Silya & The Dragon Ch. 04

Unfazed, her hand glided over it with ease as it secreted love juices, making its entirety slick. Golden scales shone in the moonlight as she looked up to bright, rich eyes with a pupil like a cat's. A heat washed over her as she felt arms suddenly around her, pulling her into the most loving embrace she had ever known. She sighed as she sank into her lover, feeling as if they were liquids flowing through each other.

A soft rap at her door startled her awake, and she woke up feeling sticky from the sweat clinging to her body. She had fallen asleep in her robe and had become overheated. Silya sat up in bed and sighed, the warmth of the dream fading as her hand reached her forehead, wiping away the hair that stuck there. "Yes?" Silya called, not quite remembering where she was.

The door opened and her family came pouring in, her father Alonzen carrying a large lamp that they set down on her window sill, where the dull star light ached to reach. Her mother came forward and framed Silya's round face in her plump hands, "Silya, baby? Are you really here? Oh, I am so grateful you are okay! We were all so worried about you. I thought I would never see you again." She pulled Silya to her bosom and laughed happily as tears streaked her face.

Alonzen came forward with tears welling in his eyes, his thick mustache that covered most of his lips twisting up and into a smile. He touched Silya's hair and stroked it, and he stroked her face before he wrapped his arms around her gingerly, "My daughter, we have missed you greatly. We can hardly believe you are actually here. Your husband spoke of you as if you would never return." He kissed her forehead and hugged her from behind.

"Mama, papa! I have wanted to talk to you for so long. I wanted to make you proud by becoming a wife," Silya could feel her lower lip begin to quiver as she became overwhelmed by the arms of her parents as they sandwiched her. "I thought you had forgotten me by now. I wanted to write you every day." She buried her face in her mom's soft shoulder and held her father's hand as she began to weep, unable to hold all of her frustrations in any longer.

"Shh, you are here now, baby. You are not a god, you cannot do it all. Being a wife has its trials." The older woman softly stroked Silya's hair. "Are you hungry?" Isik looked at her daughter with worry. "I can get you food. After you get rested you can tell me everything that has happened." She gently let Silya go and stood, smoothing her ruffled skirt down and the tunic she wore over it.

"No, mama. I'm not hungry right now. I am very tired, I would like to sleep and rest for a bit."

"I will bring you something regardless. You look like you have lost weight since I last saw you. I'll put it on a tray and on the side table there. You can eat it if you get hungry later." Isik smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes before she left the room.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" Alonzen asked, still touching Silya's hair, wrapping a strand around his dark, wrinkled finger.

Silya thought about it for a moment, but she shook her head. "No, it's okay, papa. Daveen told me that you all have not slept. Please sleep comfortable, I will be here when you wake and we can talk."

"All right then. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Goodnight, little love." He kissed the top of her head as he stood, and he walked to the door, but he was reluctant to leave. "Sleep sweet. Alek wants to see you, but he can wait. Can't you, Alek?" He looked to his son who was just outside of Silya's door.

Alek peeked his head into the door, "Goodnight, Silly. I can't wait to be with you tomorrow."

"Okay, come now, Alek. Let her be." Alonzen pushed the young man's head out of the doorway as he exited the room, shutting the heavy wooden door behind himself.

Silya sat in the light of the lamp for a long moment. She wanted to go to her parents and be with them and tell them everything, hold them and sleep with them in their bed all night, but she was now pressured over Daveen's situation. She stood and went to her cloak on the floor, feeling around in it until she found the clay sealed viles she had brought with her. She broke the clay seal and downed the liquid, taking off her robe and changing into one of her long, silken slips that hugged the frame of her body and hung to the floor. As she collapsed into her soft bed, sleep took her.

Silya was awakened almost violently as her shoulders were shaken. The faces of Daveen, Alek, and her mother and father surrounded her, and she groggily tried to blink away the glare of the setting sun. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"You've been sleeping for so long. Almost a whole day. We were worried," Alek said, peering over the shoulders of his parents. "I tried to wake you up earlier, but you just kept sleeping."

"Yes, darling, you have been sleeping since last night. It's dinner time again. Are you feeling alright?" Isik looked at her daughter and stroked her hair. "I think you should bathe. We'll celebrate when you're all cleaned up, hmm? I'll have the servants draw you a bath."

Silya sat up suddenly, her head pounding. She regretted downing the tranquilizer then, as she still felt groggy and weak, but fear showed in her eyes as she looked at everyone. "No one told Askar about my return, did they?"

"We have yet to tell him that you have returned. We called on him earlier, but he was not home. I will let him know as soon as we can."

"No!" Silya blurted out, reaching out to her father and grasping his hand firmly. "Do not tell him. I do not want him to know. At least not yet. Please, do not let him know I am home with you." She stood up and faced her mother and father, "As soon as I wash up I will be down to celebrate my return with you." Silya smiled towards them and then moved to Alek, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug. "And I cannot wait to catch up with you. You've gotten so tall, I can hardly believe it!"

Alek hugged his sister back, emotion overcoming any silly repulsion he used to feign when he was younger. He buried his face in her ash brown hair, closing his eyes. "I have so much to tell you. Please hurry. Seeing you is so surreal."

"I'll hurry as fast as I can." Silya broke away from the hug gently. "Mama, will you have a maid fetch me some fresh clothes?"

Rok was infuriated. He had waited outside of the market for hours the day he had dropped Silya off, far enough away from any main roads so that he would not be spotted. Even after the sun had gone down he had awaited Silya's return, and when she did not come back he had felt himself angrier than he could remember in his life.

It had been another day, and still she did not come. He was now in his old dwelling, storming around the cave's many hallways. He had retreated to the deepest parts of it, where he kept the treasure he had stolen over the years. He nestled into it deeply, his eyes wide as he tried to calm himself.

How dare she leave him! After everything he had done for her, after everything they had been through, she had just left him! He could feel the heat in his throat as his fire started to build, but he let it extinguish and lashed his tail angrily behind him as he lay on his pile of money and jewels, some of which existed in raw form.

She was his. Whether she realized it or not, she belonged to him now. In the dim firelight he had his eyes wide open, and in his mind's eye Silya was all he could see. He was mated to her now, and the bond they had forged was not easily breakable—yet here he was, alone. He was questioning everything he had been told as a child.

Dragons were always allowed to choose their mate. As a child and a future king, he was always told that he would have the same right as the dragon folk across the kingdom. The couple chose each other and it was never forced, and once they were mated, they never strayed from their partner and they never did anything but for the benefit of their family.

When he was young, he dreamed of having an elaborate wedding that would be celebrated for weeks. He dreamed of finding a mate to call his own, and to have a large family. He remembered being made fun of by his brother for always stating how he wanted to be remembered as the king with the largest family in Sentaya's history.

And he remembered when his dream wedding was only weeks away, and how his former lover Anais looked so radiant in her joy.

He cursed himself for being attracted to a human. Humans had a history full of cruelty to each other, and they were constantly at war, just as in Sokov, the country that bordered Sentaya. He began to think that she preferred the life she had before she met him, and as he did he growled and sank lower, the coins and jewels cascading over with small clinks as they fell around him. Did he mean absolutely nothing to her? Was she returning to that despicable husband of hers despite he had tried to have her killed? Human women often fell into that despicable cycle of despair...

He wondered what he had done wrong since she had left without her being able to say goodbye to him properly. With the faintest of hopes, he remained in his dwelling where they had met. He wondered how long he would stay here, despite that his hope grew smaller every hour.

He remained fixed in his dwelling. Once every few days he would seriously think about the city and setting fire to it.

It was going on three weeks, Silya realized, that she had been home and not a word about what had happened with Askar had escaped her lips, despite her parents casting worried glances at her when they would eat as a family. When someone even tried to remotely bring up the idea of Askar, she would quickly steer away from the subject. The rift between herself and Daveen had grown smaller when Daveen had taken Silya's hand and laid it on her stomach where new life was forming, but it had made Silya that much more reluctant to say anything about what had happened. As the days passed, she grew weary and a foreboding feeling made her restless so that she lost sleep.

As she looked out from the window of her room that overlooked the gardens in thought, her door opened and Daveen came in and shut the door behind herself, rather loudly. She sat on the edge of Silya's bed, looking at her and saying nothing. Silya's gaze didn't turn, she just continued looking out at the beauty of her home's garden where roses, lavender and poppies grew.

"I have to tell them what they did, Daveen. This has gone on long enough, and you have to tell them you are pregnant, or I will." Silya turned away from looking out at the lush gardens to looking at her sister. "It will be today, so you should prepare yourself." Silya stood up and averted her eyes away from her sister, walking past her as she moved to the door to leave.

Daveen caught Silya's arm and forcefully turned her so that their eyes met. "I knew you couldn't keep it to yourself. You should prepare yourself! You're alive, that's what matters, and you would not have had to ever see them again once I was married to Mastik." She trembled as her free hand went to her stomach. "Askar knows you're here, and he's coming, and he will likely do worse than what he did to you before. I'm willing to go this far for my child. I would leave now if I were you."

Silya's bright eyes grew wide as she took a step back from Daveen, and she pulled away forcefully from her grasp. "How could you do that to me? I'm not the one being selfish!" Tears began forming in her eyes. "Do you want to see me dead?" Standing was hard, and thinking to tear down her sister with words was even harder. It felt as if the air had been stolen from her lungs, as if she was struggling for breath. She planted a hand on her sternum, trying to ground herself. She looked back to Daveen. "My blood will be on your hands." She turned away, and began walking, a walk that soon turned to running.

Most would not seek out a dragon for protection. Most would run in fear. For Silya, it felt like it was her only hope. When she ran to the edge of the market, she looked around for where Rok had left her, and where she had left him. She wondered when he had finally realized she would not return the day she had left, and how long he had waited for her. Guilt plagued her, but she didn't regret seeing Alek and her mother and father.

Family was family, and she barely knew Rok. Her returning like this was shameful, a shame she wouldn't have to face if it were not for the stupidity of her sister. She would not blame him if he turned her away, but she didn't want to be alone. With Askar looking for her and knowing that she was alive, she was not safe anywhere in the city with anyone she knew.

It was hours of walking later, following the familiar steps that she had walked blind before that she found the dwelling where she had been left. Her stomach twisted, and she felt a wave of nausea overcome her so that she doubled over and nearly retched. She caught herself on the rocks near the cave's entrance, her legs weak and her body tired. As she leaned over, she closed her eyes, trying to fight the sickness the memories of walking towards this place had brought back. When she straightened herself up and opened her eyes again, she jumped when Rok was suddenly there, staring at her intently.

There was something deeply unsettling the way Rok was staring at her. Golden orbs met sky blue eyes, but instead of the welcome and warmth she had come to expect, there was coldness emanating from the dragon. The pupil of his eyes were thin and predatory. Silya's heart began racing, and she tool a step back. "Rok?" She asked softly. The look he was giving her was not one she had seen him give her.

The dragon tilted his head, as if analyzing what she was. It reminded her of when a lizard spotted its prey. She swallowed and took another step back, her legs suddenly giving out. Rok took a step towards her, and then another.

"Rok, are you okay?" She asked him, despite her instincts were telling her to run. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was not coming back. I don't know why I didn't tell you, but I really wanted to see my family." She bit her lip to keep herself from crying. She was so tired of crying! "I think it was wrong to go back, but I'm so-"

"I waited for days. I returned day after day, waiting outside of the market, exposed. And you, with your typical human betrayal. Honesty fails your species." He stepped closer to her, closing the rest of the distance between them. Even with her fear rising, he didn't stop his advance. His great clawed arm reached out and encircled her waist, and she struggled in his grasp. He wasn't hurting her, but she still fought against it.

"Stop it! Let me go! You don't know what has happened!" Silya protested, kicking and struggling to get out of his hold.

"You're mine, and you'll learn your place," Rok hissed, glaring at her as he reared up on his hind legs, walking a short distance before running on his three free limbs. He got a good start before he spread his wings, and they lifted in the air.

Silya screamed as she was jostled and as they were suddenly in the air. She hated heights, and her spine felt as if it had become jelly. She wanted to hold onto something, but the way she was being held she couldn't adjust to do that. It was made worse when she was passed from his front claw to his back, being carried like a piece of meat. Anger and fear mixed, and she scratched at his feet, kicked and flailed, screaming. "You are not going to get away with this! You don't own me!"

The dragon shot his fire before them, and he dragged her through the cloud of smoke left in its place. "I will do as I please with you! Who will save you? I own you now." He growled and began flying as fast as he could, towards his other dwelling.

They had made it in record time, and Rok flew in through the opening of the cave at the top of the hill it was a part of, and made his way to his den. He dragged Silya in, and let her go with a shove. She stumbled back and landed on her bum, and she yelped before she threw him a dirty look.

"And what do you think will keep me here?" She growled, her brows furrowing in her anger. "I will find a way back. I am NOT yours! I belong to myself."

"Back to your husband?" Rok sneered viciously. "You won't be leaving. I have sealed up the ground level entrance. I will keep you here as long as I wish." He turned rapidly, folding his wings close to himself as he exited the den and rapidly left towards the high opening.

Silya chased after him after grabbing an empty wine bottle that was near where she had fallen. As she ran after him, she caught up with him at the cave's mouth. "You cannot leave me here!"

Rok turned to Silya, and was met with the empty wine bottle crashing around his head, glass sent flying in all directions. Stunned that she had hit him, he shook it off and glared at her. "Enjoy your solitude." With those words, he left her alone in the cave, her screams echoing behind him as he disappeared towards the horizon.