The young Alex looked petrified. He couldn’t believe it but as his gaze flew back to the obsidian hills, any hint of doubt was eradicated. This location and the infamous feature of the black, crystal-like mountain range was proof enough and this was it. There was no mistaking it because this was the only place in the world like it.
Dark Dragon Hills.
This part of the world, and most especially the Dark Dragon Hills, was known to everyone in this kingdom and even to people living in the faraway lands. This was the one place no one dared to approach because everybody feared the dragon that resided here.
Everybody except for this girl before him.
He looked at the girl again and he couldn’t say a word. His thoughts were a mess. He just couldn’t believe that this seemingly weak and harmless human girl was actually the one living with the dragon! It seemed he was very wrong when he thought of her as a harmless little rabbit. His mouth opened and closed as if he was about to say something but nothing came out.
“By the way, I’m Abigail. What’s your name?” she asked him, flashing that innocent and alluring smile of hers.
The young man clenched the hilt of his sword hanging by his right hip, averting his gaze from her. He looked around again and he had a faraway look in his eyes as they fell on the thick forest where he had encountered the girl.
“If you have nowhere to go, you can stay here for now,” she offered as she moved and stood before him, facing him.
“You want a stranger like me to stay here with you?” his eyes narrowed.
“If I am able to help you in that way, why not? It won’t be the first time I have let my friends stay with me for a while. There have been quite a few before you, you know,” she said, matter of factly.
“Quite a few… so I am not the only one you have brought home…”
“Not at all! Mm. Let’s see… there was a wounded piglet, a rabbit, an eagle, a fawn and a half-witch,” she listed off, counting with her fingers.
Young Alex looked speechless at her list. He didn’t think that she had been talking about animals when she had said ‘friends’. He was beginning to think that this girl probably thought of him as a certain animal as well if she didn’t mention that last ‘friend’ on her list. Even so , what she said made his brows knot.
“Half-witch?” he echoed, curiously.
The girl smiled widely as if she had expected his reaction.
“Yep. And he is now my friend, too. He is probably on his way over soon! I want you to meet him, too. He’s the one who helped me carry you back here,” she said, sounding so excited as if she couldn’t wait for the two men to meet. “I think you two will become good friends.”
“I’m not good at making friends. And you should know, witches and vampires don’t get along.”
“But you both aren’t pureblooded. You’re both halflings! You guys have something that is extremely rare in this world in common! I never thought a half-witch existed before I met Zeres. And now, I’ve also met a half-vampire. I heard that this was an impossible thing but it appears that everyone was wrong because you guys exist. It’s really amazing, don’t you think?”
Young Abigail’s eyes were almost twinkling as she spoke, causing the young man to look at her with such deep curiosity.
“You’re a strange girl. Nobody else would think that being a halfling was an amazing thing other than you,” he muttered as he leaned against the wooden wall like he had lost most of his energy. His eyes were blank and unhappy.
“But it is!” Abigail insisted.
“It’s not!” he gritted his teeth. “Because I was born a halfling, I am an outcast. The world doesn’t see me as a vampire or a human. I don’t belong anywhere. Even my family wants nothing to do with me. What’s so amazing about that? What’s so amazing about being alone?!”
The young man bit his lips upon realizing what he just blurted out. He looked away, looking regretful.
But the girl suddenly held his hand, squeezing them, causing the young man to look at her with surprise. She showed him a kind smile and then hugged him silently.
What she did made him freeze. What was she doing this? Why was she hugging a stranger like him? He was beyond surprised but his stunned face eventually relaxed and before he knew it, he buried his head on her shoulder.
They stayed like that for a long while until the girl pulled away and they stared into each other’s eyes. The hatred and pain in his eyes were gone.
“You really are strange…” he mumbled. “You’re the first person who has ever hugged me as far as I remember,” he confessed, causing the girl to lift her brows in surprise.
“Really? Ever?” She didn’t look convinced.
But the young man looked away again. There was a glint of sadness mixed with hatred in his eyes. “I told you. Everyone hates me and pushes me away. My father most certainly sent me to fight in the frontlines of this war hoping that I would die,” he mumbled, leaning back on the wall again as he closed his eyes.
The girl looked down and held his hand again.
“If… if you want, you can stay here with me if you have nowhere to go. Who knows, you might find that there is one place in this world that you might belong,” she suddenly said, serious. The young man’s eyes flew open.
Before he could say another word, she pulled him and led him back inside the house. “Your body is still weak because of the lingering poison inside your body. You need to drink this soup to neutralise it,” she said and this time, the young man finally let himself be dragged back inside the house.
