Ember of Hope
Chapter 21

Raegan had come back… Finally… Leaving all those lovely people and creatures behind… Leaving Valiance behind… It was a tough choice but the only choice there was. She had spent many nights in Evreux tossing and turning in her bed trying to make herself go back to her normal life, but there was this part of her heart that kept nagging at her to stay a little bit longer… a little bit more… with these beautiful people… with Valiance… Valiance who’s father had saved her life… who’d provided her company in that healing room when she was bed ridden and bored out of her mind… who had shared their history with her as if she were their own… who had become her best friend… who had listened to her when she’d told him about her losses… who was there when she had cried at those losses. Raegan never shared her feelings with anyone but she had opened up to him. He was so easy to talk to… so easy to trust… despite being what he was… he was a loving, caring, gentle soul, but at the same time he was loyal and fierce and protective for those he loved… his people.

She still couldn’t keep that shiver away which crept up her spine every time she thought about dragons… talking dragons… loving dragons… who couldn’t even shift into their human forms. A month ago, if anyone had told her that dragons and magic were real, she would’ve laughed in their faces. She no doubt loved fiction, super heroes, and fantasy worlds in the books she loved to read and imagine herself in them; but they were just that… fantasy… stories… a fragment of imagination. But now… EVERYTHING was real.

When she had arrived at her apartment and called her friends, they couldn’t believe she was alive. A girl had seen Taylor pushing her off the cliff and woke every one up. They had seized Taylor, reported her to the police and then searched for Raegan everywhere. Police and the trail security volunteers had searched for days but found nothing. Not even a trail of some wild animal that could have dragged her injured body away. So all of her friends came and were eager to know where the hell she was. She told them a likely story; “I don’t remember anything, but when I woke up I found myself in a small cottage house. Apparently, some tourists found me and took me to the nearest hospital as one of their own because they didn’t want to involve police. So from the hospital they took me to their house and took care of me until I was ready to travel back”. And just like that… they were satisfied.

She desperately needed some time off… from everything… friends… job search… routine… and Evreux… because yeah… she couldn’t shake herself free from the thoughts of Evreux and everyone in it… Valiance… again Valiance… every thought ended up on Valiance… Hell, every thought started from Valiance. Evreux couldn’t be Evreux without him in it. She missed him... She missed their history sessions... The trainings in the arena… The fortress... Nina... The town... The meadow at the outskirts of Pericles where they shared their stories over freely flowing ale... In short every fucking thing about Evreux… And Valiance.

It’d been two weeks since Raegan came back but still she didn’t seem to fit in her own world. Once she needed to go for some grocery shopping but when she sat in her car; she started missing flying on Valiance’s back and burst out crying. She couldn’t bear the pang so she left her car and walked to the store. When she tried reading one of her favorite books, she missed how valiance used to tell her stories in the most captivating, deep voice she had ever heard. She loved watching action movies but still she missed the trainings in the arena of Evreux. She’d always loved black color in everything; clothes, shoes, bags, décor, makeup, even nail-paint but now every black thing reminded her of those shiny black scales on a magnificent creature. It always ended on him. A mighty black dragon was in her every thought. However ridiculous it might sound.

Enough of the brooding, she needed to feel some spark in her normal life. She called some friends over for some drinks and fun and started preparing. Cleared the living room and kitchen. Washed the bathroom and went shopping for some snacks for the evening. Once everything was set she went to her room to get ready.

It was a bad idea… bad, bad idea… she was elsewhere, as was the usual for her lately. And now she couldn’t tell them that she was actually missing having ale with the lovely people of Evreux around the fire, while listening to their history from Nina’s grandfather and watching the warriors sitting at some distance in their dragon forms. Valiance… in dragon form. His raven black scales camouflaged in the night. And like every other time her thoughts ended up on Valiance. The way he became one with the moonless night or the way his black as night scales gleamed in the moonlight and his blue eyes shone like a great cat’s.

Slowly people started to call it a night and leave. And she was once again left to her thoughts. She’d asked him once how he looked in his human form and he’d just laughed it off. But once when she was visiting Nina’s friend Arielle in town with her, Arielle’s mother told them about a very humble and loving boy with black hair and blue eyes, who helped everyone just out of the goodness of his heart. The woman was very fond of him because he helped her with her daily chores a lot. And always with a smile on his lips. And not only her but everyone in the small town of Ilya sang his praises.

Now lying in her bed, Raegan tried to picture him as she had been doing for many past nights. She pictured a very tall, muscled man with beautiful sun kissed skin and the most beautiful but haunted night blue eyes, smiling at her.

Now that she was back to an awfully normal life, she didn’t seem to fit in; she felt like she belonged in another world where dragons ruled. And somehow she knew that this feeling wasn’t going to go away.

--- She didn’t belong here ---

…………………………………

These were the days when Raegan missed her best friend with a vigor she’d never felt before. But when Sarah had heard the news about her supposed death she was so distraught that her parents took her away and there was no cell service in that area so that she could talk to her friend. There was nothing for her to do but wait. Alina; the friend who had filled her in about Sarah and other happenings of the last month had stayed a night with her in that first week but only after one night she seemed like she had enough of her sulkiness, and was only accompanying her out of politeness. So she had simply told her that it was okay for her to go home.

In these times Chris became a rock for her to lean on as Sarah wasn’t there to instill some sense in her. Chris obviously didn’t know about her adventures, only that she was distraught because of the accident and then leaving those lovely people behind who’d saved her. He didn’t ask questions… never pried for more information… just tried to provide company and the care she needed. Some days she thought he felt something more for her than just friendship but he never said anything so she never addressed this either. She was just thankful for his much needed company.

Some days he managed to convince her to go out with him, others he just brought food and ice cream and watched movies with her. He literally lived with her, barely going back to his own apartment. It was Chris who’d managed to convince her to apply for some jobs and get busy so she’d taken his advice to heart and decided to atleast try to get out of her funk.

A whole week she spent on searching for jobs and applying. And then she spent a whole week waiting for any interview calls but none came. It was as if her own world had written her off and everyone wanted her to go back. And everything was frustrating the hell out of her. She was trying to get a hold of Sarah but she was still on her vacation trip with her family. She needed her best friend. At least she wanted to meet her and tell her everything if she was going to take the most reckless step of her life. Sarah wouldn’t believe her easily but she’d keep her secret. She decided to wait for her friend.

Lost in her thoughts, when she fell asleep she didn’t know. And there he was; a beautiful tall man with raven black hair and sad deep blue eyes extending a hand towards her beckoning her to follow him, to come closer.

Her eyes flew open; she was covered in sweat, her breathing fast. It was the same dream every night since she’d returned. She knew who was haunting her dreams. She knew whom those eyes belonged to. But it was far from reality. In reality, those eyes belonged to a beautiful mighty black dragon who had lost his human form to a curse a long time ago. But her dreams had apparently given him a human face again and those dreams felt so real… that man felt so real. She could still see that handsome face with the most beautiful smile calling her to him.

………………………………………