A Dragon Slayer: and the Sea Dragon of Delphi

Chapter 2: Arriving Relatives

Author note: [Sorry this is quite a short chapter. Chapter 2 & chapter 3 used to be one extremely long chapter - before I broke it up into two parts. Rest assured that the next chapter is a much longer one; with things moving forward a lot quicker. That's all I'll say. Hope you enjoy reading!]

Naphtali dashed outside, the door rattled as he threw it open, and it bounced back closing shut on its own. Naphtali began searching the darkness, his eyes scanning back and forth. The door behind him opened again, and closed; this time with a soft thud. Naphtali looked back, his aunt laid a cloak over his shoulders.

"You're going to get cold out here if you don't rug up," she said, patting him on the back.

"Thank you," Naphtali replied with a smile, "but I hear being cold is quite the trend down in Bellaqua."

Eva rolled her eyes, Naphtali chuckled.

"Still the same jokes, eh?" a voice laughed.

A light flared up, illuminating a small part of the road; three figures moved towards them.

"Sorry we're so late. It took as almost an hour to find a stable suitable for our horses. And even longer to find a storage shed for our karts," said a male voice, it was without a doubt Naphtali's Uncle, Gaius.

Another figure ran out of the night, a boy about Naphtali's age.

"Naphtali!" The boy grabbed his cousin, spinning him around enthusiastically.

"Korah!" Naphtali replied. "It is good to see you!"

Korah was Naphtali's height and shared the inherited black hair and blue eyes from Naphtali's mother's side. Though Korah's hair fell down a little longer than Naphtali's and curled slightly more.

"I hope that sword arm of yours hasn't gotten any better," Korah joked.

"Not really, but you still won't beat me!"

Gaius strode into the light, and Naphtali's aunt Laelia followed.

Gaius was dressed in travellers' gear: thick boots, a cloak and a scarf wrapped around his neck. He was a tall, lanky man, with brown hair that fell to his shoulders. Laelia wore a long blue travelling dress with a layer of garments underneath. She had black braids, bright blue eyes; and looked so much like Naphtali remembered his mother – or maybe he just thought they looked alike, because whenever he pictured his mother, in his head, he pictured Laelia. Sometimes Naphtali wondered if he'd completely forgotten his mother altogether. Even though he felt like Eva had done a good job stepping into her place, there was something about losing a family that couldn't be replaced. Everyone else seemed to take that for granted.

"Come inside." Eva ushered them forward. "I'm just about to get dinner started."

"And just so you know," Korah piped in, "Nobody in Bellaqua actually likes the cold."

Naphtali chuckled and grabbed Korah, tugging him backwards into their home.

"Then why do people live there?" Naphtali laughed, "Actually don't answer that. Come on. This way. I'll show you my new sword collection."

It was sometime later when Eva, Gias and Laelia sat huddled around the dining room table, with the warm oven providing enough heat to keep the cold of the night at bay. Korah and Naphtali were still playing childishly in Naphtali's bedroom. Eva placed two steaming bowls of stew down onto the kitchen table, one in front of Laelia and one in front of Gaius. The juices of the meat, which had mixed with the simmered herbs, produced an aroma so appealing that it gave the room a pleasant feel and seemed to drag the boys out of their room. The two boys burst out through the door and stumbled into the kitchen, Naphtali almost tripping over Korah's leg as he ran.