Chapter 7: a Girl's folly and a Dragon's fun

As Alythia's eyes fluttered open, she again found herself in a strange white and empty space.

She sat up and saw the small figure of something white scurry towards her.

As it got closer she was able to make out its form – it looked somewhat like a miniature dragon. The tiny white beast was absolutely beautiful and had a bright blue gem embedded in its chest.

'What is ---' but before she was able to finish her thought the voice of the little dragon interrupted her.

"Child, I came here because you have called for me"

The voice sounded familiar like something Alythia had heard before, perhaps somewhere and sometime long ago.

The dragon looked at her, its eyes shone with amusement.

"We've met many times before but it seems you have forgotten. Now let's leave it at that. Alythia tell me, what is it you seek?"

She let out a tiny gasp the moment the dragon uttered her name.

'The red light' she mouthed while deeply staring into the little creature's eyes.

"But you look so different from before, how was I supposed to recognize you?"

The tiny white beast leaped up onto her shoulder and wrapped its long tail around her neck like a scarf. "Ah, I have many forms; but though my appearance may change, my character does not"

Alythia thought for a moment but still felt perplexed. "People look at appearances though. How am I to see anything other than that?"

There was a long silence before the dragon finally spoke. "You must be different from them. Their eyes are not trained to see what is real and so they only see what is apparent. It must not be so with you – train your eye to look past the appearance towards what lay beyond it"

The dragon jumped down, landing softly on the ground.

It turned to Alythia's hands which were positioned on her lap – one under the other with her palms facing upward.

The dragon placed one of his paws inside hers and she instinctively wrapped her hand around it.

All of a sudden the dragon grew larger and Alythia's hand was no longer wrapped around it but now its claws were encircling her.

As it lifted her up towards its face, she wrapped both arms around a single talon to stabilize herself.

"Keep a firm hold of me" the dragon whispered "That way you will know who I am at all times".

Alythia was utterly mesmerized by the overwhelming tenderness emanating from its ebony eyes.

"But even if you do forget again" the Dragon continued "I shall again remind you. Often times people need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed"

The white beast then began to softly hum a soothing melody. Alythia was sure she had heard the song before but could not remember where.

As she listened to his sweet voice her eyes became quite heavy.

She lay her head down, still encompassed by the dragon's talons, and drifted off to sleep.

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When Alythia's eyes opened, she felt herself enveloped in something soft.

Still in a daze she slowly sat up.

She unhurriedly looked around the pink and white room Karlyle had prepared for her, taking her time to recollect her thoughts.

'What a strange dream' she reasoned as she got out of bed.

She put on a light cream coloured dress with pastel pink ribbons interlaced around its neck and shoulders. Karlyle had bought her the dress, along with a few other pieces of clothing, since she didn't bring anything with her the day she moved in.

She quickly glanced at her appearance in the mirror before leisurely walking down the stairs towards the dining hall.

It's been a few weeks since she had moved into the Karnage estate and today Karlyle promised to give her a quick tour of the property.

It will just be the two of them since Kloeye was sick in bed with a mild case of the flue.

After breakfast Alythia and Karlyle bid farewell to the ill damsel and headed out the door.

They walked along a dirt road for about an hour until they got to the top of a hill.

It was a beautiful summer day.

Alythia kicked off her shoes and eagerly sunk her toes into the soft grass. She sighed in delight as the sunrays went about kissing her fair skin.

From the top of that hill one could see a very large part of Elysium. She found all the people bustling about in the streets and stores quite intriguing.

She crouched down, her eyes intently fixed on the view in front of her.

Karlyle came to sit beside her. His gaze, however, intently fixed on something else.

After a few minutes Alythia noticed his stare. She turned her eyes towards him and meekly asked why he was looking at her.

"Because you're nice to look at" Karlyle replied, rather nonchalantly.

Alythia's eyes shot wide in shock. "I-Im not really...."

"Yes you are", he cut her off and then leaned in closer, as if re-examining her.

"Definitely" he confirmed as a sweet smile eagerly covered his face. But the sweetness was short lived.

A glint of mischief replaced the current tenderness in his eyes the moment he noticed Alythia's cheeks flare up.

He decided to have some fun.

"Do you dislike me complimenting you?" Karlyle playfully asked, feigning ignorance, as he leaned in even closer – closing the distance between them.

Alythia abruptly drew back but lost her balance in the process.

Instantly, however, she felt the pressure of a large hand steadily placed against her upper back – stabilizing her.

Karlyle gently lowered her till her back was about an inch off the ground. As she descended she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck for support.

"Karlyle um wha---"

"So you don't dislike it?" he asked, interrupting her yet again.

His dark figure was now looming over her – effectively blocking out the sun.

He wore a smirk, as if he already knew the answer but enjoyed teasing her far too much to ever admit to it.

Alythia's face turned a deeper shade of red as she tried to look away but Karlyle wouldn't let her. He slowly moved his face closer to hers – stopping just as their lips were about to touch – as if he was growing impatiens and urging her to answer.

"I-I um don't... It's not that I dislike... um----" Alythia clumsily fumbled over her words.

To her it felt as if her brain was busy short circuiting.

"Hm you don't dislike me then?" Karlyle continued teasing, utterly devoid of any pity for the girl and her embarrassed state.

"Then the lady wouldn't mind if I try something would she?"

But before Alythia had the chance to respond, she felt something wet tickle the side of her neck.

'D-Did he just li-li-lick me????'

Karlyle pulled back slightly – enough for him to so see her exasperated expression. "Yum" he hummed, with a roguish smile.

Instantly the girl's eyes stretched wide – wider than the Grand Canyon.

"A-A-Are Dragons c-c-carnivores?" Alythia asked while stuttering, her heart enthusiastically threatening to leap out from inside her chest.

Karlyle stared at her with a blank expression before bursting out into a fit of laughter. He slightly turned his face away as tear droplets started forming in the corner of his eyes.

This convulsive laughing of his lasted for a good long while.

Alythia was too in shock to move so she just stayed in the same position, vacantly staring up at him.

After his roaring finally died down and Karlyle regained his senses his eyes once again shone with fondness towards the girl still timidly lying underneath him

"Little mouse you're too much. Did I perhaps frighten you with my teasing?"

Karlyle slowly pulled back bringing Alythia up with him till she was firmly seated on the ground. She then felt the pressure of his hand lift off from her back.

Alythia covered her face with both hands in an attempt to secure some time for the redness in her cheeks to dissipate. She then fervently shook her head from side to side, clearly in her own way trying to convince Karlyle that she did not think him frightening.

He chuckled at her antics.

"That's good then" he smiled, "but I apologise for taking the joke too far".

He gazed at her affectionately and, placing his own hands over hers, he gently removed her hands from her face.

"I really did mean it though... you are nice to look at"

And with that he stood and stretched his hand out towards her.

She took it hesitantly and he pulled her up before they made their way back to the mansion unrushed.