Village People
Skye turned to find a young man looking at her. He was extremely tall, with short dark brown hair and cheekbones to die for. It looked like if you ran your finger along them they would cut you. He was dressed simply in black clothes but wore them with an air of confidence that made them look like the finest of garments. As she had stared he had moved closer, close enough she could see the colour of his eyes, chocolate brown.
“Hello.” He said again, coming to a stop just in front of her. She noticed he moved slowly as if she was a startled animal.
“Hi… I’m sorry is this your house? I just came here, as I didn’t know where else to go. The dragon sent me down here. Well I think he did. He appeared to. I’m sorry. I’m not sure where else to go.” She gabbled, stopping only when she saw him laughing.
“Slow down. It’s ok. I need to be able to understand you. Are you another one from the village?”
“Another one? You mean you’ve seen others?”
“I take it that is a yes. Why do they keep sending you?” She saw a shadow cross his face.
“They didn’t send me, I sent myself.” He jerked his eyes up to her as he began to study her. She got the feeling that he wasn’t sure what to make of her.
“Well that’s a new one. Come on. Let’s get you some food and introduce you to some of the others.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” It didn’t escape her notice that she was following him like a puppy or that he expected her to follow.
“I didn’t get your name. I’m Grant Ward by the way. And to answer your question yes I have met the others that the stupid villagers keep sending to the dragon for some reason.”
“I’m Skye. They think it will stop them being killed by the dragon.”
“Of all the stupid things.” He muttered which she didn’t think she was supposed to hear.
“Well they never came back.”
“Yes well each time we sent them back they got sent back to the dragon without anybody listening to them so we had to do something.”
“So they’re not dead?”
“Of course not! Jesus we’re not monsters. As they kept being sent back to us we had to do something about it. Leaving them here wasn’t an option so we created a new village for them so they could live in peace. We can take you there tomorrow.”
“Everyone thinks the dragon is a monster. Hang on you keep saying we. Are you linked with the dragon?”
“You could say that there is a relationship with him and everyone in this house.” He said wryly. “Anyway here is the kitchen. May and Phil are in there, they’ll give you something to eat. I’ll go and prepare a room for you.” He propelled her into the kitchen before heading up another pair of stairs.
Standing in front of a fire were two people, the lady was short with dark black hair, the man slightly taller with dark hair and glasses.
“Hi. I’m Skye.” She squeaked.
“Hi. I’m Mel. This is Phil. I guess you are the new sacrifice.” She could hear the sarcasm in the woman’s voice.
“I volunteered.”
“That’s new.”
“Leave her alone Mel. She’s probably completely confused. It’s not her fault. Come and have some food.”
“Thank you.”
She sat at the table as Phil placed a simple soup and bread in front of her. It was one of the best meals she had ever eaten.
“Did they never feed you?” Phil asked in concern.
“The nuns I lived with believed in less is more.”
“Better?” Questioned Grant as he wandered back into the room. She jumped slightly but tried not to show it. He could move extremely quietly for a man of his size.
“Yes. Thank you. I’m sorry to bother you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Your room is ready if you want it.”
“Please.”
“Come. I’ll show you where it is.”
After thanking the couple for the food she followed him upstairs. The corridor was made of the same material as downstairs with many doors leading off the corridor.
“You don’t seem as tired.”
“We tend to be more nocturnal than you due to circumstance.” He replied with a slight smile as he opened a door.
It opened to reveal a huge room, which included a bath and one of the biggest beds she had ever seen. It looked far more comfortable than anything she had slept on before.
“Wow!”
“I take that this will be ok then? I’ll leave you it. Just go where you want in the morning and help yourself to food. Somebody will be up and around.”
“Not you?”
“I’ll probably be around later on.”
“Oh right. We’ll thank you.”
“My pleasure Skye. Night.”
“Night.”
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Skye woke to the feeling that someone was watching her. Looking around groggily she saw a pair of eyes looking at her from the door. Seeing that she had been noticed the woman strode into the room and sat beside the bed.
“Hi. I’m Jemma Simmons. I heard you’re Skye. Ward told me you were here. I wasn’t expecting you to still be asleep. I was wondering if you wanted to come and see the village with me. Fitz has already gone. He’s my partner. Ward said you were curious about it.”
It took Skye a few minutes to understand what the women had just said. Her accent was different to others from this area and she spoke really fast.
“Sure I’d like that. Is Grant there as well?”
“No… He’s busy at the moment. You call him Grant?”
“You don’t?”
“No… I’ve never really thought about it. He’s always been Ward to me.”
“How did you come to being here? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“You noticed my accent did you? Fitz is the same. It’s one of the only safe places for us to live. We were hunted for being witches at home.”
Noticing Skye’s stare of amazement she continued.
“We’re not obviously. It’s just we believe in advancement, for me it’s medicine, for Fitz its engineering. People just don’t like things that are different.”
“You can say that again.”
“You speak from experience then?”
“Don’t know who my parents are, so naturally I’m a witch.”
“You do understand! Anyway I’ll let you get dressed. Meet me downstairs and we’ll go to the village.”
Skye watched as she bounced out of the room, wondering if a whirlwind had just hit her. It was weird but even though she barely knew these people she felt more comfortable than she had even done before. It was almost like this place could become home.
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They had walked to the village, which had taken them over an hour. During that time Simmons had informed her about some of the other occupants of the house. Somebody had persecuted them all before they headed here and found a place at the house. She didn’t explain how they were connected to the dragon though. Apart from Fitz who she hadn’t met yet there was also somebody who was called Tripp, but he wouldn’t back for a while.
A woman ran the new village called Victoria Hand. She’d been chosen, as her old village didn’t like the fact she wouldn’t marry. The reason for this was perfectly clear when she introduced her wife, who she had met in this new place. Everyone was happy here, free from the constricting views of the conservative villagers. In return for them being saved they provided the house with all the food they could need, as they valley the house was situated in not being able to support crops.
It was a delight to see so many happy people. There were even families, with the youngest member just being born a few days ago. Skye still missed meeting Fitz as he had already headed back to the house, though how she had missed him she wasn’t sure. There was only one way in and out of the village and nobody had gone that way.
“It’s getting late. He’d better hurry up!”
“Who’d better hurry up?”
Simmons was saved from answering when the dragon landed just in front of them. Instead of running in fear, as she had expected, the villagers crowded around the dragon, hugging and kissing him. They clearly adored him. He seemed slightly uncomfortable with all of the affection but happily leant down and sniffed the new baby.
“Come on Skye. We don’t have long left.”
“What do you mean? Oh no. No. I’m not riding him.”
“It’s completely safe. He won’t let anything happen to you. Now come on. We’re running out of time.”
She pulled her over to the dragon, who lowered himself down so they could climb up. It was surprisingly easy to do, with his wings providing a good foothold.
“How can we be running out of time?”
“He can’t fly at night. Now hold on tight.”
How can he not fly at night? Skye grabbed a hold of a spike just in front of her as the dragon stood again. He seemed to understand Simmons’ urgency as he took off immediately, the draft from his wings blowing her hair around her head. It was a lot smoother than she expected and for all her initial fears she soon found herself enjoying the flight. Man has always wanted to fly and now she knew exactly why.
They had only been flying for ten minutes when she sensed they were loosing height. Looking at Simmons she saw she looked worried.
“Damn. We’re closer to sunset than I thought. We’re going to land.”
The dragon quickly set them down within a small wooded area. They both slipped off and Skye watched as Simmons removed a set of mans clothing from her basket with the food in it and place them on the ground. When she looked at her in question, Simmons simply replied:
“Come on. We’ll have to camp here. The tree will give cover.”
“What about him?” She asked, pointing to the dragon that was looking around sheepishly.
“He’ll be fine. Just leave him be.”
She walked off leaving Skye to follow her. What was going on? Why was she so desperate for her to leave? And why was the dragon so upset?
Ignoring Simmons she decided to watch the dragon, hidden behind a tree. He almost seemed to be shrinking in on himself, getting smaller and smaller. Wait! He was getting smaller! Before her eyes she watched as the huge dragon turned into a man. A very naked man. Well that explained the clothing!
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