— WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! – she shouted non conformantly.
— Explosions – the dragon said simply, pulling the reins and commanding the mombelula to stop in the air, in a slight descent and circular rise, while keeping the wings in full motion.
She peeked downstairs and saw the little bright spots that were the lanterns, with the people already gathered waiting for what they promised to do. Looking at the blazing spot that had burned down, she felt a dizziness and the edges of her vision blurred.
Before her knees hit the ground, she was caught by the dragon. And as quickly as she came back to herself, she pulled him away, pushing him away, trying to dignify herself to show that she did not need his help.
— They are waiting – he reminded her that she had no choice.
And this was evidenced by the anxious voices coming from downstairs. She could hear the children shouting happily and she could distinguish Kidari next to them, encouraging them to start soon. Now she could not disappoint them. It did not matter that she had been practically dragged into that little cell by him, and that until very recently they had been arguing. She would fulfill what she had promised her people and she would have no choice but to listen to the instructions of that arrogant dragon and obey.
— Without the ball, do exactly the same thing, compressing both hands, and mentalize. First flame, then color, size and then release your almaki.
Calming herself mentally, she took a deep breath and did as he said.
As always, her first attempt did not work. She managed to create a colorful flame that only dissolved in the air as she moved her hands away.
Expecting a rudeness from her mentor with the failure, as would be normal, she only heard him explaining:
— The sphere has taught that your almaki can be contained within limits. Knowing you can impose these limits, imagine a sphere much larger than the mombelula and use these limits to shape – he struck his hands and produced a green flame, which moved in front of him in a spiral and increased in size as he moved his hands. Then, throwing his arms up, he made the spiral grow giant and spin faster and faster until they exploded in colored sparks, which drizzled around until they faded a few feet off the ground.
The mombelula remained steady even with the fierce glare just above it, as if it were already accustomed to demonstrations of almakis, while screams and exclamations of joy came from below, rising to them like a mass of misshapen sounds. Garo-lin's heart leapt merrily at this, but she tried to remain unshakable, not wanting to give the impression that somehow she was content with something he had done.
— Give me your hand – he asked.
— What?
— Let's do it together once and it will get easier.
In the face of all her possibilities of escape, which always ended with her going on a terrible encounter with the ground, Garo-lin had no better option than to agree and finish soon.
Once she got off the mombelula and had her feet firmly on the ground, she would try to think of a way to make the dragon regret everything he had done.
Then she held out her hand to his. Even with the visible difference between the two, this fact was not an obstacle to handling, since the hands served only as a practical and efficient way of channeling the body's almaki. It was not long before she realized that it was working and that her almaki was tickling through her fingers.
— What do you want to do? A tomato? – he teased laughing and, in the face of the mortal gaze he had received, tried to continue. – Start with something simpler. A ball. What color?
She thought of one that her mother would like and said, closing her eyes:
— Yellow.
— Visualize small, then make it grow as we move away... now!
She did it and knew it worked. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the light that was forming in front of her and growing as she moved her hand away from him.
— Play to the top! – he ordered.
The moment she made the move, she opened her eyes and watched the yellow ball grow terrifyingly and burst into thousands of sparks that floated calmly, as if they were snowflakes. And once again the village burst into shouts of joy.
— Now do it alone – the dragon ordered as he sat in the driver's seat and left all the cabin space just for her.
Marvel at that fun new way to handle her almaki, for a moment Garo-lin has completely forgotten everything. That she was an abnormal, a vilashi with almaki; who lived imprisoned and ignored in the Institute; the torturous moments she had spent in the Dul'Maojin Fortress and her failed escape; the fight she had recently had with the Fire Dragon; and the way he treated her, like a sack of potatoes. At that moment, she only thought of using her power as she had always wanted to use: for her village and for the people who were important to her. Therefore, she imagined the most varied formats and combinations of colors and took care of the completion of each explosion, seeking to do the following always better and bigger than the previous one.
In her excitement, she did not realize that she was about to break her limit, until all she could manage was a blaze of blue fire, which only lasted a few moments. Even then, she could feel the atmosphere of expectations coming from below and did not hide the disappointment with the useless attempts to produce a last explosion to finish.
Then there was a very strong flash above her that made her thoughts move out of that isolated world and pay attention around. Dul'Maojin had handled an explosion, which burst into the sky and soon thereafter turned to several other colorful explosions, which he led as a master of the subject. Facing the lighted scene of the cabin, where the dragon stood out like a dark silhouette in contrast to his almaki, the cries of the vilashis resounded in his ears along with that vision and an old saying passed through his mind: almakins of fire are like the sun, if you dare to face them, you would end up burning.
— When you are at this level, you may even learn a Fire Secret, vilashi.
Garo-lin, so far lost in the shocking reality she had seen herself in, almost gasped at the sound of her mentor's voice close to her. And all she could do was utter something very reminiscent of a cat's meow.
Then, shaking her head to ward off the shock that was useless at that moment, she asked:
— Wh-why would I learn a Fire Secret?!
— Isn’t it obvious? – he came back to the driver's seat. – You're above all others – and, with a rapid movement of reins, caused the mombelula to descend quickly to the ground.
***
As soon as Garo-lin came down from the mombelula, she was surrounded by people who told her things one above the other, all wanting to tell how much they liked what she had done. Smiling and trying to hear everyone at the same time, she saw Garo-nan asking for passage and squeezing himself, with much effort managing to get in front of her, to ask:
— Is everything okay, Garo-lin?
But before she could respond, arms grabbed her neck and pulled her back, squeezing her against someone and partially hiding her face in a strange embrace. Then the Fire Dragon's voice sounded very close to her ear, hissing in a threatening tone:
— Garo-lin is mine, vilashi. Let me be clear!
Chapter 15 – The extra sphere
— I didn’t say?
— Yes, it was to be expected.
— But who would have thought it would be so soon?
— She is already of age.
— If she was here, maybe. But we don't know what the customs of the almakins are like.
— She chose well, didn't she? He's a little scary, but he seems to be a good boy.
— Who would have thought our Garo-lin would bring to Godan a fire almakin!
— And na importante one!
The conversation, filled with laughter, was interrupted by a violent run of the door, when the protagonist, with huge dark circles and shaggy hair, left the room of the sisters screaming:
— IT'S NOT THAT!
The women were gathered on the patio of their ho
use, taking advantage of the excuse of the morning task of separating herbs to create their own assignments about last night's events. Among them was Juri-lin, concentrating on what she did and not showing interest in what happened around her.
Unable to sleep after all, Garo-lin could not remember when she lost to exhaustion and fell asleep. But it seemed to be only a short time ago, since she'd woken up with the chatter and had spent a good deal of time persuading her body to stand up to put an end to that.
Seeing that her burst of reaction had left the group haunted, she tried to remedy the situation by saying:
— Don't misunderstand – she tried to knead her hair. – You saw what happened.
— And what happened, Garo-lin? – Mother Godan asked, being very interested in knowing her version, promptly putting her herb basket aside and fixing all her attention on her.
— Happened... that... – she could not answer.
After all, what had happened? She had been so shocked by the dragon's reaction that all her thoughts fell to the ground in the least attempt to reassemble them.
It was not new that the Fire Dragon was impulsive and did not think straight about what he did before doing. He much less cared about how his actions would be interpreted by others. But grabbing her like that and saying that to Garo-nan, as if she was his property, was too much. Above being a vilashi or an almaki, she was herself and did not belong to anyone.
— No need to hide or be ashamed, daughter – said her mother, casting significant glances at the others. – We knew from the beginning.
— Did you know what? – she asked with a grimace of disbelief.
— That in that institute where there are only almakins you would be expected to get an almakin husband.
— MOM! – she demonstrated all her horror at such expectation, made worse by the fact that the supposed husband.
— I always knew that my Garo-nan had no chance – sniffed, resentful, Mrs. Godan, returning to her basket with a melancholy expression.
— We've been talking about this since last year, Garo-lin – said one of the women, the oldest. – Our Garo-lin is already at the age of thinking about having a family.
— What?! – she almost choked.
She had always imagined that the people in her village would talk about how she would come back to do something useful for the vilashis. That would terminate the Institute and would be an almakin with a world baggage and that would apply it in ways of making their life better. She had never thought that the main issue among them was whether or not she would conquer an almakin man. As if this were simply possible when vilashis belonged to a scale in society very close to pack animals. Even the mombelulas played a more important role than they.
However, she could not exactly blame them for thinking that way. Living isolated and only receiving some influence from the liberal Routes, they had no notion of how the almakins despised other peoples and especially the vilashis. So coming to that conclusion when she returned with the Dragons was not entirely inconceivable...
But definitely she could not leave things like that!
Taking a deep breath and gathering all her argumentative capacity, she sat on the edge of the wooden floor and began to explain as simply as possible:
— Dul'Maojin is a dragon. Someone very, very, very important. All he is doing is fulfilling his obligation to teach me, since the Institute has appointed him as my mentor. For that, he needs me to stay close by. Yesterday he was angry because I distracted myself and I spent a lot of time with Garo-nan when I should still be training – she concluded, pleased with her speech, emphasizing in her thoughts that this was exactly what had happened.
— To me, it seemed more that he was jealous – one of the women said, and the others agreed with nods.
— I'm going to sleep... – it was all that Garo-lin's patience had let her say before returning to the bedroom.
The conversation continued in the same animation as before, now fueled by the new information she had brought. Then inside the room, she just sat among the pile of covers she had shared with the sisters, careful not to step on a sleeping Nana-lin, and hugged her knees, burying her head in her arms. She wanted to stay there forever and never have to leave.
Gradually, she became convinced that she should, yes, think about what had happened last night, because one hour or another she would have to go and face it, and it would be better to do so, having certainties.
Then she began to rebuild ever since the dragon released her.
He had given her something, saying something about a Russian woman, and that if she lost, she would be dead. She held the object unconsciously in her hand and could not remember what she had done with it. Then she remembered that he had talked to her mother, who looked at her worriedly and told Mira-lin and Juri-lin to take her to the stage and bring her things to eat. Really needing to replenish her energy, she devoured everything without even stopping to think how much she had been waiting to feel those flavors again. Then the sisters brought her home and rolled over there in the same place, and finally she got to where she was now.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a noise from the door running and she heard Juri-lin ask for:
— May I come in?
Garo-lin responded with an indistinct movement of the head, which could be either affirmative or negative. Interpreting as a yes, she stepped in carefully, not to wake the baby, who still snored calmly despite the older sister's explosion just a short while ago.
Without much will, Garo-lin looked at her and saw her carrying a glass as she stared at her.
— It's all right? – the girl asked, worried.
The questioner just dug her head out of her arms with a sigh, displaying her dark circles in response.
— Here, it will help. – the sister sat down next to her and handed her the glass.
Thanking her, Garo-lin accepted the offer willingly. And while she drank the mixture of tea and hot milk, Juri-lin began to say, with care of who chose well the words she was using:
— Are you in a difficult situation among the almakins?
Garo-lin stared at her, completely denouncing the answer.
She knew that her sister, when she was a little girl, did not like to talk, but she was always attentive to everything. Even if she did not share her opinion, she always seemed to formulate her own thoughts and conclusions. In a way, she reminded her of the Royal Dragon in his seemingly distracted manner. If there was anyone in Godan who could see what was happening, however much the truth was hidden, it was Juri-lin, even though she was so young.
Then, not having even the courage to pretend she was all right, Garo-lin thought it would be good to ease her thoughts by sharing them:
— Almakins are not like us. They are even above the Royal State and think that they have the right to rule on all. They control everything! Those two are in the worst group. When I entered the Institute, they already dominated there. There, no one can do anything that is contrary to their will. All those years, I... just... I stayed there, trying to enjoy it a bit, but never being welcome, you know?
The girl just stared at her, not revealing what she thought about that outburst.
— Then there was a problem with Kidari and I helped her, since no one else would help her. She is a good person and was lost among those arrogant almakins. What could I do? I couldn't keep quiet! After that, the Dragons decided that I would be a permanent victim and I ended up falling into their trap.
— Coming here is part of the trap? – she asked, finding a point she could not understand by herself.
Garo-lin had to think about the question. She would not have been able to answer it without telling her exactly what had happened. Then she began to unfold her story, explaining to her sister what assignment was, the sneezing, her training, and how she had succeeded in getting the Fire Dragon to fulfill his promise to bring her there. In the end, the girl thought for a while and then asked:
— Do you know the plate of potato dumpli
ngs and beanies I brought you last night?
— Hum?
— Your mentor asked to bring the best you had. So I could fill a jar of juice and take care that you ate everything, not everything at once.
Garo-lin blinked a few times at that, making the information somehow fit into her head.
— If he is so terrible and despises vilashis like us, why did he come here and why does he care so much about you?
The question she said so right left her with nothing to answer. How did he care about her? It was impossible!
The terrible Fire Dragon would only do something like that with an intention behind it, whatever it was.
— It's best to take good care of it, Garo-lin – she took a chain from her neck, which had as a pendant a glass sphere, and handed it to her sister.
Immediately Garo-lin recognized it as the object which Dul'Maojin had given her with an express order not to lose it.
— She can help you – the girl added, seeing that she was facing the sphere with some resistance.
Nana-lin began to grumble beside them, showing that she had woken up, and already demanded that someone pay attention to her. Acting quickly before the baby realized that the strange visitor was there with her and began to cry, Juri-lin took her in her lap and carried her to her mother, leaving a pensive Garo-Lin behind.
***
Since Garo-lin had no peace of mind while at home, she waited for the best opportunity to leave unnoticed. She wore a vilashi outfit from Mira-lin – for the first time in a long time feeling comfortable – and she crept in the back, intending to flee to wherever she could hear her own thoughts.
She passed Godan's boundaries and headed for a grove opposite the entrance to the village. There, she followed a path that had long been known to her and soon arrived where she wanted: a small waterfall where children would gather to play on very hot days.
It was one of the most beautiful places she knew that the beauty was precisely in the fact that all this was not done by vilashi or almakin, but by nature itself. It was not a waterfall, but the array of stones created a dam and maintained a small lake, from where the water ran away by a little more and flowed down the stone steps.
Almakia_The vilashi and the Dragons Page 19