by Sariah Skye
"You'll have to excuse the décor. I have it this way to really piss off my parents," I said with a mischievous look.
Maxxus chuckled as I pushed open the door, seeing my array of multi-colored walls, 1990s teen celebrity, movie and band posters. Of course, I had the smallest room of anyone in the home but I didn't mind. Less to clean. I motioned for him to take a sit on the ratty, orange and lime green 1970s patterned chair next to my bed which had a handmade quilt in red, white and blue; Americana style complete with stars and stripes. My entire bedroom clashed like a set of cymbals right in your ear and ten times as annoying.
Across the room was an armoire where I hid my electronic gadgets. It was black, that I'd graffiti-d popular, irritating 90s slang all over it like "whatever" and "as if!". Two purple dyed ropes were shoved into holes where there had once been doorknob hardware and I yanked on them to open the over-stuffed piece of furniture.
I could just about hear Maxxus' inquisition as to the contents of the armoire as I rummaged through it; my treasured belongings covered with more remnants of the 90s—JNCO elephant leg pants, flared jeans, hoards of flannel shirts, square-necked spaghetti-strap tank tops and platform sandals. I shoved my head in and pulled and pushed the contents around before finally coming across a small, fire-proof safe. I lifted it out, shoving everything back in and quickly pushing the doors shut before everything could collapse back out.
"What?" I questioned Maxxus' intrigued raise of one eyebrow.
He roared with laughter, reaching over to finger the worn, tattered quilt on my bed. I playfully slapped his hand and gave him a mock scolding glare. He stifled his laugh. "I'm sorry...it's just so unexpected."
Now it was my turn to raise a brow at him. "Really? Is it really that unexpected? I'm weird, this room is weird."
He considered this with a nod of his head. "Okay, you got me there. But where did you find all this stuff!?! I have never seen anything like most of it here."
I looked at him knowingly and we both answered, "Grandfather," in unison. He laughed again.
I didn't have a key for the safe but if they didn't open it the correct way, a balloon I'd rigged on some yarn would rip and explode in a puff of glitter—and we all know glitter is a bitch to get out of anything—so I'd surely be alerted eventually to the culprit. I carefully lifted the lid and slid my hand inside to unhook the jury-rigged booby trap and looked through my papers.
"What are you looking for?" Maxxus inquired, peering over the boxes' lid.
"Aha!" I said, pulling out small notebook which didn't contain much but some doodles, song lyrics and the name of the rogue orange dragon who helped me get my ID and paperwork when I had come to Earth. I had little use for it now since I was established and besides, I knew where he was if I needed to find him. I thrust the half sheet of folded paper at him. "Here. You'll need to get in touch with Imansi. Rogue orange dragon. He can set you up with the needed paperwork and things you'll need in order to sign up for a phone, as well as help you transfer some of your silver into human money."
I produced another stack of paper from the safe and shut the lid. "Here. Follow the purple marker….it will help you find his cabin in the woods. Or cave, whatever."
"This seems complicated," he said, eyeing the oddly marked map in confusion. But, he carefully folded the two documents and slide them in the front pocket of his emerald green robes. "But, thank you."
"Oh!" I snapped my fingers, remembering something else in the safe he might be interested in. I shoved my hand inside and felt around for something taped to the side, toward the bottom and carefully ripped it off. "Here."
Maxxus held out his hand and I put the small, inch-long micro SD card with the reader in it. "What's this?"
"When you get your phone you can put this inside of it, and it will have a ton of music of mine already programmed into it. Some of it is older, some is a bit newer but it's all my favorite stuff. It's a place to start anyway."
He nodded, with a smile and put it in his pocket as well. He rose to his feet. "Well, Leorah...thank you. I appreciate it."
I shrugged. "No biggie. I don't need any of it anymore; I have it all saved on a computer at home. Err...on Earth. Whatever."
I led him out of my room and down the hallway. My grandfather was just coming up the stairs. "Oh, there you are. Maxxus, I was earnest in my dinner invite. There's an extra place since my son is still away at Court and, I know it would really tick off the Countess," he added, giving me a playful wink.
Maxxus hesitated, glancing at me briefly and forcing a smile. He looked back away and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I better not." He offered us each a friendly smile before spinning on his heels. "I should go, but thank you, Leorah for your help."
"Sure," I said, exchanging an odd look at him as he quickly strode down the stairs with his long legs and out the front door without so much as a wave as he left.
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. "Well, that was odd."
"Indeed. What did he want?"
"He wanted to know how to get a cell phone like mine," I said. My grandfather just shook his head, and I followed him through the cold stone hallways to the dining area for dinner.
I paused just outside the room, hearing a clamor of high-pitched giggles erupt from the room before me. I stopped, dead in my tracks. "Oh fuck no," and turned to run in horror in the opposite direction, but my grandfather stopped me by grabbing my forearm. He gently pulled me so I stood directly in front of him and he offered a stern, fatherly glance.
"Leo, this is your home too and you have every right to be here. I'm not going to allow you to wallow in your room while we eat down here, no matter how annoyed you are," he said, with a sigh. "This girl is important to your brother, just try to make an effort, will you?"
I let out a low grumble from the back of my throat, rolling my eyes. "Ugh."
He patted my shoulder. "That's a girl." I started to follow him down the slight corridor when I paused briefly and looked down at myself. My tank was slightly yellowed, my red flannel shirt was frayed at the ends of the sleeves and my black jeans were faded and holy at the knees. "Harrumph, still too nice." I knew my mother's appearance would be immaculate at the dinner table. I smirked, and yanked at the low scooped neckline of my tank and pulled it outwards and down, while shoving my larger-than-average-for-a-dragon boobs up so that I showed twice the cleavage. Mother hated that.
She looked at me scornfully as I entered the room. "Honestly, Leorah. Flaunting those human traits is just really, really childish."
I just smiled innocently at her and, just to be a bitch, grabbed my own boobs and made a honking sound. "No, that was childish."
From across the long, wooden table I heard a clatter of silverware on a ceramic plate as my brother apparently was laughing, choking on his food. Kiarra patted his back with motherly concern as he finally cleared his throat and roared with laughter.
My mother shot him a warning look and he promptly stopped. But, when she turned to take her place at the head of the table, he covered his mouth in silent laughter and shook his head at me.
"You're such a bad influence," Mother admonished. "I should make you change before eating here—look how nicely Kiarra here is dressed," she said, motioning to Kiarra's perfectly coiffed ebony hair and clean, fresh blue robes. Kiarra tossed a lock of her hair over her shoulder, giving me an apologetic look. "But I know if I don't just allow you to eat, you'll argue and rave and I'd just rather have a peaceful meal. Can you at least button the—" my mother cringed in disgust, "—shirt, if that's what you want to call it."
I opened my mouth to protest but my grandfather let out a dull cough. He shot me a look that clearly said "Just button the damn shirt" so, with a large sigh I did. But I was missing the top three buttons so, I still had ample amounts of cleavage on display. I guess I still won after all.
I took my place next to my grandfather, directly across from Kiarra (much to my dismay) who gave me a wide grin. I begrudged an
insincere smile at her as my grandfather passed me a plate of some sort of roast, potatoes (a dragon staple here in Anarach) and a thick slice of buttered bread. I joked when I said I was a salad person to Gabriel—unless that salad consisted of Russets and butter, that is. He passed me a large, metal tankard of buttermilk and I took a long, loud, sloppy swig, earning yet another glare from my mother.
I ate in silence, but my mother, brother and Kiarra proceeded to ignore me, talking about gossip and regular happenings at the Court. You know, the usual...who was trying to pass what laws, who was humping who—the usual.
Or, rather I asked that question about the humping but it fell on deaf ears. Defeated, after a while I just stared at the torch on the stark gray wall before me and let my mind wander to thoughts of that kiss.
I was so lost in thought I didn't hear Kiarra speaking to me until my mother scolded me, once again.
"Leorah, honestly. She's a guest and for some reason she's being friendly to you; the least you could do is respond to her!" My mother shook her head in dismay.
I forced an apologetic smile at Kiarra. "Sorry. What did you say?"
"I asked what you did for fun in—what's it called—Mini-florida?" she questioned, daintily cutting up her food with a knife and fork. I fought the urge to scowl at her prim behavior. No wonder Mother simply loved her.
I snorted. Mini-florida? Good gods what a tool. "Minnesota," I corrected haughtily.
She let out a high-pitched, embarrassed giggle, covering her mouth with her fingertips to avoid showing the food in her mouth. "Oh dear, what a silly I am!"
"Ha ha," I said, grabbing for a hunk of bread on my plate and shoving it awkwardly in my mouth. "Well, for fun I watch a lot of movies, read, listen to music, play with my cat." I exaggerated my words, chewing loudly as I spoke.
Kiarra didn't seem to notice, though, I could nearly feel my mother glowering at me from the end of the table. "Oh! A cat! What is that?"
I gave her an odd look; we'd just discussed my cat not more than an hour ago. Even cracked a joke about how much the cat hated my brother. Was she really that stupid, that she couldn't recall a conversation from an hour ago, or, was there another reason for her idiotic behavior? But, to save face I decided to ignore it, or question her later. So, I just shrugged, swallowing loudly. "Oh, it's a little four-legged mammal with hair. Really cute."
My brother chortled. "Cute? That thing? She tries to scratch my eyes out every time I see her!"
I grinned widely. "I taught her everything she knows."
He grumbled and Kiarra nudged him playfully in his side.
"Is that all you do? Do you have a job...or something important?" Kiarra questioned.
"I'm a barista," I said plainly.
"A what?"
"Barista. I make coffee drinks for customers. I work at my friend's coffee house. Actually, I'm a manager," I said, proudly.
I heard a groan of dismay from my mother. "My daughter slings coffee for humans all day. So important."
I glared at her. "Without caffeine, some of these humans would become murderous. I'm helping save their civilization, one cup at a time. It's serious business!"
"A marvelous job you do too, I'm sure!" my grandfather praised, lifting up his tankard and taking a drink.
I granted him a grateful smile.
"Do you have a lot of friends over there?" Kiarra asked.
I hesitated. Of course, I didn't. Kit was it but, I didn't want to appear pathetic—anymore than I already did—in front of her, and my mother. I smiled sweetly, taking another large bite of bread before speaking. "A few, but I don't need many." I sat up straighter in my seat, feigning an air of pride and defiance. I tossed the rest of the bread on my plate, suddenly losing my appetite.
Kiarra gave a piteous look. "Oh, that's too bad."
"Sure. Well, you know it's hard to make friends when most of everyone you knew tormented you to the point of tears every day; socialization isn't a priority. It's self-preservation you must master, you know," I snapped bitterly.
My mother scoffed. "Oh come now. It wasn't as bad as all that."
Braeden let out a low whistle. "Mother...you have to be kidding me," he said, through gritted teeth.
I clamped down hard on my bottom lip to keep the angry tirade that desperately wanted to escape my mouth; instead I silently stared down at the table, choking down the fury that was boiling inside me.
Slowly, I got to my feet, and stood there, silently for a moment. As much as I wanted to scream and holler, I wouldn't give my mother the satisfaction of seeing me lose it; or Kiarra. I wasn't a fan but, at least I didn't want to prove that the rumors were true after all: pink dragons were unstable.
I took a few deep, calming breaths and looked directly at Kiarra who was still smiling cheerfully even though everyone else was wearing looks of fearful doom upon their faces. "Well, thank you for bringing it up, Kiarra. But I have to say the worst thing of all is knowing that your parents—" I shot my mother a scalding look, "—just diminish your struggles and write you off all the time. She could have spoken up, or told them to lay off on me but no. No!" I exclaimed as I slammed my fists on the table top, causing everyone's plates and silverware to shake; my grandfather's empty tankard fell over. "Excuse me." I shoved my chair back forcefully as Kiarra winced, the smile finally wiped off her face. Good, I thought, smugly. I stalked out of the dining area, my angry heart beating rapidly.
I was only to the stairs when the tears started to sting my eyes. I let out a slight sob, pausing on the bottom stair a moment to compose myself.
"Leo..." my brother said behind me; apparently he had followed me. "I’m sorry, she didn't know..."
I sniffed, wiping away a tear on my cheek before turning and shooting him a daring glare. "Didn't know? Didn't know? What, did she just think that the most feared dragon of all time was just given parades every day? Boxes of chocolates and flowers? Good gods, Braeden! How could she not know?"
Braeden appeared sympathetic as he reached out to me. I swatted his hand away forcefully and took a couple steps backwards, up the stairs. "Don't. Just don't. Just...just keep her away from me, for now. Okay? Bad enough I have to deal with everything from our parents. I don't need Little Miss Perfect rubbing her perfect self in my face too, okay?" I spat, mockingly. Through my tear-blinded haze I left him in the foyer silent as I stormed to my chamber, slammed the door and threw myself on the bed. "Be sure to fill her in all about my torment, just like you have everything else!" I yelled through the door at him, not sure and not caring if he heard me.
I probably wasn't being fair, but I didn't really care. I couldn't wait until morning when I could leave.
Chapter 7
My brother was mostly silent on the flight back to the portal, he was surely sore at me for questioning Kiarra’s motives and snapping at her but, caution is and always was my friend. And, I just didn't like her. Something about her didn’t add up whether she was just odd (far be it for me to judge someone else for being odd) or up to something no good. In all fairness I was wary of any dragon or any human really. It took me quite a while and a great many night shifts to open up to Kit and she still didn’t know a great deal about me. Of course no one could know my real secret. He did chuckle a bit about my display at dinner the previous night, but it was short lived.
I was hoping Maxxus was guarding the portal again; but as Braeden touched down and kneeled to the ground to allow me to slide down his back. Nicodemus stood there looking intimidating as ever in a set of long black robes that trailed down to the tops of his clunky, black boots. His human form was large, and broad shouldered with severe brown eyes, a shaggy black beard over his leathery tanned skin; as if he'd been in the sun way too long. It was surprising he wasn't in his dragon form as he usually was but, it wasn't required of being a Guard so I didn't think anything of it. Black dragons were frequently very serious, made great soldiers and warriors and had a great deal of size and strength as well in addition to their magical abilities.
He spoke my name in Dragon, bowing his head at me dutifully. I gave him a slight bow as dragon custom dictated and turned to my brother who was already flapping his wings to touch off in flight, leaving without saying good-bye.
"So, you’re pissed," I said loudly over his wing-beats, speaking in fact; not assumption.
My brother sighed, and stilled his wide red wings. "No, I’m not really pissed just…disappointed, I guess."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead opted too for a heavy sigh. "Okay, shoot. Just let me have it. Straight between the eyes," I said, pointing my finger at my forehead.
"I just…I don’t know how to explain it, really. Kiarra was really looking forward to meeting you and I really wanted you guys to hit it off but…I guess I realized that is pretty difficult for you, given all you have been through," Braeden explained, his voice low and booming. Dragon voices always sounded like small or large rumbles of thunder, like echoes in a cave, a bit unsettling if you aren’t expecting it.
I sighed. "Brae, look…I can’t divulge a lot right now but just trust me when I say I need to be careful, okay?" I took a quick glance at Nicodemus as he, remembering he was there before nodding my head further away from the portal motioning for us to move away from him. "No, I'm not in her Fan Club but it's more than that."
"What do you mean? Is something going on?" Braeden asked with concern.
"I can’t really tell you right now, but I will. I don’t really have much to tell but once I do I will fill you in more," I explained in a hushed manner.
"Something to do with why you suddenly came here?"
I nodded. "Talk to grandfather, he will tell you that I am for real. But in the meantime…please do not talk to people about me anything other than I am fine and leave it at that. Don’t talk about my dragon dust, where I am, anything. Okay?"