ARIKA
I sighed in relief, feeling the warmth that wasn't there before. I also felt cosier than before, which may be why the nightmares stopped.
Despite all the warmth, two things were missing— my boat's gentle rocking and the sea's sound. Instead, everything was still, and I heard the sound of fire crackling somewhere around me.
I cracked my eyes open slightly and tried to get a glimpse of where I was. Instead of finding the familiar walls of my shop's cabin, I saw grey stone walls on which several shadows danced. It looked like I was in some medieval castle. It puzzled me, but I noticed a particular shadow that stood out before I could crack my neck to the side and see more.
From what I could see in my blurry vision, the shadow seemed to be of a man. I wasn't alone in the room then. Soon, I felt someone's eyes on me. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep while I searched for other noises in the room.
As soon as I closed my eyes, I heard the sound of a chair scrapping, followed by footsteps. I tried not to panic as the footsteps headed my way before they stopped in front of me.
Hot breath brushed my face, sending shivers all over my body.
"I know you're awake," a deep and masculine voice said close to my face. I had never heard that voice before, and despite it speaking to me, I kept my eyes closed and my breaths deep as if I were sleeping. I waited for the voice's owner to go away and leave me alone, but he continued hovering over me.
I almost frowned at him for being so adamant about not leaving me.
"I can feel you're awake. There's no point in pretending to be asleep," the voice added with a hint of impatience. I kept my eyes closed for a few more seconds, waiting for the voice's owner to make the next move, but he never moved. "Open your eyes," He hissed at me instead, sounding more vexed.
I decided to keep my eyes closed and see how long he would tolerate me. He scoffed when another minute passed, and I didn't open my eyes. I felt the bed beside me dip as he sat, showing his adamancy. Another minute passed, and finally, he seemed to get bored and gave up.
I felt him get up from my side, followed by his footsteps leaving the room. I waited for a few seconds to ensure he'd left the room. I opened my eyes and sat up with a jerk that I instantly regretted. I might've stretched a nerve too much, but I ignored the pain and looked around frantically.
The room that I was in was made up of irregular grey bricks that were usually cut from huge boulders—a medieval construction method. The wood frame of the windows rattled as the strong storm blowing outside shook them. I shuddered.
I was on a cot, wrapped in thick fur. I ran my fingers through them, feeling uncertain about the whole thing. Furs weren't my thing, really. I was more used to wearing tank tops and tan.
Shadows danced around me because the blazing hearth was the only source of light in the room. I glanced at the hearth only to gasp out loud to find a man standing at the door. I almost freaked out and fell out of the cot as soon as I looked at the man. He'd tricked me into this.
However, it wasn't his presence that freaked me out. Instead, it was his horns and strange features.
He was a Drakkon— a fucking dragon. He had grey scales and curling horns despite his very humane features.
"I knew it was an act," he said, and I realized that the voice from earlier belonged to him. "I could feel it. One's breaths don't lie," he said, stalking into the room with his eyes darkly set on me.
The shadows from the hearth continued to flicker around us, giving him an even more menacing look. I couldn't help but keep eyeing his curling horns. They were... eerie but majestic in a way.
I knew what Drakkons looked like, but I'd never seen one in real life. I knew they looked spooky, but they looked even spookier in real life. I could hear my heart ramming in my chest as he stood in front of my cot, yet I didn't move. I didn't know what he'd do if I moved. I needed to read him more.
"Your name is Erika," He stated.
"Arika," I corrected him. He pronounced my name with a strange accent.
"Erika," he repeated. I wanted to correct him, but I held back. What if the accent made him pronounce the A as E? I didn't think the best way to confirm this theory was by correcting repeatedly and getting him more annoyed, so I shrugged.
I was still shocked to see him and quite uncertain. I didn't know what to expect from Drakkons. Heck, I never even anticipated meeting one. It made me wonder how the fuck did they find me in the first place.
"I'm Zorge," He said. I nodded.
Zorge. It was such a Dragon-esque name. I kept this inciteful thought to myself.
"Where am I? Where's this place?" I asked, and he narrowed his eyes at me for a second.
"You don't remember?" He asked, and I shook my head in puzzlement.
"You're in the Gallow Castle. It's in the Arctic," He answered, searching my face for something. I blanched as soon as I heard the word Arctic.
All of a sudden, the rowdy storm outside made sense. They reminded me of the evening equatorial storms that brought heavy rain after a day of blazing sun. The storm was the only thing common between the two starkly different regions.
"H-how did I get here?" I managed to ask as my head was flooded with several thoughts.
How was I going to get out of here? How did he find me? Why was I unconscious? Why I couldn't remember anything? Why was he here? What did he want from me? Was he going to kill me?
I tried not to panic as these thoughts started clouding my senses.
"You don't remember a thing?" he asked me again, drawing his eyebrows together in bewilderment. Or were those scales? I couldn't tell in the shadow. He was facing away from the fire, and in the semi-darkness, the only striking things I could make out about him were his horns and the soft glow in his dark grey eyes. They looked so cold—as cold as the Arctic.
"No, could you—" I was interrupted by footsteps. Soon, another dragon entered the room. This one had black scales, and I instantly remembered waking up and talking to him.
"What's that I hear? Is she awake?" The black-scaled dragon asked until his eyes fell on me, and he froze. "She's awake,"
"You're in the Arctic. Being held as our prisoner in the Gallow Castle for not delivering on the promised item," His words from earlier rang in my ears. I covered my mouth in shock as I finally remembered everything from previously.
"What are you doing here, Ivret?" Zorge nastily snarled at the black-scaled dragon as soon as the latter walked in. The black-scaled dragon regarded me for a full second before turning to Zorge.
"You were supposed to call me as soon as she woke up," The dragon named Ivret snarled back at Zorge with the same animosity. My heart was gripped with fear as I tried to inch away to the farthest corner of the cot and watched them fight.
"She just woke up and was talking to me this time instead of passing out," Zorge said.
"You were supposed to call me," Ivret pressed again, and I didn't miss how Zorge growled at the former. The growl was powerful enough to shake my cot. My stomach twisted in my abdomen as I imagined the two fighting.
"And overwhelm her again to the point of passing out? No, thank you. She's taking me well. You're an inconvenience," Zorge said.
"You're forgetting that I'm the healer here," Ivret growled back with the same intensity, and Zroge immediately took a fighting stance. The two seemed to have forgotten about me briefly.
I glanced at the door and wondered if I could leave the room without them noticing me.
~
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