Lohikäärme: The Dragon's Descent (Revised)

Chapter XIV - A Secret Escape Plan

Chapter XIV - A Secret Escape Plan

There was light. My head turned from left to right as I scanned the common room. I knew exactly where I was, but I needed to check if something was wrong, something that would wake me up and tell me that this was all just a vision.

I closed my eyes as I breathed in the sublime aroma of Mother's cooking. Yes, it smelled just the way Mother's cooking did. I caught a glimpse of what was inside the kitchen when I opened my eyes. For some reason, my stomach churned. No, it wasn't hunger. It was something else. Something I couldn't explain.

"Mother," I breathed. "Mother!" I ran inside the kitchen, knowing that I would find Mother working in the kitchen, wearing the adorable apron I helped her make when I was younger. But it was not Mother that I saw inside; it was the girl who called death and died, Carina.

"Safia. Safia. Safia," she wept.

I turned around and met her swollen eyes.

"Don't let them get what they want, Safia, Safia, Safia! They'll do anything to save Aethelgard! ...Aethelgard! ...Aethelgard!" she cried. Her arms shook with fear. Why she was afraid of it, I didn't know. But what she said made me feel something different. Something inside me stirred and urged me to do as she said.

I held her shaking arms and looked her straight in the eye. "Why? What's wrong with saving Aethelgard?" I had to know. I had to understand.

Her eyes became distant; it lost focus. "Save yourself, Safia, Safia, Safia," she whispered. "Don't let them get what they want, want, want."

Remekiah had been gone for half a day. I had busied myself with attempts to escape the cell. Luckily, Kosh had given me a metal hairpin with sharp stones on one side. I used the sharp stones to start a cut on one of the metal bars, and then I sawed through the rest of the bar with the chipped hairpin. I was halfway through the first bar. I would need to remove three to squeeze myself through.

Swoosh! The wind whistled as it passed through the window in front of me. Blinking, I realized I was in Dante's chamber again. A lovely warmth embraced me. I leaned on his chest in pleasure, closing my eyes for a moment as I took a deep breath. I was with him again. I was happy whenever I was with him.

He chuckled behind me. My face heated up, and I knew I was blushing even though I carried so many problems on my back.

"Enjoying the view?"

"Uh, yes," I mumbled.

He leaned into my neck until I could feel his warm breath caress my skin. "You don't sound so happy."

"Is it wrong to find you even more enjoyable than looking at the sky?"

He laughed. He had the most lighthearted, most blithesome laugh. He made it so easy to laugh and feel free.

The back of his fingers stroked my cheek. "You don't know how happy you make me feel."

I leaned closer to him and inhaled his scent. "Why can't we be together?" I asked. "You've been in the castle once. Why not return and take me with you?"

He fell silent. His fingers stopped stroking my cheeks and hung there, unmoving. He just stopped. For a moment, I felt a pang of pain in my heart. Didn't he want to be with me? Was he not interested in spending more time with me? Was he only interested in spending some time with me when he wanted to, and leave when he had more important things to do? Had I expected too much? Did I just assume that he loved me because I loved him?