The Dragon's Kiss

The Dragon's Kiss - Chapter 88 - EIGHTY EIGHT: I Don't

“I’ll sleep now, and when she comes back, I’ll ask about the emperor.”

That was Kel’s original plan, but when the librarian returned with a cheery ‘good afternoon,’ her eyebags had only grown darker. 

After the librarian had left the first time and almost as soon as she’d pressed her face into the soft pillow on her bead, Kel’s mind and body had been carried away with sleep. Unlike the peaceful, deep sleep she’d been hoping for, however, she ended up becoming caught in a restless dream.

It started with a younger version of herself, standing in a golden field. The grasses had all dried up and turned hard, prickling at her legs with each step she took.

“Dash! Dash!” the dream version of herself called, running toward a teenage Dash.

The boy, his sandy brown hair worn much shorter than the way it swung freely around his neck these days, was leaning back against a large stone, a crumpled piece of parchment crackling in his trembling fists.

Kel was wearing her armor, her helmet wedged in her elbow as she sprinted across the field. She’d just returned from a mission and had been summoned to take the princess’s place in an upcoming delegation meeting. 

All she wanted was to see Dash, even for a moment, before she was separated from him again performing her duty.

Before her fast strides had covered half the ground between them, however, she knew something was wrong. Dash’s face didn’t rise to greet her with his usual smile. Instead of lounging happily with his hands behind his head, he was hunched over, bracing himself against rock that dug into his spine as if it was his only support.

As she came closer, she noticed more oddities.

His shaking hands.

The torn and crushed paper trapped within his fingers.

The way the corners of his mouth and eyes drooped lifelessly.

Something was wrong.

If she’d known what would happen when she finally reached her friend, the news she’d never be able to unhear, she would have walked as slowly as possible across that field.

No, she would have gone somewhere else entirely. She would have spent one last day in blissful ignorance.

Stop! Kel begged to her dream self. Don’t go there! Turn back! You’ll regret this moment more than you can even imagine.

Like all dreams, however, the storyline continued on, unconcerned with Kel’s inner longing. 

The fourteen-year-old Kel in her dream kept running. She ran and ran until she was out of breath, and still, she ran.

Why wasn’t Dash getting any closer? Had her wish been answered after all?

This is better, Kel consoled herself, her lungs on the verge of collapse. It’s much better for my lungs to break than my heart. 

It’s less painful that way.

When she was certain she could run no more, especially in such an immature body, she finally reached Dash.

He hadn’t budged during all that time. If he’d seen her struggling, gasping for air, he pretended he hadn’t.

“D-Dash…” her voice came out in a squeak. “What happened, Dash?”

The boy blinked slowly before turning his darkened eyes toward her.

Don’t say it! Kel screeched internally.