The Brave Mate of The Unknown

Chapter Nine: Show Me Something New

Chapter Nine

“Fuck.” I swore. My dad once again scared another friend away. I loved my dad, we have a tight bond but he’s just too protective. Everytime I brought a friend by he’d threaten them if they’re a guy and stare at them in ways that made them not want to talk to me again. I was in my room at my desk that was right in front of my window. 

“I’m fourteen now so why does he act like that??” I yelped when I noticed my notebook caught on fire and I patted it out. Magic still was hard to control but Aunt Kylie and Mom have helped me a lot with it. 

“Because you’re fragile, all those guys just want to get in princesses pants. They don’t even care about being friends.” I looked up to see how it was speaking and there was some guy in my window. “Remember me?” 

“Ayden??” I waved my hands towards me. “Come in, before my Dad sees you.” I had a lot of dreams about Ayden since I met him two years ago. I didn’t really know what they meant.

“Right.” He jumped in and I moved to the side so I wouldn’t get hit.

“Are you stalking me?” I stood up. “You don’t even know those guys.”

Ayden shrugged. “I wouldn’t say I’m stalking you, just looking out for. If you saw the way those guys looked at you then you’d believe me. I know we barely know each other but If you want to know me then meet me outside the gates tonight.” 

“I don’t know…” I turned around because I heard knocking at my door. “Oh no my dad…” I whispered then turned to tell Ayden to leave but he was already gone. “Come in.”

Later that night I did what he asked. I went to the garden to look beyond the gates.

I couldn't help wanting to meet him again, who was he? I felt this strange connection and pull to him, like my heart is calling out to his. I'm not supposed to leave the castle gates alone, especially not at night. If I shift and fly maybe no one would notice because of all this fog. I shifted into my dragon form and flew over the gates, I heard the guards yelling for me but I didn't care. I followed his scent to him and shifted into my human form.

“Ayden? What’s all of this about?” 

Ayden laughed. “Nothing, I just wanted to see you again.” 

“But you don’t know me.” I paused. “Earlier in my room, you said if I want to know you to come.” 

Ayden nodded. “I wanted to hangout.” There was something mysterious about Ayden, so many questions going through my head. “Come on.” He stood up and was walking towards the dragon forest. I didn’t move for a while. “You coming?” He said as he disappeared into the night.

“Yes!” I yelled as I started running to catch up with him. Once we got into the dragon forest I looked around, I never was here at night. “Ayden?” 

He dropped down from a tree. “I needed to see exactly where we were so we don’t get lost.” 

“How old are you?” I asked as I watched him look around.

“Fourteen.” He answered, he dressed a lot different then anyone else I saw. HE wore regular clothes but with a cloak. 

“Are you a mage?” I asked because mages typically wore cloaks with huge pockets for magical items.

“No, I can’t perform magic.” He answered. “Look.” He whispered and pointed to a small group of goblins. “They always have valuable stuff on them.” He whispered to me. “Close your eyes.” 

“Why?” 

Ayden laughed. “I want to surprise you, just close em until I say when.” I closed my eyes and only heard movement, all of the sudden I heard the goblins yelling but not words, just sounds. Out of nowhere I feel my hand being grabbed and pulled so I started running. “When!” Ayden yelled and I opened my eyes and kept running with him.

“What happened?!” I yelled as we ran and I looked back at gobins chasing us, some jumping from tree to tree.

“No time!” He yelled as he opened the top of a tree trunk and it revealed a slide like tunnel. He let my hand go and jumped in. I jumped in after him and it closed behind me. 

I screamed as I slid down. I landed on my butt and looked around. We were underground but it was beautiful, there were little pixies, fairy dust, light from pixies bouncing off crystals. “Where are we?” I noticed a lot of fairies walking around, adults, teens and kids. 

Ayden smiled at me. “You’ve never been to a fairy village before?” He just stared at me. 

“No, I haven’t. Why is it underground?” I looked around and saw a market place.

“It’s only partially underground, a lot of fragile creatures need protection especially in the dragon forest so the most populated areas like marketplaces are underground. As for living, they live in giant trees like houses above ground. Those places are in the enchanted forest since it’s safe.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking. “ You saw the tree trunk we came down in? The fairies sealed it with their magic so that Goblins or anyone who intended on harming the fairies and pixies can’t come in.”

I followed him. “How do you know all of this? What school do you go to? Or do you learn this stuff from you family?” 

Ayden chuckled. “I learn from experience, I spend a lot of time traveling, you learn a lot when you see a lot and you’re there for it.”

“Hey Ayden.” A group of fairies a little younger than us said as they past us and giggled.

He waved to them then walked to a stand that was selling apples, pink apples. “Can I take a basket of that?” 

The merchant nodded. “Of course, you did help out with sells yesterday.” He put a couple of apples in the basket and gave it to him. 

“I’ll be back to help out tomorrow night.” He smiled then turned to me and we continued walking. “Here, I got these so you could try one.”

I grabbed an apple. “So you work down here?” 

He shrugged. “Sort of, I work wherever I go. I do something for them and they give me food.” He took a bite out of one of his apples.

I stared down at mine then bit it. It tasted amazing, the flavor soaked into my tongue. “What the hell, Ayden this is amazing!” I giggled.

“Fairies have the best fruit, they use magic when growing it.” He said and we had started walking on a hill upward. “Are you guys hungry?” He asked a group of fair children who were playing. 

Their eyes lit up when they saw the apples and gave the rest of his to them. “Thank you sir!” One said and the rest nodded and started eating the apples. 

I didn’t quite understand Ayden yet, not who he was or why he did anything he did. We went all the way up the hill and we were in the enchanted forest now. “You should go back home before the sun comes up. Your parents are probably worried, you know you weren’t much a nag this time.” I laughed and I rolled my eyes.

“Okay…” I sighed, and looked down at Ayden putting a bracelet on my wrist. “W-what’s that for?” 

“It’s a magical item, I stole it off the goblins who probably stole it off a wandering mage.” He finished putting it on. “It’s perfect for you, i-” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence because of a ground shaking roar. I covered my ears and closed my eyes tight, I already knew it was my Dad and the last thing I wanted was for him to scare off Ayden who wasn’t like anyone I ever met.

When I opened my eyes, Ayden was gone, almost like he vanished. I watched my dad land. “Get on.” He seemed pretty mad. I got on his back and we didn’t say anything to each other. He flew us back to the castle. 

When he landed I climbed off him and he shifted back to his human form. “Dad, I’m sorry I just went for a walk.” I said because I don’t think he saw Ayden.

Dad stared down at me, maybe he didn’t know what to say. “You’re grounded, a week.” I never got grounded before but I also never did anything like this before. “You’re not supposed to leave by yourself, especially not at night.” 

“Dad, I’m supposed to sleep over at Tam’s house tomorrow night and spent the weekend with her at her dad’s in the dragon kingdom.”  I pouted, I understood what I did was wrong, I’m a young girl, it was dark, and there were a lot of creatures who came out at night that could kill me. It’s just Ayden, how could I not risk everything to hangout with him, and he showed me a great time. I learned things they probably wouldn’t teach in school.

Mom walked up and hugged me. “We were worried sick Dawn, your father is right, you can’t go anywhere for a week.”

I scoffed and pushed away from her. “Wow Mom” I was getting really frustrated. “I just needed some fresh air, shouldn’t you know better then anyone how staying in a castle 24/7 is-is suffocating!” I yelled then ran off to my room, I wasn’t mad that I couldn't go to Tam’s, I was mad I might not be able to see Ayden again.