The Night Rider

Chapter 11

Celeste

I drop sighing on the chair in the dining room.  At times like this, I want to go back to the old days, more than ever.  The days when the world wasn't made up of political games and secrets.  Back then, there was respect and everyone knew their place.  I miss the days when I fulfilled my place, instead of keeping everything under control.

I get my hands through my black hair and wonder what my next step in life will be.  Now that it is known that a Night Rider lives, there will be a quest that will live to the depths of the underworld.  By the time the curse on Rafiki was discovered this was already a lost cause, now more than ever.

Rafiki is the only one who can keep the magic from dying out, the only one who can keep the world going and also the only chance we get.  Not only will her curse drive her further and further into madness, but it will also cost her her life.  For seventeen years, I've been trying to find a way to drive the curse out of her body.

Thousands of books have passed by, minutes and days ticking away like seconds but still it is as hopeless as a black hole.  I won't be able to hide the reports in the newspapers of unexplained fires and murders forever either.  One day people will know that the future queen is a cold murderer and the future of the world, a burden I have carried for years to know.

Out of pure frustration I throw a glass against the white wall in front of me at full speed.  The engraved glass that was just before me on the table is now scattered in hundreds of pieces on the marble floor.    I am desperate, I don't know for a moment and wonder if I will ever find my way to the answer.  'Are you all right?'

I look up and I see Jamie standing in the doorway.  His black rider suit draws his muscular body well, something I shouldn't notice when it does.  His face is worried and speaking emotion as usual.  'Yeah, fine' The words don't come out as someone who feels fine.  They come out full of frustration and with a cut.

'You don't look like that' With slow steps Jamie walks in my direction and stands behind me.  His hands find my shoulder.  A soothing feeling glides through my body at his touch.  I shouldn't feel so much with a married man but still I can't deny the effects.

'This was the day you never looked forward to, wasn't it?' Jamie knows more than he should.  The first time I held Rafiki in my hands I saw it, so did he.  We don't share much about it , in fact, not a word about it gets dirty.  I think this is my job and no one else should have to work on it.  It's a burden on your shoulders that you don't wish on anyone.

'Right' My answer is short.  Gently Jamie starts massaging my shoulders which unconsciously relaxes my body.  'There must be a way to break that curse' I shake my head. 'There's no such thing as Jamie.  I've had every book and nowhere is there a cure', my own words almost make me angry.

'Maybe it's not in a book of Cell. Much has changed over the years.' Slowly he continues to massage.  'Ideas are welcome', I mumble softly.  I close my eyes and enjoy the hands on my shoulders.  It is quiet, a pleasant silence that doesn't have to be broken.

'I don't know either', Jamie breaks the silence.  That's when Chea comes running in.  Jamie takes his hands off my shoulders in an arrangement' Chea looks at us with a raised eyebrow.  She has a newspaper in her hands, which now hangs next to her body.  'Yeah?' I turn around on the chair and look at her in anticipation.  She shakes her head for a moment and then steps into the room.

She throws a newspaper open on the table.  The headline brings bad news again.  Village burned down by unexplained source.  As if my day couldn't get any worse.  How many is this?  'This must have something to do with the Night Rider.' Chea's getting nervous.  I'd love nothing more than to run out of this room.  'Could be, yeah'.  I'm mumbling.

I'm gonna get up and straighten my dress.  'Why do you care so little about this? This is revolutionary' Chea's out of her mind.  I look at Jamie and I see panic on his face too.  'I don't know, Chea. Excuse me'. I'm walking past her out of space and I'm not letting my breath go until I'm in the hallway.

I hear footsteps chasing me.  I can hear by the sound that it's Jamie's footsteps.  He stops next to me and continues at the same pace.  'Shall we take a ride?' I look at him and just nod in response to his offer.  While we're walking it's quiet until Jamie asks a question I don't want to answer.

'How old will Rafiki get if nothing happens?' I swallow because I know the answer.  The answer is more shocking than you'd think.  'Up to 20' Jamie's breath is being taken away.  I've just told the man when his dother is going to die. 'Then we'll know what we need to do' he mumbles.

We make our way to the dragon stables until we reach Jamie, the red dragon.  The other ten dragons standing in this huge shed wake up to the sound of our presence.  I let my hand slide over the nose of a yellow dragon and smile.  Sometimes I miss my own dragon more than ever.

Slowly the red dragon comes out of his stable.  The beautiful almost silk wings hang next to his body.  Jamie leads his dragon out through the huge doors, I follow him.  'Ma lady' He reaches out his hand to me which I willingly accept.  He helps me on the red dragon and then sits behind me.  I smile when I feel the scales under my hands.

Jamie puts his hands around my hips so I can feel his breath in my neck, it gives me goose bumps all over my body.  He pulls the reins and the next moment the red dragon shoots into the air.  The wind glides through my hair and it feels like I can breathe.