Dragonsoul

Chapter 32

Shuddering and shaking, Leonie had difficulties prying her eyes open. Unsure whether it was the chill that had her under its unrelenting foot or nightmares, Leonie couldn't stop her mind from spinning and turning, never stopping or settling as much as she could not stop her body from shuddering violently.

The nightmares were bearable, but they still left her with coldness around her heart that was not natural. It was bone-chilling, unlike any naturally occurring coldness the little girl had encountered in her life.

It was beyond confusing to wake up with it sliming its way to her heart, making her forget about the warm embrace of her family or the pleasant warmth of the spring sun. It did not help that, when she tried to breathe, clouds of smoke came out of her mouth.

A shuffling sound in front of her door made her jump up in fear, although she had never been easily scared. There was something about waking up in the middle of the night, covered in cold sweat, almost shivering your bones out that made her more susceptible to fear.

Fear, that great nemesis, that we are never able to conquer. The one that rears its ugly head at the most inopportune of times and refuses to leave.

"Sh, it's me, Leonie. Fire is dying out, and it's bitterly cold, so I thought it might be better if we all snuggle up in my bed after I add some more wood to the fire." Amitola said, soothingly, as she noted Leonie's terrified countenance.

Upon noticing sweat dripping from Leonie's forehead fully aware that it could not be from the heat since it was very chilly in the room, she went to her little girl in a dash, wiping the sweat away with a gentle motherly touch.

"Oh, my dear, are you okay? Are nightmares getting to be too much?" Amitola asked.

"I am fine. It was just a terrifying one for me, but not in any way worse than before." Leonie said, trying to avoid explaining.

After all, how could she explain that she had just cried her eyes out holding her mother's dead body, while Nald's helplessly tried to bring Amitola's back to life? How could she explain that she was jolted awake by a horrible image of her little brother being murdered and falling on their mother's lifeless body?

They did not need to know how bad the nightmares were, and although they were omens of bad things to come, Leonie knew without truly knowing how that they were more symbolic. Her dreams were images that she had to interpret correctly, but either way, what she knew for sure was that somewhere, not too far from home, evil was growing.

"Alright then, gather your blankets, you know how greedy Nald can be for warm blankets and come to my bedroom, will be warmer together," Amitola said.

"Like that one time when the Hunters had to huddle up together because the winter caught them by surprise while they were on their last hunt?" Leonie asked.

"Haha, I didn't know your father told you about that. They were horrified that they as the mighty warriors had to cuddle up together," Amitola said, smiling at the memory.

"It must have been so strange for them, but I wouldn't mind being warmer right about now," Leonie said.

As they got out into the hallway without using any lights, they started shuffling, by feeling the walls, towards the main bedroom. After all, it was not the first time for them to navigate the house by touch, not wanting to wake Nald up.

However, when an enormous shape started looming towards them, both Leonie and Amitola froze in fear for a second. However, they recovered sooner than anyone would have in their shoes when they noticed that the distorted figure was close to Nald's room.

Terrified and confused as Leonie was by her nightmares, the early arrival of winter, and the destiny that awaited her, she could not judge the situation accurately. Instead of trying to figure out what could be approaching them, she acted on instinct, running towards the intruder and cutting off its path.

That was when a scream, which sounded as if it belonged to a four-year-old girl, pierced the air. To everyone's surprise, the shriek of terror was coming from the looming shadow, which almost took up the whole hallway.

Being the more rational of the two, Amitola managed to get some light into the hallway before anyone else could lose their minds. What they saw surprised them more than they thought possible.

Shrinking against the wall was the great Rimar, The Firestarter. To his utter humiliation, it was clear to everyone that he was the one who produced the ear-bleeding shriek. He could not graciously recover from that awkward moment, and that made him mad at himself.

"What's going on? It sounded like someone was struggling a donkey." Nald said as he emerged from his room sleepily rubbing his eyes.

That was when both Leonie and Amitola burst out laughing while Rim raised his head indignantly. Nald, on his part, was more confused than anything else looking at the scene before him with sleepy eyes. He just shrugged and proceeded to his mother's room as if he knew that she was about to carry him over.

"Sorry, Rim, but seeing a big scary dragon cowering in fear is more than anyone could look at without laughing," Leonie said upon noticing that Rim was sulking.

It warmed her heart to see that he could still be as childish as that since it seemed as if he was growing up too fast. Being allowed to see his young side instead of the wise dragon who has ascended, somehow made her feel better.

"I am sorry, but you must admit it was funny," Leonie said.

When Rim did not react to Leonie's words, she approached him and gently stroked his head. It was her way to apologize for laughing at her best friend, and from the strange sounds similar to purring that came from Rim, it was clear that he had already forgiven her.

"Perhaps, it is a little bit funny," he said, looking her in the eyes.

Then he finally burst out laughing in acknowledgment of how ridiculous it must have looked to them. Even he was shocked by the way he reacted, it was not in his nature to be a coward, but they caught him by surprise.

"What are you doing, stalking poor dragons in the darkness anyway?" Rim asked once he stopped laughing.

"We were trying not to wake up Nald," Amitola explained.

"Oh, sorry," Rim said.

"That's okay, he has probably fallen asleep again," Amitola said.

"Why are you here in the middle of the night? We thought you were a monster or something!" Leonie said.

"You thought I was a scary monster! Cool!" Rim said.

"Rim!" Leonie said, impatiently.

"Right, back to the point. I could sense that there was something wrong with you, so I came to check up on you." Rim admitted.

"That is why you scared me out of my mind?" Leonie asked.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake up the others. Why is everyone awake, anyway?" Rim asked.

"The winter has come, and the fire was not strong enough, so we had to add some firewood, and we decided to sleep in the same bed for warmth," Amitola said.

"I can help with that," Rim said enthusiastically.

He started adjusting his position into a firebreathing stance, which immediately caught Leonie's eye. It was as if he wanted to start a fire right there in the hallway.

"What are you doing?" Leonie said.

"Well, you need fire, I can help," he said.

"No, no fire in the middle of the house," Leonie said.

Rim deflated significantly at her words, not knowing how else to help.

"You can help by sleeping at the bottom of the bed to help us stay warm. Would that be okay?" Leonie said.

"Yes, of course," Rim said immediately.

Leonie could feel that ever since he became one with his fire, his scales were much warmer, and having him close by would be as if having a hot bottle it would help immensely.

Once everyone finally settled, Leonie closed her eyes, hoping that the company of others would chase away the nightmares. However, that couldn't stop the winter from cutting them off from the rest of the world.