The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Three

"Ma'am?" A pause. "Ma'am? Are you alive?"

My eyes tightened together, slowly opening. The blinding sunlight was hard to adjust to. I placed my hand over my eyes, unable to control my shivering. Turns out, sleeping in the snow wasn't the brightest of ideas. 

"Oh thank goodness." It was a man's voice. "I was worried we had already lost you." He knelt, attempting to peak between my fingers.

"Wh-Who are you?" I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes. I held my hand above my eyes to shield them from the sun, but also be able to see just who I was talking to. It didn't sound like anyone from the village. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if this man was here to harm me. But then, why was he talking to me instead of killing me? I remained hesitant, but kept on. 

It was a man close to my own age, judging by his gentle face. His hair was tight and curly, colored like the trees; a mix of dark browns. His eyes were dark as well, though slightly lighter than his hair. His skin was tanned, like the villagers back home. Or, what had once been home. He wore colored rags underneath a thick animal fur cloak. Other than his boots, there wasn't much winter gear on him.

"My name is Darius." He held his hand out, grinning. "And you are?"

Hesitantly, I placed my hand into his and shook. "Odelle." My eyes having finally adjusted, I removed my hand. "Was I in the way?" I looked around, not completely understanding why he had stopped to check in on me. I was a stranger to him. What would it matter to him what happened with me? I returned my eyes to his.

His smile faded as our eyes locked. Darius tilted his head, shoulders loosening. "I'm... Forgive me." He was quick to pull his hand back, standing right after. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Disturb me?" I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't ever come across someone who wasn't happy to disturb me. "It's okay. It's probably for the best that you woke me up. It's too cold to be camping out here." I made a mental note to get better gear and practice with fires before I slept next.

He still was unsure. He rubbed the back of his neck, silently looking me over as if I were rubbish or something he was grossed out by.

"Let me guess," I sighed, beginning to fold up my blankets. I didn't want to put them back in my bag with them wet from snow. Carrying them until they dried- if they dried- sounded best. "You come from a land where everyone looks the same, too?"

"...Yes."

"And I can assume that I don't look like your people, right? It's okay. You don't need to talk to me anymore. I understand." I put my pack over my shoulders, pulling the blankets tight to my chest. They were cold, but I didn't mind. "Thank you for waking me. Have a good day." I attempted to walk past him.

"N-No, it's not like that." Darius stepped in front of me, holding one hand out. "Allow me to explain myself." He reached down into his shirt, pulling free a charm of his necklace. It was a tiny straight charm, a dragon wrapped around the straight charm. The mouth of the dragon faced open, giving it a menacing appearance. "Do you understand now?"

I stared blankly at the charm. I couldn't recognize it at all. I spared a glance at him, finding myself wanting to retreat like he had earlier. "Not at all. I like your necklace though? It's unique. I can't say I've seen it before."

Darius' eyes began to widen. "You... You've never seen this before? Really?"

"Never." I shrugged, starting to look past him. "I do apologize, but I must be on my way. I'm on a grand quest that doesn't need anymore delays."

"Your eyes, though..." Darius trailed off, then stepped in front of my gaze again. "A quest? Of what kind?"

"For someone who doesn't seem to want to be around me, you sure do ask a lot of questions." I couldn't tell if it was good, or bad. No one, besides my mother, had ever acted as such. 

"Forgive me. I thought you were someone else." His face relaxed again into a smile. "You're on a quest?" He reiterated himself.

"Yes, I am." I paused, looking anywhere but at him. Were strangers outside the village always this friendly? It seemed odd to me. It was unfamiliar, making me want to be wary of it.

"Might I ask what it is?" Darius crossed his arms, tilting his head down at me. "Perhaps I could be of assistance."

"Assistance?" I thought it over. "I don't think that's possible. My quest is... Rather, impossible. I think I'm the only one who knows." I didn't want him to think I was crazy. The last thing I needed was another village after me. Besides, there wasn't an easy way to explain how I thought my long lost father was a dragon. That doesn't come across entirely sane.

"Try me. Besides, I owe you one. I woke you up, after all." 

I sighed, wondering if it was worth the risk. Perhaps if I told him, he'd call it quits and assume I was right. "I come from a village where everyone looks the same. I'm the only one that stands out. I've never been accepted there, only by my mother who also gets the brunt of the village and their punishments towards her. She had me out of wedlock, I assume. I'm in search of my father in hopes I can have a better life with him." I didn't have to tell him the whole truth. Just enough to get the point across. 

"You don't say?" Darius rubbed his chin, scratching at some scruff around his cheeks. "Do you know anything about your dad?"

"Nothing. My mother insists that I don't have a father, but I think she's lying to protect herself." I shook my head. "See? It's too complicated. You can't help."

"Hold on, now." Darius glanced over his shoulder. "I think I can, actually. Follow me. I'll show you to my camp. Tracking someone down isn't too difficult." He flashed me a smile.

I hesitated. "...You want to help me?" I felt taken aback. I hadn't left home more than twelve hours ago and was already running into real people? People that were nice just to be nice? Was it fate or had I run into a trap?

"Of course. We stick together out here in these woods. Come along. I'll tell you a little more about my camp." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, holding his hands out. "Those blankets are going to freeze you out. I can hold them for you. We can put them over the campfires back home. They'll dry in hardly anytime at all."

I glanced down at his necklace that he had forgotten to tuck back underneath his shirt. If I had reason to believe my father was a dragon, as odd as it sounds, then perhaps the sign of a dragon was a sign I was going in the right direction. The necklace, I assumed, was a good luck charm of Darius, or a family heirloom of some sort. I pondered it over, wondering as far as if he knew more about dragons than I did. It might be useful after all. "Alright." I gently handed him over the blankets.

"This way." Darius led the way, leaving large footprints in the snow that I was able to walk in. "I started to call these woods home shortly after I left home. It called me, you know?" He laughed. "I felt I had purpose here." 

My eyes grew tired of staring down his back. I raised my gaze to the trees, enjoying the sights. Each step felt more real than the last. This was really happening. I had left home. 

"I built my home here. Set up a single tent with a campfire and I was set! When it was time to search for food, I'd wander the woods for hours upon hours. One day, I came upon a village further out than I usually walked to. There, I found one of my best friends. He was being exiled from his town. I took him in, and made his home my camp too. Over the years, we've gone through dozens of villages searching for the outcasts and troublemakers. I bring them to my camp and we call each other family." He smiled back at me. "Now, I don't know yet, but it feels like you might belong here too."

I shook my head. "It sounds nice, but," Also too good to be true. A whole camp of outcasts? Hardly a chance. It wasn't my place. "I need to find my father. I need to know why I was born like this and why he left my mother and I."

"I understand."

I wasn't going to his camp to find a home. I was going for answers, that was all. Perhaps if I liked it and my father didn't want me with him, I could come back; but that would be the only reason. I couldn't give up so close to when I started this journey. I needed to see it through. I inhaled a deep breath, refocusing my mind. I was in this for my family, not for anyone else. I needed to find my place at long last. 

No distractions.