Dragon's Tear Chapter 3

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Chapter 3



What are you supposed to do when you find out everything you’ve known is a lie?



Voices echoed in his prison of darkness, growing louder and louder with each passing moment. He tried to block the noises out, wishing they would leave him to float in the void so he could rest. Light appeared in the distance, calling him like a beacon, relentless and enveloping. He felt himself being pulled towards it, as if he were being dragged through water. The light would not release him no matter how he struggled and craved for the peaceful darkness. He was so tired already and soon ran out of strength to fight and resigned to be taken into a world washed in white.

Kodar opened his eyes feeling sick and dizzy. Three figures stood above him, talking amongst themselves. He tried to swallow, but found his mouth to be dry,

“Water…” he croaked painfully.

A cup was quickly brought to his lips and he drank greedily until it was taken away from him. The nausea dissipated and the room stopped spinning after a few moments. He tried to sit up but a firm hand pushed him back down.

“You aren’t ready for that yet young man.” The hand released him, “Rest and I will bring something a little more substantial than just water. “

He blinked tiredly and rubbed his eyes, trying to get his vision to clear. He heard someone walking away, opening and closing a door; a little click quickly followed.

“Kodar.”

He smiled and looked towards the tall figure to his left waiting as his vision came into focus. Riven stood next to him, covered in his familiar black cloak. A girl quickly appeared beside him, he faintly recognized her but couldn’t place his finger on where he had met her before, which was odd because she was very pretty.

“Riven, what happened? Where’s my aunt and uncle?” His words slurred slightly due to his tiredness but he got his point across.

Riven knelt beside him so that he was eye level with him and pulled back his hood, “Kodar some things have happened and I need to tell you something… the truth.” Slowly he untied the bandages binding his eyes and he let them fall away from his face revealing a pair of brilliant green eyes looking straight at him.

Kodar’s eyes widened as he took in Riven’s appearance. His eyes were a captivating green that drew attention straight towards them trapping the onlooker in a paradox of both youthful vigor and wisdom of vast years. His golden hair sparkled and contrasted perfectly with his lightly bronzed skin. His ears were tapered slightly and on the lobe of his left ear was a delicately carved earring in the shape of a fierce dragon. If Kodar hadn’t known better he would have thought that Riven was his own age.

The only thing that marred his enchanting appearance was an ugly scar that started over his right eyebrow and continued half way down his cheek. The wound that had given him the scar must not have hit his eye at all, but had simply glanced over it and run down his cheek instead. Riven wasn’t blind. Kodar had been lied to ever since he could remember – and he was hurt.

“Riven wha-“ he began.

Riven held a finger over his mouth, “Listen and I will explain everything.”

***

After the healer had left Seable looked at Shin and nodded to the door indicating that she should lock it. She silently complied and quickly returned to the tableside.

Kodar was confused and his words were slurred from sheer exhaustion. Seable pulled back his hood and the young man quieted. Deftly he reached behind his head and untied the knots keeping his bandages in place.

They fell to the floor silently and Seable blinked open his eyes and watched Kodar’s reaction. He was obviously shocked at first, then confused, and finally hurt.

Kodar began to speak but Seable put a finger over his lips to quite him and began to speak, “Listen and I will explain everything.” He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts before he began.

“My name is Seable. I brought you to Aldview seventeen years ago – and before you ask I am not your father. I left you on the doorstep of the Inn, hoping you would find a good home. I watched you as you grew up, taking on the guise of Riven the blind recluse so that no one would suspect me of what I was actually doing.”

“Three days ago after you left my house I followed you. I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, and indeed it did. The Red Cross had left their corner of the town to make a show of power by harassing Miss Shin here.” He nodded to the girl next to him, “You being the righteous fool that you are decided to intervene and got yourself poisoned. I rescued you and brought both you and Shin to this village and the rest is history.”

Kodar looked at him wide eyed, seemingly unable to fully comprehend what had just been told to him. He tried to sit up again, but Seable held still. Kodar glared at him, “You’re telling me my whole life is a lie?”

Seable nodded, “It was for your own protection.”

“Protection from what exactly?” Kodar growled angrily, “What justifies living a lie?”

“All in good time Kodar, you need to rest.” Seable said quietly and gave him a sad smile. The boy was furious, and he couldn’t blame him.

“Leave me alone…” Kodar spat at him bitterly.

“Very well, I’m sure that Shin can take care of you for now.” He responded. As quickly as he had removed his bandages he had them once more over his eyes with his hood pulled forward. Silently he left, unlocking the door and leaving Kodar alone with the girl Shin.

After a few moments of strained silence she spoke to him, “I wanted to thank you.”

“What for?” Kodar said a little harsher than he had meant to.

“Standing up for me when the Red Cross was going to kill me… It’s my fault you were hurt.”

Kodar closed his eyes and thought back. He remembered her as she cried out from her arm being torn from its socket. Being disgusted he had tried to stop them and had been pinned to the ground for his efforts. The last thing he recalled was a burning pain across his face and a pair of bright green eyes, “Riven’s – I mean Seable’s eyes…”

He brought a hand up to his face and felt a sting as he touched his wound. He let his fingers trace the cut from above his right brow, across the bridge of his nose, and all the way to opposite jaw line. He shuddered at the thought of how it must look.

When he opened his eyes Shin was looking down at him sympathetically, “I think it gives you character.”

He chuckled weakly, “I guess that’s one way to look at it,” He raised his hand a few inches off the table and offered it to her, “Not that you don’t already know this, but I’m Kodar.”

She smiled in relief and took the proffered hand, “Shindia La’blance Manah de Alcarna…” She giggled at the bewildered look on his face, “Shin for short.”

“Well it’s good to meet you Shin, and don’t trouble yourself about myself getting hurt. I would have done it for anyone… what they were doing was wrong.”

She was about to reply to him when the door opened once more and a middle aged man walked in carrying a bowl of something that smelled intoxicating. Kodar blushed sheepishly as his stomach growled loudly at the thought of food and he realized how hungry he was.

“Good, seems you’re awake enough to eat then.” The man said briskly handing the bowl to Shin, “Make sure he drinks all of the broth. If he feels like eating more then I have bread as well.”

He gestured to one of the chairs, “If you aren’t to unsteady then you can sit in the chair to eat.”

A rapid knocking on the door called for the healer’s attention and from where he lay he could hear someone speaking frantically, “The baby is coming! We need you right away!”

The healer sighed, “I’ll be right there. Run back and tell them to boil some water and have clean cloth set aside for me.”

He hurried back in and grabbed a small black bag and began to grumble, “Healer deliver my baby! Healer remove this wart! Healer bless my crops! I’m not a bloody shaman…I never should have left the city!” He turned to Shin, “I’ve got to deal with this, I swear I will never get a break… You watch him.”

After the healer had run out the door both of them found themselves in a fit of laughter. Kodar coughed painfully after a few moments, “Can I have that soup now please?”

Shin wiped a tear from her eyes and helped him sit up on the table, “Yeah sorry. Feel like trying the chair?”

Kodar nodded and carefully slid of the table taking a few moments to stabilize himself before weakly stepping towards the chair. He felt himself blush as she wrapped her arm around him to support him over to the chair, “Now eat up. I’m sure you must be hungry.”



“Thanks.” He said accepting the bowl, his face hidden by his hair to hide his reddened cheeks. Quickly he spooned the contents into his mouth, the broth was fairly bland but after three days without food he would have eaten his own dirty boot… without any water to wash it down with.

When he finished to bowl he was surprised to find that his hunger had been sated and when Shin asked him if he would like any bread he politely turned down the offer.

“Good.” She laughed, “Because you would have to wait for that grouchy man to come back before you got any anyways.”

He chuckled weakly, “Where are we anyways?”

“Some village in the middle of nowhere,” she shrugged, “Seable said it was the closest one with a healer.”

At the mention of Seable’s name he scowled, “How could he lie to me like that… For all those years he pretended to be my friend.”

“You shouldn’t be so angry at him.” Shin said seemingly having read his mind, “I can really tell that he cares about you…He was really scared when he thought you were going to die.”

“He lied to me, about everything.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he’s your friend does it?”

“Yes but-“ Kodar began to argue.

“And had he not saved us from the Enforcers we both would be dead right now.”

“Yes bu-“

"I’m not saying you shouldn’t be angry, but I think you should forgive him. After all he did say the only reason he lied was to protect you… from what I don’t know, but surely that is a good enough reason.” She looked at him sternly with an edge that all women seemed to have mastered in order to get men to fall in line.

He sighed, “Your right.”

“Good,” She smiled brightly, “here let me help you get back to the table so you can lie down. When that healer gets back I’ll ask him if we can move you to the inn so you can have a proper bed to sleep in.”

“That would be great.” He said thankfully accepting her proffered arm, slightly less embarrassed this time, “I’m just so tired.”

Shin helped him back onto the table and pulled up a chair so she could sit by him, “You’ve been through a lot since you’ve woken up… the healer told us you would need a few days of rest to recover.”

“I wouldn’t mind a few weeks of rest.” He chuckled weakly.

“I’d like a nice bed myself... but enough talk you need to sleep.”

“Mhmm.” He said as his eyelids began closing involuntarily, “Thanks for looking out for me.”

Shin giggled as Kodar fell into sleep mumbling incoherently, “Sleep well Kodar.”

A wave of exhaustion tugged at her, reminding her that she too had been through quite an ordeal. As soon as the healer was back she was going to head straight towards the inn and make good friends with a pillow. She sighed and rested her head in her arms on the table… hopefully he wouldn’t be too long.

The healer sighed tiredly as he came back home and walked in the door. The birth had been difficult but his hard work had delivered a healthy young boy to world, and that was worth it.

He was surprised to see candlelight still burning inside when he walked into the care room when he remembered the strange boy that had survived the black blade poisoning. The birth had required so much of his focus that he had completely forgotten that he had left him there.

He started towards the table when he realized that both he and the girl who had stayed to watch him were fast asleep. They boy rested quietly on the table and the girl slept in a chair beside him, head resting next to him on the table. A smiled touched his lips as he saw that she was holding his hand in her own, “Ah, young love I guess.”

It was only a few hours before dawn, and it would be difficult to wake them both and get them to the inn. He would just leave them as they were until morning. Quietly as he could he tiptoed to the burning candle and blew it out leaving the two sleeping peacefully.