The Heart of a Dragon
Remembering Silver and Sapphire, Ardent glanced down at the courtyard. She was sure the pair would be back to normal soon. It was then that she remembered the crystals and Deignian's words- "I might need to stop back at The Store." If only she had thought of it sooner. If he had to go to The Store, he meant going to Tarzap. Perhaps next time.... surely she could watch his movements and find her way back there.
Home. Although Ardent had lived on Earth before any other signs of life were evident, she never really thought of it as home. She never felt at home. Perhaps it was because she was one of only two creatures on the whole planet that were not of this world. Even with Deignian around she felt very much alone, most of the time.
True, she had her dragons- Ruby and Sapphire. They were hardly what she considered humanoid species, although she knew there were rumors....
It was hard being one of a kind in a place as big as this world. She knew she was different from Deignian though she didn't know how. For one, she seemed to be able to communicate telepathically to her dragon friends. She one day discovered Deignian could not and was quite surprised by this.
"You're different, and that's all I'm saying." And he did in fact keep to his word.
Ardent sighed as she looked out her window. A giant, brilliant blue dragon took up most of the view. It was raining now, and a part of her had a deep down feeling that was Deignian's doing, too.
She shivered as she realized she was no longer alone.
"Deignian?" she glanced behind her as there was no reply. She spun around, watching the shadows, carefully making sure not to blink.
So, he was back again. Truth be told, she never really was alone- because HE was watching her. Ardent didn't know who he was, what he was, or what he looked like. She didn't know anything about him, as all he did was watch. She had tried talking to him before but he never spoke back. A cold, shadow watcher of a friend.
HE was part of the reason she never felt comfortable. It was extremely creepy knowing a shadowy figure was watching you bathe, dress and not to mention all other things.
Ardent sat and looked out the window for quite some time, waiting for the rain to stop pouring down. She loved the rain, loved listening to it. She had fond memories of running through the down pours during her early childhood. She found it somehow soothing as it reminded her of home.
Today, however, she wished it would stop. Being alone in the dark, cold castle with the dark stranger was something she tried to avoid. Quite far indeed from her ideal day.
So quietly she sat, watching the rain drip down her windows, watching the lights from her candles flicker amongst the darkness. She was quite pleased that the wind hadn't picked up. The last thing she wanted was more howling....
Ardent had met many creatures during her life on Earth, most of which the humans considered mythical. Unicorns were some of her favorite creatures. The fae and pixies never bothered her and she even had some living in an old willow tree she sometimes called home. Werewolves, on the other hand, they seemed to be fascinated by her and loved teasing her. Mostly they enjoyed startling her when she wasn't expecting them around. Dragons, she obviously got along well with. She befriended two- Sapphire and Ruby who were actually from Tarzap but seemed to enjoy her company.
And then there were the vampires. Ardent had known quite a few in her life time and had outlived them all. Nowadays there were a lot of rumors, mostly lies, about vampires. Imagine, those foul creatures romantic! In truth, they were much more like leeches- parasites. They took what they could get from you and then kept taking. They thrived by feeding off of someone's faults, someone's desires. These weren't the blood sucking monsters you see these days in the movies. These were something else- feeding off of the soul, off of the emotions, despair, thoughts....
It was true that Ardent herself was considered a vampire. She drank blood, but not from this planet. She had her own private supply. Not that she enjoyed it, or so she'd never admit, anyway. The foods on this earth were, to her, instant death.
Not that death mattered to her too much, either. Tarzapians had an insanely fast healing rate and with the time difference between the two planets she healed almost instantly. Death was always tricky but she always managed to reincarnate back into her own body in some shape or form.
Ardent nearly screamed as she felt someone touch the top of her head. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't realized that she was no longer alone.
Except.....
She reached above her head to feel for the hand that should be there or atleast an arm. Nothing. But still she felt the pressure of a hand upon her head.
"That's it!" she screamed as she jumped out of her seat and stormed down the stairs leading to the first floor. She could still be heard, atleast if there were anyone there to hear her, muttering to herself as she slammed the castle doors shut and walked out into the cold, rainy night.
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