Melina did not want to believe she had been fooled because she vividly remembered seeing the dragon with her eyes, the emotions she felt, the fear, and then the sudden pull toward that creature.
She shook her head. There was no way those were all just illusions. Turning to the wall again, she tiptoed to where it stood. If she had met a white wall down the staircase this morning, and it had repelled her, perhaps this wall she was looking at was also some kind of illusion, right? She asked herself.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes tightly and placed her hand on the wall again like before. Fear gripped her in anticipation of what was coming as she expected the walls to push her away like before but surprisingly, nothing happened. She pulled her hand back in disappointment, her brows etched while she felt a bit of incertitude.
She touched the wall again, this time more gently than before, hoping it would work, but it didn't. She drooped her shoulders in discontent, feeling let down as she had initially come here with eagerness.
She felt the cold breeze of the night blow her while she wrapped her hand that didn't hold the lantern on her body. Waiting for some time to see a bit of change, Melina was annoyed when nothing happened. Hadn't the creature told her she could meet it at nighttime? Had it told her a lie?
But why would it?
As the redhead stood there in confusion, arguing with herself as to whether she had seen the dragon, something struck her; she quickly remembered that the dragon had called itself Kilgharrah and asked her to call it by its name.
Her eyes lit up at the memory and she immediately looked around, trying to be cautious of her surroundings and making sure no one saw her.
So was she supposed to just call out its name?
Melina slightly moved back from the wall, clearing her throat, "Kilgharrah." She called in the lowest voice possible as she heard the subtle echo that came from the room.
There was no response.
She cleared her throat again, "Kilgharrah," this time increasing her pitch a little and still, no reply.
Was this thing expecting her to yell out its name in the middle of the night and get caught?
"KILGHARRAH," This time, the reverberation could be heard loud enough, and Melina's heart skipped a bit, thinking she was going to get caught with how quiet everywhere was, and to her dismay, there was still no response.
Angered, she dropped the lantern to the lampstand in frustration and began to walk out of the alley, her footsteps noisy without her knowledge for she was too provoked to have noticed.
And then, without warning, a gush of wind blew in her face making her cough and close her eyes due to its intensity and the next moment she opened them, she was standing in the dense cave again. Just like before, she waited and held her breath when she saw the mighty creature flying towards her with the thick chains still around her feet. Each flap made from its wings was like a thunderstorm. It was deafening but breathtaking.
Melina closed her ears, hearing the growling and screeching noise as it got closer until it stopped right where its chains allowed it.
"Yes, Melina?" It said looking deep into her soul with its eyes.
The young redhead didn't know how to explain the purity and symphony of the dragon's voice. It was fierce and gentle, a paradox of contrast that awakens the heart and stirs the soul.
"You were looking for me," Kilgharrah said again to draw Melina's attention when she said nothing.
"Nice to see you again." She spoke unintended, and as she didn't know exactly what to say in the presence of this being. It was as if its voice held some sort of enchanter.
"I could say the same. You are brave to come back," it said, blinking at her with an expression one could not read.
"You said I should come back," She said, and Kilgharrah nodded.
"I did. You seemed to have a lot to say and I am ready to answer." It tilted its head to the side waiting for Melina to speak.
Now that she had the opportunity, she didn't exactly know what to say or where to start and she began rubbing her palms.
"U-um...why couldn't I find the staircase that led me here in the morning?" That was the first thing that she wanted to talk about. She had never seen anything like that before.
"Because it was never there," Kilgharrah responded crystal clear and the redhead paused, waiting for her to explain further.
"..."
"I created the illusion for you to follow through. There was never any staircase there. You were being mind-controlled by me." She said in her low, rumbling voice.
Melina's eyes widened at those words. "Illusion?" She asked out loud to see the dragon nod.
"You see..." Kilgharrah attempted to come closer but the chains drew her backwards, making cackling noises and drawing Melina's attention as she gazed at the shackles. Now that she thought about it, why couldn't this mighty creature break these shackles? From her view, it didn't seem very hard to shatter for the dragon's size.
"...I may not be able to use my magic to its fullest because I have been bonded, but that doesn't mean I do not have some ancient tricks up my sleeve." The dragon said and for the first time, Melina saw her smile.
A creepy smile that made her cringe.
"You used magic on me?" Melina asked bewildered.
"Only because I am connected to you. I knew you would be able to break the barrier." Kilgharrah replied and Melina guessed he was talking about the white wall she had seen this morning that threw her back when she touched it.
"The white wall..." she stated. "did I break the wall?" She questioned, more to herself than the dragon.
"Yes, you did. You were the only one capable of breaking it since it was a spell forged with the dragon's blood. That is why I lured you here." She answered the redhead.
Melina's brain went blank for a moment trying to take in this new information she just got.
First of all, if she put two and two together, she just broke a magic spell barrier used to hide and cage a dragon. And the dragon had used a magical illusion to bring her here. And it claimed the magic she broke was forged with a dragon's blood. Did that mean she was a dragon as well?
Her heart leapt at the thought and she looked at her hands in fear. Perhaps King Albert had been right. She was more than a witch. She was a dragon!
"Oh silly..." Kilgharrah chuckled seeing her reaction. "You're not a dragon." He assured her and saw the relief on Melina's face.
But then, it didn't last long as she remembered the Savannah King had called her a witch, even claiming she was something worse.
Her blood ran cold as she looked at the dragon with fear of what was to come.
"Then what am I?" She asked with a slight dread, her heart thumping in her chest.