The Dragon King

Chapter 2 - Mystery Man

Anna May

He came every night for five nights. Every night, he made me delirious with his touch. A small voice inside of me screamed that he was a stranger and that his touch shouldn't be welcomed, but it was immediately annihilated with a sense of security and familiarity.

The feel of his lips against my skin was like silk slipping through my fingers. His touch was exciting and stirred a longing inside of me that had my heart aching for more.

It was strange. I could never remember his face after I woke up, even if I tried my hardest.

Every time, I woke up in a cold sweat and breathing hard. My body felt feverish from my dream, and what I found even stranger was the fact that I could still feel him on my skin.

My throat felt parched like I had gone days without drinking. Pushing myself into a sitting position, I got out of my bed. My body felt cold, and I shivered almost uncontrollably. I quickly walked to my basket of clothes and pulled out an old college hoodie and black sweatpants.

The second that I stepped out of my bedroom, my mother's eyes looked over my attire.

"It's eighty degrees outside, Anna," she mentioned.

"I know. I'm just not feeling well," I mumbled before walking to sit by the fireplace. She touched my forehead and cheek.

"Geez! You are running a fever!" she exclaimed, crouching down and lifting my face to meet hers. She touched my cheeks and my head, smoothing back my hair.

"I think that I'm coming down with something," I whispered hoarsely.

"You are definitely sick." She sighed before ushering me back to bed. "You need to rest. I'll go to the village doctor and bring you some medicine."

I sighed—too tired to fight her. I got up and walked back to my bed. Along the way, I grabbed an extra blanket to toss over me as I slept.

I woke up again when my mother shook me awake. She sat on the edge of my bed and was urging me to sit up. However, I felt a lot better than this morning.

She touched my forehead and frowned. "Your fever is gone."

I drank the medicinal tea she gave me but winced when I discovered how bitter it was. I tried pushing it away, but she was having none of it. She pushed it back to my lips and lifted for me to finish it all. I gulped it down as fast as I could.

After that, I went several days without another dream. I felt completely fine, but I then started sleepwalking.

The first night, my father found me trying to get out of the cottage. He whispered and helped me back to bed. He asked me the next morning what I was doing, but I only frowned at him because I couldn't remember a thing.

The second night, I got out of the house, but, this time, I made it to the edge of town before my father turned me back around. He carefully led me back to bed.

They started locking the doors at night, practically barricading me in. I can hear their whispers and worries. This was not like me. I did not sleepwalk.

Barricading me in at night worked for a while—until they found me at the shoreline with my feet in the water. My mother snatched me before I could walk further in.

After that incident, they started to get worried. My father tied a protection bracelet around my wrist to keep me from harm or an evil spirit.

I stopped dreaming about this mysterious man, but I couldn't help but experience a feeling of emptiness, almost like I missed him.

One night, I sat by the fireplace with my chin propped on my knees and stared into it. My grandma was sitting nearby, and my parents were in their room.

"How are you feeling?" my grandma asked.

I shrugged. "I'm fine."

My grandma went silent for a while, and I turned my head to look at her. She gave me a sad smile. Confusion flooded me, and I frowned up at her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I have another story to tell you if you want to hear it."

I turned in my seat and settled my head on her lap. She brushed my hair back gently.

"There once was a woman who married the village chief for convenience. He was a bad man who only wanted the prettiest and richest of all. When he caught sight of the woman, he was immediately smitten with her beauty. He went to her father and demanded her hand in marriage. The woman's family was very poor, so they agreed to give their daughter away at a high price. The village chief paid the price and brought her home. He showered her with the most beautiful gems and jewels, but none of that made her happy. She felt empty. She couldn't find herself to love her husband, and part of it had to do with the fact that he had ten other wives in the same household," my grandma started the story.

I sighed and closed my eyes, imagining the story in my mind. My grandma's voice was soothing and sad. It was as if she felt everything that the woman felt.

"She would go to the edge of the water and cry her heart out."

My grandma proceeded to tell me that the woman then saw a man approaching her. He started listening to her and comforting her. Days went by, and the woman started falling in love with the mysterious man. He would meet her there every day around the same time. He was handsome and kind. It went on like this for months. One day, she went to the shoreline, and he wasn't there.

"Her heart was broken, and she called out to him. All it took was calling his name once, and he was there. He smiled down at her and told her that he was a dragon warrior and that he didn't belong in this world. He told her that he lived in a different world and that he had to stop coming. She was heartbroken. They were both madly in love, yet they came from different places. In the end, she followed him into his world—leaving behind her life," my grandma said, soothingly.

My grandma sighed, still brushing my hair. "There are rumors that the reason why the woman never came to love her husband was that she was always destined to be with the dragon warrior and that their fate lines connected and intertwined. There was no breaking what was already written down in destiny."

"So, she was destined to be his?" I asked sleepily.

"She was. Nothing could have stopped it. No spells, no rituals, nothing. It was bound to happen," she murmured.

I lifted my head to look up at her. "But in all the stories that I've heard, dragons are the bad guys. How come this one is different?"

My grandma chuckled. "Because what we can't kill or see, scares us."

"So, dragons aren't the bad guys?"

"I'm saying not all dragons are bad," she corrected. "I am sure that there are bad dragons and good dragons just like there are bad humans and good humans."

I nodded quietly in understanding. Sighing, I slowly pushed off from my grandma's lap before wrapping my arms around her. I hugged her tightly.

"I love you, grandma."

"I love you too...so much," she whispered softly and kissed the top of my hair.

I went to bed that night and decided that I was going to try and stay up. My parents and grandma were exhausted from watching over me. I should give them some peace of mind. I left the lantern on in my room and picked up a book to read quietly.

It worked for the most part, but by almost two in the morning my eyes were getting heavy with sleep. My head was rolling and nodding each time I fell asleep and jerked awake.

I groaned and slapped my face, but nothing worked. It was so hard, and I was so tired. I told myself that I would only rest my eyes for a few minutes. I closed them, finally giving in to sleep.