Back in Drake's Ridge something was happening in the dead of night while everyone was sleeping. Something no one expected, a chant started to echo in every corner of the quiet town. A chant that was created out of dark magic which found its way to the dried out heart of the fallen Dragoon and then it started beating. Two familiar hands opened up the case then picked up the dried out beating heart. The woman lifted the heart up closer to her face...Juniper but it didn't really feel like her, her body and mind wasn't her own at all anymore, then a wicked smile appeared on the corners of her pale lips...
I pulled myself out of sleep and started to breath hard. Running my thin fingers through my damp hair. 'No way, that could not have been Jun's fate.' I thought to myself in the back of my mind. I looked around noticing it was still in the middle of the night, the fire was starting to die down finally and the Prince and Hajime were fast asleep at least that's what I thought.
I stood up trying to stay quiet as much as possible and walked off into the dense, darkened woods. I jumped up into a tall tree and sat down on a large branch, sitting down just trying to calm my mind, until a soft gust of wind hit me from behind.
"Hey Ares...you ok?"
I turned my head to see Hajime with his wings folded to his exposed back, his black twisted horns out, fangs replaced his canines, exposed skin speckled with dragon scales and his hands turned to claws. After he asked that I just turned my head away and silently shook my head.
"What's wrong?" Hajime asked with those bright red eyes of his filled with concern while his wings faded into his back.
I sighed. "I had a nightmare, more like a...vision."
"What do you mean?"
"Have you ever heard of the Fate Elves?" I glanced over to the Dragoon sitting next to me on the branch.
"I believe I have. Are they a very rare race of Elves who are born every 100 years?"
"Yes but they are seen as one of the most powerful and dangerous race because they can see the fate or futures of those who they are close to and those who they lay a finger on."
Hajime's face contourted with confusion. "Ok but, why do you ask?"
"Well...I am one those rare Elves." I raised my head up to the leafed branced covered sky. " I saw the fate...of Jun, it was dark and evil. Everything that Jun is not but I felt something wrong, heard something like a chant."
"What was Jun doing in the future
you saw?"
"Stalking around through the shadows of the Dragon's Blood Inn, the heart was...beating without circulating blood then she picked it up in her hands with this most horrid, menacing smile on her face." A single tear ran down my cheek. "Jun didn't look like herself at all she looked evil...not my dear friend." I felt his arms around me and pulled me into an embrace which pulled a gasp out of me.
"Do not worry we'll figure this out together alright?" Hajime started to stroke my hair which was fully down in all its wavy glory.
I slowly raised my head up feeling my heart racing in my rib cage I bet he could too because without a second thought Hajime slipped his clawed hand through my hair and rested it on my cheek. I closed my eyes then Hajime smiled and lowered his head softly pressing a butterfly kiss on my lips. We glanced at each other then I pressed my lips into his hard with my arms around his neck which caught Hajime by surprise, after a second his body relaxed and melted with mine. His tongue started to explore the inside of my mouth which felt amazing by the way.
Twenty minutes later the makeout event ended with us on the ground while Hajime holding my hands over my head on the trunk of the tree we were just sitting on. After Hajime pressed his lips onto the sweet spot on my neck which brought out soft gasp out of my mouth and his free clawed hand wrapped around the small of my back something forced itself into my mind, it was Jun putting the...dried, ancient heart into Hajime. No, no, no, that can't be right, right? When Hajime finally opened his eyes they were pitch black with no light in them and a wide grin showing sharp teeth filling his entire mouth. This future scared me so bad I yanked one of my hands away from him resting it on his chest.
Hajime glanced up at me from my neck.
"Hajime, l-lets stop for...tonight I kept my head down so he doesn't see the horrified look on my face.
"Yes, of course. But what is wrong?" The man let go my other wrist and stroked my cheek after.
I don't want to tell him and make him worry, so I have to keep what I saw to myself for now. "Its nothing, its going a little too quickly. Can we cuddle for now? I'm just tired."
Hajime smiled lovingly. "Of course we can." I don't think he realizes anything is up but those eyes of his says something completely different though.
Hajime wrapped his arms around my middle and the small of my back holding me close while we slept.
While me and my companions were still sleeping under the cover of the darkened trees miles away down in Drake's Ridge a thick blanket of a fog like darkness over the Dragon's Blood Inn seeping into the dried out heart. While that was going on a soft chant started to flow through the wind until it hit the ears of Juniper, her eyes fluttered open to show souless black orbs. She stood up out of bed then left the house in nothing but her night gown. Juniper started to gracefully walked to the Inn like she was being pulled by an invisible string.
After opening the door the woman walked right through the thick shadows like they were old friends, straight to the clear case where the once dried up, still heart now beating again without blood but with the darkness around it. Taking the lid off, sat it down wrapped both hands around shriveled heart and held ir.
She smiled menacingly down at the heart she held. Taking out a bottle with a dark red almost black inky substance, she tilted the bottle over the heart and let a drop of the substance drip on the heart. The drip obsorbed into the shriveled thing then it lifted out of her hand and flew into the middle of the Inn sucking it in turning it into a shadow of its former self.
The shadow dragon roared exploding the Inn into splinters. Jun smiled and then started to laugh.
I woke up gasping and sat straight up soaked in sweat. "What the hell?" I spoke softly.
"Hey, your finally awake."
I heard a familiar voice so I looked up to see Leon bathed in the first morning's sunlight that was shinning through the leaves. "Um yeah." I stood up letting out a heavy sigh.
Leon walked up behind me and rest his hands on my shoulders. "Are you ok Ares?"
I nodded my head. "It was just a...bad dream."
The Prince surprised me by wrapping one of his arms around the lower part of my belly. Then rested his closed mouth on my neck.
"Leon what are...you..." My face burned with a strawberry pink, then a twig snapped next to us then my snapped up to see Hajime standing then. I pulled away from Leon and slowly walked up to Hajime.
Hajime sighed grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into an embrace. I sighed and rested my head on his chest, with his right arm around my lower back and the other one the back of my head keeping me close like he's protecting me.
"Come on, we need to get going."
Leon nodded his head and followed us to where the horses where waiting.
Hours have passed since we started our travel to the Dark Wood to find the blind Witch called Kazi and convince her to help us. But why do I have this feeling that this whole thing isn't going to go well as we hope it will? I just hope its just my imagination running wild again. I mentally shook my head to push the thought to the back of my mind and just kept pushing on.