Ember of Hope
Chapter 13

It had been about ten minutes since they left the arena and Valiance landed in a clearing amidst the woods. She slid off his back and spun slowly in a circle to take in her surroundings. It was quiet except for the chirrup of the birds and occasional bleat of deer.

“Close your eyes and listen” Val encouraged her to feel the woods around her and everything in it. So she did. Closing her eyes she inhaled deeply and kept the scent of earth in. Absence of sight allowed her other senses to sharpen and she could now hear more sounds around her; a brook flowing in some distance, calls of so many different birds where before she could only hear the combined twitter, and screech of monkeys. And the smells she could now inhale; the earthy scent of wet soil beneath her feet, the saccharine scent of decaying leaves and fruit all around her, the scent of rain wet bark of the trees… it was all so soothing and non-existent in her city.

She inhaled deeply once more and opened her eyes; smiling to thank Valiance for gifting this experience to her. “From what I know about you so far, I thought you’d like it. I come here when I need some peace or when Dimi drives me crazy… more than usual” he grinned and despite all the creepiness of seeing a dragon grin, she laughed.

“Dimi does have the tendency to drive people to madness, doesn’t he?”

Just as she completed her sentence, they were interrupted by a flapping of giant wings that made the nearby tree-tops sway, “Did I just hear you say you miss me, darling?” Damien landed near his friend and folded his wings.

“Speak of the devil”, she muttered leaning towards Val. “I heard that” growled Dimi.

“Oh no, really?” she widened her eyes in mock horror, “Please don’t kill me dear sir, my kids will go hungry if I don’t return with food soon” she fell to her knees in front of Dimi and clasped her hands in mock pleading.

Valiance was laughing but Dimi just sniffed with an arrogant air about him and turned his head away from her, “Alright I’ll grant your wish on a condition”.

“What is that my lord?”

“Tell this brute how ugly he is”.

“Is that all?” she asked innocently.

“Yes”.

“Alright so Val, I’m sorry to tell you this… but you have a very ugly…” she paused to look at Dimi who was in turn looking at Valiance triumphantly, “…best friend” she finished and laughed along with Val while Dimi narrowed his eyes at her, “you just forfeited your life young maiden… who’s gonna save you from my wrath now?”

“Oh I’m not worried. I have my knight in shining armor right here. Right Valiance?” and playing the role of the damsel further she slid behind Val’s front leg and grinned up at Dimi.

“Just so you know, he’s my best friend not yours” Dimi said with narrow eyes.

“But I’m still up for beating your ass any time dude” Val grinned at his best friend and Raegan let out an evil cackle.

Damien harrumphed and unfurled his wings, ready to fly; “I just came to tell you about lunch but I guess I’ll just tell cook you’re not be coming back for his famous roast chicken and egg pudding that he made especially for you”. With that he took flight and Raegan yelled after him, “Don’t you dare Damien or I’ll have Valiance really kick your ass for it”.

“Let’s go before he messes with my food. I’d have to kill him then”, she grumbled and Valiance obliged with an amused look in his eyes. Whatever, food was no joke.

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The next day, despite the relief from his duties, Valiance went to meet with some of his men on border patrol duty that day. Raegan slept in late and had a late brunch. Previous day’s pudding had made her eat so much that she couldn’t walk back to her room without fearing for her stomach to explode. Today, the chef had made an omelet so fluffy and aromatic that she didn’t leave even a scrap in her plate… and then there was bacon… and chocolate muffins… and hot chocolate. What’s a girl to do in a situation like this but eat it all? She didn’t want to hurt cook’s feelings. He was such a sweet man and he was Nina’s uncle.

After stuffing her face with everything in sight, she asked Nina to be her guide of the day. So Nina had planned to take her into town and show her around the market. The weather was pleasant enough so she dressed lightly in a knee length dress that Nina had brought for her earlier with her hair in beautiful braids and on her feet she had strappy sandals that reminded her of Spartans.

The market of Ilya was like nothing she’d ever seen. Stalls full of different spices were spreading such a spicy, earthy scent in the air that her senses flared. Then there were the fruits and vegetables spread out in a display of fresh colors that were nothing like the grocery stores in New York. And then came the most mesmerizing part of the market; the fabric stalls… a myriad of colors displayed on the stalls that pulled you in the shop. The rainbow of the hanging gossamer flying in the light breeze gave it all such a magical feel that Raegan grabbed Nina’s arm and went in the first shop. Nina greeted the shop lady and introduced her; “Danielle, this is Raegan; our guest from outside. It’s her first visit in town”.

“Oh welcome to our home Miss. I heard about you in town. How are you doing now?” The lady asked with genuine concern.

“Oh I’m perfectly well now, thank you”. She replied with a smile.

“Raegan, Danielle is also a dragon”.

Her eyes widened in apparent glee, “Really? Cool. Can I see it?” she asked like a kid asking to see a superhero.

Danielle laughed at her enthusiasm, “sure honey. Come back in the evening some day and I’ll show you”.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with them but Val and Dimi still haven’t shown me their human forms. It’s like they’re afraid I’ll replace them ugly or something.” She rambled without noticing the sad looks on their faces. They didn’t say anything. Instead Danielle asked them to wait and went in the back of her shop. She emerged minutes later with a tray laden with cakes and tea and they enjoyed it while gossiping (Nina and Danielle) about the town’s folk. And then Danielle gave Raegan a very pretty fabric of the darkest green. It was so soft to the touch and such a pretty gift. She thanked her before promising to come visit her again.

Nina showed her around and on every corner they stopped to chat with someone Nina knew. They all knew and treated each other like family, it was so refreshing. Back home, people didn’t even bother to acknowledge each other. And there were no awkward silences or forced chat because not once she felt like she didn’t belong here.

They returned late for dinner and Nina brought it to her room and they ate together while Nina talked nonstop; switching from gossip to gossip with unparalleled flow. She told Raegan that Valiance and Damien had returned home and Valiance had asked her to inform Raegan that he would take her somewhere tomorrow and that she should be ready after breakfast. So she slept with giddy anticipation in her heart that night.

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