Blooming Rose (Book 1): Memories

Chapter 1: Rose

I stood outside the dragon's cave, overlooking the sunset. I had a giant pile of fish wrapped up in a sack. I was beginning to smell, and I knew Obsidian would be hungry, but there are times when I like to look off into the distance, at peace, and think. The sun finally disappeared over the horizon and I entered the cave, careful to cover the entrance with vines. I walked down the hallway, made of dirt, rock, and earth. It led to a small corridor and I stepped in.

In there, a dragon with midnight black scales, but with some silver ones also that made him look like a cloudless starry night. He spoke,"It's about time you came back, I was starving." I smiled at him and started the fire. Today, I had caught seventeen fish and Obsidian, my dragon, would have to had at least fifteen with his big appetite with being a dragon, and all. So I cooked fifteen fish and gave them to Obsidian and gave two to myself. Obsidian smiled at me and despite him being a dragon, it was still nice. "Thank you, Rose," he said. Tonight was one of those nights where we wouldn't talk much and Obsidian would let me stare off into space and think.

My name is Rose Star Jacobs. I only kept the Jacobs part because I find it as a way to be connected with my brother, but there are times when I leave out the last part and just refer to myself as Rose Star.

I truly loved Obisidian. He was my guardian, my family. He was my only family with Mark being...deceased and I ran away from my father. And...Henry, I don't like to think about Henry. I love no one and no one loves me except for Obsidian. It's been about a year and a half already since I left.

I remember running and crying. Lots of crying. I had left Henry and ran. I didn't know where, but I knew I had to leave. What hurt most is that he never came after me, he never even tried to call me back. I stumbled throughout the forest, it was daytime thank goodness. I came to a mountain, and in Fantasy it isn't abnormal to find a mountain in the forest. I knew that this was a dragon's cave by the looks of it. I thought that maybe the cave would contain something that could help me and decided, What do I have to lose, besides my life? I climbed the mountain and it was dark by the time I got there. A storm was brewing and gave me no choice but to go into the cave. I stepped in, not really caring whether it had a dragon in it or not.

As I stepped into the cavern, I saw the dragon. It wasn't the biggest dragon compared to the one the Oracles had, but it was still about four times my size and I was five foot six. He turned towards me and I expected him to breath fire at me for trespassing or something, but instead he spoke. "Fascinating, a human brave enough to venture into my home." I was actually quite surprised. I knew that dragons could speak, but only some of them have the ability to speak to humans, fairies, etc. I was beginning to get nervous,"So.....what? You're not gonna kill me?" I asked. To my surprise, the dragon laughed,"Well, you are quite interesting for a human! So tell me, what brings you here? And I'm guessing that you have no where else to go, so you might as well stay." I knew there was something different about this dragon. He wasn't one of the wild hostile ones, and he didn't belong to an Oracle.

I began to tell him my story, every detail. Somehow, I knew I could trust him. I started crying in the middle of it and the dragon gave me a look of pity. I continued. When I finished, he asked,"What is your name?" I replied,"Rose Star...." I hesitated,"Jacobs." He looked at me and murmured,"My name is Obsidian and I know that the world is a cruel place. Your past is quite...interesting. And where are you going to go next after you leave here?" I stared a him and I was pretty heartbroken, but I told him the truth,"Well...um...I well thought you were kinda trustworthy...and I was hoping to stay here with you. You know, since I have no where else to go." But I quickly added,"But if you don't want me here, I can leave." I started to get up as he smiled at me and he said,"Please stay. You seem to have had a difficult past, where all those who have sworn to protect and help you, have died or betrayed you. But do not worry. I will be your protector." At that moment, I don't know how, I just knew I could trust Obsidian.

Over the next few days, Obsidian and I shared each other tales about our lives. Obsidian had told me that he only stayed out here in the wild because he didn't like his life complicated with Oracles and Prophecies, but he didn't want to live in a hostile environment. He had also shown me his hoard. Every dragon has a hoard. It is a collection of treasure and items dragons have found in their lives. A hoard is a dragon's pride. Obsidian's hoard was kept in a separate cave, that I somehow hadn't noticed before. I was connected to the cave Obsidian and I lived in and it was the entrance way bugger than even Obsidian. I probably hadn't noticed before because Obsidian's body was blocking it.

When Obsidian offered to show me his hoard, I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted. I was honored and thanked him over and over, eventually annoying him. He then showed me his hoard. It was the largest hoard I'd ever seen, even though it was the only hoard I'd ever seen because most dragons would try to kill you if you got near their hoard. Not only was the cave full of gold and riches, it also had some magical items. I asked Obsidian how he got the magical items and he answered,"I made them." Obsidian never ceased to surprise me. He not only was a dragon that could talk, he was also a Creator. A Creator is a dragon that can make magical items that have great power. That is why the Oracles were so powerful. Some of their dragons were Creators and they got very powerful weapons. Obsidian, once again shocked me,"Pick anything you like." I looked at him dumbfounded and he repeated it,"Well? Pick something. You're probably going to need a weapon."

I started to move around the room, with Obsidian watching me. I saw a sword I picked it up and immediately dropped it, with its heavy weight, and it made a loud clang noise. I gazed over at Obsidian and I saw a look of amusement in his surprisingly bright silver eyes. I walked over to a spear, lifting it up again. This time I didn't drop anything, but it still didn't feel right to me.

I then saw a black, curved figure out if the corner of my eye. I turned towards it. The object was a bow and lying next to it was a quiver of arrows. I picked them up and I knew that it was perfect. It was about two foot seven and made of a type of very sturdy wood. The bowstring was flexible but it was also stiff enough for it to not snap. I glanced at the quiver. There was something about it that was...powerful. Obsidian must have sensed my curiosity because he announced,"That is a magic quiver. It never runs out of arrows and summons different types of arrows. Just think about it." I pulled out an arrow and looked at Obsidian in wonder. To prove his point, I spent about ten minutes pulling arrows out of the quiver. Obsidian looked at me and questioned,"Have you found it yet?" I nodded. "Name it," he demanded. I gave him a look of question and asked,"What should I name it?" He shook his head,"That is for you to decide." I thought about the storm that came that one night and led me here. I replied,"How about Nightstorm?"

"Rose!" Obsidian yelled. I shook my head and was snapped out of my daze. "What?" I asked crankily. "I said,'How was your day?'" he retaliated. "Oh, fine," I answered. He looked at me and tilted his head to the side. "What were you thinking about?" he questioned. "The past," I answered,"That one night when I came to you." I hesitated before asking him my next question,"Obsidian, have you ever had any regrets about your past?" This seemed to take him by surprise. He thought for a moment, then said,"Yes. Sometimes I do. I sometimes regret leaving my family behind. I sometimes feel as if I had abandoned them and my duty." I was baffled,"Wait, what do you mean your duty?" He answered,"I was descended from Oracle Dragons. It was my duty to work with the Oracles, but I ran away. Is there anything you regret, since you brought up the subject?" I didn't answer immediately though, I thought, Obsidian's an Oracle Dragon? Wow. I remarked,"Yes. Obsidian. I do regret something." My voice cracked, but I continued,"I regret leaving. I don't regret leaving because of my father or Henry. I regret leaving Mark. I feel like I abandoned him in his time of need." I was crying by now. "He promised to protect me, and I couldn't do the same for him."

Obsidian scooted closer to me and held me close to him, like a protector, a guardian, like my brother. He tried to console me,"Rose, it is not your fault. It is the fault of your father. It had been a year and a half. You may be fourteen, but you are still too young to deal with this much devastation. Rose, instead of dwelling on the past and thinking about your regrets, think about what you don't regret. I don't regret taking you in. I don't regret taking care of you. I don't regret meeting you." I looked up at him through tears and smiled up at him. "Sleep," he demanded. I didn't want to, but I did. But for me, sleep always brought dreams.