Soul Bound

Chapter 6

A few months had passed since the storm hit Brar. We'd had a couple storms since then which hindered our progress, but none of them were as bad as the first. Buildings had been reinforced and remade, and everyone's fences were as strong as they ever were, so we could have more than a handful of cattle again. The rangers were very excited to travel to Riverwood to buy more animals. They made a big thing about it, even hiring Dad's wagon and filling it up with barrels of booze so they could drink along the way. I didn't blame them. We'd all earned a day of drinking. It took everyone in the village, including the children, to get it ready for the winter.

We hadn't even seen the shift in the trees for Fall yet, but it had become increasingly obvious that we wouldn't have enough food for us to survive the dauntingly cold months to come after all our crops had been destroyed. I made up a hunting party with a few of the other men in the village and showed them where to get the bigger game, how to avoid detection from the griffins. At first they were hesitant--going against everything we'd been taught since we were little would do that--but after they caught their first stag, the pride of bringing something substantial to their families helped them grow out of their shells. With the food we brought in, we had enough to store for the upcoming difficult months and to trade with Riverwood for grains and vegetables. 

This morning, I let out a particularly long yawn. With the group's success, the men kept pushing to go out earlier and earlier. I learned something about myself during this phase: I was much less motivated to wake up earlier if someone else wanted me to wake up; I was fine getting up on my own accord, but being made to get up. . . The rebellious side of me just wanted to let them go hunting by themselves today. 

At least I had my own room again, so I didn't wake anyone up with my grumbling while I got ready for the day. I paused in front of the looking glass, in the middle of pulling my shirt over head. I barely noticed my scars any more, even though they took up a large portion of my torso. I'd even begun to admire them. They reminded me of how strong I could be, even if everything seemed so hopeless. Other people, however, were not as openminded. Whenever I bathed in the river with the other girls, all they could do was stare and whisper behind my back. I pretended I couldn't hear them, that I didn't care how ugly they said I looked. Dad said they'd told other villages of my scars. "The girl with dragon scales," they called me.

When Erika overheard the girls, she told them what had happened to us, that they should be honoured to have met me. The first time, I let it slide because those girls could care less what a six year old had to say, but then she went around the entire village telling them what a good big sister I was. When I scolded her for telling everyone our secret, it was too late.  Everyone knew I was Bound to a dragon. Whether or not they believed it was a different story. It was all rather farfetched, especially coming from a six year old. I sometimes didn't think it happened either. Not until I fell asleep. Almost every night I dreamt I was a dragon flying over the ocean, inhaling the heavy salty air. I felt the wind beneath my wings as if I was actually flying, and the static building up under my scales. Without even thinking, I knew that I was charging up the electric current that surged through my entire body. I often thought about what it would be like to dive into the water and never resurface. Would the world forget about me then? Would peace finally find me?

Of course, none of those thoughts and feelings were my own. They were Arkon's.

When I went hunting in the mountains, I felt his presence in the sky, but whenever I looked up to see him, he was gone. I didn't think he was following me, but maybe just checking up on me. I hadn't really had much time to visit him, but when I could see him we tried to figure out what else we could do with our Bond. A month ago, we discovered we could communicate telepathically if I concentrated really hard. I learned to control my dragon vision, especially how to turn it off when I didn't want to see my neighbours in the privacy of their homes. It was incredibly useful when I hunted once I figured out how to tell how far away the animal was. I was always the first hunter to pick out our prey in the forest.