Chapter 23-New Courtships

Sitedal? Verdra questioned as she made her way up the remaining steps and out into the light of the natural world, a world from which she had come prior to meeting Uria and being introduced to the dragons of the Compound.

Sitedal's blackened scales were caked in drying blood, his eyes closed and his head titled away from her. She still knew it was him even though he did not speak immediately. Their experience had touched her and remained with her throughout the road to her recovery.

I never imagined I would get to see you again, he whispered softly, a low growl rippling from deep within his throat as he opened his left eye to gaze upon her.

I felt the same, she confessed. The eggs though . . .

I know. The dragon which came before told me. I do not condone his behavior but instead see it as an act of free will. Sitedal turned his entire head to face her, revealing a long bloody gash which started at his eyeridge, running down through his right eye, and ending at his jawbone.

He . . . did this to you?

There can be no good which comes from retribution for such an act. I made my choice to follow after you and I accept all that is caused by it. His voice remained tender, soft even though the wound made it hard to look at him.

Verdra gave a low growl of respect for his decision to follow her as Sitedal made his way toward her with shaky steps. It was clear that he was still in shock over the sudden attack on him, despite his calm behavior. He sighed and lowered his gaze away from her, as if to somehow shield her from the pain of seeing him in his current state.

If I could change what occurred then I would, Sitedal muttered as she stopped before him and gently licked his wound, taking special care around his eye.

The purple iris beneath the scarred lid slowly revealed itself as Verdra ran her tongue over it for a third time. Sitedal had stopped to allow her to soothe him with her gentle way of affection towards him. Most of the white for that eye was filled with blood and a deep gash also ran through the eye as it had for the eyelid. Verdra decided that she would find the one who had done such damage and take revenge, no dragon could afford to bear such a wound during their time of turmoil and fear from the presence of Arxa.

Revenge would not suit you, Verdra . . .

How do you know my name? I certainly was not able to tell you during our brief time together, so how . . . ?

Sitedal snorted, closing his injured eye as it began to throb with pain. The one who attacked upon my arrival spoke your name to me. I think the name fits beautifully for one such as you.

Thank you, Sitedal. Verdra paused for a moment, finding her thoughts drifting to the eggs she had left in Finca's care. Should we ponder names for our offspring yet?

The black male remained silent for some time, leaving Verdra wondering if she should not have spoken at all about the eggs. There was no telling how he would react to the prospect of having children at their age. Finally Sitedal spoke, although the words seemed labored and heavy-burdened.

I think such should wait until they hatch and we are able to see which gender befalls each of them. However, the ultimate choice is up to you and I will stand by your decision, whatever it may be.

Sitedal, Verdra whispered as the dragon turned away his head and signed. Was he giving up? Did he not remember his legacy? He had a parentage to be respected, not one to be left to the cruelty of dragons which did not honor it.

Giving up might be my only opinion, he muttered softly, his words catching her off-guard. She is fueled by such darkness that we cannot win against it. Even her best is no match for the Corruption of the menace anymore.

Verdra took a step back out of shock. You mean Arxa has free reign?

Exactly. I am trying my hardest to achieve what Ryta wanted of Jormundur and myself but now I realize that it is a lost cause. No more is she the mother I once knew, but now is the shadow of a darkness so powerful that none are able to escape its grasp. Once the power ruled our ancestors and yet now it seeks to do the same with us. Sitedal glanced at her, reopening his torn eye as sorrow lanced heavily throughout his words.

Silence enfolded them as each sought a way to speak of the danger which lurked around them. Sitedal signed and finally dropped his gaze to the grass under his claws, forcing his thoughts into a whirl of confusion to block any attempt of metal communication between them out of habit more than rejection.

The cold metal of a wash basin rested against the sweat-coated cheek of Aurelia. For days she had been sick, throwing up any food in her system only hours after consuming it. Her black hair, instead of pulled back into a normal ponytail, was thrown into a crud bun to keep it out the way. Another wave of nausea overtook her and she clutched to the smooth porcelain with all her strength as violent shutters racked her frame while she sent back up what she had eaten only an hour before. Here she was in a small bathroom set apart from the main chamber she often used to treat the dragons which came to her, the entire room baring the same design as everywhere else in the Compound. She had closed the brown wooden door to the room only for privacy, yet the very idea seemed more like a lost cause. The door was not thick so any sound she made could be heard easily into the next room.

It was not her normal style to admit that she was sick, most people in powerful positions like herself often refused to accept their own weakness, yet whatever the illness was had started to affect her very job. She was supposed to take care of the dragons of the Compound, but how could she do that when she could barely take care of herself? A gentle knock resounded through the door to the room she was in, a sound that only one other down in the tunnels could make that was not scaled.

Her hands tried to steady her as she grasped at the sides of the white bin, lifting her dulled blue eyes to the door. She was too weak to stand, the nausea having taken most of her strength along with the food in her. Despite this, a shaky croak left her now bloodied throat and managed to form words.

"Who is it?"

The knock sounded again, this time more gentle. Although the gesture was nice, Aurelia knew that she would not be able to get to her feet to politely answer the door as she should. She painfully swallowed and repeated her attempt at a question.

"Dhran Airu Ricata," answered the individual on the other side of the door, before a hand pushed the thin wooden slab inward to where she was currently having to remain.

Dhran seemed like a hero to Aurelia as she watched him enter and sweep his gaze around the room before focusing on her alone. His broad shoulders carried the weight of his heavy brown tunic, opposed to the blood-stained white shirt which drooped from her thin frame. A thin strap of dark brown leather held his pants close to his frame and even they, a lighter brown than the belt but darker than the tunic, seemed custom fit just for him. He had on a light tan pair of shoes but she cared not to notice their design or style. Her eyes watched as a lock of his silver hair, normally cut short, dangled by his left ear, covering the tipped point of it from her view.

"Why come?" She whispered before leaning back over the edge of the wash basin and succumbing to violent dry heaves which only resulted in her own blood coming up.

"I heard through the door." Dhran shrugged as he glanced back to the thin slab of wood to make sure no one else was coming.

With no other person in sight, he walked over to her and kneeled beside her, squeezing her right shoulder gently. They had talked some about seeking a relationship, being the only two humans down in the tunnels now but they had only been forced to sleep together a couple of months ago due to a cold spell which required extra body warmth in the nighttime. Yet a nagging thought distracted him, forcing him to remember all the times they had been even remotely close to each other.

"I wanted to do right," Aurelia murmured as she collected herself and leaned back into his chest, resting her head against his strong abdominal muscles. She felt drained of strength but yet seemed calmer with him being near her. "I wanted to make a difference. What if things went wrong? Would you still be there?"

"Where would I go to?" Dhran questioned, stroking her hair as he sat down, allowing her to rest more comfortably against him. "The rest of the world is claimed by Arxa, there is nothing out there worth giving a life to see."

Aurelia rose slightly off his chest, his hand squeezing her shoulder a little harder in case she was about to be sick again. "You mean that?"

"With all my heart," Dhran replied as he reached behind him with a hand, the other dropping off her shoulder as it became clear to him that she wouldn't interrupt the moment before them by being sick again.

A slight glimmer of joy skirted his gaze as he brought out a small box, the entire surface of which gleamed in white scales. Backing away, Dhran waited until Aurelia turned around to face him before lifting one knee and balancing on the other knee and the ball of the risen foot. The hand which held the box placed it firmly into the palm of his other hand, now flipped up toward him and ready for whatever came of the next few moments.

"Would you, Aurelia Zara, be my wife?"

His eyes watched in caution as she stared at the box. Slowly he lifted the lid and revealed the small ring inside. The band, although mostly silver, bore a thin strip of medium-shade green and another of medium-shade blue that twisted around each other and around the circle of metal. The classical diamond embedded into it was a pure extract from what had been Mirage's eldunari. After much consideration, it had been his wish that Mirage's presence be felt with this invitation as the dragon had been the reason behind his unnatural growth spurt.

Aurelia covered her mouth with her hand as she observed the beauty of the ring. Dhran was briefly concerned that she might be nauseated but a soft cry of joy from her silenced his thoughts. Her eyes glimmered with untapped happiness as she slowly reached out her right hand toward him for the ring to be placed on her ring finger.

"I would be honored," she managed through the emotions which flooded her and made it hard to speak.

A radiant smile broke out on Dhran's face as he helped her stand and slid the ring onto its proper place on her hand, marveling at the additional beauty it gave his now fiancee. Reacting, she leaned in and hugged him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. He waited a few moments before she took a step back and then cupped his left hand under her jaw, raising her head and lowering his to exchange in the first of many kisses between them.

"I shall be yours forever, Aurelia, if that is what you wish," he cooed gently as his green eyes remained fixated on her blue irises as they broke off their kiss.

"There would be no greater pleasure, Dhran," she whispered in reply, clutching tight to him as her strength continued to remain near nonexistent due to the sudden illness which had come upon her without warning.

A tremor suddenly ran through her and Aurelia broke free from their embrace to heave into the small porcelain toilet once more. Dhran gently stroked her back and whispered softly to her that everything was going to be fine, that she would get past this. Sweat coated her face when she finally breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed her tense grip on the edges of the bowl, feeling drained of strength once again and also cold.

"Here," Dhran offered as she turned around to bury her face into his chest, shaking severely. The back of his hand touched briefly against her forehead and he growled in displeasure.

"What is it?" Aurelia asked weakly as she picked up on his unhappiness. "What bothers you, Dhran?"

Keeping his voice as steady as he could, Dhran muttered, "Your temperature. It has risen and you feel warm to me, too warm. Is there someone you know that could look you over?"

"Makiar but she has never . . . "

"Does not matter," he snapped back angrily. An apology soon followed before he spoke again. "I am sorry for jumping to conclusions, love. Wait here-"

Aurelia squeezed his arm suddenly, clenching her teeth in pain as she closed her eyes. Dhran quickly scanned the room to find something to ease her down onto but could locate nothing worthwhile and thus gently eased her back onto the floor, staying with her until she leaned once more over the rim of the basin. It pained him to see her this fragile, considering she had saved his life moments after Mirage's death years ago.

With Aurelia dry heaving painfully, Dhran made the choice to slip out and go find Makiar. Whatever was going on, he hoped the idea that had snuck into his head was not what was happening to his soon-to-be wife. Hopefully the red dragoness would know and be able to figure out the cause. Only that concerned him as he quickly walked down the hallway from where Aurelia stationed her location in the dark underground network.