Chapter 13 Still Caged
“Reiya!!!” Chelsie yelled as she ran up to her. “You aren’t hurt, are you? Were you treated well? You poor thing, having to live with these reptiles.” Chelsie gave Xander a disgusted look.
“The water pony doesn’t like me much.” Xander pouted and tightened his arm on Reiya so that she couldn’t go to Chelsie.
He knew a thing or two about kelpies, and one of those was that they did not like to share what they considered theirs.
He watched Chelsie’s eyes blaze with anger as she focused on his hold on Reiya.
“You’re making her all smelly. I don’t like you holding onto her like that.” Chelsie snorted and crossed her arms.
“Chelsie, are you making trouble already?” Brody and Lee walked over from the tree line. Brody rolled his eyes as he looked at Chelsie.
“Great. I see the bear is here already. Yay, now we’re all safe,” Chelsie hissed sarcastically as she glared at him.
“You’re a little low on the food chain to be acting like that, don’t you think? Why don’t you go back to your puddle before someone accidentally touches you,” Brody snorted and crossed his arms.
“Shouldn’t you be out robbing a picnic basket or something?” Chelsie scoffed with a dramatic eyeroll.
“Haha! Yeah, Yogi Bear.” Xander snickered as a cold glare was now directed at him.
“Hmmph, this coming from a dragon, which I always heard had little brains.” Brody jabbed at Xander.
“Not to mention a complete lack of hygiene,” Chelsie chimed in with agreement. It seemed the two of them could unite against a common enemy.
Reiya sighed as the bickering began to pick up. She looked over at Lee, who seemed to be a bit distracted. He was looking out into the distance at nothing. It looked like he was inwardly communicating with someone.
“Ugh …” Xander said, rubbing his forehead and looking at Lee. “Looks like Mason has finally arrived.”
Lee nodded and looked back toward the large party tents that were being put up. “We need to go over and greet him and check in on the East Dragon Kingdom.”
“Man, this is going to be painful,” Xander whined. “Reiya, why don’t you head back? I think it’s best for you to stay inside the castle for now.”
“I wanted to walk around outside.” Reiya frowned. She wanted to have a look around and get better acquainted with her surroundings.
“I think it’s best too, Reiya. I’ll walk you around later,” Lee said, directing his attention to her. There were just too many other dragons around. She would be safer back at the castle.
“Fine. But don’t blame me if I decide to paint the whole inside pink because of boredom.
Look, Chelsie … another kingdom with the same rules.
Don’t go anywhere because it’s safer. I’ll just go count how many stones are on the castle walls.
” Reiya turned and stomped away. Was she being a bit over the top?
Perhaps. She was just tired of always being confined.
Day one, and she was already under castle arrest. She was allowed to pout a little bit.
She heard swift footsteps walking up behind her as two strong hands landed on her shoulders, pulling her backward. She heard a soft chuckle near her ear.
“Well, aren’t you in a feisty mood today? Don’t be upset.”
Reiya turned her head so she could look at Lee’s face. He looked amused, and there was a sparkle in his eye. She was glad that her disappointment was amusing to him.
“We won’t be long, and we’re having a party tonight. I promise you’ll have a good time,” Xander chuckled as he walked up beside her, gently nudging her with his elbow.
“You better not leave me cooped up for too long, because I likely won’t stay there waiting.
Sorry, it’s a bad habit of mine.” Reiya turned fully and looked at the two smiling men.
They were both amused with her, and she felt irritated by their reaction.
It was like they were laughing at a little kitten that was hissing at them.
They found it cute. “I really don’t know why you think the castle is that much safer for me.
I mean, that’s where I ran into the grump from earlier. ”
Lee’s eyes suddenly turned dark. “What grump from earlier?”
“She’s talking about Clovis. He was giving her a hard time this morning. I think we taught him a lesson, though.” Xander winked at Reiya with a wry grin.
“What did he say to you?” Lee looked at Reiya with an intense glare. He never liked Clovis. He couldn’t be trusted. It was safer to keep him close where they could keep an eye on him. He really embodied the reason for the old saying: Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.
“He was prying into my relationship with Xander. So, Xander and I gave him something to really think about.” Reiya shrugged with a mischievous smile.
“You certainly like to play with fire, don’t you, princess?” Lee rubbed his forehead.
“Of course, fire is no match for me. Plus, I have a water dragon on my side.” Reiya grinned widely at Lee.
Lee chuckled and shook his head. “So, what you’re saying is, you like creating more trouble for me?”
“No, she just likes causing trouble.” Brody grinned widely as he walked up to Reiya’s side. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on her. It’s what I do.”
“Stay close to Brody, Reiya. We’ll be back shortly.” Lee looked at Brody and nodded before he and Xander turned and walked away.
“How about you show me around our new home away from home?” Brody nudged Reiya’s side. “And maybe help us find something to eat?” He made a small pout.
Reiya giggled as she turned to him. “Alright, Brody. I’ll be a good prisoner and play along. Come on, Chels. I’ll show you my room.”
“You poor thing. This whole place reeks of dragon stench. You’ll never get it off you.” Chelsie patted Reiya on the back. This was horrible. Her dear friend had to live among dragon filth.
“Chelsie, it really isn’t that bad. I’m going to enjoy myself and try to learn as much as I can.” Reiya shook her head at her persnickety friend.
“That’s right. That’s a good attitude to have. Just keep being upbeat and don’t let your horrible situation get you down.” Chelsie rubbed her back sympathetically.
“Gosh, Chelsie, enough already. We know. If it isn’t under a rock in a swamp, it isn’t up to your standards,” Brody growled out in annoyance.
“Hey Pooh Bear, shouldn’t you be out finding some honey?” Chelsie shot back at him.
“No, I’m too busy waiting for you to turn back into your horse so we can make glue out of your hooves.” Brody glared at her with his brows raised.
“Enough of that, you two.” Reiya shot them both annoyed looks, which caused them to look away from each other.
She sighed. This was going to be a long day, what with their constant bickering.
She looked out in the distance and noticed some interesting creatures scurrying down the hall and into another room.
She smiled and shook her head. They were trying to escape from Brody’s presence.
“Brody, let your fairy aura down a bit. There seems to be some company here.” Reiya gently placed her hand on his arm and then walked off to the other room. She opened the door to see little brownies scurrying about over a desk, pushing papers all over the place.
“Now, this is no way to treat someone else’s things.
” Reiya bent down and held out her hand.
The three little brownies scurried her way.
They glanced up toward Brody and Chelsie with caution before they finally hopped onto her hand.
“I’m surprised you little ones have settled in a dragon kingdom.
It isn’t exactly the most fairy-friendly place.
You’re lucky they can’t see you. Still, you shouldn’t go around causing trouble.
I had my guardian take his aura down some, so you’ll be able to move about freely again.
I’m sorry. It was probably very intense for you.
” Reiya set the little fairies back onto the ground and watched them scurry off.
“You sure you want me to keep the aura down? I think it would be better for them to leave this place.” Brody frowned. Brownies were trouble, and on top of that, living among dragons wasn’t their brightest idea.
“The dragons can’t see them. Plus, with the demons, this is probably a safe haven for them.” Reiya looked over at the mess of papers scattered. “Guess we should straighten all this back up.”
Chelsie and Brody followed Reiya toward the desk. Brody and Reiya knelt down, picking up the papers that had been knocked off the desk, while Chelsie stood there with her arms folded. “This whole place smells like dragon musk. It’s repulsive,” Chelsie complained as she reluctantly joined in.
Reiya smiled and shook her head. This was probably a good experience for Chelsie to have.
It wouldn’t hurt her to grow a bit more tolerant of others.
Reiya grabbed a rolled-up paper from the floor, unrolling it slightly as she picked it up.
Her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp at what she saw.
Immediately, her stomach flipped, and she felt queasy and uneasy.
Her tiny hands trembled as they unraveled the paper fully.
In an instant, her world turned upside down, and she was filled with confusion. Why would they have this?
“Reiya? What’s wrong?” Brody asked. He looked at her trembling hands and crawled over to her. His eyes drifted to where hers were looking. “What the hell?!”
Chelsie looked over at the paper in Reiya’s hands and scowled.
“I freaking knew it! I told you. You can’t trust serpents.
They have little brains and a tiny heart.
Cold-blooded reptiles. Treacherous creatures.
And this proves it.” Chelsie shook her head in disgust. She frowned, though, when she looked at Reiya.
She was clearly shaken up. This made Chelsie furious.
How dare they injure her friend like this?
In her eyes, Reiya was always too trusting.
Still, she never wanted it to come back to bite her like this.
“I … don’t understand,” Reiya’s voice barely whispered out. She stared down at the paper in her hand. Why did they have this? Who made it?