Soul Bound

Chapter 7

Months had passed since the storm had hit Brar. Buildings had been reinforced and remade, and everyone's fences were as strong as they ever were. The rangers were excited to travel to Riverwood to buy more animals. They made a big thing about it, even hiring Eva's father's wagon and filling it up with barrels of booze so they could drink along the way. Eva didn't blame them. They'd all earned a day of drinking. It took everyone in the village, including the children, to get it ready before winter.

The trees hadn't shifted for Fall yet, but it had become increasingly obvious that they wouldn't have enough food to survive the dauntingly cold months to come after all their crops had been destroyed. Eva made up a hunting party with a few of the other men in the village and showed them where to get the bigger game, and how to avoid detection from the griffins. At first they were hesitant--going against everything they'd been taught since they were little would do that--but after they caught their first stag, the pride of bringing something substantial to their families helped them grow out of their shells. With the food the party brought in, they had enough to store for the upcoming difficult months and to trade with Riverwood for grains and vegetables.

This morning, Eva let out a particularly long yawn. With the group's success, the men kept pushing to go out earlier and earlier. Eva learned something about herself during this phase: she was much less motivated to wake up earlier if someone else wanted her to wake up; she was fine getting up on her own accord, but being made to get up. . . The rebellious side of her just wanted to let them go hunting by themselves today.
At least she had her own room again. There was no one around to wake up from her grumbling while she got ready for the day.

She paused in front of the looking glass, in the middle of pulling a tunic over her head. She barely noticed her scars any more, even though they took up a large portion of her torso. She'd begun to admire them. They reminded her of how strong she could be, despite how hopeless the situation was.

Other people, however, were not as open minded. Whenever she bathed in the river with the other girls, all they could do was stare and whisper behind her back. She pretended not to hear them, that she didn't care how ugly they said she looked. Dad said they'd told other villages of her scars. "The girl with dragon scales," they called her.

When Erika overheard the girls, she told them what had happened that fateful night, that they should be honoured to have met Eva. The first time, Eva let it slide because those girls could care less what a six year old had to say, but then she went around the entire village telling them what a good big sister she was. When Eva scolded her for telling everyone their secret, it was too late.  Everyone knew a dragon with black scales had cried on her. Whether or not they believed it was a different story. It was all rather far fetched, especially coming from a six year old.

Sometimes Eva wondered if she really did Bond with a dragon; their link was so quiet at times. Then other times, especially when she was asleep, thoughts and emotions that weren't her own overwhelmed her.

Almost every night she dreamt she was a dragon flying over the ocean, inhaling the heavy salty air. She felt the wind beneath her wings, and the static clinging to her scales. She often thought about what it would be like to dive into the water and never resurface. Would the world forget about her, then? Would peace finally find her?

When Arkon's thoughts became too much and elicited tears from her eyes, she reached out to him, spreading her warmth around his soul like a mental hug. She reminded him that he wasn't alone anymore. They were Bound forever.

When she went hunting in the mountains, she felt his presence in the sky, but whenever she looked up to see him, he was gone. He wasn't following her, per se, more like checking on her, making sure trouble didn't come looking for her.