The Dragon And His Witch

SIX

Seraphina was falling from the sky and was feeling more and more light headed with each passing moment. She knew that she was going to plunge straight into the water and would probably be forgotten after that, but in a way, she was fine with that end. She hadn't expected to live long enough anyways, at least this way, she wasn't giving the dragon king the satisfaction of killing her.

Drystan let out a loud shriek as Emyr and Rosette too instantly turned around to find their brother shooting straight down from the sky and towards his falling princess.

They followed suit but the obsidian dragon was faster, even after his large size, as he instantly reached Seraphina just the moment before her body was about to hit the surface of the water and he scooped up her limp frame in his talons before soaring back up.

He reached the top of a small cliff as he gently laid Seraphina down on the ground and instantly shifted back to his male form.

He came to his knees beside her head where he saw how the silver circlet was digging into the skin of her forehead and he instantly ripped the thing off before throwing it far away from them.

In its place were burn marks on her forehead in the shape of the circlet.

"Seraphina!" He said urgently, placing his palms on both her cheeks, trying to wake her up again. He heard his siblings land behind him, both of them still in their dragon forms as they watched their king tend to his wife.

When Drystan was certain that Seraphina would not be waking up anytime soon, he turned back to his sister, "I think the silver has poisoned her."

At that, both Rosette and Emyr shifted and Rosette rushed to Seraphina's other side to examine the redhead.

"You're right. I don't think she will be able to wake up before she gains her strength again." Rosette stated, furrowing her brows with concern.

Looking down at the unconscious princess, Rosette could not help but feel sorrow. She had clearly suffered through a lot and now she had gotten married into a kingdom that loathed witches. Rosette could not even imagine living the life Seraphina had lived till now, even if Rosette herself had seen endless wars and fought ruthlessly.

Emyr on the other hand, was looking conflicted and when Drystan raised looked at him with a raised brow, Emyr sighed shaking his head.

"I'm just wondering if it's even worth taking her all the way to our home. I mean, I know why you married her, but isn't there another way? I mean, what if she gets too powerful and tries to use her magic on us?" Emyr presented his views and Drystan stood up at that, leaving Seraphina in Rosette's care.

"We have gone through this so many times, Emyr." Drystan breathed, "she is the key to everything and when the gods come for us this time, I wish for our kingdom to survive. She is the only one who can do that, don't you get it?"

Emyr rolled his eyes, "my point still stands, brother. How can you be certain that once she finds out about her own powers, she would not turn on us?" He said running his hand through his platinum hair, "what if she decides to support the gods instead? You know well that the prophecy is still incomplete."

Drystan sighed, placing his hands on Emyr's shoulders. "I have married her, and now, she is my responsibility. And when the time comes that she has to fulfill her destiny, all we can do is hope that she would choose us. This is why I am asking you to never give her a reason to not trust us. We need her on our side."

Rosette rolled his eyes as she shifted Seraphina's head in her lap and softly brushed away Seraphina's braid which had been draping her neck by now. When her fingers touched the soft metal of the chain around her neck, her skin sizzled and Rosette let out a hiss, gaining Drystan and Emyr's attention.

"What is it?" Drystan asked softly.

Rosette did not reply as she looked down at the chain with the ruby pendant. The chain that Drystan had been asked to tie around Seraphina's neck. And when she picked it up between her fingertips, her skin burnt again and she instantly left it.

"It's silver." She gasped looking up at her elder brother. Emyr cussed under his breath as he watched the anger rushing over Drystan's face.

The dragon king instantly bent down and ripped the chain apart from her neck, the metal not affecting him one bit before he hastily took out the ruby and threw the chain down from the cliff.

Just like the circlet, Seraphina's neck was also imprinted with burn marks in the place of the chain.

Drystan was seething in anger and he did not even know why, considering that it had only been a few hours since he had laid his eyes on Seraphina.

But the thought of someone being so cruel to her, to any woman for that matter, was enough to boil his blood in anger.

"Why didn't she say anything when you were asked to put the chain around her neck? She must have felt its sting." Emyr pointed out thoughtfully, and no matter how much he hated the idea of taking a powerful witch into his kingdom, he too was mad at the way Elyandria's nobles had pretended as if torturing their princess with silver was a good idea.

"She knew." Rosette whispered, looking down at the girl in her lap with horror and respect.

"What?" Emyr asked, not having heard his sister.

Rosette looked up at both her brothers with a baffled expression. "She knew that the chain was actually made of silver and she still had you put it on her. This wasn't the first time she has suffered through something like this."

"If she is used to the sting, then why did she faint?" Emyr asked in confusion and Drystan's eyes widened briefly as he looked down at his unconscious wife.

"What is it?" Rosette asked him.

His gaze was now turned to look at the crashing waves below and the vast stretches of snow on the other side of the cliff. He shook his head. "it became too much for her. She was crying before she lost consciousness. Whatever it was, she has been suffering long before this day and perhaps it was all coming back to her."

Emyr and Rosette could only turn their sorrowful gazes to the princess lying limp on the ground.

Drystan had to admit, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on. Her wavy and thick auburn tresses reminded him of the flames he loved so much, her porcelain skin reminded him of the silky snow from his kingdom. And her eyes, her eyes looked like enchanted forests with treasures and secrets within.

He was smitten by her since the moment he saw her. But he knew that that was simply an attraction based on her physical appearance and as pleasing as that was, he still yearned to know who she was. Who she truly was.

Drystan shook his head before walking towards Rosette and Seraphina and picking up his wife from Rosette's lap and into his own arms.

"Where will you take her?" Rosette asked, standing up from the ground.

Drystan's eyes were towards the small stretch of vegetation below the low cliff they were standing on. He jerked his chin in that direction. "We are almost at the border of our home. I have a cabin a few paces from here. I will take her with me until she's better and in the condition to fly again. And you two should return home."

His voice was stern and both his siblings knew that there would be no arguing him.

They nodded before shifting again and then Drystan watched the two white dragons flapping their wings up in the sky as they proceeded in their journey home.

Drystan then looked down at the small woman in his hands and sighed.

Without much thought, he began descending from the cliff and then into the forest.

His hearing was sharp for any surprise attacks or predators lurking about, but mostly, the only sounds around him were crickets and other creatures dwelling up in the high trees or the bushes around him. And then there was the sound of the waterfall that he was following for the direction to the cabin.

Without effort, he passed over all of the fallen logs or roots, going deeper into the woods until he finally broke through the dense tree line and into a meadow lined by a cliff on his opposite side.

In front of him was a pond with crystal clear waters as it rippled from the water falling down the cliff and into it.

A small smile overcame his face as he took in a deep breath of the scents of the pond and moss and the falling water.

And a few steps away from the waterfall, was a two-storied wooden cabin with a slant roof and a chimney on top.

Drystan instantly walked to the cabin and as soon as he stepped onto the porch after ascending the stairs, the door of the cabin opened up on its own accord.

He smiled, carrying Seraphina through the lobby which was lined with paintings on walls and lamps which lit up as soon as he entered.

He entered the living area and took in the marvelous appearance of it as the fire in the hearth lit up just because of his presence. There was a spacious sitting area in front of him, completed with leather sofas and a glass centre table in the middle. There were cots and shawls draped on the sofa and as he looked to his side, he could see the kitchen from the large window in the wall.

He passed the living and dining area and entered another lobby which opened into an intersection. He turned left and stopped in front of a mahogany door.

Pushing open the door, the lamps lit up as he moved further into his own bedroom.

To his right was a large bed with warm covers and the wall opposite to the bed was actually a window which gave a clear view of the astounding waterfall.

Carrying Seraphina to the bed, he slowly laid her down in it before covering her up with duvets to make sure that she wouldn't catch cold.

He stood there, looking at her for a moment, wondering how could someone have hurt her when she seemed to him as the purest angel in the world.

He had lived a long life and in those years, he had made endless mistakes and taken decisions which brought nothing but destruction for him. And he knew that choosing her had been a risky move. He knew that he was nothing but a monster for destroying her life like that. But there was no other choice that he had.

He knew it would be a long way before she would ever come even close to trusting him. That is, if she ever does decide to trust him.

And there was an incredible chance that Emyr had been right. That she might turn on him and make things worse.

But who would he be if he did not even try to do the right thing? Who would he be if he never corrected his wrongs?

Certainly not someone he wanted to be.

And so, taking a deep breath, Drystan gently tucked a loose hair strand behind Seraphina's ear before he stood back straight and gazed at her softly.

A gentle smile tilted his lips upwards before he sighed one last time before turning off the lamp and leaving her in the room to prepare something for them to eat.

And for the first time in his life, he was seeing hope.