A/N: Just for fun, play Coldplay's Clocks starting at "A figure, limned…" for the mood of the story. (It's on my Dragonfly Prince playlist – playlist (dot) com (/) mockingbyrdstune.)
Chapter 37 – Shadows and Apparitions
Wrapped in the dragon skin, Ivan wasn't making any significant progress. Her added weight wasn't helping any, either. Fortunately, Kapyn seemed too drowsy to give chase. They both listened for the thwomping gait down the corridor, but it didn't follow them. Ivan relinquished his rescue mission at the pond. Casey wobbled her way out of sight of the cave before becoming wound up again and falling, causing Ivan to trip over her.
"Why do I feel a keen sense of déjà vu?" she asked after gaining her breath and working to unravel herself.
"Why do I feel like smacking you smart?!" shouted Ivan, getting up. "You are such a nuisance!"
"I love you, too," replied Casey glibly. It didn't go over well. He glared at her and stormed off, seething with an anger she didn't want to comprehend. She followed after him, still loosening the remaining length of molted skin from around her.
When Casey came into view of the hut, she found Ivan pacing outside his door. She sat down to give her legs a rest; and unconsciously began to fold Kapyn's scales carefully, stacking each concave piece onto the next. "I'm an idiot!" he exclaimed furiously, striking the back of his skull with his palm.
"Just hit yourself in the head a few more times; that will clear things up."
"Or how 'bout I clear your head! What's in there anyway, a circus of pixies?" He walked up to her, bent down and snatched the dragon skin from her hands. "You had a dragon feeding you and – and he talked to you! What did he tell you? To stay with him? Did you want me to leave you in there with him? Is that why you screamed - to wake him up?"
"He was already awake," she said, knowing the scream had nothing to do with it. She felt mentally resistant to Ivan's attempts to stir up the depth of her feelings with his probing questions.
"What did he say to you, Casey?" His expression was intense; he was trying to contain his ire, which felt more intimidating than his yells.
"He didn't 'say' anything, Ivan." She was purposefully evasive and condescending. How dare he! He didn't have any right to interrogate with her; he had been the one to take her in there in the first place!
"You like to redefine words. Regardless of how you try to manipulate meanings, the point's the same: the dragon spoke to you, simple as that. Don't try to word it differently to feel better about it."
Casey lifted her chin, her eyes glinting challengingly, and saw the sincerity behind his hard look. She couldn't bear it. "Why did you do that?" She returned quietly. "Why did you carry me out of there?"
"Because I was dragging a jelly-legged moron across a dragon's lair!"
"That's not what I meant and you know it. Why are you so mad all of a sudden? You didn't have to take care of me. You could have left me there and tried for the portal. I wanted you to." He glared at her for what seemed like forever - even after she refused to meet his stare.
"I want to believe you're still okay, but I know how this works. Casey, I can't do anything to help you now. You're dangerous to yourself, and I – I'll only want to stop you from what's going to happen. And I can't stop it. We're done." His voice was flat and he turned away, leaving her to attempt to unravel the conflicting thoughts in her heart.
She didn't go back to the dragon's cave, even though she could see Kapyn's beautiful eyes, like a palpable object before her. She couldn't bring herself to go back; her physical and psychological exhaustion prevented her. She thought only of rest, and reached the maddlepone meadow at a crawl. She had trudged along with a hungry emptiness that had nothing to do with her growling stomach. Ivan's words had been the death knell of all that she dreaded; he could not have said anything worse. As though it crowed over her conquered mind, the echo of the words that had invaded her head lingered there, a shadow crouching in the corner of her memory. Would it always remain, haunting her every thought until she broke down and sought to hear it command her again?
She flopped down on her back the way she remembered Ivan doing the day before. She scratched her head unconsciously, then stopped and took a good look at her nails. They looked nicer than Ivan's, though still dirty and a bit ragged. Her eyes traveled down to her left wrist. Gingerly, she peeled away the hardened bandage, concerned for the pain it might elicit; but it didn't hurt at all. Though the skin was pulled as the dried sap was loosened, it was not tender. Even when she removed the pieces directly across the cut, there was no stinging remonstrance from the flesh beneath. She examined the uncovered wound. The deep lines of infection had disappeared. She found the cut had a strange sheen as she tilted it away from her.
Gradually, she dozed off, but awoke hours later to the piercing sensation of an insect making successive stings while crawling up her back. After a shriek and a few flailing attempts, she finally managed to get it off. She was hungry, and not for a few measly maddlepone kernels. Surely there would be food awaiting her at the rock.
Her strength had returned rapidly with rest. She was even able to push aside the whispers of the voice, almost convinced it had been the product of an overworked imagination. She stopped only twice along the way to the pixie's rock to catch her breath. The animal hide was in its proper place again, hung up outside her shelter. She pulled it back and was disappointed to see no inviting meal.
"Zyri!' she called out, almost irritated. A short buzz registered from inside the residence, and she perceived that the little being was buried in the satithril cover on her pallet. "Were you asleep?" she asked as the pixie flew to eye level. She didn't wait for a response. "I need food, Zyri. Is there any food?"
Without a word, the pixie's pinions resounded in urgency and the being flew past. Casey sat down to wait and noticed a small bag in the corner of the room. She picked it up. She had felt that smooth texture before. It was similar to the special paper from Ivan's cave. The pouch was clamped shut with a metallic piece which she unsuccessfully tried to pry off before her food was served. She carried the container with her to rest beside her on the dusty ground as she sat to eat.
"What happened to you, Zyri? You weren't following me today."
"Did not Casey go with Ivan to Kapyn's cave?"
"Ah, you thought I had escaped." She chewed for a moment, before questioning, "Or did you think Kapyn would take me off?"
"It wouldn't matter but that Casey was finally gone," replied Zyri wearily.
"But, which did you think would be more likely?" she pressed.
"Why does Casey continue here?" Zyri asked, frustrated. "I have done much for her! I have done what the dragonfly prince has told me, and still she remains! Why does she not leave?" There was a deep note of desperation in the pixie's voice. She understood that Zyri was not speaking to her; she wasn't being asked these questions directly. The pixie struck the hide curtain with her fist. It hardly gave a quiver.
As Zyri dropped her head in unresponsiveness, her small eyes locked on the container beside Casey.
"That is mine. Casey will not have it." The pixie whisked down beside her and swooped up the bag, carrying it back to the corner of the shallow room.
"What's in it, Zyri? Is it the liquid I drank this morning?" Casey's eyes rested greedily on the pouch perched against the wall.
"It is mine," repeated the winged one. Casey got up, undeterred, and walked toward it. "I tell you, it's mine!" screamed the pixie unleashing her fury wildly. "I'll bite her! I'll bite Casey if she touches it!"
Casey backed away sullenly. "It's the Zource water, right?"
"Casey knows nothing. The Zource is not water."
"That's what the pixies at the reservoir called it."
"That is because they have never experienced the Zource. If they understood its ability, they would leave it to the Zourcezervers and never think of it again."
"But, it is poured into the reservoir water, isn't it?"
"So? What does it matter to Casey?"
"It matters because it brings life to things! Doesn't it?"
"Strange are the humans in this way. The Zource doesn't bring pixies life. It is hateful stuff. We are forced to pour it into our stores because of an old law that the aged of our tribes persist in following. One day it will be forgotten. Oh, the Zourcezervers love it, they do. They are proud, and have turned their backs on their own. If you take of the Zource for your own reasons, quickly one will inquire what you are about! They think they are better than the other tribes, and try to divide us. They are wasting their lives on a worthless tradition of the past!" Now Zyri was sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh, the lies they have …," she broke off, listening intently. Bringing her tiny hand swiftly to her mouth, her eyes became wide with fear.
"What is it, Zyri?"
The little being peered anxiously out of the hole where the hanging barely gaped, then quickly flew out. Casey stayed within the curtained room, her eyes traveling over the dusky wood outside the hemmed-in boundary around her rock home. The light was fading from the sky. The oddly-shaped bushes and branches took on human characteristics; crooked arms and misshapen heads seemed to lurk in the shadows. She found herself wishing Zyri would return. Unwillingly, she continued to survey the grounds beyond the fence, wanting to see nothing amiss, yet unable to pull her gaze away.
~(Start Clocks here)~
A figure, limned in the dispersing light of the day, appeared in her line of vision. Like an apparition, the faint light seemed to grow around it. Casey took a double take. Was it real? Was it walking toward her or away? It was too far yet to tell. She hunched down, tucking the curtain around her face so that her right eye alone remained on the lookout. The figure wasn't dressed like the dragonfly prince; it was wearing pants. That much she could perceive. Surely it wasn't coming to find her! It felt like centuries before she finally had to admit: the figure was approaching.
It suddenly occurred to her that it might be one of the wild men of which Ivan had spoken. He said that if they knew she was there they would come for her. 'Oh, Ivan, tell me it's you!' she thought to herself, trying to come up with some plausible reason why he would return at that hour. Casey swallowed with a gulp. Her mouth was dry as she anxiously watched each step of the one advancing. Before he reached the boundary of her dwelling, Casey had taken refuge in the only corner of her shelter. In her mind, she had considered every choice of escape; either she stayed in or ran out. Running out would promptly give her away. She wouldn't be able to outrun anyone yet. She clung to the hope that the person didn't know she was there. Was there something she could use to hit the stranger over the head? Her eyes combed the inside of the recess. There was Zyri's pouch, but it wasn't heavy enough to make any impact at all. Too late she considered how many opportunities she'd had to pick up a sturdy branch to keep for such a purpose. 'Just let it be Ivan. Please be Ivan!' Instead of burying her head, as she had thought to do, her eyes remained transfixed on the drape.
Zyri suddenly returned through the tiny gap in the curtain, the sound of her wings increasingly loud. "Shhhhh!" she whispered to the pixie; but to no avail.
"He is here," declared the winged creature. Eerie shafts of light swam about, but the covering wasn't pulled back. She remained huddled in the corner until she heard her name spoken. Springing upright, she almost knocked her head on the low-jutting rocks above at the sound of the dragonfly prince's voice. She lifted the curtain cautiously to find him waiting there. In his hand he held a rock emitting a bright, blue flame of light. He was dressed in rough, brown pants and a long, loose tunic, a thin band of tan material was tied at his waist. He seemed so natural, so human!
"Will you talk with me tonight?" he asked, his shining, dark eyes warm and inviting. The hope, the elation, the incredible relief sent thrilling shivers through her. He wanted to speak to her! Unlike Ivan's desertion and Zyri's desperation to be done with her, the prince had returned and wanted her company! No words could be found to speak. She eagerly took his outstretched hand.
A/N: Wasn't this a long chapter? :)
Iliana11: "Okay, I know there are Ivan supporters and maybe even a few DP supporters out there, rooting for Casey to choose. Honestly, I don't know who she'll pick." I hope the next chapters will give you more perspective on the prince's character. Whoo hoo!
Backroads: "I think she's thinking something (don't ask me what she's thinking) without fully realizing she is." New experiences hardly ever register clearly when they are happening. The dialogue and feelings of the last chapter were tough for me to gauge. My incredible beta gave me good feedback, I think. The beginning of this chapter was also challenging because I was trying to lead the reader through a gamut of emotions/reactions without being overdramatic or royally angsty. Did it work?
Quiet Mindreader: "I don't see why you are perturbed with Ivan." He's returned to being pretty harsh. I know what he's thinking, so that has a lot to do with it. "I think you like Kapyn/DP. You've been influenced by their charms, just like Casey." In the words of the man in black (Princess Bride), You're trying to trick me into giving away something. It won't work. Although I'm pretty sure I've given more away than I meant to in a couple of my responses, just because I'm too talkative.
A Not-So-Clever Cookie: "What I mean is, I'm worried for Casey because often when things seem to good to be true, they usually are." I didn't think it was rude at all. I agree with you and think it's smart to be cautious. :)
Lady Thorne: "And I do hope you realize that you haven't told us what Kapyn said yet!!" Quote from chapter 36: Her mouth remained ajar in astonishment, as she listened to the words of the being before her. "Do not cry out. Do not rile the beast." These are the words reverberating through her head in this and the last chapter. Just curious: how would you have reacted in Casey's situation? I came to the conclusion I would have screamed anyway. 8^O!
Arista Everett June: *grins at the lengthy review* "Poor Casey, I hate that feeling of someone sacrificing SO MUCH for you and you just want them to be safe in return...but they won't allow you to help them in return!" Yeah, it's pretty beautiful to feel that way, to experience that in a relationship. Yet, why does the self-saboteur, guilt mode kick in and make a mess of everything? It was fun discussing the story with you the other day, though I think I gave too much away. *sigh*
Smiling Pancake: "But just because you hear voices in your head doesn't make you crazy." True. There is a line between imagination and reality; unfortunately, it is not well-delineated at times. "Like if Ivan and Casey do go home what will happen to Thon?! They can't just leave him there!!" You, too, huh? The Rescue Thon-a-thon begins! lol