Awkward Mornings

When I wake up the next morning, I find myself still wrapped in Bolin's arms. Did I really fall asleep on him!? Did I drool? Did I snore!? Do I even drool or snore while sleeping?? Embarrassment burns through me as I try to wiggle out of his embrace but as soon as I start to move, he stirs.

He pulls me back against his chest and asks, "You don't want to sleep for a while longer?" I hold my breath, frantically trying to calm down. I quickly untangle myself and stand up. I awkwardly straighten my dress and my messy hair as I clear my voice and say, "No, I'm good."

I turn and walk out, ignoring the low chuckle I hear coming from him. My cheeks burn as I head straight outside and find that it had lightly snowed last night. Where were Abell and Haoyu? As soon as I start to worry about her, I dismiss it.

What could a big and powerful dragon have to possibly worry about? Especially being accompanied by an even bigger dragon! She was finally free; I can only imagine how that must feel. If I were me, I would probably be flying all night!

Plus, she was able to fly with another dragon. The thought warmed my heart.

Mago awkwardly clears his throat and asks, "Can you please make several mirrors around the estate? That way I don't have to awkwardly hang around as the third wheel with you two?" Embarrassment floods through me once again as I mutter, "You can always leave into a shiny candle holder..."

He scoffs and says, "Absolutely not! It's murky and is such a low quality! Even thinking about has me shuddering!" I sigh and rub my temples as I give in and say, "Fine, I will make several of them and place them all over the estate. It might be a good idea to place a few of them outside in the surrounding woods as well. It would allow us to see if and when others approach."

I feel Mago agreeing as I head off to my room to get cleaned up. As soon as I'm done, I walk out and find Haun glaring at me. I pause, looking at him with innocence. Why was he glaring at me so early in the morning? What did I do?

Suddenly, I realize why.

He was angry that I left while on his watch. To make matters worse, I got myself in trouble. I can only imagine what kind of trouble he got into and what kind of position I put him in. It was truly my fault this time.

I awkwardly clear my throat and say, "I'm sorry about... before. I never intended for all of that to happen." Haun blinks, genuinely surprised by my awkward apology. He clears his throat and rolls his shoulders before saying, "Next time just let me know if you wish to do something. That way I can ensure your safety and mine."

I give him a small smile as I nod and say, "Deal." His lip twitches a little before he bows and heads off toward Bolin's office. I reach up and rub the back of my neck as I try to arrange my to-do list in my head.

I decide to start with the mirrors outside and head straight for the front gates. As soon as I push them open, I find myself pausing. A man with long silver hair wearing a light green robe stands at the doors with his hands behind his back. I blink in surprise.

He looked to be around the same age as Bolin but for some reason, the man felt older. He also felt dangerous...

I look him over as he does the same to me. He moves so quickly; I blink and he's before me! His hand reaches up as if he's going to touch my head when suddenly a large hand reaches past me from behind and grabs his arm, effectively stopping him.

Bolin's deep voice is laced with danger as he says, "Touch her and you will lose your hand." The man with silver hair smirks and says, "Ah, it's the one who isn't human. Interesting. The monster protects the goddess, is that right?"

I glare at the man as I find myself trapped between the two of them. I don't know exactly what's happening, but I can feel a power struggle happening between the two of them. Bolin's familiar dark power saturates the air around us as an unknown power does the same. The two were fighting against each other.

I release my magic in a small burst, causing the man in green to take several steps back in surprise. I give him a dry look as I say, "The witch can protect herself, but she enjoys the company. Who are you and what do you want?"

The man chuckles in amusement as he repeats, "Witch..." As if tasting the word. He then says, "I was actually sent here by someone else. He said the fate of our world was in danger because of you two." His smile grows as he places his hands back behind his back and says, "As a matter of fact, the monster is corrupting the goddess and needs to be saved."

I curse under my breath as I say, "Weimin that sneaky little bastard. He is truly insane..." The man in green watches with amusement as he says, "While I don't disagree with you, I do find this quite interesting. This is the first time in a long time that something interesting has happened. So, are you two going to destroy the world?"

I say, "No." as Bolin says, "Yes."

I turn back to look at Bolin, but he was still glaring at the man in green. When I turn back to look at the man, his smile grows as he says, "Interesting. I think I will stay for a bit." Bolin snaps, "Over my dead body! Leave!"

The man ignores Bolin as he leisurely strolls into the estate while saying, "Now, now the monster knows as well as I do, that can be arranged but I feel like it would be a waste of time for both of us, right?"

He turns back to us and gives Bolin a knowing smile. I got the feeling that he may be stronger than Bolin but at the same time, I feel like that might not necessarily be true. Bolin seems to hide his real strength for some reason.

If he were to truly fight this man, he would come out on top, but he was clearly holding back. Why? He was pretending to be weaker than he really was... The more I think about it, the more I realize that we needed to talk.

If whatever this was between us were to continue... we needed to talk and clear some things up. He was clearly hiding a lot and was constantly doing things behind the scenes. I'm all for having privacy and supporting others and their secrets but I felt like this was something that would affect everyone, including myself.

I want to know what he's doing and if he can't tell me exactly what's happening, at least tell me something so I'm not left in the dark about everything. Communication is important in relationships, right? That's what I've always heard back in my world.