The Dream Keeper's Dragon

3.34 I Love You

The room smelled like medicine, something grassy and herbal. It reminded Aurelie of the infirmary where she had spent some time back in the Icelands. The walls were quite bare. White sheets, Grand beige curtains with gold swirling patterns were spread open to let in a lot of sunlight. A large cage stood in the middle of the window. Within it, a little grey bird with an orange tummy jumped onto a lower level and stare at Aurelie, turning its head. It flew up to the very top level of the cage and spread its wings.

Lady Morel walked up to one of the only paintings on the wall and lifted it off its nail. Behind it, there was a small space in the wall that was occupied by a little lever. She hesitated for a moment too long, making the General grow impatient. He stuck his hand in and pulled. A mechanical ticking sound came from behind the wall. The General stepped back. His brows were furrowed and his posture tense. He glanced back at Aurelie, then at the Lady, saw that she was unconcerned with the sound and then relaxed too.

The door opened and the General entered without hesitation. A stale odor came from the open space. Aurelie waited to hear him make a sound of sorts so that she could be prepared for whatever was waiting for her inside that room.

He came back out soon after, looking bewildered. "Right," he said, and lifted his finger, pointing it at her, "don't touch him."

"Is he a-"

"Barely."

"Okay. What do we do?" She looked toward the room and this time noticed a faint purple light coming from the left side. All the courage she had built up over the last few months disappeared. She felt ten years old again.

"I'll be back." The shadow below him grey darker then spread out, and rose from the ground, wrapping around him from the bottom up.

"Where are you going?"

"To get someone that knows what they're doing." The shadow covered him completely within several seconds. She had never seen a shadow walker fade so quickly. She blinked and he was gone.

The door to the chamber opened. Rusty from sitting at the castle and not touching her magic in weeks, Aurelie was not quite fast enough to stop the lot of them from rushing in. A line of fire ran across the floor, below the doorway, and then climbed up the door until a frame of fire surrounded it. Two men, daggers in hand, stood roughly ten steps away.

She looked at them irritably. "And now?" she asked them. "What are you possibly going to do?"

The shortest one of the two, flicked his head back in surprise, clearly challenged by her question. His hand swung and Aurelie felt his dagger fly past her cheek almost instantly, creating a warm stinging pain. She wiped her hand across her cheek and felt her finger grow wet with her blood.

"Alright!" Aurelie flicked her own hand dramatically, the fire below the man came with such force that he was knocked off his feet. "Let's play!" she shouted and then looked at the other soldier who was holding his hand in exactly the same manner then turned back to him again.

"No?" Her eyes blazed. "You don't want to anymore?"

He crawled backward.

"Get out!"

Lady Morel's heels sounded behind her. Aurelie summoned a wall of fire behind her. A screamed sounded. Sharp and frustrated all at once. Aurelie turned and saw Lady Morel rolling around on the floor.

"Please!" she shouted. "Oh God! Please, stop it!" The more she rolled around on the floor, and slapped herself, the more the fire spread. The uninjured guard ran up to her, grabbed the blanket off the bed in one quick swoop and started beating her with it. The potent smell of burnt hair filled the room.