The Adventures of A Reborn Dragonkin

Chapter 4: A Prince Explains

Compared to when he first woke up from being kidnapped, Silas feels like he was run over by a truck twice. His ribs ache when he breathes and his neck feels like it's being stabbed with needles. A splitting headache encases his forehead, making him groan and reach up to rub his temple. When his shoulder strains against something wrapped around his chest, Silas finally opens his eyes.

Just by looking at the ceiling, Silas can tell this is a lavish room. He turns his head to the side and sees the rich white silk sheets and red comforter pulled around him on the bed. The large window off to the side had the curtains open, letting in the daylight and making the room brighter.

At the edge of the bed, a head of silky black hair pops up soon followed by a pair of bright golden eyes. They stand up further, revealing the face of a young girl. Her eyes remind Silas of a pair of coins, round and golden. Slowly Silas sits up with some difficulty, somewhat afraid of scaring the girl off.

Looking down, Silas sees the white bandages wrapping his chest, covering the row of tattoos lining down his chest from his sternum. The bandages wrap up over his shoulders, forcing him not to hold his arms up. Other than that, he had no shirt. Carefully, he lifts the covers and is relieved to see he has a pair of shorts on.

The little girl watches from the edge of the bed curiously. She had been watching him sleep for most of the morning and had seen her brother drag him in. Despite his warning not to go into the room, she did so out of curiosity. Unknown to her, her nurse is feverishly looking for her and chastising herself for not watching her charge.

For a moment the two stare at each other, neither moving or speaking first. The little girl doesn't mind; she likes looking at his eyes. One eye the color of ambrosia, of rich tree sap, and the other the color of cold steel, like stormy clouds. Now that she thinks about it, this is the first time she has met an outsider.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Silas watches the girl push herself up onto the bed. Seeing her struggle, he reaches over and lifts her up a bit, setting her down on the bed in front of him. They stare at each other again before Silas cracks a smile.

"You're pretty cute, yeah?" Silas says, tapping her round nose teasingly. His melodic and lyrical words mixed with his voice's pleasant warm timbre passes through her ears, making her tilt her head in a confused manner. Silas smiles a bit wider at the cute puppy-like look. Her long straight black hair contrasts sharply with her white gown, her eyes and a cute pink bow holding some of her hair back being the only colors on her. To him, she only seems to be about seven years old, making him wonder faintly why she's alone.

Silas pats her head once before moving to get off the bed, wincing when his back and ribs protest at the movement. The girl quickly grabs his hand and pulls him back a bit, a worried expression on her face as she tells him something in a smooth, poised language. He blinks, this time his turn to tilt his head at her words.

"No! You have to stay in bed! Stay!"

She repeats the word, somewhat slower as she pulls him back in his place on the bed. Silas listens to her before hesitantly mimicking the word back. Her coin-like eyes brighten up before she nods her head vigorously, gripping his hand with a wide smile. Silas smiles a bit at her joyous expression before gently prying her hands off his hand to hold them in his own.

"I can't understand," he says gently, shaking his head lightly. "That word, I don't know what it means." The girl's eyes tilt down a bit, showing her disappointment. After a moment of pouting, her gaze lands on the circling tattoos on his left arm. She pulls her hands away before leaning forward, tracing a black band of ink lightly. Silas chuckles a bit but hold his arm out for her to count the rings around his bicep, mumbling the numbers as she went.