Her Rejection's Revenge

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: DRAGON NIGHTMARES

“Zelda, there you are!” a familiar voice called, and I turned around in surprise to see a grinning Braxton waiting for me in a lavish castle. I looked around but I could not recognize the place.

“What are you doing here?” I frowned as I recalled his deception. This could not be real, could it? Why was he meeting me like a happy groom when we’d spilt up such a long time ago? Even my foggy brain could not process the lack of logic.

His thick eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at me. “You were the one who asked me to make you meet the great King of werewolves. Sweetie, did you forget again?”

I wasn’t appreciating his way of treating me like an i***t but given the circumstances I was left with scant choice. Every pack member had accompanied us to the mystical place. With belated realization, my neck scanned the exquisite palace in appreciation.

Although it looked like a strongly fortified medieval castle, there was no denying its splendor. With high walls and towers, it seemed to stem out of any girl’s dreams. It stood there as if conjured from one of the storybooks I’d read as a child. Shining with pure perfection.

As a child, I’d fantasied a large fountain in the courtyard filled with water fairies. The walls made to protect the people were also filled with the fierce protection of centaurs. Trees sprouted everywhere echoing with laughter of elves and Leprecons who filled the entire place with a good feeling.

“What is this place?” I asked dumbfounded.

“We’re at the court of Davenport. The King is here to welcome us,” Braxton announced with his trademark grin firmly in place. I frowned trying to make out what was wrong, but my heart flipped at how handsome he looked. I wounded my arms around his as he accompanied me towards the huge entrance.

As we entered the mail hall, peach orchids ornated the two fake walls on either of our sides, and I appreciated the breathtaking beauty with breathless admiration. The faint perfume drifted in the air leaving an illusion of perfection surrounding us. “Are all this only for us?” I mused more to myself, but Braxton chuckled heartily. Or was that a snicker?

I frowned at the bad feeling which washed over me despite the exquisite setting. How could I explain the perspiring restlessness I was experiencing in that flawless décor with Braxton looking immaculately dressed in sartorial elegance. My eyes perused him with confusion. He was so handsome that it hurt looking at him.

Opening my mouth to voice a question which seemed deeply etched inside me, I stopped right in time when Braxton stopped walking. We were already facing the King who sat on the throne on the dais.

Braxton bowed with grace in front of the royal presence, but I stood watching transfixed for some reason. It was the same paralysis that had caught me when Alpha Finn, Braxton’s father had faced immediate danger right in front of me.

“Zelda!” Braxton urged in warning jerking me back from the moment of hesitation and panic. “You’re supposed to greet the King.”

I looked carefully at the royalty, with emerald green eyes piercing my soul with its razor-sharp focus. Something was amiss. “Is that King Lancelot or King Vincent?” I asked in confusion.

Braxton let out another brittle laugh, and I recognize it as one he used when his level of tolerance towards me was low. A harsh mocking sound on the verge of being transformed into ugly annoyance and irritation considering his volatile temper. How had I bee unable to see through him earlier?

“What does it matter, Zelda? He’s the King and we’re supposed to pay our respect. Bend the knee!” he commanded cruelly.

“No, this is wrong,” I protested faintly. “King Lancelot is a good man, nothing like that impostor. I refused to bow in front of such a tyrant!” I stated vehemently, throwing a despicable glance at Braxton. Wasn’t my boyfriend cut from the same cloth as the evil king? Would he force me to submit to that despot?

“There is no King Lancelot here. You will bend the knee in front of our only King if you want to become my Luna!” he threatened maliciously, and I was finally able to see through his mask. Braxton had never loved me – he’d only been using me as a subterfuge to cover his own agenda.

He pushed me so ungraciously that I crashed against something solid bumping my head hard in the process. I whimpered in pain, and my parents stood watching in a pleading position for Braxton to forgive me. Forgive me? What had I done wrong?

“I always knew you were unworthy of me!” he announced rigidly, making my Dad look at me with eyes full of reproach. I faltered, wondering if I was on the wrong or I was being falsely accused. “Get out of here!” he shouted lifting his hand behind me. A dark premonition gripped me as I already knew who would be standing there. Beatrice Larson, my best friend.

“Come, Bee. Let’s do this,” Braxton invited without looking in my direction again, and they both curtsied in front of their King without shame.

“Good! I appreciate your loyalty,” a hard voice echoed in the room. “In return for your allegiance, I will now make you Braxton Cooper, Alpha to the Royal Mystic pack, and you Beatrice Larson, you will become the Queen of dragons.”

In abject agony, I watched as the couple received the King’s blessing and Beatrice turned into a wonderful red dragon.

A piercing shriek broke out in the air, and I awoke abruptly, covered in sweat as I gripped the edges of the bed. It took me a moment to get back my bearings, to realize that I was still stashed in Neverland tending to the injured werewolves. While Braxton and Beatrice were happily married.

The groan which resonated in my room resembled that of a wounded animal, and I hugged myself as I offered some comfort. Injustice happened to anyone, and it wasn’t my fault. If the great Prince Aerys had suffered in the hands of a tyrant, then my situation was not that bad.

Another scream resonated through the atmosphere, and I stood up immediately in shock. This wasn’t part of my dream but was in fact something happening outside the dorm. Frightened, I flung aside the sheet and pulled a sweater over my head.

As soon as I was out, the remnant of my nightmares faded, and I focused on the chaos outside. There were people running around in panic as headless chickens, wandering in uncertain directions, and I frowned.

“What’s going on?” I asked with my heart in my throat as I joined the other in the fortress. “Why is the alarm ringing?” I tried hard not to panic but we had casualties whom we left behind in the medical rooms unattended.

I caught sight of a frightened Miriam near a group of people and moved in her direction without hesitation. It told a lot about how I felt for her, that undying trust I had in her regards, but it was hardly the time for me to question my feelings.

“What’s wrong, Kuromi?” I asked with a deep frown.

“We’re under attack,” she replied by grabbing my arm and bringing down to crouch on my knees beside her. “They’re saying that a missile is coming our way. But we’re still unclear of the situation.”

“A missile?” I repeated stupidly. “Who would throw a missile at us? We’re hardly a threat for the United Nations. What has been seen exactly and by whom?”

Miriam was spared my inquisition when fire spread through the fortress, causing panic in the sanctuary. Everyone screamed and started to run in every direction uncontrollably, and pandemonium broke out. I held on to Miriam’s hand and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Ajax dodging a crumbling piece of the ceiling.

“Ajax!!!” I shouted, nodding my head towards the opposite direction which was clear for an exit. He acknowledged my nod with one of his own, and we rushed towards the exit in parallel strides with Miriam in tow. As soon as we left the tower, a huge piece of the building crashed behind us.

“This way!” I cried out as we sprinted for the passageway which led to the underground. It wasn’t a huge thing, but we managed to crawl inside the hole hiding from whatever was attacking us.

“Oh damn!” Ajax groaned as he pressed the side of his arm with his palm. “I’m wounded.”

“How bad is it?” I asked, accosting him to have a swift look at the bleeding. It was a minor laceration, but it could turn out serious if he kept on losing blood. “Keep pressing,” I advised before peeking into the sky to have a quick sneak of what was going on.

“Holy s**t!” was all I could manage as I stared transformed at the picture in the sky, unable to move back into the small concave sanctuary. It was Miriam who pulled me back out of sight.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she scolded me, but I was too stupefied for a witty comeback. I could not believe my eyes, and I blinked in order to wipe the images that I’d just seen. It was still there.

“Zee? What’s wrong? What did you see?” Miriam pressed while Ajax frowned down over my face with undisguised concern.

I couldn’t speak, so I pointed towards the sky, unashamed that my finger was shivering so bad that it looked like a blinker. “T…There,” I managed to croak in a hoarse trembling voice as I glanced towards the sky.

There it was again in its full glory. I hadn’t dreamt of it. It was actually a red dragon flying above our head throwing fireballs all over the place. A dragon! I was poleaxed but Miriam and Ajax shared a similar look of stunned bewilderment as they both ducked under the concave shelter. Either I was turning completely demented, or both my friends had gone crazy with me.

A freaking dragon. Who would have thought?

“Zee? We need to get out of here!” Miriam urged in a harried whisper. “This is not a safe place against a dragon who could easily detect us.”

“I know!” I muttered indignantly as I scrambled to my feet from the crouched position. Our positions had changed. Missiles would not have been able to get to us in that hiding place, but a dragon was a different story altogether.

I was still puzzling over the fact that I didn’t pay attention to Miriam and Ajax’s frantic movements asking me to shift as the dragon was drawing closer. It was only when they were on the verge on moving that I caught on, but it was too late. I was trapped.

Heart jackhammering in my chest, I made myself small enough to get buried inside the hole, and watched my friends get out unseen by the beast. My eyes rolled in my sockets as the suspense and wait was killing me for I remained immobile in my position not even daring to draw a simple breath.

Tempted to have a peek, my neck muscles strained at my lack of mobility as I fought the urge to move. I could hear noises, but that could be part of my active imagination as well for I was too scared to think of anything else. Holy crap, was there a dragon just over my head?

It's a drakania, Zel, Miriam whispered in my head as my eyes popped out in sheer terror. F*ck that! A drakania hovering inches above me. Like that made any difference at all. What the hell did a drakania meant anyway?

Don’t move. Don’t make a single movement. Unthreatened, it will fly away from you. Just remain still and I will let you know when you can budge.

I nodded out of necessity not even realizing that Miriam couldn’t see me. She’d breached our code of not reading into minds, but given the circumstances, I figured it was understandable.

Then, out of the blue, I heard another voice resonating in my head which made me yelp in fear, forgetting the imminent danger right over my head.

Damn those stupid humans. I don’t want to play anymore. I am so hungry!

I clutched my poor heart wishing it was part of my nightmare.