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A Warrior’s Destiny: Red, Chapter Thirteen
Category: Writing and Poetry
Thirteen Six more months of training had gone by and the recruits were given leave. I decided to go home to see my mother. Thankfully I didn't have to walk. An airplane took me all the way to Bellato. From there I did have to walk to Meton, thankfully it wasn't far. Walt went home to his village. Chen went to his to see his girl. Rebecca went home to see Christofer. They all had their leave planned out so I was alone again. Tears glistened in my eyes as I saw my mother. She looked the same as before, beautiful. I hugged her tightly, her eyes dripping with tears. "I've missed you so much Mother," I cried. "And I you, my son," she sobbed as well. We talked all that night, she told me all that had been happening. It seemed the opposite of what I had intended was happening in Meton. Instead of the villagers leaving her alone they in fact had become crueler since I left. They constantly berated her for random things. I was angry, but I knew that I couldn't do much about it. "Jonathan has been terrorizing the village a lot as well. He's killed twelve, one for each month you've been gone," she told me. "Since I left?" "Yes, no rhyme or reason," she said sighing. "Just killing. Also the tax collectors have been coming around more often taking more from us." "Haven't they done anything to try to persuade him from ending his terror? Hasn't Mister Gomez or someone gone up there to defend the town from the Tyrant?" "Mister Gomez was the first killed by the Dragon King. Five others were Todd Bollin, his brother and his friends." I was angry for some reason, why did I care? Didn't they deserve it for the hell they put me through? No, no one deserves that kind of death. I felt a pull towards the huge castle on the hill overlooking Meton. After a few moments I said, "Mother, I have to go to him and see if I can help somehow." "No! Azriel, don't please!" she pleaded with me. "Anything, but that, don't go to him, don't make him angrier." I didn't understand why my mother was so insistent against me going up to the castle. "Mother, I will be okay. I'm sure of it. I'll go tomorrow and I'll come back in one piece." * * * So that's what I did. Bright and early in the morning I started out to the castle. Word had spread of my return to the village so I was greeted the next morning with boos and hisses. They followed me from the village, but they didn't realize what I was doing, or maybe they did, but didn't care. It took a few hours to reach the castle, but I didn't get lost, it was clearly marked. I sensed evil, but something familiar about the path to the castle. I finally reached the castle and looked at the huge doors. I knocked as loud as I could, but knew it wouldn't be loud enough, so I kicked the door as hard as I could. I knew someone would hear me then. The door opened slowly. I heard a voice in my head say, come in Azriel, I've been expecting you. I was confused to say the least. This voice was very similar to the one I had heard when the Dragons attacked the caravan to the Fort. I saw guards, but they didn't attack me. They stood stalk still. I kept walking along a red carpet with Dragon figures on each side. The castle was immense. Stone walls, windows every 20 feet or so, some with red stained glass, some with clear glass. The sky was beautiful really. The guards were well dressed. I stopped and approached a guard that was at least a foot taller than me. I looked him up at him and asked, "What's your name?" "I have no name," he said, his face emotionless, his voice flat and monotone. "What kind of creature are you?" "I am a golem." "Ah! So he made you?" "Yes." "Are all of the guards here golems?" "Yes." "Do you break easily?" "No. We are made of solid steel." "Steel Golems…." The golem didn't respond. I reached my right hand up and took his left hand. I grinned evilly and pulled his arm off of his body. The guard looked down at me with his arm in my hand. He raised his other arm to swat me. I dodged and kicked him over onto his back. I dropped his left arm and grabbed his right and pulled it off too. I smiled down at him and said, "Thanks, I needed some clubs in case your master decides to be difficult." I grabbed the other arm and walked on. The golem tried to get back to its feet. The other golems stood ignoring its plight. The golem was stuck. * * * Finally I reached what I thought was the Dragon's chamber. I knocked three times with the golem's left arm. The strikes cracked the door a little. The voice in my head said, open the door, Azriel. I pushed the door and it wouldn't budge. Pull, Azriel, you're just as bad as your mother, the voice said. I turned my head, looking around the corridor, however I saw no one. I put down one of the golem arms and pulled the door open. I took the arm back into my hand and stepped into the room. The room was huge. I guess it had to be if it was going to house a Dragon. There were more red carpets than were necessary rolled towards a huge throne. A man sat on the throne. I walked in slowly, wondering where the Dragon was. "Who are you?" I asked. "I am Jonathan. I thought you would know that by now," he responded. "You don't look much like a Dragon to me." "Looks can be deceiving." "Yeah, I guess. How do you know my mother, more importantly, how are you speaking into my mind?" The man smiled as he said, "I knew your mother before you were born." Always the skeptic I said, "I've seen Dragons up close and personal, you don't look anything like them." The man rose from his throne and walked towards me. I stood with my arms at my side, the golem arms still in my hands. I waited for him to reach me. He and I were the same height. He said, "Look into my eyes Azriel. You will see who I am." Our eyes locked. For a moment I studied his irises. Something seemed very familiar about him. Flash! The image of the huge Red Dragon invaded my head. The Black Dragon's lifeless corpse lay on the ground and the Red Dragon stood over it looking directly at me. The pack of wolves that tried to eat me and my sheep were driven away from us by the same Dragon. Half of the Dragon's face melded with half of this man's face. They seemed to fit perfectly. I shook my head to free my gaze from him. "But you… are a Human." "No. You see a Human form." His eyes flashed red. He looked formidable. "What are you?" I asked. "I am a Dragon, who can shift into a Human form." "Why are you killing the villagers?" I asked. "They are my subjects to kill as I please." "You never killed anyone while I was living in the village. Why start now?" "I don't owe you any explanation, child." "Child? That's bullshit. Tell me the reason why." Exasperated he paused. "Fine! I was upset that you left." "Why? I don't even know you. How do you know my mother and I've never even met you?" He stopped…. His eyes searched mine. I felt the same feeling I had felt when I met the Dragon with red eyes as a young boy. Then I got it. "You're my father…" A pause. "Yes, Azriel, I am your father." My hands released the golem's arms. They hit the floor with two clangs. "Son, don't be afraid…." he moved toward me reaching. I backed up from him, "You… raped my mother?" "No, that was a lie to keep you from the truth. Your mother and I were lovers for a long time, until she became pregnant with you. She told me it was time to end the affair and that I was never to seek you out. "I was so furious, but because of my love for her, I did not seek you out. But I always kept tabs on you in my Dragon form and with the help of my tax collectors. "When you left the village, I was so upset that I killed the villagers responsible for you leaving. I waited for you to get word about the killings and come to stop me. I knew you would, you have your mother's heart. You feel obligation to the village despite the cruelty of the citizens to you. I know this." I couldn't even speak. I had no words. "You don't even know why, do you?" Jonathan asked. I shook my head and said, "You've never done me harm. They did. And yet when I heard Gomez had been killed I wanted to come here and destroy you for it. But he never would have done the same for me. They hate me in that village." "They hate you because they know you are my son." "I… don't… believe it…." "The truth is always hard to believe at first, but you know in your heart that this is the truth." "NO!!" I laid into him with my powerful right fist. I hit him so hard he flew across the chamber into the wall. I could see the pain on his face as he stood up. "Azriel, please, let's not fight." "No, I think we need to fight!!" The fire burned in my eyes as I ran, grabbing the golem's left arm and jumping into the air. I crashed down upon him, the blow rattling the chamber. He lay crumpled on the floor. I stood above him clenching the golem's arm tightly. "Get up!" I yelled. "I know you aren't hurt!" He looked up at me and snarled, "Azriel, I love you my son, but I will not stand for being disrespected." I looked down at him, without rising he kicked me hard in the left knee, when it buckled, he kicked me square in the chest, flinging me back across the room into the far wall. It was my bad knee, but I was too pissed to be hurt much. I rose and was stared him down across the room. "You're going to have do to better than that to defeat me," I scoffed, "Father." "You couldn't handle me, Son." Jonathan growled and flew at me driving me into the wall. I snarled and pushed him away following with a massive kick to the chest driving him back. We ran at one another, I fired punches at him; he would block and lash out at me. I was quick and hit him a couple times, but he was quicker and hit me more times. We traded thunderous punches. My training had been extensive, but I was still getting the worse end of the deal by far. We kept punching and kicking, not relenting. There was no style or order to our mayhem. "Azriel, you should stop," Jonathan said. "I'm not done yet," I responded. My punch landed square in his chest. He tried to hit me, but ducked and hit him twice more in the stomach. He tried to kick me, but I blocked and double kicked him in response, knocking him into another wall. He growled, "Okay, have it your way." I stood watching him get up. I was ready for anything he could throw at me. My heart raced like a thousand horses galloping. He growled and screamed, I couldn't tell if he was in pain or pleasure. He went down on all fours, his body grew in size and changed from the Human form, to the form of the Dragon that I had seen when I was a boy. Scales replaced skin, a huge tail extended out, arms and legs became huge fore and hind quarters. Finally a huge head took the place of his Human head. He let out a deafening roar and began to advance towards me. In my head was the thought, Stop now my son, you will not like where this goes. I stood my ground. His huge mouth opened and extended towards me. His teeth were like razors but I caught his upper and lower jaws. He tried to close his mouth around me, but I was able to hold it open. It took all I had, but I would not let his mouth close. His breath hit me with its sick wet, flesh smell. He growled in frustration and shook his head back and forth until finally I had to let go. I was thrown across the room, but I met the wall with my feet, coiling and jumping back towards Jonathan. I cocked my right foot back, and swung it forward catching him in the nose. The snarl he let out was just as menacing as it was when our battle began. I returned the evil smile. I grabbed the golem arms from the floor and heaved them at the Dragon form. I hit him once in the mouth and once right between his huge red eyes. Black blood few from his mouth spattering on the stone floor. He roared with his eyes crossed from the impact of the two metal arms. Suddenly, all I saw was a tongue of fire spew from him, engulfing me. I felt the heat, felt my clothes burning, but my skin was unaffected. I was taken by surprise, but not a single hair on my body was burned. Jonathan ran towards me, tackled me and held me down. His cruel red eyes looked into my eyes. The thoughts that came into my head next were, because you are my son you are spared, once. The next time you come, you had better be prepared to fight or prepared to die. Jonathan roared at a deafening volume. Just as I gained my wits for a retaliatory strike, he was gone. I sighed in pain and sat up. The room looked like a tornado had hit it. The curtains of the windows were singed from his fire. His throne had been toppled and broken. I stood slowly, painfully and saw the blood on the floor, black as night, and thick as tar. I touched it and wondered, was this the same blood that flowed in my veins? * * * "How could you be so stupid as to go up to the castle?! You stupid, bastard fool!" It was Conchita Gomez, Diana's mother, widow of Sergeant Gomez. She had been promoted to leader of the village after he husband had been killed by… my father. I was not warmly greeted when I returned to the village. They screamed and yelled at me for being as stupid as to go to the castle. "What were you thinking!? You're going to get us all killed!" Conchita yelled. "The big bad Hell Bringer's wife afraid of a little Dragon trouble. Your husband must have taught you something hunny! I was saving your sorry asses! I was fighting with him to keep you free from him!" I retorted. Mrs. Gomez got right into my face and yelled, "That's it! You've caused enough trouble, if you come back to this town again, you will be killed." "You will not keep me from my mother!" I turned away not waiting for a response and stormed my mother's house. I found her crying on the floor. I was angry, but not so angry I couldn't be compassionate to her. "Mother," I called softly. She already knew what I had learned before I had a chance to share my revelation. "Azriel," she cried. "I'm so sorry I lied to you about your true birth. I was just so ashamed. And then the villagers found out, it just all became a huge mess. I'm so very sorry." "Did you love him?" "Yes… I loved him." "What changed?" "When I became pregnant with you, I just knew it couldn't work. All the love for him I once felt, I no longer felt it. I couldn't even stand the sight of him anymore. I was so ashamed of what I had done, I mean, having a child out of wedlock was just the most awful thing to me. So I told the lie about being raped. It fell apart after HE told the villagers about us." My face sunk. I was deep in thought. I was the cause of them ending their relationship? And I was the last to even know about the relationship. I couldn't believe it. She comforted me as if she knew that was what I was thinking. "Azriel," she said soothingly. "Please don't let this affect you. I loved you all these years. I lied because it was the only way I could protect you. Lying is not always wrong Azriel, it is only wrong when it will get someone hurt." "I'm in pain here Mother," I said softly. I couldn't be angry with her at least not angry at her. She meant well I'm sure of it. I nuzzled my mother's hair softly. In my heart, however, I was seething. How could my own Mother lie to me? Even to protect me. That night, I slept fitfully at best. I didn't dream. Instead I thought. My life seemed like a lie. How could this be happening? How was I half-Dragon and half-Human? It all seemed fake, surreal. It seemed like a big joke. It seemed like a bad dream from which I would eventually wake. I didn't comprehend it then, but I hoped it would make sense. I have since forgiven my Mother. I understood her motives, and there is no way I could have stayed angry at the woman who kept me alive during my formative years. The anger lingered for a long while afterward though. * * * I was about to leave my mother's home. It was time to go back to Bellato and fly back to Fort Kingsley. We'd had a good breakfast. I was still very angry, but that didn't mean I couldn't be civil to her. I was just really confused. I felt even more like my life had been a lie. I really didn't know what to make of my life anymore. I had all of my gear. I kissed my mother and walked to the door. I opened the door and there she was, Diana. I hadn't expected to see her. I smiled at her. She shook her head. Slap! I held my hand up to my face, "Why did you do that?" With tears in her eyes, Diana said, "You sonofabitch, you disrespected my father! He was a great man, whether or not we ever saw eye to eye. And you disrespected him. I thought you were different than this village Az. I thought that all of this that happened to you when you lived here would have changed your way of thinking, but it hasn't. You are just like everyone else here, close-minded!" I wasn't sorry, but seeing Diana in tears was still apparently a weakness, "Diana, look, I was angry…." "I don't care! I really don't give a shit. I'm sorry for the way he treated you when you were here, but he's dead now. You shouldn't disrespect the dead like that." "Diana, why are you here?" She sniffled and looked downcast. She was breathing heavily and sighed. Suddenly her face turned up to mine and she hugged me tightly. "Gods, I missed you so much Az." I put my arms around her, "I missed you too, Diana." Even though, I'm not sure if I really did.
7:54 AM
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