Dragon Dream

by Elena Van Peborgh

  That was very brave of him. He had sacrificed himself so his siblings wouldn’t suffer. He had protected them.

  “Marc has lived with Annebel for a while because he was too young when my mom died. My father couldn’t take care of him. Lena was also very young, but I could take care of her. My father could do that too, but he didn’t pay attention to her.”

  I slowly extended my hand to touch his back. I was very careful. I could heal all of it. I could remove all the scars permanently. I had the magic inside of me, and he was connected to the earth. I could use the element for a good cause.

  “What are you doing?” he asked in a worried tone when he felt my hand on his skin.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. I hoped he would sit still and trust me. I pulled the energy I needed directly from the earth. The energy ran through my whole body towards my arm and then towards my hand. The energy caused my fingers to tingle. He would also feel it on his skin. He seemed a bit startled but didn’t try to move or to pull away. I opened my eyes and removed my hand from his back when I had finished. Jon turned around quickly so he was facing me.

  “What have you done?”

  “I’ve healed you,” I answered without making a sound while pointing at him.

  “You’ve healed me? I had healed already. I didn’t have any open wounds. They were scars.”

  “Gone,” I said without making a sound.

  “Why? They were only scars. It takes energy to use your power, doesn’t it?”

  I nodded. It hadn’t taken that much energy. They had only been scars and he would have been able to live with them, but now he had clear skin. This was a fresh start, a new opportunity. He could start over again with a clean slate. His father couldn’t hurt or hit him anymore because he’d always be with me. But I couldn’t sign any of that.

  Finally, he put his shirt on again and stood up. He extended his hand to me and I took it so he could pull me up. He released my hand when I stood.

  “I think we’ve waited here long enough. Shall we go home?”

  I nodded again. He walked a bit in front of me and I followed him. He stopped in front of Annebel’s house, probably a bit confused. He was used to this being her home. He had always knocked first before entering. Now it was our home. It was also a lot to take in for me; I would live here with Jon now. But I was used to living here already. I opened the door, entered the house, and signed to Jon he could come in. He smiled gratefully at me. I ran straight to the kitchen to grab my writing tools when he was inside. I still wondered what happened earlier with the goblet.

  Was it normal what had happened with the goblet? I wrote.

  I turned around while holding the chalkboard and was startled to find Jon standing right in front of me. Apparently, he had followed me and had been standing behind me. I showed him what I had written.

  “No. A linking normally gets accepted immediately. The goblet really threatened to reject our linking,” Jon answered.

  He had also noticed it had seemed to go wrong at first. So I had been right. The Capital druids didn’t have a sense of humour and they hadn’t enchanted the goblet on purpose so it would seem to reject an engagement at first.

  Then why did it eventually accept it?

  “I think the linking eventually got accepted because you were a lower shape-shifter originally. A linking between a dragon and a shape-shifter would probably never be accepted. That might be why the linking almost got rejected.”

  And the element earth?

  I had put a question mark at the end on purpose because I wanted to know if he agreed the element earth had eventually connected us to each other.

  “Yes, I think your element had the final word as well. Did you also notice the fluid smelled so much like the earth and had hints of the forest as well?”

  It also smelled like you.

  “Huh. I hadn’t noticed but that could be because I’m used to my own smell.”

  Jon glanced at the window for a bit to look outside and frowned thoughtfully. He probably tried to estimate what time it was. I had used the daylight before to check the time, but I actually didn’t even need that now. I knew about what time it was because my stomach grumbled. I poked Jon’s arm to get his attention. I made a sign for eating by moving my hand to my mouth.

  “Ah, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?” he asked.

  I looked at him in confusion. How could I have eaten already?

  “I’ll prepare something for us both. I haven’t eaten much either, so I’m ravenous.”

  I sat at the kitchen table while Jon prepared our meal. He sat across from me when he had finished making dinner, and we ate together.

  “I’m not a great cook but I’ll always be able to make something simple for you,” he said.

  I smiled gratefully at him. I was already glad he could prepare something and that he also wanted to do that. We cleaned the table and did the dishes together afterwards.

  “Where were you sleeping when Annebel still lived here? Can you show me where you normally sleep?” Jon asked after we had finished.

  I wondered why he even asked this question but still nodded. He followed me upstairs and then to my room. I stopped in front of my room and pointed inside.

  “Oh, right. You sleep in Lena’s room. That’s alright. You can still sleep here. I’ll sleep in the room where Annebel used to sleep. I think my things are downstairs. I’ll get them and unpack,” he said and then went back downstairs.

  I was surprised but relieved. He didn’t expect anything at all. I could just sleep in the same room. I didn’t need to sleep in the same bed as he did. I sat down on the bed. I didn’t want to get in the way while he was unpacking. I felt pretty useless now I had nothing to do. I still felt a bit uncomfortable and uneasy, despite the fact I could sleep in my own bed. It didn’t help that Jon was constantly running around, it made me nervous.

  I decided to go to sleep when he had finally finished unpacking. I was tired. He didn’t seem to mind I had gone to sleep already; he didn’t come to check up on me, and he didn’t say anything about it the next morning. He got up a bit later than I did. I had just gotten everything ready for breakfast when he entered the kitchen. He was actually still pretty sleepy and didn’t say much. He only really woke up a couple of hours later.

  “Come. I want to show you something,” he suddenly said.

  I was taken aback at first. He had remained silent for so long, but I followed him to the living room. He pointed at the statuette of the grey wolf standing on a shelf in the bookcase. I vividly remembered giving it to him. He had kept it safe. I walked towards the bookcase and extended my hand to lightly touch the statue, being very careful.

  “I still need to get some things from my house, but I thought this was important. I wanted to move this immediately.”

  I was happy he thought this statue was so important and had kept it safe.

  “Do you know you’re still wearing the bracelet Lena has made?”

  I instantly glanced at my wrist. Indeed, I was still wearing the bracelet. I had forgotten to take it off. Shit. But luckily it wasn’t ruined. I placed my right hand over the bracelet and closed my eyes to concentrate. I manipulated the twigs, allowing them to become looser so I could take the bracelet off.

  I manipulated the twigs again, so the bracelet returned to its original size after I had taken it off. Then I placed the bracelet on the bookshelf in a way, so the statue of the grey wolf stood inside the bracelet. It seemed like the wolf was being surrounded and protected by low bushes. I touched the bracelet again and it grew some small leaves around the edges.

  “Do you need some soil so you can grow some flowers and a whole forest?”

  His remark made me laugh. I shook my head and turned around so I could face him. “Do you like it?” I formed with my lips without making a sound.

  “Yes, I like what you’ve created there.”

  Actually, living with Jon seemed to be quite okay. It had only been a day, but it seemed to work.
Of course, I sometimes still worried and felt uneasy and uncomfortable, but he tried to make me feel better. We stayed inside the house during the rest of the day. We didn’t need to go back to work for the rest of the week. The wolves actually expected us to stay inside. When I was tired and wanted to go to bed, he just let me go to my room. He never bothered me and didn’t say anything about it.

  One night, a few weeks after our engagement, I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. I immediately sat up straight in bed. I had no clue what time it was exactly, but I did know it’d be a while before morning. I was sweating heavily and didn’t feel well. It felt like I was having a panic attack. I went to lie down again and tried to calm myself by controlling my breathing. It did calm me a bit, but I felt I wouldn’t be able to sleep again so I decided to get out of bed.

  I walked very slowly towards the door and left my room. Before it had registered in my brain, I stood right in front of the bedroom where Jon slept. Crap.

  Twenty-six

  My body had subconsciously led me to Jon. A few weeks had passed since the engagement between Jon and I and our bond had become stronger; the connection between us had strengthened. The effects of the engagement finally started to show, resulting in us sharing our souls with one another. My soul finally started to miss the piece I had given to him, and the part he had given to me also missed the other half of his soul.

  I hesitated. My subconscious and my connection to him was stronger than my consciousness. Slowly, I opened the door, being so quiet he wouldn’t be able to hear it while sleeping. I peeked inside, but it was too dark to see anything. He didn’t seem to have noticed me and as far as I could judge he was still sleeping. My body led me into the room. I closed the door behind me but left it ajar. I walked towards the bed, to the side where he lay.

  As I came closer, I could see him sleeping on his stomach with his body spread across the bed. I extended my hand to touch him but was startled when I saw my own hand. I immediately pulled it back. I wanted to turn around and go away again just when he softly made a sound and turned around. I stopped in my tracks. Shit. What kind of creep was I? I had snuck into his room in the middle of the night.

  “Tat?” he murmured sleepily.

  His voice was way heavier when he was still sleepy. I tried to produce a confirming sound.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  I tried to think how to answer that, but I didn’t know how well he could see. He quickly seemed to remember I couldn’t talk. “Weren’t you able to sleep?”

  I nodded and made a confirming sound. I pointed at the bed and then made a sign for sleeping.

  “Do you want to sleep here?”

  He had figured out what my question was through my signs. I nodded again.

  “Are you sure?”

  No, I wasn’t. Not really. But I was certain I wouldn’t be able to sleep in my own bed anymore. My connection with him had led me to him; it wanted him to be closer. I nodded. He moved to the other side of the bed so I would have a place to lie down. I got under the blankets and turned to my side so I could watch him. He was still lying on his stomach and his eyes were closed. I kept watching him while he slept. At least I thought he was sleeping again. I had woken him in the middle of the night.

  I wanted him to be even closer; it still wasn’t good enough. I cursed myself and this engagement. Now, I lay in the bed next to him, but it still wasn’t enough. I suppressed the urge to extend my hand to touch him. I pressed my nails into the palm of my hand.

  Leave him alone. Let him sleep, I thought internally.

  He made a moaning noise and turned on his side. I held my breath. His eyes were still closed, but I feared any sound or movement would wake him. He slowly opened his eyes a little.

  “What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me?”

  His voice was still heavy, but it sounded less so than before. I couldn’t answer his question; I was still frozen. I was mad at myself. I could hit myself. First, I had snuck into his room like a thief in the night and now I was staring at him. What kind of creep was I? I should never have gotten out of my bed.

  “Right, you can’t say anything. Sorry.” He turned around again, lying on his back now. He closed his eyes but opened them again a second later. He turned his head towards me.

  “It’s the linking, isn’t it? It has led you to me. I feel it too now you’re so close. Do you want to come even closer?”

  I nodded carefully. I wondered why he had asked that. He extended his arm.

  “Come here,” he ordered.

  I hesitated for a short moment but eventually obeyed. I slowly and carefully moved towards him until I lay right next to him. He wrapped his arm around me, making sure he kept his hand on my lower back.

  At first, it was weird and uncomfortable. I wasn’t used to being so physically close to him. But internally I was satisfied. I had been restless being so far from him, but it was better now. I made sure to lie comfortably and put my hand on his chest. My hand moved with the rhythm of his breathing. I quickly glanced at his face. He had closed his eyes again. He seemed to be calm and comfortable, just like I was. I still felt uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could change about it. I couldn’t stop it. I quickly fell asleep.

  I woke up the next morning in the same position. Jon was still sleeping; his breathing was deep. I had no clue what time it was, but I usually woke up early. I tried to free myself from his grasp without waking him. I noticed it was still very early when I came downstairs. I had already gotten everything ready for breakfast so I wouldn’t need to do so later. I sat down and tried to ponder what exactly had happened last night.

  Jon came downstairs a while later. He seemed wide awake, which was weird. Mostly he was still half asleep in the morning and it usually took some time before he really woke up.

  “Have you been up long?”

  What? I was startled. Normally he didn’t say anything to me in the morning because he was never awake enough.

  For a while already, I wrote.

  He nodded and didn’t say anything more. I tilted my head, trying to read him. I waited until he asked what had happened during the night and why I had wanted to sleep with him, but he didn’t. He remained silent until we both needed to leave for work.

  “Are you ready to go to work?” he asked.

  I nodded. He held the door open for me. We left the house together and walked next to each other towards the fields without saying anything. He always escorted me. He was probably afraid Chrystal would attack me again. I hadn’t seen her since our last fight. I hadn’t seen Corneel either since the engagement ceremony. Jon only left me alone when we arrived at the fields.

  The subject I had tried to avoid came up that night after Jon and I had eaten and cleaned up together. “Tat... I need to talk to you,” he started.

  I tried not to panic. I had known he’d eventually ask about it. I had kind of expected this, but he still surprised me.

  “How... I don’t know how to ask this, but what do you want to do tonight?”

  I furrowed my eyebrows in a questioning manner. I didn’t know what he was asking me.

  “The linking, the connection... You’re starting to experience the effects, aren’t you?”

  Sometimes, I wrote.

  Actually, I had only started to feel the night before something inside me missed him when he wasn’t close enough. I hadn’t noticed anything before that.

  “Do you want to sleep with me tonight again? Or do you prefer sleeping apart?”

  I hadn’t thought about that yet. The first effects of our connection were finally starting to break through. The connection between us would become stronger very quickly if we started sleeping together from now on. We could resist it but, eventually, our bond would slowly become stronger. It was uncomfortable now to sleep with him but soon I would have to do that. Otherwise, I would wake every night from nightmares.

  I’d like to sleep with you again, I wrote to answer his question.

&n
bsp; I was nervous now. I didn’t know how he would react to that. I tried to read his facial expression, but sometimes I struggled reading him. That was the case now.

  “Okay,” he responded.

  Okay? Was that all he could say? What could I do with that answer? On the other hand, I was relieved he didn’t create too much drama over it and didn’t ask why I had agreed to sleep with him.

  Later that night, we sat together on the couch. It was about time to go to sleep. I was reading and had gotten so lost in the book, I hadn’t noticed what time it was. Jon poked my side with his finger. I immediately looked up at him, wondering why he had disturbed me. He usually just let me do my own thing.

  “I think we should go to sleep, otherwise we won’t get out of bed in the morning. Will you come with me?” he announced and stood up.

  He didn’t wait for me. I quickly put my book away and went upstairs to get ready for bed. I got changed in my own room and brushed my teeth in the bathroom before I went to his room. I stopped in front of the door. It was fully open, but I still hesitated. I rubbed my hands nervously. I didn’t feel comfortable. Why had I done this to myself?

  “Come in,” Jon said.

  I took a few steps forward so I could see him. He was sitting on the bed.

  “I know it isn’t comfortable. I can feel how uncomfortable and nervous you are. If it helps, I don’t feel fully comfortable with this either.”

  That reassured me a bit. I slowly walked towards the bed, lay down and pulled the blanket over myself. He lay down next to me, turning to face me. I stiffened with nerves. He moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly and holding me close to his body.

  “It’ll be alright,”

  I smiled. I had kind of said the same before we had been connected to each other. Now he tried to reassure me by using the same words. He turned around slightly, so he lay on his back. He had pulled me with him, so I was lying on top of him. This was a weird position and I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I tried to free myself from his grasp, but he held me too tightly.