Thread of Fate - 5. Chapter 5

Nostrils flaring wide, the dragon recoiled back from Oberon’s proffered hand with an anxious growl, his body coiling with unease. For once he was at a loss as to what to do, whatever had been wrought between them incapacitated him of casting glamour.

Laid bare before one another, the entirety of their true selves revealed. Oberon continued to improvise a plan, his hands making soothing motions in a vain attempt to calm him. Imagining the young man was just as upset to be revealed as a dragon, much less waking from the brink of death to discover himself locked in a hotel room with a strange winged man.

After all, his glamour was just that, and the only visage the young stranger had ever seen couldn’t be further from the truth. Wracking his brain, Oberon took a few cautious steps back, hands remaining high and in plain sight.

An idea struck him and he hoped that it would be successful, opening his mouth he began to sing the same lilting Scottish ballad as before. Oberon’s voice rose and fell in an enchanting undulating rhythm, sitting down upon the plush threads of the carpet he let his long lithe legs stretch out before him.

Mahogany eyes ringed in lavender watched him cautiously and quietly as old Gaelic filled the air, his serpentine body laying down upon the bloodied bedclothes as Oberon’s voice rose and fell, stretching minutes into eternity with the emotion of the piece before rising to a crescendo upon the final bars of the song.

The silence that hung heavy between them in the impending quiet filled Oberon with a sick anxious dread as he waited...and waited.

Creeping up to the very edge of the bedside, the hard onyx scales lining his snout reflected the warm glow of the lamplight above him. Intelligent eyes stared Oberon down, waiting for any sudden movements. Long creamy white fangs made a stark contrast against the opalescent black scales, shining like oil slicking over water.

Oberon held his breath, willing the gorgeous creature to trust him. He would wait however long it took, apparently they both had nothing but time.

Eastern Dragons were proud benevolent beings, graceful and mystical by nature. It begged the question of just what one of such tender age was doing alone halfway around the world, running from traffickers for his life.

It was just another question to pile on top of the quickly growing pile of queries.

One infinitesimal step followed by another brought him inching closer to where Oberon sat on the floor. From nose to tail he was just a little bit longer than the length of the hotel’s king size bed. His long serpentine body slinking and coiling as he lowered himself to the floor.

“I’m sorry for giving you a fright. I am the stranger who came to your aid, despite how I look now. Do not fear, I will not harm you.”

Oberon’s words came out in softly accented English instead of the Gaelic he’d been forced to answer with earlier. The dragon continued to watch him closely but the fear was fading from his shining eyes, understanding taking root. He came forward until he was beside the Seelie King, laying his head down atop Oberon’s thigh.

Tiny tremors of fear were shaking his body, as mahogany eyes gazed up at him, growing accustomed to his true appearance.

Reaching down to run his palm gently over the raven mane of hair running partway down the length of his long slender body, Oberon tried to soothe him. He was so young, and in a foreign land at that. The tiny shakes emanating through the dragon broke something inside his heart. Vengeful anger coursed through him from seemingly nowhere, and the Fae King had to tamp down lest he scare the poor youth more that he already was.

After long minutes passed down of the floor, the fearful shakes finally began to cease, leaving only the sad lost look on his face. Oberon wracked his brain in search of the right words, even though he had no idea what was going on himself.

“It’s going to be okay”, it sounded weak even to himself but he felt like he had to say something, “Trust me, this is not what either of us was expecting. I couldn’t let you die. At that moment I think I’d have done anything that you might live. You couldn’t have known what I was…”

The ring of lavender in his chocolate eyes grew more pronounced as he watched Oberon speak, his fanged maw opened and closed in frustration as though he wanted to answer but couldn’t.

His scales began to pool upon his body, a soft white glow covering him entirely. Like the night sky brightening at the sun’s touch they dissipated leaving olive skin in its absence. The black mane shrunk until it was no more than a disheveled mop of hair on his head, still pillowed against Oberon’s thigh.

“Thank you for saving me.”

His words were rough and low after returning to his human form, although in English his native Japanese accent was still thick.

The rest of his body was naked, and it was only just then that Oberon noticed the shredded pile of what was left of his clothing beside the bed.

“Let’s find something for you to put on, don’t want you to be cold.”

With a final ruffle of his soft black hair, he took the young man’s hand, helping him rise to standing. Leading him to the bed he set him down on the side that was free of blood before going into the bathroom and returning with a fluffy white bathrobe to drape over his shoulders.

“Better?”

He nodded silently, eyes darting anywhere else but looking at him, a soft blush was staining his cheeks.

“S..sorry for everything.”

Oberon pulled the rolling black office chair from the desk in the room to sit beside the bed, letting him have the space to himself. He folded his tall frame into the slightly too small seat.

“There is nothing to be sorry for, but I think we do have a few questions for each other. Let’s start with names, I’m Oberon, and as you can see I am of the Fae folk.”

Pausing, he gestured towards the young man.

“My name is Kaoru, and I’m actually a...dragon.”

“A pleasure to meet you. Do you know who those men chasing you were?”

Shaking his head, Kaoru thought hard.

“No, I have been here for less than a week. I have an older cousin in Baton Rouge and I was supposed to be going to stay with him while I am here. He called me earlier this week to say some things have come up and I couldn’t go there yet, for me to stay in New Orleans for a bit and see the sights. He is paying for my hotel room, and I haven’t heard from him in two days.”

“Have you done or noticed anything out of the ordinary?”

Again his head shook in a negative.

“I did as he said and I’ve been sightseeing the city. It was early yesterday when I started to notice anything. I visited the Aquarium and the butterfly garden, and even though it was very busy it felt like someone was following me specifically. After lunch the feeling went away, and I thought it must have been my imagination.”

His voice dropped in tone when he spoke again.

“For supper I had some fried seafood and a daiquiri, walked back to my hotel and went to my room. There was a message left for me on the phone in my room from my cousin...it said ‘Hashiru karera wa kite imasu.’ Run they are coming.”

Finally his eyes rose to meet Oberon’s, confusion and fear warring within their depths.

“I took the service stairs down, left the hotel through an emergency exit. My cousin is not the type to joke about something like that, I know he meant what he said. There are many people here for the Mardi Gras festival, and I tried to look like another in the crowd. They, too, were hiding among the crowd. It was over an hour of walking before I was able to pinpoint them. Black suits and black leather shoes, they stood out from everyone dressed crazy for the parades.”

Once again his body began to shake from fear as the words poured out of him like a torrent escaping.

“Everywhere I turned there were more of them. In bars, alleys, sidewalks...they appeared from everywhere, and no one would help me! I began to run while drunk assholes whooped and cheered. I didn’t know what else to do...and then I felt you before me, then I saw you...I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

Oberon cupped his shaking hands between his own warm palms.

“I told you that you don’t have to be sorry. I’m going to help you, you did the right thing...you’ll see.”