Ava

5 - Safe

Ava blinked. She woke up with a throbbing headache. Her vision was blurry and she felt dizzy, also nauseous on top of that. As her vision cleared, she looked around. She was inside a cave if she’s not mistaken. The light coming from the candles on the wall were dim, but being a half-blooded dragon, her vision cut through the darkness with ease. By small degrees, she was able to take in her surroundings.

Where am I?

“How are you feeling?” A deep firm but gentle voice said which made her turn to where it’s coming from.

Ava’s eyes immediately widened at what she saw. There stood a magical creature whose head, torso, and arms appeared to be human and were joined to a horse's body. The creature stood magnificently in front of her and she just swallowed a lump on her throat after realizing that she stared too long earning a soft chuckle from the creature in front of her. That’s when she instinctively placed her hand on her left eye and realized that she was missing her eye patch.

Sh*t! Where is it?

For as far as she remembered, she’d always wore an eye patch. Something that she didn’t completely understand while growing up but she still followed and never took it off unless she’s alone. She was told that it was her only way to survive.

“Ava, you should never trust anyone. Only trust yourself. And never let anyone see your eyes.” The old woman advised.

“But why, grandmother?” The young girl asked before taking a small bite of her bread. It’s the only meal that they can eat for that day and so she only bit a little knowing that they might not have anything to eat the next day.

“Because you will be in great danger if anyone sees your eyes.” Her grandmother answered. 

Fear crept slowly into Ava.

He saw my eyes.

Unbidden, Ava then looked at the creature closely. The creature really looked half-human, his hair was long and brown. It spilled gentle waves down his shoulders. Every inch of him swelled with defined muscles, from his chest to his broad shoulders to his thick arms.

“You don’t have anything to fear. We have seen you coming.” The creature that stood before her said gently. “You are safe here.”

They saw me coming? 

What does he mean?

Automatically covering her eyes and facing a different direction, Ava didn’t answer. She had this feeling that this creature is truly safe as he says but she must still be extra careful, especially that he’d seen her eyes. A few seconds later, she saw him handling down her eye patch.

“Thanks.” She croaked, her voice hoarse and dry, before immediately taking it and putting it on her eye.

By then, flashes of memories from the events prior to this came back like lightning. She recalled running through the forest, seeing the dragon, and Black.

Black.

Worry overpowered her as she remembered being clawed deeply by the same dragon she tried to save and failed. She thought she was dying but she remembered Black saving her. She saw the Peace Keepers swarming towards them. Seeing that she’s still alive, she’s thankful that she was saved.

Black. His name echoed through her.

Where is he?

Using all the strength she had left, she tried to get but failed and coughed out some blood.

“Stay still. You’re still too weak to get up.” before she felt that her body was being assisted back to the bed. Then he wiped her mouth clean from the blood that came out. “You’re still healing. You must stay in the bed and rest.”

“My companion. The man who was with me. Where is he?” She asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry too much. Just like you, he’s also resting on the other side of this cave, healing from the damage he got.” The creature replied and Ava knew he was telling the truth, she let out a sigh of relief.

“I want to see him” She said.

“Later, when you feel a lot better.” He replied.

Then she looked at the creature who just gave her a gentle smile and nodded.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“My apologies for not introducing myself right away. I am Casix, a centaur.” He introduced himself and held out a hand which Ava took. “You are?”

“I wish not to disclose my name. I’m sorry.” Ava answered and the centaur just nodded in understanding.

Then the creature handed her a bowl of water which she finished drinking in a blink.

“Thank you for saving us.” Ava said afterwards, feeling quite embarrassed for drinking everything in a blink.

“We didn’t save you. He did.” Casix answered calmly. Knowing what her confused look meant, he added. “Your companion saved you.”

Your companion saved you.

Black saved me. He saved me once again.

“How…how long have I been out?” Ava asked.

“A week now.” The centaur answered.

A week? That’s too long!

“You were poisoned and have lost a lot of blood. I believe the claws of the dragon who attacked you was poisoned.” Casix added.

“The dragon’s claws have poison?” Ava blurted out, shocked of what she heard.

“It wasn’t a real dragon. It was a clone.” The centaur replied and his answer made Ava look more stunned.

“Dragons have…clones?” Ava managed to say and the centaur nodded.

“We call them Pseudodragons. They also growl, bleed and breath fire like the real dragons but they are empty and they don’t die.” Casix answered. “They were created by the New Continent’s Highness and his disciples to hunt down their preys. You will recognize them by the iron braces on their neck which controls them.”

So, it wasn’t a real dragon. Ava thought as her hopes of seeing real one had instantly crashed.

Is that why Black was trying to kill it?

It must be since he was determined to kill it even if I tried to stop him.

Ava closed her eyes right away, realizing that it was her fault that they almost died. If only she listened to Black when he told her to stay and wait, then all of that shouldn’t have happened. 

“You didn’t know. They rarely appear in front of other creatures except for the one they’re hunting.” Casix added.

Does that mean the Pseudodragon was hunting Black? She thought.

“It was more than 20 years ago when I had a vision of a comet coming to save us.” Casix continued after she didn’t reply for quite some time. This caught Ava’s attention. “A week ago, the sky was extra clear that night when I saw a comet for the first time in a long time. Remembering my vision, we followed the direction of the comet and saw the two of you hidden behind a huge rock. The forest was burning and thousands of Peace Keepers were dead all around.”

Black killed all of them. Ava understood. 

“He was healing your open cuts and wound and didn’t stop until you are no longer bleeding.” Casix added. “He then gave you to us when he saw us and told us that you were clawed by a Pseudodragon and that you needed help right away before the poison spreads. Those were his last words before he also lost his consciousness.”

A huge pang of guilt immediately struck Ava.

“Seeing how you were led to us by the comet, now we know that you will be the one to save us all.” Casix declared.

Ava was caught off guard and was shocked to hear those words from Casix. 

“The centaurs have also struggled to survive ever since the purge happened. You gave us hope.” He said sincerely. “Finally meeting you is a great honor to us.”

“You must be mistaken.” Ava immediately denied.

“Whatever is meant for you will come for you no matter how hard you try to run from it.” Casix said.

“I don’t understand.” Ava blurted out.

“That is enough for now, Casix. Let the lady rest and heal first.” A firm and authoritative voice said from behind Casix and Ava saw another centaur who looked much older than Casix. The latter then just gave a respectful bow to this man. “Forgive him for disturbing your rest, my lady.”

“It’s okay. He didn’t really disturb me or anything.” Ava said.

“I am Biron, leader of the Western Centaurs.” He introduced himself and held out his hand which Ava took.

“I apologize but I don’t wish to-“

“Disclose you name.” Biron interrupted and finished the sentence for her. “It is understandable, my lady. And I hope you continue to be that way.”

Ava then had a lot of question in her mind that she wanted to ask.

“You have to heal first and take your rest. Your queries will be answered as soon as you are doing well.” Biron stated before giving her a nod. “Rest well, my lady.”

Then the two centaurs retreated, leaving her all alone in that cave. 

***

“Thank goodness you’re finally awake!” Ava excitedly exclaimed before unknowingly embracing the man who just woke up.

Black was flabbergasted by her action and froze in his bed, allowing the woman to freely engulf him in her arms. Smelling her scent and knowing that she survived, Black felt relieved.

“You’re okay now.” Ava said softly before realizing what she’d done.

Almost immediately, she pulled herself away and stood straight which made Black feel a bit cold upon losing the contact.

“How are you feeling?” Ava asked after some awkward silence.

“Fine.” Black answered as he observed his surroundings. “Where are we?”

“The centaurs took us and helped us heal.” She answered and Black just nodded.

“How long have I been here?” He asked.

“I was out for a week and you a few days after I woke up.” Ava replied.

Then Black suddenly stood up and fixed his clothing. He must leave this place immediately. He shouldn’t be staying in one place for a long time, or he will know where he was. He made a mistake that night by spending two nights in the same place. Thus, they were able to send a Pseudodragon to hunt him down.

Who knows what would they send this time especially that he stayed her for more than a week? He thought.

“You shouldn’t get up yet. Though you’ve healed, Biron said you still need a few more days to fully recover.” Ava interrupted his thoughts.

That’s when he remembered what this woman had done. They were almost killed because she didn’t listen and tried to stop him from killing that Pseudodragon in peace.

“You!” Black suddenly blurted out as he pointed his finger at her, his jaws clenching. “You stay away from me!”

Ava was surprised at his outburst but immediately understood what he meant. She had already anticipated this but she didn’t think that she’d have to deal with it so soon.

“I’m sorry for what happened back then. I didn’t know it was a Pseudo-“

“I told you to stay in your place and wait!” Black interrupted and all she could do was look down. “I don’t need anyone who doesn’t know how to listen.”

Then he began walking out of the cave where he was, trying to find his way out. Ava panicked and followed behind him.

“Black. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I promise!” Ava said as she ran after him.

However, to her dismay, Black didn’t listen and kept walking until they came out of the cave.

“I don’t want to see you again, woman.” Black said after stopping for a while.

“But-“ Ava contradicted which earned her a glare from the man in front of her.

“Stay out of my sight.” Black said with finality in his voice before turning around and walking away.

Understanding that it was really her mistake and knowing that she really endangers everyone around her, Ava tried her best to stop herself from following him.

He is right, Ava. He’ll be in danger once again if you insist on following him.

She wasn’t sure what she was feeling as she saw him walking away. Only the fact that there’s a tinge of pain on her chest that she couldn’t fathom.

Goodbye, Black. And thank you. She said inwardly as she saw his silhouette fading into the woods.

***