~@~ A Link To Their Pasts ~@~
Naiona settled into the hard leather saddle for the thousandth time. Her backside was on fire, not to mention her thighs. Riding was not something she enjoyed.
"Why are we going this way?" she asked as D yanked on the reins, taking a sharp right through two narrow trees.
"I have to visit an old friend."
The small path opened up into a large clearing, with a stream bubbling pure water.
Naiona watched as tombstones passed her, reading dates from over five hundred years before her birth.
"D?" she asked, quietly sighing at an old man and child who were lying flowers down beside a grave.
"Hn?"
"Who was she?"
She? Did I say something about her? "Who was who?" he asked, trying to keep away things he didn't care to explain.
He stopped at one grave in particular, pulling the horse to a stop with one hand and helping Naiona down with the other.
As soon as the stood before the stone together, Naiona answered him. "Her," she said, pointing at the ivy-covered resting place.
An angel with outspread wings and arms beckoned their attention; ivy grew up and curled around every limb, and ever-so-carefully, the name 'Leila' was inscribed on the pedestal under the angel's feet.
D spoke softly, in tones he was used to. His head lowered, his mind sending up a silent prayer.
"She was a great woman. She told me the way it was, between humans and vampires. The way they could stay together forever, but at a very costly price." His voice was deep and meaningful, while Naiona's showed hints of understanding.
"Mother..." she whispered, softly enough that D casually shrugged it off, but remembered it in case it was anything important.
After placing a budding rose in the angel's hand, he walked away, leaving Naiona to follow closely behind.
~@~
After riding for another hour more, D was becoming a bit suspicious. The woman in front of him looked no older than her early twenties, and when standing, she topped off at the very base of his shoulders.
Her long, silvery blue hair looked older than she did. Which was understandable. She must have grown it since childhood, he thought to himself. The loose strands would sometimes fly back and tickle his face, but he just brushed them aside with his fingertip, lingering only a moment to feel how soft they were against his callused skin.
"What's your name?" he asked, softly.
"Is it that important? All I need is a ride to the Castle of Chaythe and you'll never see me again."
His mind screamed at him to just desert her in the middle of this forest before heading to that haunted hell hold, but his mouth said something different. "If you must share my company and my horse for that long, then yes."
Crickets chirped in the shaded forest; the sun began to set in the evening sky. Pinks and purples illuminated the forest around them.
"Naiona," she said, softly cursing herself inwardly for not giving him a false name. But after all, he seemed like no stranger at all. In fact, he started to feel more like her protector.
Will he protect me? she asked herself under her hooded cloak. Or will he desert me?
~@~
TBC
A/n: Naiona isn't drunk anymore and they're on their way to somewhere… where is Naiona going to lead D to? Or is he going to lead her somewhere? Find out in the next chapter!