Esmeralda of Dracosia: Chapter 22
Chapter 22
All the world was numb to her. It was as if Esmeralda’s mind was in a bubble, separate from her body and coherent thought. Her senses were of no use, either; anything remotely close to tangible matter did not exist. They were as blurred as the state of her mind. Esmeralda could make out no color, scent, feeling, or form—only the blank fuzziness that consumed her. It was as if she was shifting aimlessly through a dream, oblivious to anything from the outside world. As much as she wished, the emerald dragon could not even feel her own body. She was not even sure if her heart was still beating.
Is this what death feels like? she wondered, thoughts echoing across the ambient expanse of emptiness. Was this what it was to be stuck between worlds, lingering on the verge of lost consciousness?
Up was down. Left was right. Gravity was who-knows where as Esmeralda tried to piece herself together, but to no avail. Fractals of memories and thoughts floated like pollen dust in her mind; what was once strong and overpowering was now distilling and fading away. She felt herself slipping, farther and farther…..
…until she heard the voice. So small, so far away, but it was there, calling her name…
“Esmeralda!”
She knew that voice.
“Esmeralda! No!”
Her hearing was the only thing coming back. She could still feel nothing, and when she attempted opened her eyes, an overpowering wave of dizziness infected her thoughts. She started to slip again.
No…fight it…she forced herself weakly. Focus….the voice…..where…?
She silently prayed for the call to return. When it did not, her prayer became a desperate cry, though she could not utter a sound. Please……
And then:
“E-Esmeralda?”
There. Esmeralda focused every fiber of her barely-conscious mind on the sound, willing her thoughts to remember whose voice it was.
“No….oh, why did you do that? Are you trying to get yourself k—”
The voice stopped abruptly, no doubt refraining from saying “killed.”
I’m not! Esmeralda wanted to shout back. ….At least not yet. But I know you. I…know that voice….please…
“Please….” The voice murmured, making it even more difficult for Esmeralda to hear. “You said we’d stay by each other’s side, r-remember? Don’t you dare be……you can’t be….”
Orion.
Of course, Esmeralda thought. Thankfulness and joy mounted inside her to know that he was safe, but she was still so far away. She needed to give him a sign…
Mustering a fragile amount of mental energy, she heard the gravel around her shift as one of the rocks flicked in Orion’s direction.
Pink!
“Ow!”
The voice was louder. However, and worry gripped Esmeralda’s heart at the uncomfortable silence that followed. Had that small spell been the last straw of her mental struggle? The long pause answered yes.
But the warm breath on her cheek said no.
“E-Esmeralda?” Orion’s soft yet steady voice drew her closer.
The emerald dragon swallowed as she tried to speak, but her raspy throat gave no sound. Wait….raspy, Esmeralda thought with hope. I can feel! I can….ow…..” a sudden tidal wave of pain threatened to knock her down again, but at least she didn’t feel like she was floating anymore. With an effort equivalent to moving a mountain, Esmeralda began to stir slowly. The world was there to great her, battering the dragon as she came back into consciousness. She wasn’t sure if she should laugh, or cry, or…
“Uuuhhhghhhhh”
That. Apparently that.
“You’re alive!” shouted Orion. “I mean, ahem, of course your alive—I knew it all along, I just….you’re alive!”
“You’re rubbish at lying,” murmured Esmeralda, slowly blinking open her eyes. Her friend’s golden-scaled features showed a mixture of relief, lingering concern, and love.
“Just…don’t do that to me again,” he sighed, pressing his forehead to hers. “Why did you do…whatever you did? I mean, I understand why, but…as we were calling for a regroup, Nymaul just took over the whole sky, blotting everything out except for you and Aurora, and then everything just stopped….I can’t even describe it. One moment, he’s about to engulf you, and the next? All a blur of light. I thought you were—Esmeralda, what’s wrong?”
The emerald dragon had frozen stiff. Vivid memories flooded her mind as she raced to place her still-fuzzy thoughts in the right order, forming into the grey image of a frail dragon falling through the shadows. “Aurora….”
Orion’s eyes widened. “What—"
No matter how great the pain, Esmeralda forced herself to stand. She stumbled almost instantly, and Orion quickly braced her. Everything hurt, but Esmeralda couldn’t have cared less. Aurora. Aurora. What happened to Aurora? her mind whirred in a constant loop. She trudged on through the shrapnel of rock and gravel, her eyes wide as she tried to orient herself in the twilight. She had to find Aurora. Esmeralda’s friend was probably in the same state that the emerald dragon had been in, and needed someone to pull her back. Esmeralda dared not think of the alternative.
Orion trekked beside her for support, wordlessly being Esmeralda’s extra set of legs. Together they wove through other dragons, and though many tried to speak to the pair, Esmeralda was deaf to their words. Once again she found herself in a state of numbness, oddly worse than before. Dread mounted inside of her as her as the minutes ticked on. They were running out of time. They were running out of time!
Esmeralda silently cursed her damaged limbs for not being faster. “A-Aurora?!?” she coughed, desperately. “Where-cough-where are you?”
“Save your strength, Esmeralda!” Orion reprimanded. “Aurora? Can you hear me?”
“Is this what you felt like when you were looking for me?” Esmeralda puffed as they slowly climbed over a fallen stone.
Orion helped her down gently. “Yes, and more so. We just have to keep looking. We’ll find h—”
Esmeralda took only one glance at the leader’s expression to know what he was looking at. Slowly, the green dragon turned her gaze to match Orion’s.
“Aurora,” she whispered.
With scarcely a moment’s hesitation, the younger dragon abandoned Orion’s side and stumbled to the ground next to her teacher. The impact jarred her insides hard, but at the moment Esmeralda’s mind was solely on the Wyvern lying wounded in front of her.
“Aurora. Aurora! Can you hear me?” Esmeralda nudged her desperately. “Focus on my voice, ok? Come back to me. I know you can do it! Oh, have I got some stories to tell you now. Wouldn’t you like to hear? A-Aurora?”
She was met with silence.
The emerald dragon clenched her teeth in worry. She glanced back at Orion, who was standing back with a lowered gaze. Esmeralda’s heart beat faster. “I…I….”
Soft laughter snapped Esmeralda’s attention back to Aurora, whose eyes were sparkling. Esmeralda visibly relaxed, sinking to the ground next to her teacher.
“Aurora, from now on, I forbid you to go to any more battles,” the younger dragon laughed. However, Esmeralda’s smile faltered as Aurora slowly lowered her head back to the earth.
“Aurora?” Esmeralda pressed. “You’re okay. You…you’re awake now; just weak, right? I’m not feeling top-of-the-line myself, but if you would just answer me—"
“You think too much.”
“….Thanks.”
Aurora chuckled softly again, her gaze fixed onto her student with a tinge of longing. “I will take you up on your offer, though. About this being my last battle?”
“Oh, good. I worry about you, sometimes…..” Esmeralda trailed off as the double meaning hit her. Aurora wasn’t. She couldn’t. There wasn’t any way she really meant…
“Too much thinking,” Aurora sing-songed quietly, coughing a bit as her eyelids slid shut. There was a moment’s pause before she continued, “I’m proud of you, you know.
Of all the students I’ve had—and don’t tell them this—you were my favorite. And that’s not just because of your skill; which, quite frankly, is astounding to me. No, you have accomplished what you have because of who you are……loyal to those you love.”
Aurora coughed. “Even to the end.”
Esmeralda’s eyes widened. “A-Aurora…” This wasn’t happening. She had already lost her mother; she was not losing her teacher, too.
“Hold on, Aurora, just hold on. I’m going to try a healing spell. I-I-I’ll fix this…” her voice started to crack as her subconscious realized the inevitable.
“My dear child,” Aurora rasped, her breathing becoming more difficult. “There are some things that you cannot fix. I am old. I should have met my fate a loooong time ago…”
Esmeralda shook her head violently. “No, no, no, no you stay with me, Aurora!”
The older wyvern coughed again. “Ah,” she smiled softly, “but your loyalty is also a weakness. There is a time when you must change and let go, my student. No one can stop what has come, and there are many ancient secrets that will do good to die with me.”
“NO!”
“’No, no, no’. That has become your favorite word, hasn’t it?” Aurora teased weakly, looking up at Esmeralda one last time. “Oh, but so much lies ahead of you; too much to deny. Can you make me a promise?”
Esmeralda wanted to say something, anything, to stop this series of events from happening. She squeezed her eyes shut in guilt. If only she had been quicker. If only she hadn’t stalled…but it was no use. Her teacher was ebbing away, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had to at least give what all she could. “Y-Yes, Aurora,” she answered through teary eyes, claws digging into the ground.
The elder’s expression softened further. “I have taught you all the things I could, yet there are things out there that you can only discover for yourself In fact, you will most likely find things even I cannot imagine. You possess ability like nothing I have seen before, and that is something I want you to share. You must help those who wish to seek magic, succeed where I have failed, and carry on where I can no longer continue.”
“I…you want me to…?”
“Yes, but do not think for one moment that you are alone. You have quite the companions.” Her ancient eyes flickered over to where Orion watched with wide eyes. “And speaking of companions,” Aurora continued, “best I give your mother some company.”
Aurora’s wings flickered with the last bits of her magic as she stretched one out to Esmeralda.
“I trust you,”
The multicolored glow spiraled from the Wyvern’s wing and dissolved into Esmeralda’s own,
“Magic Wielder of Dracosia.”
The first rays of sunlight pierced the grey sky as Aurora sighed.
* * *
Sunlight bathed the landscape in a blanket of warmth, the golden rays setting themselves to work by painting everything gold. The sky colors shifted on their own accord, as well, casting a gradient of pinks, oranges, and violets onto the heavenly canvas. The nearby ocean, rippling with the reflection of the sky, gave off the distinct yet pleasant smell of salt water. Back on the ground, life was stirring. Sparrows darted over the rich grassy hill, searching for their first meal in the sunrise, as small land mammals peaked out of there burrows. The daylight gradually expanded, obscuring any dark corners still lingering in the midst of the once threatening Black Mountains.
Not so black anymore, Esmeralda mused silently.
The emerald dragon had finally been able to slip away from the commotion of the others, seeking solitude on a grassy cliff just outside the mountain range. The pleasant wind and constant murmur of ocean waves was soothing, if not nostalgic, reminding Esmeralda of the shores near the Cave of Pearls. She closed her eyes. Those caves would be empty, now.
She took a shaky breath, letting it out in a long sigh. They defeated Nymaul; they had won. So why didn’t it feel like it?
A small, cream colored butterfly fluttered past the dragon’s snout, diverting Esmeralda’s attention briefly. “Now, you don’t have a clue of what’s just happened, do you?” Esmeralda muttered to it softly. She watched silently as it fluttered into the sky, disappearing somewhere within the clouds. Esmeralda stared after it longingly. “Say hello to my friend, for me.”
A warm breeze brushed against Esmeralda’s scales, relaxing her thoughts and muscles. She sank into the embrace of the cool grass with a relieved sigh. Absently taking in the earthy smell, her thoughts began to wander back to the events of that morning.
* * *
She had lost track of time standing by Aurora’s side, denial pounding in her heart as she refused to move. Orion had stayed with her, but as the night lifted, he gently pushed her away. Esmeralda knew better than to argue and remained silent, save for the quiet sniffling that occasionally broke through the air.
The first one to find them was Nightingale, who had practically shoved Esmeralda to the ground on impact. Happiness radiated of her grey scales, her lithe form trembling with either excitement, relief, or both. “You did it! We did it! Oh, who cares—everyone did it! Esmeralda: one, Nymaul: zip! Zero! Nada! Haha!”
Despite the remorse that still lingered in Esmeralda, her younger friend’s infectious enthusiasm lightened the edges of the emerald dragon’s heart. Esmeralda returned the embrace, grateful to see that Nightingale had made it through with just a few scrapes
“Oh, you look dreadful!” the silver dragon exclaimed on closer examination. “Orion, you look after her; food, water, rest, and the like! You just saved Dracosia, Esmeralda. We can’t have you biting the dust because of a silly infection!”
Despite herself, Esmeralda smiled. She had neither the energy nor the heart to tell the younger dragon about Aurora just yet, so she averted the subject. “Who, me? Never.”
Nightingale laughed, then bounced in front of her brother. “Orion, everyone’s been in an uproar about what happened to you two. Well, about that, and that we defeated the Nightmare Dragon, and preserved the whole land’s existence, and because we’re amazing, and—”
“Ok, ok, I get it,” Orion cut his sister off, leaving said sister to huff. He turned towards Esmeralda, murmuring softly, “Will you be all right?”
Part of Esmeralda wanted to protest and shout ‘No!’ However, the rational part of her mind caught up with her before she uttered a sound. She looked deeply into Orion’s sunlight-colored eyes, watching the concern and kindness that flickered in their depths. Slowly, she turned her gaze to Nightingale, who was looking at the pair with bubbling excitement. Esmeralda then turned her gaze to the large group of dragons in the distance; some limping, some saddened, some a frenzy of emotion. But all of them held the pride of their accomplishment in their gate, for their land was safe. Their families were safe. They were safe. Esmeralda had risked herself for them, just as Aurora had done for her.
Familiar faces appeared throughout the crowd. Saraphina was trying to obtain order, but failing as Burn jigged around shouting happily from the top of his lungs. Zhishi appeared to still be locked in battle stance, the eccentric elder snapping out of it only when Tundrica gave him an icy wake-up call. Geal, King Scalder, Avitus, and so many others Esmeralda did not know; they were safe.
Aurora’s words came back to the emerald dragon: “You think too much”. And perhaps she did. The memory of her mentor was still fresh in her mind, but now, seeing all of her friends battle-worn but happy—relieved that they had triumphed together in this moment, Esmeralda’s worries began to smooth. Here was her home. Here was her family. There would be times of sorrow and pain, but each dragon would affect another until eventually, those times turned bright again. Esmeralda turned back to the Dracosian leader beside her, answering him with a simple reply: “Yes.”
When he smiled back at her, Esmeralda felt her chest warming with contentment.
“Come on, then,” he said, nuzzling her gently. “Let’s be off before the Lindworms break into song again.”
Esmeralda laughed.
* * *
Esmeralda snorted as a blade of grass tickled her nose, pulling her back to the present. The sun was higher on the horizon, now, the sky and ocean’s colors changing accordingly to match to morning light. Another gust of wind hit Esmeralda, but this time it felt…different. She breathed in the warm, salty air, laden with the scent of nearby flowers. The breath filled her with an odd feeling, urging her to stand and make her way to the edge of the cliff. She closed her eyes, her soul in a moment of seclusion and peace as she mentally melted with her surroundings. Her reflecting had left her surprisingly calm, and though her body still ached from the battle, she now felt ready for whatever lied ahead.
With a final glance at the expanse of the glittering sea, the emerald dragon unfurled her wings and leaped into the warm winds. Had she looked back at the sunrise, she might have seen the two dragon-like shapes that formed in the clouds. However, Esmeralda now had her eyes set on the new journey ahead, one that would increase her responsibility and nit her closer to her friends. The tale of the young, unsure dragon who found herself through her friends was over now.
A new chapter had begun.
Author’s note:
Well, everyone, that’s it! After many months of brainstorming and homework-juggling, the story is finally complete. I cannot express how grateful I am to all the iGlobe staff for providing this opportunity to share my passion for writing. I can say with upmost certainty that this story never would have been finished had it not been for this amazing newspaper. Also, to all of you who commented on previous chapters, your remarks were very encouraging. I’m so lucky to have fellow iGlobers like you!J
Write on, my friends!
~Christina R.