The Dragon And His Witch

SEVEN

Seraphina opened her eyes to darkness as she instantly sat up alert and looked around.

She was in an extremely warm and comfortable bed and as she raised her hand to her head, she was surprised to no find the circlet that she had been wearing for almost two years now.

What was more shocking was that the burning headaches that she had always had were also gone. And she could hear the sounds of water running somewhere near her.

She tried to look around but because there was no light in the room, she could barely make anything out.

Slowly, she removed the duvet from over her body as she swung her legs to step down from the bed when suddenly a lamp by the bedside lit up the room, making her let out a shriek.

She placed a hand on her racing heart at the sudden action before she looked around and gasped.

In front of her was an entire wall made of glass as it showed the view of a breathtaking waterfall in the middle of plush wilderness.

The room was entirely made out of wood. In front of the glass wall, there was a small sofa and a royal blue armchair. To her left side was the door and on the wall adjacent to it was a bookshelf which was touching the ceiling. On the wall to her right, a large painting was hung, a painting of a majestic obsidian dragon.

And as if on cue, she heard hurried footsteps outside the room before the door was being opened in a rushed manner.

Drystan stood in front of her, looking alarmed as his eyes roamed the room for signs of danger before they fell on her.

He examined her for a moment before releasing a relieved breath. "I thought something happened to you." He mumbled.

She furrowed her brows, "why?" She asked softly, and listening to her meek voice, she realized that she was thirsty.

"I heard your shriek." He informed her and she blinked in confusion before she remembered her own reaction to the lamp lightening up on its own accord. That made her hide a sheepish smile from him.

"Sorry, the lamp scared me." She confessed and he bit his lip to stop himself from chuckling but she caught the sentiment in his eyes and shook her head. "I'm assuming this house is built with Elwood?" She asked him in all seriousness again.

He nodded, slightly surprised that she knew about Elwood but then reminded himself that she was the strongest witch in Elyandria, so she was bound to know about the magical totems of the realm.

"Yes, it was built many centuries ago."

She nodded her head, not replying just looking around for a moment.

Elwood trees were only found in the kingdom of Elyandria where magic was first born. And like a few others, Elwood was a magical totem which could be used to perform magic even if someone did not have the gift. Most witches used Elwood to make their spells more powerful while humans and dragons had been using it to create enchanted houses, and even castles sometimes.

Without even exploring the rest of the places, Seraphina knew that the entire cabin was spelled to see to the lifetime needs of the owner. And the best part was, someone could spend their entire life inside this cabin and they still wouldn't be found by their enemies, making it the safest place in the world.

"For all your talk about hating all witches, you are surely quick to use our resources, your Majesty." She mumbled with a slight bite in her words.

Drystan gave her a soft glare when she called him by his title again, even after asking her not to. "I married you, didn't I? That has to be some proof that I don't hate witches."

She could not help but scoff at that, "the war you fought all those centuries ago tells something else." She pointed out.

He pursed his lips together, looking away from her steel-like gaze, "it was a mistake. I didn't realize until—"

"Until you were covered in blood of all witches and endless mortals?" She quipped.

Drystan huffed but when he looked back at her with an annoyed expression, he did not find anger in his eyes. No. She looked like she was executing a plan.

"Are you deliberately trying to make me angry?" He asked quirking up his brow and Seraphina's expressions turned to one of defeat before slipping into one of indifference.

"No." She replied sharply. "I don't need to do that. Since you will probably kill me the moment we go back to your kingdom."

Drystan was shocked to hear those words with such confidence from her lips. "Do you truly believe that I married you to kill you?" He asked with a look of disbelief.

Seraphina looked down at her hands which were in her lap as her fingers fidgeted with each other. "Is that not your motive? To make a spectacle of the death of the first witch in five hundred years?"

Drystan did not know why but the lack of trust and her words felt like a blow to his chest. It was as if someone had reached down his throat and squeezed his heart tightly.

He walked further into the room before he came to stand close to where she was sitting. He reached out to fold his finger under her chin as he softly made her look up at him.

It broke his heart to see fear in her enchanting orbs.

"I will not kill you, Seraphina." He whispered to her in a way that told her that he really wanted her to believe him. "I will never let anyone kill you or harm you in any manner. You have my word on that."

Seraphina nodded her head slowly but still the lingering fear in her eyes never went away. He realized that it would be a long time before she would be able to trust him.

He was about to turn away before he remembered something and stopped.

She looked at him with furrowed brows before he took out something from his pant pockets.

When he opened his palm, there was a ring sitting on his hand with a very familiar gem.

She looked down at her throat and gasped when she realized that the chain he had wed her with was no longer there and the ruby of the chain was now carved into the ring in Drystan's hand.

She did not know how to react to his gesture as he sighed and came to crouch on the ground in front of her. Even then, he was reaching till her shoulders. He then took both her hands in his own and slowly slid the ring on the middle finger of her right hand.

"After I saved you from falling into the ocean, I realized that your chain was made of silver. So, I threw it away, along with your circlet."

Her eyes widened and true to his words, the metal of the ring did not sting.

"I kept this gem because I know what it means for our marriage. That's why I carved it into a ring so you can still wear it without being weakened by it."

Seraphina sat there, processing his words and just when he was about to turn away and walk out thinking that perhaps she did not want to talk to him, she reached for his hands and took them in her own.

He took a brief moment to admire how perfectly their hands fit together before he looked in her eyes again.

He found nothing but raw pain glimmering in her orbs as she took a deep breath, obviously trying not to cry, "why are you being so kind to me? If you want something from me, just tell me. But don't play with my mind by making me trust you first. I'm begging you, Drystan, don't do that to me."

Her voice broke towards the end and a lone tear escaped her eye, falling onto his hand. The way she was clutching his hands, he knew that she was suffering.

"Seraphina." He said in a gentle voice, releasing one of his hands from her grip to reach up to her face as he softly brushed away the wetness from her cheeks, "I do want something from you. But I will tell you all about it when the time is right. And you will have complete right to say no, even then. I know this is difficult for you but I did not marry you to take advantage of you or to harm you in any manner. If you're not happy, then you only have to say the word and I'll take you back to Elya—"

"No!" She said immediately, looking more alarmed and afraid than before, "don't take me back. Please don't take me back."

Drystan was stunned to find the new kind of fear which had entered her face now. It was even worse than what she had portrayed for him. What could possibly be so terrifying that she did not wish to return to her own kingdom?

The thought irked him to no extent but he knew that now was not the time to ask questions like that.

He simply nodded before cupping both her cheeks, "I will keep you safe, Seraphina. I promise you that I will keep you safe."

Her eyes teared up but she nodded after seeing his sincerity and honesty in his eyes. From everything that she had heard, she knew that promises were everything for dragons. And that was how she knew that she would be safer with him than her own home.

Looking at her with a warm expression, Drystan stood back up and jerked his chin towards the sofa, "there's a fresh set of clothes for you," and then he pointed to something on the wall behind her, "and the bathing chamber is through there, you will find hot water if you wish to use it."

Seraphina turned her gaze and realized that she had missed the door there. She nodded her head.

Drystan made an attempt at a smile but it only came out as an awkward tilt of his lips before he was walking out of the room, "I have prepared dinner for us, come out when you're feeling better."

She was left gaping in surprise as Drystan left her alone.

She had heard so many terrible things about him and yet, here he was, tending to every need she had.

She didn't know how long it would be before her life was going to turn back to the usual track of pain and misery, but as she stood up from the bed and onto the carpeted floor, she realized that she was going to relish the comfort while she was getting it.

She knew that her life had always been cruel but at least for tonight, she did not want to think about that.

For the first time in a long time, she was going to strip out of her clothes to take a bath to relax and not because she had wounds all over her body.

For the first time, she was the one who was in control of herself.

But as good as it felt, the scars of her past never really went away as she sighed and walked over to the door leading to the bathing chamber.

She still didn't know why Drystan had wanted to marry her if he did not want to kill her. She did not know what was going to happen to her in the Frost Kingdom. She wasn't sure if Krogon had released Alondra now that she had done what he asked. And she certainly didn't know what to make of her own marital status.

There were so many variables, so many things she wasn't certain about.

And that scared her to her core.