by Cyci Cade
Kate slept and awoke several times; she always had the same frightening dream.
The dragon chased her; the beast ran toward her, it shouted furiously, crashed through the bushes, and released smoke from its nostrils. Kate tried to escape, her legs didn´t respond to her commands, she couldn´t run as fast as the creature. The bright scales became bigger; the bat-type wings grew up from its back, its speed was incredible, its movements so agile.
Kate tried to ask for help but she was mute, moving in slow motion while the dragon seemed to move like lightning. The dragon approached; Kate stopped, crouched down, put her head in her hands and waited for the worst. The ground shook when the dragon´s paws landed; it screamed, passed through Kate and disappeared into the air.
Kate´s heart thumped heavily, she gasped; her trembling hands touched her mouth to stifle a yell. She stood up, tapped her clothes to clean them. A rumble made Kate raise her head; a big dragon spat fire and came fast toward her. Kate cried, with no strength to run away.
She roused, taking a lungful of air. Why did those dragons insist on visiting her in dreams? Very likely because she thought about them every day, sought a way to kill them and release Sam. However, in her dreams she wasn´t strong enough, how in the real world would she hurt those creatures? She didn´t know, but she would die trying.
Kate noticed Phillip sleeping on a chair. He snored and drooled with his head cocked to the left side. She laughed watching him. Definitely, he was a good friend. He should be helping his father, but he was there watching her sleep. She was positive that any movement or sound would interrupt his rest, his alert system worked very well.
She could spend hours admiring that handsome young man, but it was unfair to leave him sleeping in that uncomfortable chair.
“Phillip, wake up! You´ll get a stiff neck!” she shouted.
Phillip mumbled, his lips made strange movements, nothing, he kept sleeping. Well, he wasn´t so vigilant after all.
“Phillip. Get up, you´re late for work.” Nothing, he slept like a log. Kate snorted; the world could end, he wouldn´t see. “Phillip!” Kate shouted.
He leaped, trying to figure out what was happening, and then grinned. “Good morning beautiful. How are you sleepyhead?” He knelt beside her bed.
“What are you doing here? Don´t tell me that you were guarding me in my sleep because I´ve tried to wake you up for minutes,” she protested and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Do you need something? Sorry…” He rushed to stand, his expression became a worried one and his cheeks blushed.
“Take it easy. I´m fine, I just said it because you slept so deeply. Why are you here?” She shook her head examining his brooding expression.
“We are taking turns, Hannah is so tired…” He crouched near her again.
“Wait a minute,” Kate interrupted Phillip. “For how long did I sleep?” She got up and plodded, she felt a little dizzy, but it didn´t discourage her.
“Almost a week; you´ve been feverish for many days. What happened?” Phillip narrowed his eyebrows and waited for explanations, his eyes locked on hers.
Kate broke eye contact and looked through the window; little by little she remembered that day. The frustrating hunt, the lioness that wanted to eat her, the dragon on the lake, her way back to the village, screams, bites, whispers, pain, much pain, more than she could handle, and… company, she wasn´t alone in that terrifying journey through the unknown.
“I don´t remember, can you tell me?” She gazed at him and lied blatantly.
She let Phillip tell his version because if she had to say something, she´d have to reveal what happened and for a strange reason she assumed this wasn´t the kind of story for telling. We protect family, a voice whispered in her mind. Which family?
First, Phillip seemed to suspect her, but then he shrugged and started to tell his version of the story. “When I finished my job, I came here. Hannah said that you were out all day. I looked for you throughout the entire village. It got dark, and I went to the forest. I didn´t walk far to find you. You were trembling, feverish, and speaking in riddles. I brought you back to the village, after days of being delirious, you at last fell asleep.” Phillip held and kissed her hands and then hugged her tightly.
“Thank you,” Kate whispered, suffocated by his hug.
Phillip stared at her; his hand stroked her face. “I don´t know what I´d do if something bad had happened to you. When I didn´t find you I had the worst feeling in the world, a foreboding; you were leaving me. I was afraid, desperate, in pain. Don´t ever do this again, please.”
Before she could say a word, his lips touched hers, smoothly, calmly, but also with passion, far too intense for a first kiss; too ardent for a person never kissed before and it scared her more than the dragon. She didn´t know what to do in this situation, she didn´t know what to do with her hands or how to move her lips.
Should I stroke his back too, or is it too daring? She let him guide the kiss. It was a little odd because he seemed not to know what do either or he was just nervous. Boys have an innate knowledge about these things, I guess. They know what they have to do, I hope.
A mix of good feelings and desires crossed Kate´s body. She was losing control of the situation and before it occurred, she turned her face to the side, his lips grazed her cheek and then he squeezed her against his strong, muscular, well-built chest.
“I need a shower.” She slid from his arms. “If my mom arrives… she´ll get angry.” She tittered and felt her cheeks on fire.
“We talk later.” Phillip stroked her face, grinned, and left her alone with her turbulent feelings and unanswered questions.
Kate´s heart thumped heavily and fast. Her first kiss. She always thought that it´d be with Phillip, she was certain about that. She had waited for that moment for months, since she started to have strange sensations with each physical contact. She had needed to almost die to get a kiss at last, but it was worth it. The kiss was better than she had imagined.
She had always dreamed about her wedding; her mother got married at her age. Phillip would be a good husband and father. He was affectionate, hard-working, honest, handsome, and… his kiss was… Wait a minute, he had just kissed her, not proposed, yet here she was daydreaming of marriage?
Kate took a towel and strode to the bathroom. She turned the faucet on and waited for the water to warm up while she undressed. She washed her hair three times to clean it, then conditioned it to keep her hair from getting into tangles. Hair cleaned, Kate soaped her body, rubbed the skin hard, and allowed the water to drip through her hair and body.
She felt unusual, missing something or someone. Not her parents or Phillip, or Samantha. Who else did she know? Nobody she could miss, but she had a sensation that she was far apart from someone important.
Kate dried her body and hair, cleaned the misted up mirror, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and then combed her hair. When she saw her image reflected in the mirror, Kate noticed a new scar on her shoulder with a dragon shape.
She examined the new thin pink skin and remembered the dragon touched her. Goose bumps grew; she left the bathroom terrified. That image scared her too much. She had been marked forever in order not to forget her encounter with the most frightening creature ever seen.
She tried to change her thoughts to Phillip while she ate the food her mother had prepared. The pancakes were cold, but Kate ate them anyway; she sipped the milk and ate a slice of cake. Poor Phil, he went to work without food but how could Kate think about food after so unexpected a kiss? She laughed. They´d have many opportunities to eat breakfast together.
She washed the dishes, made her bed, swept the house, and there she was again, in front of the mirror examining the scar, having scary feelings, missing... the dragon. It was unbelievable that she missed what she hated the most, the creature she wanted to destroy.
Gathering courage, she touched the scar; chills ran down her spine. She shivered; it was like she had touched some
one else, not herself. Gasping, she covered the mirror with a towel afraid of looking at that mark, the dragon´s mark she might carry on her body to show everybody that she was touched by the beast.
What happened to her? What was wrong? Yes, because any normal human being had that kind of… feelings, thoughts, desires, and an uncontrollable will to meet the creature again. Mom? Dad? Someone else? Who could explain what was going on? The weird thing was that even frightened, confused and having strange urges, Kate felt good, happy, satisfied, complete like she had never felt before; she desired to meet the dragon again, not to hurt it or to flee, but… she wasn´t sure what she´d do, she just wanted to look at it.
Kate left the house, the village was empty. Everybody was working, preparing for the winter. The grains, fruits, and vegetables should be harvested before the summer´s end or it´d all be lost. She should be helping them instead of daydreaming about an animal.
She walked to the dragon´s chair, her fingers glided on the dragon sculpture. Kate had avoided that place since Sam´s birthday, but that day she felt an overwhelming desire to return there. She sat down. Feeling instantly reinvigorated, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment; the air became bracing, she felt as if she had been transported to another place.
“Where are you?”
Kate leaped, searching for who called her.
“Why are you so far away?”
She walked back and forth, there wasn´t anybody there besides her.
“Come to the lake, I´ve waited for you for days. Don´t leave me alone.”
Kate rushed back home; that voice continued to summon her.
“Hurry up. Come now.”
Kate went into the house, put her hands over her ears; the voice was so loud that she couldn´t hear anything else.
Kate gasped and opened the door; she didn´t want to go, but her legs moved without control. She had to turn and come back; she tried to send this command, however, her body disobeyed her orders. The voice gave directions and she followed them.
She arrived at the lake in no time at all. One guy with dark and long hair sat on the edge, threw pebbles in the lake which produced rippling waves on the surface. She stopped a few feet from him, examined the stranger and wondered if he had summoned her, thinking it was impossible.
The guy noticed her presence, stood up, and turned to face her; the stranger seemed taller than she had imagined.
Who is the young man with oblique, almond-shaped eyes, far apart, black iris, and a vertical fold of skin over the inner corner concealing a part of the iris?
He smiled and moved toward her. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen.
Kate shivered when his black eyes looked her up and down. What was going on? Was this a mirage? Kate rubbed her eyes, blinked and he was still there, coming fast. The guy stopped so close that she smelled his scent easily.
“Hi.” He grinned and held out his hand to Kate.
She dropped her fingers in his palm. The stranger pulled her to walk to the rocks and helped her to sit on the top gently, then sat beside her.
“Do you come here frequently?” he asked and glanced at her, his voice sang like a melody in her ears.
“No. Who are you?” She shook her head in disbelief, wondering what crazy dream she was taking part in.
He stood up and bowed. “Sorry for my bad behavior. I´ve acted as if we knew each other. I´m Liu Xiang.”
He sat closer; their arms almost touched each time one of them made a tiny movement, so she stayed statue like, fearing what might happen if she touched him inadvertently.
“I am Kate. Do you live near here? I´ve never seen people like you, I mean, with your features,” she asked bewildered.
“I live near the mountain.” He pointed to the top, but kept his eyes on her. “Why haven´t we met before?”
“Perhaps because we don´t share the same habits. This is the second time I come here. I live in that village across the jungle.” She lowered her head when she noticed that her face was on fire under his inquisitiveness and curious eyes.
“Maybe, from today I´ll share your habits and go where you are if you don´t appear here again.” He curled her hair on his finger, revealing the scar on her shoulder. His eyes gazed at her dragon´s scar; his fingertips stroked it.
Kate held her breath; instinctively, she touched a little brown spot on his nose.
“You are so beautiful; your green eyes like two big green sapphires. They are unique.” His hand travelled to her neck, his lips approached fast and met hers wildly, fiercely, passionately.
He pulled her against his muscular body in an aggressive way; his lips moved in an enjoyable way on hers. The funniest thing was that Kate was receptive to his caress as if it was natural and they had been doing it for a long time. It was so nice that she didn´t question why a stranger was kissing her in that way because she liked it and responded with eagerness.
She wanted more; she allowed him to please her with his kisses and allowed herself to enjoy those lips while wrapped in his arms.
But it is wrong. IT IS WRONG! Hours ago I kissed Phil and now… It must stop, NOW! I don´t want it to stop. It has to stop.
His lips were soft yet firm, gentle yet wild; the kiss was demanding, good, but still wrong. Totally, completely wrong, even though she wanted to kiss him.
With resistance his mouth left hers to touch her cheek. “I´ve waited for this for centuries. Finally, I found you,” he mumbled in her ear.
Those weird words acted as a trigger, bringing Kate back to reality. She backed off a little. “Why did you kiss me?”
“Didn´t you like it? I´m sure I can do better,” he said with a sarcastic smile and puckered his lips.
Kate stood up, stepped back and marched toward the village.
“I’ll wait for you tomorrow afternoon.” He laughed. “Don´t be late. I can´t wait to kiss you again.”
She looked at him for a brief moment; he continued laughing. I can do better. Annoying boy; who did he think he was? Don Juan? she thought furiously. Phillip kissed much better… No, that was a lie. Liu´s kisses were better; she had never tasted lips so… nice. She had only kissed Phillip, though, how could she make comparisons? What kind of girl had she become, kissing two guys in the same day? What made Liu think that she would meet him again? Irresponsible girl. How could she kiss a stranger on the edge of the lake, alone? What was she doing there when she should be home?
Chapter 8
Liu
Liu morphed into his dragon shape; thoughts came into his mind, multiplying and then living on their own energy. That wasn´t supposed to happen, his mission was to discover who the girl was, and just what events had occurred that transpired to change him to the human form, not to kiss her, but who could blame him in front of such beautiful eyes and hot skin? Only an insane man would, and his mother.
He took off and flapped his wings strongly, trying to block those thoughts, but they were insistent and continued to muddle his brain. They disturbed his flight, filled his mind with impossible dreams. Would his parents allow their relationship? He had duties and a foreign woman certainly didn´t have space in his father´s plans. However, it didn´t matter because he was unsure if his father was still alive.
His task didn’t fail completely, he discovered three things, one, she was healthy; two, she didn´t recognize him; and three, she had a scar from where they had physical contact. Liu had a little brown spot on the nose, she, a gorgeous scar shaped like a dragon. Conclusion, they were connected, joined forever, tied by supernatural forces and… in love, he knew, he felt, she loved him too.
That was the craziest thing of all, two strangers falling in love, the beauty and the beast. He heard it before, he didn´t remember where, though; it was a beautiful love story. He also didn´t remember if it had a happy ending, no matter. He had never believed in love at first sight, but it existed or was it a side effect of their unexpected encounter? Liu fell deeply in love with Kate. She certainly was the girl of hi
s destiny, who would help him.
How could he manage that relationship while being a slave, Jin Quan´s prisoner, and having to release his family as well as correcting his mistakes? He didn´t deserve that love after he had caused such suffering to his parents. That was true, but he wouldn´t let her go. He didn´t know how to handle the situation yet, but he’d find a way.
It was impossible to resist and so the green dragon flew over Kate´s village. People rushed to their houses at the end of the day. Easily, he found Kate, talking with a woman, maybe her mother, walking into a house. Her thoughts were silent; she was in peace with her family. This was his first visit to the village. Liu had never desired to see it. Those people seemed so happy; it made him miss his own home. He had so many things; however, he was sad.
It was time to meet his mother. The dragon changed his direction and flew to the mountain. Near his cave, he locked his wings against his body and plunged into the open space that separated him from earth. He blinked several times, the fresh air hurt his eyes; he maintained his high speed until he saw his mother growing closer fast, then he reopened the wings, fluttered them in reverse movements to lower the speed and landed smoothly.
The moment of truth.
His mother came near; he needed to decide how much to tell her, perhaps she might not understand what happened to him. She didn´t get married for love, her marriage was arranged, an agreement as his also would be if he still lived in his country; he couldn´t blame her for not understanding his feelings. The times changed, and it was his task to show her this; they now lived in another era.
His mother waited some minutes; she scrutinized him with curious eyes. Feeling uncomfortable, he paced into the cave. As Liu kept quiet, she started.
“Did the girl appear today?” She stopped behind him.
Even without seeing her he knew she was there; he sensed her inquisitive eyes over him. “Yes.” He turned to her, avoiding any eye contact.
“And?” She cocked her head; she was already suspicious that something different had happened. He had forgotten to block his thoughts, and certainly she knew his worries. “What did you find out? Is she the one destined to help us?”