Dragon Deep

Chapter 25 - Bravery

Bain, repulsed by the sticky goo, rubbed it off using his other hand. Cursing when he realised it wasn’t coming off, he used his sweat-laden shirt to wipe it. Janice was sitting on the floor, panting. The dagger she held slipped out from her trembling hands, now coated with blood. Her blood.

Bain, after cleaning his arm, walked to Janice’s side, tending to her wounds. She looked surprised, surprised at the gentle way Bain was treating her.

“He...he’s gone.” I murmured, staring blankly at the ground where Raphael once stood. Adrenaline waned away, and the pain settled in. I became aware of the numerous sharp cuts and aches all over my body. Numbly, I dropped to the ground, horrified at what just happened.

Drey was beside me in an instant. He was sweating profusely and his complexion was ashen grey. His dark eyes looked exhausted, empty of energy. He sat down beside me, resting.

“Are you…alright?” I asked.

“Yeah…I...I’m…not used to such…vigorous activity…” He said between breaths, shutting his eyes momentarily.

“Thank you for helping me. It wasn’t your fight, you didn’t need to be involved.”

“It was…the moment I realised I liked you.” He quickly said in a breath.

Speechless, I turned towards Drey. I considered him for a moment, staring intensely into his eyes. He was sincere. Did I like him back? I didn’t even know him so well.

“I…Now’s not the right time.” I hastily responded. I stood up, gritting my teeth.  

“Aria.” It was Hope. His fur was clean, no blood stains or goo stains whatsoever. I glowered at him, displeased.

“You…you just stood there and did nothing when you could have saved us all the trouble.”

“Now, now. There’s no need to get all agitated and angry. I wanted to see something…That is all.” Hope looked at Drey thoughtfully. Drey stared warily back, evidently exhausted.

“See what?! Us getting our hands dirty and bloody?! Us getting hurt and battered? You know Drey is sick and yet you just sat here without doing anything!!” I yelled, unable to keep my frustration in.

“Stop yelling at the rodent. Nothing will go through his dratted mousey skull.” Bain harshly commented.

“Oh, so you want to play the insult game? Your childish antics tire me, Bain.”

Bain glared at Hope, not saying anything.

“Save the hate and foul words for another day. We leave now, as per planned. The daylight will buy us time, we will just make it to Daik’s cosy cave.” Hope’s voice was commanding, almost frightening.

Bain helped Janice up, causing her to yelp in pain. Janice endured the pain, trembling. She was the one that got hurt the most. Why am I dragging all of them into this? It’s so selfish of me. I shook my head. They need help. Janice and Drey needed medical attention. Bain was likely to stay with Janice anyway.

“Let’s go then.” Bain looked up and took a step forth.

It took a while to get all of us to Daik’s place. As Hope estimated, with precise accuracy indeed, we reached just as the sun set. I was still unable to take my eyes off the iridescent dragon. The way she twisted and turned was exactly how I imagined mermaids would be like. The scales glowed and shone in a myriad of colours as she moved, her graceful movements mimicking a swan.

She was quick to get out a stinging ointment that soothed the cuts and bruises on my body. Daik tended to Janice’s wounds, wrapping her arm with a clean bandage. I was mildly surprised when she poured out some fresh medical brew for Drey, considering the time and effort it took to make one. Drey thanked her, accepting it gratefully.