Age of Fire

Chapter 3

It was humiliating.  

Two years of survival with no rules other than my own to follow, no name to live up to, and no one to have to obey. Now here I sat on a horse, with a slight addiction to apples, with an old friend so close to me that I could smell her sweat.

And an enormous dragons shadow hovering over my head.

"This is ridiculous." I hissed shaking my head, more annoyed at myself than anything. I should have just sent a note; why did I actually have to show up? "You have no right to do this to me. You're meant to be my friend, Johana."

Solomon cast us a glance from where he rode beside us, a content smile on his face. I wanted to slap it off. Johana had no shame whatsoever about her betrayal, and took the painfully day long ride as a rare opportunity to hound me.

"I don't know how you managed to do it," She continued admirably, as I glared ahead of us, "How did you manage to keep so far under the radar? Besides your ridiculous lack of height, of course."

Oh, so now she deemed it alright to mock my height? I inhaled deeply and shook my head. This was my own fault; I had decided to walk right into the dragon's den, what did I expect to happen? I should have known that I wouldn't be walking back out.

"What does it matter now?" I mumbled with a childish shrug and Johanna went silent.

The air seemed to tighten around us like a rope around my neck and I shifted in discomfort at the odd touch of burning on the right side of my chest, right where my birthmark was. My mind flashed back to the Oracle, he had warned me...but I had no idea what he meant, except from the running.

That was self-explanatory.

"I can't believe you never told me you were going to leave." Johana stunned me by saying, I knew that it would come eventually but I didn't think right now. Apparently, Solomon was on the same line of thinking and gently tugged on his steed's reins, falling behind us, "I can't believe you just left me."

I turned my head towards her with a defensive look, "I wrote you a letter!" I said somewhat weakly, and her nose scrunched like it did when she was angry, "I tried to explain, I apologized, I thought of all people you would understand!"

"You left in the middle of the night when we were seventeen, and left me a half-assed note!" Johana guffawed staring at me like I was a moron, "After all our years of friendship, how would that ever be enough?"

I opened my mouth to argue but snapped it shut again after a moment. I didn't want to think of that exact moment when I snapped, I hated the shame that I had carried with me before. It was weak of me to care so much what people thought of me, but I still did at the time.

However, after spending nights sleeping next to horse crap...luxuries such as dignity were dimmed.

"You would have hated it." I muttered shrugging a shoulder. There is never any good until someone experience the bad; and I had seen some of the worst, "I'm glad I never took you with me."

Johana leaned forward behind me so that her lips were close to my ear, "What happened?" She asked in a hushed voice, "Nothing has ever bothered you, Ariane. I know you. What made you leave? Even you had the decency to say goodbye."

"I woke up." I muttered casting my eyes downwards and ignoring the sting in my chest, "I needed to."

When I lifted my head again, I was in awe. The kingdom of Xanos is a sight that is hard to forget but easy to remember. Although the memory scarcely compared to the real sight; I use to worship this city, it always felt like I was stepping into a brand-new world, with brand new adventures.