The Chronicles of Tenroha

Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-five

It was nearly dawn of the third day after Jonah and his party had left the mountains, when they arrived at the Dragon Door to the Sanctum. Chloé had awoken Jäkob with the charm that she was still wearing around her neck. Jäkob went to meet the weary travelers who had been flying non stop since they opened a hole in the cave ceiling and soared through the skies toward the Sanctum. He greeted his dragon, Wiɳdwyrɱ, when he entered the Hall of Dragons, and then Jäkob opened the door with magic for the others to enter. After they had safely landed, Wiɳdwyrɱ pushed the lever to close the door behind them.

Jonah, nor the others had slept well on the back of Nagendra. They had ridden the dragon with no saddle and their legs and back sides had been rubbed raw and had started to bleed. They had laid their bed rolls across Nagendra's back to try and stop the chafing, but the damage had already been done. They were weak from the lack of food for their journey and the flight to the Sanctum had taken most of their remaining strength to stay on the back of the dragon as she flew.

Nìa entered the hall and ran towards them. Jonah smiled as he saw her running towards them. He had grown up in the same village as her, and he knew everything about her. He had always secretly loved her, but his friendship with her brother had made it difficult for him to approach her, but he had always hoped that she felt the same way about him. He climbed down from the back of Nagendra. Nìa ran to Ryan and embraced him with a hug and though he was covered with dirt, blood and sweat, she gave him a kiss.

It was a kiss that reminded him of the one he had witnessed Jeremiah giving Chloé at the palace. His legs ached from the ride and from the battle with the giant wolf, but he stood there and returned her kiss. He had missed her. He had missed the smell of her hair. He missed the way her hand felt in his, and he missed how it made him feel when she stood on her toes to kiss him.

Jonah's heart sank as well as his strength, when he saw the girl that he loved run into the arms of another man. His legs were already numb from the long flight, and his strength left after suffering his heart break. His legs buckled and he was unable to support himself any longer. He fell to the floor, slamming his head into the marble that lay beneath his feet. The last thing that he saw before he fell unconscious was Nìa standing on her toes and kissing Ryan.

He awoke several hours later in the healing ward. He recognized it from the many times that Petra had sent him there after his lessons. He felt that he had regained much of his strength, but his legs burned from the chaffing. In his dreams, Nìa ran to him and confessed her love for him. He was happier when he awoke, and he tried to get up from the bed that he was laying in. He yelled when the sores between his legs opened up and began bleeding again. He looked around the room and saw that he had woken Ryan and Chloé who were in the room with him.

The healers tried to keep him from moving as they attempted to clean his wounds again and stop the bleeding. He didn't want to be here, in this room, in this bed. He wanted to find Nìa and tell her how he felt. The time that he had spent away from her in the mountains had made him realize how much he cared for her. He would often dream of her while sleeping in the caves and when they were in danger, and when Chloé had died, he thought of what it might be like if he never saw her again. He didn't want to feel that way anymore and he felt that it had given him the courage to fight and to complete their quest.

The healers gave him a sedative to calm him down and help him to sleep. They were worried that if he kept moving around, his legs might become infected. As he slept, he dreamt of Nìa again. In his dream, Nìa had gone to the mountains instead of Chloé and he had managed to save Ryan and her from the beasts, and she fell madly in love with him after that. He awoke with a smile, but became disheartened when he opened his eyes.