~ 4 ~

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~ Chapter Four ~

I woke up again, but this time I felt like I wasn't alone. I uncurled my body from my fetal position and sat up. The temperature of this place has dropped, and it didn't help that I only wore shorts and a t-shirt underneath my jacket. Even my sock covered feet were cold inside of my boots.

It would have been nice to have a blanket or two. I never suffered like this. My mother always woke up in the middle of the night, making sure my sister and I didn't kick off our thick blankets. And if we did, then she would wrap us up again. The little things she and dad used to do for me comes forth now when I most needed their comfort.

I looked around the room and saw an old man, who looked extremely ancient, standing in front of the makeshift bed with a lesser old woman. I had to stare up at them both as they towered over me.

The man was very tall, well over six feet, yet he hunched over as if the weight of his height affected him. He leaned forward, his boney hands on top of one another on a cane in front of him. The man was bald and wrinkles littered his entire face, especially the corners of his bright blue eyes. He had a white mustache that connected to his white beard that barely passed his chin. The man wore a robe like attire that covered his entire body. It was black and it contained golden designs of Dragons.

The woman on the other hand wore a green gown, making her brown eyes look darker against her aging white skin. She was less wrinkled than the man besides her, yet I knew she had to be at least in her late fifties or early sixty. Whereas the man reminded me of an eighty year old. The woman had light brown hair, with grey streaks. She had it in a bun, exposing her round plump face. She was a large woman. And scary looking. She reminded me of my aunt Beatrice who had a heart attack on our last Thanksgiving reunion.

The old man studied me for a quick moment before speaking to me slowly. "Do you speak the common language?"

I stayed quiet for a minute. I was slightly relieved that he spoke English. I was kinda nervous and thinking how I was going to have to communicate with them with my own version of American sign language.

That would have been embarrassing. I would have tarnished the reputation of all mimes.

I nodded at him and timidly asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Xenon." He gestured at the woman beside him. "And this is my wife Libelle."

The woman smiled at me kindly, making a dimple appear on her softened face. She didn't look as scary anymore, but I couldn't seem to lose the tension of my body. The two people before me looked normal, nothing out of the ordinary. However, my instincts were yelling at me to be careful. That I may be in the presence of predators.

The way the man stared at me was in a calculating way. Reading me to see if I was lying or not. The woman looked oblivious to it all.

But since they've introduced themselves, I was obligated to do so in return. "My name is Kaida Woods."

"What a pretty name." Said Libelle. She tried coming closer but when she took a step, a low growl came from the old man, Xenon. She complied and stood by his side.

Hmm. Maybe he's just as tensed as I am. We both don't know if we're enemies. But that growl didn't go unnoticed. That was definitely abnormal. Warning bells were ringing inside of my head.

Xenon cleared his throat and watched me with a cold gaze. "You're no hatchling. So what are you? And what were you doing in our forest?"

Did he say hatchling? As in dragon terminology?

I swallowed the lump in my throat and answered the man. "I'm human... I honestly don't know how I landed in the forest. I... I just happened to land there."

I didn't want to reveal too much. I don't trust these... People. Something is telling me that they're not who they appear to be. Especially after he asked what I am. I'm human but what may he be?

Libelle was the first to speak. Her voice sounded a bit urgent. "From earth?"

Were we not on earth? If we're not then does she possibly know something?

I hesitantly nodded. Libelle walked closer and crouched low a bit, inspecting my attire. "But you're not wearing regular clothes from earth. Are you a witch?"

I leaned away from her and slowly got up. My foot hit my bag on the floor beside the leaves. I picked it up and took out my phone. If proof is what she wanted, then proof is what she'll get.

"I'm from earth. This should be proof. It's my phone, a very popular technology that everyone is familiar with." I held it up. If she knew the world I came from, then she should know about all types of technology.

The woman looked at my phone in confusion, yet with amazement. The old man, however, looked stoicly at both of us.

Libelle visibly swallowed hard and softly grabbed the phone. "W-What year are you from?"

She turned the phone in all angles, inspecting it before she looked at me. "I'm from 2019."

Libelle's eyes widened as she unconsciously gripped my phone tighter, shattering it with her strength. I yelled out and fell to my knees, grabbing the broken pieces from the floor.

I shook my head as tears flowed through my eyes. The one thing that actually tethered me to my home was gone. All the pictures I had disappeared. All the beautiful memories I was able to capture with that phone shattered along with it.

The last picture I had taken flashed inside my mind. Marissa and I were smiling at the camera even though she had been annoyed with the hiking trip. Yet I knew that she cared for me a lot more than herself because she had willingly gone with me. To make sure my birthday week was up to my satisfaction.

Libelle kneeled before me, looking guilty and ashamed. "I'm sorry. I was shocked at your revelation. I-I didn't know so much time had passed."

I looked up at her, ignoring the overflowing tears. "What do you mean?"

Xenon appeared by her side and helped her up. He then looked at me with pity. His old face had broken the facade he had put on. The scene before him helped determine I was not an enemy at all but a victim of how cruel life can be.

"My wife came to this world as a human a long time ago. A time before I turned her into a dragon."

My mouth dropped slightly in surprise. Libelle was once a human?!

Wait.

Did he just say that he turned her into a dragon?

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A/N

Posted: 4/29/19

Xenon is pronounced as Zen-on.

Libelle is pronounced as Lee-Bell.

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