The Dragon's mate-2

One Step Closer

Emily

“You are indeed a rebel at heart.”

I woke up to find myself in the hospital, once again. The part-Aneglur boy’s lopsided grin left me speechless once more. I marveled at how he could smile despite the ordeal he faced each day. As I looked at this boy I realized that I had never known his name. Just before I asked, he spoke again,

“Your right arm was burnt when you were brought in by ‘The Sword Lady’.

“Yes it was,” I replied. I could not tell him exactly what had happened. He too respected my privacy. As I looked at my bandaged arm, and a cooling sensation coursing through, I could clearly recall all that had happened a while ago.

Flashback

I had stepped on to the wooden board which I immediately recognised to be ‘lignum magician flamenires’. My godmother, the queen of the vampire realm, had talked about this board before. According to her, the board, fourteen inches long and five inches wide, belonged to cedris cantum, a species of cedar that grew in the Supernatural Dimension only. The tree was known to emit a sound that could ‘destroy the source of power in a magical-being.’ If an ordinary magical folk appeared near it with the intention of chopping a branch, it was said that the person’s limb would be severed and his competence at spell-casting destroyed forever. “Such a Supernatural being is considered worse than a mortal in our dimension Emily,” she had said. The tree was rare and could only flourish inside a supernatural beings' home. Fire can not destroy the wood of this tree. The owner in whose house this tree grew, was a blessed soul. Every year, the tree would ‘give away’ its oldest branches to the owner, which were then either donated for some higher cause or were bid for at ‘The Auction Zone’ of the Supernatural Dimension.

I wondered how the woods appeared there, but, I could not allow myself to be distracted. As I focused on the task at hand, I realized that the board was very narrow and I could place a single foot before jumping to the next one. If I delayed the jump by more than a minute, the board would vanish and I would serve as food for fire. When I began moving ahead, the Flammaen avia were initially throwing out only a single ball of fire and it was manageable. Difficulty began when two balls of fire were released from its beak. I could only jump through the narrow space between the two balls. As I moved further, the balls of fire that were released increased consecutively. My mind had stopped working and my body, it seemed, was following a dormant memory. Just when I thought that I might succeed, I had jinxed myself.

The balls of fire were innumerable, giving me the illusion of a downpour of fire now, and even though I tried, a few balls of fire fell on my arm. I was sure that this was the end as I could feel a burning sensation spreading all over. Precisely at that moment, the Flammaen avia left their perch and materialized before me merging into one. Despite my suffering, I was mesmerized by the beauty and was surprised when the Flammaen avia with four heads spoke, “We recognize you as the successor of the Solar Deity. You already have the ‘Sacred Bird’s’ loyalty. Please accept our allegiance.” They did not join me but instead fire emerged from within their eyes and surrounded me. After some time, the fire formed an armlet on my right arm. The heat was too intense to put up with. The fire vanished and I somehow reached the end. Just when I opened the door, the Sword Lady rushed over to my side. I was very exhausted and I fainted in her arms.”

End

“I always thought that you were sensible, but it seems as if you are not. You daydream a lot.”

I was brought back from my trail of thoughts by the part-Aneglur boy. I wanted to retort but I did not have the energy to do so. I realized that I might be too exhausted and hence closed my eyes. This did not help as the face that I last wanted to see had materialized. It seemed as if the dragon prince Vern King was trying to contact me but, I was stronger than on the day during the test of fire, was able to shut him off completely. Post our estrangement, I had moped around for a very long time. It had taken immense courage to embark upon a new journey. I did not want to go back to my old self of being irrevocably in love with a man who was betrothed to another woman.

Vern King

Ever since I returned from His Holiness’s place I had felt restless. I was taking a stroll around the school grounds. I could see that all of them were excited ever since ‘The Sword Lady’ had announced the opening of the application process for becoming a warrior. The enthusiasm was understandable, as this place alone could let anyone move up the ladder. One might have been born in ‘The Help’ or ‘The Trade’, but, if they succeeded in becoming a warrior, then even the nobility across realms had to respect them.

“Do you think that Emily will apply?” I overheard my mates’ fairy friend ask her werewolf friend as I passed by. For a minute, I stopped. I wanted to ask them as to how she was but, then I chose not to act on impulse.

Emily-ever since our first physical contact in the Mortal Dimension, a mind-link, though weak, had been established between the two of us. In the past year, post her return to the Supernatural Dimension, as our interaction increased, our link strengthened. I could feel when she was in danger or unhappy about something. She had unwittingly become a permanent feature of my life. I might have been angry when she initiated the break-up. However, now I felt as if I was missing something vital.

I never knew when I reached our favorite spot at school and as I inhaled the fragrance around her I clearly felt that she had been there not too long ago. I had just sat down when I felt as if my right arm had been set on fire.

I closed my eyes and had flashes of my mate in the Corridor of Fire. I was shocked to realize that she wanted to be a warrior. At that instant, I wished that we had not broken up and I had been with her. I could feel that she was in pain. I realized that I no longer wanted her to work hard. The path to becoming a warrior was hard and one’s life was always in danger.

“We cannot lose our mate,” spoke Drachenne.

I got up and tried to access the Magical Well of Fire so that I could reach her. I became confused as I was unable to access it. I could feel that her breath became faint.

“Emily…” I shouted. I felt helpless as my voice could not reach out to her. I felt that, despite being a prince, I had failed. I wanted to reach out to her and hold her in my arms. But, I had no way to contact her. His Holiness’s words about having to pay for my impulsiveness resonated in my head. I suddenly regretted that I had not fought back on the day she announced her decision to split.

The Sword Lady

The doctor was shocked to see Emily’s frail condition and I was sure that had he not been a junior he might have expressed his unhappiness over how I handled things. I could not change my ways. This girl would surely not rest easy. And all I could do was to teach her all I knew. I hoped that she would not have a rose-tinted view of this world. I hoped that she’d retaliated when wronged. As I waited in the doctor’s office my thoughts aplenty raced through my mind.

I had embarked on this path before and had survived. The obstacles, plentiful, tough to surmount such that once zeal might vane, taught me a lot about both the Mortal Dimension as well as the Supernatural Dimension. Many magical beings look down upon mortals. However, they forgot that the reserved Anodyne, mostly grew up in the Mortal Dimension. Moreover, if I were to believe Azarius’s words, then the Aneglur Realm’s king was also a part-Anodyne. If my memory served me right then, this realm had not always been a part of the Supernatural Dimension.

His Holiness and perhaps the Solar Deity, apart from some very senior magical folks alone, knew how the Aneglur Realm came into being. Even though I tried, this bit of information was unavailable to me. Maybe had Azarius been alive I could have asked him. Unfortunately, after rejecting me, he disappeared. Later on, I heard that he had passed away. The shock was deep and that was the day when I decided to hang my boots. When ‘The Honorable Deity’ heard that I no longer intended to continue as a warrior, she did not stop me. Love……I had never thought that I’d ever fall in love but I did. I was fine that my feelings would never be reciprocated. However, Azarius’s death….unexpected and untimely broke me. ‘The Honorable Deity’ was kind enough to let me go.

“She will become conscious soon,” said the doctor as he returned.

“Give her some time off after she regains consciousness. I don’t know what you were thinking but, it is already a miracle that she passed the first hurdle.”

The doctor sounded unhappy. I could not help myself from provoking him when I said, “You should reserve a bed for her. She will be suffering from many more injuries and I hope that you'll use your abilities to the very best to ensure her recovery. Let me tell you that I have already chosen her as my disciple.”

I left before he could vent. I knew that I had angered the doctor. Even though he practiced medicine, his powers were at par with the best warriors. He, along with the dragon prince and the vampire prince, caused a lot of trouble during their days at school. I went out and stopped a short distance away when I saw Emily chatting with the part-Aneglur boy. I was sure that the boy had been framed. What surprised me was that Emily also was not deterred from befriending him despite his tainted past.

Her independent train of thought while judging people impressed me once more. I was even more determined than before to remove all the hurdles in her path. The biggest obstacle to curtailing my beautiful disciple’s journey could be love alone. I wanted her to be empathetic, but I did not want her to be a repeat of my previous self in matters pertaining to love. I was no longer an active warrior, but I’d do anything to protect her. I’d ensure that she stayed away from love and concentrated on becoming the most powerful warrior in the Supernatural Dimension.

Emily

When I woke up, the part-Aneglur boy had already been taken away. My bed was next to the window and I realized that it was daytime. I could feel as though my arm had healed. I wanted to be discharged but the doctor refused.

"I respect your choices, Emily, but you cannot become a warrior if you die during the trial stage. Learn to protect yourself and replenish your energy." I was surprised when the doctor counseled me. He smiled and left. Sometime later, 'The Sword Lady' entered. She looked calm and I felt inexplicably happy when she said, "Congratulations, you passed." The road was long but I was one step closer.