Dragon's Bride

Chapter 7

Luke’s POV

Kai didn’t listen to me and of course decided to carry on the charade. Honestly, it was hilarious, the way he desired her and just couldn’t get the thing done and over it. Of course, I know my brother very well. When we wants something he has to have it. A big cry-baby, he is, and nothing more. The golden dragons are the worst! Well, after the red ones, obviously. There must be something interesting about this girl. She must be more than she appears to be to actually control him like that! He had two great chances with her! One she was almost naked! And he bailed on both occasions! I took an interest in her immediately.

The first morning, or rather, afternoon, she came in late. We’ve already eaten breakfast, Molly went to the town market and was busy in the kitchen, but after the adventurous night, everyone decided that it’s best if she sleeps as long as she needs. Kai, of course, had to get up the earliest and protect his little dove from the evil shadows of the night, Molly, father and me- mostly me. He barely slept. He was by Mia’s bedroom door by 5a.m. I know because so was I. Not that I wanted anything to do with her or something but I was curious whether she bolted in the night, again. She didn’t. My loving brother greeted me with the eyes and grin of a fury, hissed like a cat. Frankly, it amused me. He view me as a threat and he was right to do so. This girl appeared to be special and I wanted to know why.

She came in to the study where we were all sat. Dad was reading the morning newspaper, I decided to catch up to all the trends and music and Kai just sat brooding, anxious to meet his little dove. She was still dressed in his shirt. No shoes, no jeans, and as I suspect, no underwear- just the shirt. She looked like a lost puppy, an ugly duckling, an orphan. Kai stood up and got to her quicker than a lighting bolt. He was enamoured with the weak little thing. Poor him. So blinded by his desires he didn’t see what stood in front of him- a worthless, weak, thin like a stick, scared kid. What did the gods have in mind paring him with that worthless human. I’d have killed him ages ago if I were in his place.

Corbus shouted for Molly who ran up the stairs like a bulldog and seeing the state of the girl, squealed in total terror.

“Ah! Come here, my poor child! Let’s get you clothed!”, and paying no attention to my brother, dragged the girl downstairs. They returned in a bit, Molly all happy and proud as if she were presenting her own daughter and Mia, scared and shy as always. Molly ordered for everyone to sit by the table. She was going to serve breakfast to the little dove and tea for everyone else.

We sat in the same arrangement as in the previous evening. From my comfortable position, I could observe with pleasure everyone’s movements and actions. Dad was tense, for obvious reasons; the girl kept looking at her pale hands and fingers, avoiding my brother’s eyes; Kai looked enchanted by the shy beauty of the girl. To be honest, she looked better than few moments before. She wore a pale white T-shirt, a flowery skirt finished with lace, some yellow sneakers and a simple golden necklace with little stars. She wore hair up in a messy ponytail. She kept blushing every time she looked up and met my brother’s eyes. She looked much better than before. Molly did a decent job finding clothes for the skeleton.

Molly came up with a tray full of meats, eggs, tea and lemon cake.

“Eat up dear. You must be starving!”, she said and left. We sat in uncomfortable silence for a while.

“So, Mia. How was your first night at the new place? Any interesting dreams? People say that the first dream at a new place comes true.”, I said leaning back comfortably. She looked at me with a mouth full of food, terrified, as always. Kai hit the table with his fists. He gave me an angry look. Again.

“What? I’m trying to be nice to the poor girl.”, I said looking at him carelessly. He could have punched me in the face and I still would have cared nothing about it.

“You’re never nice.”, he said.

“Fine! You be nice and do the talking and asking! Don’t you want to know more about your god chosen one?”. He shut up instantly and hung his head.

“So, Mia? How do you like your breakfast?”, I continued.

“Just stop.”, said Kai, not even letting the girl speak for herself.

“What?! Maybe she would be less scared of you if you would actually speak to her, instead of you know, trying to sleep with her.”. The girl turned red and then pale and red again. Dad exhaled loudly and put down the newspaper.

“Why don’t we ask Mia if she wants to talk at all? Maybe she prefers silence over talking with complete strangers?!”, he said. We all looked over at the girl. She turned red again, put down the sandwich and said quietly after a moment:

“I… I… silence is fine…. I’m… I’m not used to… talking… with guys… strangers… or anybody, really.”. She looked down at her plate avoiding any contact. I rolled my eyes. She and my brother fit perfectly. Both stupid to the bone.

Mia’s POV

Breakfast was pure torture. I though I could never experience anything worse than the horrible life in the orphanage but here I was, surrounded by total strangers, one of whom wanted to sleep with me and another who just couldn’t stop asking questions, sending creepy vibes.

Luckly Molly came shortly and grabbed me off my seat, taking me to the kitchen for a ‘girl’s talk’. She grabbed some carrots and started cutting them into little squares, preparing soup. I sat in a corner and began to peel potatoes.

“So, my darling, yesterday- did Kai hurt you? Do anything you didn’t want?”. I lowered my head embarrassed by the question.

“No, ma’am.”

“Well, if he ever does anything like that, if he even touches you without your permission, you come and tell me and I’m going to smack his… his ass! You’re a nice girl and I won’t have him hurting you!.”

“It’s all right, ma’am. I’m used to being hurt.”, I answered quietly. She hit the table with the knife startling me a bit. I looked up. She was looking straight at me with strength, seriousness, anger and love at the same time.

“You listen, young lady! I don’t know what they taught you in that orphanage of yours but I won’t have you thinking of yourself as a worthless… nothing… object to be treated with disrespect! I won’t, you understand?! You are a kind, good, innocent girl; you saved the boys from that horrid place and you… YOU… deserve better, all right?! You are in a very bad situation. You cannot go back, you have nowhere to go and even if you had, Kai wouldn’t have it but it doesn’t mean that you have to do anything he wants! He might threated you, make you feel scared, small, worthless but you deserve better and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! If anything happens, you come to me, understood? Corbus is an old man hunted by his demons, afraid to act but I’m not. Kai might be a dragon but he will feel my wrath if he harms you in any way.”. Tears filled my eyes and soon started flowing down my cheeks. Molly ran over and gave me a huge, fluffy hug. She smelled of tea and basil.

“There, there. You’ll be ok, you’ll see.”, she said comforting me. I’ve never been spoken to with such compassion, love and warmth. Suddenly we heard the door open. It was Kai. He stood alarmed in the doorway. I stopped crying in an instant, afraid to even move. Molly didn’t even mind that he was a dangerous being. He turned over to him and said:

“You listen here, boy. If you ever hurt the girl, I will hear about it and I will make your life miserable for the rest of your days. Even if you’ll try to escape, I will hunt you down and make you pay for even a single tear this girl will shed because of you, you understand? She’s a good girl and she’s been through enough and doesn’t need you adding to the pile of pain she’s faced. Understood?”. Kai was silent. “I said, UNDERSTOOD?!”, she repeated. “Yes, ma’am.”, he answered bowing his head in respect. Molly returned to cutting the vegetables and I returned to the potatoes. Kai stepped in, took a knife and joined me in the peeling of the potatoes. He was nervous, just like me.

“So, ehm, I was wondering… I was wondering if you’d like to see the tower and all… I could show you around… if you want.”, he mumbled.

“Uhm… sure… why not.”, I answered.

“After dinner!”, cut in Molly. Kai nodded his head agreeing. We were quiet for the rest of the cooking process.

Kai’s POV

She looked amazing in her new clothes, like a nymph unaware of her own beauty. She looked so delicate like she would crumble in my arms if I hug her too tight. At the very thought of touching her, my heart began to beat faster, again. It took almost every ounce of energy and control not to just kiss her or even grab her. She held her hands closely to her body, very nervous and uncomfortable around me. I could smell it.

I showed her around the place from the storage rooms to where my own room was. I left the part I though she’d like the most for the very last bit: the library.

The heavy wooden doors squeaked as I opened them. The magical scent of books hit our nostrils welcoming us into the room. Mia sighed in amazement. My father’s library is enormous. It takes up the whole level. My father always had a passion for books, especially old ones. The wooden shelves are filled with every imaginable book. The leaves of pothos and fern flowed down the shelves. In the centre stood a green comfortable couch and a couple of armchairs and a circular oak desk with some books left on top. My father must have been here not a long while ago. The room was lit by the sunrise. The maroon curtains were open and so were the glass doors leading to the balcony decorated with geranium. She walked straight into the sunrise. I followed her slowly.

“You’re free to come here whenever you want. There are plenty of books to read… what is your favourite genre?”, I asked. Mia turned around. She looked overjoyed but still a bit shy.

“I…I don’t know. I’ve read books before but they weren’t very good but… I remember an old fairy tale… my parents must have read to me when I was a little child… I don’t know... I liked it.”, she said quietly. I smiled at her.

“We sure have some here. I can show you if you want.”

“Thank you. I’d love that.”, she answered smiling and looked again out the balcony. The sunshine danced in her beautiful hair, making it look like fire. Her eyes sparkled with joy.

“I’ve never seen the sun before.”, she said. I was shocked. I didn’t believe that was actually possible! The witches and wizards were pure cruelty to the orphaned kids!

“Why?!”, I asked.

“I guess they didn’t want us to witness such beauty… or to be happy. I think… I am… I am happy right now.”, she said timidly. I moved a step closer to my beloved.

“Well, you can come here anytime you want. You can read as much and as long as you want! I can bring you a chair here so you can sit on the balcony, or somewhere close if it’s too windy or chilly… if you want.”, I said with passion. She smiled thankfully at me but the smile withered quickly. I knew why. “I’m sorry… I truly am… for the last night. If you want to be alone, I can go.”.

“And what if I want to leave?”, she asked. The question pinched my heart.

“I… I… I understand. I just can’t let that happen. Unless I go with you.”, I answered truthfully.

“And what if I want to go alone? Leave? Forever?”, she asked so quietly I wouldn’t have been able to hear it if I didn’t have super hearing of a dragon. I grabbed her and held close to my body, looking straight into her eyes. I wanted to kiss her so much. The pain of the unfulfilled desire pierced my soul. She looked at me with fear. I was on fire again. Tears filled my eyes. I could barely control myself.

“I… I… can’t. I’m so sorry. I can’t let you go. I want to be close to you- as close as I possibly can.”, I said sorrowfully. What has this girl done to me?! I was crying?! Last night I was proud, arrogant, so sure of myself! I was like my brother… now, what were the new emotions I was feeling?! It hurt SO BADLY! I let go of her, slowly putting her back on the ground. I was shaking like in a fever. She moved back to the railing of the balcony. She was sad. All I knew how to do was how to make her sad.

“s**t!”, I said angry at myself.

“Kai… ehm… thank you for bringing me here, really. It’s beautiful.”, she said trying to smile.

“Yea, the only good thing about this place.”, I mumbled.

“Well, next to Molly.”, she said. We both chuckled out at the notion, but she was right. The atmosphere got less tense. I scratched my head, embarrassed by y impulses and emotions. Good thing she couldn’t read my mind.

“So… how about I show you where the fairy tales are?”, I said. She smiled at me, again, filling my heart with pleasure and calmness I haven’t felt in a long time.