Draikan: The World of Dragons

~ 38 ~

~ Chapter Thirty Eight ~

The reason why I loved hiking so much, was because being on higher altitudes gave me a strong sense of confidence. Unlike water. I was deathly afraid of the deeper parts of the pool since I never properly learned how to swim.

Feeling myself sinking was terrifying. Even though the water was a clear blue, the deeper I floated away, the darker it became. The female dragon said this was my way out. Now I'm second guessing myself. What if everything got messed up because the Kelpie followed me through.

The last thing I had seen as I fell into the water, was the world breaking away. The dragon had tried in ceasing the Kelpie. Yet he slipped through her grasp and dived inside the pond with me. The world he had lived in for generations was crumbling away. The cell was created to trap this monster and now that he had broken free, the enclosure had no purpose. It's as if he was holding it up all along.

A cold chill ran through my body. It began from my ankle and shot up through my left leg, up my left arm. I looked down, wondering what this freezing sensation was. And to my horror, it was the very monster I was thinking about.

The Kelpie had taken a hold of me. That's how he must've been able to go through the water barrier. I brought him through.

"Get your creepy hands off me!" I yelled as I tried kicking him off with my right foot.

He let go as soon as the last light from his world disappeared. The hole in which we came through shriveled and the darkness I was so afraid of, completely covered us.

The Kelpie chuckled maniacally as he drifted away. "See you soon, human."

~***~

I gasped for air as soon as the warm feeling of light hit my eyes. My entire body felt heavy. I barely managed to sit up. I blinked a few times, trying to process the view before me. However, white floating dots kept flickering in my vision.

It's as if I'm readjusting to my body. The feeling of my limbs felt foreign to me. Yet, however heavy my hand appeared to be, I still managed to lift it towards my face. I rubbed my eyes, hoping to disperse the white dots.

In the distance, I heard muffled sounds. It kept coming closer and closer until I could distinctly hear the words of someone.

"Kaida! Kaida are you okay?"

My senses were now clearing up as I tried calming myself down. The words from the person to my left was clear. The words didn't come out muffled. In fact, even my sense of smell must have gone back to normal. A very nasty smell hit my nose all of a sudden. It was a strong sweaty smell mixed with a rotten stench of fish or something.

I opened my mouth to breath through it. If I didn't, I felt like I was going to gag nonstop until my empty stomach can come up with something to throw up.

A hand carefully stroked my back. "Kaida, are you alright?"

I looked towards my left and stared into dark blue eyes. The brightness that were there, has washed away. I guess it's true when people say that emotions reflect through the eyes.

Kaene looked like he went through hell. His eyes seem tired, his facial hair has grown wildly, and his posture seemed stiff. He looked on edge and worried at the same time. His golden hair is now covered in dirt and oiled with his sweat.

I caused him to look like this. I'm so ashamed.

I tried to say some words, but only a raspy sound came out. Followed by a few coughs.

Kaene patted my back and said, "Don't push yourself. You've been out for a few days."

I nodded. Then I finally noticed myself. The horrible appearance I was in caused me to jump up in fright. However, since my legs weren't strong enough, I collapsed back down on my rear.

The strong body odor was coming from me. I was covered in sweat, dirt, and dried blood on my injuries. But the worse part of everything wasn't my crusted, oily hair. It was the wet, bloody patches on my pants. Around my crotch area!

All that stress that was preventing my period cycle, decided to appear on a body that was unconscious. How ridiculous is that? Especially because someone must have had to change my bottoms. The word embarrassing couldn't express my feelings right now.

"She's awake!" Came another voice.

I looked up with tearful eyes and saw a disheveled Zander. He too was covered in sweat and battle wounds. His tiredness couldn't be hidden. He crouched down and lowered a leaf in front of me.

"This was for Kaene but I think you need this more."

I looked down and noticed the leaf cupped in his hand holding water. I looked up and saw him smiling carefully at me. I desperately wanted to reach up and push his messy brown hair away from his eyes. But I refrained. Instead, I slowly drank the water from his hands.

The cold trickled down my throat, hydrating every part of my insides. I didn't know how badly I was thirsty.

Once I finished, I looked up and smiled thankfully at him.

"Kaida," I turned to Kaene. "Are you alright to speak?"

The water helped my dried mouth. I can definitely try to talk now. But I honestly didn't want to. From the serious look on both the men's faces, I can tell hard questions are soon going to come out of their mouths.

That or a good yelling from my recent betrayal.

I inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Y-yes. B-but before you say anything. I just want to say; I'm sorry."

My voice trembled in fear and from not being used in a while. It felt weird. But I hope I was still able to convey my sincerity.

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A/N

Posted: 8/22/21

Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!