Unveiled {The Truth Behind the Fairy Tale}

Pt. 2 - Growing Up

A choppy but necessary chapter

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Yawning, Aara threw her covers to the floor and stretched, pointing her toes and lifting her arms. That accomplished she slumped back into her bed and looked around her room. It was fairly devoid of any traditional decorations but Aara loved it. Stubborn life was pushing its way inside through the cracks in the stone, old tapestries hung ragged but still glorious, the floor too was like a garden of potted plants, parted for walkways. She looked to her ceiling and smiled at the morning sun coming through the cracks there as well. This room was the girl-child's sanctuary.

"Come, little one, today we find you a new room."

Aara looked toward the doorway where she had heard Damarion's deep, powerful voice, a voice like thunder. She couldn't see him, the sun shining down blinded her, but she pouted anyway. She loved this room. From the doorway she heard a sigh, then she felt Damarion's strong hands on her arms as he pulled her up.

"It's going to rain tonight little one, you'll get sick." She nodded but didn't stand; Damarion had released her in a sitting position. He sighed again, this time clearly exasperated and lifted the child into his arms. She smiled triumphantly but hid it from Damarion by burying her head in his chest. The rest of the day was spent exploring the old, deserted castle that was their home.

That night, despite the day's bright beginning, it did in fact rain. No, rained in not the proper terminology, it was a full on tempest. Aara huddled, petrified, in the center of her new bed, in her new unfamiliar room, vivid green eyes clamped tightly shut. Lightning streaked by her window to crash into the ground only a few hundred yards away. A short scream tore itself from her throat as tears began falling. She wanted to find Damarion, she wanted her old room, where she felt safe, but the only movement she could manage, was quivering in fear.

* * * * *

Damarion lifted his massive, scaled head higher, daring the lightning the strike. The howling winds and violent rain were invigorating. A short, terrified, shriek penetrated the roar of the storm. 'Aara'. Damarion realized. She must be petrified. With only a moments hesitation he started the spell that would alter his form. Feeling like an ant in this tiny body that barely weighed 200 lbs he ran as fast as his human legs could carry him. When he reached Aara's new room he felt a moment of panic. She wasn't there. Then she whimpered.

The five-year old was curled in the center of her bed, beneath her covers, trembling violently.

"Aara," He whispered, touching what he thought to be her shoulder. Her only response was another whimper. Worried, he tore the blankets from the bed and physically forced her body to uncurl.

"Aara!" He said again, this time louder. Finally, she opened her eyes, jade orbs wide and terrified. Shuddering, she threw herself at Damarion, clutching his wet cloths with all her strength. "Shhh," He soothed, stroking her hair as a boom of thunder shook the castle.

Seeing that the fire in her room had gone out, he re-lit it - with magic this time - and wrapped the child in her blankets, still holding her close. Eventually she calmed and fell into an exhausted - if fitful - sleep.

*_* 7 years later*_*

On her knees in the dirt, Aara pressed down on the freshly tilled earth, packing it tight so it wouldn't wash away with the first rain, and smiled at the young, spindly oak tree she had just re-located. A dragon's furious roar echoed through the valley and shattered her reverie.

'Damarion.'

Frantic, she scrambled to her feet and ran from the courtyard toward where Damarion's deafening roar had originated. She screamed with frustration when she reached the lowered portcullis. She griped the iron bars in her thin fingers and struggled, it was useless. Turning she gave a quick examination of the colossal building before her, spotting a promising balcony she dashed back toward the castle. Damarion's roar sounded again, only this time it was mingled with pain.

She ran desperately, up the stairs, through rooms, up yet more stairs and finally she burst into the room through which she could access the balcony. Momentum threw her against the stone railing, knocking the wind from her lungs and no doubt bruising her abdomen. Tears sprung into her eyes at the registration of pain, but she ignored them, searching for Damarion.

Luckily he was fairly easy to spot.

She squinted against the afternoon sun, trying to see what had caused Damarion's roar. The distance was great but Aara thought she saw a... a horse? It was! It was an actual living horse, with what looked like an animated suite of armor sitting atop it. A knight?

Aara had lived in the seclusion of the mountain ringed valley for a long as she could remember and had seen no human other than herself. Having known only the wild (and the animals it housed) and Damarion as her only companions. She gasped and starred as this... other human pulled back his arms and launched his spear at Damarion. It bounced harmlessly off his scales. But still Aara could only stare; amazement souring to horror as this unknown knight continued in his quest to kill Damarion.

'No!' She thought, willing this, the only other human she had ever set eyes on the stop. Why had he come here? Why did he want to kill Damarion? It didn't make any sense. Secluded as they were Damarion couldn't have done this man any harm! Surely not enough to cause him to brave the treacherous mountains; the want for revenge was a toxic thing, but surely not.

The knight, facing her general direction, seemed to catch sight of her. He shouted something, but Aara only heard incoherent echoes. The yell caused Damarion to turn his great head, red eyes focusing on her. Aara knew her face was a mask of horror, which she knew would stir Damarion's formidable temper in regards to the knight, but she couldn't change it. She didn't want to. It wasn't that she wanted this knight to die, but she didn't want Damarion to. With one last roar, Damarion opened his maw and incinerated both man and horse. Aara cringed, closing her eyes.

*_* 5 years after that*_*

Aara blithely turned the thick old page of the large leather-bound book that rested comfortably in her lap. She was cozy, snuggled in a large plush chair that was more like a miniature couch, back to the window, wrapped in thick warm blankets, further cushioned by pillows. She sighed happily, wondering where Damarion had gotten this delightful book, and also wondering why he had chosen to stash it.

Of course, the majority of her excitement over this particular book was because of how modern it was. Every book in the library was well over a century old, and while wonderfully written, they were outdated. Aara was curious about the world beyond the mountains, and this book was younger than she was. She continued reading, absorbing the encyclopedia's contents like a sponge. It was fascinating. She continued reading, long after the sun had fallen, and was still reading when it woke, kissing the earth with its rise.

Abruptly she stopped. Eyes opening wide, she reread that passages that had crashed over her with world shattering force. Four times she read the passages, making sure she hadn't misread. Shock began to melt into rage. Shoving a finger between the pages to mark the spot she rose and stormed off in search of Damarion. Someone had some serious explaining to do.