Zahara glanced through the branches of the redwood trees from her perch on a neighboring tree limb. She looked across the sea of trees towards the mountains. The wind whipped at her face, pushing at her hair and clothes. She brushed strands of her black hair out of her face as she eagerly watched the faraway mountains.
Her eyes lit up as she spotted a shape flying through the lingering mist of the mountain peak. The silhouette grew larger and began to take form. She could see its leathery wings taking graceful, effortless, strokes as it sailed through the air. Its tail swept behind it slicing through the wind.
This was what she had been waiting for, the untamed beauty of the dragon. She smiled as she watched the power and elegance of the huge creature. Another appeared through the mists and began to circle the mountain. The first dragon flew closer to Zahara and she could see the
alluring red scales that glinted as the sun reflected off them. She watched it, intrigued. It swerved and flew away, becoming smaller.
Some villagers caught sight of it and shrank back into the shadows in fear. The dragon circled back towards the mountains and Zahara lost sight of it as it disappeared in the mist.
She wished she could stay longer to watch the dragons, but she knew her family would be angry if she didn't come back in
time to help finish up the days chores. She climbed down from the tree and took one last look towards the sky before she began her trek back through the forest and towards the small village which held her family's small inn.
She made her way through the quiet forest with redwoods towering above her. The fallen needles from the pines lay dry and dead, scattered about the forest floor. They crunched underfoot as she passed through the darkening forest. The last rays of sunlight peered through the branches of the trees, mottling the barren ground of the woodland.
She made her way through the thickets of brush to the dusty road and trudged along it, thinking of her uncanny attraction to the most feared animal in the whole world. They were also her first memory. She couldn't explain it but she also couldn't deny it. When she had been very young, she remembered riding on the back of a beautiful silver dragon. She recalled the feeling she'd had of being so high and free. Was it a dream? Or was it reality? Zahara pushed her muddled thoughts out of her mind as the road curved and the village came into view. A few trails of smoke rose from the village and into the sky.
She gloomily made her way through the streets of the village and to the her family's Inn. She stepped inside to a room void of life. Everyone was off doing chores at the time and she was the only one in the house. She crept through the main room and to the back where they kept the food storage. The family bedrooms were also through the back, along with the backdoor.
Since no one was around she silently went into her room and stopped to observe. Her bed was tucked into a corner of the room, at the foot of the it was a window with a chest to the other side of it. She walked to the chest resting by the window. A painting of the family lay on its smooth mahogany surface.
She scanned the painting, gently smiling. Her sister stood at her mothers side, a few ringlets of her short blond hair fell freely over her shoulder as she clung to her mother. Her mother had her arms around both girls, one on each side. She had a pleasant smile that complimented her golden shoulder length hair. Then there was Zahara, her lean figure slightly away from the others. She had a calm peaceful smile and her long black hair neatly framed her pale face and went on to fall over her slim shoulders. She loved her family dearly but she knew she didn't belong. Not that they would ever admit it though, she thought to herself.
Zahara looked out her window with longing in her eyes and could see the peak of the mountain contained in mist. The sun had disappeared beneath the horizon and the dragons were gone with it. Something called to her from the mountain, she could feel it in her soul. There was something out there calling to her, beckoning her. Zahara looked out her window with longing in her eyes and could see the peak of the mountain
contained in mist. The sun had sank beneath the horizon and the dragons were gone with it. Something
called to her from the mountain, she could feel it in her soul. There was something out there calling to
her, beckoning her. Inside she longed to answer it, she felt her spirit straining to follow.
She flopped down on her bed, wincing as a sudden pain coursed through her side. She sat up in alarm, holding her side. She lifted her shirt, blood was trickling from an open wound. Zahara grabbed a shirt from a pile of clothes and held it to her wound. Earlier in the day she had noticed a small cut on her side, but thought nothing of it.
Blinded by panic she ran from the room, stumbling as her side throbbed. She sprinted out the back door and down the dark back alley behind the house towards the healers house. She raced up the steps of a small brick house and hurriedly opened the door.
Inside, a small, shriveled woman was tending to a basket of herbs. She jumped slightly as Zahara flung open the door. She turned quickly to face the intruder, “Zahara! What happened?!” she said as she noticed Zahara holding her side. The woman scrambled over to stand by a tall stool, “Come and sit, quickly.” Zahara stumbled to the chair and sat, her face twisted in a mask of pain. She removed the now blood soaked shirt to show the woman, “I don't know how it got there, I was fine until just a
bit ago” she said, grinding her teeth. The aged woman went quickly to her shelves and got down a jar. Opening the lid she lifted Zahara's shirt to reveal the wound. She scooped some of the salve from the jar and spread it gently over Zahara's side. The bleeding subsided and Zahara relaxed a bit to watch the
healer take some wrappings from a cupboard and dip them into a greenish liquid. She wrung them out and brought them to the stool Zahara was sitting on. Gently wrapping them around Zahara's stomach until the wound was completely covered. She finished off with a knot and lowered Zahara's shirt, “That
should help for now, but it won't be able to heal your wound.”
“Zahara's eyebrows shot up, “Why not?!? You always manage to heal wounds, Gwyneth.”
Gwyneth looked away, “Yes, but yours is different, Zahara, I can't heal it with regular herbs. It only has one antidote.”
“What's that?”
Gwyneth sighed, “Well, I have something I think you should know.” she brought herself to the couch and sat down. “Eleven years ago I found a girl. I was out in the meadow gathering herbs and plants for healing and I found her just beyond the meadow. She was sleeping. She wore strange clothes and when
she woke up she spoke a foreign language. It wasn't like anything I had ever heard. I took her to the village and no one else had ever heard anything like it. Her clothes were alien to us as well. I convinced the Innkeepers to take her in and raise her.”
Zahara's eyes widened at the growing realization, the truth Gwyneth was revealing, “Wait a minute, your not saying that the girl was me are you? That's not possible, I don't know any other language!” she stuttered, failing at her attempt to try and convince herself that it wasn't her.
Although Gwyneth was growing old, her bright blue eyes were still glowing with life, “Zahara, let me finish the story, please.”
Zahara nodded slightly, dumbstruck at the fully bloomed realization.
“Slowly she began to speak our language and we decided to keep this knowledge from her. She was raised as one of us but we could all tell she was different. Zahara, that girl is you.”
Zahara sat there shocked at the knowledge she had never known. In a way she didn't want it to be true, but at the same time it all made everything make sense, she was different from them.
“You may be wondering what this has to do with healing your wound. People are meant to stay in their own worlds. You have the power to travel worlds and that's why you have been able to stay in this world so long. But it cannot help you forever, Zahara. Your body is dying.”
“Dying?” Zahara asked softly. She sat limply on the stool, not being able to take all this information in at once.
“The only way to reverse the wounds progress, is to return to your own world.” Gwyneth said, her eyes becoming watery.
“But my family owns an inn, one in this world, so how could I be from another world?” She said, shocked into a senseless state of being.
“Zahara, you need to be thinking straight right now. We need to get you back to your own world, quickly.” Gwyneth said urgently.
Zahara sat, with a expressionless face. She stared at nothing, quietly saying mindless things to herself.
“Zahara, I know this is a lot for me to ask of you right now, but I need you to concentrate.” Gwyneth took Zahara by the shoulders and gently shook her, “I need you to go pack some things and come back here, Zahara. Okay?”
“Alright.” Zahara stumbled off the stool and out the door. She held her side as she she went, slightly limping. The fresh air blew across her pale face slightly wakening her from her daze. The back door was still open and she stepped inside.
Her eyes dimmed as she realized everyone was still gone. She had hoped to get to say one final goodbye to them, before vanishing from the world she had known so long. Her room was just as she left it, a pile of clothes still laying at the edge of her bed. Yet things were so different now. She looked towards the painting once more, tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffed and held them back. This would be the last time she would ever see their smiling faces.
She looked around her room once more, taking a last look at all she would be leaving behind. She grabbed a rucksack from her chest as tears began spilling off her cheeks. She stuffed some clothes and a few other things into her sack. A pad of paper lay in her drawer from which she took a pencil and started scribbling on the notepad;
I love you so much.
She wrote through blurred eyes, tears now streaming down her face she continued,
My body is dying and I have to return to my own world to stop it. I wish I could have had the chance to say goodbye in person, but Gwyneth says we must leave now. I know it's not right for me to just leave after all you've done for me but there's no other way. I won't ever forget you, and I love you both.
[i]Love,
Zahara[/i]
She left the note on her dresser and slowly left the room for the last time. She went to the pantry and filled her sack the rest of the way with food then walked silently to the back door. She wiped her eyes and took one last glance at her home. A single tear slid down her cheek as she said goodbye. She ran her fingers over the doorknob and gently turned it, full of remorse.
The back alley was cold and damp, moss growing through the stones under her feet as she ran, tears once again cascading down her cheeks as she let all her emotions run wild.
As she darted towards Gwyneth's house she ignored the pain flooding through her side. She hardly noticed the hunched figure standing outside beside the door. A pale brown cloak lay over her
hunched shoulders, the ratty ends sweeping over the cobblestones as the she shambled into the pale moonlight, revealing her face from the shadows. Zahara stopped abruptly as she perceived the silhouette, “I'm sorry to have surprised you like that, Zahara.” the slight frame hobbled closer to
Zahara, “Gwyneth! Don't sneak up on me like that!” she said shakily, wiping tears from her eyes.
Gwyneth reached out and took Zahara's hands holding them in her own withered palms. The creases by her eyes deepened as her face warmed with a smile, “I'm sorry, dear,” she said in a craggy voice.
“Please thank my family for me. Thank you for all you've done for me, Gwyneth, I'll miss you.” Zahara hugged Gwyneth.
“Zahara, the reason I know all of this is because a dragon told me. She told me not a day ago, and I was afraid of believing her. She was here looking for you, to bring you back. She didn't want to stay near humans, so she said she would wait for you by the mountain. Travel in that direction you will soon find her. Good luck Zahara, and farewell.” Gwyneth wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
“Why didn't she stay and pick me up?”
“I don't think she realized what little time was left.”
“Oh” Zahara glanced back at Gwyneth one last time, before disappearing into the night.
Zahara ran through forest. She had recovered slightly from her shock and felt refreshed. She tried to ignore her aching side as she attempted to enjoy the dark and push away her mournful feelings of leaving her family. It felt good to finally know the truth. She kept running, the wind in her hair, the cool of the night, the moon, bright in the sky. It all felt so relaxing. She soon slowed to a walk and closed her eyes, old tears still painted on her face. Stopping and considering the distance to the mountain, she figured walking through the night would get her to the mountain by sunrise.
***
Light was beginning to spill over the sky as the sun slowly emerged from the trees. Zahara's eyes were half closed in exhaustion from walking all night, but the mountain was much closer. She decided to stop and take a short break to rest her legs and eat a bit. She sat down with her back to a tree and let out a depleted sigh. She rested her head on the tree and began to ponder all the things Gwyneth had told her. Weary from travel she closed her eyes and slipped into her subconscious dreams.
The sound of wing beats pulled Zahara from her dreams. She sat up from her slouched position and rubbed her eyes. The sun was now almost at it's peak and the sky was lit by the bright rays of the sun.
“Oh great, I fell asleep!” Zahara said frustrated with herself.
Suddenly, a shadow fell across her and she looked up to see a dragon, the closest she had ever been to one. She stared awe-struck, they were even more magnificent close up. She couldn't see its color against the sun, but was still amazed. It circled away from the sun, its dazzling silver scales were nothing like anything she had ever seen before. The dragon flew in towards Zahara and began to hover, beating its wings more rapidly to keep in flight.
It was almost directly above her, she gazed at it anxiously. With every wing beat it dropped lower to the ground. Zahara watched and realized it was landing. She scrambled to her feet and backed away. Exhilaration raced through her veins and she shivered with anticipation. Instinctively, terror engulfed her and she held back the urge to run as the majestic creature completed its landing, neatly folded its thick leathery wings, and looked straight at her. The two stood in silence for a while. Zahara studied the creature with amazement and fear, it had intense sapphire eyes that seemed to stare right through her. She felt as if she had seen the dragon somewhere before, somewhere a long time ago.
Suddenly it spoke, “Zahara, do not be frightened. I am Xenia, I have searched this world over for you, desperately calling, hoping that you would hear me. You have finally come.” As it spoke Zahara realized that the beckoning call had been from the dragon. This dragon. This was the dragon she had been riding in her memory. She registered this with shock. “I was flying with you when I was a little girl. Why can I ride a dragon when dragons are wild and they never come near humans?” Zahara said bewildered.
“Yes, it is as you say. We do not mingle with humans.”
Zahara continued to stare at it in awe, then plucked up the courage to ask, “Why, then, would you come to the village looking for me?”
“You do not come from this world. In the world come from there are beings filled with magic, like me humans are born with the same powers of these different creatures. For example, your mother had the magic of a unicorn, she was fierce yet gentle, like unto a unicorn. The only creature in all the worlds that can travel between the worlds are dragons. You have the same magic as us. You can travel worlds although you do not now how to use these powers. In a way you are related to us, so we associate with
you. You are the only one like us. We see you as our kind.”
Zahara stood there, all of her feelings threatening to overwhelm her. She was overcome with questions and feelings, it was all so confusing! She took a deep breath and calmed herself enough to clear her mind and ask, “How did I get to this world?”
“When you were little, a war was starting. Your mother was injured and your father had no way of protecting you both, so I, being your magic source, took the task upon myself to protect you. I took you away to another world where you would be safe. I meant to bring you back right away after the war. Back then I was young and foolish, I went my own way after dropping you off and lost track of where you were. I began my search, calling for you.”
“What do you mean you're my magic source?”
“In your world the people get their magic from the animals, they are connected in a way that allows the humans to use the magic as well. The two connected beings tend to stick together as a pair. Now that you have finally been found, it is time to return you to your own world. Climb on my back.”
“O-on your back? How will I stay on? I mean, I'll fall off. I can't ride a dragon.” she flustered nervously.
“You have ridden before without doubt. Do you not trust you can do it again?”
“Um, sure, but now I'm injured.”
“Trust me.”
“Uh, I suppose, if you say so” Zahara was hesitant at first but was overflowing with excitement as she walked to the side of the dragon. She slid her hand along the scales covering her side, they were cool and sleek. Xenia towered above Zahara, “You're to tall for me to get on” Zahara was surprised at how natural it felt to be around Xenia and talk to her. Xenia crouched and leaned sideways till she was almost touching the ground and extended her wing. Zahara touched her wing and felt the rough scaly hide that stretched between her strong wing bones. She
slowly put her leg over one side and slid into a sitting position on her back.
Xenia stood and took flight, her wings slicing through the wind and carrying them higher and higher into the pale blue sky. Zahara's knuckles turned white as she clung to Xenia, she looked down and regretted doing so. Her legs were beginning to ache from pressing them tightly against Xenia's sides. Her side was stabbing with pain. She closed her eyes feeling nauseous.
She thought back to when she was little. She had so easily been at peace on Xenia's back as they soared through the air. Why couldn't she do it now? She thought hard, trying to remember. Then it hit her, she had trusted Xenia entirely. She had hung on and let Xenia do the rest, forgetting about everything except the ride. Zahara took her hands off of Xenia's back and tried to forget about the ground so far below her. As she realized how enjoyable it was if she ignored everything except Xenia and herself, her fear disappeared and the joy of flying overtook her.
Zahara's smile widened as the wind blew through her hair stronger than ever before. She held on tight, no longer worrying about how to stay on and relished every moment. As she relaxed the pain in her side subsided. She could feel the magnificent power of the creature below her. She let out a calm laugh, having the time of her life.
A cold, thin fog started to spread until they were enveloped in a heavy mist and Zahara could hardly see her hands. The mist began to shimmer, first silvery then more colors reflected on the mist. All the colors were pale as they gleamed through the fog, glimmering and moving. The colors were alive, dancing on the mist and shimmering betwixt one another. An unimaginable rainbow of colors glimmered through the mist. It was a beautiful sight, Zahara sat watching as they passed through it.
They emerged from the mist to a simple cave. Zahara could smell the damp walls with reflected light flickering over them from a calm river running through the cave. It was a huge river, big enough for two dragons to comfortably swim side by side. The ceiling lowered farther down the tunnel, too low for a dragon to fly beneath. A boat was tied to a sturdy rock, the river gently tugging at it, tempting it to follow its course. Xenia leaned over again and Zahara climbed off, she walked over to the river and dipped her hand in creating a disturbance on the smooth surface. The dark water was pleasantly warm as it ran past her hand.
“You can use the boat and I will swim behind you” Xenia stated simply.
Zahara looked back at her then slowly climbed into the boat waiting at the rivers edge. She untied the rope and put it in the boat. The river swept the boat away from the bank and gently downstream. Xenia slipped in the water and began swimming behind the little boat.
“Where are we?” Zahara said turning around to face the silver dragon effortlessly keeping pace with the boat.
“We call it the In-between. It is the place in between all the worlds. We have already flown through the fabric of the world you were in. Now we are in the space separating the worlds. We are not contained by the fabric of a world, we are amidst them all.”
“Oh” Zahara said pretending to understand it all.
The boat floated down the river bend into a small lake. It came to a stop by the shore of a cavern filled with stalagmites and stalactites. There were reefs of odd looking plants and stones that Zahara had never imagined. She got out of the boat and stood at the edge of the river, looking around at the marvelous scenes surrounding her. Several stalactites and stalagmites joined together creating a pillar. The room was similar to the colors in the mist but not quite as brilliant.
She noticed several different egresses in the cave wall, behind each a different world. The one to her left was at the end of a short tunnel, the sides of purple stone dripping with water from the moisture in the air. At the end was a snow laden world, a snow covered pine and a tree she didn't recognize stripped of all its leaves. She could see orange light flickering on the walls of a small barred hole directly beneath the first. To the right of the orange furnace was a beach, the sun was setting and the waves were placidly sweeping up and down the shore. Clouds drifted by over the oranges and pinks of a sunset. She gazed in wonder at the portal above it. Stars were smudged over an endless sea of deep blue, gleaming like the little balls of fire that they were. She could see a barren white planet, behind it a
blue planet with patches of green spread over the small round orb. The one after that was orange with a deep orange band surrounding it.
Xenia by now had left the river and was currently watching Zahara as she observed the cavern and all its wonders. She eyed Zahara as she studied the distant escarpment covered by trees and plants with a waterfall sliding down its face. There were fields of grass and trees, the river from the waterfall flowing through it all. Xenia smiled as Zahara's face lit up at the sight of this world. The sky was golden as the sun began to sink lower in the sky. The gateway to the right was filled with dense jungle trees, a river flowing through them. Zahara squinted and looked closer as she thought she saw a figure amidst the trees, but couldn't be sure. There was a small path trailing to a hole that emitted a strange yellow light that Zahara found peculiar but not incredibly interesting.
Zahara turned to Xenia, “This is amazing! There are so many worlds and there all so different.”
“There are more farther down the cavern but this is where your world is, follow me.”
Zahara walked next to Xenia with her hand on her side as she stepped towards the world with the waterfall running down the cliff face, “This is your world.”
“My world? Wow, it's so beautiful, are my family there?”
“Yes, they are on the other side. They will be truly overjoyed when they see you again after all these years.”
“But I don't remember the language of this world. How will I be able to understand them?”
“You know the language deep inside you somewhere, it will resurface just as your dragon riding skills have done.
Zahara nodded, reassured by her comforting words. A new spark of confidence flared within her, “I'm ready.”
As she walked through the gateway with Xenia at her side she knew, that this was where she truly belonged.
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