“We used to be able to see the water,” Attor said as he walked closer. He had seen Taryn sitting underneath the central statue from which all the Nest spiraled. It was, of course, a massive dragon and had a steady flow of water cascading down from the tips of its wings. It was carved from some of the rocks which had to be removed in order for the Nest to be born. It stood in the center of the common area, an area that was chosen for community meetings, markets and so forth. It was easily the size of a football field, with another one attached to the edge, it was used for growing grains. The dragons liked to be independent, but when living underwater, some magic from a few friendly witches was gratefully accepted. They were fortunate for a few dragons to have taken witches as mates, and an alignment was created.
The dragon sculpture stood well over ten feet and had a basin surrounding it where the water was caught and recycled back to the top. It was a symbol of strength, courage, and determination. It showed no matter what was thrown at them, they would rise and prevail. Dragons were survivors and had a fantastic ability to adapt to whatever environment they needed. They proved that when they went underwater.
Taryn looked at him and then to the statue. “You can’t see the water?”
Attor snorted. “I meant above.” He pointed up with a flick of his eyes. “Our ceiling used to be a glass dome. Watching the sea creatures swim past was amazing. It was also easier to define night from day, as the natural lights from above would penetrate enough to see the difference.
“Ahhh…” She nodded. “You like it here?” she asked.
Attor took a seat beside her, not too close, but close enough to have a conversation. “Of course, it’s where my family is.”
“Family is overrated.” She threw the comment out haphazardly.
“You don’t live with your family?” he asked. Attor was hoping to build a base to converse on. He needed to know more, wanted to know more, this was his future.
Shaking her head. “No. Family is just people who are supposed to love you, but when the proverbial hits the fan, they’re the first to disown you. I have no time for a family who has no time for me.”
Attor leaned back, his hands clenched into fists on his knees, hearing the pain her voice made him angry. It was unreasonable and irrational, but it was there. If she hurt, he wanted to hurt those who made her feel that way. “Family can be difficult,” he said, thinking about his own intention to take the leadership from his brother. He considered himself a loyal and reliable warrior brother, but as he sat here, he felt a sense of disappointment in himself. Taryn was right, why would his brothers give him time, when he had rarely had time for them since the fall of the Oasis.
Shit, he silently cursed at himself as the angry fog he held toward Volos begun to clear from his mind. I am a shit brother.
“I don’t have any,” she breathed the words almost silently.
“Is that who you are running from?”
Taryn looked up at this man, who turned into a dragon and back into a man. There was no way he could ever know what she was. He wouldn’t ever be able to accept her if he knew the truth. She was a horrible, lying, murderous beast, and the sooner she got away from this place, the safer they would be.
“It doesn’t matter the who’s, what’s, and where’s.” She shrugged. “The other dragon said I can leave tomorrow, so I’m just hanging ‘til then.”
“Where will you go?” he asked. Hiding the trench that was opening in his heart, he inwardly sighed. If she ran, where did that put him? Stay with his brothers and protect the clan, the greater good, or would he run after his heart, completely selfish, a mere pawn in the chess game of life. Both options tugged at his heart, a choice he didn’t want to make.
Taryn shrugged. “The furthest place my bank balance can afford a plane ticket to.” Standing up, she walked closer to the statue, the sound of trickling water calming her jagged nerves. “I envy your family, they seem really close.” She placed her hands on the edge of the water basin, turned and sat on it. Now facing Attor, she leaned back and crossed her legs at the ankles, his eyes locked on to her every movement.
“The clan as a whole are very tight, but more so the warriors.”
“Warriors?” tilting her head she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“That’s what I am. I am a warrior and protector of the clan. My father is King Basilisk, I am second born and second in line to the throne. Volos is the oldest, and deemed next king.” Attor’s hands relaxed as he talked about his family. She was asking about him, and he felt good about that.
“You are a prince?” she asked.
“I guess, but those terms aren’t commonly used. I am a warrior first and foremost. This is not a choice for me,” he said. “It’s my birthright and birth order, that dictated my role and placement.”
“You have to be a warrior?” Taryn asked.
Nodding, he confirmed, “Correct.” Seeing the look of shock on her face, he added quickly, “It is a great honor. Many would like to trade places with me. I live a life of servitude. I would give my life in place of another.”
“You would die? To save someone else?”
“I would gladly die an honorable death it if was to save a clan member. Absolutely.” Clenching his fists again. “When the birds attacked…” he swallowed loudly, the memories of that night, “… I saw terror flash on the faces of my people. Children screaming as the water rushed in surrounding them. I saw mothers clasping their babies to their chests. Eyes that begged for my help.” His eyes met Taryn’s as his words ran like a river. “When I went into battle against the feathered enemy, my blood froze with the hate flashing in their eyes. They would have been gleeful to see every last dragon, man, woman and child, drown to death that very day…” He paused for a moment as his voice broke with anger at the phoenix. “I can’t sit back. I won’t ever sit back, and let that level of evil run free into the branches of my family tree. Dragons by nature are peace-loving. We protect the humans around us, and happily co-exist on this amazing planet.” He continued, “It was something my mother bred us to believe from the moment we could breathe.”
“Believe what?” Taryn asked quietly.
“To be considered valuable, you must first be valued,” he said. “Meaning, that in order for you to live a wonderful life full of color and happiness, you must also bring those things to others.”
“Says the warrior who’s ready to kill?” Her words cut him deep. She saw him flinch as they penetrated his conscious thoughts.
“We do what we must,” his head hung as he spoke. “The greater good—”
Taryn cut him off. “Greater good is just an excuse used by a cold-blooded killer,” she said, holding her hand up to make him let her finish “Most battles of the world are over issues long buried. Yet the children of the children of the children still carry the pitchfork and are ready to kill over a demon in the dark past. My family, for example, are the best grudge holders I know.” She snorted a laugh of condemnation. “A deed from four generations back, still deemed unresolved, will carry through to present day family members. The expectation that the kids of today must hate the wrongdoers of yester-year purely because the family loyalty dictates it to be done.” Taryn shrugged. “I won’t battle demons of someone else’s past.”
Attor let her words dance around him. “So, you would have a wrongdoer to your family go unpunished in today’s world simply because it’s ‘not your battle?’” Using hand quotations, Attor furthered his question. “You don’t feel a loyalty that requires penance for an evil struck against your family?”
“Justice?” she said. “An eye for an eye?” she asked further. “How many eyes can you give before an entire family goes blind, Attor?”
Attor sat still, his focus on the gift that fate had given him, and the unique wisdom she spoke with. He agreed that blind loyalty would be a disastrous path for any family to follow. What he disagreed on, was knowing the past can be the most accurate predictor of the future. An enemy of the past will most likely continue well into generations to come. Stories get told, facts get stretched, and fires fueled by hate, continue to burn. Attor lived in the present world, and with his knowledge of a dangerous past he hoped to continue to live, with his family and clan members well into a bright and prosperous future.
“Your words hold merit,” he said.
Taryn shrugged. “Just seems like the only way to stop a grudge is to let go. Getting someone to be the first to do it, that’s the hardest part.” A light laugh escaped her chest. “I best get some sleep, I’m outta here tomorrow.”
His heart sunk. “You should…” stumbling on his words, “… you should consider staying. For your own protection, of course.”
“Oh yeah, because protecting me is defined as kidnapping, and holding me against my wishes, correct?”
“I did what I thought—” he started.
“Fuck that, Attor.” Her voice rose, void of the humor it held moments before. “Thinking by definition would mean considering what was best for the person in question. If you think, grabbing me, dragging me under the water, turning in to a monster in front of my eyes and kidnapping me to an underwater jail, is for ‘my own good’…” she paused and then continued, … “I swear I will let my knee meet your balls again.” Her body was shaking with anger. “I don’t care how fucking hot you are. This is not for my own good. I don’t know what your plan was, or what you hoped to achieve by your actions—”
“You were being hunted. Endangered. I wanted to protec—”
Taryn cut him off. “Did I fucking ask you?”
“But—” Attor only got one word out before she cut him off.
“Kylee assumed I needed help. You jumped in like a knight on a white stallion, drawing your sword to save a damsel in distress…” Taryn mocked him with hand gestures. “Thing is, Attor…” she stopped to look him in the eyes, “… I’m not a damsel in distress. I can and will battle my own demons. Not the battles of my family, nor of the ghosts they hunt.” Her voice was firm, every sound rolled perfectly articulated from her tongue. “I’m not your family. This is not your battle. Come the morning? I am gone.”
Taryn saw Payton come out of a door a little bit up from where they were sitting. “Payton?” She saw her friends head pop up to see her. “Can you show me where I can sleep?”
Payton’s eyes flicked from Taryn to Attor, by the look on Attor’s face, whatever the conversation was, it hadn’t ended well. Maybe some space was a good thing. Payton shrugged as she nodded to Taryn. “Follow me, hon.”
Attor sat, his eyes never leaving Taryn until she vanished down a hallway. She hated him for dragging her here, and there was not a chance of forgiveness. Come the morning, he would have to let her go.
Can I let her go? he asked himself.
Do I have a choice? He sighed heavily, standing, and making his way back to the warrior’s wing and his room.