Answers from the darkness

Aurelia

He held me for a long time. His arms remained strong around me, only moving from me to correct the slight changes in his wheel. No one dared to interrupt us. I slowly started to lock away the pain I felt, no longer needing it or wanting it. In the distance the sea creatures sung their songs and the waves crashed in unison.

It was the most peaceful song that I had ever heard. My legs started to sway as I grew tired and weak from all the overwhelming emotions and lack of food. Galorian swept me up into his arms and carried me down the stairs to the main deck. As we passed by Mana and the first mate, Galorian gave them swift commands to maintain course and to have dinner sent to his room. Otherwise, we were to be left undisturbed.

Walking around with me in his arms seemed to cause no inconvenience. His movements swift and sure. He laid me down softly on the bed and pulled a blanket over my legs. I was surprised and speechless but the care he had as he fussed around me. I nestled into the pillows and wondered if I could be happy here, with him.

I fell asleep and landed in a dark dream. I wanted to leave these behind almost as much as the responsibility thrust upon me. Maybe it was my payment for the pain I had caused. Not allowing fear to control me, I sat on the dark ground and waited for whatever the darkness had for me. There was nothing to see it was so dark, so I tried to rely on me hearing. There were no footsteps, no breathing, but I knew it was here.

The creep down my skin was all I needed to know that I was not alone. “I am not afraid of you anymore.” I tried to sound brave, my heart pounded the truth.

“We will see.”

The floor disappeared underneath me and I fell. My heart fluttered with panic, fear started to creep in, I did my best to control it. This was only a dream. I needed to remember that. Not real. My backside hit hard to the floor of a room on fire. I didn’t recognize the room but I recognized the flames. They were mine.

Screams started to fill the room, I put a hand over my mouth to stop them before I realized they weren't my own. I couldn’t see anyone else in the room...

The screams grew louder and I could no longer stand still. I walked through the fire, the flames licking up my body but leaving no marks on my flesh. There was something ahead of me, as I got closer the screams got louder, so loud that I wanted to cover my ears.

The image became clearer and clear, and I knew it was my mother on that bed, the bed she died in because of me. My skin started to crawl, leaving bumps along my arms and back, as if I was freezing cold. I tried to turn away, I didn’t want to see this.

“There is only one way forward, Princess.” A dark voice whispered in my ear, soft as a lover's breath.

I had to face it. This dream needed to end. I screamed my frustration and trudged towards her. My fault. Now standing before her bed I was faced with the reality of what I had done to her. Her body was blistered, red and roasted. her eyes burst open and the whites bubbled and oozed out as she yelled, “this is your fault! You killed me!”

She repeated it over and over as the flames ravaged her body.

“I’m sorry!” I shouted back. It was all I could do to but watch her burn.

I fell to my knees and screamed over and over that I was sorry. I watched her burn until there was only ash where the bed once lay. My tears flowed without end and turned to steam as they dripped of my chin. Suddenly the ground began to shake.

A loud roar sounded of in the distance behind me. I stood and looked for the source. I only saw flames.” go to it Aurelia. Learn the truth.”

“I don’t want to. Let me wake up!”

My request went unanswered, telling me I had no choice. I walked forward with a mask of confidence on my face. This was a dream and I had to end it. Whatever challenge came next, I would face it. The image became clear before me and I was unsurprised to see the red and black scales of a dragon. She was enraged. Her claws dug and ripped into everything in their path.

With each roar, a new blast of fire came into the room. A large golden eye caught sight of me and the beast started at me with a low growl filling her chest. She hunched down bearing large white fangs at me. Smoke started to drift out as she moved closer with a menacing crawl.

I knew that I was staring at the other half of me. My dragon self. How would we be able to fight? I had no weapons, and I couldn’t feel the change as I tried to change myself into the image that was looking at me as if I was its next meal. I was defenseless.

She leaped at me and I was able to jump out of the way just in time. With nothing to fight with, I only had one choice, run. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me through the burning room. What was I supposed to do?

It didn’t feel like just a dream anymore as I ran through the room. She was gaining on me. Larger legs and powerful muscles at her advantage. I tried to wake myself up as I grew more and more tired. I had to stop, stop running and face my doom.

Let it take me and stop all of this. The pain, the doubt, let her take it all. I turned and opened my eyes and held out my arms, ready to embrace death. Right before those teeth were going to clamp down on me, the dragon turned into the hooded figure before me.

“What ow?” I asked totally confused.

“You go back.” the figure said as she lowered her hood to reveal my face. “Accept me. The dark side of yourself. Only then will you be worthy of your fate.”

“I don’t want to be worthy.” My voice was so small.

“Stop fooling yourself!” a cold hand slapped across my face. The sting left behind shocked me to the core.

Darkness grabbed me as she yelled in my face once more. “Accept me now!”

I was so afraid, I wanted peace, not more fighting and killing. As I stared at my dark face, I slowly realized that I would never have peace if I didn’t do this. “We are one and the same.” I put my hands up on her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace.

The pain was overwhelming and all I could do was scream and cry as the flames washed through me. When the flames turned to cinders, my body felt remade. I felt a balance that I did not know I was missing.

I woke to the dark room with a warm body beside me. I knew it was Galorian, fear didn’t confuse where I was. Wine and sea filled my nose as I took in the sight of his near naked body. I moved closer to him, curling up tighter to his side. His breathing changed from the steady rhythm of sleep to an awake one. I ran my fingers feather light along the muscles of his chest and even twirled some of his chest hairs around my index finger.

A burning desire rose within me and I moved my hand lower to trace the same patterns as I did on his chest. Each of his ab muscles were defined. The lush carpet of chest hair went down his abdomen as a guiding path towards what was hidden under blankets at this point. I continued to trace little circles through his hair, twisting them into little tight curls. All the while I explored, he said nothing and didn’t move.

Lower still my hands traced and played. Until the side of my hand was met with something soft yet hard. I was surprised that he was already as hard as a rock. I looked up and saw the hunger in his eyes. His arms wrapped my closer to him as he whispered in my ear “take it in your hand.”

His instruction was husky and hot. My body answered as a swell of heat rose within my core. The hunger I felt was all consuming. I reached out and felt my eyes widen with the shock of the size of him. My sword handle was smaller and fit in my hand better. I had a hard time even being able to properly wrap my fingers around his impressive size.

Anticipation filled me as my core began to pool and my mouth began to salivate. “Move your hand up and down.”

Again, I followed his direction and moved my hand up and down the length of him. He let off a husky moan that drove me on faster. His hand snaked out and grabbed my chin and lifted my face to look at him. My hand didn’t lose rhythm. His lips crashed down on mine in a passionate kiss, filled with a hunger I have never known. I answered with my own force and fought his tongue for domination.

Suddenly he had me on my back and was positioned between my legs. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want it all, give me everything you’ve got.”

There was no hesitation before his hands ripped the shirt I had been wearing to shreds. He leaned over and truly took in every single sight of my body. I didn’t try to hide any of it from him. His hands traced the skin by the scars, where it was the most sensitive. His face had a look that I had never expected to see on a man while they took in the sights of my scared skin.

“What does that look mean?” I had to ask, had to know.

“You are one hell of a woman.” Pride. That’s what that look meant.

That was the last we spoke. His hungry hands and kisses covered every inch of my skin. The soft kisses and little nips of teeth on my ear, neck and now collar bone had my body crying for more. As he worked and played with my breast and teased my hard nipples, I went crazy. Wet and wild I wanted to feel him within me.

He was slow, savoring every inch before he got to the heat between my legs. His fingers brushed along the lips, opening me up for his pleasure. He flicked his tongue over my little bundle of nerves. I bit my bottom lip to try and contain my moans. Again, his tongue flicked over me, but this time was paired with a thick finger sliding into me. In and out he worked his finger to the same rhythm as his tongue.

“Don't hold back your scream.” He stopped to order me.

I released my lower lip just as he went back to his work. Building within me was a tidal wave of pleasure, and I was about to release it onto him. He could sense it and quicker than I could tell he rammed his impressive size into me just as my orgasm exploded through me. His mouth crashed against mine as the waves washed over both of us. When I was done, he began to move again. Slow at first then faster and faster.

He moved me around with ease through the positions he wanted to take me. First, he was on top of me, the weight of his body covered me. Then, I was on my hands and knees and he was behind me, driving so deep and so hard into that I thought I would split open. Finally, I was on top of him riding as fast as I could toward the sweet release we both desired. When it came, we both hollered our pleasure.

I laid back down on top of him and he moved his hands from my hips to wrap around me again. He remained inside me as we held onto each other, trying to catch our breaths. His breathing changed and I could tell that he went back to sleep.

I stayed on top of him, savoring the warmth of his body. I couldn’t sleep, not after everything that happened today. What took place in that dream had changed me. I no longer felt the anger of responsibility. I no longer felt sorry for myself and wished I was someone else. I knew what I needed to do.

I needed to go back. I looked at my captain as he slept beneath me. Leaving him was the only thing that bothered me now. But I had a job to do and. I climbed off of him and stood for a moment at the edge of the bed. I memorized each line of him, each sound he made, and the way he had looked at me, like no one ever had before.

I walked over to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper and dipped the quill into the ink pot and wrote.

“If you come back for me, I will have to kill you. Live your life away from me and live it free. For the both of us. Thank you for saving me.”

I signed it with a simple A and a few tears dripped of my chin onto the folded paper. I walked over to the bed and put it on the pillow beside him. I didn’t know why it hurt so bad, but I knew it had to be done. I wouldn’t let him get hurt by my fire like the others had. I had to go now, or I wouldn’t be able to. I walked quickly to the main deck. Opening and closing the doors as quietly as I could. When I was on the deck, I took a deep breath of his scent. It still lingered on my skin.

My wings came out and I flapped them twice to take off into the sky. The change was for the first time, peaceful. I looked back once with my dragon eyes, the ship was home and I had abandoned it to save another.