Darkness.
Senseless.
Quietness.
Lonliness.
Lorek was surrounded by black. The last thing he remembered was......wait....he couldn't remember anything.
"Hello?" He called.
"Is there anyone there?"
"There....." An echo responded.
Lorek tried to stand up. It was so dark that Lorek felt wasn't sure if he was even standing up straight. He slowly, carefully inched forward. He cautiously felt around in the darkness. His hand came in contact with something squishy and warm. He snatched his hand back and walked a few steps backward only to walk into another warm squishy object.
"Okay, what is going on here?"
A growl answered.
Suddenly a bright light flashed and illuminated the space Lorek was in.
He was surrounded by tall, red pillars that appeared to be made of wet sponge. They stretched above Lorek so high that he wasn't sure where they stopped. He was standing in a small room with rounded walls and no roof. It was sort of like a cave. It was almost like a dream because some details were clear and others were fuzzy. He heard the growl again and spun around quickly to find a strange looking creature. His vision was fuzzy when he looked at it. The creature lunged forward. Lorek tried to jump away but he was too late.
Jade opened her eyes slowly. The bright glare of the sun slipping into her vision. She spat out sand and felt more beneath her body remembering the beach, and the spell, and...Lorek! She tried to sit up and felt a surge of pain in her neck. She cried out and felt back clutching her neck. Her head started to pound and the pain was unbearable. The feeling of fire exploded up her spine and she blacked out again.
Lorek was dragged away, the teeth of the beast penatrating his shirt. He tried to claw at the beast but he was too far behind. As he was being dragged he spoted something shiny passing by. He grabbed it and yelped. In his hand was a shard of glass the size of a quarter. It was small enough to cause pain without being knocked out he thought. He carefully tucked the peice in his shirt pocket. Only to realize later that it wasn't such a good idea.
Jade woke up again, when she opened her eyes everything was black. Her neck was throbbing and she couldn't feel her hands. She tried to call for help but she was too weak. Thoughts raced through her mind. Was she paralysed? Blind? What was going on? She tried to move her hands around and found that she could control her hands even though she couldn't feel them. She slowly reached up and twined her fingers behind her neck, creating a make shift brace. Her fingers felt weird and rubbery like when they "fall asleep". She tried to sit up without using her hands and keeping them around her neck but with the constant running and not much sleep she had barely any energy. She would just have to jump up fast and try not to pass out from the pain again. She let her head hang whichever way it wanted and used her hands to lift herself up. The pain was just as unbearable as before. White sparks flooded her vision and threatened to make her pass out again. She took a shaky breath and stood up. The pain shot through her neck and her head began to pound once more. She wimpered and collapsed, still consious, into the purple claws of a dragon who had swooped down at the last moment.
"Celestial?" She asked weakly.
"Jade are you alright." He responded quietly confirming her question.
"I, I can't see and my neck hurts. What about Lorek?!" She said remembering the spell.
"That's probably because it is night. I already took Lorek back to his hut. What were you two doing?" Celestial answered.
"Oh no....no, no, no.....we were supposed to be on Earth by now and I told him the remembering spell was dangerous." Jade said franticly flaring up the pain in her neck. "Ahhg."
"We need to do something about that neck pain. You were having trouble standing." Celestial asked looking as concerned as a dragon can.
"Yeah, my neck feels like there is a knife jabbed in it." Jade said.
"It probably has something to do with the extremity of the spell." Celstial replied.
"Wait does Lorek's neck hurt to?" Jade asked.
"Lorek.....never woke up." Celestial said sadly.
"Where is he I need to see him!" Jade said.
"He is in his hut, I will take you to him after we do something about your neck." Celestial said. He set Jade down on the soft sand of the beach. Then he flew into the forest. Celestial returned several minutes later with giant leaves, long plant strands, bark, and a variety of other materials. He set some of the bark into a pile and blew a small flame onto it which flared up into a crackling fire.
"Wait aren't those exoctic plants?" Jade asked finally being able to see Celestial.
"Yes, this is the Earthen Forest. It contains all the types of plants from Earth. By magic they all survive with the same conditions and temperatures." Celestial explained. He dumped the materials onto the sand and began to work. He lifted his claws, closed his eyes, and seemed to concentrate very hard. The warm fire illuminated his snout and reflected in his eyes. He would have looked majestic but his serious expression was so funny that Jade started to giggle. He opened one eye with a confused but entertained expression.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"Nothing." Jade said trying to muffle her laughter and hold her neck at the same time.
"That's what I thought." Celestial said and regained comcentration. Slowly the objects began to float of the sand. The big leaf ripped itself into a thick, rectangular piece. The piece floated over toward Jade and began to wrap gently around the back of her neck. She quickly removed her hands. Next, the bark broke into pieces the same length of the leaf. The bark pieces stuck to the leaf like reinforcements. The long, string-like leaf wraps around Jade's neck losely enough to let her breath but securing the makeshift brace. Celestial opened his eyes and surveyed the work. It was excellent. Celestial conjured a mirror to let Jade look at the brace. It supported her neck and took away most of the shooting pain.
"Thanks Celestial." Jade said in awe. "This is amazing."
"Thank you. Now you wanted to go see Lorek?"
The beast dragged Lorek into a cell and threw him on the floor. It barred the entrance and fled. Lorek ran to the bars and shook them hoping to possibly break them. This was a dream wasn't it? Surely anything was possible then. Suddenly, a bright flash of white blinded Lorek and he fell into darkness once more.
Jade sat on a chair next to the bed Lorek was laying on searching for a sign that he was okay. It was just the two of them in the hut. She hoped that they would be able to get back to Earth soon, but at this rate it might take a while. She wished she could cast a spell that moved time forward. Those spells were even more dangerous than remembering spells though. Soon they would return to Earth. Soon all would be as it was...except with the added benefit of Lorek and dragons. The rest of the dragon were sleeping. The stars were twinking overhead. Jade could see the night sky out the sun roof of the hut. Lorek was always so creative. She liked that. She continued to think about the things she liked about him. His michevious smile. His jokes. She watched his expressionless face as he layed there. She studied his face, his eyes, his hair, his lips. Her gaze lingered longer on his lips and she blushed when she realized it. She felt like someone was watching her. She turned around to see no one at the door. Hailey and Celestial were flying above the trees in the distance. She smiled played on her face at the thought of both of them. The only noise was the distant hooting of an owl. She turned her attention back to Lorek who had his eyes open watching her. She jumped.
"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?" He said as he sat up slowly wincing at the pain. There was that smile again.
"Lorek?..your...."She was cutoff as he reached up and touched her face sliding his hand down to her chin. He held her gaze for a moment and then pulled her toward him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned in and kissed her. But this kiss was different, it was filled with more passion then any other. She knew he loved her more than words and she felt the same.
