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Drakken looks at her, and even she seems bewildered. The horse looks at me as if waiting for something. I am also standing dumbfounded and waiting for the panic to set in for Elva. Has she not noticed the wings?
"Hi gorgeous," she murmurs, holding out the apple for Drakken like it's the most natural thing in the world. Drakken looks at me again for guidance, and I just shrug. This woman is incapable of feeling fear when she needs to the most.
With my silent permission, Drakken gently takes the apple from Elva, crunching away before leaning her massive head down to let Elva pet her. Traitor. Elva's practically shaking, excitement thrumming through her veins even while she tries to remain calm and not spook my beloved horse.
"What's their name?" Elva asks, not sparing me even a glance with the magnificent beast in front of her, capturing all of her attention.
"Her name is Drakken," I admit. While I was hoping to scare her at least a little bit, this is... nice. Everything I share with Elva, she takes in with the wonder of a child discovering the world for the first time. While she's obviously not some little girl, it's refreshing, I suppose, to witness someone experiencing these things without the cynicism that Oksangui's are so used to.
"Isn't that the name of those creatures that one of the witches loved?" She continues petting my beloved Drakken, and Drakken soaks in the praise and affection, nuzzling against Elva's cheek and making her giggle. A fucking giggle.
"Close," I tell her, walking closer with the apples in my hands. "They were dragons. But, admittedly, she is named after them. They were known for their fierceness, the way they struck fear into the heart of any who might face them."
For the first time since entering the stable, Elva turns, looking over her shoulder at me. I'm struck frozen by the expression on her face. It's so soft and open, as if just in this place, with the magic of the moonlight and Drakken's blessing, we can be vulnerable. No masks, no biting remarks to keep each other at a distance.
"So you named her?" She quirks a brow, and I take a step closer. Rather than step away or fight back, she allows me this closeness. This genuine connection, just for a moment.
Any anger I could possibly feel at her from earlier dissipates. She feels the staggering pull as much as I do and fights and rails against it even when it consumes her. And when given the opportunity, she used it to her advantage, turning every possible point of weakness into a power. How could I possibly fault her for that?
"I did."
She nods, still gazing up at me while using the beautiful horse to keep her nervous hands busy. "How long have you had her?"
I blow out a breath, eyes darting to Drakken and then back to Elva, the two most enigmatic creatures I've ever known. And they're both mine.
No. Elva is temporary. Here to do a job and then leave.
But for a few minutes, I can pretend that I might be allowed to keep her. That she might want to be kept by me.
To distract myself from that thought, I tell her the story few others have heard. "Years, honestly. I was wandering around, far too close to the cliffside, following the trail of some creature. Even now, I'm unsure what it was, but there was a horrid gust of wind, and I suddenly found myself waking up halfway down the cliff, only inches from the ledge.
"I waited for at least three hours, tearing my fingers apart trying to climb. Thankfully, it was a warm summer evening, and I didn't have to worry about freezing, but I knew I was going to be trapped there. Possibly forever. And when the realization struck me, I laughed. Hysterically, in fact. I was already gaining a reputation for being a fearsome little warrior, immune to death my superiors had called me."
"Are you?" her jaw drops. "Immune to death, I mean."
With a shrug, I answer honestly, lost to the magic in the air whenever she's near and no one else is. "Don't know. No one's ever succeeded in proving one way or the other."
"You're trying to tell me that nobody has ever stabbed or shot you? No one?" she mock-scoffs. "I find that hard to believe."
The overwhelming urge to place my lips upon the lifted corner of her mouth nearly destroys me. "They've tried, my Elva. But no one has succeeded in causing me irreparable damage."
"Yet," she adds, grinning like we're sharing a secret. I would share every secret with her if it meant more of those smiles.
"Yet," I agree, barely holding back a silly grin of my own. "Anyway, I was in hysterics over the irony of possibly being unkillable and wondering what it would be like to be on the verge of death forever and never succumb to it. Somewhere above me, this stubborn beast heard my laughter and came to investigate. She landed not one foot away from me, shaking the ground as she did. She was little more than a baby then and already larger than any horse I'd ever seen."
"And she saved you?" she pries, and I get the sense that Elva always needs to know how a story ends. No amount of knowledge and stories will ever be enough for her curious mind. If her superiors knew this about her, they never would have sent her to me. Ignorance is how they control their people, yet this woman is everything they train their leaders not to be.
I step next to her, letting my shoulder rest against hers while I reach out to pet my favorite girl. "I don't think she knew she did, but yeah. I think she was just looking for a playmate who wasn't afraid of her."
"And of course, she found you, scared of nothing."
If only Elva could see just how terrified I am right now. Someone seeing my love for Drakken is dangerous. That someone being Elva, the representative of the country currently trying to invade mine, even more so.
I clear my throat. "We should get going. Her speed will be slower with two riders instead of just one." I ease Drakken out of the stall, running my hand down her neck and smoothing some errant feathers.
"We have to ride together?" Elva squeaks.
I chuckle, using a hand on her back to guide her closer. "Did you think I would send you into the air on this beast without me? You don't even know where we are going."
