Chapter Thirty one:
Amelia
Once we were past the bog field we travelled another half a mile before collapsing for the night, near the edge of Leaf Lake. We managed to force some water into Dagan, but had no surviving supplies to feed or shelter ourselves.
‘We’ll have to risk visiting a town.’ Ulmar sighed in the morning, glancing down at the still unconscious Dagan. ‘What was the idiot thinking jumping in after me?’
‘I don’t think he was; that’s the problem.’ I sighed, trying to scrub the dried mud off in the lake’s water. ‘Where should we go?’
‘Lacar is closest. Neither the King nor Haven bother it much, being a small village near the lake. Hopefully no soldiers will be there.’
I didn’t argue, knowing we had no other choice.
What surprised me the most about Lacar wasn’t the simple lifestyle or the relaxed atmosphere. It was the pleasant smiles and friendly ‘Good morning’ s we received as we walked through the village. No one batted an eye at the fact we were a half-human, half dragon and an earth immortal carrying an unconscious elf in slave clothes.
‘Must be Amelia’s work.’ Ulmar commented. ‘Good, I was hoping she still lived here.’
‘Who?’ I asked, remembering Dagan had said the name when under the Forest of Illusion’s spell.
‘An old acquaintance of Dagan’s.’ Ulmar said, surprising me by actually answering. ‘Hopefully she can help.’
He led me to the outskirts of the village, the lake only a few metres away. By the water’s edge was a cottage supported on stilts. Three large steps led up to a veranda, looking out over the lake. An elf woman was sat there on a rocking chair, her gaze on us as she stood, her anxious hope turning to a delighted but sorrowful smile.
‘Dagan?’ she asked, running down the steps to meet us. She ran round Ulmar to gaze at Dagan’s face over his shoulder. She touched his cheek gently, her hopeful smile turning into a beautiful grin. ‘It really is him!’ Her gaze strayed to his ears, her smile dropping into a sad one. ‘Oh, Dagan.’
‘Can we come in?’ Ulmar interrupted, snapping her attention to him. ‘He still needs time to recover.’
Her gaze turned cold and hard.
‘Ulmar.’ She said, making me flinch even when it wasn’t directed at me. ‘What happened? Why did he never come back?’
‘That’s not my story to tell.’ He said, unmoving.
Amelia glared at this, but reluctantly led us to the veranda, opening her front door.
‘Welcome to my home.’
I let out a sigh of pure ecstasy, sinking deeper into the tub. Finally I could fully scrub all the mud from my scales, rinse my hair clean and wash away that awful smell.
I’d been reluctant to bathe in the tub outside the house, conscious of passer-bys, but Amelia had assured me villagers didn’t come here often, and the warm water would be worth the risk. She wasn’t wrong.
She hadn’t questioned my appearance, not once looking shocked. She merely handed me a towel, some brown cropped trousers and black socks and shoes.
‘I’ll figure out a shirt for you when I can.’ She promised. ‘Luckily your tail is high up enough that you can still wear trousers easily.’ She teased, turning to tend to Dagan.
I couldn’t reach the whole of my wings alone, so I dipped them in the lake, hoping that was good enough.
Once dressed and blessedly clean I entered the house, seeing Ulmar also clean, his original clothes still on but free of mud and the stench. His appearance was as scruffy as ever, but I doubt that would ever change. He sat at the kitchen table, munching on some fruit.
‘She’s giving him a sponge bath.’ He said, not looking up from his fruit.
I gave him a funny look, wondering why he let a woman clean Dagan up, but felt too tired to volunteer and take her place.
‘It’s not a big deal.’ Ulmar said with a shrug. ‘They were lovers once; she’ll have seen him naked countless times.’
I should have felt embarrassed, but I just nodded and sat down, grabbing some fruit from the centre of the table to eat.
When Amelia emerged from the guest room she looked flushed, carrying a bowl of muddy water and Dagan’s ruined slave clothes.
‘I’ll make him some broth to eat later.’ She said, setting a kettle on her stove. ‘But first let’s sort you out.’
She disappeared to tip the dirty water on the ground and rinse the bowl outside before returning, pouring the boiling water and leaving it to cool a little.
‘Unless you’re trying to style your look off Ulmar, you need a haircut.’ She teased, approaching me with a pair of scissors and a comb.
I didn’t argue, but I felt uncomfortable the whole time she cut my hair, able to feel the heat of her body so near.
I really am turning into a pervert. I thought, trying to ignore the feeling and stare straight ahead. Amelia tried to engage me in light conversation, but I was too flustered to contribute.
Why am I like this with women? I was fine with Annie and Iris…Well, I guess even with Iris I was awful at first.
Still, Firo was technically a female, and I’d never felt awkward with her.
So I just have to pretend Amelia’s a dragon. I told myself, trying to be convincing.
My inner voice scoffed back at me.
‘Done!’ Amelia announced, moving away as I stood and turned around. She came back holding a mirror, letting me see.
I was impressed. I had no fringe, it blending into my new hairstyle. My hair reached the mid-back of my neck, but was a layered, choppy texture all over, leaving it with a slight spiky effect.
‘Thank you.’ I said, meaning it.
Amelia nodded, clearly pleased, before putting down the mirror and grabbing the bowl.
‘Right, now to properly clean your wings.’
The dragon idea didn’t work, and the next twenty minutes were personal torture.
‘There!’ she beamed, finally finishing. I was about to sink into a humiliated puddle of relief when she grabbed my arm, leading me out of the kitchen. ‘Now, for a shirt.’
By the end of it was praying Earl would storm in with his army to relieve me of the torture. This beautiful elf woman was measuring my chest and using me as a live manikin while she sewed together a three-piece shirt.
I sighed, giving in and taking a better look at her.
Like most elves she had blonde hair, but it was cut short in a bob style. Her eyes were a warm hazel. She was the first elf besides Dagan I’d seen wearing trousers. Unlike Dagan’s they were a beautiful quality, a shimmering blue with a smug fitting blouse. There was a small fire tattoo on her left hand.
She gazed up from her sewing and smiled, making my face heat up at being caught.
‘I know I can’t ask your name,’ she said, making me jump. ‘But may I call you Firo?’
So she does know what’s going on. I thought.
I nodded.
We lapsed back into silence, and she’d begun working on the buttons before I worked up the courage to speak.
Pretend she’s a dragon. I told myself.
‘S-so,’ I began, drawing her amused attention. ‘I like your plants.’
The house was covered in them, several potted plants in every room, even the lavatory. The corridor had a vine plant growing up the walls.
Amelia frowned at me.
‘You can see them?’
I blinked, not sure how to answer. She stood up from the chair she’d been working in, moving as close as she could to gaze at my eyes.
‘I see; I didn’t realise. You’ve seen through my illusions this whole time, haven’t you?’
‘Illusions?’ I asked.
She nodded, stepping back and relaxing.
‘Yes, it’s my gift. When you entered the village made you look like ordinary humans. The villagers see me as a middle aged woman.’
‘Oh,’ I said, not knowing what else to say.
‘I set up an illusion barrier over the whole village, so any unusual characters, like elves and immortals, would appear human…I guess I was always hoping Dagan would return, one day.’
We fell back into awkward silence until she finished the shirt, holding it up triumphantly.
‘Now let’s see if it works.’
The shirt was in three sections, designed to join by buttoning each one up together. The front section was the largest piece, with two others for the back. Each section buttoned up down my side, and reached to my wings. Here Amelia had shaped the shirt so a hole was left for my wings while the rest buttoned up so my back was covered.
‘Wow, thank you.’ I said, grinning in relief. ‘I was worried I’d never be able to wear a shirt again.’
Amelia giggled at my reaction, making me blush. This only made her laugh harder.
‘Amelia?’ Came Dagan’s voice from the door, making me spin around.
He looked at us both, irritated and angry.
Great, I thought, Amelia’s laugh dying away. I do not want to be in the middle of this.
Dagan’s new outfit matched Amelia’s, the same shimmering blue trousers with a white shirt. He didn’t look too impressed with this.
‘That is you, right?’ he said, eyes narrowing at her. ‘Why do you look like a human?’
Amelia was speechless a moment before regaining her composure and producing a shaky smile. All her underlining confidence from before had disappeared.
‘Don’t you remember? Mum and I put up an illusion barrier around the village so we’ll always look human…’she trailed off.
Dagan frowned at this, then realisation came into his eyes, making a bitter smile settle on his face.
‘Oh yes, I remember now. It just never affected me before, did it?’
Amelia winced, but tried to form a smile.
‘How are you feeling? I was about to prepare a broth for you.’
‘Why are we here?’ Dagan snapped at me, ignoring Amelia completely. ‘Do you just love bringing me to the worse places possible?’
‘Whoa, this has nothing to do with me.’ I argued, ‘Ulmar brought us here; I didn’t even know who Amelia was.’
‘Well, you look acquainted with each other now.’ He snarled.
I rolled my eyes at that.
‘This was the only place we could go.’ Ulmar’s voice came from behind Dagan, making him spin around. ‘Would you rather we left you to die in the bog field? Or hand you back to the King?’
Dagan gritted his teeth, but bowed his head in defeat.
The awkwardness moved into the kitchen, with us sat eating Amelia’s delicious broth while Dagan glared at everyone. Ulmar had declined to eat and escaped the house, putting Dagan in an even fouler mood.
‘I waited,’ Amelia began in a small voice, her food forgotten. ‘I’ve waited so long for you to come back.’
‘I never intended to come back.’ Dagan said coldly, staring at his empty bowl. ‘Even if I hadn’t become…this. I wouldn’t have come back.’
‘You’re lying.’ She said, tears in her eyes.
‘You know I’m not. All I want is my magic back, nothing more.’
‘How can you say that? After everything we went through? My mother died because…and you’re still…’ she trailed off, head bowing in defeat. ‘I waited…all this time.’
‘I didn’t ask you to.’ He scoffed, standing up. ‘Thanks for the food and clothes, but we need to get to Tempit.’
I stood too, unable to listen any longer.
‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ I screamed. ‘Amelia has done nothing but help us, how can you act so cruel?’
‘Stay out of this.’ Dagan spat, stalking towards me so we were eye to eye, inches away from each other. ‘Don’t let your stupid crush sway you from your mission, Firo!’
‘Don’t be stupid!’ I scoffed, ‘Amelia loves you, that’s obvious! Stop acting like a bastard and talk to her properly. Stop running away from everything!’
‘Stop snooping in my business!’ he hissed back. ‘We’re only together because our goals lead us to the same place, don’t forget that!’
‘Um,’ Amelia tried. We both ignored her.
‘Yes, your magic. It’s all you care about.’ I mocked. ‘The dark magic that you couldn’t control. What exactly did you do to get the King’s attention in the first place? Why did he steal it? How many people did you kill with it?’
Dagan looked uncertain then, for a moment, but soon regained his composure, glaring at me.
‘That was different; I only had one magic then. The King’s foreseeing magic will balance it out.’
‘He’s still a tyrant.’ I laughed coldly. ‘Do you want to become him?’
‘I’m not like him.’
‘No, you’re worse.’ I spat.
Dagan lunged at me in rage, hands going round my neck. I didn’t bother stopping him; he couldn’t hurt me with my scales as armour. Instead I let him squeeze uselessly a few seconds before shoving him back, hard.
He smashed into the sink, snarling at me. I just gave him a cocky grin.
‘If I had my way Dagan, you’d never get that magic back.’ I promised.
‘Stop!’ Amelia screamed, jumping between us. ‘This is crazy!’
‘Get out of the way!’ he snarled, shoving her away. She fell onto the floor, looking more stunned than hurt.
Even so, I snapped.
He’s just like Father!
Dagan was still staring down at Amelia in shock when my fireball hit him right in the chest. He didn’t stand a chance.
Scribbled Thoughts 