Mythos

Dark Forest

I laid in bed for a while, i was too scared to step out of the room, and be bombarded with a lot of embarrassing questions. I spent most of the time counting in my head, and then thinking about what would Banshee look like, i never really sat down and read anything about any mythical creatures. Maybe when i get out i should do just that. Read up on all of them.

I aslo thought how sad its going to be, when i leave. I know i am going to miss most of everyone and wont be able to see them again. Which kind of sucks, many of these creatures have been kind to me. The rest where assholes from the start, including Othniel who basically wanted to kill me. But there were moments we ran into each other a lot.

I think about the time, he scared the hell out of me, i was in tears. Crying hard, i was too scared to be around him. He was being so cruel, and then everyone wants me to be kind to him, and accept him. Like do they think just because we are mated i am supposed to forget? He traumatized me. He took me up the top of the cave, which is very high up, and threatened to drop me from there. I knew the drop wouldn't kill me, no it wouldn't have, but i would have ended up with a lot of broken bones, and that was scary enough.

He was that cruel, I was in so much fear, and then the next day i was told to come to a celebration, which i was drugged and then somehow mated the man that traumatized me. And they all want me to be ok, with it. I am not ok with it. I hate it.

But if he would have been kinder before, then maybe i wouldn't be making such a fuzz, and be "hurting" him. As everyone keep saying. Its not fair to me. I have been stuck here, no way to get out and now i am "mated".

Why me?

I tried to count the days i have been here. Its been a week at most. I believe that there might be still a search party going on. I know my parents wouldn't give up. I am grateful for that, and i do swear it i wont say a thing. I know humans would wreak havoc on this place, and the people in here.

I wouldn't want them to go through any more pain, they have been through a lot already. They are still going through a lot, with those centaurs. They also have those centaurs to deal with, it would be terrible if out of nowhere, humans show up here and destroy everything.

The amount of horror they would suffer would be unimaginable. I can see why they don't want me to leave. I get their fear, but if I prove myself trustworthy maybe they'll let me go. But they have to let me go now, before it has been more than a couple of days, weeks or even months.

That would be a lot more suspicious.

Although i just realized how i havent had a day off in such a long while, although it has been very stressful and have had many traumatic events. I wonder how life will be for me when i get out.

I guess i wont take anything for granted anymore.

The door then opens and Othniel walks in. I sit up on the bed fixing the tight cloth around me, although it doesnt matter, he has felt and touched me all over.

"We have to hurry." Othniel says. I get up quick, walking behind him. Fae and Solice arent home. "We have to hurry up." Othniel says again, he then grabs me around the waist before we even walk out the door, once we are outside, he opens his wings and we are off, we head to the cave we once were. We then fly lower and lower, hiding in the trees, i see him looking around, there aren't any fairies around do to Kire's orders, and then other dragons must be on the lookout. He is right we have the right time now. This is the moment i have been waiting for.

We land on the ground, he puts his wings away, we begin to run and i start to notice how it becomes darker and darker the more we run into the forest, away from the warm light that's around the fairies. This forest is so much different, the trees are a lot more different and so is the vegetation, well if you can call it that. The trees are very tall, and on the top, there are just a couple of branches all raising up, with a couple of leaves, i never saw those trees, around, they are so strange. There are trees, which seems like they have spiderwebs wrapped around them. It sends shivers down my spine.

we keep running more and more, i see many types of tree, and plants. Othniel holds on to my hand tight, he looks around, as i run behind him, i can see each muscle in his body tightening, his dark hair flowing from his face, i can tell he has a very serious expression, and all of a sudden all i could think is of his perfectly furrowed eyebrows.

Othniel then stops in his tracks, i am breathing deeply trying to get air in my lungs. My legs are hurting, we must of run for a good while. I look around, the forest now is very dark, aside from the one around the fairies, they keep it so well maintained and so light, this part is so dark and gloomy, i cant hear anything, only my breathing. Othniel looks around and then starts walking slowly, pulling me with him. The ground starts to feel muddy, and makes me uncomfortable, but i keep walking.

I jumped when we heard a screech that sent chills down my spine. I grab Othniel's arm, hugging his arm, feeling goosebumps on my skin. Othniel looks around.

"What was that?" I whisper.

"I don't know." Othniel whispers back. He takes a step, with me still clinging on to him. He seems not to mind, i am glad, because i am deeply terrified.

I look around us, but i cant see anything far, anything beyond the trees is dark. Othniel stops, i look up at him, his eyes meeting mine.

"Are you ok? Do you want to keep going?" Othniel asks.

"Yes, i do." I look down at his arm and i let go, still holding on to his hand.

"Ok." Othniel says. "Remember what i said."

"Yes." I answer, remembering his warning. First sign of danger and he is flying me out of here, making me completely his. I then remember our time in the cave, we were so very close, no all he had to do was push a little harder inside of me. Thats how close we were.

I shake that memory away. What is wrong with me?

We then hear hooves running around, i try to look around me, but i cant see anything at all, it sounds like its all around us. Othniel gets on the ground and pulls me down with him, covering my mouth, holding me close to him.

We hear the hooves moving closer, all around us. Yet it only sounds like one centaur. Its so very strange. I jump at the piercing screech.

The hooves then begin to sound further away. Othniel's eyes are directed at a darkened direction. I try to look at what he is staring at but my human eyes wont let me see past the tree right in front of us.

We wait a couple of more minutes, Othniel then lets go of me, and stands up, tall his eyes still staring into the darkened area. I stand up next to him.

"Is it gone?" I whisper.

"I am not positively sure." Othniel says. "Lets hurry, we are close."

He grabs my hand tightly and we begin to sprint again. I feel my lungs and legs burning. But i push through the pain. Wanting to hurry up. Othniel abruptly stops again. Theres a huge ledge, we have to jump to get to the bottom. I again cant see anything, across the darkness i can kind of make out another ledge, but its further away. Othniel pulls me close to him, his arms snaking around my torse, making my insides jump.

Othniel then opens his wings and we are soaring high over the dark bottom, unto the rocky ledge. It seems like there's no vegetation of any kind. Just rocks.

Othniel leans down next to me, his lips close to my ear. "Keep your eyes closed, ill hold on to you and lead you." Othniel whispers to me, his breath sending shivers down my spine.

I nod, not trusting my voice. I dont know why i am feeling this way, being so close to Othniel has me feeling a certain way.

Othniel grabs my shoulders putting me infront of him. I then stop panicking.

"Why do i have to have my eyes closed? What about you?" I whisper.

"My eyes are closed, i just have a sixth sense." Othniel whispers.

"Ok."

Othniel leads me, we take a couple of steady steps, it seems like we have been walking for a long time. Othniels hands are still holding on to me, still leading me, I keep tripping here and there, Othniel not letting me fall.

Othniel's hands feel hot, I keep feel his body so close to me, so warm. His breathing so deep, i count his breath, count the many times he takes a deep breath, i count the many times, he squeezes my shoulders, making my muscles tingle. The tension building up more and more.

Othniel stops all of a sudden, i try to listen around us. Wondering what was going on, Othniel presses his hard body against my back, my breathing picking up, i feel his breath on my neck.

"Are you ok?" Othniels deep voice makes me jump. I try to catch my breath.

"Yes." I whimper. Come on Athena get ahold of yourself. I can feel his mouth on my ear, his hands lower down my shoulders, down my arms. I feel his hands on my hips, slowly moving upward, sending a trail of fire.

"Stop." I try to manage out. I feel his pressing himself harder into my back, his lips touching my neck, his breath sending shivers down my spine. His hands roaming my body. What is he doing? Why now? I feel him spinning me around, his lips finding mine. He then pins me against the rocky wall, of the place we are in. He kisses me with a deep need. Holding on to me tightly. His hands holding my back, pressing me hard against him.

Fuck not here, don't let him do this here. I am too scared to open my eyes, but i cant let him lose control. Not here, not right now. I try to push him off of me, but he puts more weight against me. He parts my lips open and snakes his tongue in my mouth. I keep trying to get away from him, to move away from him, to try and think of a plan. His hands roam my ass, squeezing hard, as his other hand holds on to my neck, he lifts my leg, sitting it on his waist, pressing into me more and more, my body screaming for more. I want him to stop, he has to stop! We are so close to get our answers. I find myself kissing him back, wanting to taste him more. He then abruptly stops. His body no longer pressed against me. I hear the sound of hissing, and Othniels heavy breathing. There's a sudden heat in front of me.

"I have never seen a dragon mating ritual in my life." I hear a sickly voice hiss.

I want to open my eyes and look, i begin to panic when i hear the hiss of snakes. What is going on?

"Oh, i have heard how dragons are very obnoxious, and possessive of what's theirs. She is a pretty one." The woman hisses.

"We are here looking for answers." Othniel's deep serious voice sends shivers through me.

"What kind of answers?" The woman asks.

"We want to know how to get rid of the dragon mark." I interrupt Othniel.

"Get rid of it?" The woman laughs. I am breathing hard still. "Once the dragon fire is in you, it can never leave."

"What?"

"How do you know this? What if there is another way?"

"There is one way." She says. I have heard this already plenty of times. "Death."

"How would you know this?" I ask her. I feel the panic in me, my hope to escape this splace slowly leaving me.

"It is known." She says.

I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. "There is no escape from here." She says.

"You have a new life now, why do you want to go somewhere, where there is no life, no real adventure, no real love?" She asks. "My snakes go where ever they want and they see many, many things, they see how horrible humans can be, how horrible woman pay, and you want to go up there?"

"I have my family that i love." I say.

"Yet you hurried to get away from them." She says. "You love them so much, you left your mother crying in her room, and your father alone with strangers."

I feel the tears falling hard. "I wont do it again!" I cry out. "Ill be around them more!"

"There is no way for you to get up there, do you really think people will believe you? You have been gone for days." She says. "They have announced your death."

"What?" They think i am dead?

"They have searched already, they found your driving machine untouched for days."

"But i havent been here for that long."

"They havent found signs of you." She says. "So they concluded that you must be dead, if you go back up there, they will question you. They wont believe one word from you. Your mate, will be killed."

Upon hearing that word, a screech made me jump, the cries of someone echos around us. I reach out, feeling Othniels body, i hold on to him. I am too scared to open my eyes, to see anything but i cant.

The cries stop, and it all becomes silent, only the sound of my breathing and the hissing of the snakes can be heard.

"The banshee has seen his death." The woman hisses. "Don't let it come true."

"His death? What do you mean? He can't die!" I blurt out.

"Like I said, humans wont believe you, they will search. They will find, and like they always do, they will destroy." Her voice gets closer. "Why would you want to go back to a world, filled with death and destruction?"

"There is death everywhere, there is destruction everywhere." I say.

The woman laughs. A sweet laugh.

"You can open your eyes, i wont hurt you." The woman says.

"Sorry, but i rather not risk it." Othniel answers her.

The woman sneakers.

"Lamia." I hear another voice, Othniel backs up, pining me against the wall and his back.

"Clarice." The first woman says, fear in her voice.

"What are they doing here?" Clarice asks.

"They were just leaving." Lamia says. "Go home, and dont come back."

"But." I say. Othniel grabs me pulling me to him, i dont know what is going on, we came here for nothing. I lost all hopes in returning home, but even if i do return home, there will be death to follow.

Othniel puts me down.

"You can open your eyes, now." Othniel says. We are back in the forest i have been used to. I look around and look at Othniel, if i ever escape, he will die. I cant let him die. I feel the tears falling the fear in my heart taking over.

Othniel leans down, his eyes full of worry.

"What did you do?" Old Mother's voice booms loud. Kire stands next to Old Mother, his eyes filled with anger.

"Old Mother!" I shriek.

"You went over there! Didnt you?" Kire yelled.

Othniel stood in front of me. "We were just looking for answers." Othniel says, with a deep voice.

"NO! She was looking for answers! Answers we have given her over and over!" Old Mother yells. "You two heading over there could have caused us a lot!"

"I am sorry! But its not fair that i wasnt allowed to have a choice in this!" I yell moving Othniel out of the way.

"Fair?" Old Mother yells. "You want to talk about fair? Do you think we want to be stuck down here? Do you think we enjoy being stuck down here?"

I dont say antything. "I stuck my neck out for you! Protecting you! I have been protecting my people for hundreds of years! If we would have released you."

"I know there would be death!" I yell back. Fresh tears falling down my cheeks. "I am sorry for being a pain, but i know that you also looked for ways! As i did!"

"I hope none of them followed you." Old Mother says. "We dont want those causing havoc here."

"Them?"

"Clarice loves to play games, and she hasnt played with anyone in a long time, she might want to play again." Old Mother says. "You have put our people in danger."

"It wont happen again." I say.

"Lets hope it doesn't." Old Mother sneers. "For now lets keep this between us."

Othniel nods his head.

We watch Old Mother and Kire walk away, i can hear the anger in her voice as they walk away. I get on my knees and start to cry again. My parents think i am dead, everyone thinks i am dead, but what hurts the most is the thought of Othniel dying.

he would die if i ever escape this place. I try to wrap my head around everything that happened in such a short time, i expected everything to go so slow, but even though this is a huge cave, having a dragon next to you will make things fast. I wonder who is was we spoke to. Was it the gorgon. But aside from it all we heard the Banshee. I wanted to speak to her, not Liama. Although she also had all of the answers, yet i feel like i wasn't satisfied with those answers.

Or maybe I am just looking for answers that arent there. Trying to push something that wont ever go away. I look at the redden mark, the dragon mark still staring at me. The heat that is always there. The heat that cools when Othniel touches me.

I look up at Othniels, he seems to be staring at at the place we just came from. All of a sudden i can hear everyone telling me to be ready.

Telling me to be prepared for when Othniel makes me his. The thing is, for some reason. I have been wanting him for a while, and that is something that has been terrifying me.