— Oh, It is? And who is this wise dragon? The Nu'lian?
— An arrogant and mischievous beast named Krission Dul'Maojin, do you know him?
— Oh, this dragon.
— I may not have understood that, but now I see. If the Dragons are the ones who will dictate the direction of Almakia, we will be much better off following the direction of Dragons who think we are all the same... now, if Almakia loses her Fire Dragon, which direction will we go?
— And a dragon must think of Almakia, and not only of itself – he recited – Kandara told me this... but, at least once, I wanted to think more about myself than on Almakia.
Garo-lin listened to that outburst as an echo of something within itself. Have you ever thought of her without some kind of connection with your village?
The rain stopped, as fast as it had begun. With this, it also came to the memory of Garo-lin that, no matter how much he wanted to stop time, he could not be restrained.
— What are you going to do now? – She asked, not quite sure what she should do herself.
He shrugged in a negative reply:
— Staying here without having to go back would be good.
— But we need to get back – she was rational – We'd better deal with problems than let them pile up. I do not want to do this anymore.
— Then I think we need to talk to Kandara.
— It would be a start.
— Where we turn?
— Do not know. I do not live here.
The dragon looked from one side of the street to the other, as if now he noticed that he did not know where he was, and asked:
— How did you come to a place you did not know, idiot?
— How come someone who was born here does not know where is?
— I do not need to know every worthless corner of this city!
— I've never been to this city before, and I've gotten very well downtown and alone!
— Anyone can get downtown alone! Do not boast about anything, vilashi!
Garo-lin narrowed his eyes, adjusted his pack on his shoulder, and stepped out from under the cover, facing the few drips of rain that still kept falling.
— Hey, where are you going?! – Dul'Maojin ran after her.
— If I could get here alone, I might as well go out alone, without depending on any dragon!
— Let's go that way! – He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the opposite direction.
— Let me go! – She demanded, but let herself go.
Even knowing that he would never admit it to the dragon, arguing with him like that was the best thing that had happened to him ever since was expelled from the Institute.
***
After walking for some time without knowing where they were going and they could not hide from another rainfall, Garo-lin finally decided that they should ask for information. For that, put on your cap and tried to look at the floor while talking to people. Describing what the warehouse was like, asking in one trade or another, she soon could see the great walls and the sliding iron gate through which she had gone that morning. So she and the dragon made it safely to the hiding place of Kandara and So-ren, but they were not greeted with a warm and tight salute as might be expected from the heiress Dul'Maojin.
As soon as he had opened the gate, Kandara pulled them in, checking around if anyone had seen them coming in. Then he locked the door and made them run into the warehouse without saying anything. Only inside, leading them into the back, in what appeared to be a processing room and adapted to an impromptu kitchen, did she breathe in relief and hugged them tightly, murmuring,
— Glad you came back!
— What happened? – Garo-lin asked worriedly, but she did not receive an answer.
Kandara stepped away, like someone who had stopped for a moment what he was doing and needed to return urgently to him, and at once the Dragons appeared. Suddenly, a compact mass of green hair covered the whole sight of Garo-lin.
— GAAAAAARO! Kidari almost cried, hugging her tightly. – DO NOT DIE!
— Do not squeeze it like that, kodorin! – So-ren appeared in the kitchen scolding and headed straight for the wood stove in the background, making the fire that was almost extinguished suddenly rise.
— So-ren?! Asked the dragon in surprise – You were not in the Royal Capital?
— I'm where Kandara is – she said simply, making it clear that she did not want to talk about it and that she had a lot to do.
— Release her, Princess – said the Lightning Dragon, who had come in shortly after her, patiently pulling her away from her friend.
Even reluctantly, Kidari released her, but stood beside her, discreetly holding a piece of her clothes to make sure her friend did not disappear again.
— Sumerin and Benar told us what happened – Zawhart told the Leader Dragon – We arrived from the Royal Capital early in the morning after Nu'lian warned us what was happening. He also said that the vilashi would bring him back, but I did not think it was really possible – he then asked the woman directly, in a tone of utter disbelief – How did you manage to meet the Lady of the Fire Capital?
— Let her at least get her clothes wet, damn it! – So-ren scolded, pushing Garo-lin and the Fire Dragon to a stool near the wood stove, where something was already bubbling inside an iron pot, and covering their heads with towels they had picked up from a cupboard.
— Did you use your Secret? – Dul'Maojin asked, worried, to Nu'lian.
Garo-lin looked from one to the other and saw the same Fire Dragon look on the other Dragons. What little she knew about the Secret of the Royal Dragon – which was already too much for someone like her to know-was that he had this ability to be certain of things. How exactly, Nu'lian Gillion knew this, could not even imagine. But their way of acting showed that what their friend had done was not simply to say what was going to happen for sure, but something much larger.
And, in spite of her great desire to find out more about it, she kept quiet, keeping all the questions to herself, to do them at an opportune moment. One day, she...
— Atchiiiin!
They all cast frightened glances at Garo-lin.
— Sorry – she sniffled, rubbing her nose and trying to pick up the thread of her thoughts. Then he looked around, realizing something strange. – Did not I destroy anything?
— She did not destroy anything! – The Fire Dragon repeated in surprise, indicating it to his friends as if it were some rare creature.
— I... I was thinking and... – she could not finish, uncertain about what to say.
— You've already done a lot of damage for today, Vilashi. – Dul'Maojin rubbed the towel on her head. – If you want to destroy things with sneezing, you must eat.
— I do not want to destroy anything else! – She tried to stop him.
— It is. It seems that she not only brought Kris back, but finally decided to accept it – the Metal Dragon commented smilingly to the others, in front of the scene of the two.
— No it's nothing
— As if I needed be accepted being the absolute – he replied wrapping an arm around her neck and jerking her close to him.
Even though she was not exactly pleased with the way the dragon showed off to his friends using it that way, this time Garo-lin left him. Being there, with Kidari and the assembled Dragons, laughing at something small like that, seemed like something everyone was needing and they not do for some time.
But seeing the veiled smile of the Royal Dragon and realizing that his blue eyes did not reflect the same as his face, it had a bad feeling, as if something heavy had stuck in her chest.
***
— I told you, Shion? – Kidari exclaimed to her cat, as if she had finally gotten enough evidence to show him something she'd been trying to prove for a long time. – Garo is fine! All the time I know that!
But the cat just turned its back and flew to the highest possible place there and then curled up in its wings, definitely hiding.
&nbs
p; — What does he has? – Garo-lin asked quietly to the princess, seeing that the way he acted was beyond his usual disinterest, since he seemed to extend this even to Kidari.
— With jealousy – She heaved a sigh and sat down on So-ren's bed.
Garo-lin was just finishing his steaming soup when Kandara returned to where they were and summoned the Dragons to a meeting. Not knowing what to do she lay quietly on the bench, watching, but the Fire Dragon took her hand and was about to take it with her when she was stopped by So-ren:
— Vilashi and the princess stay – she said imperiously, forcing him to let go of her.
Then, shortly afterwards, the lady had the two women go upstairs and wait in the small room until they were called.
Again, Garo-lin had a bad feeling, which added to all the other previous impressions that something was wrong, and was silent. He knew he would not have an answer now, but he would surely make the Fire Dragon tell her as soon as she could.
— What do you mean with jealousy? – She asked her friend, since she thought the only thing the cat could do besides breathing and being a snob, was protecting the Kodo Princess.
— I told you I like, but he does not like that I like.
— As well?
— Shion said I can not do that. That no one will like to know and that is not right.
— It is not right? Hang on. What exactly do you like?
— Remember, Garo said that when we like someone, we have to talk?
Garo-lin vaguely remembered a conversation he had had with the princess in his village that seemed to have happened years ago:
— I think so.
— Kidari said he likes it.
— He likes what?
— Vinshu.
— Like of... what?! – Garo-lin could not understand and tried to find out if she was using the words wrongly. – How do you like it? Like of... like?
Kodorin looked at her with a confused expression and could not answer.
— What exactly did you say to the Lightning Dragon, Kidari?
— Kidari likes it when Vinshu reads. Vinshu is very intelligent. You know what to do and say the right things – she told him happily, her tone proud and eyes sparkling.
Garo-lin simply stared at her, seeing the enchanted form as she spoke about the dragon, not being able to make that novelty fit into her reality.
— Were not you afraid of him? – She asked at last, after reviewing the whole mentored and protected situation of the two and failing to find logic in the fact.
— Still being afraid of him... but... fear is also liking.
Garo-lin looked at the cat, who had covertly covered his ears, as if he wanted to avoid hearing the conversation.
— Kidari likes Vinshu, like Garo-lin likes Krission.
— I do not like him! – She denied quickly, responding like an accused.
Kidari laughed and said:
— Vinshu made a face like that, Garo, when I told him I liked him.
— And what did he say? She tugged on the subject to disguise her embarrassment at her friend's earlier statement.
— He did get scared and then said I did not know what he was I talking about.
Then he ignored it, Garo-lin concluded, knowing that this was exactly how the Lightning Dragon would act on it.
Kidari looked hurt, spoken so directly and rightly. However, he also demonstrated that it was something he had already thought of and reached a conclusion:
— But Kidari said he likes and he already know... and he does not say no.
There was an unmistakable tone of hope in her voice that Garo-lin did not dare to extinguish. Perhaps what Shion was feeling was not exactly jealousy, but the same as she was: the complete inability to make the princess see that it was impossible.
Even knowing Kodorin not long ago, Garo-lin knew that she was truthful in speaking what she felt and did not keep only to herself what she was thinking. She had the smiling as we ourselves of the Vilashi, in the most natural way she had ever seen. Now, that was not exactly the problem. If Kidari liked someone so much, who was she to go against it?
However, in the other part of this liking, was the cold Lighting Dragon, the total opposite of her. Although he acted patiently with the Kodo Princess, Garo-lin knew this was only due to the fact that her was important. If it was not, he would continue to act as if the kodorin only took up space in the world, just as he did when he was appointed mentor. If Kidari made him get to the maximum of his irritation – which was not difficult, according to her personality – Garo-lin was afraid of how cruel he might be and the size of the wound he would cause.
— Kidari...
— Hum?
— Nothing. – She gave up, continuing with a sigh.
— Is it true that Garo went to the director of the Institute?
— Went.
— What happened?
Garo-lin told her exactly what happened. Kidari was not a Dragon and had nothing to do with the Lady of the Fire Capital. So instead of being horrified by the things she had the audacity to tell the headmistress, Kodorin laughed heartily. And watching her laugh, she let herself be fooled a bit, thinking it was really a funny scene, and it would not have much effect on her life... but it was not so easy and then her laughter disappeared.
— She's going to really kill me now, Kidari – she told – Before she had nothing directly against me, and if she did something, she would have to give acceptable explanations later. But now I not only insult her, but challenge her. You do not need more reasons than that to end me.
— Garo has no peace – said the princess.
— I guess I've never had it since my first sneeze.
— But Krission will protect! – She tried to show him that there was something to hold on to.
That statement shocked her. There was no denying that was exactly what the Dragon would try to do but... someone protecting her? She had always been alone, and she did not know if she would bear anybody to protect her. When he defended her from the students at the Institute, the situation was different, since the Dragons came back suddenly.
Along with this thought, came the mind of that old promise he had made to Kandara, where she asked him to take care of his brother and not let him get lost... was that what the heiress had thought of? Does she become the person he should protect?
— What's this? – Kidari asked.
A movement and muted voices began downstairs and Shion rose at once and flew to the mistress, staring at the door. Then hurried steps were heard, coming in that direction, and Garo-lin stood, not knowing what to expect.
— We have to get out of here! – Kandara opened the door violently – NOW!
***
The plan of the heiress Dul'Maojin was simple. There would be a mombelula where Garo-lin, Kidari, Kinaito, So-ren and the Lightning, Metal and Water Dragons would be. The others would set off on mebels, taking several directions. Sumerin Gran'Otto, the best conductor of the group, was to guide her mombelula as if they were returning to Routes and in the middle of the way to change course to the region before the High Rocky Valleys in the ruins near the canyons. It would be a longer route, but it would serve to mislead persecutors.
According to what was explained quickly before they left, the fury of knowing that his heir had fled to go after the vilashi who insulted her was so much that Kronar Dul'Maojin moved the whole Capital to locate them. It was not difficult since, as Garo-lin asked for information to try to return to the hiding place, it had not been taken into account that, even in disguise, the Fire Dragon was not exactly an expert in this area. Although he did not open his mouth at any time or even approached, people knew how to recognize a Dul'Maojin. And as there was only one Dul'Maojin of his age at the moment, it was not hard to realize that they could only stand before the Fire Dragon.
Kinaito later told that they had no intention of staying another day and that the great luck was that Kandara also had informants scattered around the city who warned him of wh
at was happening immediately. Even so, Garo-lin felt guilty for her carelessness. After all, they were all trying to help her and all she did was denounce where the group was in the Fire Capital. And although Kandara, the Dragons or So-ren and the Kodorin did not blame her, she could not say the same of the other Almakins who were with them. She could see it when the Fire Dragon came to her before she could climb into the mammoth and decreed in her delicate form:
— If you try to blame yourself for it, I'll kill you, vilashi! – And then asked the Royal Dragon, even if unwillingly. – Take care of her while I'm not around.
Nu'lian just nodded and helped her up on the mombelula. And then, before the sun went down, they all left.
Although irritated by receiving such an order from the Fire Dragon, Garo-lin was also concerned that they had to separate. That sense of relief from when she'd met him in the morning had vanished and made way for only that bad feeling. And it was when she realized that this could not be a simple escape because they had been discovered.
When they were far from the brightness of the Fire Capital, finding an opportunity, she decided to ask to the only one that she knew would not hide reality:
— What happened, Nu'lian?
Shion turned his ears to them, even keeping his eyes fixed on the dark front, sniffing the air.
The dragon looked around for a moment, as if evaluating how various situations happen to happen if he said so and then told in a simple way:
— We're having a course.
Chapter 27 – The price to be paid
Even as she rediscovered all the aversion he had to flying in a mombelula, intensified by not being able to see the way that followed, Garo-lin made every effort not to be carried away by the protests of her body and to be attentive. Sitting at the back of the cabin, farther away from the others, she paid the utmost attention to what the Royal Dragon told her.
Almakia_The vilashi and the Dragons Page 36