Marked By a Dragon

Chapter 15 - Happiness

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~heyy welcome back, enjoy the story, eat some candy!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up to silence, but it was a welcomed one after constantly hearing water on stone for three months. I rolled around on my bed and laughed softly, before getting up and going to my bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, I gasped in shock.

My face was a myriad of blues, yellows, and greens; the fading of one too many bruises. My hair was limp and grimy, smeared with dirt and who knows what else. I was appalled and quickly turned on the shower, stripping as fast as I could and hopping in, not even waiting for the water to get warm in my need to be clean. I watched as dirt and blood mixed together to pour down the drain, horror washing through my body at how unclean I was. I washed my hair, and when I started to swash my body, I marveled at all the marks on my body. I was covered in bruises and small scrapes, but the one thing that grabbed my attention the most was the large, almost tattoo-like burn on my chest. It was in the exact spot that I had thrown an energy ball at Ailden, and I was mortified to find that my actions had caused a permanent scar.

Sighing, I got out and vigorously brushed my teeth, before just staring at myself in the mirror. The bruising was still there, but my face had gone from looking pallid to just pale; I still looked sick but no longer deathly. Oh well there’s only so much one can do I thought to myself, walking out to my room to get dressed. Quickly throwing on some sweats and a long sleeve shirt, I cautiously left my room and headed downstairs. Halfway down the staircase, I started to hear the faint murmur of voices, but they were too quiet to make out clearly. Grumbling to myself about crappy hearing, I followed the murmur to the living room, and what I found was shocking to say the least.

Caij and my mom had their heads together and hands clasped, whispering to one another as bright red flames climbed all over them, each with a small smile on their face. Talon was hanging upside down from the coffee table, a large bruise covering the right side of his face and soft snores coming out of his mouth, making me smile slightly. Finally my eyes travelled over to were Layton sat, her arms wrapped around a figure, their faces so close they could be kissing. I stared for a second, before my eyes widened when I realized who the figure was. The silver hair was unmistakable. Layton was kissing Violet.

“Uh, exactly how long was I asleep for?” my voice was a lot softer than I expected it to be, but it still managed to grab all of the attention in the room. Mom and Caij- no - dad, both turned to look at me, happier than I’d ever seen them, while Layton gasped and pulled back from Violet, a large blush staining her cheeks while Violet just grinned at me, the light glinting off of her sharp teeth. Talon, who had been sleeping, immediately snapped up and rushed to me, gently cupping my face in his hands. All thoughts of my parents, of Layton and Violet, escaped my mind as I looked at Talon.

I could feel the warmth of the flames licking my face, could see from the corner of my eye the bright pink color, but all I was focusing on was a pair of crystal blue eyes.  Brought my hand up and grabbed his face, careful of the bruise he was sporting. Flames instantly ignited, and Talon leaned his face in my hand the way a cat would. His eyes closed and a contented sigh left his lips, before he dragged me into a bone crushing hug. I could feel his chest vibrating as he started “purring” and a small smile came over my face.

“I missed you, please, please, don’t ever leave again, voluntary or not.” Talon breathed into my hair, his arms tightening.

“I won’t, I promise.” I whispered into his chest, before pulling back and placing a soft kiss on his lips. A feeling of intense love instantly filled me and made everything come together. I was home, and I was with my dragon. I pulled back and gave him a bright smile, which he returned in full, planting another chaste kiss on my lips before turning to my family. My parents were smiling brightly at us, as was Violet, while Layton looked happy but cautious.

I grinned and plopped myself down next to her on the couch, Talon trailing after me to sit on the floor, his back pressed against my knees. Violet shared my grin; it was hard to forget the girl was my age, with her small stature and delicate, glass-like features, but the grin she had plastered across her face seemed to make her look older, and a little fiercer due to her sharp teeth being on full display. Layton, on the other hand, looked awkward and shy, something I’d never seen on the loud, raucous girl.

“Soooo…. You and Violet, huh?” I laughed when my question made her blush as she nodded slightly. “That’s cool. Why didn’t you ever tell me you were into girls? I wouldn’t have let you sleep over so much if I had known.” I joked, lightly nudging her arm and grinning. Layton laughed and returned my grin, her eyes happier than I’d ever seen them.

“Please you are nowhere near my type. Too high strung and annoying.” She pushed my shoulder, making me laugh with her. I was glad that, even though a lot had happened with her parents and my absence, that nothing about our friendship had changed. We could still joke, even though we both knew a serious conversation had to be had about what happened with me, with her parents, with everything.

I turned to look at my parents, my smile softening as I looked at them. They looked so happy, and I wondered if that was how me and Talon looked when we were together. “Mom.. Dad. I’m so happy we can be a family now!” I shouted, tears springing to my eyes as I launched myself across the living room at them. Caij looked shocked but happy, and caught me in a bear hug, wrapping his arms around my mom so we ended up being a family sandwich.

This was the kind of stuff I had missed out on as a kid. The warmth from being hugged by two parents, the feeling of security that if anything ever happened to me, my dad would be there and so would my mom. I sighed in content, glad to have this moment of complete bliss with her family. Her complete family. It was a picture perfect, Kodak moment.

Until mine and Caij’s stomachs growled at the same time. A burst of laughter escaped me, and soon everyone was laughing with us. It was good to feel so happy after being in a dark situation for so long. I looked at my family and smiled, glad we were all together. But I knew deep down that what we had encountered was only the beginning. There was a lot to be discussed, to discover, but I knew we would do it together.

As a family.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Author note~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yooooo this is not the end. I realize how end-y this sounds but I promise it's not! so, Yaya more story to come!
plesae read, vote, comment, or just silently enjoy! it's up to you guys!9:
Also I enjoyed all the feedback I got on the previous chapters, thank you guys so much!(:
I'm sorry for any mistakes spellling and grammar wise; those will all be fixed when I start posting the "revised" version.
if you're interested in reading that, I am glad to inform you that it will have a looottt more content; it won't be as rushed either so it will all flow better.
Love ya'll!!(: