Tamina's Jealousy Part 3
They had reached a mountain range, the trail through it had been worn down and looked to be very unstable.
"We will camp here for tonight," Dastan ordered as the caravan stopped to set up for the night while Dastan and his men tried out the trail, and, to their despair, it was even more unstable than it looked. Biz had tried climbing over a boulder to get a decent vantage point but the boulder slipped, causing a rock slide, a few of Dastan's men were wounded in the event, Dastan himself not escaping harm except for some scratches and bruises.
"We will have to find a way around it," Dastan concluded when he met with his wife, his mother and their new companion Jade along with his other men.
"Or," Jade began. "Tamina, in your book there is a command for Shift to create a new trail, he will have to work through the night, two days possibly, but dragon's fire can melt stone if it's hot enough." Jade pointed out before turning to Dastan again. "You Dastan, have in your possession a very special jewel, feed it to Shift and it will give him the power and strength to complete it, or sacrifice a few horses for him to feed on for the effort it will take him." Jade proposed.
"I must agree with Jade on this my son," Valletta spoke out. "To travel in either direction to either find another trail or around the mountain range will exhaust our supplies before we reach anywhere that we can replenish them."
Now it was Tamina that gained everyone's attention. "Dastan," Tamina began respectfully. "They are right, it is a risk I feel we should take, let us try to heal the wounded while Shift makes a new trail, I believe he can do it."
Dastan considered his own feelings on the matter and looked down to see his bandaged hands and arms before looking around to see his men in worse shape than he was in.
"Which stone?" Dastan put to Jade before they left the tent to see Shift dancing with the other horses before noticing Tamina and happily trotting over to her. Tamina smiled kindly at her new steed as she pet his face while Dastan withdrew the satchel of gems from his waist, Jade going through them to find the right one. It was a large red stone, it looked as though it had fire within it whenever Jade turned it to make sure it was the right one.
"Feed him this and ask him to make a new trail." Jade instructed as she passed the stone to Tamina.
When shift saw the stone, his usual eerie blue eyes began to glow flaming red.
"Quickly Tamina," Jade encouraged, guiding Tamina's hand to Shift's mouth. Shift gobbled the stone up and immediately transformed into a glowing red dragon, smoke coming from his nostrils, heat radiating off of him as if he was fire itself.
"Please Shift, make a new, safe path for us to cross the mountains," Tamina instructed before Shift left with a whirl and began blowing fire at the former tail, his fiery breath melting the stone into magma. Shift was very thorough and careful about it, making a zig zag trail that would be easy for anyone to climb, wide enough for two caravans to pass each other easily.
Two days later, a very exhausted and depleted Shift returned, this time, looking no bigger than a house cat. Tamina quickly gathered him up like she would a babe, taking a blanket and wrapping it around him before gently stroking the length of him, feeling him purr before he promptly fell asleep in her arms.
Tamina boarded Valletta's carriage once again and began reading the book Jade had given her as Jade and Valletta continued to catch up.
By the time they finally did arrive to the Mediterranean, Tamina was awestruck at the sheer beauty of it, a sea so large she couldn't see where it stopped. The salty but sweet breeze that caressed her was something she couldn't quantify.
Suddenly shift was squirming in her grasp so that she couldn't hold him any longer.
"Wait!" Tamina called out as he jumped out of the carriage.
"He's going to the sea to feed Tamina," Jade explained.
"Oh, well I hope he eats well then," Tamina concluded as she sat back into her seat and folded the blanket she had Shift wrapped up in.
Upon arriving at her mother in law's home, she was reminded of Valletta's humble beginnings. But as proud as Valletta was, it might as well have been a palace.
"Is this where we will be staying?" Tamina inquired.
"This is where Jade and I will be staying, there is a beautiful little bungalow down by the sea where you and Dastan will be staying and then there is an inn where Dastan's men will most likely stay that's in the village." Valletta explained.
"I'm sure the local girls will enjoy having rich young warriors around, with spare time and spare coin to throw their way," Jade teased knowingly. Tamina sighed but couldn't bring herself to argue, Dastan's men were the kind of men who would do such things, willingly, but they were loyal to a fault to Dastan as well as herself so she didn't see the need to complain before.
"Jade," Tamina began, changing the topic of conversation to something she was more comfortable talking about. "You and Valletta both admitted to Shift not being the only one of his kind, where are the others?"
Jade and Valletta shared a long stare before Valletta gave a small nod.
"You are correct in that conclusion, but as guardians ourselves, it's not our secret to tell, ask Shift, if he trusts you, he will show you the others, Dragons have been betrayed before, only to those who will keep their secrets no matter the cost will reveal others, as few as their numbers may be." Jade explained.
Valletta could tell that wasn't the answer her daughter in law was looking for. "If you look closely dear, you'll see them, even without you realizing it most of the time." Valletta encouraged with a wink before going up stairs, Jade following close behind, leaving Tamina alone with her thoughts in the small room.
A knock on the door's frame shook her from her reverie.
"Thinking hard my Queen?" Biz teased.
"Too hard," She answered with a relieved smile.
"Dastan wishes for you to join him in your new temporary home Princess, I can walk you down," Biz offered.
Tamina glanced upstairs and overheard Jade and Valletta's laughter over some memory they had shared a lifetime ago.
Tamina placed a neutral but still pleasant smile on her face and took his offered arm and walked down to the path to the beautiful and exquisite mansion that overlooked the sea.
"There's the most beautiful woman on Earth," Dastan said with a smile as he stood outside their new vacation home.
"Thank you Biz for getting her me," Dastan said to his friend.
"Of course, now, it's time for me and the others to scout out the place." Biz said as he nodded toward the town above.
"Don't spend all of your coin in one place Biz," Tamina teased, reusing Jade's former taunt.
"Heh, yes my Queen," Biz answered with a blushed bow. Even Dastan looked a little embarrassed with the implications.
"I may be a Queen, but don't think I don't know what really happens when soldiers of fortune come into town," Tamina reminded her husband before taking his hand and leading him into the house.
"So this is the place we paid so much for," Tamina appraised as she looked from room to room with him.
"It's not much compared to Alamut, I know, but it has more pleasant views in my opinion," Dastan allowed as he gazed out to a balcony off the main room.
"And how about now?" Tamina inquired smugly as she stepped into his view.
"Even better," Dastan cooed as he looped his arms around his wife, pulling her closer to him. "But where did that 'don't spend all your coin in one place' come from?" Dastan asked.
Tamina deflated and shook her head. "It's something Jade said and probably isn't wrong, your men love to gamble and hang around prostitutes every opportunity they can, she simply pointed it out," Tamina admitted, feeling suddenly bad about saying the actual words. "I had hoped I could have defended them, but what she said was true."
"And this hurts you?" Dastan discerned.
"I know they are better men than that, they are loyal to us and trustworthy, they are not without honor or proper pride, but for them to be simplified and reduced to petty soldiers of fortune, wasn't right of her, nor me to do so." Tamina explained. "But with Jade and your mother already a pair, I was feeling left out most of the journey here."
"You have no need to be jealous of them, believe me," Dastan tried to assure her before taking her cheek into his palm and pulling her close.
But right before he could kiss her, they heard their names being called. From their vantage point they could see past the balcony, there was a rocky crag where Jade and Valletta were now standing, in the smallest articles of clothing Tamina had ever seen.
"Come on, the water's great!" Valletta and Jade said as they both leapt off the rock and into the sea below.
Dastan couldn't remember the last time he had seen his mother wearing a bathing suit but it was unsettling. So he stood there, his mouth slightly agape.
Tamina took that as Dastan getting an eyeful of Jade in the most scandalous clothing she had ever seen in her life, the woman might as well be naked, it left so little to the imagination.
"I have 'nothing' to be jealous of, right," Tamina spat as she pushed away from him.
Dastan was shaken from his daze as he suddenly realized what it looked like. But before he could make a defense. She had already gone into the bedroom and shut the door.
"Shit," Dastan cursed under his breath. Jealousy it seemed was a monster not so easily killed.
Author's notes- ok, so this is again, unbetaed but enjoy!