Happy storyteller Saturday! I'd love to see a snippet of writing that you're currently very proud of.
Hi Essie (@moremysteriesthantragedies ) , so sorry for the late reply as well as for all other unanswered questions I will get to them tomorrow and on Monday. This excerpt is a bit longer but it is the one I am pretty proud of, especially considering the fact that it is already revised.
dedicated to my love @godamilfhunter
warnings: violence, arguments, xiani being quiet rageful and the dragon slowly awakening
Aelia did not seem convinced. She had seen the way his eyes had flickered. They always flickered when he lied. Anger flared inside her, a boundless, raging anger. She had never felt like this before. Before, he had always told Tiberius, Obil and her everything, and now? Now he was keeping secrets from her. Now that Tiberius was dead and Obil had disappeared, he had shrouded himself in silence, leaving the village several times for longer or shorter periods of time. What was so important that he was keeping it from her?
"You're lying," she heard herself say. Her brows were raised and flaming anger was visible in her eyes. He spun in his saddle, looking at her in confusion. Lied? He had withheld part of the truth to protect her. The fewer people knew who he really was, the safer it was.
"Is it lying when I'm trying to protect you?" he asked in return. The snort of his horse made him look ahead again. Aelia was staring at him. He was going to protect her? Her? A derisive laugh escaped her lips. It echoed through the forest, a terrible sound. It sounded like the screech of a seabird as it was guided back by the solid rocks. Griffin reined in his horse as he now turned completely in the saddle to look at her.
"I do not need protection!" she shouted. Now the others stopped their horses too, Aedion already driving his back to the woman and the man. The mage saw Aelia's eyes brighten until they were almost white. He shouted a loud warning that was lost in her screaming. The words left her mouth and light became darkness.
Aedion cried out as glistening white light blinded him. It was brighter than anything he had ever seen. The voice that came from the light was powerful and threatened to damage his hearing. Tears came to his eyes as something ran down his neck. Was it an illusion or truth? What power had Aelia unleashed with her words, what violence? As far as he knew, she had never been taught magic or had magic in her blood. If she mispronounced even one word....
The consequences could be fatal. Once before, an old friend of Aedion's had created grief and destruction with a mispronounced word. Slowly he raised a hand to his ear and withdrew it. Blood covered his fingertips as the light slowly dimmed. A shadow rested in the middle between the companions. Aedion's eyes widened. The ground beneath them began to shake as the shadow began to warp. The horses neighed, bucked or bolted. A cold wind blew through the dense branches. Birds began to gather in the sky. Bringers of death, he thought grimly. He reined in his horse as the shadow abruptly dissipated.
The rain subsided as Griffin had his horse under control again. The pained gasps of Xiani and Suzy's curses echoed in his ears and he was only peripherally aware of Aedion shouting at Aelia. Xiani laid on the ground, slowly pushing herself back up again. Anyone who looked at her could see she was exhausted. However, it was the glare of anger in her eyes that frightened Griffin. It was not a hot anger, but a cold one. And it was this kind of anger that frightened him. He quickly dismounted, leading Argi by the reins when he saw her looking at Aelia. He gently held her arm back, concern in his eyes. Her expressions appeared cold, devoid of any emotion. He had seen that kind of rage in her once before, and had witnessed its unleashing. He knew what she was capable of. She squinted as she looked up at him.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly. He noticed the orange glimmer in her eyes, saw the unshed tears. Instead of an answer, she silently nodded before her attention shifted back to Aedion and Aelia. Aedion was still yelling, Suzy interjected a few remarks and Aelia just stood frozen. Griffin avoided Aelia's beseeching looks. How had she been able to unleash such a violent power that had almost killed him and everyone else?
No, he did not want to listen to any explanations yet. All he wanted was to get out of this cursed forest. Griffin just wanted it all to turn out to be a bad dream, a fever dream even. Anything was better than here being reality.
“We should keep moving before more happens”, Aedion spoke, eyeing Griffin and Xiani worriedly. Wordlessly, Xiani crossed the short distance between Griffin’s horse and her, eyes a bit teary-eyed. Her horse had bolted when the shadows had appeared. The other companions could see tears in Xiani's eyes. They all knew, except for Aelia, how much she loved the animal and how much the mare meant to her. Xiani looked at Griffin, who nodded slightly. Griffin remounted, gently patting his horse's neck. Then he took Xiani's hand and helped her to sit down on the saddle pad behind him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and he could briefly feel her breath on his neck. He glanced briefly over at Suzy and Aedion, and with them Aelia, noticing that they were back in the saddle as well. At a barely visible nod from Aedion, he spurred his horse on.
Argi neighed just as Xiani's arms tightened around Griffin’s torso. The group rode deeper into the forest, some flinching whenever a growl sounded from behind. Aedion was riding next to Suzy, hushed whispers cutting through the otherwise silent forest. Not even the light of the stars, let alone the moon, could reach them under the dense canopy of leaves. They could only hope for their eyes and the light that occasionally shone through, which became visible whenever the leaves moved in a particularly strong breeze. It was as if a storm was brewing, waiting for the right moment to start. Something that sent chills down Griffin’s back.
tag list: @lexiklecksi, @godamilfhunter , @moremysteriesthantragedies , @aninkwellofnectar, @queerlilchinchin, @365runesofthesystem (ask to be added or removed)
