Dragon bonding

She woke again, opening her eyes to a man in her bed. Only except it wasn't her bed. It was his. She sat up so fast that the bed shook a little, rattling the nightstands on each side. Her mind quickly reminded her of where she was and what had happened.

She found herself in an unfamiliar nightgown. She looked at Kai with his eyes closed and glared at him. She jumped when he spoke. "Yes, I helped you change. Now please go back to sleep."

Before she could retort, there was a knock at the door. "Oh, ma rye teh." He grunted as he threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. He stormed to the door and flung it open.

"What?" He snapped. Juniper pulled the covers to her chest, feeling uncomfortable with how grouchy he seemed. She made a mental note he was not a morning person.

Dayton walked in, not explaining his "what." Kai let the door close, but not before Juniper could glimpse a giant guard standing outside.

Dayton looked around as if it was his first time in this room, but how at ease he was said otherwise. When his eyes landed on Juniper, they burned holes in her skin. She hid further in the covers, but it didn't feel like a safe enough barrier.

"How was your first night in the prince's bed?" He smirked, causing the heat to rise in her cheeks.

"Day—" Kai went to come to her defense, but Dayton cut him off.

"Barcelona has been poisoned the yisheng is asking for you."

"I swear when I get to the bottom of this, I'm going to—" Kai let the sentence hang in the air as he hurried to the closest to get dressed.

As he came out, pulling his other arm through his shirt, he threw the dress Juniper wore last night at her. "Put this on."

Kai was too much in his world to read the room, and Dayton didn't seem to take his eyes off her. She glanced under her blanket and saw that her nightgown was too thin to get up and walk to the other room. So, with one large gulp and a nasty glare at Dayton, Juniper did her best to throw the dress over her head, all while still in the blankets. She stood to let the dress fall when she felt like she had most of herself well covered.

She was met with solid hands, stilling her from behind. Her breath caught.

"We have to hurry. Let me help you." Kai's deep voice spoke as she felt him pull the untucked parts of her dress down. Then she felt a belt be placed around her waist and fastened tighter than Stasia had.

"There, please braid your hair, and let's be on our way. Time for the tour." He chirped as he gently pushed her to the bathroom. All the while, she was aware of Dayton's eyes staring daggers at her.

She wrestled with her dress as she tried to pee, wishing she had done this before putting on the oversized, unnecessarily layered clothing. She spat curses under her breath as she felt she couldn't move or do anything properly. There was a knock at the door. Oh fuck off, she thought to herself.

"One second!" she kindly spoke, batting her eyes as she flushed and moved to the sink to wash her hands and deal with her hair.

It took her a few minutes to repeat the hairstyle Stasia had done for her last night. Just as she went to open the door, there was another annoying knock at the door. Kai's face was shocked by the door being suddenly opened. He did one quick take over her clothes, grabbed her arm, said nothing to her, and dragged her through the halls.

Kai and Dayton got carried away in conversation, which all seemed a bit urgent, even though she couldn't understand what was being said.

They walked out of the castle, through a garden, and back into the building, and she was utterly lost. They walked for about fifteen minutes. She was starting to feel tired and uncomfortable when they arrived at the large stables three times the size of her barn back home and went on for at least a mile.

Stasia greeted them. "It took you long enough!" she said, surprising Juniper that someone was finally speaking English. "Kai, I know you don't want to hear this, but this time I have proof it's not the other clans, but someone from our kingdom."

Kai looked at Stasia and then at Juniper as if to say. Why the heck are you speaking in English right now? Stasia's usually sweet, obedient smile was replaced with something a lot sassier. Like they were having a silent conversation with each other.

"What proof do you have?" he grunted.

With that, Stasia's sweet, innocent smile quickly returned as she raised her hand and showed something that looked like thorns. It grabbed Kai's interest immediately as he stared at them. Then he spoke again in that darn impossible language.

Their conversation distracted the three of them; they didn't notice Juniper walking toward the stall. Her feet moved before her mind told her what was happening. Her head rang with a slight headache, and she listened to the slow rhythmic rumble of a beast's somber sleep. She peeked her head over to see Barcelona.

Juniper ignored the ringing in her head. She told herself it was from the lack of sleep and the stress. Instead, she put all her focus on Barcelona. Could this be real?

The dragon that lay before her was remarkable in every way. Her skin alone had such details. Juniper felt she could sit and stare at every line in the beast's skin and not get bored for hours.

The red color of Barcelona's skin was such a vibrant tint. Like the red you would see in a sunset. Even though it was still a rich color, Juniper could tell it wasn't at its maximum glow. Barcelona looked sickly and rotten, but none of it took from her beauty and the fear that rumbled deep inside Juniper's chest. She wanted to meet the beast, to tame the beast—like Kai has. It was excitement and so much respect for what lay before her.

"You haven't yet seen her up close, have you?" Kai's voice came in, causing her to jump, but she didn't let her eyes off the dragon. She shook her head no. "Come."

It seemed hard for her to tear her eyes from Barcelona, but when she did, she saw Kai offering his hand. She took it and was happy that he led her inside. The moment her foot stepped into the stall, Barcelona's head snapped up, and she made a hiss that blew hot air onto Juniper's skin.

"No!" Kai's stern voice stopped Barcelona. Juniper jumped behind Kai, fearing the flames that might leave the red beast's mouth. Her heart pounded all the more. The tinge of pain in her head increased, but she was too excited to let some dumb headache mess this up.

Barcelona seemed pissed that Juniper was there in the stall with her. She acted a lot like a horse when they gave birth. There was an utter fierceness in her eyes— the need to protect. Juniper felt in danger of being in the stall with this beast. Yet her heart pounded with adrenaline. She didn't want to be anywhere else.

Barcelona's breath had the same heavy grunt as a momma horse—heaving angrily and threatening to thrash around. A momma horse will bite, kick, and buck absolutely anything to protect her young. Especially if she didn't trust you, Barcelona saw Juniper as a threat. She wouldn't kick you with her hind legs, either. No, Juniper would be returned to her family, already cremated, with no extra charge. That was if her "newfound friends" would even bother to return her body...

She wasn't listening to what Kai was saying to Barcelona. Juniper was too mesmerized by Barcelona's eyes to pay attention. She probably shouldn't beat herself up, but she did. All these details and life experiences that humans weren't supposed to experience, and here she was the first day in front of them and not paying attention. She was now noticing more in their behavior details in their bodies, there was much to learn in this world, and Juniper planned to learn it all.

Starting with this question: Why do the dragons have the same flames in their eyes as Kai? The color of the eye itself is different, but the fire is the same. They moved like a torch flame or an even better description, like the fire being blown out of a dragon's mouth. They twirled around inside the pupil, causing it to be challenging to look away.

Juniper saw a glimpse of yesterday's vision, and Barcelona came to mind, watching as Juniper and Kai kissed. Only except this time, it didn't seem so scary.

Shortly after that, there was another image where Kai and Juniper were flying in the sky. A sky much like at home, not in this volcanic world. They were laughing, and she was wearing clothes similar to his. It showed an areal view of them in the sky, enjoying their ride. Then it zoomed into the eye of Barcelona, and then Juniper was back in the stall.

It was like Barcelona was giving her a knowing look. She stretched her head to sniff the air towards Juniper. Just like a dog would have. It felt like Barcelona saw the innocence in Juniper and calmed down.

Cautiously, Juniper reached to touch the head of the dragon. The same dragon Dayton had to shove her out of the way, so flames did not eat her alive. It shocked her that the skin was soft.

Barcelona pushed her head gently into Juniper and then Kai,

"Congratulations, she officially sees you as one of us. She recognizes the bond."

"The bond?" Juniper asked as she subconsciously rubbed at her forehead to rid the annoying sting of a headache. Did he mean the bond between her and Barcelona or him?

Kai's expression hardened a bit as he saw Juniper rubbing her temple. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just have a small headache."

Kai turned his head toward the exit of the stall. Dayton and Stasia were watching Juniper's encounter with Barcelona. They exchanged a glance with Kai. Dayton suddenly had his I-dislike-Juniper look on his face.