“No!” yelled Charles. “Gaby, stay back! Stay back!”
But as Gaby interfered, trying helplessly to stop the fight, Haven quickly turned around, grabbed Gaby by the hair and tossed her violently against the wall. Gaby fell to the floor, feeling as she had broken a bone. She was coughing out blood, and trying to catch her breath. As Gaby tried to get up, Haven ran towards her and lashed her with the dagger, leaving her with a large opening.
“Gabriella!” shrieked Charles. He suddenly changed form, changing into a large beast with sharp teeth, burning eyes and huge wings that spurt at each side.
“You filthy dragon-lover!” yelled Haven at Gaby. “You filthy traitor! You disgusting creature!”
“Stay away from her!” shouted Charles as he spread his wings and flew towards Haven. He grabbed her with his clawed limbs, squeezing her tightly and then throwing her at the other end of the room. She gets up and spurs towards him, jumping high and then falling on his back, sticking the dagger into his skin over and over again. Charles screams in pain, but then manages to get her off of him. He breathes fire after her, after which is runs and tries to shelter herself from the flames. Gaby, lying on the floor, bleeding and in pain, is still in complete awe at what she was seeing. Charles was a dragon, and Haven was trying to hunt him.
As Haven hid behind the shelves, Charles quickly flew towards Gaby, carried her and flew out of the library and into the deep darkness of the night sky.
“Gaby?” he said, “Gaby, can you hear me? It’s Charles, can you hear me? Say something, Gaby!”
As she lay in his arms, he realized that she had passed out, but that she was thankfully still alive. He flew with her towards a safe place, away from the sights of the lurking hunters throughout the town.
Chapter 13
Charles flies with Gaby to the cave he showed her before. He rests her down on the floor, realizing she is bleeding from the lash Haven caused her with the dagger. He again presses his hands on the wound; it burns bright blue, and heals. He remembers the night he rescued her from the two men at the alley, and his heart melts at the thought of her having gotten hurt, especially this time, since he felt that it was his fault. He put on a small fire, and went out to bring her some water and food. She was still passed out, but woke up shortly after he returned. He had shape shifted back into his human form.
“Charles?” she mumbles, slowly opening her eyes as she lay on the rocky floor. “Charles, is that you?” He rushes towards her, caressing her forehead and holding her hand as she attempted to sit upright.
“Yes, my darling,” he said, his voice full of pain, sorrow, and regret. “I’m here, Gabriella. You’re safe, don’t worry.”
“What happened?” she asked, looking up at him. “What the hell was that?”
` “Gaby,” he said, “it’s complicated, you just need to rest for now and then afterwards we can…”
“No!” she shouted, pushing him away. “No! That’s enough! I’m not taking any of this anymore, not until I get some real, robust answers!”
“Gaby, please…” trying to hold her hand again.
“Don’t! Don’t even try to charm me into oblivion again, Charles!” she continued to shout. “You asked me to trust you, and I did. You promised me answers, but you never gave me any reasonable ones.”
“Gaby, I did try to tell you several times before,” he defended himself. “I swear I did!”
“Then try harder, Charles!” she said.
He stood up, looked outside the cave and towards the darkness ahead. He then turned around and looked at her tearful eyes, so large, so round and full of life. He decided to tell her everything.
“Okay,” he said. “What I am about to tell you now is neither fiction nor fable. It is real, every part of it. And I think you know that now, especially after what you have just seen.” She nodded, and waited for him to speak.
“It all began about eleven centuries ago,” he began, “when the many creatures of the world lived peacefully and in their own secluded territories. There was no place for feud because no one world had ever encountered another. There was no reason to need to fight or fear being fought. The creatures of the earth were at ease. Humans lived on their own, constructing primitive villages, living quite peacefully and not asking much from the natural world around them. Yet not too far away lived another species, the dragon race. Dragons have existed long before humans did, they are one of the oldest creatures to inhabit the earth. They had a very rich way of living, reaping what they could from the abundance of nature, yet with great skill and delicate precision. But of course, as both the human and the dragon populations grew, a collision was inevitable. One dark evening, a small dragoness was faced with a human child. They were both neither hostile nor fearful. They interacted together like old friends, and there was no violence or conflict whatsoever. However, as the dragons heard of the incident, they moved their location and made sure to never be seen by the human civilization again. But, of course, encountering a dragon is not something to be easily hidden. It turned out that other humans lurking in the bushes had seen the encounter, and reported the existence of another species somewhere around the village. What happened afterwards was very strange, and still is a part of the historical narrative that many could not make sense of. After a short period of time, there arose what we call ‘dragon hunters’.”
“Dragon hunters?” asked Gaby. “Human hunters?”
“No one knows the answer to that question,” he said. “They look human, but they possess supernatural powers beyond any human capabilities. They also have a strange radar for dragons, they can sniff one out if they try hard enough. What happened was that this group of humans, or perhaps superhumans, began to multiply in numbers, and spread all over the earth hunting for dragons. They would kill any dragons they found, sometimes even cutting their heads off and claiming them as prizes. No one knew what they were or how they came about. Some say they are a particular breed of humans, others say they had existed for years and were waiting to find the dragon world they had often heard about.
At first, the dragons would fight them, but with time their numbers grew and grew. They were also very skilled at hiding amidst other creatures, waiting for a sign of dragons anywhere. As their numbers mounted, the dragon race didn’t stand a chance. They had to go into hiding and live discretely to survive. And as the human civilizations thrived, dragons began shape shifting into human bodies and blending with them, concealing themselves as part of the human race. I, Gabriella, am one of those dragons. I take different human forms to try to hide, and every few years I change into a different human body and change locations completely. I had never known love, or friendship or family. Dragons have to live apart, scattered all over the earth so that the hunters don’t detect patterns of behavior. We just couldn’t risk it.
We were warned to expose ourselves to humans, lest they speak of it, informing the hunters of who we are where we live. We have to do anything in our power to sustain the dragon species, even though I know for a fact that we are gradually dying. I’ve lived a terrible life, Gaby. I’ve seen so much war, so much pain and so much bloodshed. I didn’t know there was anything more to life. And then I met you, and everything changed.”
“How did things change?” she asked, looking at him with deep love and care. He had just confessed his darkest secrets to her, entrusting her with his fears and vulnerabilities.
“Do you really want to know?” he asked, as if he was about to confess the biggest secret of all.
“I do,” she said. “Tell me, what changed?”
“I fell in love, Gabriella,” he finally said. “I fell in love with you. I fell so deeply in love that I don’t think I’ll ever fall out of it.”
“Oh my gosh,” Gaby said, beginning to tear.
“I’m sorry if I am making you uncomfortable,” he said, “but that is genuinely how I feel, and it has changed everything for me. It made me a much hopeful person. It made me want to live! Not roam the streets alone
dressed as a homeless man. I wanted to experience the beauty of life, no matter how short lived. I saw you through that window, Gaby, on your first night at the house. I was astounded by your beauty, and began to watch you each day. You would do small things that no one noticed, but things that I fell in love with. I wanted to know you, and once I did, I felt that I could never let you go.” Gaby burst into tears. She got up and walked towards him, taking is hand into hers and placing it on her chest.
“Do you feel that?” she softly said. “That’s how hard my heart beats when I am around you. I love you too.” He felt the pounding beats of her human heart against the palm of his hand, and suddenly had the urge to kiss her passionately. He drew her towards him, held her by the waist and pressed his lips onto hers. She could feel his tongue make its way all over hers, and his hands were firm around her waist, her back, her hair. Their bodies were in heat.
“Take me to your house, Charles,” she whispered into his ears. “Take me home and make love to me.” He quickly shifted into his dragon form, took her on his back and flew above the clouds and far away from the town and its surrounding hills. He took her somewhere hidden, far between distant mountains, where in the middle of a deep valley was a wooden cottage, covered in heavy trees. Next to it was a long river that glowed under the silver moonlight.
“This is all so magical,” she said, in awe of the beauty of the small cottage.
Charles takes her hand and leads her inside. They kiss all the way through the living room, until he leads her into the bedroom, which had a large bed and candles for lighting at the side. He held her from the waist, laying her down on her back as he ran over her with kisses. He pressed his lips onto her neck, her chest, her stomach. He gracefully took off her shirt, exposing her black bra and her round pear white breasts. He kissed her stomach down to her crotch, removing her skirt to find her inner thighs soaked and radiating heat.
He quickly removed his shirt, after which she quickly pulled him onto of her, feeling the hardness in his pants grind against her wet crotch. She clawed into his hair, his shoulders and back as he tore off her bra and sucked on her nipples. She breathed heavily as he took off his pants, showing his penis large, hard and erect before her small figure. She spread her legs open, taking his penis in her hand slowly directing it into her vagina. He kissed her passionately, hearing her give a loud moan as he made his way inside her.
“Yes, yes,” she whispered, “don’t stop, please don’t stop.” Their bodies were on fire, radiating heat as they thrust into each other. Charles looked into her eyes as he moved faster inside her, his eyes truly burning, like two bonfires throwing flames as he made love to her with all of his heart. She kissed him with enormous force and passionate love as he thrust harder and faster inside her. Their hearts pounded as Gaby claws into the sheets and pulled into his hair. His face was bright red, releasing heavy sighs until their bodies convulsed. Charles’ thick white fluid traced paths between Gaby’s thighs, creating a thin stream down her legs and onto the sheets.
“I love you,” Gaby said, catching her breath.
“I love you, too,” Charles replied, holding her closely between his arms as he closed his eyes in bliss.
They spent the night in the cottage, lying in each other’s arms under the strong silver light of the moon and stars above. A slight cool breeze made its way through the window, drawing them closer to one another, their naked bodies keeping them warm through the night.
Chapter 14
Gabriella and Charles wake up to the sound of singing birds and the warm such beaming through the wooden windows. They woke up in each other’s arms, completely separated from the dreadful world outside. They were in love, knowing that everything would be okay as long as they had each other.
“Good morning,” said Gaby, lifting her head off Charles’ chest, smiling at him warmly with her rosy cheeks and soft morning voice.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he replied, kissing her on the forehead, then on the cheeks and then on the softness of her lips. They lay in bed for a while, reluctant to go out into the dark world outside. They didn’t want to confront such horrors again, but they knew they had to have a serious talk about what would now happen. Was Charles going to leave the town? Was Gaby going to come with him? Would Haven still be lurking out there, waiting to kill Charles? These were questions that ran through their minds, and they gave each other a rather serious look, indicating that it was time to leave the magical world they were living, and talk about the brutal realities to come. They got dressed and sat before one another on the coffee table in the living room.
“So,” said Charles.
“So,” replied Gaby. “What’s the plan?”
“Well,” he began, looking down at his cup of coffee with deep sorrow, not knowing how he would ever endure living without her, “I will have to leave, Gaby.”
“Where would you go?” asked Gaby, her eyes beginning to tear.
“I don’t know that yet,” he said. “But I can’t stay, not now, not after what happened.”
“I know,” Gaby replied. “I mean, do you think Haven is still out there?”
“Of course she is,” he said.
“I had no idea what she was, Charles,” she said, “you know that, right?”
“Darling,” he assured her, “of course I know. It wasn’t your fault. None of this was. I was the one who put you through such danger, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I hated myself so much when I saw you bleed like that. You’re everything to me, Gaby.”
“Charles, don’t say that,” Gaby said, attempting to comfort him. “You tried to protect me. I was the one who insisted, remember? You did all you could. It’s okay, I don’t blame you at all. I don’t care about everything that happened, nor do I care about the future dangers. All I know is that meeting you was the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t lose you, Charles.” She ran towards him to kiss him, to hug him, to hold him as if she would never let go.
“Listen,” he said, holding her face in the palms of his hands, wiping away her falling tears. “I will come back for you. I will come back for you, I swear!”
“Do you promise?” she said, crying her eyes out.
“I promise you,” he assured her firmly. “Wait for me, Gabriella. Wait for me.”
They left the wooden cottage, the beautiful nature around and the sweet calmness of safety and security, and moved towards the town. Charles would leave her at the very edge of the town and fly away into hiding. He did not know when the next time he would be coming back, all he knew is that he was determined to come back. He made a promise to her, and to himself. He would come back, even if it meant danger again.
Gaby reached the edge of the town and took the bus to the center plaza. From there she took a long walk to her house, where she wasn’t sure what to say to Haven if she saw her. She was a little afraid, but Charles had told her that dragon hunters never kill humans, and that what Haven did was a dangerous exception that probably put Haven herself at great risk. Gaby, however, was now full of courage. She feared nothing. And she was determined to never again befriend Haven, the creature who tried to kill the love of her life, Charles.
Gaby got into the house and walked inside. It was quiet.
“Is anybody home?” she said loudly. She heard footsteps and then quickly turned around in fear. She realized it was only Trevor. “Hey, Trevor.”
“Gaby!” he cried, running towards her with a hug. “We got so worried, where did you go? You never spend nights away, and we didn’t hear anything from you all morning!” Suddenly Amanda and Gavin walked in, also very relieved to see Gaby.
“Gabs!” yelled Amanda. “I was so worried about. What happened? Your mom called about 20 times!”
“Guys,” said Gaby, trying to calm everyone. “I’m fine! I just slept over at a friend’s house after a long movie night. It’s okay, really.”
“Well, you better give your mom a call,” said Amanda. “She’s worried sick!”
“I will, I will,” she assured them. She was silent for a few moments, and then asked, “Hey, guys? Is Haven around? I mean, has anyone seen her?”
“Didn’t you hear what happened?” said Gavin rather sorrowfully.
“No, what happened?” Gaby asked eagerly.
“We didn’t know where she was, and then we got a call from the university saying we should start looking for another roommate because Haven left the country and transferred to some university in Europe. She just left abrupty and no one knows why. But everyone says that she’s not coming back.”
Gaby’s heart was relieved, and she took a deep breath and released a long sigh in happiness. She wished she could tell Charles. But then she realized that it was better that he stayed away for a while at least, even if Haven was no longer around.
“You don’t seem very upset,” said Amanda. “I thought you guys were super tight? Weren’t you best friends or something?”
“I mean, we were but…” Gaby said. “Well, let’s just say we disagreed about a thing or two that made it impossible for us to continue our friendship whatsoever.”
“Ouch,” said Gavin. “That’s pretty sad. I’m sorry, Gabs.”
“It’s alright, man,” she said. “Sometimes drifting apart is better for everyone. I’m sure she was a great student though, and surely you’ll all miss her.”
Touched by A Dragon: The Exalted Dragons (Book 2) Page 9