Dragon Heir [Book 1] [Watty Award Winner 2012]

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Copyright © Gem Higa 2011

It felt like a lifetime until she was able to peel her eyes open, only to be bombarded with the morning light streaming through the trees, blinding her. She shot her hand up in an attempt to cover her eyes from the brightness of the sun. Confusion emerged as everything came into full focus; the haziness that surrounded her vision slowly edged their way back. The ground below was cold and damp beneath her pale skin, making her whole body shiver. The wind whispered past her flesh bringing a chill up and through her exposed body.

Shock rolled through her. My exposed body!

Looking down at her bare flesh she saw no blanket, animal skin, or clothing hanging off of her. She was naked as the day she was born. Confusion turned into embarrassment, as she used her dirt-smudged arms to cover whatever modest pride remained. The memories of the night’s events slowly came back, as snippets of what happened emerged. It took a few moments for things to become clear, and the fleeting thoughts to stop jumping around in her head. It was hard to concentrate when the only thing that she could keep her mind on was finding something to cover her nudity.

As she walked, flashes of the night’s events streamed through; it allowed her to remember why she was standing in this forest, completely naked and covered in mud. She vividly recalled being attached to her dragon on their rapid descent towards the ground, and the harsh reality that she would be dead by the time the forest floor collided with their falling bodies. When the wings burned off her dragon’s body, even the tiniest flicker of hope died out and pushed her closer towards death’s awaiting arms. At the last second she remembered him twisting his head and shooting blue fire towards the ground. She remembered the warmth his belly produced at the charging of the blow and the heat that engulfed them as it sent her vision straight into oblivion.

She recalled a scalding pain on her stomach as something burned its way onto her skin. Peering down at the place on her abdomen, just before where it turned into her thighs, was a symbol. Placing only fingertips to feel the seal, she carefully traced the lines that etched her flesh. She knew it for what is was. It was hard to forget this symbol, as it was what led her here; it was the dragon’s mark.

Whatever had happened the night before, she knew one thing for certain: she should have been dead. Falling from an enormous height should have been enough to send her to the other side. But, there was also the other matter of falling into a blanket of fire that engulfed them, as if they were pieces of wood burning in a hearth.

Nothing felt different within her; everything seemed to working just as it did when first coming here. Spinning around in a circle, she tried scanning for her dragon. She wondered where he could have landed if they were so close to each other when they fell, but then again he could have woken before her.

Whatever expectations she had anticipated of a bonding, this was the last thing she would have considered. Her embarrassment for the nudity she produced quickly wore off as she went in search for her spirit animal, or at least she hoped was her animal. Trudging through the forest terrain she noticed that this was where they met during their first meeting. The small clearing past the wall of vines that kept this place hidden, the waterfall off in the distance, and the trees that grew up high; all these things were just as she remembered it, nothing had changed.

Deciding that he would be back and have no problem finding her, she made up her mind to clean up a bit. Heading down to the lake, she stepped on many twigs and rocks that scraped the bottom of her feet; they were not dainty like the noble’s daughters, but instead were calloused and rough from the years of hunting and traveling. It was not something she minded so much, as she always wore shoes to cover them when in public. Her hands were similar; not as smooth as theirs, but were scratched and bruised from the intense sparring sessions with her father. Those were more difficult to hide, but she did so efficiently at times using leather gloves.