Her Rejection's Revenge

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: TAMING THE BEAST

I felt both hot and cold at the same time as a warm breath blew on my cheeks having my heart leaping in my throat. I was no longer making sense of what was happening. I was still having nightmares about dragons, right? Closing my eyes tightly shut, I struggled to breathe as there was a rustling sound near my ears.

It was the unmistakable sound of a dragon breathing down my neck. I gulped.

Human flesh is not that good. I would recommend goat’s meat instead, I wondered frantically in my head in response to the absurd voice that had echoed inside me only seconds earlier.

The susurration sound became louder, and I didn’t know better, I would have bet all my money on the fact that he’d heard me. But that was impossible, right? Right?

Goat meat, you said?

I yelped in shock. That would definitely be some part of some absurd nightmare, but even in the irrationally ludicrous setting, I tried to use my phlegmatic self to get myself out of the situation. Unflappable even in front of a dragon.

Discussing which meat was best for consumption was my forte and not at all strange. Yeah, I responded foolishly. There’s a farm nearby where we usually buy our meat out. It’s fresh and not that expensive. How many goats would fill up your tummy anyway?

There was a loaded silence which followed, an indication that I might have lost it after all. Was I actually suggesting to a dragon to fill his stomach with goat meat instead of gobbling up humans?

Five maybe. Can you bring me the meat?

My mouth hang open at the idiocy of the situation, and I started to question my sanity. Was I to bring meat for a dragon now? How ridiculous was that?

Zelda? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Why are you not answering me?

That outburst was Miriam inside my head, and if I hadn’t been under so much shock, I would have shouted at them to get the hell out of my head. Goodness, what a mess. Slowly, I uprighted myself from my crouched position, tentatively peeking my head out of the hiding place.

I gasped in a jolt as the head of the red dragon which had featured in my dreams lay on the ground. My first impression was that it was huge. The head itself covered most of my peripheral vision, and the smoke coming out of its nose made me cough.

Let me make this clear. You want me to fetch meat from the farmer’s village? Why did you blow up our place?

I sounded pretty assertive considering that I was addressing a dragon who could blow me in pieces at the slightest provocation. But dreams had no limits, right? There was no rationale to apply in that weird situation anyway.

I was bored. And there was too much fire in my stomach which I had to evacuate.

I blinked in stupefaction. Right. Nothing made sense anymore, so I just went with the flow. My mission was to bring meat for the dragon.

Zee? What the hell? Are you discussing with the drakania about her lunch for freak’s sake? That was Miriam freaking out when she was unable to intercept my thoughts. I was on the verge of losing the last thread of sanity holding everything together.

MMiriam, I thought inside my head for her to catch. I have to bring five freshly butchered goats from the Harper village. Can you and Ajax help me?

Five goats? Why the hell for? There was a moment of silence during which I could literally feel her thinking out loud. They’re for the dragon?!!

Yup, I answered peskily, trying not to let the arising panic overpower me. I’m afraid if I move, he will create havoc again. Can you please do me the favor?

We’re on it! Miriam replied succinctly and I turned back to the dragon who was still lying right above my head, its huge head resting on the ground. Her eyes were drooping like it was about to fall asleep, and I felt a little bolder in her company as I uprighted my body from the hiding place.

The first experience of seeing such a formidable creature sprawled in the middle of the compound was a picture that I would never forget. Her large skull was huge enough to match the Johnson’s house. The body which accompanied was even larger filled with scales and a pair of wings which were carefully wrapped around his back. I gulped in fascination.

What was such a formidable animal doing here? I wondered in my head. Had it lost its way around here? For there was no way a dragon could wander in Neverland without a purpose. Had someone sent him?

I lost my baby, he replied making me jump again at how easily he could interpret my thoughts.

You’re a girl? I second-guessed pragmatically.

The dragon looked at me like I’d lost my head – well if her expression were anything it would have been that of surprise. You called me a drakania in your head. Drakania is the female word for drako, which means dragon in the ancient language. You’re supposed to know all that if you can speak to me. How come you’re surprised that I am a woman?

I was flabbergasted by her words. Not only I did not understand the meaning behind, but I was also still baffled with the fact that I could actually speak to one. The other details were lost on me.

What do you mean by that? How am I supposed to know about dragons?

Well, only humans with pure dragon blood can speak to dragons. That would mean that you hail from a family with dragon blood in their veins.

I blinked again. That’s not possible. I never knew that dragons existed until now. Tonight was the first time I dreamt of you, and then suddenly you appear out of nowhere.

The dragon lifted its head lightly to look at me. You were the one who summoned me then. I come only when pure dragon blood summon me in their dreams. This means that you can help me find my baby.

I tsked impatiently at her request. Was she even listening to what I was saying? There was no way I had pure dragon blood. I was the daughter of Omega Joseph Settlemire and Omega Georgia Settlemire. There was no doubt about that. Zendaya and me looked so alike that we could pass for twins.

I am not certain I am the right person to help you, I ventured uncertainly. I don’t know a thing about dragons. But I will try to help you if I can. What’s your name? I asked deciding that starting with basics was a better idea.

My name’s Rhianna. I just gave birth to a little girl, and I am so exhausted and hungry all the time that I want to burn the whole world down. I thought resting in a cave would allow me to get back my energy but the little one went missing one day. I have no idea where she went.

Which caves would that be?

The Gautama caves.

Have you searched around the caves well? I asked with pursed lips, having outgrown the enormity of the situation.

Rhianna stared at me with droopy eyes. I did look but I’m so tired that I cannot even fly properly. She yawned, causing a huge breath of air to evacuate which blew my hair off my face when she exhaled.

A creepy suspicion filled me at how complacent she was at searching for her own child and hunting for food. Where did you actually look? I asked calmly, although my composure was precarious at that moment.

Oh you know, here and there, she replied casually, yawning again and her eyes almost drooped with sleep.

Incensed, I placed my hands over my hips and stood right in front of her fangs as I resisted the urge to kick that dragon with my feet. I figured it would cause me more pain than to her.

“Why you lazy creature!” I cried out in outburst, so angry that I forgot to speak in my head, oblivious that my outburst was heard over the entire camp. “You are not tired. You just don’t want to make an effort, do you?”

Rhianna pried one eye open, and the situation would have been comical if I wasn’t fuming with fury at her lackadaisical disposition. How could a mother be so uncaring? Flashes of my own mother appeared in my mind, at how she’d always favored my little brother Zian at our expenses, and I exploded.

“Can you imagine how scared that little baby is? And you left her alone to come out here to roast innocent people alive? Are you out of your freaking mind?”

There was a loud unanimous gasp, and I turned around slowly in trepidation to note that the entire community was looking at me with a weird expression. I could only imagine the picture we painted – a tiny girl with hands on her hips erupting with anger at a huge majestic dragon. The people wouldn’t know that Rhianna was such a fainéant that she wouldn’t blink an eye to blow me off.

“I got this,” I said to no one in particular, scanning the crowd for any sign of Miriam or Ajax. She wished they would be here soon for backup. “Alright,” I capitulated in front of so many faces filled with awe. Judging by the stunned looks, they were considering shifting me to the psychiatric ward or something, and I blatantly ignored them for the moment. “Take me to the caves, and I will help find your baby.”

That old dragon barely lifted its head or opened another eye. She still looked at me drowsily with one eye and sighed slowly. Well, it was slowly to me otherwise I would have been carried to the other side of the room by her mere breath.

Take you? What do you take me for? A car? I am not taking no one on my back, young lady. I am too tired for that. You’re on your own here.

I resisted the urge to shout at her once again. Considering the fact that the dragon towered over me by several feet, I would say she had the upper hand. Besides, I didn’t even know whether I had it in me to ride a dragon. It was the first time today that I felt any sort of connection to a dragon – and that had been during my confusing dream.

Was Rhianna right? Had I been the one to summon her subconsciously? Did I have that power? How about me calling upon the baby then?

Uhuh! It does not work that way! the creature replied in my head, still amazing me at how quickly and efficiently she could read my mind. I wished I could control that thing – it freaked me out to know that my personal thoughts were laid out in the open without privacy.

What does not work what way? I asked being deliberately obtuse just to annoy her. She was doing a pretty good job at irritating me for the matter.

She sighed in my head. I can hear you, you know. Anyway, you cannot conjure dreams on your own accord. Dreams are unintentional and you humans do not have control over them. Then, she closed the other eye in resignation as though it cost her too much to speak another word. I could feel connected to her as well, so I knew that she was not tired, but too lazy to move a muscle.

Damn that dragon! Where the hell had she come from anyway? I sighed an looked around to catch the inhabitants of Neverland still looking at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Are you talking to it?’ Mama Juanita whispered in a horror-struck voice, and I nodded discretely wishing that I had kept that piece of information to myself. But there was more urgent things to attend to. Like rescuing a baby dragon from the Gautama caves, wherever hell that was.

It was going to be a challenge to find the place in time without wings and Rhianna looked like she wasn’t about to lift a little finger to help. What kind of a stupid name was Rhianna for a dragon anyway?

With my hands still on my hips, I nudged her gently just as she was about to give a loud snore. How is your baby called?

Lady Gaga, she replied groggily before falling to sleep, and I lost it. Grabbing my tummy, I burst out laughing hysterically at the ludicrous situation.