Saphora: vol.1 Retention (The Athena Universe) (36 page)

“You were stressed.
It’s fine,” Saphora assured, shaking her head and putting her hand on Fran’s shoulder.

“You look so tired … Do you want to stay home for a little bit? And maybe come later?” Fran generously offered. Saphora scoffed, shaking her head weakly as she walked past her into the hallway.

“I wish I could.” She really did. She didn’t know what to think about meeting her guardian for the second time. Only it was really like the first. She was scared, nervous, excited, worried, and curious, all at the same.

             
“Fran!” Brad yelled from inside the check-in office of the zoo. Fran smiled as she opened her arms to her coworker, openly accepting the embrace that he offered her. “Are you ready to see this thing?!” he said with more excitement than his face was able to express. He made up for that with his exaggerated movements, though. Fran laughed and nodded, smiling.

“I’m so ready I can’t stand it! So is Saphora,” she responded, gesturing to her. Saphora gave a small smile and a wave of her hand to Brad when their eyes met, and Bran smiled, going over to her. He wrapped his arms around her as well and squeezed.

“Hey, Saphora! Long time no see. Fran been telling you about this beast that just came in?” he asked, pulling away from the one-sided hug. Saphora nodded, an involuntary giggle leaving her. It was hard to have any type of sour mood around Brad. He was just so happy.

“Yeah, nonstop.”

The hustle and bustle of a passing news crew distracted the conversation as an African American reporter holding a microphone walked briskly through the area, followed by a camera crew. Brad turned around, as did Saphora and Fran, to watch the passing news team.

“We are here at local Clemming Zoo, where rumor has it that a live dragon has been put on display.
It’s said to be man’s greatest discovery since the dinosaurs. We’re headed there now to take a look at the creature,” she said as she rushed in the direction of the exhibit.

There was a brief silence between them before Fran squealed with excitement.

“Ohh, channel 17 is here! Come on, guys!” Fran said, rushing past Brad and pulling Saphora along. They followed her without a fuss to get the exhibit in time to beat the crowds. But to their surprise, there was already one forming when they reached the enclosure.

“Oh man. There’s already so many people here,” Brad said with enthusiasm as they stopped just behind the growing crowd.

“I think I see a wing!” Fran shouted with glee. Saphora craned her neck with wide eyes as she worked to stay on the tips of her toes. There was indeed a wing being stretched upwards. A white wing. Saphora’s heart pushed against her lungs in its excitement and she immediately began pushing past the people to get a better look at the creature – at her guardian.

“Saphora!” Fran called out after her, going to follow behind her, as did Brad. But the sound of her voice was easily drowned out by the sound of the screaming and cheering crowd, as well as the noise coming from the enclosure. Saphora continued to push forward, an instinctive drive telling her to get closer to him.
And when she was finally able to push through the dense crowd of people, her body stopped. Just on the perimeter of the crowd, where the security guards were making sure the people stayed a certain distance away from the glass so not to startle the uneasy beast.

Saphora blinked as she looked over at the actual dragon that was trapped behind the glass of the brand new exhibit. Her eyes widened, and her body froze. Time seemed to stand still. The bright blue eyes of the beast locked with hers, and an immediate connection took place. The beast breathed against the glass, as
his focus seemed to narrow in on Saphora as his large pupils dilated. Saphora felt her feet slide forward towards the creature behind the glass, as they made moves to step forward. Her breathing picked up as she watched her vision fade in from the edges into a grimy black.

There was a small lapse in time after her vision left her. And then, as if on cue, her vision was slowly returned to her. Only it wasn’t the vision of her at the zoo. But rather something completely other worldly. She was standing in the mists of a field, staring at what looked like the courtyard of a massive castle. And that’s because it was. She was standing in the middle of her childhood. She looked forward, staring at this little girl in the center of the field. She was kneeling down on the grass, playing with a doll that had been made with care. A tall woman was standing behind her. A woman with pale sage hair, which was tied into a long braid. Long enough to reach the beginnings of her hips. She wore a long, white gown, which curled into the prickling of the long blades of lush green grass. The little girl, with hair that matched Saphora’s, was dressed in a more subtle version of the woman’s gown. Her curling mint hair was braided back into a bun atop her head. She laughed and giggled as she conversed with the doll in her arms, creating a voice for the doll to speak back in. The woman watched with joyful eyes as she watched the c
hild enjoy her carefree nature.

Seeing the sage hair of the woman, Saphora’s chest heaved as she recognized her mother. She bit her lip, taking a step forward but remembering what was happening. She needed to see what was going to happen.

The woman’s carefree nature was about to be interrupted. There was a rumbling in the distance that immediately caught the attention of the watchful woman. A small breeze to everyone else, was, to her, the call of what was about to come. She felt it in the change of the wind. In the slight vibration in the ground. Arol. The woman’s heart rate picked up as her eyes darted about. Panic set in her chest as she looked up at a specific window in the castle. Her love’s eyes were looking back at hers. He had felt it as well. And was also wondering what could be done in the small amount of time that it would take Arol to arrive at the courtyard. The woman fell to her knees, wrapping her long arms around the unaware child. She looked up the familiar eyes in question, wondering why she was suddenly being captured in her protective arms.

“Guards!” the woman screamed, tucking her child’s head against her chest. She looked around for the responses she was looking for. But when none came in a timely fashion she shouted again – her nerves on edge. “Guards!” Her breathing ra
gged as the guards came rushing into the courtyard. She stood up with her child in her arms, just as a shadow seemed to engulf the area. Sounds of dismay and shock escaped the gruff mouths of the guards. And their rushed jogs diminished into hesitant trots. Their weapons shook in their tensed hands, and their armor clanged in the unsure actions.

An ear-shattering screech erupted in the skies, startling everyone but the little girl, who was giggling and squealing at what she saw above her. There, covering the sun that was once shining on an enjoyable afternoon, was Arol. One of the most feared cre
atures of the entire planet they had come to know. With skin that was a complete absence of colour, glowing in its whiteness, and eyes that mocked the blue skies he dominated, he was one of the most elegant, yet damned, and ruthless creatures to be identified.

Despite the rumors of his violent and unforgiving nature, Arol landed with grace before the queen and her squealing little girl. Saphora, who was looking in on herself, was taken aback by his arrival. And fearful for the people that were on the courtyard. And at the same time, she seemed to be rather foreseeing about the situation. And that was only natural. After all, it was her memory she was stepping in on. She walked forward towards the group of people as the beast’s wings tucked into his back and
his neck lowered as if to pay some sort of respect to the queen. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her body, and therefore the child away from Arol, causing his eyes to narrow as well. Arol’s limbs rested against the ground, and he appeared, for the first time before the kingdom, in a docile state. He stared with loyalty, and sat with a body language that suggested surrender. And even though the queen noticed this, she was still skeptical of him, as she very well should be.

“Be gone, you
horrid
creature. You will not claim another life today,” she practically hissed at the beast, who groaned in response.

The little girl giggled and reached her arms out towards him, dropping the doll in the process. The woman looked down at her
daughter in wonder and bewilderment. She had never been introduced to this monster, nor any other, and therefore had not learned to be fearful of it. The queen was cautious not to let her daughter free of her grasp. It could have very well been the end of her little girl’s life. Arol’s neck lowered a bit more, as he ever so slowly inclined his neck to reach out to the little girl, his head tilting in the process. But the queen took several steps back the moment she noticed, seemingly jogging backwards in her haste. When Arol stopped, she did as well, and ended up being closer to the guards that now surrounded the courtyard.

“I said be
gone!” she said once more, glaring at the beast. The little girl whined when her mother brought her away from the creature she was so curious about. And Arol whined in response, lowering his own head to reflect the emotion of the little girl. The woman looked on with wonder, her gaze switching from him to her child several times as her mind worked to make sense of what was happening. Every time the kingdom had come up against Arol, he was vicious. And unruly in his desire to claim as many lives as he saw fit. But here he was uneasy – pleading almost. But what for? What could he want so desperately that he was willing to sustain his fetish for bloodshed? One of the guards walked up behind the queen, speaking to her in a low voice.

“M’lady … What would you have us do?” he asked, making sure to keep a close eye on the beast. The queen turned to look at him, actually at a loss for an answer. She looked up to her love, who was still watching from the window, still and observant.

“M’lady?” he asked again, now giving her a glance.

“Dolphus, what should we do?” she called out to him, tightening her grip on her wiggling child with some frustration. Arol was patient during the process, not wanting to make any more unwanted moves. The king looked over to his wife, deep in
thought. He knew that what he was about to say would not be received well by his wife.

“Release her,
” he said, loud enough to be heard.

“What?” she questioned, not understanding.

“Put Saphora down,” he clarified. The queen’s eyes went wide as she took two instinctive steps back.

“Are you mad? What’
s come over you? I will
not
-“

“
Vida
,” he said in a stern voice, nearly making the woman flinch. She stared at him. Dumbfounded. Surely he was mad. She hesitantly shook her head, her eyes welling up with tears. She would not stand watch while this beast kill her only child before her own eyes.

“No.”

“Vida … He has come to be her guardian,” he explained urgently.

There was a group of muttered gasps from behind her, almost in unison with her own.

Saphora, looking in on herself, had her hand to her mouth, as the memory took hold in her conscious. How could she have forgotten? Clumps of memory of the two flooded her mind, and she felt tears of her own forming in her cheeks. They spilled over at the further realization that she was also remembering her parents. She looked at the two with a new set of eyes. Eyes full of hope and longing. Of joy.

Vida shook her head, looking back at the beast before
her again. He seemed to be more alert now, now that the purpose of his coming into the courtyard had been revealed. He looked into the excited eyes of the little girl, only to have them taken by the turning of the queen’s body. His eyes jolted up to meet Vida’s, whose were still narrowed. Reluctant was an understatement of how she was feeling. But if her husband was right, she would have no choice but to give her little girl up for the connection that was bound to come. If she didn’t allow it to happen now, Arol would no doubt be back to connect with Saphora again at some other point in the near future. And no matter the grudge that Vida felt towards the dragon, she knew that if he was right and Arol was in fact her guardian, there would be no separating them. She groaned, tightening her grip on the child, and making her uncomfortable. The little girl whined and squirmed in her mother’s arms, causing a negative reaction from Arol. A low snarl left his throat and his wings started to unfold from the surface of his back. The guards’ weapons shifted in their hands as they readied themselves for defense, but Vida stopped them.

“Stop …” she said, barely audible.

The guards stopped, turning to look at the queen. They were unsure, so they also looked up at their king, wondering if they should overrule the command that was just given. But the king was unmoving. He waited calmly as Vida, still reluctant, slowly set her hyper little girl on the ground. Arol’s attention was spiked as he watched Saphora with anticipation. His wings continued at a more noticeable speed as Saphora steadied herself on her feet. And Saphora, looking in, watched with an even more heightened sense of anticipation, waiting like she was watching a film. Her breathing seemed to slow down, while simultaneously speeding up as she waited for the interaction to begin.

The little girl looked up at her mother, after all that trying to get out of her arms to get to Arol, to silently ask if it was alright for her go over. Vida, holding back her distaste, nodded to her as she folded her hands in front of her. The little girl squealed as she ran over to greet Arol with open arms. Arol let out a huff through his nostrils in delight, which sent the child’s hair whipping back behind her as she frolicked towards him. His neck lowered to be at more of an eyelevel with her as she grew closer. Everyone was on edge as the child grew closer an
d closer to the terrifying mass of Arol. The air seemed to thicken as her little hands met the rough texture of his somewhat moist snout. And almost immediately as she did, there was a wicked wind that surrounded the two, hitting the surrounding people with powerful gusts that actually set them back a couple of steps. But the child stayed unmoving.