Eternal Awakening

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Tragedy

Richard braced himself against the bitter wind and snow, pulling his thick cloak over his chest and shoulders. He had no idea how high in the air they were, but if he had to guess he would say they were currently flying twice as high as the dormitory towers back at the academy, and it made the weather even more unbearable than it would have been on the ground. He didn't complain though; Daiya was probably right, and flying on the back of a dragon was probably the fastest way to get to the palace.

The academy grounds had vanished into the distance behind them, the lights hidden beneath the thick grey clouds that covered the area as far as the eye could see. It had only been a few minutes since they had left the school, and no one had talked or even moved; save for Daiya, who gently flicked the reigns on the dragon and spurred it on even faster.

Now that Richard took a moment and took everything in, he looked over the top of Lythia's head at Daiya's straight back, wondering what kind of face she was making that he couldn't see. Their duel had been interrupted right in the middle of it, and they still hadn't cleared the air about his horrible actions towards her over the last couple of weeks. Yet it almost didn't seem to matter in that moment; she didn't ask questions, she didn't doubt that what she was being told was the truth, and she didn't hesitate to jump in and help out.

Richard supposed that was just who Daiya was, and he felt like even more of an ass because of it. To think that he could have ever doubted that her friendship was real was ridiculous. Daiya was a far better person than he ever could be, and he should have felt honoured to call her his friend. Instead he had pushed her away because he looked at the whole situation in his normal, pessimistic way. It was an old habit from his time on Earth, and one that appeared hadn't been totally destroyed in the weeks that he had been on this world.

He felt bad for the way he had acted, but he realized that this was not the time to be worrying about it. The palace was under attack, Aura hadn't returned from a trip there earlier, and no one had any clue what to expect when they arrived. They were running blind in that moment, and that scared Richard. But, as seemed to be her way, Daiya didn't seem to be too concerned with it; and she alone kept a cool head and took charge of the situation.

“We should be there in twenty to thirty minutes,” she called out over the loud wind, speaking for the first time since she had gotten on the back of the dragon in the middle of the arena. “When we get there, I want you two to stay close at my side and keep your heads down. We don't know what to expect, so we'll assume the worst until we are proven otherwise. Follow my orders when I give them, and try not to get separated. This isn't going to be easy.”

“Can't... can't you get us there faster? Thirty minutes is too long!” Lythia complained loudly, her voice wavering and her body shivering in front of Richard. She seemed to be effected by the cold far more than either Richard or Daiya, and he quickly reached out and rubbed his hands over her arms, trying to get some heat back into her body. Even though she hated other people touching her, Lythia didn't complain and only whimpered sadly, shivering and swaying back and forth.

“We're going as fast as we can right now,” Daiya answered, turning her face slightly so she could peer back at her two passengers. She wore a serious and determined look on her face, and she didn't seem to take Lythia's words as an insult of any kind. In fact it looked like she actually wanted to go faster, but she obviously didn't think it was a good idea.