“I hope the door isn’t broken because otherwise, he can come fix it,” Annebel said.
“I’ll check. I should go home now anyway.”
Corneel walked towards the door, inspected it, gave a thumbs up sign that everything was okay and then left the house. He made sure to carefully close the door behind him.
“What a day. Chrystal won’t be happy when she hears about this.”
It seemed like Annebel was warning me, but I was too tired to listen. I shrugged like I didn’t care. But I should care.
The next day, I was walking home after I was done working. Suddenly, someone grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. I had made a huge mistake by not listening to Annebel’s warning. Stupid. Very stupid. I looked straight into the furious eyes of the enraged girl who held me against the wall. Her eyes spat fire and glowed yellow. Her hair was as white as snow. I didn’t need to wonder who this girl was. It was obviously Chrystal. Who else could it be? I could hit myself. Of course, Chrystal would lash out at me.
“You,” she hissed angrily.
Yes, spill your thoughts. Hurry up, will you? I thought internally. I tried to not roll my eyes. I didn’t want to enrage her more.
“You stole my husband from me,” she stated.
You’re only realising that now, Chrystal?
“He’s mine! Mine! Do you hear me?”
Don’t be so dramatic. He doesn’t even like you. He probably hates you. I remember he called you a bitch when he told me about you.
“Are you listening, you stupid dragon slut?” she yelled.
Excuse me? Dragon slut?
I looked at her angrily. I pretended like she had hurt me with that remark but internally, I was dying from laughter. If there was a show where you could win the award for the least original insult, she’d win with ‘dragon slut” without a doubt.
But suddenly, she did something which made me freeze instantly. All my muscles tensed up when I saw the knife she had pulled out. She laughed at me with a mean, devilish smile. No. She wouldn’t… She couldn’t… I tried to find my will to fight again but my body didn’t want to obey. I had stiffened. Mortal agony. Literally. She placed the knife against my throat. I tried to swallow. I tried to do anything, but my body was still frozen. Shock. Grrr…
“Do you have any final words before I slit your throat, dragon?” she asked, grinning. “Oh, right. I forgot you can’t say anything. That’s convenient for me because that means you can’t scream either.”
She pissed me off. I wished my body hadn’t frozen. I wanted to fight. I suddenly remembered I didn’t need my body. I closed my eyes. Chrystal probably thought I was preparing myself for the end, the final seconds of my life. Oh, she couldn’t be more wrong. I could force myself to smile a bit when I found the wall in my mind. I also found the ground. I decided to use the ground; I didn’t want to ruin any houses. I manipulated the ground, so the earth rose up. Chrystal fell over.
I also fell when she released me, so we were both lying on the ground. She was surprised for a bit but recovered quickly. Too fast. I barely had time to get up myself. She flew towards me and I quickly made contact with the earth again. The earth immediately responded to my panic and rose up right under her feet. She tripped and fell forward. I ran away, but Chrystal was fast, faster than I was. She caught up to me barely a couple of seconds later and flew towards me, tackling me. She lay on top of me and pushed me against the ground, placing the knife against my throat again.
So, this was it. I had no energy left to physically fight her, but it would be useless to try anyway. Chrystal was older and stronger than I was. I also had no energy left to manipulate the earth again. Or… I noticed the loose rock lying on the ground a bit further away. My spirit made contact with the earth, and I threw the rock at her head. Useless attack. The rock wasn’t very big or heavy. She did feel it though. She grimaced in pain but otherwise, my attack didn’t have any effect. Well, I had resisted a bit, and I was satisfied with that knowledge. I wouldn’t die without resistance.
The blade of the knife cut through my skin. I felt my blood running over my neck. I didn’t look at Chrystal. I directed my gaze at the sky next to her face. It had a clear blue colour. The knife hurt. My throat hurt. Everything hurt.
“Chrystal!” someone shouted.
I vaguely recognised the voice but was drifting at the edge of unconsciousness. My blood dripped over my skin into the ground. Someone pulled a resisting Chrystal off me. The knife fell next to me on the ground. I placed my hand flat on the earth as it fed on my blood, and I in turn fed myself with the power of the earth. The person who had pulled Chrystal off me now dragged her away from me. I could see her still resisting. But the person holding her was stronger than she was. Right before I lost consciousness, and everything turned black, I noticed the hair of the person who was holding her. That hair… I recognised that hair… But who?
Corneel, my mind whispered.
Everything turned black then.
I probably hadn’t been unconscious for a long time. When I woke up, I still lay on my back in the exact same place where Chrystal had tackled me. The knife also still lay next to me. I placed my hand over my throat to check if I was still bleeding. I wasn’t. My throat was bloody, but the cut Chrystal had made had healed. I went to sit up straight and looked at where my head had been. A small red spot coloured the earth. I hadn’t lost that much blood; the wound had healed and closed fast. Oh, the advantages of being a dragon. There were also disadvantages but for now I only seemed to experience the advantages. My element and my quick healing process had saved me. I quickly covered the bloodstain with some sand so no one would be able to see it. Corneel returned when I was finished.
“You’re alive,” he said.
He made it sound like it was a miracle. I nodded. He kneeled before me, put a finger under my chin and lifted my head gently. A bit of pain ran through the cut on my throat while he did that. Ouch.
“That doesn’t look good. I don’t understand why it has healed already. There’s blood all over your throat.”
I shrugged. It had healed already because of my quick healing process. Corneel just needed to pay attention. Hadn’t he paid attention during the class of dragon basics 101? Corneel removed his finger.
“There are bumps everywhere on the ground. You caused this, didn’t you? You’ve made quite a mess,” he said.
Well yeah, I had been fighting for my life. I hadn’t had the time to do it neatly or cleanly. I’d fix it the next day. Right now, I couldn’t; I was too weak. My body was focused on healing the wound on my throat, using up all my energy and strength in doing so. Corneel stood up and extended his hand to me. I accepted it, and he helped me back up. He wanted to support me, but I pushed him away. I could walk myself; I wasn’t that weak. He went with me in the direction of Annebel’s house. It surprised me when he stopped in front of Anton’s house. Right at that moment, Jon came into view.
“Corneel? Tat? What has happened?”
Jon sounded worried. His eyes examined my throat. I was pretty sure the scar had healed even more in the meantime, but it probably still didn’t look very good. There was also still blood on my throat.
“Chrystal,” Corneel answered.
Jon’s eyes narrowed when he heard her name and anger flared up in his eyes. “Where is she?” he hissed, furious.
“At home. I have... Well, let’s just say Chrystal won’t be a threat anymore for now.”
“Okay, Tat is safe then. Annebel’s house isn’t far away anymore, and Tat will definitely be safe there. Thank you, Corneel.”
Corneel murmured something but left us alone. Jon walked me to Annebel’s house and even entered with me. This was probably the first and only time he didn’t knock first. Annebel was in the kitchen and immediately jumped up from her chair when she saw us.
“Uh oh. What has happened? Should that be taken care of? I’ll get a bandage,” she sounded startled and worried.
I shook my head and raised my
hand. She didn’t need to get anything. It’d heal fully soon. She stopped and looked at me in a questioning manner. I put up one finger as a sign she needed to wait. I grabbed the writing tools.
I heal fast, I wrote.
“Are you sure you don’t need to be cared for? Or that you don’t need a bandage?” she asked to be certain.
I only need to wash myself.
“Oh, sure. Just take a bath.”
I went upstairs, turned on the tap to run a bath, and began searching for another shirt in my closet. The shirt I wore now had blood around the crew neck and was ruined; I could throw it away.
After I had quickly washed myself in the bathtub and was dressed, I looked into the mirror to inspect my neckline. The cut Chrystal had made was now a thin, white line. I felt with my hand over it, but I didn’t even feel the scar anymore. No one would be able to see the proof of what Chrystal had done anymore. Nobody would know except Chrystal, Corneel, Jon, Annebel, and myself.
When I came back downstairs, I noticed Jon was still in the house. He sat on a chair at the kitchen table. I frowned. What was he still doing here? He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw me. What? Was something wrong? He stood up and came towards me. He extended his hand when he was standing right in front of me. Automatically, I took a step backwards.
“Your scar... The wound...,” he whispered.
His whispering made me shiver. He was so close I could feel his breath after every word. He reached out towards me again. This time I didn’t take a step backwards, I allowed him to touch me. He stroked over the white line on my throat. I was frozen. My body and my muscles were stiff again but now, my brain also refused to work. I couldn’t even think. A shiver ran over my spine. I had no idea what was wrong with me today but in the meantime, I had gotten pretty tired of freezing at certain moments. Jon’s touch made my skin tingle. His touch tickled me. He pulled his hand back.
“You heal very fast,” he said.
I shrugged. That had been my answer a lot lately. I wished he would go away. I wanted to think. He seemed to be able to hear my thoughts. Or maybe he could figure it out by my expression. He turned around and left the house.
I sighed as I went to sit on a chair in the kitchen. What had happened? His touch hadn’t bothered me. I had liked it. It had been nice. Nice... Huh. I just couldn’t allow myself to freeze again. I knew that for sure. It was scary when my body refused to fight.
I went back to work the next day. I had been right; nobody looked up when I passed by. Absently, I touched my throat. The scar had fully disappeared and become invisible. I remained on guard despite Jon trying to reassure me. Corneel and his dad would watch Chrystal and keep her away from me. I would just have to remain vigilant. She was crazy enough to try killing me. Who – except for the hunters – would even try to kill a dragon? But Chrystal was apparently insane enough to try that.
Twenty-four
I became more nervous when the day of the engagement – or as the wolves called it: the linking – came closer. I tried to keep my thoughts away from the ceremony by talking to Annebel, but she had been secretive the past few days. She was probably hiding something from me. With no one else to talk to, my mind wandered. As I was heading back to Annebel’s house – my mind a thousand miles away – I stopped abruptly as a figure appeared before me. I had been so distracted I hadn’t even noticed her. Stupid me. Again.
Chrystal stood right in front of me. She came towards me and then pushed me against the wall of a house. Her hands were on either side of my body. I warned her not to try anything by making the ground under her feet vibrate slightly. I hadn’t expected her reaction at all. She clasped one hand around my throat and pushed my head so hard against the wall my vision turned black for a bit. When I could see again, I saw small coloured spots dancing around before my eyes.
“Listen, dragon. I just want to talk to you. If you try one more of your little tricks, I’ll personally push your head through that wall behind you,” Chrystal hissed in frustration.
I looked at her angrily. The vibration had only been a warning. If I had tried something, she’d have been lying on the ground already.
“Hold. Yourself. Back. Yes, it was only a warning. This was my warning. Will you finally listen?”
Chrystal obviously wasn’t very patient. Good. She wanted to talk? I would listen.
“You think you already have Avalon and that he’s yours, but you’re wrong. He’s mine. He’ll always be mine. One day, I’ll steal him back from you,” she said, showing me her mean smile.
I tried not to roll my eyes. Chrystal had serious issues. She felt like Jon was property and that he belonged to her.
“Look at yourself. You’re so young. You’re so tiny. You’re just a half woman. No, you’re not even that. You’re just a small, helpless girl.”
Hoh there! Chrystal was going too far now. She could insult me as much as she wanted to, but this was a bridge too far. She would notice it if I manipulated the ground. I had only one option. I could manipulate the wall behind me. She wouldn’t push my head through the wall. I would push myself through the wall.
The stones of the wall moved and formed a hole which was big enough for me. I pushed myself through the hole, and it closed instantly. I fell backwards on the ground but got up very quickly. I could only imagine Chrystal’s expression. She probably hadn’t expected that. She hadn’t known I could do this. Neither had I, actually. It had been a guess, but I had been pretty certain it would work. It was a huge advantage everything in the wolf community was natural or made of or built with raw materials, most of which came from the earth. I ran through the house towards the front door. It wasn’t hard to find the way; the house was organised in the same manner as Annebel’s.
I threw the door open and ran outside. I didn’t have time to figure out from which direction Chrystal would come. I decided to take a risk and chose a side. I turned left, headed around a corner, and bumped right into someone.
Crap! I had run right into Chrystal. She pushed me over with one arm and jumped on top of me. She lashed out and hit her fist against my nose. Crack! Ouch. The blood instantly gushed out of my nose onto my clothes. We rolled over the ground while we fought before Corneel showed up and pulled us apart. This was the second time he had come to save me from Chrystal.
“Avalon! Please help me!” Corneel shouted.
Before Jon could come to aid, Chrystal succeeded in hitting my left eye with her fist. I returned the favour by doing the same. I hit her directly across her right eye. Jon wrapped both of his arms around my waist and pulled me backwards, but I resisted. I was so done with Chrystal. She needed to pay. But it was useless; Jon was much stronger.
“Bitch! I hate you! You’re dead!” Chrystal yelled.
I let the earth vibrate as answer.
“Don’t. She’s not worth it,” Jon whispered into my ear.
I shivered when his breath touched my ear.
“Those stupid tricks can’t save you! Coward! You can’t even fight!” Chrystal laughed.
She seemed to have become totally manic. Her laugh gave me heavy shivers. I stopped struggling and let Jon drag me to Annebel’s house. He shoved me into a chair in the kitchen once we were inside. Annebel immediately showed up.
“What has happened?” she asked.
“Tatiana had another fight with Chrystal. Can you dampen something we can hold against her face? Her eye is thick.”
Annebel immediately disappeared and returned only a few minutes later with a small, wet cloth. She gave the cloth to Jon, who kneeled before me and held the cloth softly against the left side of my face.
“Chrystal is desperate. She knows the day is close. The ceremony will take place the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, you and I will get a day off to prepare for it. This was kind of her last chance to try to prevent the linking,” Jon hissed.
Wait. What? The day after tomorrow? That was fast. I hadn’t known the ceremony would take place then!
“That reminds me... D
o you have something for Tatiana?” Annebel asked.
Jon pulled out a bracelet from the pocket of his trousers with his free hand. The bracelet was braided with small, thin, flexible twigs.
“Lena has made this. It suits you, Tat, because earth is your element.”
He put the bracelet on the kitchen table. Wasn’t I supposed to put that on? He seemed to have heard that thought.
“Can it stay there until the day of the ceremony? It’ll be better if you don’t wear it yet. Otherwise it might break.”
He removed the cloth from my face and inspected my face thoroughly. He was probably checking if the bruise was healing well.
“You’re lucky you heal quickly. It’s already going away. Chrystal isn’t as lucky. She’ll have a black eye while you won’t,” he said.
“Good,” I formed with my lips without making a sound.
My reaction made him smile. “Yes, she deserved it.”
“Avalon...,” Annebel interrupted.
“Yes, yes. I know. I’ll leave already. Please explain clearly to her tomorrow what will happen during the ceremony.”
Jon stood up, put the cloth on the table, and left the house. I looked at the bracelet. I was nervous. It was so close now. I knew Jon was actually a good person. I knew I could trust him. But I was stressed. An engagement was heavy and very emotional. I was so young... Would I be mentally and psychically strong enough to handle it? Would my mind be strong enough? Only time would tell.
The next day I didn’t need to go to work, I was free because I was getting engaged to Jon the day after. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I immediately had a panic attack when I woke up; I couldn’t get out of bed for a couple of hours. Annebel left me alone for a long time, which I was very happy about. But after a while, she became worried. She slowly opened the door of my bedroom.
“Tatiana? Is everything alright?” she asked insecurely.
Dragon Dream Page 17