Dragons Fear

Flames and food

Xue

Xue woke up In a stranger's bed to the smell of cooked meat. She got up quickly, bumping into her brother, who was sprawled over the bed, taking up all the space. She let a small smile slip out. Younger her would've punched and kicked him when they used to share a bed as kids. You'd think that a 6-year-old wouldn't be able to take up the twin bed of a prince and princess, but he had made it work. She looked down and her smile instantly vanished as she stared at the dragon tattoo on her arm. Quickly concealing her rings and putting back on her glamor, she hoped that whoever brought them in hadn't seen anything. She tapped the tome still strapped to her waist, waving her fingers over her brother's head as an orb of water formed a few inches away from her palm. Releasing her magic, the water dropped, splashing over her brother's face. "WHAT THE HELL". Jianyu screamed. Getting up quickly, he looked around the room. "Where are we?" he asked, confused.

"I don't know, But we should be careful. Whoever put us here most likely saw us without our glamors". Xue said, putting back on the same glamor as Jianyu followed her example. Her brother got up, and crouched on the floor, trying to sneak around the house, quietly opening the door that led outside the bedroom. They both promptly discovered that this was a hut. Maybe three rooms, with only 2 bedrooms and one living room. They should've figured out by the straw ceiling, but whoever owned this house was not.... Financially gifted, as they would say in the palace. Shelves decorated the walls, filled with tons of spices, most of which Xue didn't know the names of. A small ruby-red bracelet sat on the top shelf. It seemed to be a prized possession. Silver lined the edges of the bracelet, twisting silver feathers, and birds flew across it. A fire was set up in the middle of the living room, but as Xue tried to see more, she tripped over Andres, falling out from the doorway and onto the ground. Needless to say, she never had to sneak around in her life. As she looked up, a stranger extended his hand to her to lift her. The man's almond-shaped eyes were a startling orange, and his locs were such a deep brown she almost thought it was black. His outstretched hand was a smooth, radiant caramel skin tone, and his open smile was white and perfect. Jianyu quickly got in the way of him.

"Who the hell are you and why are we in your house? Jianyu blurted as Xue stood up, dusting off her jeans.

"I'm Riku, and I found you in the forest passed out," The man replied flatly. Xue pushed Jianyu out of her way.

"I'm sorry for my brother's rudeness, we are very grateful for you rescuing us, Riku," she said, shooting her brother a glance as she bowed slightly. Jianyu slightly blushed and bowed as well. "First time bowing to a commoner". Xue's treacherous thoughts whispered. She shoved them down. This stranger had shown her nothing but kindness so far, and she had no reason to disrespect him, commoner or not.

"Do you need anything to eat?" Riku said, gesturing towards the fire in the middle of the room. Venison roasted over a spit, and rice was boiling over a small fire positioned to the corner of the hut, which Xue hadn't seen before. At first, she was put off by the way the food was prepared. It wasn't exactly palace food, But the fumes coming off the rice and meat were just as good, and Xue was hungry. Riku smiled at her and her brother, which was when she realized that she was staring at the food. He walked to one of the many shelves that decorated his hut, taking plates and utensils and passing them to Xue. Grabbing the Beautiful bracelet Xue had seen off of the top shelf, he extended his palm and balled his fingers into a fist, instantly killing the fires in the pits. Grabbing a knife, Riku pulled out the stick from the meat and placed it on a table, raising his newfound weapon. Right before he cut into the tender flesh of his masterpiece, an explosion rocked the ground, making all of them fall over. "Riku got up, running outside his hut with a worried look plastered on his face. Xue followed, (although extremely reluctantly), and Jianyu followed after her, ready for anything. Everything except for what they saw outside.