Graced

Chapter Thirteen

"Wait, what?"

The lady smiled slightly. "I see you are confused. It is not surprising. Ours is a strange world. Much different from yours."

Lia stared at her in astonishment. "You know about my world? How? Why are we here? How did we get here? And where -exactly- is here?"

Cyra laughed gently. "You have many questions. Some of which I cannot answer." At Lia's disbelieving gaze she added, "Not because I am unwilling, but because I do not know myself."

Lia nodded slowly, trying to figure out this strange woman. She seemed like she had a lot of authority, judging by the way the two boys acted. And she knew something about this whole... adventure.

"The history of our world is short so I will explain from the beginning. Humans have only been around for near one hundred years now. Yet the land has always been inhabited by the dragons. They weren't always violent and viscous." Her voice turned wistful as she gazed off into the distance, staring at the wall behind Lia but not actually seeing it.

"We got along well, for the first few years. The older generation was wise, and realized that maintaining peaceful relations with the dragons was key to their survival. But the younger generation disagreed, and broke the peace agreement by killing one of the most important and valuable dragons. They have a curious political system, one that is near impossible for humans to understand without studying it for half a lifetime." At Lia's questioning look she laughed.

"They are not stupid creatures. And as they live many hundreds of years, they grow very wise. The one killed was what could be considered a prince, I suppose. And that was the end of any chance of peace. We used to have thriving cities and stunning castles, but they were destroyed over the years. Now we live in this camp, one of two remaining human civilizations."

She stopped and returned to gazing distractedly at the wall. Lia took advantage of the time and silence to process the information she had just received. She had answered only one of Lia's questions, and Lia was still curious but she didn't really want to interrupt the woman's daydreams. There was something like guilt in her eyes, mixed with the sadness of the memories.

"Cyra?" Lia prodded gently after a few minutes of silence. Cyra turned to her, a smile forming on her face once more.

"I'm sorry. I got lost in my mind for a moment there. As for your other questions... We know about your world because we came from it, much the same as you have. As for how, we have no idea. And why you came, a group at such a young age, has yet to be seen."

Cyra stood. "I will leave you to rest now. You will be here for many days still. Your injuries are most severe. The fact that you survived is a miracle in itself..." Cyra looked puzzled for a moment before continuing, "Caleb and Levi will take care of you, although we could find a girl if you'd prefer."

Lia smiled gently at her offer. It was very kind for a stranger who didn't know her at all. "No thank you. I'm sure I'll be alright."

Cyra nodded. "Very well. Although I will warn you that Levi will take an extraordinarily long time to warm up to you, if he does at all. He doesn't seem to be comfortable around girls." She laughed. "Now get some rest. You need it."

And she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her a leaving Lia alone again. The aching of her body returned in full force once again since she was no longer distracted by Cyra's stories and explanations. Lia settled down on the bed, trying to make herself comfortable with the least amount of movement possible. She knew she was going to be there a long time, and now she had a lot to think about.

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Yay, I'm back with another chapter for you lovely, insanely patient people. (I wouldn't be surprised if you gave up on me by now.) But I'm still here, just not as often as I wish I had time for. I'm sorry.

But anyways... over 200 reads?! That's awesome seeing as last time I checked it was only like 120. So thank you!