Marley and the Tale of Two Souls / Book 0.1 ✔️
Three: Marley

Her entire life has been ruled by her family and the isolation of her island. Women had their place just as much as men, while women cooked and cleaned, raised the children and brought essential goods for the family, the men worked hard for the money they earned and from a young age, were all taught how to fight and defend. Marley never understood the gender rules as the Human Island was the only Island out of the seven that did this. The rest all had equal rules of some kind and for that, she hated her race even more.

But the one thing, the very thing she wished she had paid attention to growing up was how to heal. The girls were raised to know how to patch and heal an open wound but she had never once in her life found herself in this kind of situation.

She stood stunned in her place while watching her saviour fall with a loud, growl-like groan. His hauntingly alluring red eyes slightly closed from his actions while he held his open wound. The corpse was dead, they both knew that but it should have died the first time. All of that fire should have burnt it to a crisp but instead, the body lay in the mud, completely intact.

And what made this whole situation worse was the fact that she was not scared. Her fear had disappeared the very second her saviour had appeared and he breathed out fire! Marley could still feel her blood pumping through her veins from the sudden adrenaline rush. The sudden excitement and the strange feelings she is experiencing were all so sudden and alluring.

“I- uh… are you okay?” She asked sheepishly, taking a step forward as her skin began to tingle. “Wait… no, stupid question.”

At first, he looked up at her as if he was only just seeing her now, his hood slightly exposing the darkest coloured hair she has ever seen. Then, he snarled. “Leave!”

Her eyes slightly widened at how deep and gruff his voice was before his one word sunk into her head. “What?! No!” She snapped, making her way to him completely as she felt herself get angry. “You were just stabbed!”

“Leave!” He growled again through clenched teeth.

Fear almost decided to crawl up inside of her but she stayed stubborn. “NO!”

“Do you know how to heal him, girl? Or are you just going to keep gawking like a deer caught in a torch light?”

Marley quickly turned around to face the sudden voice. Her eyes bulged in seconds as the person- or cat picked at its nails with a shiv. “Did you just?”

“Uh, I thought you could hear me.” The Siamese cat smirked. “Pipèe, you owe me!”

The next cat appeared. The Bombay folded its arms with a huff. “She is a human, Figus! She is not supposed to understand us!”

“Well, she does!” Figus argued back before turning to Marley. “Say, what species are you?”

Her head hurt from their little conversation. Two talking cats stood on their back legs, the female Pipèe was completely black with a large machete strapped to her back and a small knife in a knife holder tied to her right leg and the male Figus had three piercings on his left ear. He had bandages tied around all four legs and tail and he also had some form of knife tied to his back. Lastly, he had a pouch filled with anything imaginable. But what made them both stand out besides the fact that they can talk, were the crystal necklaces around their necks.

“Look at her!” Pipèe shouted. “She is at a loss of words!”

“I am not!” Marley suddenly spoke up before gesturing towards the wounded man who had been silently bleeding out this whole time. “If you two have come to help, then help!”

“Boss.” Figus scoffed, walking over to the two before flicking the guy on his forehead. “What did we tell you? We told you this would happen if you ignored the old man’s warning.”

“The old man-”

“Quiet girl!” Figus interrupted, turning his gaze around the area before his eyes landed on something that she could not see because of the fog. “Are you going to come out or disappear again?”

There was no response, just the sound of the wind and the nearby ocean water hitting the islands. The fog had gotten thicker and Marley’s eyes could barely make out the two felines in front of her as she felt her frustration increase. All of this talking was going nowhere and all she wanted to do was help this poor man who saved her life.

“Typical Red, no words, all action.” Pipèe scoffed before she pulled on Figus’s pouch and pulled out a vial filled with what looked to be blue liquid. “Drink boy, the two of you will have to move very soon before more vile vermins come back.”

Marley went to speak but the man cut off her words when he grabbed the vial and drank everything that was inside before speaking. “She is not coming!”

“What did we tell you when we helped you with the first lot?!” Figus yelled. “She is coming whether you like it or not!”

“And do I get a say?” Marley question. “Or are all the creepy wizard men, men that can breathe fire, and talking cats the rulers of what I say and do now?”

Figus opened his mouth to speak before signing. “Two peas in a pod.”

Pipèe grabbed a hold of Marley’s arm. “Come with us girl, Red has already gotten a boat ready for the two of you, all you need to do is make it to the main lands. There you will take your dragon mate back to his home and get back his-”

“Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!”

“There is no time for questions!” Pipèe continued, pulling her towards a direction she could not see. “Just trust us and keep quiet.”

Marley wanted to protest, she wanted to ask her million questions that were on the tip of her tongue but she stayed silent. The words of the wizard kept playing in her mind over and over again. The man that she still does not know the name of had stood and angrily followed behind while Figus stayed back with his knives in hand.

Pipèe’s words also played on her mind. ‘Your dragon mate’. Could that be? Could what the wizard had said be true? And if that was the case, why is he here? Why are the dragon shifters back? And most importantly, what has she gotten herself into?