20. Goodbye

*”NO!” Ikyn looked distraught, reaching for me as if I would be gone forever. His voice still echoes. Faintly, but it is there. Here?*

*Where is here? Will I not be gone forever?*

*”Who said that?”*

*No one.*

*That’s right. No one is here. Am I dead?*

*No.*

*Of course not. If I were, I wouldn’t be having these thoughts… Would I?*

*What is death?*

I feel sore, but I’m not sure what from. *Wait. That’s right. I fell into the abyss. Into the darkness I went. Why did I let go of Ikyn? Why was he trying so hard to hold on to me when he brought me here in the first place?*

*”Eira, you came.”*

*That voice. I know that voice. Whose voice is it?* “H-hello?” My voice comes out groggy and withered. Suddenly, my head pounds as if I had been hit by a brick. *No. I fell into the abyss.*

Slowly, I blink open my eyes. However, I am not greeted by darkness. I am surrounded by a mist that sparkles like fireflies in the night. The mist swirls around me as if it were alive. I reach out for the mist, but it pulls away from me.

*”Eira,”* the voice sounds in my ear.

I turn my head, but still I am alone. Instead, the mist flows past me, inches from my face. “Hello? Is someone there?”

*There’s that chuckle again. “Hello, Princess Eira.”* The voice continues to chuckle.

He stands before me, a man who looks so much like Ikyn, yet completely different. This man has darker, more leathery skin. Deeper scars taint his body. He has the same dark, menacing eyes, though his hair is slicked back and gray. “Hello, Eira,” the man chuckles. *I know that voice*. He moves closer to me and I realize he’s made of the strange glowing mist. I reach out to touch him, but he recoils. “Now, now, Eira,” he tuts. “It is rude to touch things that don’t belong to you.” The mist-form of his body disperses. I search the darkness for him. Suddenly, his voice is whispering in my ear, “Eira… You are a pretty thing, I’ll give my son that. But you will not be able to save him.”

“I won’t?” I ask, turning to face him, finding nothing yet again. “Where are you?”

His raspy chuckle echoes throughout the abyss I’ve fallen into.

“Who are you?”

“*That* is a far better question, my dear,” he hums, reappearing seated across from me. “*You can call me Dragon Lord, though I am not much of a dragon anymore.*” He gestures to himself, the mist swirling with every move he makes. “*I am surprised my Vaemrath has not told you of me.*”

My head pangs. Reaching to comfort the throbbing, it disappears as suddenly as it appeared. I stifle a groan, looking at the Dragon Lord before me. “You are not what I expected.”

His deep, brisk laugh sends unwelcome chills down my spine. *“What did you expect, little girl?”* Feeling his breath in my ear, I try to claw at him, yet I am met with nothing but mist. *”Eira,”* his voice taunts, his body now apparating before me. *“I would try to play nice if I were you. There really is no exit here. Not unless Ikyn decides to come down here to save you.”* The Dragon Lord bends down, keeping his face inches from mine. As I try to look away, he grabs the back of my head, pulling my hair to make me look at him. *“He won’t save you,”* he spits. *“Ikyn is still too weak. You’ll see, in time,”* throwing my head back, the Dragon Lord stands to look down at me. *“Soon, he will lose all of his humanity. There will be nothing you can do to stop it.”*

“Then why am I down here?”

*”Just a precaution,”* he taunts, yet again, wickedly.

*Okay, so I’m not alone, the Dragon Lord himself has hinted there might be something I am able to do to save Ikyn, but I am still stuck in this abyss. Great.* My head pounds. Dizziness consumes me.

*”Another precaution: it is time for you to sleep, Princess.”* And to sleep I fall. I have a dream that feels so real, I want to believe it to be true…

*The day of the wedding. Or what I’d have expected it to be like, anyway. A thin white veil covers my face, held to my head with an onyx crown adorned with Diamonds, Amethyst, and Rubies. My father holds out his hand for me to take. My mother hands me my bouquet of Glory of the Snow, Snowdrops, Edelweiss, and White Butterfly Ginger Lilies. A single red Rose stands at the center, representing my union with the current Dragon Lord, Ikyn.*

*The music plays and I watch as my mother makes her way down the aisle before me, then my brother, holding the rings. My sisters each give me a kiss as they, too, follow down the aisle to decorate the marbled floor with flower petals and rice. Finally, the pause. The music transitions and my father gently squeezes my arm, letting me know it’s time to go. Taking a deep breath, I take my first step towards my future.*

*My father hands me to Ikyn, handing my bouquet to my mother. However, when Ikyn removes my veil, he is not there. Looking around, I am not in the dragon lands anymore. I am home. I am in the grand chapel for all of my kingdom to see. The man before me is not Ikyn, but Prince Monty, smiling down at me. And here, no dragon is to be seen.*

*”Where are all the dragons?” I ask, fear building in my gut. Suddenly the scene changes before me. No longer in my wedding dress, my crown gone, dead bodies scatter around me in an open field. Behind me, the kingdoms have come together, but each of our castles are completely destroyed. Our lands are desolate. Dragons roam the sky and I am the sole survivor.*

*Ikyn approaches me with a fire in his eye. There is no comforting warmth to them. He smiles a sinister grin, looking much like the Dragon Lord before him. “Well, well, well,” he tuts. “Look who has finally awoken.” He approaches me slowly, transforming his hand to a dragon claw. “I saved the best for last, My Queen.” Snickering, he drags his claw against my throat. As I drown in my own blood, I can feel the blood run down my neck. The scene around me becomes blurry. The only sight I can focus on are his leather clad feet standing in a pool of red as my head hits the ground and darkness consumes me.*