Water dripped into my parted lips, a gentle stream flowing down through my throat as it began reviving my weary body. For the first time in ages, I can feel my heart pulsing in a steady rhythm, fueled by the warmth I feel on my skin. Like a blossom unfolding at dawn, my eyelids slowly flutter open just as hope filled my chest, wondering if this is what heaven feels like.
"Iris?" that voice called out again, warm and real this time, laced with concern.
I open my eyes to find him looking down at me, my savior. His head covers my view of the sun, a perfect shade that makes him look like he is wearing a crown made of sun rays as I gazed up at him in awe. Are we dead?
"Where..." I tried to say but ended up breaking into a fit of coughs. It turns out my throat still feels awfully parched, despite the water. My body, still helplessly weak as I can't even bring myself to sit. So I just lie there on some hard, yet familiar cushion. This certainly isn't the grass that I'm laying on, or I would know, having been falling asleep on a pile of hay for days.
"Easy, easy..." he gently laid me back down on his lap. "We have to make sure that you're well enough to fly home."
"Fly?" I croaked, coughing a little. What, am I going to sprout wings on my back now?
His lips thinned at my question, as if he couldn't believe what he's hearing. "Don't tell me you don't remember..."
"Remember what?" I asked, my throat feeling like it was dragged through the desert.
He looks at me with those dark, worried eyes of his and for the life of me, I can't seem to remember his name. His eyebrows scrunched in the middle with concern, making me itch to touch it, have my finger trace its crease all the way to his sculpted nose. He looks like a conqueror with his dark hair and dark eyes, promising power and his skin, tan from the sun. As if he had spent more time on battlefields than within the walls of his castle.
Gently cradling the back of my neck to tip the edge of the bottle to my lips, I relish in the feeling of the water flowing down my throat, not letting a single drop go to waste. I wasn't looking when he tears his away from me to ask someone, "Would she be well enough to fly?"
'What's this about flying?' I wanted to ask but was too focused on gulping the entire thing. I can already feel my stomach cease its groaning, now that it's bloated with water.
"For now, though I highly suggest a ride back would be better." a stern, female voice answered.
"No, the faster I can bring her back home, the quicker she'd be able to receive the care she needs." he argued, earning an eye roll from the woman. I didn't have to look to know, I can feel it. Something tells me I must've been at the receiving end quite a few times if I can detect something as small as this.
"Then I suggest you wrap her up nicely," she said, shooting a pointed look at me just as I finish the entire bottle. "We wouldn't want her to arrive back naked."
Curious, I look down and was about to freak out at the state of my undress until he pulls me closer, rubbing a soothing circle on my back to keep me from scrambling away from him. He must've shot her a glare, because I can feel that too.
"Iris," he murmurs, his voice low and maddeningly calm, "it's nothing I haven't seen before." His lips curve, not in a smile though, but something darker, like he's recalling some fond memory.
My eyes snap wide at the audacity. Heat prickles across my skin at his challenge, so I press my hand to his chest to push him away but he catches my wrist. His fingers wrapped around it with a touch too firm, too familiar.
"For fuck's sake," he breathes, leaning in until his mouth brushes the shell of my ear, "I'm your husband."
A shiver slides down my spine before I can stop it.
"You wish," I rasped, trying to keep my voice steady but it just sounds rough and uneven, like it's been dragged over gravel. "I'd remember if I was married."
"Defiant as always, my bride," he murmurs, eyes dark with promise. "Don't worry, once we're home and you've gotten your strength back, I promise that I'll remind you."
I didn't even notice that he was wrapping his dark blue cave tighter around me, securing it with a tight knot in the front until I looked down.
"I hadn't thought to bring an extra dress," he confessed, his voice turning softer this time, "I came as soon as I figured out your location."
"Was I kidnapped?" I asked softly. All this time, I had thought I had committed some terrible crime that had me wrecked with guilt.
"Yes," he said, shifting his grip, sliding his hand from the back of my neck to my back, practically forcing me to wrap my arms around his neck, holding him tight as his other hand lifts me by the back of my knees. "you were heading away to visit your family, but you were ambushed on your way there. I knew this too late."
He slowly stands, and I wince at the movement, bracing myself for the pain, but I'm surprised to feel nothing more than a soreness I can handle. He carries me like I weigh nothing, bridal style. I can't help but lean my head on the crook of his neck as if it's the most natural thing to do.
His lips twist when he sees me like this, seeking for his comfort, "We'll be home soon, and you can rest as much as you need."
I nod silently, his voice drifting in and out of my ears as he lets out a series of commands to the leader of his troops, telling him to guide the men back to the castle.
My ears only perked up when his general reported that there were no casualties during my rescue, at least on their end. Though they've caught a few guards guarding the prison tower I was caged in, for questioning. I didn't even know there was anyone outside all this time, what with all the complete silence. I must've been really high up.
I didn't bother listening to the rest until a middle-aged woman appeared from the general's side, dressed in a man's tunic, trousers and boots, a pouch dangling on the side of her brown, leather belt.
"Sir," she approached. She must be the healer, the voice is the same.
The two men turned to face her, causing her to immediately fumble through her pouch and bring out a vial of brown liquid. It looks disgusting but she holds it up to us. "This is for the air sickness she'd experience, since you insist she fly in her condition."
I can feel him frowning without even looking, as if I've memorized his reactions. "Not that she needs it, but alright." he replied, taking the vial out of her hand and placing it in the small pocket of his sleeve, all with one hand. I'm starting to hate them discussing my 'condition' as if I'm not here.
I opened my mouth to retort only to be interrupted by a growl so loud, it vibrated through the field and into my skull. My eardrums were still ringing when my arms flew around his neck, my face hiding in the crook of his neck. I can feel his grip tightening on me. What could possibly produce such a noise? Is it a monster?
"Don't be afraid, you knew her." he whispered into my ear, his voice soothingly soft as he just stood like that, relaxed.
He turns to face the forest, as I quivered in fear. My eyes peeked up to look behind us to find everyone on their knees, heads bowed, as if their real leader was about to walk in. What the hell?
Gathering my courage I turn along with him towards the forest, hidden by the mists. Only then did I feel my eyes widening both with shock and fear.
A silhouette of a dragon cuts through the mists, stomping through the ground spreading its wings and flapping it a few times, sending gusts of wind blowing the mists away to reveal her dark red, majestic scales.
She opens her mouth and lets out another growl, softer this time, less aggressive. If I didn't know better, the dragon looks like she's smiling.
"Vala..." he called out, as she moved closer, "I trust you've had a good meal?"
She lets out a soft, melodic hum of approval.
Vala...why does that sound familiar? "Then let's go home, shall we?"
She bows her head low, body dipping in one fluid, majestic motion as she crouches. The movement is lithe and powerful, like watching the tide pull back before a wave.
He steps to her side, where a saddle is already fastened between the ridges of her spine, as if this was perfectly normal. There is no way…
I gape at him like he's sprouted a second head. So this is what all the fuss was about, 'flying' me back. This is what they meant, literally.
"Before you freak out," he murmured, his voice calm and annoyingly steady, "we've done this more than a dozen times."
I shake my head in disbelief and smack his shoulder, louder than I intended. Everyone's eyes drifted to me questioningly, I could feel it, but I paid no attention to them.
"You're insane!" I rasped, my voice crackling like dried leaves before being reduced into coughing fits from the strain.
"Easy, Iris..." he held me tighter, "I'll tie you up if I have to. This is the fastest way home, and you need to heal."
The dragon, Vala, looks up at us questioningly, wondering what's taking us so long.
Sensing her stare, he turns to her, "Give us a moment."
He turns back to me as I tap his shoulders, "Let me down, let me down, I'll ride instead."
"No, you're not even strong enough to stand, let alone ride." he argued. "Don't be stubborn about this."
I glare at him despite realizing that he's right. He walks towards the saddle, gently placing me on top of the saddle before he climbs up behind me with ease.
The saddle's made for a single person, forcing me to sit on his lap with my legs draped on one side, my arms wrapped tightly around his waist. The fact that we're already moving along with her breathing is already scary enough, I couldn't imagine us being shot up to the sky.
"How long until we arrive?" I asked meekly.
He grinned, his arm steady around my back, his other hand brushing a strand of hair away from my neck. "A few hours, less than a day. You'll love it."
There is an undeniable hardness beneath my thighs, but I pretend not to notice even as a pulse of heat curls low in my belly. Instead, I press closer, tucking my face into the warmth, exposed skin of his neck, causing him to let out a groan, as if in pain.
"Temptress." he murmured, his voice rough under his breath, barely audible if we weren't so close.
I hide my smile, inhaling his natural scent of wind and fresh pines, eyes shut bracing for impact.
His chest rumbles with a low chuckle, the sound vibrating through me.
"Hold tight," he told me.
Then he leans forward, tapping Vala's scales with practiced ease.
She responds instantly, muscles coiling and then, just like that, she leaps into the sky. The ground vanishes beneath us as my stomach lurches and I swallow my scream. All the tension between us is gone, replaced with pure exhilaration as we pass the clouds.
Vala soars across the sky, her dark red wings spread wide like fire-kissed silk upon the clouds.
I can't seem to tear my eyes away from those wings, how her red scales stand out against the cotton-like clouds, looking ablaze against the heavens. Just days ago I was dreaming about being free, yearning for the feeling of sunlight against my skin and now, I'm flying across the skies.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
I nod, my eyes closing, relishing on the feeling of the wind blowing through my exposed skin. I've missed this. I can't help but wonder if we do this often, as he claimed. Perhaps it would explain the sinking, yearning feeling for being in the sky.
"Are you cold?" he asked, checking down on me.
"Not really," I replied softly, clearing my throat. "You've wrapped me up pretty nicely, it seems."
He flashed a warm smile, "Good. I wouldn't want my men to be enticed."
"But I'm disgusting." God knows how long since I've last taken a bath.
"Iris, they're men." he said as if he wasn't one. "Trust me when I say that your stench is the least of their worries."
"You sound like you don't trust your men."
"I do," he replied, his eyes looking ahead, far away with thoughts. "But I'm not taking chances when it comes to your safety."
He remained silent after that and I let him, savoring it. Vala's wings beat against the wind every now and then, creating a soothing rhythm. Surrounded by nothing but the sky, the endless stretch of cotton-like clouds blurring into one another. The air is light and clean, brushing against us until my eyes begin to dry and a wave of drowsiness crept in. I curl closer to him just as my eyelids start to grow heavy.
"Rest, Iris," he said, his voice soothing. "I'll hold onto you, don't worry."
I nod in reply, closing my eyes.
His scent overpowers all and it had never felt more like home. Or at least, I believe, what home would've felt like. Laying my head on his shoulders, body curling deeper with my arms around his waist, for a moment I feel relieved of my burden. Never more at peace, and it scares me of what this could mean.
His grip tightened around me, pulling me close.
"What have they done to you?" he murmured to himself, wondering out loud, concern evident in his tone.
It was the last thing I heard before I succumbed to the drowsiness and let the exhaustion take over me.