my face and arms, and my shoulder was swollen. I figured it was dislocated. After cleaning myself up as best I could, I exited the restroom and flicked off the light.
I glimpsed at the grandfather clock on my way to the kitchen. 11:47. Breakfast had long since been over and I was already late in preparing lunch. I ran (well, actually hobbled quickly) down the hall, through the living room, another hallway, the dining room, and into the kitchen. I lunged at the refrigerator, yanking random ingredients from it.
My better judgment must have been beaten out of me yesterday because I obviously didn’t care if what I was preparing tasted like dragon crap. (Which isn’t very appetizing, just so you know.) I tossed what I believe was leftover chicken from last night, cinnamon, salt, honey, sweet pickles and an assortment of other potentially deadly spices (in my hands of course) into a large bowl, threw the concoction in the oven, and pressed start.
With that out of the way, I got to setting the table. I grabbed three plates and glasses from the cupboard, forks, spoons, and knives from the drawer, and carried the load into the next room. One of the housemaids, Lillie, gave me a funny look as I sloppily threw the dishes and silverware on the table, not caring if they were in their correct places or not.
Five minutes later, I’m cautiously pulling the medieval-looking meal from the oven. It surprisingly smelt pretty good. It was kinda like cinnamon toast, fried chicken, and a Mexican feast all rolled into one.
Now whether or not it tasted alright was the real question. I didn’t bother trying it. If it was horrible, oh well, so I’d get another beating, so what. I’d get a good laugh out of it. And if it was awesome, well, I would probably have to make it again (that would be interesting) and I’d be rewarded handsomely.
“Wow, Namaya that smells wicked!” Laroh exclaimed, running in and planting himself in his chair. Wicked was a ‘cool’ new word he’d picked up at school. (Kids, they are forever coming up with new ways of saying things so adults can’t understand them.) I guess it’s a good thing I’m no idiot.
“Now what did I tell you about using that word, Laroh?” Kohan demanded, walking in after him, (wow, it’s rather interesting that he was the one to walk in as soon as the word ‘idiot’ is introduced) “It is unbecoming for a young man to use such atrocious language.” Look who’s talking, I wanted to say, but rolled my eyes instead.
“I wanna ride a dragon!” Samce announced, waddling into the room, his now even dirtier blanket dragging across the floor. My attention snapped in his direction and away from the iced tea I was pouring at the mention of the word ‘dragon.’ (Dragons were never discussed in my presence, if at all in the house.)
“Excuse me?” Kohan questioned, shifting his gaze to the four-year-old.
“I wanna ride a dragon!” Samce repeated, balling up his tiny hands as if to look a tad bit tougher. (Since he was not even three feet tall, it didn’t exactly work.)
“He can’t ride!” Laroh snapped, “He’s too little!”
“Boys, let’s not talk about this right now.”
“But I wanna ride!” Samce cried, tears starting to form in his brown eyes.
“We will talk about it later son!” Kohan muttered through clenched teeth, glancing warily at me.
“I think that’s enough tea, Namaya,” Laroh said, pointing to the quickly overflowing glass.
“Oh, sorry!” I gasped, my ears becoming hot and turning redder than a tomato. I gave the other two their drinks and rushed out of the room, embarrassment radiating off me.
“Hey, Namaya!” Liluye called. I looked toward the barn, expecting to see her standing there but didn’t. Without thinking I glanced up at the sky and to my surprise, there was Liluye, sitting confidently on the back of a dragon. By the shear grace at which the creature glided to a silent landing and the brilliance and shimmering beauty of its features, I guessed it was a female.
Her blue ice coloured scales glistened in the midday sun, causing a faint rainbow to appear against the pale sky. As Liluye slid down off her back, the dragon glanced curiously at me. I gasped as I realized that she had the same ice blue eyes and mischievous expression as her rider.
“Her name is Alu Istas but you can her Alu. It means Beautiful Snow.”
“Sh-she… she’s gorgeous!” I stuttered, trying to regain some self-control but failing miserably. I just gaped at her as she carefully tucked her wings against her body, first the left then the right.
“Yeah, and she won’t let you forget it either, the little show-off,” Liluye laughed. Alu snorted, sending a small puff of smoke into the air.
“Sounds like Laroh when he gets good marks on his schoolwork,” I muttered, “So how is Kayles today?”
“She wouldn’t stop screaming for two hours after you left yesterday.”
I blushed, thinking about how confused everyone must have been when she wouldn’t stop crying, but smiled because I knew she loved me. As if on cue, a shrill cry rang out from the barn. I knew that screech anywhere. It was Kayles.
“Sounds like she missed you,” Liluye joked, giving me a playful punch in the arm. I winced at the painful reminder of my injures, “You alright?”
“Um, yeah, I’m, uh… I’m fine,” I stammered, turning away to hide my bruises. But I wasn’t fast enough so she saw them.
“What happened to you?” Liluye questioned, forcing me to face her.
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, right. And I’m River’s wife,” she said sarcastically.
“Really?” River asked, strutting over, “Guess I finally made my mark.” Just seeing him made all my pain go away. He saw me and gave that sloppy grin.
“Hey, River,” I said, suddenly shy, “How are you doing today?”
“Fine. I don’t think you can say the same though.”
I blushed and shied away, not wanting him to see that I was hurt. “It’s nothing, really,” I whispered.
“I can see that.”
“Alright, I’m getting sick of this!” Liluye shouted, “Namaya, what happened?”
“Kohan beat me, that’s all.” I’d been beaten so many times it was nothing to me. But by the looks on their faces, Liluye and River thought it was something.
“That’s all?!?” River exclaimed, the veins in his neck bulging, “What do you mean ‘that’s all?’”
“It’s no big deal,” I shrugged, “It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.” The two simply stared at me, dumbfounded, as I they couldn’t possibly believe that Kohan was capable of such a thing.
“What?” I smirked, “Didn’t you know Kohan was a moronic jerk?”
“No,” Liluye responded, “I thought he was an old stick in the mud but he never came across as an abusive parent.”
“He certainly fooled you, didn’t he?” I muttered, wanting to get the conversation off Kohan. Kayles’s crying was still rippling through the air. Now, more than ever, I wanted to be with her. The two-month-old was so loud, Alu had buried her head in her wings to block out the noise. Without a word, I strode off toward the barn, ending the discussion.
Kayles snapped her mouth shut with a sharp crack and exchanged the screaming with a low hum when she saw me. “Hey, girl, did you miss me?” She answered with a small chirp and displayed her tiny wings, obviously trying to get me to pick her up.
“You know, her sister used to do the same thing when she was that age,” Liluye stated, unable to remove the adoration from her voice.
“Who’s her sister?” I asked curiously.
“Aquene,” Liluye responded, “She’s two.”
“And she really lives up to her name,” River finished. I looked at him with a questioning expression.
“Her name means Peace,” Liluye said, rubbing Kayles’s head, “She’s a little sweetheart. Not like her mother, who’s a little spitfire like me.”
“Who’s her mother?” I questioned, glancing at Alu shining her scales.
“Leimashea,” River whispered, both him and Liluye lowering their gazes, “She was Mareily’s dragon.”
My eyes widened and I pulled Kayles closer. My mother’s dragon? I looked down at my girl. She’s the daughter of my mother’s dragon, I thought.
“Can we go see her?” I asked.
Liluye turned away, wiping something from her eye.
“She disappeared after Kayles was born,” River said.
“We can go see Aquene though,” Liluye sniffed, flicking a tear off her face.
Alu must have understood what was going on because she exited the barn the moment we turned around.
After walking halfway across the ranch, we came to a large black building. Muffled roars could be heard from inside. Liluye shouldered the heavy metal door aside with a groan and walked in.
“What do you think?” River inquired, smiling.
Dragons soared overhead; casting uncontrolled blasts of fire into the air, only to have the wind blow it back in their faces. Some, though, were sleeping soundly in patches of dark green leaves, puffs of smoke billowing out with every breath. While others were swimming around in a crystal clear pool of blue without a care in the world.
“That’s her,” Liluye smiled, pointing to a dark green dragon weaving masterfully through some trees. “Aquene!” Responding to her rider’s shrill whistle, the dragoness flew towards the group. She landed with a soft thud, startling dark blue eyes glittering against the water.
Kayles squealed excitedly at the sight of her sister, flapping her wings frantically and jumping from my arms. Aquene nuzzled her gently, emitting a guttural tune from deep within her throat. We all smiled at this heart warming scene. Without thinking, I walked up to her. I held out my hand and she sniffed it cautiously. Deciding I was not a threat, she licked it tenderly.
“Namaya!” a voice rang out.
I snatched my hand away. “That’s Kohan!” I hissed, panic beginning to rise.
“How can you be so sure?” River asked in a hushed tone.
“I know that bellow anywhere,” I stated glumly.
“What are we going to do?” Liluye whispered.
“We?” I was surprised; no one had ever offered to help me before. This was a first for me.
“Of course,” River assured me, “we’re not just going to abandon you. Especially with Kohan being on the war path.”
“Thank you,” I smiled. Heavy footsteps sounded from outside causing Aquene to growl.
“Quick, hop on,” Liluye jumped on Aquene’s back, pulling me up after her. River handed Kayles to me and we took off. It was amazing! The wind whipped through my black hair and pushed my mouth into a smile. And the view: I’d never seen anything so beautiful and marvellous. Never again would I look at the sky the same way now that I’d flown in it. Liluye thought nothing of it. She’d had probably done it a million times, but I thought it was phenomenal.
We cleared the building in just a few seconds, just as Kohan came stomping in. I listened closely, trying to make out what he was saying. He looked angry and rightfully so. I knew I’d been out here for a while. Lunch had been over for some time now, and I was the one who had to clear the table and help Laroh with any homework he had to do.
Kohan was obviously asking about me and River must have been playing dumb because Kohan just got angrier. He stormed out in a fit of rage. River whistled and a dragon flew over. He jumped on its back and soared over to us. River didn’t wait until it landed either, just leaped off.
“I’ve never seen him so mad,” he said, looking a bit bewildered.
“Welcome to my world,” I grumbled.
“So what’d he say?” Liluye asked eagerly.
“He just asked me if I’d seen you, Namaya,” River answered, “I told him I hadn’t and he got even angrier. He didn’t say anything else, just rushed out.”
“Great,” I muttered, “I’m in for it.” The excitement I had felt moments before melted away, replaced only with the feeling of dread.
“I’m sorry,” River whispered.
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault…. I’d better get going,” I decided.
“Alright,” River sighed, “We’ll stall Kohan for you.”
“See ya later.” With that, Liluye led me out the backdoor of the dragon house, Aquene took off, rejoining her fellow dragons in the air, and River went out the front, running to catch up with Kohan.
Kayles was thoroughly enjoying our little adventure. Her life from the time she had hatched, resided only in the hatchling barn and the vet’s office so coming out here was a huge milestone for her.
Neither one of us said a word until we were at the cellar doors. We had a quick goodbye and I handed Kayles over to her. Then I heaved the doors aside and tiptoed down the creaky steps, trying to make as little noise as possible. A dim light was glowing as I got to the bottom step.
I looked around cautiously, and to my surprise, there was a woman down there. Her jet black hair cascaded down just past her shoulders and her dark green eyes were cloudy. The blood red dress she wore was freshly torn and bruises were just beginning to form on her dark tan skin. She looked almost exactly like me, except for the jagged scar running from the corner of her right eye to the back of her neck and the tattoo above her left breast. It was a crimson dragon breathing golden fire in the form of a rose. I recognized her instantly: it was Mareily, my mother.