Mellow light drifted through the window, contrasting sharply with black columns of iron and cast barred shadows upon the polished floor. Rose sat upon the bed, head bowed and eyes fixed on the five rectangles of light that defied the barriers set for her.
'Nearly two weeks have passed since I came to the Isle of Draco. Yet the only danger I seem to be in is going crazy from boredom.'
In the beginning, she had paced the room like a caged tiger and went through extreme mood swings. Now it was clear that the Dragon Council never had intentions of killing her, but they wanted something from her. It was information they sought, Rose was sure of at least that much.
'I'm no oracle, but I don't see that happening…ever.'
Rose glanced towards the door, listening as someone passed through the corridor outside her room. She heard the sharp click of talons rapping on the stone floors and she deduced it was a dragon guard making his rounds.
'Not Jake,' she realized with only a hint of annoyance.
The guard passed by her door without the slightest hesitation and soon she could no longer hear him. Aside from him, it seemed that Rose was the only life stirring in the morning hours.
She was an early riser, been up since six o'clock. Quite the opposite, Jake was notorious for sleeping late, which was a great inconvenience to Rose because she could not leave this room until he came and disarmed the containment spell. She could never make out the incantation he used, but she felt better not knowing. Ignorance was safety as far as she was concerned.
Though a dragon was an impressive, if not imposing, personal escort, did her warden absolutely have to be the American Dragon? About now, every trainee and apprentice in the Huntsclan would be snickering their heads off at the notion of her, the infamous Huntsgirl, being led around like a leashed dog by the very dragon she'd attempted to kill.
Oh, the media was having a field day with this one. The headlines howled with ridicule at her humiliating predicament and magical creatures in New York City and beyond were jeering at the Huntsclan's obvious incompetence. Already there was talk of the Huntsclan's demise and the magical community had no doubt that it was only a small matter of time before Rose cracked under the Dragon Council's relentless interrogations.
Today, those vultures that called themselves reporters were coming for a personal interview to, in their words, "unmask the true nature of the Huntsclan." The Council had agreed to a press conference for appearance sake, but the main attraction and the dragon responsible for her would be conveniently absent.
That was what worried Rose. She'd be spending the entire day with Jake and she could only imagine what he had in store for her. Suddenly, Rose thought she'd rather face the reporters.
From the corridor outside, footsteps tapped the stone floors, but there was no after-click of talons. Rose snapped her head up and listened intently, tensing as the sound stopped at her door.
"Rose? Are you decent?" Jake's muffled voice asked.
Her apprehension evaporated and a sly smirk that curled the corners of her mouth lent a mischievous glint to her eyes.
Rose lowered her voice to a seductive hum and purred, "Why don't you open the door and find out, Dragon Boy?"
That last part came as a mocking growl, laced with a touch of Huntsgirl. Tone and words together had the overall effect of a good zapping with a Huntstaff set on stun. From his brain to his vocal chords, Jake's system shut down like a computer in a power surge.
If it were at all possible to read Jake's mind at moment, you would hear a buzzing dial tone and then a voice would politely chirp, "We're sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected. Please try your call again later."
Jake went through a phase of stumbling through a string of uh's and loud gulps before anything coherent sputtered past his mouth.
"What I meant was…uh…are you ready…to…to…"
"I wish I could see your face," Rose interrupted, her voice trembling.
"Huh?" Jake croaked, his voice somewhat squeaky.
A strange noise on the other side of Rose's door started out soft and quickly grew in volume. Curiosity brought his brain back from the dead and he pressed his ear to the wood panel. Like a lighthouse on the shoreline, clarity came to him and he realized now that Rose was laughing at him. He waited, completely humiliated, until she regained her senses.
"Well? Are you dressed?" Jake asked, rather impatiently.
"Sorry to disappoint you, " Rose paused to swallow a giggle, "but I have all my clothes on."
Faintly, Jake muttered the disarming spell and the door squeaked on its hinges as he nudged it partially open. He cautiously poked his head inside, making sure Rose was telling the truth. She stood with her back to the bed, one hand lightly resting on sheets and she was—much to his relief—completely clothed.
The afterglow of laughter shimmered in her eyes and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She sauntered past him and into the corridor, while the last spurts of giggles worked themselves out of her system.
Jake shoved his hands in his pockets and stared grumpily at the wall.
"That wasn't funny," he mumbled. "Messing with me like that."
"Serves you right for making me wait so long," Rose retorted. "The reporters will be arriving in hardly fifteen minutes and you are just now coming for me. We'll never make it out in time without skipping breakfast and literally flying out the nearest door."
Amusement flashed in his eyes a second before the American Dragon stepped forward to sweep her off her feet. Typically, Rose would have fought him tooth and nail, but if there was one thing she'd learned the past two weeks it was resistance is futile.
Jake strode to a window and shifted Rose's weight so he had a free hand to open it.
"Sorry, but the nearest door is about to welcome a horde of photographers and reporters," he explained.
As Jake climbed onto the ledge, he had to tilt his body at a sideways angle so his wings could fit through the narrow opening, but he had seriously miscalculated. After a few unsuccessful minutes of wriggling and grunting, he came to a conclusion….
"You're stuck, aren't you?" Rose asked.
Jake nodded sheepishly, confirming what she'd suspected. He heaved one last time before he sighed in resignation.
"Can't you just change back and climb through, then change again?" Rose suggested.
It was a wonderful idea, but when he thought of executing it, another problem arose.
"There's room for only one on this ledge," he said, then looked over his shoulder at the window, "and I'm taking up too much of the window for you to go back through."
Rose craned her neck to see for herself and then tried to think of another solution. Meanwhile, Jake squirmed and twisted his body, but all he managed to do was exhaust himself.
"Drop me," Rose commanded suddenly.
Jake's arm impulsively tightened around her and his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Say what?" he exclaimed.
"Drop me," Rose tried again in a more persuasive tone. "Then change, climb out of the window, and change again."
She made it sound as if it were nothing more dangerous than lacing up his shoes.
"What if I'm not fast enough?"
His eyes were soft and almost sad.
"You will be," she assured him, smiling.
Because she knew he couldn't do it himself, Rose put all her weight and might into a shove that caught him off guard and sent her flying into open air. He screamed her name in terror as he changed back into Jake Long and leaped from the ledge after her. Never in his life had he taken on his dragon form so fast, nor had he ever known his wings to be so swift, but before Rose had managed to fall two floor levels, he had caught up to her.
The minute he had hold of her again, Jake tried his best to squeeze the life out of her. His heart had his ribcage rattling and feeling Rose's heart thumping madly as he clutched her was all that kept him from shattering to pieces. He lowered his head and Rose began to tremble as it appeared that he would kiss her. Instead, he pressed his face into her hair and burrowed his muzzle deep within waves of strawberry scented gold.
It was several minutes before Jake regained his senses enough to realize Rose was running her hand down the back of his neck in a sort of reassuring, petting gesture. For a trained assassin, her hands were blessed with a gentle touch and his quivering gradually subsided.
Rose stopped her caressing and used both her arms to pull herself up to his ear.
"Told you so," she whispered softly.
His lips curved upward in a grin.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This chapter was an attempt to show that Rose trusts him now though that's kind of obvious.
Sorry for the long overdue update, but do drop a nice review if you would.
