The Dragon's Witch Mate

CHAPTER: 1

"Vienna." The name felt like a caress as the wind brushed the skin along her arms. Her hand came up as she pushed her hair back behind her ear. Looking around, she realized she was in the deep woods for some reason, not known to her. The trees there were sparse and the light from the moon was bright enough for her to see her surroundings. She felt the soft grass underneath her feet. She looked up at the path and then a few feet ahead of her stood the log cabin her parents used to take Vienna and her four siblings, Zara, Clover, Tiara, and Ziva to before they had passed away. The light in the window kept drawing her forward.

The woods were quiet except for her dress gliding over the grass, and the occasional hoot of the snowy owl that sat in a tree watching her approach. As Vienna got closer to the cabin, she noticed that the door was partially open.

"Vienna." This time the voice sounded familiar and it again felt like a soft caress, as if her name was a whisper carried on a breeze.

She paused as she reached the porch. Vienna had a moment of doubt but decided she needed to know why she was here. She hesitatingly climbed up the stairs. The owl hooted behind her as if it was trying to encourage her to go ahead. She took the last few stairs a bit faster. As she reached for the door it opened wider on its own, and Vienna looked in to see the old cabin just as she remembered it, sharply etched in her memory. The red couch and chairs in the living room were just as she remembered and there neatly folded on the couch was the red blanket that she and her sisters would use when they would cuddle and listen to their mom read to them.

A flash of red then caught her eyes and she looked towards the fireplace. Standing near the hearth was a woman wearing a long red dress. She had long black hair that hung below her waist.

Vienna's feet moved as if on their own into the living room. The woman turned and Vienna stopped. "Mom," she gasped in utter pleasure.

A slow smile spread across her mother's face as she held her arms open in invitation. Vienna ran into her embrace. Looking at her face, Vienna saw her own violet-colored eyes mirrored back at her and blinked back her tears. "Mom, what are you doing here?" Vienna asked her.

Her mother lightly ran her fingers through Vienna's hair. "I am here to see you, darling." She kissed Vienna lightly on the cheek. "It is time for you and your sisters to remember, and for all of you to learn about your family. We started to tell you when you were younger, but when the hunters came and tried to kidnap you and Zara..."

Vienna pulled back. "Mom, I don't understand. What should we remember?"

"There are things that you will remember shortly. Not all the memories will be yours, but they are all important," her mother said.

Wrinkling her brow while chewing her bottom lip, she tried to think about what her mother was telling her. It made no sense, though. Of course, she had forgotten some things from when she was little, but she remembered a lot, still. But Vienna did not understand what her mom was talking about the hunters? "I don't understand, Mom?"

"You will understand, sweetheart, I promise you." Vienna's mother then looked at the doorway and then back at her, and Vienna could clearly see the worry on her face. "It is time to run." Her Mom pushed her towards the door. "Whatever happens, don't let him catch you," her mom said.

Vienna looked over her shoulder as her mother seemed unable to look away from the door. The house then suddenly started shaking and rumbling under her feet. "Run Vienna! Run!" her mother screamed, and practically shoved her to the door.

Vienna did not want to let her mother go. It had been a long time that she had not seen her. She also did not want to leave her mom there, all alone. But her mom gave her one last shove as the house shook more violently than before, the floor splitting and the pictures falling down from the walls. Vienna ran outside into the woods. But the farther she went from the house, the darker the woods became. The light from the moon too became less and less visible, and the ground which had been a soft carpet beneath her feet, before, now seemed to be rocky and full of roots from the trees that seemed to be growing closer together.

Looking over her shoulder, Vienna suddenly became aware of a figure behind her. Whatever it was, it was huge and it was quickly catching up. The figure was growling like an animal but was running on two feet like a man. With her thoughts on the approaching monster, Vienna stumbled as a rock stabbed the center of her right foot.

The growling seemed to get even louder, and she fought the urge to look over her shoulder. Suddenly, Vienna tripped over a root at the base of a giant tree. She started scrambling backward, while the figure loomed over her, and she found herself staring into a pair of bloodshot eyes that not even the dark of the night could hide. Unable to get to her feet, she let out a scream.

"Mine." The word came out like a growl as it opened its mouth and the little bit of light that was available shone on a pair of fangs. Vienna let out another scream as it began to lower its head and growled at her again. Turning frantically, she tried to stay out of its reach. She screamed again in fear and frustration.

"Wake up!" Vienna heard her mother yell before everything went black.