Dragon Tamer - Book 1

Chapter 28

Marcie spent a few days at the cave with Dara, to give herself some time away from the village.

The glow of The Passing dance had faded and she wasn't keen to face Merrick again, so she spent some time with Dara, who seemed to have grown a considerable amount in the short time she had last seen him.

She watched as he circled the tree tops, he was more confident flying now, his wings getting the feel for the air.

He landed next to her, carefully folded his wings tight into his body and yawned widely, flashing his long sharp teeth.

He nuzzled her leg and curled up next to her on the ledge, his tail wrapped around her ankle. He was far too big for her to carry any more.

It had been no more than three weeks since their last parting and he was at least the size of a large dog. Marcie had received the shock of her life when he flew at her excitedly and promptly knocked her off her feet.

He had grown not only in size but also in cognitive maturity and seemed easier to communicate with and also less confused as to the whys of things, the change in him subtle but still there. Because of this Marcie felt she could confide with him the 'incident', as she had come to know it as, with Merrick. Dara listened silently , then licked her face to tell her he understood, it made her laugh, something she seemed to do rarely.

This cave with Dara was a sanctuary and she realised that the very thought of leaving and returning to the village filled her with dread, the cave, high above the ground and with untold secrets contained within its depths fetl...real. Leader Roor made many a speech on how the home was a place you felt safe, secure and welcome. Marcie, however, had never felt welcome in the village. She felt stared at and scorned, simple because her eyes were a different colour to the rest of the village's. It wasn't even because she had an outsider for a mother, her brother had blue eyes, and he was accepted. Nobody looked past his appearance, where as hers was a constant reminder that she was...other. Different, no matter what she did and how she acted. It was ironic that it would be hr brothers departure, his...abandonment of her, that made her stop trying.

She tried to make herself no longer care but the affect of the isolation she endured as a child would not leave and the child inside of her was constantly rebelling against the village people hoping that someday they would realise her for who she was rather than who they saw her as, a freak.

Maybe that was why she had refused Merrick. If she married him, gave herself completely to him, then she would be doing what they wanted, she would make a step closer to acceptable.

There was also the issue that marrying Merrick would delegate her to the role of housewife. The village would come together and build them a house to call their own and she would be expected to care for it. That wasn't so much of an issue because she already kept her own house and cared for her father. No, the problem was that she would be expected to only do that, to do nothing all day except cook, clean and fulfil her husbands every desire. She would not be free to go into her beloved forest and hunt. This was probably the reason why Luce was pushing harder and harder to get the two of them together and wed as soon as possible, she wanted Marcie to be safe. And although she loved her aunt, she did not wish to be shackled by anyone, least of all Merrick.

Then there was also the matter of children, she would be expected to have many children, Luce was providing the village with a whole generation of forgotten, who would ensure the future of the community and the same would be expected of Marcie. She loved children, but somehow she did not want her own. There was the possibility that any child of hers would inherit her eyes and she was not willing to subject any child the kind of pent up emotional distress that it caused her.

She had thought of all this before, when it had become apparent that Luce was not going to give up on her mission to see her wed. But that was before Dara, before everything changed.

Now she couldn't possible think of marriage, what would she do, she would not abandon him, she wasn't even certain that she could.

Sensing the direction her thoughts had taken, Dara nudged her hand until she patted his head and looked up at her, his eyes big and sorry. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Not your fault" she told him, scratching a spot under his chin, he leaned his head back to give her easier access, "Never your fault."

Dara opened one eye and gazed at her, then nipped her hand affectionately, she led out a mock yelp of pain then grinned and grabbed his tail. He didn't like this and chased her around her ledge, nipping playfully at her ankles while Marcie laughed.

The snow began to fall that night.

Marcie was camped by the cave entrance, just enough so she was sheltered. She had lit a fire to roast the last of the meat and the ashes were warm and keeping the chill off, although she didn't feel the cold as much as she did before she met Dara, who was also curled up next to her, his body radiating heat.

She liked to sleep by the entrance because she would fall asleep looking over the tree tops with the night sky lit up my the stars and moon, it gave her a sense of peace and comfort, and she felt this now even as the first white flakes fell from the heavens.

Soon the view of the trees was nearly obscured by the falling snow. Dara roused from his doze and his eyes widened as he took in what was happening outside, this was the first time he had seen snow.

He got up slowly and approached the ledge, he glanced back at Marcie and sent her a questioning thought,

"Its snow Dara, it will not hurt you" she told him, sitting up so she could watch him in case he got too close to the edge. He placed one talon on the snow that had already settled on the ledge flinching slightly at the cold, then followed it with his foot,  a snow flake landed on his nose and he dived back undercover batting at his nose and sneezing. Marcie laughed and Dara narrowed his eyes at her, he stalked haughtily out into the snow, flinching only slightly when more flakes began to land on him, melting instantly because of the heat of his scales. He slipped and slid, placing his feet carefully and with great care, which only made Marcie laugh harder. He stared up at the flakes falling down all around him then reached up on his hind legs and tried to catch one, first with his fore legs and the with his jaws, he jumped around and snapped at snow for several minutes, flapping his wings and lifting himself into the air to catch particularly big ones.

Marcie watched him, laughing at him and sending him amused thoughts, but her heart felt heavy. She knew that he would have to leave at first light if she wanted to make it back to her father before the forest became impassable.

The first snow tended to fall for days on end and pile up in man high drifts. It was not such a problem under the cover of the trees as the canopy was so thick that the snow had to struggle to get through it, but with the help of the wind it managed.

She snuggled down into her bed roll and let her eyes drift shut, the sounds of Dara playing in the snow a lullaby to send her to sleep.