The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Twenty-Three

When Darius had first introduced me to flying, I had been in love with it. It had been beautiful, breath-taking, and beyond my wildest dreams. Each time he brought me into the sky, I felt the fears of this world leave me. It was something I never thought I'd get used to.

Yet, as Darius flew us back to his camp, the once wonderful world around us seemed to dull out. We were among the birds themselves and I couldn't bring a smile to my face. The wind caressed my cheeks while we soared near the clouds but I dared not reach out to touch the clouds. I didn't want to. My soul felt crushed. I had stepped too far out of line. I was foolish to think that such happiness like this could last. 

Embers of hope remained in me. Maybe I was missing something that Darius had seen. Something had to have happened while I slept last night and he wasn't telling me about it. I couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with his father. Whatever happened had pricked his emotions to the point where the only escape he saw was to return to the home he had made. I longed for him to tell me what had happened and to assure me that it wasn't my fault, that he wasn't angry at me. 

The familiar tree line appeared as Darius dove back beneath the clouds. The snow was still heavy as he descended towards the camp. The people started as little black specs. As we got closer, I could see the colors upon their clothes and their faces began becoming clear. Everyone was ready to greet Darius it seemed. They allowed enough room for him to land, a puff of snow flurrying over the gathering crowd from the air that had been trapped underneath his wings. 

Just as I shifted myself to get off of him, Darius shrugged me off. I gasped as I slid off his side and landed in a pile of snow. I watched helplessly as he transformed. He spared me one glance that I swore I saw tears in before pushing silently past the crowd and hurrying to his hut. 

The cold began seeping in through my pants and gloves. I didn't have the strength to pull myself up as I watched Darius hurry off. While I wanted to believe it wasn't me he was upset with, his actions were speaking louder than any lie I could tell myself. Did I make him angry when I had given up last night? I swallowed, only looking up when Genevieve approached. 

"You alright?" She extended her hand towards me. I thought she was smiling, but it was difficult to tell with her snout. 

I placed my hand in hers, accepting the help. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." A part of my heart calmed in her presence. Darius might not have appreciated me, but at least they still did. It had been trembling the entire way here, finally being at ease as Finn and Dove followed behind her. 

"Odelle!" Dove grinned as she hurried, greeting me with a tight hug that I wanted to melt into. I felt so lost and confused, hurt by one of the only friends I had. "I'm so glad you're back! We all thought you left for good!" She squeezed briefly before releasing me and holding my arms. 

"I had my doubts Darius was going to return when he went after you, much less return with you in hand. Happy to have you back." Finn flashed me a smile. His eyes glanced towards Darius' hut as we heard the door shut. "I've never known him to arrive without saying hello. Did something happen?"

I sighed, not wanting to recall it all. I had thought we had been perfectly fine. There was a piece of this mystery that I wasn't aware of yet. "I don't know." It was the only truthful answer I could give them.

"You must be hungry! I'm sure Darius will come to his senses soon. Besides, I'm sure you have a lot of stories to tell us!" Dove pulled on my arm while Genevieve took my pack for me. We left Darius' in the pile of snow he had dropped me in. 

"Yeah." I swallowed. I didn't want to speak about Darius at the moment, not wanting to let myself focus on what went wrong. However, remembering everything that had happened might give me the chance to realize a mistake I had possibly made along the way. I found the strength to look at Darius' hut, spotting him in the window. Our eyes briefly met. I was the first to tear away. I wouldn't do this to myself. 

~~~~~~~~

I caught her eyes by accident and felt my heart break a little further. I hated doing this to her but as of now, I hadn't thought out any other option. I took comfort in the fact that between Finn, Dove, and Genevieve, her mind would soon be distracted and far from me. I needed time to think this through without being approached by anyone. The way I had stormed off felt like it had accomplished that, especially when she broke our gaze. She wouldn't ever understand this. I wouldn't let her. She would be unpredictable and I feared that she would give into what the witch had said. I was worried she would believe that that was the only purpose she served in this life. 

While I had supported Allira my entire life, I couldn't help but feel infuriated by her. She and Odelle were the same, but she had created a new soul when she had taken on this human form. If it was just her life on the line, things would have been different. That would have been a sacrifice she chose to make. She had brought Odelle into this and Odelle would be the one to suffer and disappear from a world that never gave her contentment in the first place. What a horrid thing to do to someone!

I collapsed on my bed, throwing my hands onto my face. I ignored the stinging, almost preferring to focus on that than the current situation I faced but my mind wouldn't let me. I was being refused the right to be distracted. Odelle deserved better than that. Not only did I need to think of a way to separate myself from Odelle peacefully, I needed to figure out how I was going to save my people without the crystal I had desperately hoped for years for.

My duty and heart were, once again, on opposite sides. I had come to this crossroad when I had first rebelled against my father. My duty was to the people and to keep them protected from all evils while my heart was stuck upon my father. I loved him, he was family. He had helped bring me into this world and was partially responsible for giving me life. Choosing duty over him had been hard at first, but I had been thankful I had done it afterwards. Was this the same case? My people were suffering daily under the rule of my father. Surely, their lives mattered more than some human girl that actually was Allira, who had hidden as a human purely for this reason?

But, Odelle. 

Odelle was innocent. She had been casted away from her own people since birth, only knowing love between her and her mother. She was mentally tortured growing up and hadn't truly experienced life yet. She was just another soul on this Earth longing for happiness and adventure. She had bravely set out to find her father, who she wasn't even sure existed, because that was a better alternative to staying home. Odelle hadn't given up even when the odds were against her. She didn't deserve to die in a war that wasn't hers. 

My heart raised another point. I had long questioned why I cared this much about her, but the answer was right before my eyes. When she smiled, the world lit up. When her eyes landed upon mine, I could forget why I was here in the first place. A love I had never experienced was present in Odelle. 

I couldn't do it. 

The weight of this decision crushed my chest, pressing down on my lungs. It was hard to breathe, no matter how hard I focused on it. 

I stared at the ceiling while puffing out a sigh as I silently prayed the answers would come soon.