The Dragon and The Virgin

21

Anna gasped for breath, feeling as though she'd been drowning for years and was just now able to fill her lungs with air. She looked around frantically for the ginger man, pushing her own red locks out of her face and scrambling to her feet. The cave still loomed in front of her, quiet and dark, but the apparition was no where to be seen. 

"Anna!" She heard Declan call, as if still from underwater. 

"I'm over here!" She called back. She waited for him to catch up with her.

He grabbed her arms, his concerned face filling her line of vision and blocking the cave entrance. "What did I tell you? I asked you to wait there, and then I turned around and you had gone off to god knows where without a comment! I was worried sick, why can't you just do what I ask you?"

She scoffed, "Yea, cause this is the first and last time I'm not gonna do what you tell me to." She looked into his concerned eyes again and softened, touching his face. "I'm sorry I scared you, but something spoke to me. I think I had a vision, and I saw my father. Someone called him here just as it's calling me." 

"What did you see?"

"Blood. A crown. I can't remember specific details, but I saw a kingdom fall and I think my father is, or was, in the middle of it. But there's something in that cave. Something I have to see." She peered around him, taking in the dark maw in the cliff side.

He let his hands fall to his side, considering the small woman in front of him. She'd become so important to him in such a small amount of time, and he didn't like the feel of the cave behind him. Just having his back to it made his hair stand on end and triggered his flight instincts, but he saw the determination in her eyes and couldn't fault her for it. She felt there was a piece of her in there, she had to go find it.

"Ok." he sighed, "but you aren't going in unarmed." He pulled a knife out of his sack and handed it to her; it was about the length of her forearm, the handle shaped like a dragon, with a ruby for the eyes. It was beautiful, and cold, and deadly. She weighed it in her hand for a minute. 

He embraced her suddenly, burrowing his head in her shoulder for a minute, before letting her go and kissing her softly. He stepped to the side, relaxing a little now that the cave was in his peripheral, and watched her approach the cave with fear in his heart. "Shout if you need me."

She nodded and, turning to him, whispered she loved him before stepping into the darkness, the silver dagger the last thing he could see through the darkness. 

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The cave was utterly silent. The only thing she could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears, and her forcefully even breath. There was no dripping water, no shuffling of bat wings, no whistle of wind, just silence. She let the hook in her collarbone lead her forward again, her eyes useless as the cave was as dark as obsidian and just as heavy and cold. The floor of the cave was strangely warm, almost comforting, and smooth under her bare feet. She had an image of a rushing river, smoothing the walls and the floor of the cave over hundreds of years until it ran dry. 

Sinopa, came a voice from the back of the cave, warm like cinnamon and brandy.  Welcome, my child. 

Daddy?  A child's apparition, with tumbling red hair, ran past Anna and into the darkness, where a pair of tanned arms scooped her up through the air.

You're home, at last. There was a great gust of wind from behind her, propelling her forward, making her stumble to the ground, scraping her hands. Sudden firelight blinded her, causing her to raise her arms in front of her face and fall onto her behind. There was chanting all around her, a tribal song that whistled through her blood and sent a surge of magic through her veins. She squinted through her hands to see a cavernous room, gold veins running all through the walls. Torches blazed along the room, but didn't hold a candle to the massive bonfire raging in the center of the floor. Beautiful, slender figures danced around the flames to the beating of a drum, singing in an ancient language about a land of plenty and worship to the beings that kept the land lush. 

A tan man sat beside her, jet black hair braided behind a wolf's skin headdress. His face was serious, stoic, but his eyes reflected the mirth in the room. He held hands with a fair woman, whose long hair held autumn's warm oranges in their tresses. She gazed around the room lovingly, and that's when Anna noticed the interesting collection of features before her. There were fair men and women everywhere, intermingling and laughing, sharing food and stories, while children of all combinations ran between their legs. This was a coming together of two people into one. 

Sinopa, come here. She whipped her head towards the booming voice next to her. The large man held out his hand to the child who'd ran past her earlier. Garbed in a mix of hides and fabrics, the toddler barreled into her father at full speed, laughing as he held her. After her giggles subsided, he turned to Anna, and identical pairs of grey eyes met. 

Sinopa. It is time you learn of your past, and your future. 

Minutes passed of silence before he spoke again. I'm talking to you, child. 

Anna jumped. "Me?? My name is Anna."

He nodded, a smile crinkling the corner of his eyes. Yes, you. Anna was your birth given name, and you may keep it if you wish, but your soul's name is Sinopa. And we are your tribe.

He gestured around them. They are your people. This mixing of blood is what allows you to do what you are capable, and fulfill your destiny. 

"My destiny? I'm just a farm girl with some weird abilities, what destiny could I have?"

Oh, little one. You could not be more wrong. This coming together of bloodlines was the first peaceful event to happen in the history of time. Sadly, it does not last. Save for a few survivors, like your father, this entire tribe is wiped out by the pale faces who settled the kingdom of your country for the land they perceived that we own. They do not value harmony as we do. It is you, and your dragon, who can bring about a lasting peace for your country, and the world, simply because of the abilities you have.

Anna blinked. Sinopa blinked back at her. "My destiny is to bring peace to the land?"

He nodded. The event of the blood moon has already tipped off the first few seeds of war. There are three surviving descendants of this tribe, all with unique abilities that are untapped. You are the connecting power that can unify them and create a new future for the suffering people of your land. Use this war, find your brothers, and make peace for the world.

He began to fade. "Wait!" Anna reached out to grab him but her hand fell through air, and then so did she. 

As she tumbled through the darkness, his voice came floating to her through the darkness. Remember, Sinopa. We love you, always.