Chapter 28

**Merianna**


*Warm hands were playing with my hair, brushing it away from my face, pulling strands together, and lightly braiding whatever was available. The hands were gentle, moving so lightly, almost as if they were afraid to wake me. A cool breeze lazily brushed past and rustled the early colored autumn leaves above our heads. The tranquility made a smile tug on my lips.*

*A deep chuckle rumbled above my head. “Are you enjoying it that much?”*

*The smile turned into a grin. “How could I not? This spot right here is the best place in the world.”*

*At his next deep chuckle I opened my eyes. His grin nearly took my breath away as his honey brown eyes sparkled down at me. His braided light brown hair peeked over his right shoulder, tied off with a stray strip of leather that was left after I made his new winter tunic.*

*A cute chirp drew our attention for a moment as the dragon hatchling Lenro had picked up in the mountains started chasing falling leaves whenever they managed to get within his range, making the both of us chuckle.*

*I couldn’t believe how much calmer this life of mine had gotten after I met Lenro. After having nothing but chaos since I was a child, it was oddly surreal to realize my new norm from time to time.*

*“What are you thinking about?” He asked as he tapped my nose playfully.*

*Grinning, I grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss into his palm. “I’m just thinking that I love you.”*

*He grinned back and bent down to press a kiss to my lips. “Heaven knows how much I love you as well.”*

*Finally, those days of chaos were behind me, and I could have a normal life. I thought as I gently rubbed the subtle swell of my stomach.*


My eyes felt heavy as I blinked them open, only to be met with a scenery that I didn’t recognise. Frowning I stared at the big wooden beams above my head, the walls were lined in stone and I was lying in a bed that I didn’t recognize either.

“Lenro?” I called out into the empty room. Sitting upright I tried to remember how I came to be in a place like this, but couldn’t make sense of the situation at all. Well, wherever I was right now, wasn’t my home. I needed to get back to where Lenro was quickly so he wouldn’t worry too much.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and was surprised to feel my knees buckle slightly under my weight. I didn’t feel ill or tired, but my body felt strangely weak. The strangeness of everything made a feeling of uneasiness well up in me.

Attempting to shake off the unsettling feeling, I stepped away from the bed and stretched my arm out in front of me, feeling the energy that hummed in the air. The uneasy feeling grew a bit more when I noticed the energy in the air felt much weaker than I was used to. It almost felt nonexistent.

With a grimace I decided to push through anyway. Lenro was certainly waiting for me, I needed to get back home as soon as possible. And luckily for me, no one and nothing was ever able to keep me confined in one place if I didn’t want it.

Stretching my hand out to the energy one again, I pulled the particles together and started constructing my bridge to take me back home. Because of the poor amount of energy in the area it took a little longer than I was used to, but success was most certainly right in front of my fingertips.

“Merianna?” A deep voice called from my right. The name didn’t mean anything to me, but the fact that a person had entered the empty room prompted me to turn my head and look his way.
A wide eyed man with black hair and dark eyes stood frozen in the doorway. “What are you doing?” He asked, almost sounding panicked as he noticed the bridge I had constructed.

“Home.” Was the only word I could spare the stranger as my pathway solidified and I stepped through without any hesitation. The cries of the man died out as soon as I closed the bridge behind me. I didn’t have energy to spare for strangers, I only needed to get back home to Lenro.

Once I stepped out of the bridge, my feet landed on grass. Glancing at my surroundings had me frowning again. The wooded clearing I was in was familiar, but also unfamiliar at the same time. The trees were different, even the local vegetation seemed to have changed. Taking a closer look I noticed the heavy stones that Lenro had used to build our home. The structure seemed to have been long gone, the basic outline was overgrown and barely noticeable anymore, but it was still there.

All I needed to do was wait. Lenro will be coming back here to pick me up and I’ll then be able to ask him what happened and tell him about where I had been a minute ago. This was something we needed to figure out together.

Spotting a big tree close by, I decided to wait there. After settling myself against the tree I pulled my knees up against my chest and looked out across the clearing.

Slowly, the light that glimmered through the leaves started playing tricks on my eyes. When I blinked again our home stood in the clearing like it always had. The sight made me relax and smile. I started hearing wood being chopped around the back… so that’s where he was… and wherever he was, the hatchling wasn’t far behind.

Relaxing against the tree I felt drowsiness falling over me now that I knew I was home for sure. Nothing else mattered as long as I had Lenro close by. It was a miracle that we were able to find each other again in this lifetime. I hoped that it would continue on like this until we both found our final stops.

Any future lifetime without him in it, was basically unimaginable. If it ever were to happen, I knew for a fact that it would drive me mad… if not at least close to it…