Island of the Dragon

Scene II

I woke to the raft shaking violently. People were jumping off while other talked excitedly. "What..."

"We spotted land." Laura was giddy about this, staring at me with wide eyes.

I lifted my heavy head to see the same land that everyone was freaking out about. Out in the distance was a castle, parts of which were concealed by tall conifer trees. The old building rested on a hill that seemed to just rise out of the water.

The raft jerked a bit as the swimmers began kicking. I looked behind me to see that ten of the survivors had decided to be the kickers. Only four of us were resting still, which made me nervous. "Three of you need to come back on."

I got a dirty look from Sage's "other sister" Alisha. "Why?"

"If we have a massive group of swimmers now, then y'all will tire out and we'll stop moving."

They had not thought of that. Three girls pushed themselves back onto the raft angrily. I watched the swimmers nervously. What if they were to pass out? They would most likely drown. Grabbing the remaining rope, I made loops and one by one, I placed the ropes around the swimmers' torsos. Each complained about how uncomfortable the ropes were, but when I explained that the lassoes would allow us to pull them up when they get tired, they could hardly whined.

The island approached faster than I had anticipated. Even with the rotating swimmers, we should not have been able to reach the island at the rate we did. The currents favored us.

The raft ground up against the sand, and the other thirteen people could not get off fast enough. One person collapsed on the ground in sheer joy, which almost made me want to laugh. But the sinister appearance of the castle kept me sober.

Grey weathered rock formed a feeble looking structure. Some of the stone had worn away, leaving long gashes in the walls. The remnants of black cloth hung loosely from rods atop the walls. Giant conifer trees dotted the structure, like a botanical garden growing from ancient ruins. The whole building was surrounded by the trees. My eyes could not see the ocean from this side, because the wooded area was so thick.

"Eliyah, what is it?" Chase knelt beside me, searching for what my eyes were scrutinizing. His pale blue eyes could not see the dark in things, while my heterochromatic eyes seemed to find nothing more. "Do you see something?"

I shake my head. "Just a feeling." He stood up and offered a hand to me for help. I took it and made an angry face to make him laugh. We were both seventeen, but I stood at his shoulder. And I am not short. I stand at five feet and six inches.

He ran off and joined the rest of the revelers, but I did not. I walked along the beachfront, searching for more land. Islands usually have adjoining areas. But as I paced the edges, I found nothing but water. I was on the other side of the island, and not a spit of land was on the horizon.

I heard something behind me and froze. At the time I was easily teased, so I thought it might be someone about to jumper-cable me. But when I turned, it was an elk. And not any elk, I was at this animal's shoulder. The antlers on the bull had at least twelve points, and they sat proudly on its head.

The elk dropped its head and sniffed my shirt curiously. I kept still, not wanting to frighten the majestic animal away. Its large nose drifted up into my face and the large elk made a sort of squealing noise. I slowly raised my hand and gently moved its face from mine. The elk seemed determined to talk to me, because it began squealing again, finishing its sentence in a bellow. With a roll of my eyes, I continued walking. And the beast kept following me and bellowing.

"What is it?" I asked the dumb animal. "I'm just walking."

I was answered by a bellow. Whatever I was expecting was dashed.

The big brute followed me back to the side of the island that we landed on, but it did not follow me onto the sand. "What's wrong, Rudolph?" I asked mockingly. "Now that I'm over here, I'm not good enough to follow." I began laughing, but stopped when I saw the terror in the eyes of that elk. The dark brown orbs sat on a head that dipped low as the elk backed up.

I turned to see what the source of fear was, and my body froze like an iceberg. A mountain lion sat there like an over sized house cat, watching me with particular interest. The well-muscled feline did not move towards me; it just sat there and stared at me.

It walked up to me and sniffed my clothes like the elk did. But I did not have to worry about an elk ripping my arm off. The lion snarled and jumped up, placing its paws on my shoulders. The pressure knocked me to the ground and the cat just stood above me snarling, giving me a very good view of its massive canines.

"Kaia." A man barked angrily. The lion turned to look at the person and ran off into the woods. "I'm very sorry about that, miss." I could not see the stranger well, he stood just where the sun was overhead. A soft hand grazed my own and pulled. He brought me to my feet, allowing me to study his features without the sun blinding me.

His black hair was combed back finely, not a lock out of place. The darkness of his hair contrasted sharply with his fair skin tone. The amethysts he had as eyes seemed as intent to study me as I him. "I did not realize that another maiden had arrived on my island." The words he spoke were enticing, leaving me wanting to hear more. "Did you arrive with the others, or do I have another craft somewhere?"

I smiled a bit. "I came with the others."

He nodded, taking in the information. "Why were you wandering, then?" He inquired, seeming genuinely interested in my taking a walk.

"I was looking for other islands." I answered, eyes lost in the purple abyss of his own. "Surely an island does not exist without adjoining land masses."

He smiled understandingly. "That had me baffled as well," he looks out to his left, at the waves swirling about in unison, "but as I am sure you know now, there is no land other than my island within sight." This through me through a loop. There was someone who could understand my thinking.

His island. I had heard him say that before, but from how he held himself it seemed right. A man with that kind of authoritative yet calm presence should have power, and what better power than a country all to yourself. But how lonely. No one to talk with on an intellectual level, and having only the sea as a constant change. "Do you live here alone?" I asked before thinking about the question.

A face of sad contemplation passed over his welcoming expression. "I had many with me, some months ago." There was a crack in his façade that I could not quite place. "I hope to find that camaraderie in you and your party." Having had some time, I think I have made up my mind on what that crack was. Hunger. "What is your name?"

"Eliyah."

He repeated several times, letting it roll off his tongue playfully. "That is quite unique, Eliyah."

I shrugged and looked down at my ruined shoes. "It's an anagram of my mother's name, Hailey."

I could almost see the letters in his eyes as he fit the pieces together. "How ingenious." He took a beat before saying, "My name is Luka."

Hi! Here's scene two of act one, and I hope you all enjoyed it. If you notice any grammar or spelling errors, let me know down below.

Question of the chapter: Who else has seen Big Hero 6? Because I went with my cousin and it was the funniest, cutest, saddest thing I've seen all year long.