The Dragon Curse

Together

I was soon out of the forest and ran through the field where my house was. I quickly opened the door and went inside, putting the book down on the table in the middle of the house, when I was stopped in my track. I was stunned and taken aback when I found a young blond-haired woman standing in front of the fireplace completely naked. She had a piece of wood in her hand and pointed it at me, holding it up for defense. She looked scared and confused, so I had to approach her slowly.

"Calm down," I said, but she seemed to not understand what I was saying. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I put up my hand so she would see that I didn't have a weapon and that I came with peace. She took deep breaths and she was slowly lowering the piece of wood as she calmed down. I took a deep breath too and slowly went up to my chest at the end of my bed and opened it. I took out one of my dresses, it was a red one with a little white in it, and turned back to her. I took little steps towards her and now she looked calm enough, so I went closer to her. I handed her the dress and now she knew that I wasn't a threat to her so she dropped the piece of wood on the floor. She took the dress and looked at it then back at me.

"My name is Evelien," I told her, but she just tilted her head.

She then came up to me and tried to touch my forehead, but I quickly backed away. She didn't stop though and followed me until I hit the wall and she was inches away from me. I tried to stop her hand, but she was quicker and place her palm on my forehead. I didn't feel anything she just suddenly backed away and shook her head. I didn't know what happened and she just looked at me.

"My name is Amy," she said as she smiled and my eyes widened.

"You" I started, but I couldn't speak from the confusion.

"Is this your home?" she asked and I just nodded. "It's nice."

"Thank you, but how do you suddenly understand what I'm saying?" I asked and she smiled widely at me.

"I learned your language," she said and went back to the fireplace.

"With a single touch?" I asked and she nodded happily. "And what can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry that I just simply came in, but this was the first house I found and I wanted to ask for help, but nobody was here, so I thought I should wait for the owner," she explained then looked back at the dress I gave her earlier. "Why did you gave me that?"

"To dress up," I said and took the dress from her hand. "Let me help you because you don't seem to know how to put them on, am I right?"

"Thank you," she said politely and I helped her to get the dress on then tightened the dress around her body so it would stay on her.

"So what are you if not a human?" I asked when I was finished and she turned to me.

"I'm a mermaid," she said and I was surprised. "I came here because my friend is in danger and I have to help him."

"What kind of danger?" I asked and went to the book to open it because I had to work on a potion that could blow up the rock or somehow damage it so Seán would be able to push it away from the cave's entrance.

"I don't exactly know," she said and watched me as I went up to my cauldron and started putting the ingredients into it.

"Then how do you even know that he is in danger?" I asked and took a quick look at her, but then turned back to my business.

"He gave me this crystal and all of a sudden it was glowing red," she said and I took another look at her to glance at the crystal that was still glowing red.

"So you don't know where he might be or how big the danger is," I said and she came closer to the cauldron.

"I was hoping that a human might know where he is," she said and I heard the fear in her voice.

She really cared about her friend. I wonder if this man was actually more than a friend to her, since she willingly gave up her fishtail for a pair of legs in exchange, so she could come here and find him. For a while, she just watched as I was making my potion when she asked me excitedly.

"Are you a witch?" she asked and I looked at her.

"Yes," I told her and she became even more excited.

"Then you can help me," she said and put her hands together. "Please, I need your help. I really have to find my friend and I'm worried about him."

"I understand, but I have to help a friend of mine as well," I said as I turned back to the cauldron and added the last ingredient.

"Who is your friend?" she asked quickly and I knew what she was trying to find out.

"I highly doubt that you know him," I said and grabbed a little bottle to pour some of the potions in it. "He is a dragon."

"Is his name Jack?" she asked and I looked at her with confusion.

She couldn't possibly know Seán, since she was a mermaid. I doubt that she even know what a dragon looks like. She was probably thinking about another Jack. But what if not? What if she knows him and came here to actually help him?

"He is called by that name too, but only his friend calls him Jack," I explained and I saw that she was thinking too. "Do you know him?"

"Just from stories," she said and now I was really confused. "I know his friend better. I helped him through the sea, and he told me about Jack. They were crossing the sea and they fell in the water after a rough storm."

At that point, I knew who was her mysterious friend she was after. It wasn't Seán... it was Mark. It all made sense as I thought about it, but I had to make sure that she was thinking about him.

"Your friend's name is Mark, right?" I asked and her eyes widened.

"Yes. Do you know him?" she asked quickly, but I didn't say anything.

If Mark was really in danger then we had to hurry. I quickly grabbed a side bag and put the book into it along with the potion and some other stuff. I put out the fire then grabbed Amy's wrist, pulling her towards the door. She was confused, but she didn't resist, so we left the house and headed towards the forest.

"I might know what happened with Mark, but for that, we have to help Seán first," I said and she followed me into the forest so I could let go of her hand.