Dracia

Chapter 4: Katera

Oh it felt so nice to be alive again. Katera woke up to birds sing their merry tunes, the azure sky resting far above her, the hated plumage that had nearly left her cinders tickling her face and the queen of sarcasm, Amara standing over her with accompanied with a sigh of relief. She still felt exhausted and could barely stand as waves of tiredness washed over her body but somehow she had escaped the ghostly fingers of death that were grasping at her heart no more than a few minutes ago. Katera tried to stand as the currents of exhaustion made rapids that were washing away her efforts to rise up. She felt like she was still a toddler taking its first steps into the parents loving arms.

Her weak efforts were thankfully helped by Amara who had plastered a shiny smile on her face and given her arm to lean onto. As she looked up at Amara she couldn't help but notice something flash in her lilac irises. She nearly missed it. There was something behind that mask of optimism and fabricated smile and she had just caught a glimpse of it.

The ride to Amara's home was was the stuff of Katera's nightmares. She was leaving the comfort of the solid terrain. What was once the thing that she rested her feet on every day and could not live without could very well be the cause of her death. She had been alarmingly close to death twice that day and she was not willing to repeat the experience.

The dragon was flying higher and higher. Katera grasped on, blanched fingers holding on to the back of the smoldering creature for all her tormented life was worth. She saw what would be breathtaking valleys and forests below her and couldn't help but think that she should be enjoying the endless view of the mysterious world of Dracia that took enjoyment by throwing her in whatever direction it chose to. But at the height where trees were transforming into ants (Katera hoped that trees in this place didn't actually do do that) seeing the beautiful landscape of the ground was not pleasurable. In fact, it was just terrifying. She knew that just like on ice, if she fell it could not turn out very well. Her chest contracted as her breathing became quick and harsh and her blue eye that were already quite round felt like they were going to pop out of her head.

Katera tried to focus her attention on something other than the intimidating height. She only thing she could see in her vision other than the sky and odd purple pines below was the back of the majestic dragon that was keeping her alive up in the never-ending sky. It had beauty that she couldn't of noticed before when death had her in its shadow. Flames danced on its scales as it tossed its head in the cool winds. The large leathery wings that hold it's snakelike body aloft were surreal and had so many different layers of a royal crimson. She still wasn't sure how such a thing could exist in a mortal realm. It was too perfect she thought.

Katera could sense her body shift into a downward flight. She would soon return to the comfort of the ground. She didn't realize how much her body ached until she let go. Her palms were sweating monsoons and her legs had fallen asleep. As the dragon's talon-like feet brushed the picturesque ground like a paintbrush a sigh escaped Katera's dried lips. A sigh of relief and confusion and sadness. She was far from home in world brimming with beauty, evil plumage and dangers. It was something her mind could not take in.

Although she had collapsed several times getting to the serene village, the mental breakdown was much worse. She was losing her ability to think without fog. Her whole mind was a storm of mixed emotions and thoughts. A thousand piece puzzle with half the pieces missing. She somehow made it into Amara's dwelling without the mental hurricane breaking out of her weak shell. She crashed onto the cloud-soft bed. What a beautiful sunset was the only rational thought she had before drifting off to sleep.