A Dragon's Bond

A Surprise

     Draioct suddenly landed near me atop the roof and made his way over quickly, I hadn't noticed his proximity with my mind as I usually would. He felt different.

"We need to go to the location. We are leaving now."

     I looked up from my map with a quizzing look.

"Right now, right now?"

     He had reached me by now and turned his back and motioned for me to hop on.

"Yes. Everything will be explained"

     He was acting different and strange. I climbed onto his back and got seated as he took off.

     I reached into his mind to try and retrieve some information about his demeanor, but it wasn't there. He turned his head back and looked me in the eye as he spoke.

"Just trust us. Draioct and you will be fine."

     The hairs on my neck stood up in an instant, my hands became clammy and sweat formed across my body. This wasn't Draioct. I mean physically it was, but his mind wasn't there.

"Adam. Listen to us. He is fine. Everything will be explained upon your arrival."

     I sat there for a moment considering my options. Do I leave and hope to find the real Draioct on my own? Or do I find out where his body is going?

     I guess it wasn't really much of a choice, I would never leave him in danger, so I climbed onto his back. I clung onto Draioct as we flew further and further away from Retribution. I rested and concentrated on what may lie before me. Everything was unknown.

*****

     We flew for some time. The landscape below became thick with jungles and swamps. The air was moist and humid, and the night crept into the sky until it engulfed everything in darkness.

     Finally Draioct's body banked and circled around a clearing within the trees. He then rolled, catching me completely off guard, dumping me off his body. I fell straight, sinking like a rock into the clearing of the woods. I had fallen before so I was slightly prepared. I twisted in the air and kicked until my feet were pointing at the ground. Then as I landed I tucked and rolled to safety.

     The last parts were unnecessary thanks to my ability to fall long heights, but it had become a habit. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my body from the fall. Draioct's body had not followed me into the clearing. I began to look around trying to collect any details I could. The forest canopy was so thick that none of the moons light made it through the vegetation. The floor of the forest was almost barren thanks to the absence of sunlight under the thick plant roof. The terrain was just hilly enough that I could not see further than a hundred feet in any direction. As I glanced around something caught my attention behind one of the trees.

     I took a few steps forward in an attempt to get a better view. I heard giggling behind me and turned sharply only to have the owner of the laugher, disappear behind another tree, and into darkness. Again there was some sort of laughter, soft and almost sweet sounding to my left. I spun only to have everything play out as before. I began to spin left in right quickly in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the laughter's origin, narrowly missing every time. I spun quickly left ninety degrees and was suddenly met by thin pale men and women facing me. The women had smiles upon their faces where the men wore calmness. The man nearest to me reached up and poked me with a leaf, its end sharp and releasing toxins into my veins, burning as they entered my bloodstream. I felt the world spin then go dark. The giggles in the background fading until everything stopped.

*****

     I opened my eyes feeling rested, like I had taken a nap in the warm summer sun after lunch. Peace washed through me, and happiness on a level that I had never felt. I was home, I don't know what that meant but knew it to be true. I felt that this is where I was meant to be all along. I looked around to find myself sitting inside a round hut made of wood and some sort of silver leaf material. The furniture in the room was simple, made out of a white wood. The colors were all natural browns and greens.

     I stood up and made my way to the door of the hut, a seemingly thin tan cloth, letting enough light in to fill the hut, while keeping the hut private, was draped across the entrance. I pushed it aside as I walked through and was met with the brilliance of my new surroundings. I was perched high within an enormous tree. I looked around and saw that there were huts of all shapes and sizes attached to the sides of these great trees.

     Men and women of fair white skin made their way around this kingdom. There were Dragons soaring between locations and landing gently on the trees or huts. The Dragons were different than any I had seen before. They were much smaller than the ones I was used to seeing. Their bodies were more aerodynamic and thin. They had seemed adapted to maneuvering better than using brute strength.

"They are much faster as well"

     Draioct chimed in, my happiness bursting at the seams and my eyes almost filling with tears. 

"Are you alright?"

I screamed within my mind.

"Oh Yes."

     He laughed back.

"We decided it was the only way to get you out here. We knew you wouldn't want to pull away from the preparation of retribution, and this is very important... I am sorry for the deception, it was me all along."

     I frowned in anger, feeling slightly hurt that I had been deceived. I got over it quickly realizing he was correct. I wouldn't have wanted to leave Retribution. I sensed he was standing on the ground below the tree my hut was in. I ran to the edge of the walkway and flung myself over the railing, trying my best to keep my mind blank so Draioct could not sense my aerial attack.

       It paid off as he stood still on the ground below and I landed onto his neck attempting to tackle him to the ground, our laughter ringing through the forest. We wrestled for a few moments until I became aware of the eyes watching us. I had completely forgotten about all the other people here. This place made me feel so at ease it was hard to explain. We stopped wrestling as I looked up and around myself. As I turned I realized we had been wrestling in front of some type of throne, the leader upon it smiling at our display, I jumped up and tried to look professional. People had stopped moving about through the trees and all eyes turned to watch us.

"Please do not feel that there will be reprisals over your display of affection. To the contrary we are actually very fond of your loving nature."

     She smiled and stood up from her seat. Her fair blonde hair was long and curled small tight curls down to her mid-back. Her features were smooth and her clothing was a beautiful long white dress that fitted her form perfectly. Her eyes were a bright shade of green in wonderful contrast to her pale skin and dress.

"I am Queen Eulay. We have summoned you here to provide you with some much needed answers about your past...My King."