Chapter 12
Keira was up before the first cock announced the new day, slipping out of the house in the darkness and rushing towards the river. Aaron was waiting for her in the shadows around the old mill, where the light of the early morning sun glanced off the stones and turned them to glowing amber. She rushed into his outstretched arms, reveling in his warmth as he drew her close and kissed her with a savage intensity that took her breath away but left her gasping for more. His eyes blazed gold as he stared at her, his hand trailing over her face and along her neck before slipping down her back to draw her closer to him. He kissed her again, and this time he took his time exploring her in a leisurely but thorough manner, his strong arms holding her upright when her trembling legs threatened to give way. He pulled away and drew her down to the ground, wrapping his arm around her while he leaned against the weathered stone of the abandoned building. The dew had made the ground damp, but Aaron’s unusual heat quickly worked its way through her chilled skin.
“Aaron, what do you know about the other dragon?” Keira asked, leaning her head against shoulder.
Aaron was silent for a while, and Keira wondered whether he was even going to answer her, but when he finally did, it was with careful consideration of each word.
“Keira, in order for me to answer that question, I think I need to tell you about my people, and where we come from.” He drew in a deep breath, before releasing it in a long stream of hot air that tickled Keira’s ear.
“There weren’t always dragons,” he said. “We are creatures under a curse. It happened a very long time ago, so long ago we’ve lost count of the passing years, but we haven’t forgotten how it all started. A small tribe of my ancestors crossed over plains and hills to make a new home for themselves in the mountains. They were a tough and wiry people, well prepared for the formidable challenges life in the mountains would present. What they weren’t prepared for was the animosity of the people who lived in the nearest village. It wasn’t a problem at first, and the tribesmen traded with the villagers for food and produce, but as time went on, the villagers grew jealous. The tribe were skilled craftsman, and they mined the mountain for precious metals, using it to create jewelry of outstanding beauty, plates etched with intricate designs, and vases of great value. Word of their fine craftsmanship soon spread, and people came from far and wide to seek them out and buy their wares.
“Meanwhile, the people in the village struggled for their meagre existence, despite the new influx of trade. When they saw the wealth of the miners, they grew angry. They inflated their prices for basic goods and services, but rather than pay the exorbitant amounts, the tribe took their trade to the next town. At that, the villagers were furious, and they decided to rid themselves of the miners. They thought that if they made life unpleasant enough, the miners would leave, so they taunted and mocked them whenever they came into the village. When these insults were ignored, they became violent. They manhandled the women, until they were too afraid to travel anywhere near the village; they beat up the men, unless they traveled in groups. The miners started to avoid the village altogether, but that just incensed the villagers even further. Things came to a head when two children disappeared. Their dead bodies were discovered two weeks later.” Aaron paused as he stroked Keira’s arm absentmindedly.
“That’s terrible,” she said.
“The villagers grew bolder and started harassing the traders and merchants that traveled through the village to buy the miners’ wares, until they, too, began to stay away. In their jealousy, the villagers were destroying their very livelihood! There were those amongst the miners who were ready to arm themselves and fight the villagers – even kill them if necessary – but the tribe elders sought a different solution. They pleaded with the Creator to help them, and he heard their plea. He gave them the ability to transform themselves so that they could travel far and wide to sell their wares, and natural armor to protect them from those who would harm them. But the Creator warned the miners never to use their great strength in anger. They must never seek revenge against the villagers, and must only use their new strength and power to protect themselves, never to hurt the innocent.
“The miners were still human, but they had been given the ability to take on dragon form. It didn’t take long for the villagers to realize that they were now fighting a far more formidable foe, creatures that could kill them in an instant. They repented of their terrible deeds, and pleaded with the mountain people to leave them in peace.
“For many years,” he continued, “the miners and villagers did live in peace, and the time came when the mountain people no longer needed to take on their dragon forms. But power is a difficult thing to surrender, and the miners continued to transform. Then one day the unthinkable happened.”
“What happened?” Keira asked softly when Aaron fell silent.
He drew in a deep breath. “Even though many years had passed, hatred burned in the hearts of some of the miners towards the villagers for what they’d done. One day, a group of mountain men took on their dragon forms and attacked the village, killing men, women and children, before looting their houses and heading back to the mountains with their plunder. The Creator was enraged with the miners, and as punishment he took away their humanity, making them fully dragon. They could still take on human form, but only for a few days, or they would weaken to the point of death.
“Because they had killed the people of the village, they were forced to feed on the dead. Dragons have been predators ever since, hunting humans in order to survive. The Creator also cursed the dragon women with childlessness, because they had done nothing to stop their men from attacking the village. So only a human woman can bear a dragon child.”
“Oh, Aaron,” Keira whispered, gently placing her hand on Aaron’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
“Sshh,” he replied, smiling down at her. “Don’t be sad. I do not regret what I am. And I would never have found you if I were not a dragon.
“Like the men of old, dragons have extraordinarily long lives,” Aaron continued. “The Creator wanted to give them plenty of time to repent of their wicked actions, and indeed they soon realized how wrong they’d been to take the lives of the villagers. But the curse remained, and the hearts of many dragons hardened. They abandoned their human natures completely and embraced evil, quickly becoming the monsters they are known to be.”
“Dragons are not monsters, Aaron,” Keira protested, shaking her head. Aaron smiled bleakly before continuing.
“You know the stories of dragons abducting beautiful maidens? In days gone by, many dragon men abducted young women in order to mate with them, so they could bear a dragon child, but once the child was old enough it was taken from the mother, who was then abandoned, or worse. The dragon children were raised by dragons who no longer retained any humanity, and the children learnt nothing about love, kindness towards others or goodness.”
“But that’s not you!” exclaimed Keira. “You haven’t done those things.”
“Are you so sure, my sweet?” asked Aaron softly. “Do you know me so well that you can be certain I haven’t?”
Keira felt ill, but she was emphatic in her response. “Yes,” she said. “I may not have known you for long, but you’re a good man, Aaron, and I refuse to believe that you’ve done such dreadful things.” She looked at Aaron steadily as she spoke, willing him to see her belief in him.
“I haven’t abducted any maidens, nor got them with child,” he said. “And I believe that it is possible for a dragon man to fall in love with a human woman, choosing to spend his life with her and committing himself to her happiness. In fact, the dragon who lived in these mountains before was one of those. He was my father, and the woman that was killed was my mother.”
Keira stared at Aaron. “Your mother?”
Aaron nodded, his smile grim as he continued his story.
“My father was living at Storbrook Castle when he met my mother,” he said. “Her name was Eleanor, a
nd she came from your village, the only child of elderly parents. She and my father fell in love and were married, but there was a young man in the village who also loved Eleanor. He was awkward, often teased because he stuttered and was a little slow. My mother was one of the few people who was kind to him, and somehow he convinced himself that my mother returned his love. His name was Arnold Hobbes.”
Keira’s eyes widened in surprise. “Like Reeve Hobbes?”
“Yes, Reeve Hobbes is his descendant.” Aaron smiled at her look of shock before continuing.
“He eventually married, but always pined for Eleanor, certain that she would’ve learned to love him if only my father had never come along. My mother visited the village regularly, my father carrying her on his back and landing outside the village before changing form. But he grew careless, and one day he landed too close to the village. Close enough that Arnold saw my mother with the dragon. He saw my mother smile at him, and touch him. He did not know that the dragon and Eleanor’s human husband were one and the same, but still, I can only suppose that a jealousy so fierce flared up in him, because he grabbed a branch lying on the ground and ran towards her, brandishing the branch. I’m not sure if he was aiming for my mother or my father, but my father quickly swung my mother away and placed himself between her and Arnold. He was still running at full speed towards them when she again stepped into Arnold’s path.” Aaron shook his head in disbelief.
“I cannot imagine why she did it,” he said, “perhaps she thought she could reason with Arnold – but that action sealed her fate. Arnold didn’t pause, and the blow he dealt to her head proved to be fatal. I know all of this because I came upon the scene as Arnold was bearing down on my parents. I was just a young dragon of thirty-two years and had come into the village with them, but had landed further afield.
“My father fell beside my mother, his claws ripping open the soft skin on his chest, drawing his blood. Dragon’s blood is very powerful, and can heal many wounds, but the blow my mother sustained was fatal. She died before his blood was even on her lips.” Aaron drew in a deep breath, his eyes far away. “I can still remember the roar of utter anguish that poured from him when he realized she was dead. The flames rolled non-stop from his mouth, setting everything around him alight.”
Aaron paused for a moment, his voice mirroring the anguish of those memories while his face reflected his pain. “In those few moments Arnold collected his wits enough to realize that he could not defend himself against a dragon, and he ran back to the village shouting that the dragon had killed my mother. When the villagers came out, armed with whatever weapons they could find, my father lost his mind. The villagers should not have been able to defeat him, but in his anguish he was an easy target. He did nothing to defend himself. Instead he roared out his pain, burning down half the village in the process. The villagers attacked him with whatever they could find – axes, rakes, pitchforks. A few had spears, which they drove into his underbelly, again and again. The villagers were triumphant as they killed my father, slowly and painfully. They chose to forget that my father had never once before used his strength against the village.” Aaron’s forehead furrowed in anger, and his voice was hard.
“Of course, Arnold told everyone that it was the dragon that’d killed my mother, while he’d been trying to save her. He proclaimed far and wide that he’d attacked the dragon, weakening him, before he sounded the alarm in the village. How quickly people believe what they want to believe! Arnold, who’d been weak and cowardly all his life, was lauded as a hero, while my father was vilified and slandered as a monster.”
Aaron stopped and passed a hand over his eyes. Keira could feel the tension building in the arms still holding her as he remembered the events of that day. Leaning forward, she gently pulled his hand away from his face, and held it in her own as she looked deep into his eyes. Aaron stared at her for a moment, then buried his hand in the hair at her neck and pulled her lips to his. His touch was rough, and his kiss was fierce and savage. Keira stiffened in momentary shock, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, opening her mouth to him and boldly exploring his with her tongue. She knew, instinctively, that his kiss was born of a primitive, physical need, and when he groaned at her response, she slid one hand down his back to pull him closer still. His hands were all over her – in her hair, on her back, sliding down her arm – and when he lifted her onto his lap, her body molded to his. It was Aaron who finally broke the kiss, leaving Keira panting for breath, as he rested his forehead against hers.
“Ah, Keira,” he whispered, “I want you so much. You’ve touched me in a way I never thought possible. You’ve given me something to live for – something better than the anger that has consumed me for so many years. I was so angry when my parents died, that I chose to deny my human nature. I hated all humanity for a long time, thinking that all humans were equally evil, and therefore equally responsible for my parents’ deaths. For years I refused to take on human form. I could feel the monster growing in me, and I gave myself over to the beast, glad of the darkness that I could feel spreading through my being. So little of my humanity still remained.” Aaron stopped for a moment, before adding in a whisper, “My sweet Keira, you said I wasn’t a monster, but if I told you some of the things I did, you’d hate me forever.”
“Never,” Keira replied, her voice just as low. “I may hate some of the things you did, but I could never hate you. Don’t you know that I love you?”
“Keira,” he whispered, lifting his face and gazing into her eyes. “As I love you.” His eyes were a bright, burning gold, the light reflecting onto her skin, bathing her face in a golden glow. “When I came to Storbrook, it was to face my memories. I’d become almost a total monster, with only the barest shreds of my humanity remaining as I raged against all humans, whether they were man, woman or child – but somehow, a few years ago, I started to remember. Not the pain of my parents’ death, but the joy of their living. They’d lived fully and loved completely. In my anger, I had focused only on the pain, forgetting the lessons of joy. Slowly I began to realize that I was shaming their memory by turning my back on my humanity, and so I started looking for good amongst humans.” Aaron paused as he pushed a loose lock of hair behind Keira’s ear, his hand lingering on her neck.
“And to my surprise, when I started to open my eyes to the world around me, I found what I was looking for. I realized that the wicked actions of some could not be held against all. And that I needed to find the humanity in myself once again if I was ever to have a hope of happiness. It has been a slow and painful journey, and it brought me to the place where I knew both pain and joy. I came, intending to stay for a short while – just long enough to deal with the memories captured in the very walls of Storbrook. I didn’t plan to come into the village, or seek out the people here, and I was already preparing to leave when I first saw you. The only reason I came to the market that day was to find you, because I was fascinated by your courage in the face of potential danger. I had to learn more about this remarkable woman, and not much time passed before I was thoroughly captivated, my heart ensnared.”
Aaron bent down and kissed her, his grip tightening as her hands made their way up his back and brushed against the ridges where his wings would emerge before winding into his hair. The brush of his tongue against hers sent shivers down her spine, and when he moved his lips away from hers, they trailed along her jaw and down to her shoulder. A faint rustling sound came from a clump of nearby bushes, and Aaron lifted his head, before sighing in frustration.
“Your sister is here, my sweet,” he whispered into her hair.
“How –” she started, but he answered before she finished.
“I can smell her scent. Nose of a dragon,” he said, tapping the side of his nose with a finger. “You smell like summer – the scent of jasmine wafting through the warm air.” His breath was warm against her neck. “I get very distracted when I’m with you, but I believe Anna has been eavesdropping.” He sig
hed in frustration, then rose to his feet, pulling Keira along with him.