Flame

Chapter 13 - Under the Cherry Tree

Chapter 13

Under the Cherry Tree

My heart skipped a beat, the stranger stood, garbed in a heavy onyx cloak, about a meter away from me, neither of us moved, hell I don't even think either of us dared to breathe in that moment. The garment that shrouded the stranger obscured his or her face-I wasn't sure which one yet-and left me in complete mystery of their identity. The silence reached a point where it was unbearable, and I found myself with the incredible urge to break it, I waited for another minute before finally succumbing to the desire.

"Um, hello?" I said nervously.

"Hello Kendra." The figure responded, shocking me, I didn't actually expect them to reply. The stranger's voice was deep, but not with age, that of an adolescent man or teenager perhaps.

"How do you know my name?"

The man chuckled. "I have my sources."

I folded my arms across my chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The figure chuckled again. "It means that I... get around a lot."

"Uh-huh." I said, suspicion lacing my words. "I just find it odd that you seem to know a lot about me, while I know next to nothing about you."

The man chuckled. I wish he would stop doing that. I thought.

"I suppose that's true, and since you asked so nicely, I guess I'll tell you my name." I waited for him to say it but apparently he enjoyed suspense because when he finally did, I was dying to know.

"It's Julian." He stated plainly.

"Well Julian, I would kind of like to know why you told me to meet you out here. I don't even know who you are, you could be a creepy stalker trying to kidnap me or something! And you do know that if we're caught, we'll get detention, so I'm really risking a lot here." He laughed, the sound somehow relaxing me, but just slightly.

"You'll know soon enough." And then he melded with the shadows like some freaky ninja-warrior.

So I stood there. I was confused and in a sort of daze, I had virtually no clue as to what was going on, and this complete stranger had just left me here without explaining what the hell was going on, with the exception of his first name- which I had almost no use for.

A bright ray of light switched on the alarm in my brain and I didn't understand why until a man walked by the courtyard. He stopped, and I stood frozen like a deer caught in a car's headlights. I didn't move, my limbs went stiff, as if I were a living statue. Just as the beam of light was about a meter away from me, my feet suddenly became unstuck and I managed to jump behind the cherry tree just as the menacing ray swept over the spot that I had stood just seconds before.

I don't know how long I had stood there for, it could have a minute, or ten. Or it could have been mere seconds, there was just no way for me to tell.

When I felt like the coast was clear, I peeked out from behind my sanctuary tentatively. My eyes suspiciously darted to every shadow; searching for a danger I wasn't even sure was there. When my piercing gaze found nothing, I prowled from the courtyard all the way to my dormitory. My heart beat never dropped below a mile a minute for the entire duration of the journey.

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The rest of the week was uneventful. Few excitements took place, and the only one that was of any significance to me was when I found out that I would be having my first dragon race in a few days.

Now it was a lazy Sunday afternoon, I had no classes and the weather was just starting to crispen with the chills of Autumn. I was in the stables grooming Kestral, humming a cheerful tune as I worked, when suddenly, Kestral opened one amber eye and lifted her head, alerting me of an approaching person. I turned around to find an extremely handsome young man stamding behind me.