I'm back!!!! YAY!!!! I got around to editing the next part so you guys get another triple update!!!! Whoo!!!!! Let's get to it!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Serina's deep breaths were even as they continued on to vibrate around me. Lifting my hand up I begin to pester the leathery wing above me by poking at it insistently. My action caused Serina to twitch in her sleep, but other than that nothing happened. "Serina." I called with my mind trying to wake up my sleeping dragon. Serina stirred a bit more but remained asleep. "Serina, wake up." Calling out once more while repeatedly poking her wing. However she still stayed asleep. "SERINA!!! WAKE UP!" I yelled this time through our link, resorting to a desperate tactic.
Yelling seemed to do the trick as her wing lifted up, allowing me to sit up from my previous position underneath her wing and resulting in the harsh morning sunlight hurting my sensitive eyes that had become adjusted to the darkness.
Serina lifted up her head regarding me with one of her large amethyst eyes while she yawned. She looked as if she were contemplating whether to eat me or lightly growl. We both knew that she would never intentionally hurt me so she went with the later of the two, "Yes, Avian?" Her head slumping back to the ground as she blinked sleepily up at me with her beautiful eyes.
"We must be getting back at some point. Others will start to grow suspicious as to the reason I am gone for too long." Thinking back to the castle I frown. "But how will we hide your presence. It will be hard to hide a form as massive as a dragon." I ponder my predicament, trying to find a possible solution as I rake my fingers through my messy hair.
"You are over thinking it, Avian." Serina lifted her head once more, seeming more awake than what she had been in the previous moments. I must have had a confused expression with a look that said "what?" written on my face as Serina sighed then continued to explain. "It is easier than you think. Dragon magic is complex and very complicated. It is what allows us, if the user is strong enough that is, to transform our bodies into different things. Such as a piece of jewelry or even meld into the skin of our riders for a couple examples."
"How do you transform into jewelry? It seems impossible."
She shook her head at me, as if saying you don't get it therefore I will have to explain it. "We don't actually transform into jewelry per say. It is more of a camouflage defense mechanism. Through our magic our bodies shrink, our scales toughen up like metal and become even smoother to the touch. Resting in certain positions we would look like a piece of jewelry crafted of the highest quality. Melding into your skin I would look almost exactly alike that tattoo on your shoulder but with finer detail. The level of transformation is dependent upon the power of the individual. The older a dragon is or the more experienced the more powerful they are. Some are even powerful enough to transform themselves into humans."
"Are you able to transform into a human? What would you look like?" I asked excitedly, nearly jumping up and down from the onslaught of emotions I was feeling.
Serina pulled her lips back from her teeth in a toothy smile, "No. It could be a possibility one day, but as of right now I am not strong enough yet. Our bond has yet to connect us deeper to one another. But if I could, I would look almost identical to you. However I would have amethyst eyes instead of brown. When a dragon transforms into a human they take on their rider's characteristics. For a dragon's body needs a model that they are connected to when transforming into another creature, that is why they end up resembling their rider. There is even a legend in our history where a rider and dragon became one being. Their bond was so strong they were truly two halves of a whole and it reflected when they transformed. But that is an ancient magic that no one has possessed in hundreds of years."
My mind was clouded with different thoughts of the future. Different possibilities. But one thing was still bugging me. "What do we do now, Serina? Now that we have found each other." I stretch my arms above my head looking to her for my answer.
"Now we need to find our true King, as we are made to serve by his side as the Blades to the Dragon King." She stated as a matter of fact. A light humming vibrating out of her chest as she regarded me.
"I can't do that. I already serve a King. I am supposed to take my father's place in a while. This is what I have been training for." I stand on my feet as I pace in front of Serina. Anger and slight worry creeping up on the edges of my mind sending my emotions into chaos.
She moved her head lower to better pin me with her gaze as I stumbled to a stop, "But he is not the one we are supposed to serve. You know this to be true in your heart, Avian." Her tone was gentle with me as a mother talking to her child trying to explain a difficult situation.
"But I can't just abandon a King I have been serving for years as the Blade's Apprentice. It goes against my personal code, for loyalty is the most important thing to me when it comes to serving my King and my people." I argue, slightly shaking my head in the process. My knuckles were turning white, squeezing my hands into fists down at my sides.
Serina snorted out a breath from her nostrils, blowing overly warm air and smoke into my face, "We are MEANT to serve the King of Dragons. The marking upon your right shoulder proves it and you are my rider. You know we are supposed to serve loyally in the Dragon Kingdom. Your feelings don't betray you as they tell you something is amiss, that there is something wrong with the current King you so faithfully serve. They tell you it doesn't feel right to serve in a Kingdom we are not meant to be in." Serina pressed. With every statement she voiced, the feeling of dread grew stronger within the pit of my stomach. She was absolutely correct and I didn't want to admit it. I couldn't admit it.
Chewing on my lip I pondered her words. Turning them over in my head as if they were a puzzle that held the answer that I had to figure out. With a shuddering breath I released my clinched fists as the fight leaves me. "Serina, please give me some time to adjust to this whole situation. If we truly find a piece of evidence that affects us in some way and proves that you are correct. That there is something terribly wrong with King Maddox, then we will leave the Kingdom to go find our true King. All I ask is that you give me some time." I plead. I wasn't ready to leave the Kingdom just yet. It may be selfish of me but I lived here my entire life. I didn't want to give it up just yet for a gut instinct told me that I would probably never see it again.
"Alright." She nodded her large head in agreement. "We will stay. But the first evidence that proves I am correct we are out of this place and off to find the one King we were always destined to serve beside. Just know, Avian, that that day may come sooner than you realize."
"It is a deal." I sigh in mild relief. "So.....do you think you should hide before or after we arrive back home at the castle? This decision is up to you."
"It is probably best if we hide my form beforehand, so as to get you somewhat use to slightly uncomfortable sensations." As I pondered what she could possibly mean, Serina took the opportunity to bend her head down to touch her snout to one of my arms. Where her snout touched on my arm, the skin touching her scales began to heat up. Then there was a sudden flash of light that blinded me.
Blinking rapidly, my vision slowly cleared much to my relief as I relied heavily upon my vision. When I was able to fully see again without black spots dancing before me I looked around the clearing to find that Serina had fully disappeared. No hide nor tail could be found of my dragon. That was until I gazed down on the arm that Serina has been touching, making me take in a sharp breathe that hurt my lungs.
Wrapped around my bicep and flowing down to the top of my forearm sat Serina, her form taking on the shape of a breathtaking armlet. The craftsmanship she resembled would cost a few hundred gold pieces if the work was replicated. Bringing up my other hand I lightly touch her head feeling smoothness and a slight cold tinge as if her scales were really made out of metal. Confusing me as I lightly furrow my eyebrows.
Though hearing Serina's purr clearly in my mind told me she felt my gentle caress upon her head. Lifting my hand away from her I watch in amazement as she wiggles around my arm a bit to make herself more comfortable.
Finding this situation to be odd was an understatement. I couldn't feel my dragon at all unless she moved, but when I looked down there she was resting, fully wrapped around my arm as if it were the anchor holding her there. Moving through the meadow I come to the place where I left my things the previous day with no Zimra was in sight.
After having picked up my discarded weapons and letting out a high pitched whistle I wait a few seconds. A thundering of hoofs comes to my attention as I see Zimra cantering out of the tree line, making her way towards me as she vocalizes her greeting.
She bobbed her head a few times as she stood before me as if to tell me 'I'm here', swishing her long tail behind her. I coo at my horse as I lovingly stroke her soft neck. Patting her a couple of times I get her ready for the journey home.
We carefully pick our way back through the cave, exiting behind the waterfall. Only when we were on sturdy ground with the falls behind us did I nudge Zimra into a trot. "Are you going to miss it?" I asked Serina, knowing she was fully awake gazing at the scenery around us through my eyes. An entirely new world to her.
"Miss what, dear one?" She asked in return, albeit a little distracted.
"The sanctuary behind the falls. It was your home was it not?"
Sighing she pulled her attention away from the outside world, focusing it on my thoughts instead, "It was a place I once lived. Sure I will miss the beauty and the complete freedom. But however I will not miss the loneliness and isolation that I endured. You are my home now, my rider, where ever you go so shall I. So no, Avian, I will not miss it." I could feel the total truth of her words as they rang inside my mind, there was no doubt or hesitation in what she had confided to me. With those simple words I could feel our bond strengthen even if it was just a fraction.
--------------------------------------------------------
Hey guys sorry this took so long. I hope you enjoyed this newest chapter. If you did please, pretty please vote for it. :) Hopefully I will be posting the next chapter within the next week. It just depends on how long editing will take me. Thank you for your patience. Onto the next part! and as always....
Comment, Vote, and Keep Reading. Laters y'all! XD