Defying the Dragon

Against all odds

Against all odds

The sound of the lock opening echoed through the empty living room. Nobody came to greet Misty Delarosa when she entered her apartment. She turned the light on and threw the keys in a crystal bowl on a corner table, under the interphone. Misty hung her coat in the dresser by the door and took off her shoes with sensible heels, leaving them next to the end table. Like always, Misty stretched her toes, then went barefooted to the open area kitchen to prepare herself a drink, since she dinned at the restaurant and wasn't hungry. Before she stepped into the kitchen, she flicked her fingers and the music started. „Claire de Lune" by Debussy began its notes surrounding her, relaxing her muscles after a long day at work. Dancing, Misty took an „In glass" from the cabinet, threw a handful of mint leaves, then did a partial pirouette to get the sugar syrup from below the glass cabinet. She put half part sugar syrup. Taking two steps back and five forward, she got the lime from the fridge and a knife from the cutlery cupboard and cut three wedges to put in the glass. She mashed them together to release the flavors. Shaking her ass she got the ice and the rum, filling the glass. Misty stirred the Mojito cocktail before taking the glass and going straight to the wall made up of windows.

Holding the glass in her right hand, Misty stopped in front of the windows, gazing at the breathtaking view of the city before her.

Misty Delarosa lived in the penthouse apartment, in a modest neighborhood. She did well for herself as the manager of a restaurant that had 4 stars, Michelin. Misty loved working in the restaurant; defusing conflicts, dealing with contractors, avoiding disasters and getting at the end of the day without receiving complains. It was never boring, being a manager to a 4 stars restaurant.

Misty took a sip of her drink, enjoying the smooth way it slid down her neck, leaving a fresh, minty taste on her tongue.

Misty looked at the majestic view of the skyline that appeared in front of her with startling beauty. There wasn't a cloud in the star-speckled sky. Rows of towering skyscrapers stretched above her penthouse, their windows alight from within. The setting sun hovered at the fringes of the luminous cityscape, slowly yielding to the rising moon. The industrial-based smog of pollution coated the whole area, acting as a milky filter. The fog softened the hard-lines of buildings and diffused the orange glow of sodium-vapor street lamps.

The city in which she lived was a living machine, spreading over once green land like the microchips that were on every device. The roads ran in their predictable grid pattern and the lights of the stars, restaurants, and places of vice shined neon into the dying sunlight.

In contrast, at the edge of the city there stood the ruins of the castle. The old castle stood on a rugged slope, the dead leaves piled against the half-ruined walls, the windows dark and gaping like the awful mouth of forever hungry monsters. Misty couldn't see those details, but she knew they were there. She knew every nook and cranny, every wall covered by ivy, every cavernous silent witness at her recklessness.

Misty took another sip of her drink, eyes seeing what few could see while ignoring that forceful pull around her middle. Not everyone could see the castle. And those that could, kept far away from it – like the Carnival people. It wasn't a good place to wander. Misty understood that now. But when she was young... when she was young the marvelous beast of steel and glass wasn't even an idea in her little town, while the castle was a story told around the fire. It was a tale for the grownups while for the kids it was a dream, but for Misty the castle was real. And it was her secret.

Now, looking over the city to the ruins, feeling that never relenting pull, Misty understood that the castle was her greatest mistake. The castle, not Rikat. She couldn't, wouldn't regret meeting Rikat, even if he wasn't the most gracious host. She realized that he was as much a prisoner of the castle, as she taught she was his captive.