Dragon's wrath

Chapter 4: Cottage

Alarick was fast and soon we arrived at the exact same spot he had brought me to before. This time he landed carefully and with a hard stomp he removed the lightly packed snow to clear the platform again so I would not slip, not that he would let me fall either. I jumped off his back, onto his wing and then to the ground after I dropped both bags onto the snow. Once I was far enough from him,, he shifted back to his human form; I blushed seeing his shiny white a*s. I handed him his clothes and shoes, then he led us to the edge of the platform. To my surprise, there was a hidden set of stairs and the natural white color of the stone they used to build it made it almost impossible to see it even from this close.

“Just wait till you see the cottage,” Alarick said teasingly, in reaction to the shock visible on my face. I was really surprised to find a staircase here. Some excitement was also apparent in his voice. I guess he really wanted to see my expression when we got to the cottage. We descended into the valley slowly and the temperature itself rose significantly. It was still cold, and the temperature was below zero, but not as painful as it was up on the platform. I also found it easier to breathe.

“Why is it easier to breathe down here?” I asked Alarick, curiously. This really caught my attention and piqued my curiosity. 

“I am not really sure of the reason, but we are limited up high. Up there it is really difficult to breathe. The lungs of dragons are bigger and work with better efficiency, so in dragon form you can go higher than in your human form. There is less oxygen up there and when you reach the limit of how far you can go and cross it, you might lose consciousnesses due to lack of oxygen and kill yourself by free fall. Some youngsters tried, thinking highly of themselves and not following the instructions of their tutors.” That sounded terrible. I couldn’t imagine losing consciousness while up in the sky. At least they didn’t know they had fallen and died. As terrible as it sounded, it was also peaceful. 

“Is it far?” I changed the subject, but instead of answering me Alarick smiled, stopped and turned his amused face to me. He winked and gestured for me to look behind him, but instead of layers of snow I saw nothing specific. I shook my head, looking at him with a puzzled expression. It amused him, and his smile turned into laughter. This only made me purse my lips and made me feel like punching him. 

“Just look carefully, Princess, and you will see it,” he said, turning his attention back to what was in front of us. We were standing on a small platform, partly covered in snow, and I noticed some white rails at the edge to make sure no one passed that point and fell to their death. The path continued in front of us, but other than snow I really couldn’t see anything else. Alarick took several more steps until he reached a wall of snow partially blocking the path. To my surprise, he moved the entire wall easily. It looked like a solid block of ice on the inside. 

“How…?” I wanted to ask how he had done that, but what I saw inside took my breath away. There was a small room with a fire burning on the other side of the wall. The room looked cozy and warm inside. 

“It’s made of ice. I know when I said cottage you probably imagined something made of wood, but in this area it would be too difficult. We used ice magic to build it. It is difficult to maintain and now and then I really have to come here to fix the place up properly because the ice grew in some places, but in general it keeps warmth inside nicely. 

“The ice won’t melt from the fire?” I asked. He nodded his head, confirming that it did, and it confused me even more. 

“The ice melts inside, but the freezing temperature outside and the surrounding ice make it freeze pretty quickly again. It’s nicely balanced and trust me it’s really cozy here.” He told me while keeping the door open, if you could call something made of a thin block of ice a door, and invited me in. I looked around the interior hesitantly before I took the last step into our new home. To my surprise, the air was really warm there and once I was in Alarick pushed me further and closed the icy door behind us. I panicked a bit, but my expression only amused Alarick more. 

“Welcome to our temporary home,” he said in his husky, loving voice before he dropped our bags and hugged me tightly. I was really curious about the sofas, bed and especially bathroom in this place, but as I observed the room, I realized it was actually deeply recessed into the mountain, which meant that this room was most likely the only one made of ice. The rest would be made of rock. 

“Can you show me around, please?” I pulled away from him so I could bat my lashes at him. Neena showed me this trick to help me control Alarick to a certain extent, so he would do whatever I wanted. It didn't seem like something magical that could make a man do what I wanted, but at least I would give it a try. To my surprise, it worked on Alarick. He kissed my temple and forehead, put his hand on my lower back, and led me inside the house. 

The entrance was a simple sitting room with a cozy fireplace right opposite to the door, which brought warmth into the room. There were two sofas with a small table between them, positioned between the entrance and the fireplace. Behind the sofas was a doorway to the different areas of the house. The side Alarick took me to was the living area. It went deeper into the mountain and soon the icy walls were replaced by black rock. The hallway wasn’t that long, and I noticed there was a pipe of the same color fitted into the rock wall so it made it hard to see it, but the warmth was radiating from it. 

“What is this?” I asked. He turned to where I was pointing.

“I am surprised you noticed. It’s the heating system. It keeps the rooms warm without having to start a fire in each of them,” he explained and I was still curious about it, but as the hall was only around three meters long, we already arrived at the next small room, which looked almost identical to the one at the entrance of the cottage. Instead of two sofas there were several chairs, a small library, a couch by the wall and three different doors. The door opposite the entrance led to the bathroom. I was expecting the same design, but once again I was left speechless when he opened the door. 

There was an enormous bathtub, which looked more like a Jacuzzi than a bathtub. It even had three steps leading up to the bath. The toilet was hidden by wooden dividers, so despite not being separated by a door, it still had some privacy. To my surprise, he had a washing machine and tumble dryer in the left corner as well. Everything was exquisite and looked very expensive. The bathroom was definitely custom made.

Once we were back in the first room, Alarick explained that both other doors led to the bedrooms. One for him and one for my father, which made sense given the fact that they both built this secretly. When I looked at where the house was situated and how it was decorated, they both wanted a place to hide. It reminded me of when my father told me that no one saw Alarick for twenty years after my death. He must have been hiding here. I could imagine Alarick staying here, surrounded by the cold while his own heart was dead and frozen.

“Those twenty years when you disappeared and were in hiding. You were hiding here.” I didn’t ask. It was a simple thought which just appeared in my mind. I looked deep into Alarick’s eyes and saw pain hidden behind those gray irises. Alarick didn’t say a single word. Instead, he pulled me closer, pressing me into his chest and holding me tightly. 

“I’m here.” I tried to console him. I could hear the secrets of his heart. He didn’t care about anything. He could get injured, be in pain, and the entire world could be on fire. But the only thing he was afraid of more than anything was losing me again. I promised myself that I would not let him down again. I wouldn’t leave him alone in this world again. 

Alarick’s chest was moving up and down, and his heart was beating frantically. 

“Don’t ever leave me alone,” he literally begged me. His voice begged me. The pain in his voice hurt me like a sharp dagger in my chest. He had waited two hundred years until I was reborn. I couldn’t be the same person I was two hundred years ago. I had no memories of that time, but I knew this place which I had never visited. There were no signs of any woman stepping into this place. They probably built it for us. Alarick for me and my father for my mom. They planned to use it with us, but in the end it served as a hideout for Alarick when everything reminded him of me. His behavior and the way he was showing me around told me that much. He was proud of it and eager to bring me here, but at the same time as soon as we entered, he had pain written all over his face. He tried to hide it, but I could see it. I could read him. 

It took a few minutes for Alarick to calm down enough to let me go. I could feel the anxiety carved deeply in his heart, leaving a gaping scar that would be difficult to erase. 

“Thank you.” I told him in a soft and soothing voice. He smiled gently, but the pain behind his smile was still visible. 

“I should be thanking you for coming back to me,” he replied, and this time it was my turn to repay him with a soft smile as I tried to make him bend forward so I could kiss his forehead. Instead of leaning down, Alarick pulled me up into his arms, holding me under my butt. 

“Let’s see the bedroom?” I winked at him. The shadow behind his smile weakened, but still there. I was sure it would take some more time and effort to get rid of that shadow permanently.