Undiscovered Origins

Undiscovered Origins - Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

            Jade looked around at the interior stone walls of the tree that she stayed in for the night. She couldn’t remember much from the night before. She remembered that a young centaur tried to seduce her and someone saved her. Her clothes were missing and she was sprawled out under cotton sheets in an unknown dark room. She realized she was no longer in Europe where she went unnoticed by men. In the new world she found where she was known to be a dryad she was desired, and that was one thing she was not used to.

            She crawled out of bed and noticed some folded leather armor with sash neatly stacked on a dresser. Without giving it much thought, as she didn’t have anything else to cover herself with, she put them on. The leather was not quite her size and so it fit tightly against her naked skin. She wished she still had some undergarments to put underneath so it wouldn’t be so uncomfortable, but she seemed to recall that they had been torn to shreds the night before.

            As she opened the door quietly she gasped and took a step back as someone stood in her way. His shirt was off and the muscles she fantasized about nearly every night glistened as she stared at them.

            “Drake…” she whispered.

            “I hope the leather armor fit. I’m sorry I have neglected to protect you. I should have had some armor for you sooner. It was foolish of me to think I could always be around to protect you,” Drake said.

            Jade set her jaw stubbornly, “I can protect myself.”

            “Oh really?” Drake paused, raising an eyebrow, “How did that work for you last night?”

            She didn’t have a witty response, and so she gave the only response she could think of, Jade slapped him across the face with such force that his head jerked to the side. The sound echoed through the corridors of the stone building. A large red handprint formed across Drake’s cheek that he rubbed in despair.

            “Let me rephrase that,” she clarified, “I don’t need protection from you.”

            With that she swept past him and towards the exit. She didn’t realize what she said until it was too late. Jade began to realize that what she said wasn’t true. Out of all the guys she’d met, Drake was the only one she wanted to protect her. Even though he was arrogant, he was still the only one that protected her.

            “Always know – if you ever need me – I’ll be right here,” he said.

            She turned around to take one last glance at him before sliding out the door and into the wilderness. Outside she saw the bright daylight and knew she was late for her lessons. She pounced through the door and into the wilderness, hoping she could find her way in the right direction.

            When she arrived she saw Lorimer staring at her intensely. His brow frowned and one of his front hooves tapped impatiently on the ground. She rushed to stand in front of him and winced in pain.

            “I am so sorry Lorimer. I tried to get here as fast as I could.” Jade said.

            “Do you wish to learn?” He asked bitterly.

            “Yes.” Jade said.

            “Then it will not happen again. My time does not revolve around yours and there will not be a next time.” He said.

            “I understand.” Jade said shamefully.

            “Collect your energy and create vines from the trees.” Lorimer said.

            Jade was much more comfortable with that day’s lesson and got quite the praise from Lorimer at her techniques. It was nice to be doing something she was already familiar with rather than things she didn’t understand. Offense came easier for her, she did not understand why but it just did. She continued to practice throughout the day even after Lorimer congratulated her on a good lesson and left.  

            She sat there baked in her own thoughts as she studied the nature that surrounded her. Everything was so beautiful and she felt more at home than she ever had. The forest was where she was supposed to be. Memories of the night before began to form in her head after she had them pushed away all day.