Dragon Tamers: Despair's Awakening

TBD

(Raven's POV)

Kalin came to the room at around midnight. I was laying upright in the bed, unable to sleep. My head snapped up as the door creaked open. Kalin walked in the door, looking around carefully, as if trying not to wake anyone. I looked at him with wide eyes and he brought a finger to his lips.

"Come with me." he whispered. "Just keep quiet." I nodded and he removed his hand.

"I did not think you would be up this late." He said softly.

"The same goes for you." I whispered back.

"Are you sure she's asleep?" he asked, looking at Sapphire, who was curled on her side sleeping sound for once.

"I'm sure." I replied. I slipped out of bed quietly, making a gentle sweeping noise as I did.

"Then come. I wish to speak with you." Kalin whispered. I nodded and he took my wrist gently. He shut the door with a gentle click and I brushed a stray piece of hair from my face. He turned to look at me.

"Why me out of the three of us?" I asked, finally getting the question off my chest. He sighed and ran a piece of his gold hair through his hands.

"The other girl... She is curious and quick. And I do not trust her. The boy... He does not trust me. You seem the safest option... Plus, I needed to see another human, to talk to another human."

"What do you mean?" I asked as we began to walk. What did he mean by another human?

Kalin hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "I am also human. I fell through a portal... About a year ago actually."

"And... You never went back?" I asked quietly. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen." He said, his pleased demeanor dropping. "And no... It's... Impossible. To get back to Earth. The only way to get back is to find four keys, each guarded by a dragon. In the north, you must obtain the chaos key; In the south, the ice key; In the East, the harmony key; And in the west the fear key."

"Only one of those don't sound scary." I say, shivering. "S-so... we can never go home?" I ask, tearing up.

"I'm... Afraid not."

I blink back the tears, trying to hide them from Kalin. I feel a hand on my shoulder. "You must miss someone... Who, if I may?"

I wipe away the tears and look to Kalin. "My father... He's alone... And I left with no warning..."

Kalin nods. "I see... And your mother?"

I look at him then push him away. "Never talk to me about my mother, she cared for nothing but my father's money." I shut my mouth, my eyes wide open. "Why did I tell you that?!" I gasp lightly.

Kalin puts his hands up, Palms parallel to the floor. "Hey, hey. Easy there, Raven. Easy there..." he takes me into his strong arms and holds me. Holy shit. I automatically tensed up. Kalin must have sensed I was uncomfortable, and let go of me. I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"Come. We should continue moving if we want to avoid the guards." He said

"Guards?" I asked as we started to walk again. "Why would the guards be patrolling the halls at night? Is it because of my friends and I?"

"No. Our kingdom has been on high alert for a while now. There have been multiple attacks on our northern gate in the past month alone."

"Who's been attacking you?" I asked, surprised that anything would attack anyone as strong as the elves.

"The Ujku." Was all he answered.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"It means "the shifters". People who can shift into wolves and back at will." My eyes widened in shock.

"Do they go nuts when the moon comes out?" I asked, unable to stop myself. Kalin laughed.

"Luckily no."

"Thank God." Kalin laughed again.

There was an awkward silence between us for a couple minutes.

"Why does your friend distrust strangers so much?" Kalin said, breaking the silence. "I understand why she would be cautious, but she seems overly so." And just like that the happy atmosphere dropped.

"Sapphire? Well... It's not my place to say..." Kalin looked away like a kicked puppy. I groaned.

"Ok, fine, I'll tell you. But only if you apologize to her for calling her a whore and never tell anyone, I mean ANYONE about what was said tonight." He sighed.

"Alright. Now tell me."

"Ok then. She hasn't really told me much, but I've done some research. She's had a rough childhood."

"I figured. She seems to only trust you and the boy. His name is Feonix, correct?"

"Correct." I said nodding. "Sapphire's an orphan. She has been since she was seven." His eyes widened.

"I didn't realize. I'm surprised she hasn't let it go, she looks like she's in her late teens."

"She is. But I understand why she hasn't been able to. I'm pretty sure anyone who saw what she did wouldn't be able to handle what happened."

"What happened?"

"Her parents were murdered in front of her. Apparently it was a friend of the family." Kalin's eyes widened.

"Good God... No wonder she doesn't trust anyone." I nodded.

"Yeah. She's been in and out of foster homes for a while. She's been able to stay in her current one for a while though."

"That's good." He said. There was another awkward pause between us.

"Who does the Queen want us to go see again?" I asked, desperate to break the silence. Kalin's face was grim.

"The Seeker and the Warlock. The Warlock will give you your disguises. You'll need them to stay alive here." He said.

"And the seeker?" I asked curriously.

"There was a legend..."

"The legend of Tarzan?" I said, cutting him off. He held back a laugh and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly getting the reference. "OHHHAOHHHAOOOOO!" Kalin was trying so hard to contain his laughter but failing after I made the Tarzan yell. I slapped my hand over my mouth.

"You said something about guards?" I said. His eyes widened.

"Oooh shit...." He said. We heard footsteps coming from behind us.

"Run!" I whisper-yelled at him. Both of us ran down the hallway, the sound of footsteps following us. He led us to a small hallway and we ducked inside. The guards came barrelling past us and didn't give us a second glance.

I smiled giddily at him and he gave a wild smile back. This was going to be a fun night.