“I’m okay, Daddy, just leave me alone!” she cried out desperately.
“No, the fairies found us, right in the middle of one of your sister’s most important auditions yet – letting us know you had ventured out here again, and this time, had been KIDNAPPED BY DRAGONS!”
Again, Arielle felt like such a fool for trusting the vicious little fairies, who only tattled to stir trouble and be compensated for their message. Aadall and Zefelli could hear the interaction taking place, and then Zefelli stood, ready to take action.
Arielle ran back into the cave, ignoring her father and dropping to her knees to hug the dragons, crying again.
“So this is the plan, Arielle,” said Aadall. “We are taking you back to Ansuul with us. Let the humans think we kidnapped you. We will present you to the king, Zefelli’s father, tomorrow in the palace theatre. He will say he was lured to your voice from a walk in the woods during Twilight, and decided to bring you back on his own. He is the King’s son after all; so I think he can bypass a few rules. Everyone else will hear how powerful your voice is at provoking more emotion than any other human thus far has been able to bring us. Your gift is so strong, you will change hearts. We can then work on a harmonious relationship with humans, once and for all!”
Arielle felt empowered. Zefelli did too, though he still felt a bit woozy from all the alcohol he had ingested earlier. He felt he needed to offer reassurance to Arielle about the seemingly haphazard plan.
“Arielle, I know you are brave,” said Zefelli. “And you have to be your bravest right now, and you have to trust us.”
“I do, with my whole heart,” she responded, fighting back tears. The three hugged before they blindfolded her and strapped her onto Zefelli’s transformed dragon back, preparing for flight from the cave. Aadall soon followed, and they roared their warning in vicious tandem, knocking the hapless humans backwards with the sheer force of their roars. In just the knick of time, the two dragons swooped sideways through a narrow crevice as arrows sailed passed them and shots rang out.
Soon, all was quiet as they entered the bi-atmosphere between Denbyshire and Ansuul. It was silent and peaceful there, and calmed Arielle’s fears temporarily. She thought about how she was finally entering the city of Ansuul, and expected to give a performance of her lifetime.
Once safely back in to Zefelli’s castle, which they had to sneak into, Zefelli arranged for Arielle to stay in his guesthouse, letting her know that he and Aadall would take turns watching her sleep.
She woke up early the next morning, greeted by Zefelli. He climbed into the bed next to her, kissing her forehead sweetly.
“I’m scared to sing, Zefelli. I’m scared that the humans will become hostile due to my absence. And, I’m scared that I won’t ever really be with you and Aadall.”
Zefelli set her down gently in his lap and kissed her reassuringly. “Everything will work out fine in the end. It always does,” he said with a wink.
Aadall brought them breakfast. After that, they showed Arielle a closet full of one of Zefelli’s sister’s designer gowns that she stored in the guesthouse. Arielle put on one of her very own designs from her seamstress job. She’d never imagined that one day she would wearing one of the beautiful dresses she’d made. She herself looked in the mirror at herself. Do I really have the power to change the world? She took a deep breath, as she glanced one last time into the mirror, awaiting her escort to the theatre. Zefelli had gone to his father earlier this morning, feeding him their white lie, but the skeptical king did agree for the human to present herself at a special palace performance later in the day.
*****
Arielle had never felt so nervous in her life. Inside the palace was a grand theatre, with marble tiers of lofty seating meant to hold and entertain large audiences. Word had filtered through royal courts, and hundreds of the elite Dragonruu were coming to watch the surprise performance. Once she was introduced to the intimidating mix of beautiful female and male Dragonruu, her nerves somehow disappeared. The lights had dimmed, and everything fell silent.
Unaccompanied by instruments, she sang a lovely song about freedom. Aadall and Zefelli sat in the front row to root for her, and with a mix of supportive love for her, neither could also get images of last night’s passion-filled encounters out of his head.
Instead of the crowd’s attention being captivated by the young beauty’s gift, the whole crowd began to shift around uncomfortably, and a hushed murmur circulated the room. Arielle continued to sing, totally unaware; so determined in her bursting heart to elicit a positive response from them all. The King, as well as the entire crowd, began to feel hypnotized. They began to feel weak in their physicality and special powers, as they began to absorb and empathize with the pure human emotion of romantic love. Some of the Dragonruu suddenly fled the theatre in terror, covering their ears. As the crowd became more and more restless, finally, the King spoke, halting Arielle.
“STOP! Stop at ONCE!” demanded the King. He got off his golden throne, walked down the main aisle of the theatre, and hopped right onto the stage. “You wicked, wretched little siren! How dare you terrorize my people in this way!” He unsheathed a long, glinting blade from beneath his silken robes, ready to slay her, without any further questions. Arielle stood frozen in tremendous fear; her life was flashing right before her eyes as her dreams, too, were about to be sliced in half. More of the others screamed and ran out, not wanting to witness the gory horror.
Zefelli leapt in front of Arielle to protect her from his own father. “Stay away from her, Father,” he sneered, baring his dragon fangs in both fear and anger.
“No! This human is a witch! She is cursed, and must be banished from Ansuul – at once!” his father bellowed, with his sword still held in swinging position.
Aadall now fell to Zefelli and Arielle’s aid. “Your majesty, if only you could understand that Arielle has a special gift, meant to bring harmony to us – not harm. She means to bring us all LOVE!” Aadall pleaded.
The king gasped in utter shock, with his heavy sword still ready to strike, wondering if Arielle had poisoned the minds of the two, and that they too, needed to be exterminated as well. But, the King hesitated, feeling unnerved and haunted as the three looked up at him, pleadingly. Perhaps Arielle had managed to tap into the King’s inner empathy, at least enough to keep him from murdering the three.
He quickly threw the sword to the side, where it hit a marble column; and shattered into shards of broken metal. He said, “Then you, my boys, are TRAITORS. Go and frolic with this nasty seductress, and you, too, will be banished from Ansuul. FOREVER.”
Zefelli actually felt relieved. He said, “Maybe I don’t want to be here anymore, anyway!”
His father’s face reddened with fury and secret hurt, stopping to stare his son in the eyes. “Then, LEAVE!”
Zefelli looked back at his father one last time, realizing this was the last time he would ever see his family, and all that he had ever known. But, Zefelli wanted a change. He was not happy. In fact, had he ever been happy in this kingdom of cruelty? Aadall and Zefelli guarded Arielle until the King turned away with no more words to say, but had shaped into his own majestic dragon form in his sheer fit of anger, blasting away bits of the sturdy columns in his path of fury.
As stone and marble crumbled and began to fall from the monumental structure and fires broke out, Zefelli and Aadall quickly shifted themselves, guarding Arielle beneath their mighty spread wings, before escaping Ansuul. Behind them, the palace theater had erupted into a scene of terror, panicked screams, and fire. The blaze spread to all of Ansuul as the King raged.
Aadall quickly informed telepathically Zefelli that he had another plan and would be back. Zefelli carried Arielle back to the cave in the Outlands; the one, refuge left between the two breaking worlds. Arielle clung to Zefelli’s shiny, black mane, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself in the silent bi-atmosphere, with only the comforting sound of Zefelli’s swooping wings to be heard. She k
new they were both still in shock, and relieved to be away from the terror in Ansuul.
The woods surrounding the forbidden forest and cliffs were eerily quiet. But, nearby shouting from town echoed in the valleys, letting Zefelli and Arielle know they were still in grave danger. Zefelli assured Arielle that Aadall, always the more logical one and quick thinker, had a plan and promised to return to them as soon as he could. But nonetheless, Arielle had begun to sob, feeling defeated as she sat alone in the darkness at the back of the cave, while Zefelli had been standing near the entrance, on the lookout. Upon hearing her sudden deep and desperate sobs, he immediately went to her, hugging her and trying to calm her, but she was terribly shaken, as reality began to finally sink in.
“I am a terrorist, by Ansuul’s standards; the cause of the King’s anger. In Denbyshire, I am considered a missing victim. But, please know this, Zefelli. I could not ever deny my love for you or Aadall. Just take me down to the valley, right now, and I will just run and tell them what has really happened!”
Zefelli looked at her sadly. “Arielle, no. They won’t believe you or try to understand; they are too angry. Besides, we would never be able to see you again. And it would leave you behind to a life of enslavement from the Dragonruu. I do not even want to think about what they would do to you now for punishment. Too, you would be outcast forever from Denbyshire, and disowned by your own family...You don’t deserve that, and I am never leaving you...” He held her beautiful, pouting face in his strong hands. Her bottom lip wavered, and tear drops continue to spill down her cheeks.
“What is it, that brought us three together, Arielle? The yearning for CHANGE. The yearning for ACCEPTANCE, among ALL. The yearning to know how to LOVE. And it was your beautiful voice that brought us all together. It has proven that you are as powerful as the Dragonruu. We three may be the only ones in this messed up universe that are such radical thinkers. But, we are pioneers in this effort for a better world, and damn it – we’re going to go find a better world!”
Arielle sobbed gratefully with relief into Zefelli’s strong shoulder as he slowly rubbed her back, thinking about how wonderful Arielle truly was, and how he would never regret their dangerous adventure together. The sun was beginning to set, and the two had fallen into a weary sleep, still holding each other.
All of the sudden, a huge rumbling overhead awoke them with a start. Aadall signaled with a roar that it was him. Aadall quickly flew in, shifting and panting. “I forced the fairies currently in Ansuul to steal a ship for us from Azure Harbor. I threatened to smash and obliterate them into oozing piles of goo they could not ever resurrect from. I simply told them that I would collect them into a container, and release their slime into the pool next to us. Sinking to the bottom, they would emit healing powers from their remains, and finally be at peace. I told them they were traitors to Arielle and all humankind. The wicked and conniving fairies were not phased by my accusation, but only by my threat of putting them to final rest.”
Aadall finally took in a breath, trying to calm down. “Perhaps we, too, can be seen as traitors to our two cities, but you know what? Then, we do not belong here. So, we must hurry. Rumors and bullets are both flying: The humans are angry at the Dragonruu for allowing Arielle’s unauthorized escape to Ansuul to promote her talent. The Dragonruu are angry at the humans, suspecting them of trying to overthrow the King’s rule with some type of witchcraft from Arielle’s performance. Look, we tried to make a difference for the better, but these two ancient worlds are doomed. Let us go now, in peace.”
Zefelli felt proud of the new and heroic attitude that Arielle had brought out of Aadall. He and Arielle somberly nodded in agreement that it was indeed time to go.
The dragons quickly helped swoop her into a large spacecraft that Aadall had docked onto the massive cliff top overhead. It was as large as a cruise ship. Once aboard, Aadall and Zefelli frantically worked the control panels in preparation for final launch. A few minutes later, an explosive takeoff took the ship far out of the atmosphere. Arielle looked back one last time at the two cities, now both far below, where smoke and fires were seen rising from each.
Once they were at cruising altitude, sailing over planets with new horizons, where beautiful glowing sunsets with shooting stars blazed over peaceful clear skies, and lush, green islands with crystal pink sand shimmered at them welcomingly, Arielle felt her bravery and strength being renewed.
She began to hum a melody, and the three embraced in relief. She guided her two lovers’ faces against her ample breasts, feeling overwhelming relief and desire be exchanged between the three of them.
“We are going to be leaders of a free world, and that means we can start a family of our own, that shares traits of both of our races...” she stated calmly, and a bit seductively.
“Yes...,” Zefelli said with his warm mouth muffled against her chest. “Let’s start right now.”
Aadall moaned his agreement, as he helped delicately position Arielle over the guardrail in front of him, that gave a lovely view out their balcony of three moons suspended over a shimmering jade and purple sky. Arielle began to receive Aadall and then Zefelli, in turns of sheer, shared bliss, as they all whispered chants of their love for one another through breathy kisses and slow thrusts, as their ship sailed peacefully onwards towards a new destination to land upon, and call their very own.
THE END
Bonus Story 5 of 40
Embraced by the Dragon Prince
The wind lightly rustled the leaves in the trees above Geneva as she stalked through the woods. The hot afternoon sun left spots on the forest floor that highlighted the dead leaves of early fall that had mixed into the undergrowth. Squirrels and other small rodents scampered up and down tree trunks as they searched for nuts and seeds to store away for the impending winter.
Her soft boots muffled her steps while her eyes and ears remained alert for her prey. Ahead of her Geneva heard the low grumblings and lumbering rustles of a mountain grizzly foraging. She halted in her tracks to discern the direction of the bear. It was heading east perpendicular from her path, safely away.
She waited a moment to be sure that the bear had not caught on to her presence and then breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could handle herself if she was confronted by the grizzly, but she was glad to avoid the encounter all together. She was filled with a burning vengeance and she did not want to delay for any other creatures besides the one she hunted.
Onwards she travelled, up into the foothills of the southern mountains. This was the direction the great serpent of fire had fled when her arrows had torn its’ wing. The long wailing cries had stopped hours ago, but Geneva knew that the beast could not have gotten far on a wounded wing. Her anger boiled at the thought of the events that had set her forth on this journey. Only a day ago, things had been perfectly normal.
It had been late in the evening when Geneva finally returned from her hunt. Her friend Winda, a wild haired young girl much like herself, walked alongside her. The pair of them had been hunting together since they had come of age and were such close friends they might as well have been sisters.
The two laughed and joked as they made their way home on the familiar paths of the forest. Over their shoulders they towed the ropes of a small litter that dragged the carcasses of their respective kills. There was a fat boar that Geneva had killed, a young buck that was Winda’s, and a few small gamey squirrels and fowl all piled on the litter so they could be transported back to their small village without leaving a trail of blood for other predators to follow.
Between the spoils of the two huntresses it would be enough feed their little village for the next couple of weeks. Geneva and Winda would stay for the first few days while they rested and replenished their packs before they returned to the forests of the foothills for their next hunt. Being the only ones who actively hunted, the young women had taken it upon themselves to provide for their village, the small refuge that it was.
It w
as an unofficial community called Haven. It was full of runaways; children and adults who needed to escape their lives elsewhere. They were a community of victims banded together to build a new life away from their oppressors, abusers, and persecutors. Their unofficially elected matriarch, Brigid, united their little ragtag bunch of misfits.
There was a small congregation waiting with lit torches and lanterns at the edge of the village when the huntresses emerged from the forest. The older children that had been allowed to stay up late rushed out to meet them and relieve them of the great weight of the litter. They eagerly dragged the meat into the village, to the butcher’s house where it would be prepared.
Brigid, the matriarch, was present. The weathered old spinster, with her silver hair pulled back tightly and her wrinkled face all warm smiles, gave Geneva and Winda a strong hug with her sinewy arms. “We’re always so glad to see you return.”
“Well there’s no way we’d miss your smiling face,” Winda laughed as she pulled away from the embrace.
Geneva remembered fondly how the light of the torches and lanterns gave a halo to Winda’s wild dark hair. Her green eyes were glowing with happiness and her smile lit up the darkness of the night that was settling in.
Geneva held the image in her mind as silent tears escaped her eyes as she walked through the woods. She wanted to always remember Winda like this, not as how she found her that later that night. It was just as she found the rest of the members of her community, or rather, the few that remained. She knew a few people had escaped the horrors of the dragon’s fury by fleeing into the night, but most of her quiet community had perished in the fires.
The initial sound of the beast was a horrible shriek that had sent a cold rush of terror into her bones and woken her from the deep abyss of her sleep. Instinctively, she had reached up and grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows where they hung above her bed as she rolled off the mattress and into a low crouch. The air was silent as her eyes opened wide in the darkness, looking for what had woken her.
Two Wolves For Lizette Page 19